Great. She’d probably been told not to speak to strangers, and her mom wasn’t making any move to get on the bus on her own. I could just lead the mother on board and the kid would probably follow. But what if Kristina freaked out from confusion or fear at some point when her mother didn’t reassure her? I didn’t know much about people in shock, and there was no telling how long it might be before the mother came around. In the meantime, her daughter at least deserved to know she could rely on others in the group to help keep her safe.
“What’s your mommy’s name?” I asked her.
One tiny shoulder lifted and fell. “Mommy. She doesn’t talk anymore. Can she hear me?” Her voice was so quiet I had to strain to hear it under the wind as it whipped around us.
“Yeah, kiddo, she still hears you. She’s just kinda sad and doesn’t really feel like talking much right now. But if you keep talking to her, I bet that will make her feel better soon.” Please, God, make it true.
Kristina nodded solemnly. Straightening her shoulders, she took her mother’s hand in both of hers and tugged the woman towards the bus. “Come on, Mommy. Let’s get on the warm bus.”
Her mother shuffled along behind her, Kristina’s blanket dragging up the stairs after them. I followed them onto the bus, picking up the tail end of the grungy fabric and handing it to Tarah at the top of the stairs so the mother wouldn’t trip over it. Tarah and I shared a look as the little girl led her mother to a pair of seats near the end of the bus.
“Pamela and some of the other women are taking turns looking out for them,” Tarah murmured. “They’re making sure they both eat and drink and stay warm.”
“Where’s the baby?” I’d noticed the woman wasn’t carrying the sheet-wrapped bundle anymore.
“The others buried it outside the camp before we left.”
I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Kristina couldn’t be more than four or five. She’d lost her baby brother or sister. And now she was surrounded by strangers and trying to take care of her mother.
Shaking my head, I exited the bus again, feeling the hours of stress starting to pile up on me.
Then I caught Bud still standing on the ground by the open door and frowning after the pair too, the questions clear on his face in the light spilling out from the bus’s interior. “They gonna be alright? They sure look shaken up for just a broken down bus.”
“She lost a baby recently,” I murmured. “I’m hoping being with our group will help bring her out of it.”
He sighed and slowly shook his head. “That’s a shame. Sure hope the momma pulls out of it. Little girls need their mommas.”
“Yeah, I hope so too.” I took a deep breath. “Well, that should take care of most of the group. But I’ve still got a couple of guys who needed to get a few things for the road. They took off a while ago; I’ve got to go get them and bring them here. Shouldn’t take more than a half hour or so to round them up. Will everyone be okay on the bus in the meantime?”
Bud waved a hand. “She’s got plenty of gas. We’ll just let her idle so they can stay warm while they wait. I just wish I’d gotten those newfangled DVD players installed like John’s been suggesting.”
I smiled and patted his shoulder. “You’re already doing more for them than you realize. And the kids have coloring books to keep them busy for a while. Mostly they’ll probably just sleep, though. It’s been a rough trip so far.” I went to rest my hands on my hips and bumped into something. “Oh yeah, nearly forgot. We’ve got walkie talkies we can use to communicate. I thought they’d be easier to manage instead of trying to dial buttons on a phone while we drive.” I unclipped one from my waistband where I’d attached it earlier while waiting for Bud to show up. “I already put in fresh batteries, so you’re good to go for awhile.”
He took it with a slow nod. “Good thinking.”
I turned towards my truck.
“You’re not riding with the others?” Bud asked me.
I silently muttered a curse. Bud’s likeability made it way too easy to relax around him and forget the charade we were supposed to be maintaining here. It didn’t help that my liking this man also made me hate lying to him.
Tarah saved me as she came down the steps. “Hayden joined us after we’d already gotten started on the trip. The goofball overslept and had to catch up in his own truck. He’s been tagging along ever since.”
Of course her story would involve my looking like an idiot. I smiled my thanks at her. “All right, I’m off to get the guys. We’ll be back in a few.” I gave Tarah’s ponytail a tug, earning a quick flash of a grin from her in return. “Call me if you need me.”
I got back into my truck, waiting until Tarah and Bud were on the bus with the others before I slowly cruised back to the where the truck drivers were waiting. Following the plan, Mike dropped the cloaking spell, leaving the trucks in full view. I was tempted to ask him to put it back on. Driving the trucks to the local lake would be a lot safer if no one could see them. But then I remembered how both Mike and Steve had said their abilities had limited range. Mike probably couldn’t even hide both trucks at the same time while we drove them down the road. Better just to get rid of the trucks as quickly as we could versus their suddenly popping into view in front of other drivers and really drawing attention. Or worse, causing a wreck when someone ran into the invisible vehicles.
Also according to plan, we got another guy to replace Steve behind the wheel of one of the trucks. Without Steve’s volatile temper around, things went a lot more smoothly. Tarah’s researched coordinates and my truck’s GPS also made reaching the lake pretty easy. Unfortunately, finding a way through the trees to the water wasn’t so simple. Other than driveways to people’s lakehouses, the shoreline was surrounded by an unbroken forest that even a golf cart would have had a hard time squeezing through. We had to drive along a dirt road that skirted the lake for ten minutes until we found a break in the trees wide enough for the trucks. Then there was the small matter of how to get the trucks into the water without any of us having to go in with them. None of us knew any spells that would help. Thankfully the trees themselves gave me the idea of wedging branches between the seats and the gas pedals, a crude but effective method.