Gunnar rolled over and let out a yawn. The ground was harder than the floor in his old apartment but didn't stink so bad. Too bad he had to go and abandon his cabin to sleep in the dirt with this group. Quinton and Matt were still sleeping but Mischa's dad and the bossy military woman were gone. He brushed the sand and dirt off his clothes, then stretched out his stiff shoulders.

A man with tattooed arms and a wicked smile walked toward him.

"Look who decided to join the ranks of the living today," Reggie teased.

Gunnar raised an eyebrow. "Yeah and?"

"Better get those two up. You guys are on food duty."

Gunnar stood up and frowned. His eyes searched for the bag of meat but all he could see was the desert brush. "I caught loads yesterday. Whaddya eat it already?"

"Visitors came by. Had to bait 'em so they didn't take Olivia's head off with a shotgun."

Gunnar let out a snort and searched in the nearest bush for his bow. "What a waste. She coulda took 'em."

"Four to one."

He slung it over his shoulder. "Money's still on her."

Reggie handed him the last piece of the meat they had caught yesterday. Damn, that bag really was empty. Gunnar snatched up the grub without a second thought. The meat was tougher than usual but his tongue had stopped being choosy months ago.

"She'll be pleased to know someone thinks she's capable," Reggie said. "But be careful out there, and don't venture too far. There's unfriendly activity in the area."

He took off to where the other adults had gathered and were talking. Gunnar knew better than to join in. Just 'cause he could walk the walk, didn't mean he'd be able to say something without looking like a damned fool.

At least hunting he could manage pretty well. They weren't supposed to run through the meat that quickly though. The area wasn't exactly alive with animal activity and now the sun was up high enough to make the animals search for shade. Hunter would have helped, but Gunnar had wanted to leave him back in familiar turf to keep him safe. Vita had started to like having the mutt around too, and she needed him more than Gunnar did.

Gunnar refocused his energies on waking up the guys. Last time he had gotten obsessed with a girl it had blown up in his face. And speak of the devil, Quinton was the one to help bring that ship down. Gunnar nudged the guy with his boot.

"Rise and shine, asshole," he muttered under his breath. Yeah, that wouldn't work. He kneeled down and tapped roughly on Matt's shoulder instead. His brown eyes shot open and he sat up right away.

"What's going on?" Matt asked groggily.

"More hunting, get yer ass in gear and wake him up."

"Good morning to you too," Matt said with a laugh he only shared with himself.

Gunnar pulled out his knife to sharpen a few of his arrowheads. Hunting for a whole community was a whole lot more demanding than when it was just for him and Hunter. He almost missed those days, minus obsessing over Mischa and the choices he had made.

Quinton was up soon but it took him a while to get ready since he kept talking to Matt. Gunnar sat on one of the rocks and his foot tapped away on the sand. The sun kept getting hotter. Fewer and fewer animals. Someone laughed behind him, not Quinton or Matt. His foot stopped tapping, he grabbed his knife and whirled around. A hand caught his wrist and knocked the weapon away onto the sand.

"Not bad, but you could do better," Officer Olivia said with a flat face.

Gunnar smirked. "Yeah, like you this morning?"

"Oh fuck off! Reggie and his stupid mouth," she muttered. His eyes widened at the profanity. He'd assumed she was pretty straight edge from how anal she acted. "Now we have to either go without food and hope something turns up midday-"

"Fat chance," Gunnar added.

"Agreed or we wait for you guys to bring some back. Don't be gone longer than an hour and keep your eyes out for any unusual activity. We stumbled on a hot zone of controlled activity. There are mines here too."

Gunnar jumped a little. "Shit! The exploding kind?"

She furrowed her brow. "No the ones for natural resources. You know to harvest copper, gold, silver ore. They're running one here and kidnapping to recruit miners so keep your wits about you. Last thing we need is three teenage boys running off and captured because they saw a half-naked woman or another painfully simple ruse."

Gunnar wasn't sure what a ruse was, but he'd keep his eyes out for the naked women.

"We'll be fine, Ms. Fendson. We have pretty good heads on our shoulders," Quinton said as he approached. He was one of those guys who'd probably sell a pool during a flood with a stinking smile on his face.

Silence lingered while they waited for Matt. Gunnar looked over this Officer woman, trying to figure out what she had that was so special that the military wanted her. She stood real straight, kept unnaturally clean since they slept in dirt and all. Plus, she seemed to be a hard ass.

"What was it like, being an officer?"

Officer Olivia's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Shitty, kid. At least it is now."

Gunnar nodded and put his hands in his jean pockets. He thought as much. Nobody had good things to say about their jobs after the storms.

"You ever shoot people?"

Officer Olivia gave him the look that people gave right after they said there were no stupid questions. There were always stupid questions and they always found their way into his mouth.

"Yes."

"What happened after?"

She cocked her head to the side for a moment and the earlier look vanished. "I got a commendation."

Gunnar bit his lip and nodded, hoping she'd add a little more. Commen-whatever sounded like a good thing, but it was hard to tell.

"The award is a nice gesture." Gunnar nodded again in understanding. He never got why they needed so many words for the same thing. "But knowing you're protecting your country and innocent people is more of a rush. Never hurts to discharge a firearm either."

