Is he going to watch me pee, too? Lottie wondered as she waddled the last few feet to the bushes. She lifted the oversized shirt revealing a rope belt holding the ill—fitting shorts to her body, and quickly untied it with shaking fingers. She hastily opened the zipper and yanked the shorts down. The quicker she did her business, the less Casey would see. And she sure didn’t want him to see her in such a vulnerable position. It was bad enough he had the upper hand.
“You done?”
“Yeah,” Lottie mumbled low enough he didn’t hear and readjusted her clothing before coming out from behind the bushes. She looked up and met Casey’s eyes. His gaze cold and calculated, and it made her nervous. She smoothed the oversized shirt over her round belly and cradled it in her hands. He blocked her path back to the building, and so she stood, waiting, wondering what he had in store for her.
“You’re coming back to base camp with us,” he finally said.
Base camp.
Lottie’s shoulders fell, and she swallowed hard. All her immediate escape plans were moot. He was a collections soldier. She’d read about them before trying to run away. The United States Army created the branch when the female draft was enacted and they tasked the enlisted men with finding female draft evaders. Once found, the wayward women were brought back to the cities where they were expected to complete their mandatory service to their country. A service that included—sometimes painful—medical intervention to find a cure for the country's low birth rate and mandatory monthly pregnancy attempts.
She nodded.
Without turning around, Casey raised his arm and in one sharp motion of his hand he beckoned his comrades to join them. In seconds, the three other men were off the abandoned structure and were marching toward them, packs in hand. Their movements coordinated, and as they approached she notice the guns strapped to their hips. If she had any remaining doubts, then they were gone now.
When the men got close, Casey held his hand out and the taller man dropped a pack strap into it, and Casey shouldered the bag easily. The man who handed it off stepped back with his comrade and stood just behind and to the left of Casey. The last man took a position to Casey’s right.
“This here’s Javier,” Casey motioned over his shoulder to his right. “And that’s Paul and Jaesen,” he said, indicating the other men.
She had eyes and a brain and had assumed as much.
“You are?” Casey continued.
Lottie marveled at his easy manner while trying to gain information. Playing on the societal necessity to exchange pleasantries, almost had Lottie blurting out her name, and she had to grit her teeth to prevent the slip.
He sighed. “No response.” Case asked the men behind him, “You have her pack?”
“Sure do,” Paul responded, his tone light, almost jovial. He appeared to be the youngest of the group.
“You search it?”
“Sure did.”
“Anything I need to worry about?”
“Nope,” Paul answered. “No weapons.”
No, she didn’t have any weapons other than her missing knife and the sling in her pocket. She carried the barest minimum to provide for her needs.
“Just a change of clothes, some weird plastic cup, a blanket, and some standard issue gear,” Paul finished.
“Excellent,” Casey replied. “Do you wish to carry it?” He asked her.
Would he let her carry her own bag? Hope for a future escape rekindled in her mind. She tried to hide the excitement of having her possessions returned. Lottie wasn’t sure she succeeded when she nodded that, yes, she did, in fact, want to carry her bag.
Paul stepped around Casey and handed it to her. Lottie slipped the straps over her arms. As its weight settled on her shoulders, she felt some tension drain from her back. If she escaped five men, she could escape four, even if they were well-trained soldiers. She would have eventually tried it without the pack, but having her gear would make survival easier, and she wondered why Casey would willingly hand it over. He had to know she would try to run again.
“It’s several miles to the campsite. You up for the hike? If not we can carry you,” Casey asked her.
Carry her? She felt her cheeks redden in embarrassment. She wasn’t that incapable, besides, she would push herself to exhaustion before she’d ask for his help.
“Again nothing,” his tone neutral and devoid of judgment. “Moveout.”
Her feet felt glued to the ground as Lincoln, Jaesen and Paul pushed past her and started walking toward the treeline.
“After you, chica.”
Lottie forced her feet around and followed after them with Casey right behind her.
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