“What’s your dream, Crynn?” Fawke smiled my way.
“To make it out of here alive.”
“Hear, hear,” the others cheered, raising mock glasses.
“That’s the best dream.” Fawke poked at the fire with a steel rod. Embers rose on a slight breeze smelling of death and decay.
“I used to tell my children scary stories of creatures that lived in the city,” Lara said. “I thought it all just that. A story. Then I jumped off that plane. When I heard them, then saw them, I almost dropped dead. All my dreams have been shattered.” She wrapped her arms around her bent knees. “I could care less if I live to see tomorrow.”
Shane put his arm around her. “You still have me.”
She leaned her head against him. “For now.”
I knew I had to get her to want to live, to fight. I needed her to realize how valuable each and every one of us was, but she wouldn’t hear me. She needed time to grieve. Tomorrow was a good enough time for me to set her straight. This life left no room for self-pity.
The next morning, Kira served us all a bowl of watery gray oats and weak tea. “It’s not much, but it’s hot. We’ve a long day ahead of us.”
“Everything goes on the wagons.” I dug into my meal. “We need our hands free and to be light on our feet. There’s hard work and a lot of fighting to be done. Moses and Ezra will pull the sleeping trailer. It’s big, but won’t have anything on it but the tent. Shane and Lara will pull the supply trailer. The rest of us will stand guard, ready for attack. Questions?”
When none came, I finished eating and rinsed my bowl. The others followed suit, then tossed their packs on the trailer. Since Dante had dug up the hole we stored our supplies in the day before, all we had to do was load what little there was.
I took a deep breath and glanced around the place I’d called home for almost a month. Would we find water? Would Sharon keep her word at dropping our weekly supplies? Worry filled my mind like rocks pebbled the landscape.
My chin quivered. No tears! Alga’s words rang out.
Squaring my shoulders, I gripped my gun and left the safety of the building. The others followed, taking up the positions I’d laid out for them.
A new chapter. One that would be harder than the last. I hadn’t thought anything worse than being dropped outside Soriah. I knew life would show me just how wrong I’d been.
“Scarves up.” I pulled mine over my face, hiding the fresh black stripes I’d put on that morning. “Eyes open, ears alert. Let’s move people.”
11
Night had fallen by the time we reached the first pile of debris. A building had toppled into the street, quickly being taken over by dirt and weeds.
Groans rose from the group as men released the handles on the wagons. Without being told, they grabbed whatever they could use to dig and hoist and got to work. Kira and I stood guard. Lara moved small stones, tossing them into a pile with the speed of a sloth.
“This is ridiculous.” I shook my head. “Lara, switch jobs with Kira.” I lowered my voice. “It’s obvious she isn’t strong and an even weaker fighter. Do you mind letting her take over the cooking?”
“Not at all.” Kira grinned. “I’d rather have something more physical to do anyway.”
I informed Lara of her new position. “You stand guard with me. If we have to fight, step back out of the way.”
“I’m not completely worthless.” Her face darkened.
“Then prove it.” I hated to be mean, but we had too much work to do and far too much danger around us for someone unable to carry their weight.
Shrieks reached us from the other side of the debris. Jolt scrambled up, nimber as a goat. “Holy Cow! There’s way too many Malignants for us to clear.”
My blood ran cold. “How do we move forward?”
Fawke joined Jolt at the top. “We can pick off a lot of them from up here. Shoot them down, maybe scare some of them off.”
In my opinion, those things were too stupid to be scared off. “Everyone with a long range gun climb up. The rest of you guard down here.” I reached up a hand for Fawke to pull me alongside him.
Jolt hadn’t been kidding. A large horde of Malignants sprinted our way. It wouldn’t take them long to scale the pile of debris.
“Fire!” I aimed and pulled the trigger.
When our weapons slowed, needing to power back up, we returned to the safer side of the fallen building. I slumped against the wall. A fifteen-minute breather would be nice. “Eyes open. There’s time for some of them to make it over. Have your swords ready.” My breathing came in pants.
Without more fighters we’d never complete this mission handed to us. I pushed away from the wall and turned on the radio. Let Sharon hear the shrieks behind us. Let her see if a Malignant came over the top.
The radio sat silent. After five minutes, I turned it off, hoping Sharon would call back.
Lara screamed.
I whirled in time to see three Malignants leap toward us. Gripping my sword, I joined the others. Taking care of three was an easy task, but more ventured over, their yellow eyes glittering as they spotted their prey.
I glanced at my gun. The light showing its power had turned to yellow instead of red. Only a few more minutes until it glowed green. We could hold them off that long.
“Sure wish we had a flame thrower,” Jolt said. “I started to grab one, but I got ushered out of the supply room too fast.”
“They have flame throwers?” I widened my eyes.
“Yep. Maybe you could request a couple?”
I could sure try. Anger boiled at having to ask for everything. Those on the hill in Soriah should send us what we needed without us having to ask. If they lost us to the Malignants, the next group of Stalkers would be fresh and untrained. If the wheel landed on a black square. If someone broke the law. Too many ifs for me.
