“Scout,” he said and shook his head. “I mean David Thompson.”
“Davey! Little Davey Thompson!” She smiled real wide and Scout was captivated, until he heard Hunter laughing beside him.
“What? I hit a growth spurt when I turned twelve.”
“I’ll say,” the girl replied.
Scout smiled back at her with appreciation as her name popped into his head. “Jolanda Lewis, I can’t believe it!”
“Could you turn off those bikes so we can talk without screaming at each other?” she asked.
Scout cut his engine, put the kickstand down, hopped off and walked over to her. He spread his arms and she did the same. He gave her a big hug. “Damn, Jolanda, I’m not the only one that hit a growth spurt.”
She patted his cheek when he let her go. The boys behind her were tapping each other’s shoulders and laughing. “Call me Raven, please.” She turned her head around and spoke to her friends through clenched teeth. “My name is Raven.”
The boys straightened up and muffled their laughter by covering their mouths with their hands, but their bodies convulsed as they fought back the chuckles.
She sighed when she turned back. “There goes one of my best-kept secrets.”
Hunter sat on his bike with the engine off. “Don’t worry, Raven, I’ll make sure Little Davey pays for it.”
“Shut it,” Scout said. Hunter smiled and motioned for Scout to continue.
Scout nodded. “So what’s really up? And don’t tell me you’re out here picking flowers. Nebraska isn’t the best choice for a picnic.”
One of the bodyguards stepped up. “Uh, Raven?”
“It’s all right,” she said over her shoulder. “I got it.” She stared at Scout before giving her answer. “Okay, David. You’re from that town west of here, right?”
“Yeah, we call it Independents.”
“Cute. So I guess you’ve already met Chase?”
“He thinks Hunter and I are farmers.”
“Sure he does. Chase isn’t stupid.”
“So what do you want?” Hunter asked.
“All your valuables. This is a robbery, your money or your life.”
Her hand grazed Scout’s arm as she walked up to Hunter’s front wheel. Scout enjoyed the view from behind. Jolanda had grown up and filled out very, very well.
“Hunter, is it? We’re looking to connect with other survivors and see how we can help each other.”
“So why didn’t you drive in together? Why send in three while the rest of you hide out in the canyons?”
“It’s called recon. We didn’t want to scare the town, and if something happened when the small group went in then the rest of us could make a rescue attempt.”
“All right,” Scout said. “Let’s go to town and everyone can eat a home-cooked meal and sleep in a warm bed tonight. Jimmy and Chase can figure things out from there.”
“Who is Jimmy?”
“He’s the man in charge. Well, him and Vanessa.”
“V! Your sister made it through.”
“Yeah, how do you think I made it? What about Latasha?”
Jolanda bowed her head, scuffing a toe in the dust. She zipped up her coat from a chill that probably didn’t relate to the weather.
“Sorry,” Scout said.
Jolanda continued to inspect the ground. “She took care of me until she turned eighteen. Now I just got the people I hang with. We take care of each other, know what I’m saying?”
“I hear you. It’s the same way for us back in town.”
Scout caught Hunter’s eyes as the last drop of daylight fell into night. The cloudy sky trapped all possibilities of starlight from the heavens. The temperature would soon be dropping as well, making the ride home almost unbearable.
“We better get back,” Hunter said. “Are you guys coming with us?”
“Let me talk to my crew and see what they want to do,” she said. “Chase was real clear about us staying out of town.” She walked back to the truck. All the boys had gathered there, including the bikers. When Jolanda arrived they moved out of earshot.
Scout saw the dialogue was heated by Jolanda’s body language and finger pointing at various members in the huddle. Nobody could have predicted meeting someone they knew from before the world became the Big Bad. Even still, Scout watched as the girl he used to know took precautions.
“They sure are jumpy about something,” Hunter said. “I don’t like it.”
“I know. But it’s better if we get them back to town.”
“I don’t know about that. I’ll tell you the same thing they’re telling her. Keep focused.”
Scout frowned, mad that Hunter thought he could be swayed so easily. He understood the stakes. Jolanda might be a pretty face from his past, but until he knew the score, she wasn’t going to play him.
“Heads up,” Hunter said.
Jolanda approached, smiling and friendly. “Sorry, guys, I think we’re going to be late for dinner.”
“Not if we hurry,” Scout said.
“That’s not what I meant.”
The rest of Jolanda’s group shot past her in a dead sprint. Hunter shouted a warning, but it arrived too late. A couple boys tackled Scout and plowed him to the ground. His face hit the dirt and he coughed and gagged from the rising dust. They roped his hands and feet, tying him up like a calf at a rodeo. Only he felt like a clown; Jolanda had just made him out to be a fool.
They dumped Hunter next to Scout, and his air whooshed out on impact. He appeared pissed off, but his first priority was catching his breath. Hunter would blame Scout for all this later when he got around to laying it down.
“Why are you doing this? It doesn’t have to be this way. We can work something out, Jolanda.”