Xeke woke up and stretched as the Jeep slowed. The scene out the window was the same as it had been when he went to sleep—West Texas scrubland for miles in every direction. He tried to find some new, more comfortable place to stow his long legs, but there wasn’t one.

  “Better wake Teri up,” Corey said. “Something’s up.”

  Xeke nudged her.

  She yawned. “What’s going on?”

  “Something’s burning,” Corey said. “About a mile off that way.” He pointed. “Can you check it out?”

  “There are no people there, but the animals are nervous,” she said. “There was noise and fire. I can see some kind of wreckage.”

  Corey steered the Jeep off the road. “We should take a look. Can you warn us in time if anyone is coming, Teri?”

  “Yes.”

  “Chinook,” Corey said as the wreckage came into view. “Or what’s left of one.”

  Nothing remained of the helicopter but a blackened shell. There were bullet casings strewn about and an overturned pickup truck nearby.

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Corey got out and picked up a long, tubular object. “RPG. Single shot, no serial numbers. This one’s not military issue. These separatists are well armed. I wonder who’s supplying them.”

  Ruddy stared at the RPG. “Wow! I’ve never seen a real one. That’s so cool.”

  “This isn’t a video game,” Xeke said. “People died here.”

  “I know,” Ruddy said. He looked at his feet. “I mean … I just meant that … never mind.”

  “There’s going to be a lot more of this,” Corey said. “We need to keep our eyes open or we’ll get caught in the crossfire.”

  Teri poked at a dark stain on the ground with her cane. Flies buzzed up. “Ew,” she said, stepping back. “It looks like someone came in and took all the bodies.”

  Ruddy looked at the helicopter. “I wonder what he was like.”

  “Who?” Xeke said.

  “The pilot,” Ruddy said. “I wonder if he had a family.”

  Teri closed her eyes. “She did. Her name was Pamela, but she went by Pam. Three more crewmen were killed, too. They were flying a supply run when they were ambushed. There’s a lot of hate and anger at the base. They’re calling it an act of war.”

  “Teri!” Corey said. “What are you doing?”

  She flinched. “I … thought you wanted to know what happened.”

  Corey sighed. “I’m sorry. I had no idea how … far you could see. It’s good information but we need to be careful. The military has mentalists on every base, and I’m sure they haven’t stopped looking for you.”

  She nodded and turned her eyes toward the ground.

  Hey, you okay? Xeke asked.

  He’s afraid of me. Everyone’s afraid of me, except you and Ruddy.

  Remember what we talked about. People don’t always understand. You have to be okay with that.

  You’re right. She smiled. Hey, at least I’m not the Antichrist, right?

  Corey put the RPG down. “We better not stick around too long. Xeke, I want you up front from here on out. Things could get dangerous.”