Rogue Angel - Footprints Part 32

"I'm good," Annja said.

David led them into the woods on the opposite side of the road. He kept his gun out, which Annja appreciated. No telling if those three goons would make a sudden appearance. Better safe than sorry.

They followed the footpath, and the stream that flowed to their right ran brisk with cold water coming down from the mountains that surrounded the area. Tall pines stretched up toward the sky, their branches extending to the warm rays just beginning to reach down from the sun.

As hard as she tried to wrap her head around it, Annja couldn't quite fathom the explosion. Why take a chance that someone else would trigger the bomb? If it even was a bomb at all. Was it mechanical failure? Had they sabotaged David's fuel tank?

She frowned. "Is your truck usually in good condition, David?"

He glanced back with a grin. "Not currently."

"Before the explosion."

He nodded. "Absolutely. Not much good being the sheriff if your vehicle isn't in top condition. I took care of that thing like it was my baby."

"Poor truck," Jenny said.

Annja rolled her eyes. "So do you think this was an actual bomb in the road?"

David shrugged. "Who knows? I'm not exactly a forensic specialist. I can call one of the state crime lab guys to come down and take a look at the wreckage. They can get swabs and send them to the lab for a.n.a.lysis. That should give us an idea of what we're dealing with."

"That'll take a long time," Annja said.

"Probably."

"Was that the route you drove every single day?"

"Any day I was working, which is...yeah, every day."

"That's the main road into town, right?"

"Yep." David stopped and checked on Jenny before looking back at Annja. "There's a couple of other ways to get into town by back roads and whatnot, but the road is what we all use."

Annja frowned. "How many people in town?"

"Only about two hundred. We're small. We like it that way. Everyone knows one another. Even folks who leave somehow seem to find their way back after a few years. There's about a thousand more people scattered around the area that I have jurisdiction over."

David moved off again and they followed him. Annja could feel the sun's rays starting to warm her through her shirt. The day promised to be rather hot, which in contrast to the cold of the night before, was a welcome change.

The stream bubbled along beside them, running over moss-slicked rocks. Annja could smell the water and the sweet fragrance of the pines around her. She inhaled deeply and felt her body relax as the beauty of the surrounding woods enveloped her.

I'd almost failed to notice how beautiful it is here, she thought. All this stuff with bombs and guns and big foot completely took my awareness away.

She stopped and squatted near the stream, watching bits of leaf debris flow quickly past her. By the edge of the stream, the mud glistened in the moisture. She spotted rabbit tracks and what looked like those of a fox. Had the rabbit escaped the fox or wound up being a meal? She smiled at the flow of life and how it continued, oblivious to the machinations of mankind. In a way, it was almost rea.s.suring. Whatever they were going through, nature took little heed of it and continued doing what it did best.

"Annja?"

She glanced up. Jenny and David were staring at her.

"Sorry. I just got caught up being here. For the first time, actually. It's kind of nice forgetting for a minute that there are dangerous people out there looking for us."

David smiled. "We get this stuff all settled, I'll take you two to some really amazing vistas around here. You won't believe your eyes."

Annja smiled. "Sounds great."

"It's a date," Jenny said, squeezing David's arm.

"Let's keep going. We shouldn't be much more than ten minutes away from town," he said.

The footpath widened and Annja walked next to Jenny behind David. Jenny smiled at her. "It is nice here, isn't it?"

"Definitely."

"Makes all the rest of the world seem, I don't know, somehow unimportant, doesn't it?"

Annja knew what she was getting at. The thought of leaving the stress behind and just hiding out in a place like this that seemed immune from all the chaos of the modern world was very appealing. The problem was, could Annja ever do that? Could she ever escape?

With my luck, she thought, I'd move out to someplace like this, only to have the chaos follow me.

"Maybe someday," Annja said.

"Someday what?"

"Maybe someday a place like this will be possible. But for now, I don't belong here. I've got other things to do first."

Jenny frowned. "Is that you talking or the sword?"

"Both," Annja said. "I don't think I can separate myself from it if I tried."

Jenny shook her head. "I don't envy you."

David stopped. "What's this about a sword?"

Jenny glanced quickly at Annja. "Nothing. Just two history fanatics talking about our past digs."

"That archaeology stuff?"

"Yeah."

David nodded. "We're almost there."

Annja looked up ahead and could see small breaks in the trees. The footpath itself seemed a lot more worn, as well. There was evidence of more human traffic than animal. But the stream kept bubbling along next to them.

Jenny pointed. "Look at the bridge."

David nodded. "We had it built. It's not much, but a few of us got together and put it up, figuring it would make for a nice place to walk with that special someone." He smiled. "You like it?"

"Definitely," she said.