Free Hunted by Lindsay Buroker Page A

claims covered her
retreat.
    “Get her, you idiots,” Sebastian yelled.
“She’s worth a lot of money.”
    That quieted some of the outcries.
    A blocky shape loomed out of the darkness
ahead of Kali. She threw out her hands to keep from crashing into
it. Hard, cold metal met her touch. A couple of seconds of groping
allowed her to identify a steam engine and furnace. Had flames been
burning in the firebox, she might have come up with a creative use
for the machinery, but she merely noted it was probably used to aid
in digging and that a mine shaft would be nearby. She skirted the
area.
    “Sebastian?” came a man’s whisper from ahead
of Kali.
    She froze.
    “I lost track of the big bloke with the gun
skills,” the speaker went on, raising his voice. “Sebastian, is
that you?”
    “Stay up there,” Sebastian yelled to the man.
“She may have gone that way. Head her off.”
    Boots crunched on river pebbles. Kali eased
back until she bumped against the boiler. She hunkered in its
shadow, hoping it would camouflage her. A hint of dawn brightened
the sky, and it would grow harder to hide soon.
    “A hundred dollars cash to whoever finds the
girl,” Sebastian called.
    At first Kali thought he was still trying to
rally his men, but an answering call came from a claim downriver.
“What’s she look like?” That wasn’t one of Sebastian’s thugs.
    “A woman!” Sebastian called. “There aren’t
many up here.”
    “Oh, right. You want her dead or alive?”
    “Women ain’t no good dead!” came a call from
across the river.
    Kali thunked her head back against the
boiler. The entire Sixty Mile River was going to be after her in a
minute. She glared down at the puny knife she still held. If she
had her pack, she would have tools and supplies and might be able
to build something. In lieu of that, her rifle would be handy just
then too.
    “Anyone who touches the woman dies.” That was
Cedar. Good. His voice came from across the river. Not good. How
had he gotten over there and how long would it take him to return?
She had not seen any boats.
    “Says who?”
    Kali had no idea who that was.
    She patted around the dormant steam engine.
Maybe this claim held something useful she could use. Since nobody
had come out to check on the ruckus, she figured the owners were in
town.
    “The last man you’ll ever see if you hurt
her.” Cedar’s voice was closer. He must be on the shoreline
directly opposite from her.
    In the growing light, she thought she could
pick out his tall form over there, but she dared not call to him.
She patted the ground, found a stone, and hurled it in his
direction. The surrounding shouts kept her from telling if it
splashed down or clattered onto the bank next to him, but she hoped
he heard and guessed where it had come from.
    A shot fired. It originated in Sebastian’s
camp, and she had little trouble guessing the target. Her stomach
churned with concern for Cedar, but it was best to leave him to his
own devices and figure out a plan of her own.
    Kali returned to her inspection of the
equipment. Her knuckles bumped against a wood box. She found the
lid, opened it, and groped inside. Charcoal and a smaller box
containing long wooden matches. She grabbed the latter, though she
did not know how she might use them yet.
    More gunshots fired, going back and forth
across the river, and the chatter died down. So far no bullets had
slammed into the ground near her, but the scout was still standing
guard up ahead—she could make out his dark figure now too—-and he
was bound to see her if she made a run for the forest.
    On her hands and knees, she crept around the
boiler, still hoping to find something she could use. Her fingers
brushed air. The mine shaft entrance, nothing but a hole in the
ground with a pipe leading into it. Not digging equipment after
all. Maybe some sort of heating system to thaw the permafrost and
make it easier to work? If so, there might be a whole network of
tunnels beneath