Renewal 10 - Blind Force Read Online Free PDF Page A

are. This is the easiest way to find out,” Terry said calmly.
    “Ok, but if they shoot you, I’m driving right over your corpse,” Sally said with her cheeks flaring red under the freckles.
    “Fair enough, Sweetie.” Terry opened the door and dropped to the ground.
    Seth circled the other side of the truck and jumped up into the armored cargo box. Terry heard the metallic scrape of a gun port sliding open. He walked a hundred feet away from Big Bertha and raised both his hands in what he thought might be a non-threatening gesture.
    The group approached cautiously. They hadn’t missing the meaning of the horn blasts. The bulk of the people stopped at about the same distance that Terry had chosen, and two in the front kept walking towards him. There was a rangy old man underneath a broad woven straw hat, and the dark skinned woman next to him was wearing a black vest and a faded baseball cap. Terry got the distinct impression that she was the dangerous one of the two, like a feminine version of Kirk. The two strangers stopped eight feet in front of Terry, and the man held up his hand in greeting.
    “Kind of ballsy of you, coming out here by yourself,” the man said.
    “Help’s nearby,” Terry said, watching the pair very closely.
    “Well, we don’t mean any harm. We’re just passing through, looking for someone. He might be around here, according to the directions we got.”
    “You got directions to this place?”
    “Yes, from a family out in Fort Smith, Arkansas by the name of Miller.” the man said, seemingly very relaxed for a man in new territory.
    It clicked for Terry. How lucky for these people that Terry had just heard about a man named Miller. “Joe Miller?”
    “No. Joe was long dead. We talked to his grandchildren. They told us about Joe, and how he always wanted to come back here. They said we should find a man named David Carter. They gave us this map that old Joe had drawn.” The man pulled a crinkled yellow paper from his shirt pocket and handed it to Terry.
    Terry looked at the hand drawn map and saw a reflection of the story Bill had told. Joe Miller’s farm, Sally Bean’s farm, all the roads in the area. Terry looked up at the man, back at the map in disbelief, and at the man once again.
    “Well, I don’t know where you came from, but you found the right place,” Terry said. “I don’t understand. Joe was an old man when he left here. How could he have grandchildren?”
    “His family was adopted, or just gathered as he traveled. He found a good place to settle and just stayed there,” the man replied.
    “Why didn’t you just stay in Fort Smith?” Terry asked.
    “They weren’t taking in new people, not for a long time. One of the Millers chased us down as we were leaving, told us the story, and gave us the map. We camped outside of town for a few days, and ended up hearing from a lot of the Millers before it was over. Nice people,” the man said.
    Terry could see the patrols converging from the west. He turned to the truck and shouted, “It’s ok! Not Dragons!” Sally used the horn to let the patrols know not to come in with guns blazing.
    “My name is Terry Shelton. We’ve got a tense situation right now, but I can get you to David Carter’s family. David has been dead for years, as far as I know. In fact, that’s David’s granddaughter in the truck.”
    “Pleased to meet you, Terry. I’m Ned Stamps, and my friend is Cindy Blaine. Those people back there are our adopted family. We’ve been gathering them for more than two thousand miles.”
    “Wow! Where did you start? Oh, pleasure to meet you both... Sorry.”
    Ned smiled for the first time. “Out on the West Coast. Cindy and I go all the way back.”
    “Well, I can’t wait to hear that story,” Terry said, returning the smile. “It’s only a mile, but I can give you folks a ride if you don’t mind a few sitting up top.”
    “A ride,” Ned said with a distant look. “I can’t even remember the last