by Angel Lawson
“If you walk away from this you’ll be a wanted man—same goes for anyone else that goes with you.”
“They’ll have to make that decision on their own.”
Huh. That statement ruffles my feathers and when he barges back in the house and goes straight for his bag, I wait for him to even notice I’m in the room.
“I’ll check on the girls,” Jude says. He adds quietly, “Don’t leave without me.”
Jackson exhales heavily and walks outside to check on Walker. I’m not sure if we’re enemies now. This whole thing is confusing. Why do we have to fight one another?
“So you’re leaving?” I finally ask, when it’s clear Wyatt is more focused on his pack than anything else.
“I don’t work like this—with others—you know that.”
“You worked with Erwin.”
“That was a special circumstance.” His jaw ticks. I must not look convinced because he walks over, touches my chin and says, “I had to find you.”
“Out there—you made it sound like you’d go on your own. Take off again.” It’s stupid to feel needy right after he made it clear he made choices for me. But Wyatt and I are new. This thing between us is in its infancy and I’ve definitely never navigated waters like this.
“I’m not leaving you, if that’s where this is headed.”
His hazel eyes bore into mine and I swallow. “It’s not—not really. I get that you’re committed to this. To me. But you stormed out there and made a decision for all of us. A potentially deadly one, and that’s not okay.”
Anger flashes across his face. Not at me but himself. I take a step closer and rest my hand on his hip. “You and I are a partnership now. More than ever before. We have to think of one another.”
“Like you did when you took the EVI-3?”
Ouch. “Fair enough.”
He sighs and wraps his hand around the back of my neck. “We’re both stubborn and strong-willed. We’ll mess up, but we’ll do it together. You didn’t want to stay, did you?”
“Oh, hell no. Walker is off her nut. Something is wrong with her and I don’t think we need to stick around here any longer than necessary.”
“I think she knows about you and the others.”
“The EVI-3?”
“Yeah. Maybe she can just sense it or who knows, they may have had some intel? Either way, her loyalties to Hamilton make working with her dangerous.”
“Are you ready to be a wanted man?” I ask.
He cracks a grin and it nearly breaks my heart. “With you by my side? Any day.”
10
Dawn breaks cloudy and cold. The grass out front is coated in frost and I dig up a pair of gloves from the depths of my bag. Jude and Mary Ellen wait near the mailbox, both eager for distance.
Zoe peers through the front window. A deep frown is set on her
heart-shaped mouth. She wasn’t invited.
We know this could be settled right here, but no one wants that to happen. Not us, not Walker or Jackson. It’s the calm before a disastrous storm. The next time we see one another I fear there will be casualties. I honestly can’t think that far ahead.
Walker grabs my arm when I pass her on the porch. “Don’t do this Alex. I’ll have to hunt you down. I have my orders.”
“Do what you have to. We are. Isn’t that where we are in this world right now? It’s about survival. It always has been. Hunting down friends isn’t surviving. It’s just being imprisoned by another dictator. Another Jane. Another Chloe.”
I’m shocked to see her eyes water. “I can’t lose this chance. I want what New Hope has to offer. I need a commander like Hamilton.”
I nod and carefully extract my arm away from her tight grip. “I hope you get what you want. Good luck.”
11
The distance from Bluefield, Kentucky to Mount Airy, North Carolina is three hundred and seven miles. Straight over the Appalachians. By foot, on my calculations it would take over twenty, fifteen-mile days to get there. That’s time we don’t have now that winter is coming and we’re officially on the run.
The first thing we do after leaving Walker is head for the local high school a mile away. Vehicles pack the parking lot from back when the building was used as an evacuation center. A few Eater’ roam the outsides and I have zero interest in opening up the can of decaying worms on the inside. Unfortunately, a place like this is our best shot at finding a working car, so while Jude and Wyatt search one by one, Mary Ellen and I keep watch.
When Wyatt is out of earshot I ask, “How are you feeling? Like, physically.”
