Read Conquest ~ Indian Hill 3 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure for Free Online Page B

having no desire to run into her adversary again, especially now that she had seen him, he had been much less scary before that .
    “He’ll try, I’m sure , ” t he boy said as he turned to head deeper into the forest. “Davy Crockett himself couldn’t follow Johnnie the way he’s going. And if he somehow did stumble upon Fort One he’d be in for a couple of nasty surprises.”
    “This just gets better and better.” Beth snorted and shook her head before being swallowed up by the woods.
    To Beth it seemed like they had walked for hours, the best she could do was to keep put ting one foot in front of the other. She watched her feet because she didn’t trust her balance ; one bad footfall and she knew she’d end up on her ass, and being this exhausted, she’d probably just start kicking and screaming on the ground like a five year old. S he didn’t want to give Max that satisfaction. It didn’t look like he much cared about grown-ups as it was.
    ' What ’s his story? ' s he wondered . I t was then that she placed her foot in a stream for the second time. “How many times am I going to get my feet wet?” s he grumbled. “Hey , this stream looks the same ,” she said more than a little exasperated. She finally lifted her head and looked from side to side . I t was difficult to tell where she was but she would’ve sworn they had passed that old twisted oak tree an hour ago.
    She caught up to Max and a little more forcefully than she meant to, grabbed his arm and jerked him to a halt He glared at her with hate- filled eyes, eyes that had seen probably more than their fair share of death and cruelty; likely more death in his short life span than seasoned mercenaries had their whole career, but sadness and fear were not part of the equation for the mercs .
    “You grab me like that again , lady, and I’ll leave you here. I’ll leave you for him ,” he said with all the pre-pubescent menace he could muster. The words may have sounded funny coming out of such a small figure, but she in no way doubted he would do just as he said he would.
    “I’m… I’m sorry , ” s he stammered , loosening her grip on his shoulder. I just think we’re going in circles, is all. Are we lost?” She let go, the offending hand falling uselessly by her side.
    “We are and we’re not.”
    Beth could only stare at the boy. Confusion wrinkled her brow.
    “We are going in a circle and no we’re not lost, God you’re pretty thick for a grown-up.” Max could tell his words had hurt the lady but right now he wasn’t quite sure he cared. “Listen lady, that guy looked like he was military which probably means he has some survival and tracking skills, I am not going to give him any opportunity whatsoever to find us, and if he does I want to make sure we have ample time to prepare for our g uest.” He flashed her a humorless big gap- toothed grin “Are you satisfied?” And without waiting for her response he turned and started heading back deeper into the woods. At least that wa s the direction she figured he was heading. 
    “Um… okay , ” s he answered , he was already out of earshot. She stumbled after him to catch up, wet shoes and all.
    It was another forty-five minutes until they reached Fort One, but to a mi serable, cold , wet , and exhausted Beth it seemed like three times that, for all her discomfort she made sure not to display anything to her diminutive surly guide. Max began to make a series of arm gestures of which Beth could make no sense. They looked nothing like the old hand signals on her dad’s old war films which he used to like to watch on cold Saturday afternoons. Beth didn’t much care for those movies but the thought of being able to curl up with her father for the day and garner the majority of his attention made it all worth while . A stab of nostalgia panged her she was able, with some difficulty, to push it aside, she just didn’t have the strength to sustain such a strong emotion.
    Cautiously