“I’m pretty sure we can handle them,” Fawke said. “How many of you are there?”
He looked reluctant to answer, but after a minute shrugged. “You’d find out soon enough if you stick around long enough. There’s only five now. Scavengers and monsters finished off the others. You scavengers?”
“Stalkers.” I sheathed my sword. “It’s our job to clear the city of Malignants. Since that is an impossible task, we’re looking for a career change.”
His eyes widened. “Soriah will kill you.”
“If they find us.” I glanced at Ezra whose mouth fell open and gave a slight shake of my head, hoping he’d play along. If we could convince the scouts we meant them no harm, we might find out the location of their home on the mountain. This lone scout didn’t seem very bright, but he was talkative.
“Want me to go through the packs?” Ezra glared at the man who paled.
“No. We only take what we find left behind. We aren’t thieves.” Might not be my brightest idea, but these scouts should not be our enemies. I had a feeling we might need each other in the future. This group of people had escaped Soriah for years. I wanted to know their secret.
Suddenly feeling many years older than my eighteen years, I sat on the edge of the supply wagon. On the other side of the building came the shrieks of Malignants. The sound had become so familiar I no longer jerked or grabbed for my weapons. Not until I actually lay eyes on one.
The radio crackled.
“No one mention this man.” I got to my feet and stood in front of the monitor as Sharon’s face appeared.
“The Wheel did not land on black today.”
“Okay.” Why did she call to tell me something I’d figure out myself when no one arrived? “The president has decided to up your rations each week in order to give you the strength to continue hunting for survivors.”
I fought the urge to glance at the man off to my side. “That’s very nice of our president.”
“President Cane is hoping for a quick end to this mission, Miss Dayholt. I hope you can oblige.”
“We’re doing our best. Pulling these wagons is slow going. The city is blocked every way we turn.”
“I cannot send you more people.” The screen went black.
“I’ve never known Soriah to contact us about people not hitting the black square.” Ezra shook his head. “For some reason, they want on your good side.”
“Could they be suspicious that we’re veering off their original plan for us?” I glanced at him.
“I don’t know how. Not with these trackers in our arms. They know where we are at every turn.”
“You have trackers?” The scout’s brows disappeared under his cap.
“Yeah, so?” I stared.
“Nothing.” He looked worried.
Fawke motioned his head for me to step away from the others. “The closer we get to finding this mountain community, the greater the risk to them. Soriah will know their location by our trackers. Until we know whether these people are actually a threat to the city, we can’t lead them there.”
“I know that. Any ideas how to prevent it from happening?”
“Short of cutting the chips from our arms, no.” He exhaled heavily. “We’ve a lot of thinking to do. I’m so close to my release date. Ridding myself of my tracker means I never go back.”
“We won’t let that happen. I’ll think of something. A story you can tell. Make it look as if the rest of us have died at the hands of Malignants.”
His gaze locked on mine. “You’d do that for me?”
“If that’s what I decide, yes.” Without hesitation. Fawke had almost served his term. He’d be a huge asset to Soriah in some way.
I paced away from the others, deep in my thoughts. Kira and Ezra would jump at the chance of freedom. Anyone who wanted to join the mountain people…I’d find a way to make that happen. As for me, well, I hadn’t totally decided my fate. Perhaps I’d continue to hole up and wait out my time.
The city would continue to send me rations. Others would spin the wheel and land on black. I’d learned to fight, and if I ventured out only at night, then perhaps I’d survive. Yes. When we got close to finding the mountain community, I’d let each of my group make their own decision.
“Wagons fixed.” Dante wiped his hands on a rag.
“Let’s go. We need to find a place to hide out before daylight.” I glanced at the dumbfounded scout. “Take care of yourself. It’s best to travel at night when the beasts are less active.”
“Thanks. You, too.”
We headed away from the camp as five men, sending curious looks our way, sprinted to their comrade. I smiled knowing they feared the worst, but that they’d find him alive and well. We were here to kill monsters, not people.
“I don’t understand what’s going on?” Gage fell into step beside me, her face creased with confusion, fear, and a bit of anger. “As our leader, it’s your duty to keep us updated on your plans.”
“I’m still working that out.”
“We’re going to reach that mountain. Then what?”
“I said I’m working on it.” I increased my pace.
“Trouble?” Fawke took Gage’s place at my side.
“A bit. I don’t know what to tell people. We might not live to make it to the mountain. With scouts, scavengers, and Malignants, the fighting will only increase. When we get close, I’ll have a plan. The group needs to trust me.” Trying to work out what was best for everyone gave me a headache.
Again, I let hatred for the wheel and everything Soriah rise up. Why had I had such bad luck as to be the new leader? I’d prefer someone else make the decisions for the group. Stalker my hide. We were nothing but spies and wanderers.
“Hey!” A shout came from behind us.
Fawke and I whirled, guns raised, as two men raced toward us. “That’s close enough,” Fawke said.
“We have a proposition,” one said.
“We’re listening.”
“Our friend told us how you didn’t harm him or steal our things. How about we join forces until we reach the city’s edge? Strength in numbers, you know?”