Mary Ellen’s hair is tied in a tight knot at the back of her head. She looks years older since when we met last spring. The innocent Mennonite, in her long dress and childish braids, that I met hiding in that farm house is long gone. Her bright blue eyes carry a haunted look and I notice her pupils grow big every once in a while.
I have a feeling mine do the same.
“You mean the injection?” she asks. I nod. “I can feel it running in my veins. Not as much, but some.”
An Eater lumbers in our direction, getting caught between the tightly packed rows of cars. Like a rat in a maze trying to get to the treat at the end.
“I feel it too—especially when we’re in trouble, you know?”
“Yes, that’s it exactly. When Jude and I were off on our own we ran into a Hybrid—just one. We managed to get the jump on him and took care of him easily. I don’t think the results would have been the same without the injection.” She watches the Eater get past another car. He howls in warning, desperate and a little lame. “Do you think it will stay like this? Like a little bit there?”
I know what she’s asking and why. It’s nice to have a little something extra out here but it’s also not what any of us want. Not in the same way as Hamilton and his keeping the humans pure directive, it’s not like that, but we don’t know what this means. How could it change us and who we are?
“If Jane were here we could ask her.” A strange cloud crosses her face. “What?”
“Have you noticed anything else?” she asks.
“Like what?”
The tips of her ears turn red and she glances around. The men are a row over, looking under the hood of a black Camaro. “I haven’t had my monthly.”
I frown. “Your—oh, right. Huh.” I look her over and mentally dig for my biology. I was pre-med after all. “You’re skinny as hell and fat is hard to come by out here.”
“You don’t think it’s the injection?”
“I honestly don’t know, but I doubt it.” I grab her by the upper arm and wrap my whole hand around it. “Seriously. Skinny as hell.”
She laughs and the blush fades. The Eater moves closer and I sigh, prepared to go take care of him, when the rev of a large engine echoes off the parking lot. I turn and Wyatt gives us a thumbs-up.
“Come on. Leave him,” I say, pointing to the Eater. I don’t feel like getting into it today—not yet at least. “Let’s get out of here.”
A light, cold rain starts the next day, making me even more grateful for the car. The tank was full when we found it and we stashed a couple extra siphoned cans in the back. We climb higher into the mountains, the roads twisting and sharp. Twice we have to get out of the car to move rock debris from the roads that must have fallen over the last year or so. Mary Ellen’s face turns green and she closes her eyes during the worst of it. When it grows dark I beg Wyatt to stop.
“Just pull over into one of the scenic lookouts. It’s too dangerous to ride at night.”
“We’re only a hundred miles out.” His eyes flash to mine in the rearview mirror.
“I don’t care. It’s too dark. You can’t see.” I don’t add that the rain and slippery roads make it worse. “I’m pretty sure Mary is gonna barf all over the back seat, okay? The twisty roads are worse back here.”
The girl grunts in agreement, pressing her hands over her eyes. Wyatt slows but doesn’t stop. I know he’s eager to get out to our
destination, but killing ourselves in the process isn’t the way to do it.
“What are we going to do in Mount Airy?” Jude asks. “You think it’s the Safe City?”
“Could be,” Wyatt replies. His hands tap on the steering wheel. “It’s the first town we’ll come to after crossing the mountains. From there we have Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Raleigh and Durham further west.”
“Raleigh isn’t a Safe City,” I tell them. “I was there when it all went down. It was falling apart pretty quickly.”
“I feel the same about Asheville,” Wyatt says.
Jude twists to look at me in the back. “What if Hamilton beats us there?”
A flash of white catches my eye by the side of the road. “Wyatt! Look out!” I scream but whatever it is flies across the hood of the car, landing with a thud. Wyatt brings the car to a skidding stop, the wheels sliding across the slick pavement. I lurch forward, arms out to keep from smashing into the seat in front of me. Mary Ellen hits her head against the side window, crying out in pain. Whatever he hit is lying on the ground just out of view in front of the bumper.