"Yeah, I mean, it's probably pretty cool."

Officer Olivia raised her eyebrows with a little smile. "The hunting prodigy has never fired a gun."

"I grew up in the city. If I had a gun, I'd be one of them people you'd be shooting."

The conversation died soon after that.

Matt ran over and the guys all took off toward the greener areas of the desert. Gunnar kept his eyes out for any hawks or birds overhead that could be hunting themselves. A water source would also be a good place to search but that seemed a bit unlikely around here.

Matt had a good eye too as he checked out the area and led them to a small patch of bushland where they could duck for cover behind some brush. Too bad there weren't any actual ducks there. Gunnar checked the ground for animal prints, a few hares and maybe a large animal as well. It could have been a dog or an elk but odds were that they were stale from last night.

"We'll go East, that way we won't be covering the same ground twice," Matt said and Quinton nodded. Matt turned to Gunnar. "Did you want to set up traps or anything?"

"Naw, not around here. There's not enough time. Let's find some trees. I think the birds will be moving around, or lazy if we're lucky."

The search continued as sand crept in their socks and boots. The water bottles grew drier and the sun hotter. Shade of any kind would be a blessing but God wasn't willing today. Probably mad about being ignored since Gunnar's Mormor passed away years ago and he'd given up trying to please the guy.

A tall gray tower outline blended in with the gray clouds and Gunnar had to rub his eyes to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating. He tapped Quinton on the shoulder to confirm. The dark-haired guy nodded. If two people saw it, it had to be real.

"Let's check it out," Matt said.

Both he and Quinton exchanged nervous looks. Matt had been living out in that community for quite awhile, but Quinton had to know what these places were all about. Animals wouldn't be drawn to a town, but if people were raising their own, then the guys could maybe trade or steal one, depending on how much security was around.

"All we have are bows and arrows," Quinton protested, eyeing the weapons without any respect. The guy was lucky he had anything. The weapon was only as good as the person holding it. "Last time we escaped we needed knives, guns, and a knowledgeable team."

Matt placed his hand on Quinton's shoulder. "Relax man, we're just watching. It's probably abandoned anyway."

That was also a possibility. Officer Olivia and Reggie's warning, plus having people around this morning left the abandoned option out of Gunnar's previous thoughts.

"Wouldn't it be cleared of food then? There are settlements around here, and they would have used it all," said Quinton.

"There could be animals living there, you know a dog or deer."

"No dog." Gunnar said firmly. They weren't that desperate yet.

"Water at the very least. You can't tell me you're not thirsty," Matt said. He had a way of persisting. He could see what Vita was on about when she complained about the guy.

"Ten minutes, then we go back," Gunnar said.

"Empty-handed?" Matt asked.

Gunnar placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Officer Olivia said."

Quinton shook his head. "She's not an officer anymore. You don't have to call her that." He walked off toward the tower without waiting for the other two.

Scratching and digging sounds carried through the desert as they walked. Gunnar paused to hear them better as they didn't resemble any animal he had stalked yet. It was too big, too metallic, and ...

"Shit," he muttered. "Stop," he whispered harshly at his two companions.

Quinton tumbled in a small hole instead of listening. The noise sent Gunnar ducking for cover. He kept low as he made his way toward the stumbled fool. Gunnar offered him a hand but the guy refused it. As Quinton tried to stand, he couldn't put full weight on his right ankle.

Great, now they'd really be ducks ready to be shot.

"Let's go back," Gunnar said.

Quinton grunted and failed at his attempt to stand up straight without Gunnar's help. "I'm fine, man. Relax."

"They're digging. These are the mines Officer Olivia was talking about. Ya wanna get kidnapped, ya bold asshole? Cuz you'll be doing that on yer own."

"Aren't we on this whole cross-country bike adventure to get information? It's stupid to go back with nothing," Quinton said, finally managing his weight on both feet. But looking at his scrunched face, it wasn't very comfortable.

Gunnar looked to Matt who shrugged. "He has a point."

"How is he going to run when they catch us?"

"As long as I'm faster than you, it won't matter." Quinton shifted his weight back off the foot. Cocky shit.

Gunnar searched the horizon for incoming vehicles or people, even the mining pit, but it was either well disguised or somewhere else.

"Fine, but something starts looking off and I'm out."

Quinton snorted. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Gunnar whipped around and held a blade to the guy's pale neck. Quinton might have had an inch or two on him for height, but Gunnar knew he had the skills and muscle. "If ya have a problem with me, say it. Don't be a bitch about it."

"It's not the time." Quinton's efforts to move the knife were wasted.

"Then when is huh, when we get caught cuz of your damn mouth? Deal with it and we can move on." It felt like he was with the Shadows again, except now he was the one who had to keep the gang from ripping each other apart instead of staying in the background.

Quinton narrowed his eyes and when neither of the other guys moved, his shoulders dropped. "She escaped for you!"

Oh, this was about Mischa. Gunnar dropped the knife and regretted pushing it now.

"You have no idea how much she went through and suffered, then suddenly you're too good to talk or listen to her." Quinton was red in the face but that could have been from holding his breath like people usually did when there was a weapon to them.

