Scavengers Read Online Free PDF Page A

or die. Or maybe do and die. Fearing, dreading, I turned.

    I suddenly remembered, recognized the woman who was looking back at me. Her features were soft. Tears pooled in her eyes, but yet the sparkle I saw came from a different place—that soul-place inside that gave life beyond mere animation. I remembered her. I remembered her! I remembered her good soul and how it used to be a place where I felt welcome and at home.
    Home. I was not afraid, and so I looked deeply into her eyes, as if I was boring myself into that soul-place, scrubbing its walls clean, carving my name again.

    "Kate,” she said again. “I honestly think I would rather die, too. Maybe that's what I'm afraid of."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I don't know. I'm not sure I even want to know at this moment in time, but I will find out. I will.
    I promise,” she reassured, and this I needed to hear. “And then we'll find a way out of this muck.
    Because with all I don't know, I do know that this is not your fault. You're not doing anything wrong. I'm the one who changed the rules."

    "Okay. Promise noted.” I could breathe again, but damn, I needed to cry.

    "Now, partner, we are on the same team, and we have this ridiculous scavenger hunt to win.
    Open that envelope!"

    "You sure? You okay? Do you want to get something to eat first? I thought the messin'-with-us chicks would have at least fed us."

    "Yeah, I kind of did, too. I guess they put their maternal instincts on hold."

    "Yeah, and brought out the infernal instincts."

    We both laughed. It seemed to release the incredible hoard of emotion. We could move.

    "Okay, so let's see what hell they're putting us through this time."

    She handed me the envelope, and I knew that by day's end the ripping open of it would be a metaphor for something.

    "Okay, here we go."

    I held out the sheet, and we read.

    Zeus turned Io into a heifer. The cad!

    At this, she must have been really, really mad.

    But this clue's not the violet bed at her feet—

    Greek to French—this time it's a bed ofpommes frites.

    Scarf, putone down—you two will be a shoo-in.

    From Molly, score the ticket to tap the win.

    "French fries!” I screamed! “French fries—and that god forsaken cow/woman again!"

    "That ‘really, really mad’ cow/woman."

    "Why does none of this surprise me?"

    After several stabs at possible solutions, we finally figured that the clue pointed us to French fries at Molly's Taphouse on Third. It was lunchtime, after all, and the maternal—for the moment—had usurped the infernal.

    Not surprisingly, there were a couple of cars we recognized in the parking lot behind the bar. We had again been beaten to the punch, but we were still vertical—and a little less stuck in the muck.

    We walked into the dimly lit room to find Laura and Holly laughing hysterically as they eavesdropped on the booth behind them. Laura motioned for us to sit with them, both simultaneously sliding over to make room. We sat and bent our ears, quickly detecting the voices of Susan and Maggie.

    "Because I can't! I'm vegan. I'm not going to eat a cow!"

    "Bet she'd eat granola,” Holly whispered, although “quietly yelled” might better describe, and we doubled over.

    Laura kicked Holly under the table, and in reflex, she brought her knee up so hard that the silverware rattled and the saltshaker fell and rolled off the table. She groaned and made a feeble attempt to kick back but was overruled by a chorus of shushing from the rest of us.

    "Come on, hon,” Susan said, “just step out of yourself for a moment. We already lost one round.
    It won't kill you. The cow's dead already anyway."

    "I'm vegan!"

    This time, every patron in the place turned to stare. Maggie abruptly stood and prepared to storm out of the bar, her ideals in tow. Instinctively, I rose and blocked her exit. “Whoa,” I dared.
    “Hang on a minute. There's got to be some way for you to complete the goal."

    She didn't respond; rather, she hung her head