[b]Buck Bradley – On the road – Farren North[/b]

Buck smiled and scratched his head.

“Yeah, I’m not too eager to see that shed again myself,” he said. The young woman had a good sense of humor at least. He was lucky she hadn’t taken off running at the first sight of him he supposed. And her smile definitely put him a little more at ease. He checked behind him again when she asked if he was followed. “I’m out here by myself. If it is someone following me, it’s no one I know.”

He turned back to the girl. “Are the two of you out here alone too? Boy, that’s pretty brave if you are. There’s a lot of bad stuff out there.” He paused a moment, remembering his own recent history before whispering again, “A lot of bad stuff.”

He snapped back to the present and spoke again. “You saw that light too, huh? You know what that’s all about? I was heading that way myself.” He paused, looking away from her eyes for a moment, not sure he should put the offer out there or not. He decided it was the human thing to do. “Maybe we could walk together if you feel up to it.” He reached out his free hand for her bag. “That looks heavy. Would you like me to carry it?”

Again the noise came from behind him. Closer this time. Louder. Whatever it was didn’t care about being heard. Buck didn’t look back and tried to keep his voice calm. “My name’s Buck, by the way.” He gestured towards the sleeping boy. “Is this your little brother?”