Read Running Red for Free Online Page A

wheels instead of legs. The set is out of place. Nothing seems to match in this room.
    “How do you have power here?” I ask.
    “A generator. We siphoned the gas of the cars in town to fuel it.” He uses a plastic scoop inside a wide can to measure out the amount for a single glass of lemonade. In a drawer next to the sink are spoons, forks, and knives. Aubrey takes a spoon and stirs the white powder sinking slowing to the bottom of the glass, the spoon clinking against the beveled sides. This sound is music to me, an almost forgotten song of the old world.
    The house is an illusion. Even its name has been stripped away, masking reality. I’m not visiting a friend on a hot summer evening. I’m visiting a camp, a fortress. And if I don’t keep reminding myself of this, I could become trapped like the others I saw in the tents out back.
    “So what’s the deal here?” I ask. The water is cold. The lemonade tastes so good.
    Aubrey leans back against the counter. “What do you mean?”
    “Let’s start with Auntie Alice.”
    “She’s not really anyone’s aunt.”
    “I got that. Why did she go all ape shit on Matt?”
    Aubrey stares uneasily at me. “We have rules,” he says. His voice softens.
    “And she’s the enforcer of the rules?”
    “When Denny’s not here, she’s in charge.”
    “Who is this Denny guy you all keep talking about?” I drink half the lemonade in my glass.
    “He’s just this guy.”
    “Did he live here in the house?”
    Aubrey shrugs. He is uncomfortable talking about the mysterious Denny.
    “Is that how Denny would have handled it?”
    Aubrey doesn’t say anything. He looks at my backpack.
    “How far did you walk today?” he asks.
    “Twelve miles,” I say. I finish the last of my lemonade.
    “Carrying that?” Aubrey nods his head at the pack. I can see why he’s intimidated by it. With it on my back, it must look like I’m carrying a small man. My tent roll hangs off the bottom.
    “Every step. I call it Baby.” I flash a grin. Aubrey stares at the pack. After a second or two of silence, he looks up at me and smiles.
    “You must be beat.”
    “I’m doing okay.”
    “You can put your tent up out back with the others. Denny won’t mind.”
    I shake my head. The room dips and rises for a second. I reach out for the baker’s rack. Sure enough, it leans under my weight. My head clears. “I don’t think I’m going to stay.”
    “Where else you going to go?”
    My eyelids feel unusually heavy. I blink. “Hmm?”
    “You feeling okay?”
    “Just a little tired. Guess the hike got to me after all.” I yawn. For some reason it embarrasses me. I laugh and shake my head. “Sorry.”
    Aubrey is all too near to me. I can feel his hands on my arms. He’s holding me up. I try to step back, but I bump into the baker’s rack. A plant topples to the floor. Its roots are dry and stiff, curled.
    “I think you need to crash here,” Aubrey says.
    “I gotta get back to her,” I say.
    “Get back to who?” Aubrey asks. His voice is low. I don’t think he wants anyone else to hear.
    There’s a moment of clarity. I stop myself from saying anything about Yuki. “The road,” I say. “I gotta get back on the road.” My words are like ripe plums falling from my mouth. Then my legs are gone and I’m standing on rubber stumps.
    I’m in Aubrey’s arms. My head rolls over my breasts, my legs dangle over one of his strong arms. His other arm is around my back. This is how he carries me out of the kitchen, like I’m a baby who has fallen asleep in his tanned arms. We enter the living room and there stand Auntie Alice and Matt. Leaning over the banister of the stairs is a man with thick brown hair that touches his shoulders. He has a reddish beard that covers most of his face. Round, wire glasses rest on the bridge of his nose. He’s wearing a red plaid shirt under a denim jacket. He looks like a lion. The man says nothing.
    Aubrey carries me down a short side hall to a rear