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what’s waiting for them.” He turned and looked down at the others. “Should we check it out? We can cut straight through here and stay under cover but still be able to see the highway.”
    Quinn looked at Alex and the others and everyone nodded. They needed information and now was as good a time as any to start getting it. Dara leaned her bike against the truck and Josh jumped down. All together they entered the trees and moved south towards the road. They were only ten feet from the edge of the trees and they could see glimpses of the pavement when the sound of multiple engines drowned out the first ones they had heard. Alex moved a few more feet forward and dropped down into a crouch before moving right to the edge of the trees. All that separated her from the road was a grass-filled ditch. Scanning right and left she saw two ATVs slow down to a stop while two old trucks and four motorcycles blocked the road ahead of them. The teens were behind the trucks by about fifteen feet and it was clear to Alex that they were part of the outlaws holding her town. She scooted back into the woods and paralleled the road to get a better look at who was on the ATVs. When she got a good look at the girl with long blond hair climbing off of the lead four-wheeler, she almost gave them away. Alex rocked to her feet and opened her mouth to shout. Before any sound came out, Quinn had her by the arm and was covering her mouth. She turned horror-filled eyes towards him and he gave a grim nod.
    The hand he had covering her mouth pulled away and he gently stroked her face before turning to the others.
    “It’s Emily and the other group. We are not letting those bastards take them into town! Josh, Cooper, go back down the road and cut across to the other side. They’re all looking ahead so they shouldn’t see you. As soon as you get across, book it back this way and get ahead of them but stay under cover. Alex, Dara and I will move up on this side. Be ready. We’re going to have to take these guys out. We can’t let them get back to town or they will all be hunting for us. Watch where you’re shooting, we don’t want to get caught in the crossfire and shoot each other. Go!”
    Josh and Cooper took off without a word and Quinn pulled Alex down into a crouch. Dara joined them and they moved quickly back into the woods and then forwards until they were opposite Emily and the others on the road. Quinn patted Dara on the shoulder and pointed w here he wanted her. She gave a brief nod and squeezed Alex’s hand before belly-crawling into position. Quinn pointed out where he wanted Alex and then pointed to himself and showed her where he would be. She nodded with grim determination and crawled away.
    When she got to the edge of the trees , she glanced over to the road before she was going to crawl into the tall grass of the ditch. What she saw froze her. A man with long dirty hair was standing in front of Emily and pointing a gun at her.
    “Get into the truck!” he roared at Emily.
    Alex could only hope that everyone was in position and ready because she wasn’t going to wait a second longer.
    “I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to go anywhere with someone as ugly as you!” she taunted as she stood up and swung her rifle towards him.
    All heads turned and stared at her. She stood tall and glared fiercely at him. His gun swung towards her and he gave her a creepy smile before calling out to his men.
    “Well, what do you know? Look, guys, we got another pretty little girl to join the party!” he gave a nasty laugh as he scanned Alex’s body up and down.
      His smile turned grim when a voice called out from the other side of the road.
    “Hey! It’s really stupid to tease a redhead with a big gun , mister. If I was you, I’d duck and cover ‘cause she looks pissed!”
    Alex could see the calculation in the long haired man’s eyes. She took a quick glimpse behind him and saw the other men were spreading out. Looking back at the