“Shit was that a deer?” Jude asks.
“Deer?” I ask, trying to get a better look. The hair on the back of my neck pricks.
“I don’t know,” Wyatt says. He reaches for his gun and checks the chamber. Jude’s already unlocked his door and I grip the back of the seats. Mary Ellen sits up straight, her weapon in her hand.
“Do not get out of this car,” I say. “Just keep driving.”
“Alex, calm down, I’m just going to get out and check. You’re the one that wanted to stop.”
Jude hesitates and scans the road outside his window. Wyatt, stubborn as ever, gets out of the car, slamming the door behind him. He walks in a wide arch around the front, his body lit up from the waist down by the head lights. An awful feeling builds in my stomach and I scramble between the seats, over the gear shift and into the driver’s seat. I have a better view of Wyatt, who walks slowly toward the car, gun raised.
“What is it?” Mary Ellen asks from the back.
“I don’t know but I don’t think it’s a deer.”
I reach for the door handle just as gunfire splits the night. Wyatt gets off two shots, both wide and not directed at the body on the ground. Before I can move the driver’s side door is wrenched off its hinges. A hand reaches in and yanks me out of the seat. Through the misting rain, I sense the danger around us. Multiple heartbeats, dozens of footsteps. We’re surrounded and it only takes a blink to realize it’s a Hybrid ambush.
At least ten pour from the dark with crazy eyes and ragged clothes. With no leader they’ve succumbed to feral instincts—the one holding me growls in my ear. It’s a thin line between Hybrid and Eater. I don’t want to be the one that pushes him over.
Mary Ellen yells as she’s ripped from the back seat. Jude is dragged across the road. I take a deep, fueled breath and smash the back of my head into the Hybrid’s face while stomping on his foot. I spin and fire, bullets puncturing the center mass of his body. He falls and two more take his place.
I take the closest one, kicking her hand and knocking the gun to the ground. She lunges for it but I shoot her twice. One misses but the other lands in her temple before she reaches her weapon. I don’t get a chance to breathe before the next one charges and I’m tossed to the ground like a rag doll.
Already I sense a change in the Hybrids. Less methodical—a little more feral. It’s a bad situation and I roll out of the way just before a blade comes crashing down, sparking off the asphalt. I swipe her legs and jump to my feet, racing to use the door as a shield. From there I unleash the remaining bullets, praying one will hit the target.
“I’m out of ammo!” I shout, throwing my useless gun. The Hybrid bats it aside and eyes me with a greedy look. A low rumble vibrates against the mountains and it’s odd enough to distract me. The Hybrid clocks me across the jaw, snapping my head back and rattling my teeth. He drags me across the pavement, my head scraping the rocky surface. The noise only gets louder and angrier, approaching at fast speeds. I see the lights first—the chrome next. Motorcycles, two of them, burst onto the scene and the people driving them jump into the fight quicker than I can process.
The fighters are light on their scuffed boots, but large in size—men—most likely Mutts. I don’t know where they’ve come from but I’m glad they’re here. One carries two guns at once, shooting in tandem. The bullets zing through the air, one only missing my head because I duck. The Hybrid that punched me in the face isn’t so lucky. It nails him straight between the eyes.
I turn to look at our guardian angels and in the glow from the headlights spot a wicked, skull-faced grin plastered across a dark bandana. It’s Mutt for sure—dark eyes connect with mine for the briefest flash before he starts firing again, taking out two more Hybrids.
Wyatt drags another in front of the car, head locked between his elbow and forearm. The man struggles but Wyatt makes it quick, snapping his neck in one swift motion.
Gunshots pierce the night. Bodies fall like the rain and as fast as it started it’s over. One Mutt reaches down and helps Jude off the ground—the other—with a familiar set of shoulders beneath his own creepy bandana and a dark, ear-covering stocking cap checks each victim to make sure they’re really dead.
“It’s good to see you,” Wyatt says, one second before Paul tugs off his bandana.
