“This is the end of the pavement,” Shaun said as he brought the Jeep to a stop. “We’re going to have to walk from here.”

Lydia looked apprehensive. “What about Liam?” She turned in her seat to look back at him. “Will you be okay? How’s your leg?”

“It doesn’t feel as if there’s a bullet or something stuck in there,” he said. “At least, it doesn’t feel like it.”

“Yes, maybe it was a through and through.” Shaun nodded his head as he said it, turning in his seat to look at Liam. “Do you think it hit a bone?”

Liam shook his head. “No, it doesn’t feel like it.”

Shaun told them, looking from Liam to Lydia, “I’ve read once that when a bullet goes through a fleshy part, like the wound you have, then a temporary space is formed as tissue expands around the bullet’s path, and then the space closes again. That’s probably why you’re not bleeding out right now.”

Liam suggested, “Maybe the bullet just grazed me.”

“Then why did you pass out?” Lydia asked, shaking her head.

Shaun suggested, “The sudden pain in his leg must have knocked him down, and then he had some blood loss, obviously. Luckily, the loss was just mild, maybe because he fell in the snow and the cold slowed down the blood flow, I don’t know, but maybe. We haven’t eaten a proper meal in a while, so maybe the shock of being shot, blood loss and hunger made him lose consciences for a bit.”

“I don’t know but I guess you could be right,” Lydia agreed. “The question remains, though. Can you even walk from here, Liam?”

Shaun suggested, “Maybe there’s something in the back that Liam can use as a crutch.”

Lydia started to open her door.

Liam circled his hand around her arm. “At least be cautious. First look to see if there are anyone around. It seems some are docile, and some are violent. You won’t know until they come for you.”

Lydia stopped to look around. The night was pitch black to the side of the car and she imagined that there was a large open field. She could not really tell, but it felt as if there was. There was nobody in the front of the car where the headlights illuminated a large area ahead, and in the red hue of the brake lights at the back, she could not see anyone either. “It looks clear,” she said as she pulled the door open and climbed out the car. Walking around to the back, the large swath of darkness on her side made her feel nervous and it felt as if a million eyes were watching her. Shivers ran down her spine. She heard a door slam shut and felt her heart stutter in her chest.

Shaun met her at the back of the vehicle.

She whispered, “You should try, at least, not to make such a racket by slamming the car door like that. We don’t want to attract any attention.”

“Sorry,” he apologised. “I wasn’t thinking. Aren’t you cold?”

She shook her head a little. “No. I’m okay, for now.” Pulling open the back door of the Jeep, she saw a neatly organised array of things. There was a spare tyre, along with a tyre jack and tyre iron. She picked up the tyre iron to feel its weight. Her gaze lingered on Shaun longer than she meant to. His brow furrowed as he searched the back of the Jeep, his hands deft and confident.

Shaun pulled a duffel bag that was pushed to the back, closer to him and unzipped it. “There’s a first aid kit in here so now we can dress Liam’s wound properly.”

Liam limped closer, holding onto the side of the car to keep his balance, and asked, “Found anything that I can use for crutches yet?”

Shaun answered him, “Not yet.”

CONTINUE READING