Xeke sat up and blinked crusty eyes. For a moment he thought he was still dreaming, but sour breath and a full bladder dispelled that illusion.

  He tried to make sense of where he was. He was on a couch in a tidy room. Through a window he could see the sun setting over an idyllic mountain scene. An owl hooted in the distance.

  Memories wound their way back into his consciousness. He was in a cabin in Cloudcroft. He’d been electrocuted by Adrian, then Ruddy had nearly killed him fighting George, and he’d been awake for days looking after Teri.

  Teri. His stomach lurched. He remembered now. She’d been absorbed by one of her alter-egos - one he hadn’t even known existed. A brutal woman who called herself Teresa.

  Teri was gone.

  You still have me, though! Terry said. She was another of Teri’s alter egos - the one who’d been shoved into Ruddy’s head by Teresa. She sounded … perky.

  He grimaced and shut her out. This whole thing was her fault.

  The door opened and Ruddy barged into the room. He dropped the book he was holding and grinned at Xeke. It landed with several pages folded under it.

  “Finally!” Ruddy said. His voice was way too loud. “I thought you’d never wake up!”

  Xeke groaned. “What time is it?”

  “Time for you and Corey to get up! I’ve been standing guard all day. Nothing to do but read boring books about people running around and talking about their feelings. No magic, no adventures, nothing at all.”

  “Normal is the new fantasy,” Xeke said. He stretched. “Why didn’t you go out? Nobody said you had to stay here.”

  “I couldn’t leave you and Corey alone with everything going on out there.”

  “What’s going on out there?” Xeke said. He pushed himself up and went to the window. The view from the couch had shown a horizon with deep orange sunset colors but looking down over the town Xeke realized all that color was from the smoke in the air. “Oh, shit.”

  “Yeah.” Ruddy frowned. “People have been raising hell out there all day. They’ve stolen pretty much everything with wheels. A couple of groups got close to our truck, but I chased them off.”

  “Yeah, staying in was the right call,” Xeke said. “Good thinking.”

  Ruddy beamed.

  “You should have woken me up, though. We could have left hours ago.”

  Ruddy shrugged. “I tried, but you were out cold. Corey isn’t in much better shape, and I don’t know where Teri went. I don’t know how we’re going to find her.”

  Xeke rubbed his face. The last thing he wanted was another argument with Ruddy about whether or not they should go after Teresa, or Teri, or whoever she was now. “Where’s Corey?”

  “He’s asleep upstairs. With all the healing and fighting he did ...” He swallowed. “He’s in bad shape. I hope he’s getting some rest.”

  Xeke looked toward the stairs. “I’ll go check on him, see if he’s ready to get out of here. He can sleep on the road.”

  Ruddy paused. “Xeke, we can’t go. Not until we figure out which way Teri went. We can’t let her get too far ahead.”

  “How do you propose we find her if she doesn’t want to be found?” Xeke said.

  “She’ll come around,” Ruddy said. “She’s just mad.”

  “Let me at least take a leak, get a cup of coffee and check on Corey before we have this fight again.”

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  “It’s not a fight,” Ruddy said. “I just don’t give up on my friends.”

  Xeke shook his head.

  “Fine.” Ruddy stalked over and picked the book up. “I’ll just sit here and read while you and Corey decide what to do.”

  Xeke resisted the urge to roll his eyes and headed upstairs. Corey was sprawled out in bed with his eyes closed.

  “You up?” Xeke whispered.

  Corey opened his eyes. “Yeah. Just resting. I was waiting for you.”

  Xeke moved to help, but Corey waved him off and pushed himself out of bed. He was fully clothed except for his shoes and coat. He looked like he’d aged a decade in the last few days.

  “Let me finish healing you,” Corey said.

  “No,” Xeke said. “It’s you I’m worried about. You look like hell.”

  “Ever hear the stories of men who die of thirst in the desert with a full canteen?” Corey said. “I’m not going to let that happen here.”

  “But …”

  “If you’re not at a hundred percent, I’ll end up needing to patch up everyone else when you can’t defend us. We’re in a war zone, and you’re our shield. I’m healing you and that’s final.”

  Xeke sighed. “You’re the expert.”

