by Annie Walls
“Probably, but I bet there’s an even bigger mess waiting on us.”
I cut my eyes sideways at her. “I needed to do this on my own.”
“Why?”
“Mya, a lot of people are dead because I didn’t stay where I should have, that’s why.”
“People die everyday. It’s nothing you did, trust me. You just set things in motion to change it.”
“But it’s only gotten worse.”
“No, it hasn’t. It seems that way because now you’re in the middle of it.”
I slump in the seat because she has a point.
*
Of course, we’re the last ones to get to the rendezvous spot where Leila is keeping Ariella. People rush us.
“Oh Suga! You made it.” Glinda’s dainty arms go around me.
Reece stands there, too. Both of them looking worse for wear. He scowls at me. “Where have you been?”
“Killing zombies.”
His gray eyes blaze. “You didn’t think to tell anyone?”
“Mya told Mago.”
He opens his mouth to argue, closes it, and then lets me have it, “That doesn’t count! You know that cryptic bastard doesn’t say anything to anyone.”
“Is everyone okay?” I change the subject, glancing around for Rudy.
Reece shakes his head, scoffing. My breath catches. “Felix and Nita were killed.” He lets that sink in.
I swallow. “And?” My voice cracks.
“Kale and Ty were shot, but they’re alive. Gwen and Nastas are working on them now,” Reece says, but as he sees my face, his glare softens. “Sorry, he’s helping with the refugees.” Then he points toward some tents.
I let out a puff of air even as my eyes burn for our losses, I’m relieved. “Are Nastas and Gwen in one of them? We need to move out ASAP.”
He sends me to an oversized tent. I unzip it and poke my head in. Gwen looks relieved. “Thank goodness! I’ve been worried,” she says, rushing over and hugging me.
I smile at her. “Mission complete.” Kale and Ty both sleep soundly, probably on the drugs Mac had with him. I thought about his bag in Rudy’s truck. “Did you find the couple, Ashley and Bryce?”
Nastas speaks up. “Yes, hungry, thirsty, pissed, and soiled. But we found them.” He changes Ty’s bandage on his leg. Kale’s injury is in his shoulder.
“Good,” I clear my throat. “We need to leave as soon as we can,” I tell him. He agrees, but with the stipulation of tomorrow.
Backing out of the tent, I run right into a body that wraps me in a tight embrace. I turn, my arms going around him. “You made it,” he whispers into my toboggan.
Despite his warm words, his face is stoic. He has a black eye, but is otherwise unscathed. “What happened?”
I reach up to touch his face, but he backs away. “Jonathan hit me.” His brow furrows. “He was happy to see Julie, but not so happy I was with her.” He grabs my toboggan, letting my locks fall around me.
“You’re mad.”
Leaning down so he’s face-to-face, he says, “Beyond mad. You didn’t think anyone would worry about you? Or do you not give a shit?” Apparently, his questions are rhetorical because he turns and walks away.
Trembling, I clean up, drink some water, and sit down with Mac’s bag in the truck. I take a deep breath and open it. He has some T-shirts and pants shoved in. I pull them out and turpentine reaches my nose. My face grows hot at the smell of Mac.
There is a brand new crossbow, not a pistol crossbow. A full-sized one. Tears prick my eyes. I pick it up, and it’s lightweight for a crossbow. There’s a scope, and you can load five arrows on top. It looks like he worked on this himself. The arrows are made by him with wicked points. I know for sure because the fletching is funky colors. He had done this for me.
I put it all in the bag and sit, staring into space.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Commotion outside wakes me and Rudy isn’t in here. After putting my locks back with my head wrap, I dress in a sweatshirt and jacket. I’m ready to get to warmer weather. I grab the crossbow and hop out.
A big campfire blazes with dozens of people and children around it. Some are in a daze, others happy and chatting merrily. I go to the tent Nastas and Gwen were in last night.
Kale and Ty are awake and eating. I smile at them. “Thanks for taking one for the team,” I say and squat. I’ve never seen Ty so still. He’s usually bouncy and full of energy.