"I'll talk to her when we get back. Can we get back to spying?" Gunnar walked toward Matt but Quinton grabbed his arm.

"And apologize."

Gunnar narrowed his eyes. "If it'll shut ya up." It seemed to work as Quinton dropped his arm.

"I have no idea what she saw in you."

Gunnar snorted. "Me neither. Let's go." Enough of this emotional crap slowing them down.

They caught up with Matt who had found an old shed to crouch behind. It also meant they were way too close. The shed looked too undamaged to be abandoned and there were boot treads around. No signs of people yet.

After about five minutes, a man in beige overalls emerged from the chain link fence carrying a rifle over his right shoulder. Gunnar stopped his foot from tapping. The man walked thankfully away from the shed and toward a large clearing with a few mountains of dirt stacked in a semi-circle. If they were digging, it would definitely be over there.

The overall man's boots weren't too different from Officer Olivia's but he walked like he thought he was hot shit, manhandling the gun more than he should have. Must have been new and naive. A few minutes later, he led a group of kids a bit younger than themselves out of the pit. Their skin was covered in a layer of dust and their heads faced the ground the whole time. Only one Chinese girl with dark hair and long lashes covered in dust dared to look up. It earned her a nudge with the butt end of the rifle.

Twenty of them marched with each foot matching the rhythm of the one in front of it. The one at the back had a large burlap sack, judging by how much he shifted it around on his shoulder, it must have been heavy. Most headed for the fence except for the boy with the burlap sack who came right for them.

"Guys," Quinton said, suddenly deciding that danger was a likely outcome.

But Gunnar could tell by the bags under his eyes and the slight limp, that this kid wasn't a guard. Hell, this could be a punishment more than anything else for him. If their group could give him a sliver of hope that he could have a shot at escape, then he'd be helpful. Gunnar pried at one of the loose boards on the back of the shed until there was a gap.

The door creaked open and Gunnar took that as his opportunity. "Hey kid!" he whispered harshly and the bag tumbled to the ground. His boots crunched as he went to run. "Yer safe. We just want to help ya. How long do they let ya stay?"

It took a few seconds before the boy stepped closer. "Five minutes to put away the picks."

"By yerself?"

"They watch the cabin."

"From the fence?"

"Yeah."

"Can you meet us here, same time tomorrow?"

There was a longer pause. "I don't know. Who are you?"

"Outsiders. We'll try to help you get out of here."

A hatch opened up and the boy peeked down at the three teens. He had dark hair and eyes made worse by the dust. One of them was blackened with more than that.

"Don't. They'll catch you," he said, staring off into the distance.

Matt decided to speak up. "Why are you done work at such a strange hour?"

"They wanted us to work through the night."

"Why?" Matt prodded.

The boy shrugged. "Sometimes it's night, sometimes day, and if they're real mean it's both."

"How long have you been here?" Matt asked.

"Since the storms."

His head disappeared as the metal began to clang against the wood. "Remember, tomorrow," Gunnar said.

They waited for the boy to finish up his tasks and run back to the fence before they dared to peek out again. The gray tower didn't throw off any smoke even though it looked like an old smokestack. A blockage of old storage containers, like the ones on trains, made a second wall and kept them from seeing further than the gated entrance that had just slammed shut. No others stuck around. Gunnar checked the tops of the storage units for gunmen or lookouts. There was one on the far left but five minutes after the group had left he climbed down and disappeared.

"Why did you tell him you'd be back tomorrow?" Quinton asked.

"Because I will be," Gunnar said bluntly. "We'll talk to Officer Olivia." He smirked as the name made Quinton's face twitch each time. "And either we try to get inside or we could grab the boy and run."

Quinton's face scrunched up and he narrowed his eyes. "Seriously? That's an awful plan?"

Gunnar shrugged. "If ya got something better share it. I don't think the extra day will hurt that foot of yers."

That clammed Quinton up. Matt motioned the guys over to the front of the shed where they sneaked inside. Small pickaxes hung on the walls from different nails, dirty buckets sat in the corner and the bag stayed upright with a bit of bulk. Matt pulled out a pair of coveralls in rough beige material and tossed them to Quinton. He pulled out two more.

Quinton tossed the clothes back. "Little small, Matt."

Gunnar tried his on and they seemed to fit alright. Quinton laughed. "Looks like you found your calling there."

"Like you'll be much different," Gunnar muttered and slipped it off his shoulders. As long as he had something to work with to get him near the community, he didn't give a shit if he looked like a garbage man. "Now let's get out of here before they change shifts or something and we get caught."

"Speaking from experience there, Gunnar?"

"Ya, I fuckin' am, so shut yer damn mouth if ya wanna profit from it. Take yer shots when we have nothing to lose." Gunnar hated amateurs with something to prove. He slid the door open a crack and looked out for watchmen.

"C'mon man," Matt said and narrowed his eyes at Quinton.

The path was clear, so they sneaked out and made their way back to camp. No water or food, but this was the wrong place to be looking anyway. At least they had a bit of information to give to Officer Olivia and an in for tomorrow.