“So, do I actually have to ask, or are you just going to tell me?” Pam held her hands out to her sides, an anxious look on her face.
Quinn sighed. “They tried to kill us.”
“Who?”
“The survivors in Casper. They sent zombies to attack us while we were sleeping in the jail.”
“Why?” Pam’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. She placed her hands in her lap and leaned forward.
I sat up reluctantly. “Who knows? I can only speculate that it was because they thought we would endanger them since we knew where they were hiding. I’m sure they thought by getting rid of us, they could ensure their safety. We tried to go back and confront them, but they were gone when we got there.”
Pam stared at us for a minute. “Are you sure?”
I threw my hand into the air and slapped it back on my leg. “Well, no. But we couldn’t exactly find them to ask them. They fled from the mall.”
Pam averted her gaze to the ground and picked at some pine needles. She threw them into the fire. “Seems like a lot of hassle to go through. They could have just disappeared and you’d never know where they went. Why did they need to kill you?”
“Who knows?” Quinn said quietly. “All I know is that we don’t have to worry about them anymore. If they want to take care of themselves, then they can. I’m done babysitting others.”
Tanya made her way to the fire and took a seat to my right. I stared at her for a moment, then focused my gaze back on Pam.
“Any news about Liet?”
“Nah. He’s long gone. We haven’t seen any trace of him. But to be sure, we’ve placed guards in strategic places around the camp. He won’t get back in without someone knowing. In fact, no one will get in without someone knowing.”
“Have you had any trouble from the tunnel?” Quinn’s voice was laced with implication.
“Nope. Nothing.”
“Has anyone been out to explore what’s out there?”
Pam shook her head. “No. We figured we’d wait until you got back. We didn’t want to worry anyone needlessly.”
Quinn nodded. “Good plan. We’ll take care of that first thing tomorrow.” He stretched his arms above his head and yawned. “I’m beat. I’m going to bed.” He leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips before heading into the cave.
I watched him leave, then leaned back on my elbow and stared at the flames.
“Sounds like you had quite the adventure in Casper,” Pam commented.
I snorted. “It’s not the kind of fun I normally like to have.”
“Well, if anyone was going to come out of it alive, it was you two. You’re too crafty to go down.”
Normally, I would have smiled at the comment. It was good to know I wasn’t just lucky, but that I had some skill too and others recognized it. It was especially nice coming from Pam. She was the one who trained me. But with the amount of pain still radiating through my body, I couldn’t find the desire to be thankful. We were lucky, there was no denying it. We survived a horde attack and an explosion. In reality, though, it wasn’t that hard. The zombies were slow, stupid, it didn’t take much to get away from them. They had numbers on their side, that was their only advantage. If they cornered you, you were done for. You just had to be smart enough not to get cornered. Every once in a while, they would surprise an unsuspecting victim, pop out of a hiding place. I never understood how that happened. Was the victim not paying attention? Zombies were predictable. They were simple. So how did they destroy the world?
“Must have been scary out there, surrounded by all those zombies.” Tanya spoke quietly, her eyes glued to her lap.
I readjusted so I could face her. “It had its moments, yeah. But Quinn was with me, I knew I’d be all right.”
She lifted her head and stared at me. “Must be nice knowing someone’s got your back.”
I was a little shocked at the comment and didn’t really know how to respond. I glanced at Pam, who shrugged, then back to Tanya. I was still trying to get used to her presence. The last time I talked to her in Florida, she was gung-ho about helping the rebellion. She couldn’t wait to be a part of history and topple the evil tyrannical regime. At that moment, she seemed to struggle just living. She had no motivation.
Granted, she lost her father and thought it was our fault. She became hell-bent on getting revenge, but when she found out we didn’t do it, what was she going to do? What defined her life and gave her meaning was suddenly gone. It didn’t help that Quinn was mad at her. She did allow his best friends to get arrested by The Families. She was lost. She wanted to belong, but she didn’t know how.
“It is.” I didn’t know what else to say. “Everyone here has yours, you know. No one is going to let anything bad happen to you.”
Her face crumpled and she burst into tears. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed quietly. Wide eyed, I looked at Pam.
“What’s going on?” I mouthed. Pam shook her head.
“I told them!” Tanya blurted. “I told them everything!”
The anger instantly flushed my cheeks, and I set my jaw. My stomach fluttered, my throat tightened. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, believe she was talking about something else, but I knew what she meant. I knew what she’d done. I wanted to jump on top of her and beat her bloody, but I refrained. It wasn’t easy, but I stayed in control. I sat silently, waiting for her to finish. She slowly lifted her head from her hands and wiped her eyes on her sleeves.
That actually explained quite a lot. I always wondered how she got from Florida to Nebraska in Bill and Kyle’s car by herself. She didn’t have any weapons. Where did she stop for gas? I didn’t have time to dwell on it though, we had more pressing matters to attend to.
After her confession, I knew she didn’t have to worry about it. She drove from one military outpost to the next until she found us.
“I know you hate me. I know you’re mad at me, but I didn’t know what else to do. And if it makes you feel better, it took me a couple hours before I said anything.”