“Riiiiight,” Ty slurs. “My leg is all messed up. I’ma have to do therapy, they said.”
I pat his good leg. “Now you have battle scars.” I smile. “Look at the bright side, could have been a zombie bite.” He gives me a look that says, clearly, I don’t know what it feels like to have a bullet wound. He’s right.
“How are you?” I ask Kale, straightening his sleeping bag.
He waves his makeshift sling, holding his arm bent at the elbow. Hair sticks to his head and he can’t shake it out of his eyes. “Samantha’s going to want to kill you.”
“Tell her to get in line.” That gets a smile out of him. “Thanks. You did great. There are happy children out there.”
“Not good enough. Nita and Felix won’t get to see them.”
“Hey. Don’t talk yourself down. They wouldn’t want you to.”
Gwen pokes her head in. “There you are Kan. Come on out and get some food.”
I’m walking toward the food when someone yells, “You!” It’s threatening, so I turn and hold up my new, mean looking crossbow. Well, the rainbow arrows tone down the meanness, but still. A man with a buzz cut and demeaning eyes glares at me. Jonathan. I remember him now. Not so nice anymore, is he? He notices my weapon, and his steps falter. A bandage covers his hand from punching Rudy.
“Did you have something to say, Jonathan?” I try to sound bored, because I really don’t want to shoot him. He has every right to be mad, so I’ll let him say whatever he needs to say. To blame me for whatever he is blaming me for.
He remembers what he was mad about, “Yeah. You kidnapped my wife!”
“You have her back,” I turn to go.
“I missed the birth of my baby girl.” His voice chokes as his face screws up.
I give it to him straight. “Well, I miss my father, my mother, and all my loved ones from before all this shit went down. So do a lot of people here. I’m sure you even lost family and friends. Several other people are dead, too. People that were helping to save you from the people that took the world away from us. At least Julie and Ariella are alive. You should enjoy it while it lasts.” His face falls even more, but I’m on a roll now as anger keeps flowing. I drop my weapon since he doesn’t seem much of a threat any longer. “I should shoot you for hitting Rudy. He took care of Julie, and did his best to get her to you. I’m not saying I’m not at fault, just saying I’m trying to right the wrong of it!” I scream the last, hoping someone will get it—even if it is just Jonathan.
Shooting him one last glare, I walk away before I lose any more control. Walking into the woods, there are some famished walking about, waiting for commands. I take my crossbow and pull back. I’m not used it, but I will be eventually. The arrow shoots out like a bullet in a gun. My jaw drops. This is cool. I shoot four more zombies and go to them and examine the arrows. The arrows stick out from the skulls cleanly to the fletching. I have to really tug to get them out.
I try shooting one farther away, about sixty yards. The zombie slumps to the ground. This crossbow is marvelous. The pistol crossbow can’t hold a candle to it. I smile, knowing Mac fixed this up, and as a gift he knew I would love. I wish he was here to see it in action, though he more than likely tried it out already. It makes this crossbow much more special to me.
I don’t know how long I stay out shooting famished, but it helps me stuff some stress down. Starving and covered in zombie goop, I jog back, picturing one of these rainbow colored arrows stuck in Guido’s eye.
*
“It’s all encrypted, Kan.”
Sam comes running up to me, glancing at my gore-coated clothing.
“What is?” I ask.
“The notebooks. Kyle’s “working” on cracking the encryptions.” He makes finger quotes.
“That will take time, and I don’t think he should be the one working on it, Sam. We need to wait until we get to some power, too.”
“You don’t trust him?”
“Not quite.” I sigh. “Anyone tell Mago?”
He looks at me, “That’s another thing…Mago, Leila, Mya, and their people haven’t been seen since you got back. Their vehicle is gone.”
“What?”
“They left with no sign of foul play. Not much we can do.”
I never asked Mago what his plans were, so this doesn’t surprise me that much. “Did he take any equipment?” We walk toward our group that congregates to make plans.
He nods. “We think so, yes.”
