Virus | The Darkest Minds Ψ

I Can Be Cheerful

Chapter XIII

"Oh my God," Chubs said, "I can't believe it. We got Hanseled and Greteled. Oh my God—do you think it was her?"

We bumped over a railroad track, the force of it jostling my already high strung nerves.

"No," Liam said. "No. She's sneaky for a skip-tracer but this—this is something else."

Yes, Lady Jane was sneaky, but I agreed with Liam—this was too different from what she normally did (which was shoot at us until we went down.)

"The cameras might have just been there awhile," Ruby said, just as I found the highway again. It was empty and open in front of us, a gaping mouth ready to swallow us whole. "They could have been spying on people that lived there. Maybe that really East River..."

Or it was a trap, for kids looking for the real East River.

Liam propped his elbow against the door panel, leaning his head into the window and sighing. "Just keep your eyes open and let me know if you see anyone or anything acting suspect."

Define suspect. The rows of shuttered houses? A shot up minivan?

"I knew we should have waited until dark," Chubs said, his fingers tapping against the window. "I knew it. If those cameras were on, they probably got the license plate number and everything."

My fingers anxiously drummed on the steering wheel as I kept my eyes fixed on the road. "Well, you didn't mention that it was a bad idea to go in daylight," I said tensely. "Besides, those cameras can pick up movement in the dark. They would have gotten the plate numbers no matter what."

In the rear view mirror, I saw Ruby sit up in interest at my words, suspicion painted over her face.

"I'll take care of the plates," Liam promised.

"Should I be looking for PSFs?" Ruby asked as we went over another train track.

"Worse." Chubs sighed. "Skip tracers. Bounty hunters."

"The PSFs are stretched pretty thin, by all accounts," Liam explained. "Same with the National guard and what's left of the local police. I don't know that they'd send a unit all the way it here on a tip. And unless they just so happen to have a resident bounty hunter in this neck of the woods, we're going to be fine."

Famous last words if I had ever heard them.

"The reward for turning a kid in is ten thousand dollars." I said, raising my eyebrow at Liam. "And the whole country is broke as a joke. I doubt we'll be fine."

A train in the distance sounded it's horn as we passed. It reminded me of when I was in Thurmond. Sometimes that would be the only sound I ever heard in a day.

"What happened to the stay positive Aspen, Sunshine?" Liam joked.

I shrugged. "I have to be pessimistic sometimes. It messes with my flow if I'm always cheerful."

"When are you cheerful?" Chubs snorted.

"I'm cheerful sometimes!" I said defensively. "Zu, back me up here."

Zu, the traitor she was, shook her head with a devious smile and covered her face with her notebook.

"You okay, Green?" Lee called back to where Ruby had... tears on her face. She quickly reached up and wiped her face with her sleeve, and crawled into the rear back seat, a clear indicator she didn't want to talk all that much.

Liam started a conversation about possible locations for the actual East River, but I zoned out, focusing on the road ahead of me. The joking attitude I'd had minutes before faded, leaving me exhausted. I straightened my shoulders and kept driving.