As the World Ends (6 page)

He made the decision, took off his sunglasses, reaching his hand out, he said. “Hi, I’m Roan Kline.”

“I’m Rob Henderson.”

Rob extended his hand while he continued to study Roan. An awkward silence filled the air. Looking around, he racked his brain for something to say. Normally, not a tongue-tied kind of guy, Rob studied the man. The guy in front of him gave off a creepy vibe with his gun on his hip and his ‘Make my day’ stance. Shaking his head, Rob couldn’t help but wonder what kind of yahoo he was dealing with. Did he think he was in a western movie or what? Sunglasses hooked on his t-shirt, a knife in his belt, Rob figured the man thought himself cool. It struck Rob as a lot of fire power. Looking down, Rob tried to figure out if Roan wore an ankle holster also.

“I didn’t know anyone else knew about our cave,” Rob said.

“Your cave?” Roan smirked, cocking his head to the side.

Cocky bastard
. “That’s what we came to call it over the last year,” Rob replied before he could stop himself.

“We?” Roan probed.

Choosing not to answer Roan’s question, Rob asked one of his own, “Are you alone?”

“Why?”

“Just curious.” Changing tactic, Rob asked, “Are your radios working?”

“No.”

“Mine aren’t either. I have a battery powered one and a hand crank. I can’t raise the Emergency Broadcast System on either one of them.”

“Same here
.” Interesting, why’s he being so secretive about his wife? Let’s play with him.

“Do you want to share the cave?”

“Thanks, but not right now. We…I found another spot.”

“There’s plenty of room.”

“I know. I’ve explored these caves for a couple of years.”

“Oh?” Roan quirked an eyebrow, the guy didn’t trust him.
Good instincts
.

“I like exploring. I also explore underwater caves.”

“Sounds like fun. What do you think about what happened last night?” Roan said, broaching the subject.

“I don’t know. I’d be more comfortable if the radios worked,” Rob answered honestly.

“Me, too.”

Rob held out his hand. “It was nice meeting you. I heard you out and about last night. I thought it best to wait until daylight, to introduce myself.”

Roan grabbed his hand firmly. “It was nice meeting you, too. If you change your mind, let me know. Oh, where are you staying?”

“I stayed in my car last night. I’m gonna explore the area today and find a spot. I appreciate your offer, but I like my privacy. I’ll catch you around.” Rob turned to leave.

“Rob, you never answered me, are you alone?”

“Funny, you didn’t answer me either,” Rob grunted, and continued on his way.

Roan smiled, cagey son of a bitch. Rob’s not dumb.
I’ll have to change my plans. Work my way into their trust before I make my move.
He leaned on the outer cave wall and watched Rob disappear into the woods.

He gave him ten minutes before he decided to follow him. In twenty minutes, he was laughing.
Yeah, not stupid this one, he wiped his footprints. I wish I had better tracking skills.
Anticipation licked at his throat, he couldn’t wait until he held video woman in his arms. He would have to bide his time.
Which way would he go? Me, I’d go into the sun
. Roan headed west and walked the woods for another hour before he decided to return to his cave.
Damn, I lost him
.
Yeah, next time, I’ll follow him sooner.

Rob watched Roan roam the woods. He knew the guy would try to follow, so he climbed the closest tree and sat while he waited for him. It didn’t take long to spot him. The guy had a habit of talking to himself. A sure sign he was alone. There’s no way he was leading Roan back to Lauren. Rob watched him through his binoculars until he lost sight of him, and then waited another ten minutes, listening for any unusual noises. When he felt it was safe, he climbed down the tree and doubled backed a couple of times before he headed to their cave. The man didn’t seem to have any kind of tracking skills—a fact that lightened Rob’s mind.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Rob walked into their cave and quietly called out, “Lauren.”

“Rob,” she ran out of the shadows, startling him. She jumped on him as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, almost taking them both down.

“Lauren, what’s the matter?” She was shaking in his arms, gulping for air.

“I heard all these weird noises that sounded like footsteps. Afraid, I didn’t leave the cave all day. And I gotta tell you, I have to pee so bad, I can taste it. Can’t wait another damn minute. You need to come into the woods with me,” winded, she commanded him.

“You didn’t leave the cave all day?” He held her tight.