I glanced at Fawke. We hadn’t harmed their friend, but that didn’t mean we could trust them.
“As the leader, it’s your call,” he said.
“What do you think?”
“It’s a risk, but he has a point. The closer we get to the city’s center, the thicker the Malignants.”
And I did say I wanted more people. “Okay. We’re looking for a place to camp for the day. Catch up to us.”
“Thanks.” They turned and darted away.
Their shouts pulled a few Malignants from the shadows. Fawke’s and my guns finished them off easily enough.
We were blocked by another toppled building. More fires burned the closer we got to the center, filling the air with the stinging odor of gas.
“I guess we’re spending the day here.” I hated the openness. I scanned the buildings closest to us. “Fawke, maybe we can stay in that one.” I pointed to a four-story building that showed promise. At least we’d be out of the open.
“The wagons won’t fit.”
“We’ll place guards. Malignants won’t steal our supplies, and a couple of guards can alert the rest of us if scavengers show up.”
“Let’s check it out.” He led the way into the dark.
When we didn’t find anything to alarm us, we told the others we’d camp there. As was the norm, Fawke and I took the first watch. I hoped the scouts showed up soon. Other members of our group might shoot first and ask questions later.
I leaned against the wagon and trained my gaze on the road in front of us. The weak sun blocked by gray clouds failed to pierce the gloom. I missed the fake sunshine of Soriah.
“The longer you’re here, the more glum you get.” Fawke’s worried gaze settled on my face.
“That’s because for every obstacle we climb over, there’s more, and I’m not talking just about finding a way o
ver buildings and around rusted vehicles from a century ago.”
“I’ve told you many times what a good head you have on your shoulders. You’ll make the right choices.”
I shot him a quick glance. “Will I? I’m not sure I can continue under the pressure.”
“You can, and you will. We’ve seen more cooperation from Soriah under your charge than ever before. They see the value in you. Now, you need to see your own value.”
I smirked. If I went through with the idea I toyed with in my mind, I’d become a rebel. One of the very people we hunted for. My mother would be mortified and shunned. Would my freedom be worth that? Only if I could find a way to free the people of Soriah from President Cane’s rule.
I rolled my head on my shoulders, trying to release the kinks caused by stress. In the growing light of day, I spotted the scouts coming our way and prayed I hadn’t made a bad decision by allowing them to temporarily join us.
“Hard to get the wagons around this.” A burly man I guessed was their leader, motioned to the wall.
“It is. We’ll spend half the night trying to clear a path.”
“Why not ditch the wagons?”
“We have supplies and a tent. We can’t always find a place to sleep out of the acid rain.”
He shrugged. “We manage. Name’s Lloyd.”
“Crynn Dayholt. This is Fawke.”
“Closed spaces are claustrophobic,” he said. “We’ll sleep under your wagon.” He tossed his back in and climbed under, the other four following.
It relieved some of my worry to know they wouldn’t be sharing my group’s sleeping quarters. Two guards at a time could guarantee these men didn’t try to steal our supplies.
We now had five extra pairs of hands to move debris. Our travels would be easier for however long we traveled together.
All I had to do was keep them a secret from Soriah.
18
When we woke that evening, the scouts were gone. I glared at Shane and Lara. “What happened? You were on watch.”
“We fell asleep.” Embarrassment flickered across Shane’s face. “Lara isn’t feeling well.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Kira placed the back of her hand across the other woman’s forehead. “She’s hot.”
“I don’t think I sterilized some water I drank good enough.” Perspiration dotted Lara’s upper lip.
“You know the dangers of this place.” I gritted my teeth to keep from saying something I’d regret. “We can’t afford to have anyone down. Now, the scouts are gone. Most likely to alert their comrades to our presence.”
“If they don’t already know,” Fawke said. “I think they wanted safety in numbers to get a good night’s sleep. There doesn’t appear to be any supplies missing.”
“Thank the Supreme Being for that.” I marched away from the group, clenching my fists hard enough for my fingernails to dig into my palms.
Why didn’t Shane keep better watch over his wife? Did the woman have a death sentence?
I stared down the crowded street. From the best of my calculations, we were in the city center. A few more days of travel and we’d be out. What waited for us out there?
Ezra didn’t think the Malignants roamed the open lands, preferring the dark damp of abandoned buildings to pastureland, once fertile, now nothing but miles of dried weeds. Still, there was something out there that helped an entire community survive.
“Are you okay?” Fawke placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I’d like to kill something.”
He laughed. “Maybe you’ll get lucky, and a Malignant will venture from its lair.”
“How messed up is that?” I grinned. “Hoping for one of those things to attack?”
“We could have a sparring session to allow everyone to work off some steam.”
“As tempting as that is, we need our strength for the journey.” I wanted to rest my cheek on his hand, have him pull me into a hug, smooth the hair from my face like my mother would do when I was sick or feeling bad. Instead, I squared my shoulders and stepped away.
Lara leaned heavily on her husband as we made our way slowly down the street full of potholes. More fires than I’d seen before burned in the cracked asphalt, taking away the chill of the night. With no rain in sight, and not being attacked by a horde, we rarely wore our rubber suits unless going out during the day.