Oh, yeah, that made me feel tons better.
“Why don’t you tell us what happened?”
Thank goodness Pam was there. She read my mind.
I was afraid if I opened my mouth, I would lose it and yell at Tanya. That wouldn’t get us anywhere.
“It was right after the incident with my dad. I went back to the coffee house, in shock.”
She crossed the street in my mind, making her way to a table and sitting down heavily. She stared at the table top, her hands folded in her lap, wondering if what happened actually happened. She told herself it was a dream. All a dream. Bill came downstairs to get a drink and noticed her. He asked if she was all right, but she didn’t hear him. He touched her arm, jerking her back into reality.
“You all right? You look pale?”
“I…I’m fine,” Tanya squeaked out. She wanted to say something, tell him what happened, but she couldn’t find the words. She felt if she said it out loud, it would make it real, and she still wasn’t sure if it was.
“Well, if you need anything, you just let me know. Kyle and I are going to have to head back soon, though. We can’t stay here forever.”
Tanya nodded mechanically, focusing her gaze back on the tabletop.
That night, while they settled down for the evening, Tanya turned on the TV, hoping to get her mind off the events of the day. An emergency news bulletin took over all the channels. The story was about the semi that returned from North Platte, the semi with the zombies in it.
“It’s outrageous!” The newscaster was on the brink of yelling. “They are jealous of our existence. They want to wipe us out.” He placed his elbow on his desk and leaned forward, his right hand pointing at the screen. “They tell you they want to make the world safe, they want us to be able to leave Florida, but they can’t guarantee your safety. They have no control over the zombies, and they have no way to kill them. This wall, this drain on our resources, was supposed to keep the creatur
es at bay, but it won’t, and hasn’t, worked. The people in North Platte are probably already dead. The only safe place left is Florida. Think of your children. Think of your neighbor. Do you really want to go out there?
“We take you now to the recorded carnage of what happened earlier today. A convoy returned from North Platte with a truck full of supplies to find that clothing and food were not the only things stored in the back.”
The scene cut away to the back of the truck and the workers unloading the supplies. They carted the stuff away on dollies when a muffled scream rose from the trailer. They ran to the back to see what happened.
Within seconds, they moved away from the truck, more screams filled the air, accompanied by moaning. A girl ran to the truck, ready to jump in, but she was stopped. The camera switched angles, and Tanya’s shocked face filled the screen.
Bill and Kyle focused on her. Tanya’s tears rolled down her face. She tried to convince herself it hadn’t happened, but watching it on TV made it impossible to deny. She wanted to scream, to throw things, to punch a wall, but she couldn’t get off the couch.
“The people in North Platte didn’t do that,” Kyle’s voice broke through her sadness.
She looked at him, but she didn’t really see him.
“They would never do something like that.”
She sucked in a deep breath, and the tears stopped flowing. Her sadness was replaced by a near uncontrollable rage. She clenched her jaw and balled her fists. How did they know if North Platte sent the zombies or not? They’d been down in Florida.
“You don’t know,” her voice came out in a whisper.
“Yes, I do,” Kyle said. “They would never do something like that.”
Tanya got up and left the room. She wanted to shout, to tell him they did do it. They knew they couldn’t win, they knew they were outnumbered, so they sent their backup plan. The original plan was to attack at the same time. They knew it was impossible, so they took over North Platte and decided to even the odds. If the majority of Florida were zombies, they would be easier to take down.
She paced back and forth in her bedroom. It made sense. Florida was the only safe place, and they were trying to take it away. It wasn’t fair. Just because they wanted to live in zombie-infested lands, that didn’t mean everyone did. And why did they have to kill her dad? What had he ever done to any of them? She was going to get even. She was going to make them pay.
She headed out the front door. Bill or Kyle called after her, but she had a mission. She made her way to the Johnson High School.
“Hi,” the girl behind the front desk said. “How can I help you today?”
“I need to see Mrs. Johnson immediately.”
The girl’s eyes grew wide. “Hey, aren’t you the girl from the news?”
Tanya didn’t answer.
The girl picked up the phone, and Tanya was on the elevator a few minutes later.
“They said they weren’t going to hurt them.” Tanya moved closer to me, her hand outstretched, close to my knee.
I felt repulsed by her presence. I wanted to slap her hand away, but I knew if I moved, I would do more than slap.
“They said they were just going to ask them a few questions. Then, they told me if I wanted to make it up to them, I had to do something.”
She was close, within inches. I couldn’t look at her face. I was focused on her hand. I knew if she touched me, I would burst into flames or get some horrific disease. I tried to move away without her noticing.
“They told me if I came here and captured you, I would be forgiven for stashing the guns.”
Pam’s laugh was loud. I looked at her. What could she possibly find so funny? Tanya betrayed us. She turned in Bill and Kyle, and she was going to take me back to Florida, probably to my execution, all because she lost her father and her mind.
Pam collected herself. “And you believed them?”
Tanya looked hurt, like Pam just told her that her favorite pet had been run over. “At the time, yes.”
“Wow.” Pam stifled a few more chuckles. “You do realize they were hoping you’d die, right? It was all part of their plan from the beginning.”
