Part 10 (2/2)

The kids slid off their horses. Chase jumped off his own mount and reached into his bag. He pulled out a bunch of sungla.s.ses and started pa.s.sing them around. ”Okay,” he said. ”Make sure you all put these on.” One by one the kids slid the gla.s.ses over their eyes. Peyton watched, curious.

”These are magical gla.s.ses,” Chase told them in an ultra serious voice. ”Just like Peyton's implants. And they're going to help us see Disney World.”

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Surely the children weren't going to buy this. Especially the older ones.

But Chase was not to be dissuaded. ”Do you see it?” he asked when each had donned their gla.s.ses. He pointed down the highway. ”The trail of pixie dust? Isn't it beautiful?”

”I think I see it!” cried Suns.h.i.+ne. ”I think I do!”

Sure enough, the rest of them chimed in. Peyton couldn't believe it.

”That's the path we need to take to get to the Magic Kingdom,” Chase continued. ”Some very smart magicians are building a new society there, and we'll all get to be a part of it. Just like the princes and princesses in the storybooks.”

”I see it, too,” the thirteen-year-old Starr said, obviously playing along. A big smile broke out across her freckled face. ”Way out there.”

”Yes. It's very far,” Chase agreed, still in his serious voice. ”But we can make it. Right, guys?”

”Yeah!” they chorused, completely under his spell. Peyton gazed at him with admiration. He was amazing. Absolutely amazing, the way he handled them. Hadn't his brother been calling him a screw-up?

”Okay, guys, let's do our tribe's dance and then we'll start our journey,” Chase commanded. ”Remember the one Rocky taught us when he gave you your war paint?”

The children cheered, and Chase broke out into a wild dance, twirling in circles and waving his arms. He looked so silly, even Peyton had to smile. Soon the children joined in, giggling and screeching. They were a group of mad whirling dervishes on a lost highway. Peyton watched from her horse, feeling awkward and a little left out.

Then she felt a tug on her leg and looked down. Darla was standing beside her horse, looking up at her with her big eyes. ”Come on, Peyton,” the little girl said. ”You gotta do the tribe dance.”

It was a waste of time. It was stalling the journey. And everything inside of her said she should just say no, force them back on their horses and move things along. That's what her dad would advise.

But then she remembered her mother. And what she'd once said to her, long, long ago.

If the end of the world does come, I want you dancing by my side.

You got it, Mom. Making her decision, she slipped off her horse and grabbed Darla's hands, whirling her around in a circle, like her mother used to do to her when she was that age. Darla squealed in delight.

”You're one of us now!” she declared, looking up at Peyton and grinning from ear to ear. ”You're part of the tribe.”

Peyton felt embarra.s.sed at how pleased the idea made her. Part of the tribe. One of the group. No longer alone. She knew her dad would be scolding her right now, telling her she was wasting valuable time. But she thought maybe her mother would have approved.

Chase was found his way over to her. ”D'you mind if I cut in?” he asked Darla. He took Peyton's hands and, pulling her close, slowed down the dance to a waltz. She allowed him to lead, following his steps and wondering where he had learned. His hand was firmly planted against her back, the other grasping her hand. Forward, back. Side to side. She felt his hot breath on her cheek. Breathed in his musky scent. Felt his thigh accidentally brush up against hers. She sucked in a breath and- -stepped right on his foot.

”Ow!” he cried, dropping his hands and hopping up and down. ”Forget the razors. Your feet are deadly weapons.”

”Yeah, yeah.” She laughed, then caught herself. Put a hand over her mouth.

He grinned. ”See?” he said. ”I told you you'd laugh eventually. Life goes on.” He turned back to the children. ”Okay, mount up, Mouseketeers,” he commanded. ”It may be a small world after all, but we've still got to get through it.”