As much as I’m happy it’s Paul I can’t keep my eyes off of Cole, who has made no effort to talk or to approach us. I never know which man he’ll be; friend or foe.
“How’d you find us?” Jude asks, wiping his hands on his pants. His hair is slick with rain and a bloody scrape shines on his cheek.
“We had a little help,” he says, eyes flicking to mine. I raise my eyebrows, because not many people out there want to help us right now. “I made her stay back—out of the fight.”
“I tied her to the bike,” Cole says, walking past us.
I look back into the dark, behind the glaring headlight, and see a figure mounted on the back. It takes him a second to free the girl but within moments it’s revealed who led them this way.
Zoe.
12
“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask her, before casting a worried glance at Wyatt. Walker and Jackson and God-knew-who-else could’ve followed them. “Where’s Walker?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t want to stay with them, okay?”
I roll my eyes. Her reply betrays every bit of Zoe’s immaturity. “I’m not sure you had a choice?”
“Yeah, thanks for leaving me like that.”
“Zoe, I don’t think you get what we’re doing and who we are.”
“I know my father is watching you. I know he’s scared. I know there’s more out there than the perfect little Utopia he presents back in New Hope.” She flicks her eyes at Paul and Cole. “I know these guys aren’t bad even if they are a little weird.”
Wyatt looks like he could grind a walnut with the back of his jaw and the others just seem perplexed. “You don’t belong out here,” Jude finally says. “You’re going to get killed.”
“I don’t care.” Her eyes plead her case. “These last few years…everything my father told me, I believed. I thought we were the chosen people—that he was the chosen one that would lead us out of this crisis. I never thought differently until I started hearing stories about you guys. How you were fighting outside New Hope’s walls, with the very people that he considers an abomination and an enemy. My father thinks the world exists in black and white, but it can’t; if it did then that virus never would have happened in the first place.”
I don’t want to tell her that my sister created that virus to help people and fight back against radical idealization like Boko Haram. To do what the government couldn’t—or wouldn’t. It seems conflicting with what she’s saying now, that Jane did this to fight the radicals and in the end created more.
“How did you find these guys?” Wya
tt asks.
“We picked her up,” Paul says. “We’d been tracking you and a couple of the propaganda teams for a few days. We lost your trail just after you got into Bluefield—thought maybe you went down with that explosion.”
“No, but we were there,” I say.
“Yeah, we picked up again near the house you stayed at with Walker. We were trying to figure out what to do about her when this one came running down the street.”
“We thought we could use her as leverage,” Cole says. “But it wasn’t necessary. She told us everything and where you guys were most likely headed.”
“And then you saved our asses from those Hybrids,” Jude adds. “Thanks, by the way.”
“You’re welcome,” Zoe replies, as though Jude is speaking to her. He’s not.
Wyatt looks to Paul and Cole. “We’re headed to the next Safe City. We think it may be near Mount Airy.”
Paul shakes his head. “Past that. We heard Winston-Salem.”
It’s a small town west of Raleigh. I’m pretty familiar with the area made famous for processing tobacco plants and making cigarettes. My mom grew up there.
“I’ve heard that name,” Zoe adds. “My father mentioned it a few times. I never knew why though.”
“At the very least, it gives us a destination,” I say. “Once we’re there we can see what they know about what’s going on out here. If they know about Hamilton or the Hybrid wars or anything else.”
“Or the bounty most likely issued on our heads by now,” Jude adds.
“It’s a risk, but it’s one I think we need to take.”
“Guys, look,” Mary Ellen says. Her eyes are glued over my shoulder. The rain has finally stopped falling and a hard breeze pushes the clouds over the mountain just as the sun rises. The fight took place at the top of a ridge, giving us a magnificent view of the valley. I walk toward the sight, stepping over bodies and sticky pools of blood, in awe of the gold and pink sky bleeding through the haze. A hand rests on my lower back before Wyatt’s arm snakes around my waist.