Chapter 347 Chapter 347
Konner checked the compass. He had a good sense of direction, but having Terah with him, he couldn’t take a chance straying off course missing the next closest water source.
She turned and looked back at him, stopping because he did.
He pointed in the direction she was to go. He needed to keep an eye on her and check no one was tracking them from behind at the same time. They’d been moving for two hours, roughly, and in that time, they’d heard two helicopters. Konner hadn’t been able to see which direction because of the canopy of the trees blocking his view, but he hoped one of them was taking Devin and Rayne away from the campground to somewhere safer.
Terah stumbled a few steps over some roots above the ground. Konner jogged up to her. “Let’s stop for a few, I need to look at the map.” He didn’t really, but he needed to check on her. She hadn’t complained once or said more than three words since they’d left the van.
Stopping, she slipped the backpack off and set it to rest against her leg. “It is hard to balance that and run.” She motioned to the pack on his back, “you are used to it?”
Konner took the duffle bag off his back. “I’m used to carrying gear.” He squatted down and opened it, scanning the area behind him as he did. Pulling out a bottle of lake water, he opened it. “Drink this.” He held it up to her. “You have to stay hydrated.”
Terah took the bottle.
“How are you doing?”
She took a sip and then looked around, “I like seeing all these trees,” her eyes sparkled, “as I run by them.”
Konner grinned, “once we get home, you can wander in them as much as you want.” He opened his pack and took out one of the pouches of Biotrien and held it out to her, along with another bottle of water. Opening his swim pack, he checked his phone to see if there were any messages. There weren’t.
Putting it away, he got a bottle for himself. That left six bottles. They’d have to reach water in the next few hours or Terah would start to weaken.
Tucking the empty bottle back into the pack, he went over and waited for her to empty the second bottle. Her skin still held a sheen, so she wasn’t suffering too much. “We’ll keep going this way until we find water and then I’ll call and see if they know anything.”
She swallowed the last of the Biotrien mix and held the two bottles out to him. “Are there more? Like those men on the road?”
He debated on lying to her but knew most of her life had been a lie. “Probably. That’s why we’re going to keep moving until we know for sure.”
Terah searched his face for a few seconds and then nodded and picked up the backpack again. “I will keep going until you say no more.”
Terah was sitting with her back to him, watching into the trees. She was taking keeping watch very seriously. Konner stripped his shirt off and then the absorbent vest, noting it was close to drying out. Setting it along the shore, so it would soak up water, he took off his pants. Checking once more, he saw she gripped the dart gun in both hands and held it in the direction she looked. Hopefully, some poor unsuspecting animal didn’t wander into her sight.
Moving out to the deeper water, he dove in soundlessly breaking through the water. There was no pain or discomfort as his skin thickened with the thermal layer that was always present, just unseen. Closing his eyes for a second, he knew when he opened them again, he would see with his changed eyes, and he relished that feeling.
As he opened them, he stilled and took in the environment around him, searching for predators hiding beneath the surface. The vibrations in the water brought nothing threatening back to him. There were fish, and for that he was thankful. He needed to replenish and prepare for the long trek that might be ahead of them if the Alliance wasn’t able to get to them tonight.
Moving fast, he swam to the farthest side of the lake and then tread close to the surface, so he could rise above the waterline and see what was on this side. He wasn’t comfortable with where they had stopped. It was good for a quick break, but with the growth thick in that area, it left far too many possibilities to surprise them.
Floating effortlessly, he scanned along the shore of this side, there was a small clearing that would be an easier defensible location. After he called Raymond, they’d move over here and wait.
Turning soundlessly through the water, he spotted two deer along the shore where the river fed the body of the lake. He smirked, they had better stay in that area. Terah didn’t take being startled well, as a few small creatures had found out while they walked. She had lightning-fast reflexes, and he’d only barely made it in time to spare their lives.
Swimming beneath the surface back toward her, he decided they were going to have to have a long talk about killing off the ecosystem on land when they got back to the sanctuary. It was a delicate balance of natural predator and prey, each having their own roles to play in the thriving of the land that surrounded the large water system on the property. He couldn’t have her killing everything that startled her either. Humor filled him when he thought of Lucus and Pax’s reaction if they tried to sneak up on her.
Breaking the surface, where the water was shallow enough, he could walk back to the shore, he stood up. His webbed feet were used to standing and moving like man, but his ankles were not as flexible in this form. It may have looked effortless, but it was a precarious task of keeping his balance as he walked.