As more came over, Jolt grabbed the nearest weapon and mowed them down. A big grin split his face.
“You’re actually enjoying this.” How is that possible?
“It sure beats working in the mines.”
“The mines are safer.”
“Are they?” He glanced over his shoulder. “Working ten hours a day in the pitch dark, hoping and praying to the Supreme Being that it doesn’t cave in? Nah, I’ll take this over that anytime.”
“As much as I’m ready for my time here to be over,” Fawke said, “I agree with Jolt. If I survive this place, I’ll live in luxury on the hill. Those in the mines work there until they die.”
“I’d prefer being a maid over this.” I grabbed my gun. “Lara, mealtime, please. We’ll eat in shifts, then resume clearing this pile.” It would take us a few days. Until then, we’d also have to sleep in shifts.
After a quick bite of dried meat, washed down with tepid water, we resumed clearing, shooting, rinse and repeat. The task seemed hopeless.
Gage seemed to always be close to Fawke. I exhaled heavily, doing my best to ignore her loving gazes, and failing miserably. Of course, the two would be close. I was the newcomer here. Relationships would have been forged long before I arrived.
With ten of us, we paired up to take one-hour shifts, me and Dante being the first to guard while the others piled onto the larger wagon. With no threat of rain, I’d opted not to have the tent set up. If we were overrun, the others could fire without the impediment of canvas blocking their view.
“Is this the plan?” Dante asked, reclining against a pile of rocks. “To dig, shoot, sleep, and do the same the next day?”
“Unless you have a better idea.” I remained standing, keeping my eyes focused on the pile we’d barely made a dent in. “If we could find a way around this, we could move faster.”
“Send someone out in the morning to scout.” He stuck a twig in his mouth, working it around with his tongue. “It might be easier to move rusty vehicles than this building.”
“If there was an easier way, the Malignants would have found it and attacked.”
&nbs
p; “Maybe. I still think it’s worth a try.”
After an hour, Fawke and Gage took our place.
“All’s quiet,” I said, moving past them and onto the wagon.
“At least those things need sleep like we do,” Fawke said. “Get some rest.”
While I was grateful for having taken first watch and being able to get several hours of sleep in a row, I lay on my back, pillow flattening under me, and stared at the dark sky. This land had two versions of dark. Gray and black. What I wouldn’t give to see the stars I’d read about.
My mother had always told me reading was a waste of time. Nothing in those pages existed anymore. I disagreed. Reading those words had filled me with hope that maybe the world could return to some semblance of that once-upon-a time.
Tears clogged my throat at how much I missed her. Did she think of me every day? The only consolation I had was the fact if I were to perish, she’d be notified. She wouldn’t have to wait to see whether I returned at the end of my ten-year-assignment.
Shane and Lara murmured from the far end of the wagon, wrapped together as a married couple did, taking comfort in each other’s arms. I sighed and rolled to my side, wishing for sleep to overtake me.
From the pile of concrete gave the soft conversation of Gage and Fawke. Loneliness assailed me, an emotion alien to me. Being an only child, I spent a lot of time alone. Here I lay, surrounded by others, and had never felt so alone.
“It gets easier,” Kira whispered.
“What does?”
“This life.”
“I’ve been here a month.”
“It still will.” She patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry about Fawke. He doesn’t care for Gage the same way she does him. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
I rolled to face her. “Forming an attachment here would be foolish.”
She laughed. “Yet, we’re human, therefore we do foolish things.”
“What about you?”
“I’m a lifer. If I want…companionship, I hook up with Ezra. Goodnight, Crynn.”
I didn’t want companionship. I wanted a life with a husband and children. All I had to do was make it to my twenty-eight birthday. Yeah, good luck with that.
I woke the next morning to the smell of brewing coffee. I bolted up. Coffee?
Lara smiled and handed me a cup. “I managed to filch some from the supply room. We were only given fifteen minutes. I kept it hidden until I thought we could really use a cup.”
“Awesome, but don’t do that again. We can’t have secrets among us.” I sipped, wishing for sugar, but almost giddy to have it black. I glanced around the others who seemed as pleased as I did. “Did you manage anything else?”
She cut a quick glance at her husband. “Thread, needles, a few medical supplies.” She started pulling things from her pockets. “I’ve been a thief my whole life. It’s how my family survived when I was a child. Shane hates it.”
“But he was arrested for stealing.”
She shook her head. “I stole the bread. He went along with me so they wouldn’t send me away with him. I know that sounds horrible, since we have children, but our children are now being fed on a regular basis. Sleeping in real beds. Receiving an education. It’s better that we both had to leave rather than one.”
“You’ll never see them again.”
She drew a shuddering breath. “My hope is that someone will adopt them and give them a better life than they could ever have had with me.”
I couldn’t imagine making that kind of choice. My childhood had been hard. Especially after my father died, but my mother would never have chosen a life of crime or given me up. “Thanks for the coffee.” I got to my feet and joined the others who stared at the mound of concrete and rocks.
“Dante told me of his idea.” Fawke glanced my way. “He also told me of your response.”
“Do you think I’m wrong?” I arched a brow.
