Apocalypsis 04 - Haven

quickly.
    “And feed them! And give them a place to stay! Shit, girl. Just relax, would ya?” He was frowning at Winky, but at the same time obviously wary of her. “I told you … I ain’t no people eater.”
    I couldn’t help it. The smile came whether I wanted it to or not. I suddenly couldn’t get that stupid song out of my head, the one that my dad used to sing sometimes in the car when we were on road trips.
    A kid’s voice came out of the truck. It was like the voice of an angel or something it was so pure and sweet. “It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater…” And then a raspy cough promptly stopped the serenade.
    Paci chuckled.
    “What the hell was that?” asked Rob, finally tearing his gaze from Chantal’s lovely face to stare at the back of the truck. The owner of the voice was not visible from where we were standing.
    “That’s Jessie. She’s our songbird.” Chantal’s expression hardened. “The other guys who took us said they’d make a lot of bank trading her.”
    I grimaced, not even wanting to think about what that meant for Jessie. “Okay, that’s enough of that. No one’s going to the market or getting traded for anything.”
    “So what’re you gonna do?” asked Jackson.
    I stepped back, putting some space between him and me. Motioning for the others to join me, I waited until they were all behind me, leaving him standing alone.
    “Please don’t shoot me,” he begged, trembling now. “I swear to God, I wasn’t gonna hurt anyone.”
    “You left them in the trailer,” said Winky. “Some of them look dead.”
    “What else was I gonna do? Make ‘em walk? It was the fastest way to get them safe!”
    Everything he said made sense, assuming this ranch actually existed.
    “Why don’t we have him take us to his place?” asked Rob. “Kill two birds with one stone … check out his story and take his cattle at the same time?”
    “Hey! You can’t take my cattle!” He stepped forward but stopped abruptly when my gun came up again.
    “We can, and we will. So stand there and shut up while we figure this out.”
    “Shiiiiit,” he said, scowling and kicking at the dirt. “All this time and effort … all going to shit. I don’t know why I even bothered.”
    I felt terrible. I was talking tough, but I could imagine what it would feel like to build a home that could sustain you and your group and then have someone waltz in and take it. If anyone ever tried to do that with Haven I’d explode.
    “We need to split up,” said Paci, speaking in low tones so no one but our little group would hear.
    “Yeah. Our people could be getting massacred right now, for all we know,” said Rob. He looked antsy, staring off into the direction of the Miccosukee village.
    “Let’s split up then,” I said. “Who goes where?”
    “Rob, Winky, and I will go to Kahayatle,” said Paci. “You and Bodo go with that Jackson guy. We’ll let the other kids decide what they want to do.”
    “They’re not going to be able to do anything,” said Winky. “They’re all too weak. That guy Jackson probably did them a favor keeping them in the trailer, if his ranch story is true.”
    “Maybe they can just hang out for a day here by the side of the road or something,” I suggested. “It’s not ideal but it spares them bumping around inside that oven for a while at least.”
    “Let them choose,” said Bodo. “Den they can’t blame us if it’s bad.”
    Everyone looked at each other, all of us eventually nodding.
    “You sure you don’t want me with you in the swamp?” I asked Rob and Paci.
    “Yeah, we want you there, but you can’t let Bodo go off alone and deal with all that stuff by himself. And it’s our family out there,” said Winky.
    “Yeah. What shorty said,” said Rob, flicking her braid.
    She punched him hard enough in the arm to make him wince.
    He frowned at her as he rubbed out the sting.
    I broke away from the group and approached Jackson. “So here’s what’s going to happen: You’re going to take me and one of my friends over to your ranch. Once we’re there, we’ll decide whether we’re going to let you stay or take you with us.”
    “But it’s my home,” he said in a soft voice. It was like all the fight had left him.
    “Tough.” I hardened my heart. This was what we had to do. And I still didn’t feel like I could trust him.
    I looked at Chantal. “You can get in the trailer and come to the ranch or you can stay here on the