Reece and Rudy eye us as Nastas nods, but I have one thing on my mind, “Hey guys. I think we need to be extra alert for famished. If Mago or Mya dies, a lot of people will. There aren’t enough of us to protect them.” I wave my arm toward children that play with a jump rope.
“Then we should pack up and head to Arizona,” Nastas says. “We can figure out what to do when we get them to safety.”
I really don’t want to do this. I’m not ready to go to Arizona. Unfinished business lies elsewhere, and now, the Mago problem, but the small group agrees with his plan. I just agree right a long with them. “Let’s pack up.”
*
Turns out we nabbed seventy-eight people from the compound. This number includes our own. The bus is a welcome blessing at this point instead of a hindrance on gas because this particular bus was made for sixty-six people. With all the other vehicles and Rudy’s truck we can transport everyone easily.
There isn’t a car left for me to take. I’ll wait until we get to a town and head out on my own. Ty’s going to Arizona until he heals before going to Nashville for Felicia. He by no means likes it. Kale doesn’t either, but neither one of them are in any shape to argue much. I tell them we’ll go, that the important thing is to get these people somewhere safe.
What they don’t know is, I’ll have their families in Arizona before they heal. I don’t tell anyone of my great escape because I’ll be talked out of it until a later date. That would only piss me off and chase me into the woods to kill more famished, possibly with my bare hands.
Besides, they have the information from the compound. I’ll play in that ballpark when I’m ready. I also have to do something about Mago.
I’m packing and straightening up inside the vault, when I feel someone standing there. A young woman watches me. I recognize her as Cynthia. She has straw blond hair and nondescript brown eyes. There’s a massive bruise on the side of her face. The girl I duct taped to a toilet, put her head in the water, and then pistol-whipped, twice.
“You could have told me who you were,” she says.
“No, I couldn’t have. Glad you made it out, though,” I say, relieved she isn’t going to cause me problems.
She shakes her head. “I feel so stupid not recognizing you. At least I have a story to tell.” She gives a small wave and walks away. Unbelievable.
I stare at her retreating form with my mouth open when Rudy comes into view.
He watches Cynthia walk away and glances at me with crossed arms and a raised brow. “You beat her up and she’s proud?”
“I can’t really wrap my head around it, either. I put her face in toilet water.” The vault is clean for now. “We have room for people now.” I think about asking him to go with me, knowing he wants Guido dead, too, but he’ll only want me to wait. “I think I’m going to ride with Sam and Kyle. Talk about the systems, make a plan.”
His eyes narrow and he leans against the truck. Focusing on the milling people, he shrugs. “That sounds like a great idea.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Yeah. Great idea. Until I find out Maddie finagles her way into riding with him. I let it roll off my back—I have other things to worry about besides Miss Bleach Blonde Barbie. Everyone loads up and drivers gather around their maps, tracing the route. Glancing at the route myself, I need to separate from them sometime today. By tonight, they plan to set camp in southeastern Idaho. I do not want to be in Idaho. I want to be southeast of Montana, preferably in South Dakota or Nebraska.
Sander and Sam don’t seem to mind me riding with them. Kyle visibly perks at the mention of riding with me for hours on end.
Kyle is a one of a kind character with shaggy hair. What captures my attention about him are his clothes. The black T-shirt faded to a dull grey quite some time ago—it features Doc’s face from Back to the Future—under a thick flannel with holes, showing a thermal shirt underneath it all. How many shirts is he wearing? His Chuck Taylor’s are duct taped together and thermal underwear peeks out through the frayed holes in the knees of his jeans. Everything he has on is from his old life. It makes me like him, that he holds onto it so dearly.
I throw my pack and my tent into the trunk. “Shot gun,” I say, plopping into the car, but not before Sam rolls his eyes. “You better watch out, I’ll chain you to the back of the car by your bull ring,” I joke.
He laughs and flexes his oversized biceps, which are clearly visible through his tight hoodie. “Try me,” he says, his face scrunching up as if he is lifting weights.
I make a show of the loaded crossbow in my lap. “Challenging me?”
“Dirty,” he mumbles.
