Free Captives by Jill Williamson

could decide what to do, the metal grid that covered the door slid up onto the roof.
    Inside the cab, Skottie sat on the driver’s side, his door grid already sliding down. “Sorry, shell. I forgot you don’t have your SimTag yet. Jump in.”
    Omar climbed up into the cab. Skottie tapped his right fist on the dashboard, and Omar’s door closed.
    The dashboard was black with a grid of square indentations, some vent slots, and the imprint of a steering wheel. The push of a button started the vehicle, the other button made the steering wheel rise from the dash. Electric green gauge lights lit up in a line across the top of the windshield: RPM, MPH , Gas, Time.
    “Dashboard-air-eight,” Skottie said, and cool air shot out from the vents. “Let me know if that gets too cold.”
    Omar turned to look out the grid. It was clear glass, though—tinted—but there was no sign of the metal crosshatch. “I thought the doors were metal.”
    “Yeah, that’s one-way ballistic SimGlass. Only looks like metal from the outside.”
    The truck ahead of Skottie’s started to move, and Skottie steered after it. Omar watched out his window, craning to get one last glimpse of Father’s body.
    He straightened, facing the back of the truck before them, wishing he could see through the grid on the back to know who was inside. Naomi had said her father was dead. How many others had died? He hoped Mason was okay. His brother wouldn’t have fired a gun. But he could have gotten hit trying to help someone.
Please let Mason be alive.

CHAPTER
6
    L evi steered his ATV and cart up the mountain. The image of Jemma with her arms around Omar’s waist kept a scowl on his face, despite his attempts to focus on the coming trade. Omar had been right to arrange this meeting, though. The people of Glenrock were dangerously low on ammunition and gunpowder. If anyone should attack the village … Well, Levi didn’t want to think about such a scenario.
    Instead, he imagined how pleased his dad would be when he returned with enough ammunition to last the winter. Such a prize might soften the man enough to allow Levi to travel to Denver City alone next time. The delight on Jemma’s face when Levi had given her the pearls filled his thoughts. He liked giving her things, seeing her eyes light up, being the cause of her beautiful smile. And there were thousands more treasures for her in Denver City.
    Enough to last a lifetime.
    When Levi reached the trading cabin, Beshup hadn’t arrived yet. So Levi checked over his ATV, organized his trader cart, and visited the outhouse behind the cabin. When he returned to the yard, he was disappointed not to see Beshup waiting or even approaching. Hisimpatience increased his agitation. The abandoned cabin stood closer to Jack’s Peak than to Glenrock. Where was the man?
    Hurry up, Beshup. I’ve got stuff to do. I could be with Jemma right—
    The sound of distant gunfire straightened Levi’s posture. Several single-shot rifles firing at once. Levi jogged down the driveway to an outcropping of rock that enabled him to see much of the valley.
    Another few rounds of gunfire rang out from the northeast, far from where the walls of the Safe Lands split the countryside. His stomach tightened.
    The gunfire was coming from home. Who or what were they shooting at?
    He paced back to the cabin, then returned to the rocky ledge as more gunfire pattered in the valley below. He walked back and forth a few more times, squeezing his fists and frowning.
    Where was Beshup?
    As Levi reached the rocky viewpoint for the fourth time, he picked up his two-way radio to call the perch in Glenrock. “Jackrabbit to Rich Man, come in.”
    He waited … listened to the static … and hammered a fist against the side of his rig. He called again, then called his dad’s two-way radio, his uncle’s, Harvey’s. No answer.
    Maybe Beshup would answer. “Jackrabbit to Thunder Cry. Come in, Thunder Cry. Over.”
    Only a moment passed before the two-way