“No, I was more afraid of what was going on out there than being in the cave.”

“Why?” He let go of her when she pushed on his chest then walked away from him.

“I didn’t know who was out there.”

Upset when he noticed her trembling bottom lip. The ghost like paleness of her face, he watched her gather the toilet paper and a sweater. He never realized leaving her alone would scare her so much.

“I’m sorry, Lauren. I won’t leave you alone again.”

“Not your fault. I have to grow up. Did you talk to the guy?”

“Yeah.” He frowned.

“What? Is something wrong with him?”

“Yeah, he’s creepy.”

“What did he say?”

“He offered his cave and asked if I was alone. I got the feeling he knew I wasn’t.” His brows knitted together.

“How would he know?”

“I saw his tracks this morning. They stopped about twenty yards before our cave. He must have tried to follow us.”

“He knows where we’re staying,” she shuttered.

“No, I don’t think so. He tried tracking me after I left his cave.”

“He didn’t see you?”

“No, I was up a tree.” He smiled.

“Clever you. What makes you think he knows?”

“The way he kept asking. I think he might have seen both of our tracks last night. Maybe I didn’t wipe them as good as I thought I did. I also noticed this morning that his tracks and the mountain lion’s were on the same path. So from now on we’ll make sure not to use that path. I don’t understand why the guy stopped twenty yards away last night. Could be something in the woods spooked him”

“We can only hope,” Lauren said.

Rob nodded “After you’re done in the woods, I want to track some animals. Hunt them for practice. We don’t have to kill them now, because we have enough food. I just want to be ready for when we don’t.”

“We have to kill what we eat.”

“I’m afraid so.” He watched her process it and grinned. Knowing the thought had never occurred to her.

“Yuck!”

Laughing, he took her into his arms and kissed her hair. “I love you.”

“I love you, but I’m still not going to kill anything.”

“When you get hungry enough, you will,” he said seriously, rubbing her back to soothe her.

Roan lit a candle when he got back. Putting cheese on two slices of bread he ate and washed it down with some wine. He contemplated his next move. After eating he cleaned up his mess sealing it in the plastic bags he had packed. The last thing he wanted was furry visitors in the middle of the night. It was late afternoon. Exhausted, he’d had enough exploring for one day. Carrying the candle, he went deeper into the cave. Laying out the second sleeping bag, he stretched out. Though tired, sleep eluded him. Excitement built in his loins with the knowledge that his video girl was close by. Keeping him up were thoughts of what he’d do with her, once she was his. The only problem, he’d need to kill her husband. A much bigger guy in person than he appeared on the video, but if he handled it just right, Rob would be a thing of her past, he’d be video girl’s future.

Two days had passed quietly. In fact too quietly for Roan’s taste. With his frustration level peaking because he didn’t find one track or clue to Rob’s whereabouts. He thought Rob would’ve been back by now. He’d found other caves, but they showed no signs of use or Rob. Did they leave the area? Following the tire tracks led to other tracks. He couldn’t differentiate between them. Were they old or new tracks?

Annoyed with his lack of success, he fiddled with his radio again hoping for some news from the outside world. White noise greeted him. What good was an Emergency Broadcast System if it didn’t broadcast? Disgusted with everything, he threw the radio against the cave wall.

“Smart, Roan.”

He loved solitude, though now it weighed him down like an anchor in water.

Why hadn’t they come to visit him? What put Rob off when they met? Questions, he only had questions. Damn, he wanted answers. Suddenly gripped with fear, Roan wondered if it showed that he had killed a man. At the most unexpected times, his emotions toyed with him. The incident played over and over in his head. Had he had a choice? Could he have handled it differently? Did he really have to kill the man? Was it normal he had felt so powerful when he took a life?

Determined to find them, he pulled the bread, cheese, and the meat from the cooler and made a sandwich. After lunch, he was going back out and damn it, he wasn’t coming back until he found them. Then what? He’d handle that question when he located their cave.

Rob and Lauren set up their camp, moving everything from the SUV to the cave.
It’d be kind of homey
,
if only it had a comfortable bed
. The ground hard, the sleeping bag confining, a constant reminder of what they had left behind. Lying there, she wondered for the umpteenth time, why they hadn’t stayed a day or two to get answers to the explosions.