Now I laugh. “Never said I played fair.” Kyle goes back and forth between us, soaking up our camaraderie with fascination. I glance out the window to see Sander speaking with Rudy. They both peer over at me at the same time. What a way to be inconspicuous, fellas.
I sit back and get out my atlas. Our first stop will be here in Montana. I have to make it through this car ride until then. Sander hops in, “All set, amigos.” He peers at me, then at the map. “You’ll like it in Arizona.”
I ignore him as he pulls out with the line of vehicles. “So Kyle, what do you know?” I ask, might as well make this ride productive.
Sam speaks up for him, “Let’s say the revolutionists have several of these compounds. I have this idea about getting in touch with more people, you know? For our cause.” It’s apparent this discussion has already taken place without me.
Kyle jumps in, “Trust me. Your pictures are everywhere. You’ll have people expecting you. No need to waste time on that.”
“Good. So where are they?” I say, none to friendly.
Silence, but I don’t budge from my stare. Sam sighs. “Two in the Northeast, one in Seattle, three in Canada. Alaska. That only covers North America. They hold an annual convention.”
I perk at this news. “Where? When?”
“We’ll find out,” Sander says. Everyone must already know all of this.
“My first priority is to find Mago. I’m always waiting for that bastard.” My bad mood is getting to me. I’m starting to feel smothered and claustrophobic. I roll the window down a few inches and put my forehead to its icy coolness.
Sander leans over from the driver’s seat to pat my leg. “Stop feeling so much pressure. You’re not in this alone.”
Sam scoffs from the backseat. “Is that what your bitchiness is about? I thought you were raggin’.” I flip him the bird. He waves it away. Kyle’s eyes are wide behind his glasses. “We are here for you, you know?” Sam’s face is earnest.
I nod and put my head on the window.
*
The car stops, and my eyes pop open. “Time to gas up,” Sander announces, sliding out of the car. We are at a warehouse somewhere. Hidden resources. In a small town. I should be able to find a car. Sam and Kyle are out stretching their legs.
I slip out and go around to the trunk for my pack. I’m putting it on, biding my time. Gwen comes over and gives us homemade trail mix and a jug of water. I drink a lot of it, watching as everyone piles o
ut of the bus.
I walk toward the throng of people, getting lost in them. I don’t dare look around and draw attention to myself. Going around the bus, I take a chance and glance behind me. No one pays me any attention as I smack into a body. A hard body. Rudy leans up against the back of the bus with his arms crossed.
“What the hell are you doing?” I snap.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I have to pee,” I say. “And I’m raggin’.” Blurting it out, thinking it’s the perfect excuse. With the exception of Mac, men usually get uncomfortable when periods are mentioned. Zombie blood and guts, sure. Woman blood, they go running for the hills.
“What a coincidence, I gotta go myself. If you need sanitary napkins, there are some in the truck,” he proves me wrong and pushes off the bus. “Unless…you were doing something else,” he advances on me. All imposing and dominating. I back into the bus.
“Are you suggesting you’re going to watch me pee?” He doesn’t answer, just presses his body close to mine. My own responds, reminding me of pure human instinctual needs. The traitor.
Something flicks through his expression, but he waves toward the woods. “Go ahead, Darlin’. I’ll cover you.”
“I don’t need anyone to cover me, and I don’t need any sanitary napkins,” I gripe, stomping into the woods. He’ll come after me if I’m not out in the amount of time it takes me to do my business. He knows, too. He’s waited on me plenty of times before. How can anyone know me so well? Better than I know myself?
I step out of the tree line, hearing his jeans zip, and he emerges about the same time I do. I scoff. “How do you do that?”
He looks around with wide eyes. “Uh, basic human instinct I suppose.” His hands mimic unzipping his zipper. “Just unzip and—”
“Not that.” I laugh. “Time it perfect. You’re always done right when I am.”
A slow grin spreads across his face and his eyes twinkle mischievously. My cheeks flame as I realize how that sounds. “Not that either. Oh, never mind.” I scoot away from him, bumping into a tree. “Perve,” I mutter.