Tanya sniffed and pulled her hand back. “I realize that now. I was so stupid.” She punched her forehead. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”
Part of me knew I should probably stop her from hurting herself, but the other part wanted me to let her do it. She needed some punishment, why not let her give it to herself?
“Well, you can’t change it now.” My voice was low, menacing. I didn’t mean for it to sound so evil, but what she did was unforgivable. It was rotten. She sentenced two of our best soldiers to death. Quinn was going to be pissed.
She stopped hitting herself and stared at me. “I know. But I want to make it up to you.”
“How?”
“I want to help you invade Florida.”
I scowled. “And how are we going to do that? We have no weapons. No way to fight them.”
“I have an idea.” Her face lit up as she spoke.
There was something in her eyes that didn’t make me comfortable. A glint or spark of treachery. How could I trust her after what she did? Maybe she was truthful about wanting to help, but she was going to have to prove it to me.
“You know,” I snarled, “I think I’ve heard enough from you for one night. We can handle the planning of Florida.” I stood from the fire. “Pam, keep an eye on her.”
Tanya huffed, “I’m not going anywhere. C’mon, hear me out.”
I stared down at her. “Maybe tomorrow. And don’t say anything about what you just told me to Quinn.” I pointed my finger at both of them. “He will kill you.” I turned and stomped into the cave.
I found a place to lay down and stared at the ceiling. I still didn’t understand why everyone wanted to kill me. How did I go from being a nobody to being the country’s most wanted? Granted, there weren’t a lot of people left, but they all seemed to be gunning for me. I rolled onto my side and placed my hand under my head. How was I going to get myself out of this mess?
CHAPTER 10
The throb of pain woke me. I didn’t know how long I’d been asleep, but I knew it wasn’t long enough. My eyes were dry and gritty, my head fuzzy with the half-awake half-asleep feeling. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.
What were we going to do with Tanya? She’d betrayed us, jeopardized everything we’d worked for, and turned in Quinn’s friends. Probably even sentenced them to death. She couldn’t be trusted. It was as simple as that. I had such high hopes she had changed, that she wasn’t the same girl I knew in high school, but she hadn’t. She was still self-centered and looking out for number one.
Quinn was going to be so mad. How many times had he told me we had to attack North Platte and Florida at the same time? We didn’t have the numbers, so we needed to rely on surprise. I talked him out of it. I convinced him the people in North Platte didn’t have time, that Liet was going to destroy them. Eventually, he would have, but he also needed them. The wall wouldn’t get built. He knew how far to push them.
In reality, the reason I pushed Quinn so hard was for my own selfish reason. I hated Liet. I wanted him to pay. I wanted revenge for the way he treated me. I didn’t consider the big picture, how my actions would affect others. I wanted results, and I wanted them quickly. I wasn’t much different than Tanya, so it was unfair for me to be mad at her. She acted on impulse, like I did. The only person who had any right to be angry was Quinn.
How was he going to react when he found out what Tanya did? He was pretty good at keeping his emotions in check, keeping his anger under control. Where did he learn that? Did his dad teach him how to remain calm in adverse situations? What would my dad have said? Or my mom?
No doubt they would have been disappointed. They would have never actually said they were disappointed, but they would have given me the look. Their faces would have been pinched with a combination of anger and sadness. Dad’s hands would be o
n his hips, and he would shrug and say, “Well, you’re old enough to make your own decisions, you’re old enough to deal with the consequences.”
Mom wouldn’t have said anything. She would have shaken her head and continued to do whatever she was doing. Then, at night when she tucked me in, she would have talked about emotions and their power over our actions.
“Sometimes,” she would say, “we get so angry, the only way we think we are going to feel better is by making the person who made us angry feel as bad as we do. We do something mean and hurtful. We don’t stop and think about the consequences those actions will have in the future, we just act. Sometimes, the best thing to do when someone makes you angry is nothing at all. The universe has a way of making people pay for their actions, and you’ll have to pay for the bad things you do, too.”
I remembered the lecture well. She gave it to me after Carmen made fun of me in the lunchroom and I dumped my tray of food on her. I’m sure they would have repeated it if they knew about Liet and the rebellion.
What did they know? They didn’t hear the other kids laughing at me. They weren’t the ones chained to the bed. The universe may even the score eventually, but I needed my vengeance sooner. But then again, maybe they had known something. It was a shame it was too late to know.
Quinn seemed to handle things much better than I did. He didn’t seem driven by his emotions. He wasn’t uncaring, he was just more logical. Still, he was human, and every person had a breaking point. With all that had happened with Bill and Kyle, I was sure Quinn was getting close to the edge.
My shoulder throbbed more, so I decided to get up and find some pain killers. I opted not to go for the heavy-duty ones but for regular ibuprofen. We were going to explore the backside of the mountain, and I needed my senses sharp.
I stepped out of the cave into the gray, cool morning. It was as I expected, I hadn’t slept nearly long enough. The fires from the night before were still being tended. The group set up a 24-hour watch, just in case Liet came back or the helicopters made it that far up the mountain. I figured either case was unlikely, but it was better to be cautious.
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