Page 140 of Dustwalker

Rows and rows of plants and trees, many of which were unfamiliar to her, stood beneath bright, warm lights. Dew drops glistened on vibrant green leaves, colorful fruits hung from branches, and vegetables grew closer to the ground. The air itself was thick with life.

Stopping beside a tree, Ronin reached up, plucked an orange fruit, and handed it to her.

The fruit was smaller than her palm, with soft, fuzzy skin. She gave it a gentle squeeze. “What is it?”

“An apricot. Take a bite.”

She stared at the apricot for a moment before raising it to her lips. Her teeth sank into the tender flesh, and sweetness swept over her tongue. It was the most wonderful thing she’d ever tasted. And yet…she could barely bring herself to swallow it.

Lara ran her gaze over the tree, along branches weighed down by the countless apricots growing upon them, and then looked at the surrounding trees, all of which were equally bountiful. Something twisted in her belly, something heavy.

“Like it?” Ronin asked.

“It’s…good.”

“Your tone says otherwise.” He stepped in front of the wheelchair and crouched, his brows low as his eyes searched hers. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s a whole other world down here.” She gestured at the plants. “I’ve never seen so much food in my entire life.”

Ronin turned his head, following her gesture, and then met her gaze again. “And this…upsets you?”

Lara looked down at the apricot and brushed her thumb over its fuzzy skin. Part of her mind insisted this little fruit wasn’t possible, that it couldn’t be real. That none of this could be real. Because if this was real, if all this existed so close to Cheyenne…

But before she could put any of her thoughts into words, several loudmoossounded from somewhere deeper in the compound.

Her brow furrowed. “Cows?”

“Yes, and more.” Ronin rose and returned to the rear of thewheelchair. He pushed Lara onward, past the trees and rows of plants, toward an opening into another room. The smell from within was far more pungent and less pleasant.

The cows stood in a penned-off area, their heads bowed and tails flicking from side to side as they chewed grass. A man sat on a stool beside one. As he tugged on its udders, milk sprayed into a bucket.

As Lara stared at the man and cow, something simmered deep in her belly. “There was an old man back in Cheyenne who had a cow when I was a little girl. Its skin was stretched over its bones, and its eyes…its eyes were always sosad.” She scowled, flicking her gaze over these plump, contented beasts. “One night, someone decided to steal it, and they shot the old man when he tried to stop them. They’d already butchered the cow and sold the meat by the next morning.”

Ronin was silent, but she could almost sense the questions brimming within him.

Chickens wandered closer, clucking as they bobbed their heads, and sheep and goats bleated farther back.

Lara wanted to scream, wanted to rage, but she couldn’t. It was already getting hard to breathe with how her throat was tightening. She clenched her fist in her lap. “I want to go back.”

Without a word, Ronin rolled her back the way they’d come, not jarring her aching body a single time.

Nancy was waiting in the Infirmary, along with a tall, brown-skinned man who turned to face Lara as Ronin wheeled her inside.

“Did it feel good to get out of this room for a change?” Nancy asked. When Lara didn’t respond, Nancy tilted her head to the side, frowning before she gestured to the man. “This is Colonel Jack Rodriguez. He’s our Head of Security, and he’s been talking a lot with Ronin since you two arrived.”

“Hello, Miss Brooks,” Rodriguez said. “Now that you’re feeling better, I have some questions for you.”

Lara held his gaze. Anger burned in her gut. The way this man stood, his confidence and air of authority, reminded her of Warlord.

“Lara?” Ronin asked from behind her.

“Why didn’t you help us?” she asked, voice level.

Rodriguez’s lips parted, and a tiny crease formed between his eyebrows. “You’re alive because we helped you.”

“Why didn’t you fucking help us?” She ignored the pain of eachbreath, unable to tamp down the firestorm raging inside her. “You left us to them! Left us to starve, todie!”

His expression hardened. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Miss Brooks, but?—”