Free A Glimpse of Decay (Book 3): Lost in Twilight by A.J. Santiago Page B

do you mean ‘executed?’ ” Benjie asked as he tried to process what James was telling him.
    “Executed as in being lined up and shot ‘executed.’ ”
    “Shit, I can’t believe that.”  He shook his head in disbelief and disgust.  “If ya don’t mind me asking, how did you come to know of all of this?”
    “I live in Floyd, just the other side of Rome.  When everything started to break out, I decided to try to make my way down to Lake Allatoona.  My cousins have a big cabin cruiser at a marina down there.  They gave me a key to it sometime back and said I could use it anytime I wanted to.  Figured now would be a good time to use it…you know, being on the water and away from everyone and everything.  So I loaded up my supplies and I headed out.”
    “Man, that must be a big boat that your kin have,” Michelle said.
    “It’s pretty damn big.  My cousins own some property and oil wells in Texas and they got lots of money, so they keep a boat here on Allatoona for when they come back to Georgia.  Right now they’re over there just outside of Houston.  Anyway, I was getting ready to make my way into Rome and the cops had one of those damn road block set up on the northern edge of the city.  Sons of bitches tried to take my truck, but I wasn’t having any of it.  I shot one of them and they put two holes in the side of my truck up near the cab.  I was able to turn around and get away.  It was strange though, because they didn’t try to chase me or anything like that.”
    “What did ya do after that?” Michelle asked.
    “Well, I bypassed the whole damn city.  After driving around a little bit, I ran into some folks who had made it out of there and they’re the ones who told me about everything that was happening in Rome.”
    “Damn, you are lucky,” Benjie said.  “So why are you still out here?  Why didn’t you make it to the lake?”
    “You know, let’s get out of this rain.  Hop on into the truck and we’ll pull off so no one can see us.”
    Benjie looked over at Michelle.  James seemed alright, but Benjie didn’t know if he should be so trusting of him.  For all they knew, James was a scout for the people in Rome.  Michelle stepped over and longingly looked at the truck.  She had a pathetic expression on her face and her drenched hair was matted down over her eyes.
    James could sense Benjie’s apprehension and said, “Don’t worry, everything is alright.  Come on, let’s get dry.”  He walked over to the passenger side and opened both doors.
    After hesitating for a moment, Benjie looked over at Michelle and said, “Okay, I guess it’s safe enough.  Go ahead and climb on in before you catch your death.”  With the enthusiasm of a child, Michelle immediately jumped into the back seat of the truck cab and closed the door.  Benjie didn’t find himself as trusting as Michelle, so he cautiously slid into the front passenger seat as he eyed James, who was now making his way around to the driver’s side.
    The stranger opened the rear door on his side and said, “Get in there, Rhino.”  The dog leapt into the back seat and assumed a guarded stance as it eyed Michelle.  “Don’t worry about him,” he said as he jumped into the driver’s seat.  He turned and looked at Michelle.  “If you reach under the seat there, you’ll find a couple of towels.  Use them to dry off.”
    “Thank you,” she replied meekly.  The dog was making her nervous and she didn’t want to make any sudden moves.  She retrieved the towels and handed one to Benjie.  “James, do you want one?”
    “Naw, I’m alright.”  James dropped the truck into drive and edged it more into the grass.  “Okay, I’m going to pull a little more off of the road and kill the engine.  I don’t want anyone to see us.  It might give away my mission.”
    “Mission?” Benjie asked in surprise.  “What do you mean?”
    James reached into his pocket and pulled out a complicated looking