Five Months Later

Somewhere on the border of Kansas and Nebraska

"Just pull it out" I snapped, reaching down to grip the handle of the knife myself. Rodney slapped my hand away and gently made to maneuver the blade out of my leg. Without warning, Brittock came up behind Rodney and ripped the knife from my flesh.

"Agh!" I spat, flopping backward into the dirt trying to catch my breath.

Rodney sighed and sat back on to his haunches.

"It is better if you do it quickly and promptly, or else you risk her bleeding out and not being able to heal. If that had been a major artery, she could have died. Keep that in mind next time you see a blade through her heart" Brittock said as he searched the body of the dead raider for weapons. His tone was cold and implicative and Rodney felt every bit of the guilt it was meant to incite.

"Eventually you two will learn to get along" I grunted. It seemed like the longer the three of us were together, the more hostile the two males became.

"Doubtful" Rodney muttered.

"Help me up" I whispered, offering my hand to Rodney.

Rodney gently pulled me up and once I was standing, I thanked him for his assistance and tested my bearings. I cringed as pain shot up my leg and into my spine, but the pain quickly eased and the hole healed.

"It's amazing how your body does that" Rodney said, prodding my leg, "I wish we knew why."

"It's a defect, a flaw in my genetic code. Other than that, I don't know" I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"And you always heal?" He continued to inquire.

"As long as the weapon is removed... er... soon enough" I answered awkwardly.

"Right... When I... took your head... could you have fixed that if your head had stayed... close?"

"I don't really know, actually, and I don't want to find out" and that was the honest truth, "that really sucked you know."

"I know, I am so-"

"You killed her more than the one time?" the lethal look dawning Brittock's face had Rodney stepping away in fear.

"None of your business" I said, stepping into Brittock's line of sight.

"It is entirely my busi-"

"This one is still alive" Rodney interrupted the angry man opposite me, holding up a dark haired man by the roots of his scalp.

"Let me" I mumbled, taking the man from Rodney's rough grip. I laid the man backwards on to the ground and grabbed my water flask.
Lifting him by the collar of his shirt, I poured water on to his face. He spluttered awake and immediately tried to escape my grasp.

"Don't" I snapped, whipping my knife to his throat. He sat back into the dirt, chest heaving. "Now, I have a few questions for you."

"I know nothing" he sneered, spitting in my face.

Brittock stepped on a bullet wound in his side, causing the man to scream out in earth shattering pain.

"She is the nice interrogator. I would cooperate with her if I were you" he said, pinning the man with a piercing glare over the handkerchief covering his face.

The man stared obstinately at my tall renegade beside me before returning his attention to me.

"My friend over there, Rodney, is looking for some men. Two to be exact. A man by the name of Malt Whitmore and another called Lewis Straff. Heard of them?" I asked, looking him in the eye.

When he didn't answer I pressed my blade against his neck in a gentle reminder of his position.

"You already killed them" he spat.

"You lie" Rodney growled lowly, "I killed three men years ago and we have killed four more since then. Only the leaders have survived, hiding like cowards. Where are they?" he snarled, gripping the man's jawline.

"Someplace you will never-" but the man never finished his sentence, as Rodney snapped his head sharply, breaking his neck.

"Wow, ok" I mumbled, shocked.

"Consider yourself lucky, I wanted to rip his jugular out but you were too close" Rodney said, picking up his bag and heading to the humvee.

I sat and watched Rodney leave until Brittock reached down and pulled me up. He handed me my bag and also made his way to the truck.

Instead of climbing into the front seat, I decided to sit in the back bed of the humvee, where Rodney rested with his legs dangling off the edge.

Brittock shot me "the look" as I had dubbed it. It usually means he either does not like my decision or plans to speak with me in private about it later, either way, it was the physical manifestation of "Little Dove".

I shook my head no and shooed him, hoping he would start driving, which he did.

"So we're just going to continue onward, hoping we find them?" I asked Rodney.

"We're close" Was his only reply.

"How can you know that?" I looked out over the flat landscape and saw nothing but shrubbery and heat mirages.

"Because he told me everything I needed to know. You said the names, he looked east" Rodney explained, which I knew had to be true because Brittock had immediately driven in this direction.

"I didn't catch that" I muttered.

"I know, that's why we make you torture" he added, giving me a soft smile.

"Thanks" I shot back.

"You're welcome.... you should be up front with your man... thing..." Rodney commented, placing his arm around my shoulders so I could rest against him.

"Why? He doesn't talk when driving. He's 'scouting out the territory and watching for traps' or whatever" I waved my hand listlessly.

"You are lucky he does... he's doing it to keep you alive. To protect you" Rodney explained.

"Us" I corrected.

"He does not give two shi-"

"Hey! Don't presume to know how he feels" I chastised.

"That's rich, coming from the Queen of Assumptions" the snort of indignation that came from Rodney's mouth hit a prickly nerve. I reached out and whacked him on the back of the head.

"Don't make me strangle you" was his reply to my assault.

"You've grown so violent" I teased, fake insult plastered on my face.

"I told you not to leave me human."

I stared at Rodney's face, incapable of fathoming an answer. Instead, I watched the sun set as we drove through the Sierra Nevada mountains, returning to our temporary camp.