”Wait,” Peyton cried, her laughter interrupted by a warning siren in her head, triggered by her ocular implants. She'd set them to go off if they picked up any heat signals in the vicinity that weren't part of their group. And sure enough, they'd registered something down the road, behind what appeared to be at least a ten-car pileup. She motioned for the children to be quiet as she allowed the nanocomputer to scan the perimeter.

Chase held a hand above his eyes, squinting into the sunlight. ”I don't see anything,” he said, looking at her in question.

She blushed, embarra.s.sed by her robotics, even though they had probably just saved their lives. Without them, they would have gone barreling ahead, unprepared, into an ambush, and there was no telling what would have happened.

”My implants are registering live bodies just beyond that accident scene,” she informed him. ”There's at least twelve Others roaming about.”

”You're sure?” Chase asked, his face going a bit white. He hurried the children back up on their horses. ”They're definitely Others? Not people?”

”The zombies register hotter then regular humans,” she explained. ”Their body temperatures must be higher or something.”

”Okay,” Chris said, biting his lower lip, pacing the ground. ”At least they haven't spotted us. That's something.”

”Not yet anyway. But there's no way we'll be able to slip past them. There's just too many.” She threw a reluctant glance back in the direction from which they'd come. ”I guess we could go back to that last exit...”

Chase shook his head. ”That exit was over a mile back. If we go around we're going to lose at least three hours' time-pretty much the rest of the daylight. And there's no telling what might be off that exit either. For all we know, it could be worse.”

He was right. But what else could they do? There were too many zombies for even her to take on. And even if Chase could grab one or two himself, the children would be left in danger. This was exactly the kind of thing she'd been afraid of. Why she'd thought it would be better to go alone. Then, at least, she could calculate her own risks, take her own chances, without taking into consideration the safety of others in her care.

”Stop thinking that,” Chase admonished. She looked up, surprised.

”I didn't say anything.”

”You didn't have to. I know what you're thinking. If you hadn't taken us along, you could have slipped by unnoticed. But you don't know that. Not for sure. Alone you could have very easily become zombie dinner and your trip could end right here. Together we have a better chance.”

She let out a frustrated breath. ”And how is that?”

He yanked a nearby antenna off the roof of an old beater, using it as a pointer in the dirt. ”I'm going to create a diversion,” he informed her. ”Bring them all over here. Once they're distracted, you go around the other side with the kids. I'll meet you at the next exit.”

She stared down at his crude battle plan. ”But what if you can't get away? What if they catch you?”

”I told you,” he said, throwing her a c.o.c.ky grin that didn't quite meet his eyes. ”They call me Chase for a reason. I may not have any neato cyborg abilities like you, but I can run away with the best of them. And so can Betty here,” he added, patting his horse. ”She used to be a Kentucky Derby horse, back when they still had that kind of thing. And I know she still has what it takes.”

Peyton considered this. She didn't like it. Chase putting himself in danger made her feel queasy inside. ”Maybe I should do the diversion,” she suggested.

”No.” Chase shook his head. ”I need you to be with the kids. If the zombies get the jump on any of them, you're their best bet for a rescue.” He'd obviously thought of everything.

”I don't need no rescuing,” Red exclaimed defiantly from his position on his horse. ”I can take down ten zombies with one hand tied behind my back.” He mimicked a sword fight.

Chase patted his leg. ”I wouldn't doubt it. But you have a special mission. I need you to look after Suns.h.i.+ne for me.” He boosted the little girl up onto Red's horse. ”Make sure she gets to safety.”

The boy grinned, puffing out his chest with pride. ”Leave it to me,” he declared, giving Chase a salute. Then he turned to Suns.h.i.+ne. ”Don't worry,” he told her. ”I'll keep you safe.”

Suns.h.i.+ne stuck a thumb in her mouth and smiled.

”Okay then,” Chase said, mounting his brown mare. Peyton wondered if the horse really was a former Derby winner or if he'd just made that up on the fly to further his cause. Either way, she prayed the horse wouldn't let them down. ”No time to waste. Let's do this.”

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