Page 132 of His to Burn

I needed to remind myself that this wasabout survival. Another seventy-five miles, and we would be at Uncle Levi’s.

That was what mattered.

And as perverse as it was, being petty about Jack was a nice distraction. As we got closer to Uncle Levi’s, I grew more worried. Would Uncle Levi take me in?

Was Uncle Levi even still there?

I didn’t know, and it scared the hell out of me.

“You know the routine,” Jack said after he left Caitlin.

We usually let him sleep first once we set up a perimeter.

His idea since he was the best equipped to handle things at night.

I missed being close to him at night, though. Missed the reassurance of his body heat, his steady breath that somehow made the night less dark.

“I’m up,” Jack said a few hours later.

The camp was dark, and everyone was asleep. I peered into the darkness, trying to see, and then made out another shape.

“You should sleep, Miles,” I whispered.

“Jack’s going to teach me how to keep watch,” Miles said.

“Okay,” I responded.

I lay down on the sleeping bag, trying not to think about how disgusting it was. We found it on a creek bed and never managed to get the smell out no matter how often we washed it.

It was still better than lying on the hard ground. But when I got to Uncle Levi’s, one of the first things I’d do was burn it and everything else I was wearing.

I drifted off, and what felt like a moment later, opened my eyes and took in the rising of the sun. A shadow fell over me, and I looked up into Caitlin’s smirking face. “You ready to rise for the day Your Highness?”

“Lay off, Caitlin,” Elliot said.

She shook her head. “Asia knows I’m just messing with her.”

I said nothing. Instead, I stood, stretched, and went to find a moment of privacy. Quite a hot commodity in this new world, but I found a tree, handled my business, and headed back toward the group.

A menacing voice froze me in place.

Before I could react, I felt something hard press against my back. “Don’t move.”

A spear of terror shot through my chest.

My knees went soft.

“You got a group over there?” He pressed the object deeper into my back. I wasn’t certain it was a gun, but I couldn’t take the risk.

One moment of inattention, and I put everyone at risk.

The man sounded older and was definitely a smoker.

I would also bet my entire fortune—which by now consisted of two pairs of clean socks and two dozen cans of those sausages that I hated—he wasn’t alone.

“No,” I said.

The blow came so fast, the world split into white light and roaring static. I staggered, my ears ringing.