Sooner Dead (Gamma World) - Mel Odom [45]
Hella felt sorry for them but knew there was nothing she could do. It was already too late, but the rest of the family had learned something that might save another’s life later on.
Riley cursed softly. “Booby trap?”
“Yes.”
“This isn’t a good place to live, Hella. There is more to the world. Think about my offer.”
Hella relaxed in the bathtub and thought about turning the hot water back on. The bathwater hadn’t chilled, but it wasn’t as hot as it had been. She didn’t know if she wanted to listen to the water gurgle, though. At the moment the bath was quiet and the scent of the vanilla candles filled the room.
She kept trying to imagine the place Riley had described to her and couldn’t. Even after reading magazines and books with Stampede, she couldn’t wrap her mind around a place with streets and buildings and homes.
A heavy fist knocked on the door.
By the time Hella lifted her hand from the water, it was a weapon. “Who is it?”
“Me.” Stampede’s voice sounded tired.
“Do you need in?”
“No. Just wanted to make sure you were okay. I heard there were a couple people killed during the salvage.”
“You don’t think I’m foolish enough to get caught by a booby trap.”
“No, but the thought crossed my mind that someone standing next to you might have been.”
Hella smiled and dropped her hand back into the water. “Thanks for caring.”
“I’ll always care, Red. I also wanted to tell you that we’re pulling out in the morning. I tried to talk Pardot into letting the Purple Dragons have more time to scatter or starve out, but we’ve already stayed here a day longer than he wanted to.”
That meant she might be in the last bath. At least she could work in a shower in the morning.
“Look, I heard Riley talking to you about taking you back with them.”
Hella closed her eyes and tried to relax. She really didn’t want to have that conversation at that moment. “He offered. Doesn’t mean I’m going.”
“I know. I just want you to be careful. That’s all.”
Be careful? Hella wanted to argue that point. Their lives weren’t about being careful or safe. They risked their lives every time they agreed to a guide job.
“I came back from the salvage in one piece, didn’t I?” She knew her tone came out sharper than she’d intended.
“You did.” Stampede paused. “Faust and I are having dinner in the big room below. Want to join us?”
“When?”
“How long do you want to soak?”
“Forever. I finally feel clean.”
“You’ll miss dinner if you do that, and what they’re serving is better than stringy rabbit and a few wild onions and carrots.”
“Give me twenty more minutes.”
“Sure. It’ll take that long to drink a beer.” Stampede’s footsteps retreated from the door.
Hella slipped back under the water and submerged completely, shutting off all sensory input except the beating of her heart. She wanted to stay a couple more days at Blossom Heat but only to stay in the bathtub and prune up till she couldn’t stand herself.
That wasn’t an option, though. However, as she lay there, she gave Riley’s description of his world more thought. In his world she’d be able to bathe every night and she’d be in a home that wasn’t filled with other people and noise and demands. She couldn’t imagine why Riley—or any of the expedition for that matter—would leave such a place.
That made her think even more fervently about what Pardot had them searching for. Riley had mentioned they’d found one of something, but one of what?
Just as she was about to surface to take a breath and maybe turn on the hot water again, Colleen Trammell screamed inside her mind.
CHAPTER 12
The raw agony of the woman’s scream reverberated inside Hella’s skull. She thought her head would burst open; then she was afraid it wasn’t going to burst because bursting was the only thing that could possibly alleviate the excruciating pain.
The visions knocked aside some of the throbbing, though. Images of Colleen standing in a laboratory,