Water in a Time of Thirst

Chapter Twenty One

                Armis stared off at the horizon as the sun winked over the mountains, making its descent while staining the sky in an endless ómbre of pink-orange hues. On evenings like this, it was hard to tell where the sky began or where the earth ended. The people around him were huddled by a fire while stirring cans of beans and soup over the flames. However, the peace of the sunset was subdued by the buzzing of conversations filling the air like Cicadas as Coyote and Gunner mapped out a plan of attack with Pippa wagging her tail by their feet.

It had only been two days since Everleigh and the other women were taken, but the hours felt precious, knowing their fate. Sitting around waiting for a plan made Armis anxious, especially knowing the man responsible was across from him and eating from a can of beans. It frothed his blood just staring at Domino, and it wouldn't go away until he was dealt with properly.

To ease his anger, he got up to walk and find a tree to throw a few knives. As he walked through the weeds searching for a good target, he sensed he was being followed. It would make his day if it were Domino, and he salivated at the thought of leaving his carcass in the field for the insects to feast on. He continued walking, his ears twitching with the sound of twigs snapping behind him, which made him smirk. Whoever followed wasn't very stealthy, so Armis stopped and looked over his shoulder. A dark silhouette dodged behind a wooden shed, but there was no mistaking the wisps of long hair waving in the evening breeze.

"Come out," Armis called. "I can see you."

Grunting, Brodie stepped out, his large build in full view. "Where are you sneaking off to?"

"Nowhere. Just need a walk."

"Right." He approached with a calm stride, a beer can in hand, and when he reached behind his back, Armis pulled out a gun. "Woah, woah!" Brodie held up his hands, surrendering. "Easy... easy... there's another beer in my back pocket. I was going to offer it to you."

"A beer?"

"Yeah. It's a little old and tastes like shit, but the convenience store has a decent stash. Figured you might want to wet your beak."

Armis paced around Brodie and saw that he indeed had a beer in his back pocket. So, he plucked it out and examined it. "Prohibition Ale..."

"Yeah. They make that in San Francisco. Good stuff. Go ahead, try it."

"I thought you said it tasted like shit?"

"It's a little skunky, but it does the trick, and you look like you need to relax."

Armis placed his fingers on the tab but stopped to scrutinize anything suspicious on Brodie's behalf. However, the man was much calmer than earlier and seemed a bit loose. Perhaps the beer relaxed him some? So, Armis cracked the tab, the familiar sound flashing him to the last time he had a beer. It was with Everleigh. They were passing through New Mexico in a jalopy they found in Texas and hotwired. As they rolled into a rest stop, they stumbled upon an abandoned commercial truck. When they unlocked the storage compartment, their jaws dropped as if they came across liquid gold. Sure, the beer would dehydrate them even more, but they were too thirsty, hot, and tired to care. After gulping down a can, they packed the car with a few crates to get them to Oregon. At night they would finish the day with some beer, but their new routine only lasted until the car broke down outside of Nevada.

They sat by the road with steam hissing from the engine and had to map a route through the desert since it was the fastest way to get to Oregon. At the time, it seemed so simple, life a little more normal, like two siblings on a road trip just drinking a beer together.

But the desert had been a horrible idea.

If Armis had stuck with Everleigh's plan to find a town and steal a car, then none of the following events would have happened, and his sister would still be by his side.