Free Unthinkable (Berger Series) by Merinda Brayfield Page B

important was the question: What to do now? What to do?
    Evan stopped and looked around, breathing hard. The sun was rising over the horizon. Already it was promising to be another hot day. He dropped his hands and looked as far as he could down the road in either direction. He looked to the sun again. With a sigh he picked the more easterly direction and started walking. Evan decided he’d walk east for a day and hope he’d find Yoshi. If he didn’t, then he’ turn around and walk west. If he had to he’d walk to Wyoming on his own. If nothing else, surely Yoshi would meet him there.
    Evan walked half-blindly all day long. Sweat soaked through his torn clothes. Every muscle ached. He passed a farmhouse, and then another, but paid them no more than a passing glance. No one stirred from the houses. The only living thing he saw was a single cow, gazing near the road a few yards from a house. Evan and the cow ignored each other. A slightly cooler breeze came up toward the end of the day. Evan stumbled and nearly fell. He was parched and dizzy. Stumbling off the road he found a pool of muddy water. He took a few handfuls. Then he walked to the cornfield and ripped off an ear. He tore it open to find it not fully ripe. It wasn’t filling, but it was food. He reached in his pocket, pulled out the note from Katie Jasper and reread it. Well he’d lost Yoshi now, so what was the point. He considered just throwing the note away, but stuck it back in his pocket again. Shaking his head he lay down just inside the cornfield and immediately fell asleep.
    Evan tossed through the night. Bad dreams haunted him; nothing specific, just the feeling of someone chasing him and danger and dark shadows threatening to overwhelm. He woke with a start sometime in the night, the dreams receding. He felt as exhausted as if he hadn’t slept at all. He rolled over to see what Yoshi was doing and remembered with a rush. Evan stood, stumbled out of the field and back onto the road. He looked up and saw the moon and stars and again felt tears threatening. He shook his head to push them away and looked up at the sky.
    No. No tears. “Evan Berger is on his own,” Evan said aloud, his voice sounding strange in his ears. Yoshi was gone. Time for plan B-go to Wyoming on his own and hope that Yoshi would meet him there. Evan remembered the gunshot and said a silent prayer that Yoshi was still alive. He looked down the road, then up at the sky and decided he needed to sleep more if he could.
    Just after dawn Evan woke again, still exhausted. Without hesitation he started walking west again. The day was hotter and more humid then before. This time it seemed the cow had wisely taken shelter as he passed that farm. As it reached afternoon Evan started getting dizzy and realized that if he didn’t find shelter soon he’d probably give himself heat stroke. He lay down just inside the cornfield on the hard ground and closed his eyes.
    When Evan woke he ate another not ripe ear of corn and wished for water. This time there was no sign of any in the ditches. He started walking again, but the heat and humidity were just too much. He spotted a filthy puddle of water and fell to his knees, not caring how bad it probably was as he slurped it up. He crawled back into the shade of the field and passed out again.
    When Evan woke this time it was nearly evening. He lay there, smelling the earth around him and the faint smell of manure. How easy it would be to just give up, to stay here until he died of thirst. A random song he’d never liked played in his head.  As Evan closed his eyes again he could hear Yoshi’s voice in the back of his mind. Yoshi wouldn’t give up. Evan remembered a time when they had gotten lost on a hike. He hadn’t known what to do without a trail to follow. Yoshi heard the sound of running water and led them down to a creek. They‘d followed it downstream and in an hour or so they’d found the trail again. Yoshi always knew what to do and