The Day After Never - Purgatory Road (Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller - Book 2) by Russell Blake Page A

with your saddle?” Ruby asked Sierra, aware that her wounds were still healing.
    “If you could. How far away are they?”
    “Pretty damn close.”
    Ruby carried Sierra’s saddle up the steps as the younger woman hoisted her bags, and within minutes they had Nugget and the mule ready to ride. Ruby helped Eve up onto Sierra’s saddle and then climbed onto Jax, ears straining for any sound of pursuit. She could tell by the sound that the dogs were definitely nearer, and Ruby drove the mule forward while using the monocle to see. Nugget followed at a quick walk, and when they reached the limits of the property, Ruby paused to take a bearing with her compass.
    “We head that way,” she said, pointing southwest toward the mountains.
    “I told you they’d never give up.”
    “They can’t move very fast. They have to stay on foot for the dogs to follow the trail, so if we pick up the pace, we should be able to stay way ahead of them.”
    “But they’ll find us eventually. They always do.”
    “Not necessarily. We can skirt the river and make our way to Blue Springs. Maybe the water will wash away the scent,” Ruby said. “Or at least make it harder to follow.”
    “Is there someplace shallow we can cross, to switch it up?”
    “We can keep an eye out,” Ruby said, her tone doubtful.
    “You think that will work?”
    “I don’t know that much about tracking dogs, but I’ve heard they’re persistent.”
    Sierra’s voice increased in pitch somewhat with anxiety. “Then what do we do?”
    “We try everything we can, and pray.”
    “That doesn’t sound very hopeful. Maybe we should ambush them or something?”
    “There are more than a dozen men, and that’s only the ones in the immediate vicinity. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”
    “We can’t run forever.”
    Ruby nodded. “True, but we can run for a long time. Remember that they have to go slow. We don’t.”
    “How far to Blue Springs?”
    Ruby looked at her oddly. “Ten miles. Didn’t you hear Lucas and me discussing it?”
    “Oh. That’s right.” Sierra paused. “Look, Ruby, I’m sorry about not waking Eve up. I didn’t want to disrupt her sleep. She’s been through so much…”
    “I wouldn’t ask you to do something if it wasn’t important.”
    “I know. I…I’m not operating at a hundred percent. The meds, the wounds, the stress…I guess I’m just trying to say, maybe you should cut me some slack.”
    Ruby bit back her impatience and drew a deep breath. “Maybe you’re right. But I wonder how much slack the Crew’s going to cut you?” she said, and immediately regretted it. Her tone softened. “I know this has been rough. Let’s concentrate on doing the best we can. That’s over now. Let’s keep moving forward.”
    “Sounds good to me.”
    Ruby dug her heels into Jax’s ribs and the mule lumbered ahead, Ruby directing him with the reins in her left hand and monocle in her right. She hoped that the young woman wouldn’t be a liability, but Sierra’s stubbornness wasn’t a virtue in a survival setting, and the next time she did what she felt best rather than following instructions, it could cost them dearly.
    Ruby debated saying so, but decided not to antagonize the younger woman further, opting instead to concentrate her energy forging a path through the brush and finding their way to the river. She tried to remember what she’d read about dogs following a scent, but the specifics eluded her, beyond it being almost impossible to evade them once they were on your tail. She’d tried to sound optimistic about using the river to mask their passage, but at best it would slow the animals, not lose them.
    Ruby eyed a slope and directed Jax along the faint outline of a game trail. After ten more minutes, she could make out the sound of rushing water and the air felt more humid, telling her that they weren’t far from the river. Once they were at the water, the animals could drink, and she could test the depth to see