“Not entirely. I think it warrants investigating. We might not find a place big enough for the wagons, but maybe we’ll find an area requiring less work to clear. Feel up to a walk?”
“Sure. We’ll leave after breakfast. What about the others?”
“They can stay here and keep working in case we don’t find anything.” He took a sip from his cup. “Did you reprimand her for hiding this from us?”
“In a way. She had other things, too. Helpful items.”
“Do you think she’s still hiding things?”
I shrugged. “I’ve bigger things to worry about. She’s here for life anyway. What bigger punishment could I dish out?”
“True.”
After another meal of watered down gruel, I collected my weapons, left Ezra in charge, much to his surprise, and set out with Fawke. “We need to find a water source. We can’t let our supply run out.”
“I agree. Rationing will come. It’s best if we push that off as far as possible.”
We fell in step together, following the line of the fallen building. I cast several apprehensive glances around as we moved farther from the group. The two of us would be no match for a horde the size of the one that waited for us on the other side of the blockage. The others wouldn’t be either.
Fawke and I could not be gone long. Once the Malignants were on the move again, attack on the group was imminent. I actually wished for rain to keep the creatures inside.
12
Senses alert, Fawke and I searched without speaking. The air filled with the sound of shrieks and the nauseating odor of decay.
Occasionally, Fawke would hold up his fist to call a halt, listen, then wave me forward. The pile of rubble on our left started to taper until I could peer over the edge without standing on my tip-toes. Good news in that it showed we might find an easier path, bad news in that if we could see over so could the Malignants.
We picked up our pace, coming to a break in the debris blocked by a couple of rusted out vehicles. If we could push those aside, we could pull the wagons through. Spotting a group of monsters too large for the two of us to fight ourselves, we turned around and headed at a sprint to the others.
“Thought we were going to have to call in the army,” Ezra said. “You were gone half the day.”
“We are the army.” I flashed a grin. “We also found an easier way.”
“Good thing. We aren’t making much progress here, and those things are too close for comfort.” He called for everyone to pack up.
I shrugged. I’d left him in charge. Obviously, it wasn’t a cloak he could easily shuck. I accepted a piece of dried meat and a small bit of water from Lara and sat to rest while the others loaded up.
“See anyone?” Moses sat next to me.
“Just Malignants.” I cut him a sideways glance. “You think we’ll run into people so soon?”
He nodded. “Follow me to the top.”
Exhaling heavily, I rushed my lunch and climbed to the top of the debris pile. I scanned the horizon, not seeing anything but Malignants emerging from buildings until Moses pointed.
“The weeds are trampled across that courtyard.”
“So?” The path through more vehicles and fallen buildings could have been made by the creatures.
“I’ve never known these things to make a path. They clamber over. Why bother? Plus…” He handed me a pair of binoculars. “What do you see?”
I lifted the piece to my eyes and took a longer look. A green backpack and a sword lay in the path. A few feet on I spotted the remains of who they’d once belonged to. “Not one of our former members?”
“Nope. We’ve not gone this far before.”
I climbed down and turned on the radio. “Come on, answer.”
“What is it?” Sharon’s face filled the screen.
“We need more people.”
“There aren’t any.”
I put on my sternest expression. “Take some from the prison. We’ve wasted two days trying to clear a path. On the other side of this pile is a horde of Malignants. If we die, you won’t
have your answers.”
Her eyes widened. “You want me to send murderers?”
“Why not? Give them the option of fighting with us or staying behind bars.” I felt pretty certain they’d choose to fight with us.
Fawke narrowed his eyes, clearly not in agreement with me. Maybe I should have consulted the group, but where else would we get the able bodies we need?
“We need help clearing our way and fighting. We’re grossly out-numbered.” I refused to back down.
“That would mean more supplies, Miss Dayholt.”
“The prisoners are being fed now, aren’t they?” I tilted my head. “It’s a matter of sending their food here. I’m sure that’s something you can handle.”
Bright spots of color appeared on her pale cheeks. “You’re very close to overstepping your bounds.”
I leaned closer to the monitor. “I’m responsible for these people. I take that seriously. Send us help or we don’t go any further.”
After a tense few minutes of staring at each other, she nodded. “I’ll get back to you before you retire for the night.”
When her image disappeared, I turned to the others. “We’ll keep moving toward the spot Fawke and I found. Hopefully, we’ll hear from her before nightfall.”
“That’s pretty gutsy, boss.” Ezra shook his head, grinning. “What if she used your chip to dispose of you?”
“I’m not sure the chip can do that.” I hefted my pack onto the wagon. “I think it’s simply there to track us. Moses showed me evidence of another human on the other side of this expanse of concrete. We aren’t alone out here.”
Shock rippled across the faces of my comrades. “But prisoners?” Kira shook her head. “I mean…half of us are criminals, only the hardened ones are sent to prison.”
“You’d think they’d be the most expendable, don’t you?” I shrugged.
“Can you handle murderers, Crynn?” Fawke asked. “The men she sends might not take orders from a tiny slip of a girl.”
The Wheel: A Young Adult Dystopian Novel (Nightfall Book 1) Page 7
