Breeders by Arno Joubert

 
    Steam exploded from the truck’s radiator, and the two men at the back recovered first, jumping from the back, weapons held ready.  
    “Watch out, Alexa!” Neil shouted, slamming a clip into his Glock as he ducked behind their rental.
    “Got you,” Alexa said, finding shelter at the front of the car.
    An automatic weapon barked, and slugs slammed into the roof of the car. “Can I fire now?” Neil shouted, ducking his head lower.
    Alexa snorted disdainfully before she stood up and fired a single shot. The shooter shrieked and fell to the ground with a hole between his eyes.
    Alexa ducked back down. The other men were crouching at the back of the pickup; she could see their feet when she hunkered down. Alexa glanced at Neil and he nodded, then they dropped to the ground and fired in unison. A slug exploded into a shin; someone screamed.
    Three pairs of feet disappeared, probably seeking shelter in the cargo bed of the truck. Neil raised his eyebrows questioningly, and Alexa nodded. He shrugged, stood up, and shuffled to the side of the pickup, spraying the bed with bullets as he went. The gunfire reverberated off the rock walls of the mountain and faded into a distant echo. Neil pointed his weapon at the ground and turned to Alexa. She approached cautiously, listening closely. Someone groaned. “Cover me,” Neil said, striding to the truck. Alexa nodded.
    Neil peeked over the side, then he manhandled a bloodied man out of the back and dragged him along the ground toward Alexa. She sauntered forward, holstering her weapon. He wore black army fatigues with a red beret. “Peterson” was embroidered above his pocket. Neil made him kneel in front of Alexa.
    “Why did you try to kill us?” Neil asked, nudging the man with his foot.
    The man groaned, clutching his injured leg. He didn’t seem to have any other wounds.  
    Alexa unholstered her Glock and pressed it against the man’s head. “Tell me why you shot at us.”
    The man squinted his eyes in pain and howled.
    Alexa glanced at Neil. With a shrug he pushed the man to the ground and rolled him over, cuffing his hands behind his back. “We’ll deal with him later. We need to get the car back on the road,” he said, glancing over his shoulder.
    Alexa crouched next to the wounded man. He was sobbing in pain and howling profanities at them. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket. “Don’t bother. I’ll get Bruce to pick us up.”
     

Yumi peered over the rocky outcrop. The men with guns had found her hiding place. She was afraid. She had nowhere else to go.
    She saw the tall man’s car return; it had sped away a couple of minutes earlier. Three people climbed out. First was the tall man she had seen earlier. He walked around to the back and opened the door for a dark-haired lady. She walked to the front of the car and waited for another big man. Yumi could see his muscles rippling beneath a tight white shirt. The lady reminded her of a black puma, like the ones from the picture book that Ally had shown her. She looked like Ally, but she was much taller.
    The three of them marched toward the nervous man in the uniform. Ally’s daddy stood with his forehead against the concrete wall, a big palm planted flat against the smooth surface. It looked like he was listening. Like the big wall was telling him a story. She felt sorry for him; he looked so sad.
    Yumi followed them at a distance, making sure to stay out of sight. The man in the uniform showed them the opening in the rock, the place where her home had been for the past month. The strong man nodded and wriggled into the crevice. The pretty girl followed him inside.
    Yumi plopped down into the dirt, suppressing a sob. Ally had told her she would be safe there. She looked up as she heard the lady’s voice. She was talking to the men as if she was ordering them around. She had never seen a woman do that. The men nodded and walked away.  
    Yumi didn’t want anything to do with any men. They only hurt