  “Damned right.” Corey put both hands on Xeke’s head. A warm feeling flowed through his body as raw, exposed nerve endings knitted themselves back together. He didn’t realize how dulled all his senses had been until the smells and sounds came into focus. Exhaustion sloughed away and he felt ten pounds lighter.

  Corey drew in a ragged breath and slumped back into a chair.

  “Dammit!” Xeke said. “This is exactly what I was afraid of. You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

  “I’m fine.” Corey’s words were slurred.

  “You’re more stubborn than Ruddy.”

  “Hey!” Ruddy barged through the door. “I’m not stubborn!”

  “Sure you’re not,” Xeke said.

  Corey lifted himself out of the chair. “Let’s get moving. We need to hit the road.”

  “How are we going to find Teri?” Ruddy said.

  “We can’t find her,” Xeke said. “She’s gone. She might find us, but only if she decides to. It isn’t going to matter where we are if and when that happens.”

  “There’s only one road out of town,” Ruddy said. “We can follow the tire tracks.”

  “Actually, there are two roads out of town,” Xeke said. “And have you ever seen tire tracks on asphalt?”

  “Yeah, when someone skids or something.”

  “Well, there you go. We’ll just have to hope Teri skidded her way out of town.”

  Ruddy’s face went red.

  “Teresa made herself clear,” Corey said. “She doesn’t want us around.”

  Ruddy crossed his arms. “I don’t care. Teri isn’t in her right mind, and I’m not abandoning her.”

  “You heard her,” Xeke said. “She doesn’t need us anymore. She wants to be left alone.”

  “I know,” Ruddy said. “Look, I’m not saying we get close to her. Just follow her, keep an eye on her. She doesn’t even have to know.”

  “She knows what you’re thinking before you do,” Xeke said. “She could make you think you’re following her right off a cliff.”

  Corey nodded. “You don’t want to make a mentalist of Teresa’s caliber any angrier than she already is.”

  Ruddy glared at him. “She’s not angry! She’s confused. And there’s no way Teri would walk us off a cliff. Besides, I’m not going to make her mad, I … I just don’t want anyone like Adrian to get ahold of her again.”

  “Things are different now,” Xeke said. “Teresa isn’t the girl we knew.”

  Ruddy’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know this isn’t just some new part of this multiple personality thing? What if she reverts to Teri at the wrong time, and someone grabs her?”

  “Teri is gone,” Xeke said. “I don’t think she was even the original personality. Teresa might be the real Teri.”

  “Bullshit. Teri’s real, and she’s my friend. I’m not leaving her alone out there.”

  Xeke threw up his hands. “You’re like a broken record. This is what got us into trouble in the first place. I’ve never met anyone who talks more and listens less than you do.”

  Ruddy drew himself up to his full height. “I don’t care what you think of me. We’re not letting her go off alone, and that’s the way it is.”

  “That’s not the way it is,” Xeke said. “You don’t get to decide for all of us. You’re outvoted.”

  “And - again - we have no idea where she went,” Corey said.

  Ruddy struck a triumphant pose. “Ha! I’ve got an idea on that. Terry can find her.”

  Oh, hell no, Terry said. Don’t drag me into this. I’m lucky to still exist at this point. I’m not poking that bear.

  “Ruddy,” Xeke said. “Teresa is pissed off because we tried to baby her, and now you want to baby her some more. Are you trying to test how far you can push her before she really hurts you?”

  Ruddy took a step towards Xeke. “I don’t care what she does to me. If I can’t convince you two to help me, I’ll go after her myself, and you better not try to stop me.”

  Xeke stepped aside and gestured to the door. “Bye.”

  Corey leaned against the chair. “Guys, let’s just deal with what’s in front of us. First, we have to get away from here. DSSA is still looking for us and we don’t have a mentalist to protect us.”

  “I don’t care,” Ruddy said.

  Corey put his hands up. “You’re willing to die to save Teri. I get it. But if we get caught by DSSA you’ll never find her. Will you at least admit that?”

  Ruddy growled and tensed his shoulders up past his ears. “Fine. But as soon as we’re far enough away, I’m going after her.”

  “Yes,” Corey said. “We’re all very clear on that.”

  “Thank God,” Xeke said. “Can we go now? Do we have gas for the truck?”

  “Um,” Ruddy said. His shoulders slumped and he cleared his throat. “Yeah, we have gas, but there’s another problem …”