Another good thing about more fires is less Malignants. I would have thought the hairless creatures would relish the heat, but they seemed to prefer the cold.
Something clattered in an alley to my right. I held up my hand to stop the group. When the sound didn’t come again, I waved everyone forward. We didn’t get far before I heard it again.
“What is that?” I asked.
“No idea.” Fawke pulled his sword. “I’ll go check it out.”
Not without me. I gripped my own weapon and followed.
Halfway down the alley I spotted what caused the racket. An injured Malignant fought to stand on a leg sporting a huge gash. “I think the scouts had gone through here. Why didn’t they finish the creature off?” With one swipe of my sword, I took off its head.
“Feel better?” Fawke flashed a grin. “You killed something.”
“Very funny.” I stood and stared at the four-story building. No faces appeared at any of the broken windows. Why injure a Malignant and leave it for us to find? I whirled, eyes wide. “The scouts left it to lure us here. They’re after the supplies.”
We sprinted back to the others, alerting them to get ready.
“Look.” I pointed to a window on the top floor of the building across from us.
A man hung out the window.
A Malignant shrieked.
The man, one of the scouts from last night, jumped. He landed with the sound of a melon hitting cement.
I rushed forward, Kira and Fawke at my side. He’d been gutted. “I guess he jumped to keep from being torn apart further,” I said, grimacing. Not that I blamed him.
The largest number of Malignants we’d run across yet spewed from the building. The scouts hadn’t left a trap, they had. “Run!”
The three of us turned and sprinted back to the others and formed our fighting circle. The injured Malignant must have had something wrong with it and the others left it as bait. Either that or the scout who’d jumped had gotten a good swing in before being hurt himself. Despite living among them as long as I had, I didn’t know enough about them to know the answer.
Shrieks filled the air, along with the rotten odor of the monsters. I pulled my scarf over my nose and mouth to make breathing a little easier and aimed my gun.
Guns fired, picking off a good number of the attackers before they got close enough for hand-to-hand combat. I set my gun on the ground and pulled my sword. “Do not step in front of me,” I told Fawke. “We fight side-by-side.” My tone left no room for argument. His special assignment be damned.
I dropped to one knee and thrust upward, stabbing a Malignant in the stomach. I withdrew, stood, and whirled, decapitating it as I had the one in the alley. Then, I turned and swiped as another charged.
Lara screamed behind me.
I barely got a glimpse of the Malignant biting into her neck before Shane killed it, only to be set upon by two more. We were losing the battle. “Do not let down your guard!”
Exhaustion slowed my movements. Still, I kept fighting. Behind me came the pants and grunts of my friends.
“We’ve got watchers,” Fawke said. “Two o’clock.”
I spared a glance to see the scouts watching but making no move to help us. They probably hoped we would die at the hands of the Malignants so they could take our supplies. Not today. I fought like a dervish, forcing my tired arms to continue, until the last Malignant lay dead and blood coated my arms and clothing. I gave Lloyd a jaunty salute, then turned away as the scouts melted into the shadows.
“Lara’s dead,” Kira said, “and Shane won’t last long. She didn’t have the strength to fight, h
er being ill.”
My heart lurched. “Anyone else injured?”
She shook her head.
“What happens if someone is bitten? Will they die?”
“No. But they will get sick enough to wish they did.” Kira pushed to her feet. “The poison lasts three to five days before our bodies fight it off. Lara died because her jugular was punctured. Shane’s been gutted.”
I stood over him. “I’m so sorry.”
His gaze fixed on my face. “She didn’t want to go on without our babies. This way is good enough for me.” His eyes closed, and his breathing shallowed until he passed.
“Wash up and move out.” I closed my eyes and said a prayer for the two we’d lost. I almost expected a call from Sharon, but none came. The loss of two petty thieves wouldn’t matter much to Soriah.
Jolt and Dante dragged the bodies to one of the fires and lay them across it. We stood and paid silent respects as we wiped the blood from our exposed skin. When we’d finished, we set off again, a silent and subdued group.
I kept everyone going, farther than we usually did, wanting to leave the place our comrades had fallen as far behind us as possible. Every bad thought I’d had about Lara rose up and threatened to choke me. This time I ignored Alga’s words and let the cleansing tears flow.
Fawke sent some concerned glances my way, but didn’t talk. His presence was enough. I knew he felt the loss as keenly as I did.
When I felt none of us could go any further, I called a halt in a shelled out building. The front had fallen, leaving three walls intact. With the wagons in front of us, it would provide a safe shelter. “No guards tonight. Everyone needs a full day’s sleep.” We’d hear if someone came.
The day passed peacefully. I woke refreshed to the aroma of coffee. My eyes snapped open. “Where did that come from?”
Kira smiled and handed me a cup. “I found it in Lara’s pack.”
“Anything else good in there?” She’d told me she hadn’t squirreled anything else away. For once, I was glad she lied.
“Enough coffee for us all to have another morning of enjoyment. That’s it.”
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