“Stuck.”
After a supreme effort that once again made his healing shoulder give off the sensation of being tortured with hot irons, Ryan was able to summon up the strength to shove the manhole cover up and away, where it fell freely over with a clatter to the well-worn pavement above. After Ryan poked his head up to visually recce the area, he gave the all-clear signal and the rest of the group crawled up and out onto the blacktop of one of Freedom’s many unused parking lots, this one at the far west end, away from the main entrance and from the secondary front of the stickie attack.
Some fleeing figures could be seen, running along the wall. The pandemonium that had marked the interior of the colossal building still appeared to be going strong, but the tunnel had led Ryan and the others far away from any of the fighting. The group headed back for the tangle of undergrowth that had sprouted up beyond the wide expanse that had been kept cleared for security reasons, and took a wide circle to the start of Hawthorne Road.
Ryan looked back at the burning patches of red and orange in the darkness. “Seem to be making a habit of this,” he said.
“What are you talking about, lover?” Krysty asked. The night breeze that had guided the crude gliding devices operated by the stickies onto the roof of the mall was still blowing softly, and felt cool on their wet skin.
“I’m talking about leaving nothing behind us but a damn ruin.”
“Not our doing, not this time,” Mildred stated. “We were caught in the middle.”
“I still can’t help but think my being there made crazy mutie-loving Lester decide to attack sooner than he might’ve. Morgan said they were waiting for more blasters, supplies and men. Might have been able to put up a better fight.”
“Ancient history now. I’d say our own kind brought Freedom down a hell of a lot faster than a gang of stickies,” Mildred replied. “What’s our next move?” J.B. asked. “Don’t know. We’re close to the underbelly of Virginia. Guess we could stay on foot, try walking for a while and see how far we go. I’ve been thinking about paying a visit to Nate anyway, see how things are going back home, such as it is.”
Everyone knew Ryan’s ambivalent feelings on the stretch of land where he’d grown up. The last time there, he’d left the young Nathan Freeman in charge as the new Lord Cawdor, leader of the clan that shared Ryan’s name.
“Still wondering about what Poseidon told you back in Georgia? Trouble brewing up in the Shens?” Krysty asked.
“Some, yeah,” Ryan admitted. “Or mebbe I’m just afraid of what I might find.”
“Long trip to West Virginia,” Doc said, already feeling his long legs start to ache in anticipation.
“Not if we stick to the highways,” Mildred replied.
“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” Ryan said simply. “Be a lot easier to go back to the hospital and take another jump, see where the mat-trans winds take us. Not up to me, though. What do the rest of you want to do?”
There was no response for a moment, and then J.B. spoke for the rest of them.
“Whatever you decide, Ryan, I guess we’ll fall in.”