Finding Humanity: Book 3 in the Saving Humanity Series

CHAPTER 13

Relief washed through Caleb, and he had to keep himself from visibly slouching in his chair. He loosened the grip he had on his hands and sighed.

"Thank you."

Venger unfolded his hands and shrugged, with his head cocked to the side. "It's the least I can do after you saved my life. That RBZ would have crushed my head if you hadn't intervened."

Caleb narrowed his eyes. "You remember that happening?"

Venger waggled his head. "Bits and pieces." He frowned. "I know things probably would have been worse if you hadn't stepped in and led them away. They destroyed a building, but it could have easily been the whole town."

Heat rose into Caleb's cheeks. It was nice to know his gesture hadn't gone unnoticed. A small bit of guilt also crept in—after all, the main reason he had run was to save his own skin.

The voice in the darkness scoffed. And you failed miserably in that attempt.

"So, what do you need?" Venger clapped his hands together and placed them in his lap.

"We need information. Dr. Maudas had a lot of high-tech equipment in his lab, along with fresh and stored food. He had to have had help getting it. We figured you might have connections that knew where the stuff came from."

True, Venger, and Doc exchanged looks. Their eyebrows furrowed, their foreheads wrinkled. Caleb felt hope slip from his body. Maybe they didn't have connections. Maybe they kept to themselves and avoided everyone else. That would explain that look.

The voice in the darkness laughed. You just exposed yourself for no reason!

Caleb did feel incredibly exposed. Telling Jan his story was one thing—they had a connection. But opening himself to these three could potentially be dangerous. He didn't have the same connection with them as he did with Jan. At the moment, they didn't appear to want to do anything with the information he'd shared, or try to detain him, so Caleb took that as a good sign. They had been helpful the first time he'd been here, and even though that had ended badly, they hadn't immediately turned him away—or shot him. That meant something. He was sure of it.

All three focused back on Caleb. His heart leapt into his throat, the muscles in his body tensed.

"We'll ask around. See what we can learn." Venger held out his hands, palms up. "But don't expect much. I'm sure Dr. Maudas went to great pains to cover his tracks."

Caleb nodded, his body relaxing slightly. "I don't doubt that he did. But anything you can find would be helpful."

Venger clapped his hands together again. "All right. Business is done and out of the way. What plans did you two have for the rest of the day?"

Jan and Caleb looked at one another, confusion on both their faces. They hadn't figured out what to do after talking to Venger—they weren't even sure Venger would help them—so they hadn't made longterm plans. The business process seemed rather short, but if Venger wanted to move on, Caleb wasn't going to force the scavenger to stay focused on him. At some point, they'd have to head back to Matt's bunker and let them know the news. But he and a few soldiers had headed to the city to gather information, and Caleb had no idea when they'd be back.

True giggled, pulling Jan and Caleb's gaze to her. "I'm going to assume that look means you have no plans for the day?"

Venger smiled. "I do believe your assumption is correct, True. You're more than welcome to hang out here if you'd like."

"If you don't mind," Doc interjected. "I'd like to ask Caleb a few more questions."

Caleb's body tensed again. His mouth went dry.