by Angel Lawson
Walker opens the driver’s side door. “First stop—Catlettsburg.”
“Really?” I scoot over, giving Wyatt some space. He doesn’t seem to want it and presses his hip against mine. “Why there?”
“We’ve got to sweep the town for Hybrids and Mutts. It’s possible some, particularly the Mutts that came from there, are hiding out.” She looks us over. Jude has also climbed in the bed. He stows his pack between his legs. “The good news is we’re all familiar with the town. Shouldn’t take too long. From there, Hamilton ordered us south.”
Her head disappears into the cab of the truck and she slams the door. It takes a minute for the engine to turn—who knows how long it’s been out here—but eventually it catches and she speeds away from the tiny garage.
“Anyone else feel like we’re about to get the greatest hits tour of the apocalypse?” Jude asks over the sound of the road and wind.
I fight a laugh but it’s pointless. We’re hunters now. Not fighters. Not soldiers. We’re looking for needles in a very big haystack. If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry, and I am definitely not crying.
3
Catlettsburg is a ghost town.
It had always been a quiet place but now, looking up at the massive barricades, I feel in in my bones. There’s no one here, human or mutation.
Walker won’t accept a feeling, though, and we break into the secured fence. The few remaining soldiers that hung back during the battle locked up the place and left as though they would be back one day. They didn’t expect Erwin to die.
“What did you say to her?” I ask Jude when we get a second alone. “Back at the garage?”
Their exchange had bothered me the whole ride over, but I didn’t want to shout it out.
“I asked her about Parker. No one will give me a straight answer.”
Jude and Parker grew close over the last year. Like, maybe even relationship close. We haven’t seen her in over half a year. “What did she say?”
“That Parker went AWOL about a month ago. She just left in the middle of the night—no reason given.”
“That sounds strange. I mean, she’s been with us since PharmaCorp.”
Worry lines tug at his eyes. “She’s not a big risk taker or stupid. She wouldn’t go off in the Death Fields alone. I mean, she wouldn’t, would she?”
“Not without a good reason.”
Leaves blow around the street like tumbleweeds, rushing up against shop fronts and fences. “We’ll split up,” Walker says. “Jackson, Jude, and Mary Ellen take the south side. Wyatt, Alex, Zoe, and I will comb the north end of town.”
Wyatt and I exchange a look as we separate from the others. We both know we’re being supervised. What is Walker--or even more likely, Hamilton-- afraid of? We pass the first houses headed into town. We climb the steps to a historic home. The school teachers lived here post-crisis. Wyatt tries the door—it’s unlocked. These people trusted one another.
“Zoe, wait on the porch. Signal if there’s a problem.”
“Signal how?” the girl asks.
I sense Walker holding back. I’ve been on the other side of her sharp impatience. With her jaw tight she replies, “Just shout or something. I’m sure you’ll figure out what to do.”
I can’t hold it in any longer. “Is there a specific reason we’re being punished like this? We’re the ones that killed Chloe.”
“You’re not being punished,” Walker says, stepping into the house. It smells musty even from a few days of being closed up. From a quick glance, everything appears in place. These people knew they were leaving and tidied up. No one has been back.
“Feels like a punishment to me.” I open every closet door in the house. Wyatt checks under beds. A fine layer of dust coats the dresser top in the bedroom.
“Hamilton thinks you know the Hybrids better than anyone. He needs our expertise and that’s why he sent Davis out that day to start tracking them down. To the security forces back at New Hope, they’re almost an urban legend.” She gives me a cool glance. “As are you.”
“They saw them at the battle,” Wyatt says, wiping his dusty hands on his pants. He’s moving to the door, confident this house is empty.
“By the time we got there they were on the run or dead. Hamilton has big ideas for the future of the country, but he doesn’t have the skills to handle the Hybrids and Mutts without casualties. I told him coming in like that—filled with piss and bravado--wouldn’t end well. He doesn’t understand their unrelenting drive and motivation,” Walker explains.
The problem is that a week ago I would have argued that I didn’t get it either, but I can’t say that now, at least for the Mutts. Hamilton and even Walker do not understand what we’re up against. Before, these super soldiers had a focus. A goal and a leader. Now? They’re alone, unorganized, and being hunted. The lack of structure and a single leader could ignite something we haven’t seen before.
Walker and Hamilton are right. We do know the Hybrids and Mutts better than anyone, but that doesn’t give us an edge. It just makes me aware that we’re headed for serious trouble.
With Zoe on guard, we check the rest of the houses on the street and soon we’re losing daylight. Wyatt notices and says, “I’ll take this building. You guys hit the shops.”
The building in question is the one where our apartment is located. I glance up at the window to our room. It’s where Wyatt and I declared ourselves to one another. He avoids my questioning look.
Walker weighs the risk of splitting up and I say, “Seriously, Wyatt can take care of himself. If we don’t split up we’ll never get out of here.”
Her hesitation is brief. “Be quick. Fire your gun if you get into any trouble.”
“You do know I’ve taken out dozens of these guys on my own, right?”
She glares at him and the truth is written on her face. She’s well aware and that’s not what scares her. Something happened to Walker while she was away from us. She doesn’t doubt our abilities—she just doesn’t trust us. I’m not sure she ever has. The irony is that she probably shouldn’t.
4
Wyatt quickly goes in the side door of the apartment building. It’s weird because I only stayed there for about a week, but it’s a place of importance to me. I feel eyes on me and turn to find Zoe staring.
“What?” I ask, shaking the nostalgia.
“You’ve got a weird look on your face.” Her comment is blunt and has a strange edge—even for the weirdness of our entire circumstances.
“Maybe I’m trying to figure out why, if Hamilton thinks our job is so important, we’re babysitting a kid like you?”
“What are they like?” she asks, ignoring my jab. We’re popping in and out of the shops on Main Street. Seeing them empty and abandoned makes me sad. These people tried so hard to continue life here. To what end? They’re either Mutts wanted by Hamilton or they’ve been absorbed into the city of New Hope.
“What are who like?”
“You know, the freaks we’re looking for.”
I peek down the long shelves at the bookstore. Zoe follows me—weapon down. She’s a terrible guard. “You’ve never seen a Hybrid?”
“Nope. Or one of those nasty Mutts. I’ve heard all about them though.” Her flat affect takes on sudden enthusiasm. And I spot a glint in her green eyes. “That they’re totally insane. Like an Eater but smarter. That they don’t just bite you but they’ll cage you up and cook you for dinner. Piece by piece.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Gross.”
“Is it true they have sharp nails that can slice through skin?”
“They’re not werewolves. They’re mutations—more like super soldiers than X-men. They use weapons and their fists like every other soldier.” That reality earns me a hard stare of disbelief. I have no idea what she’s been told, but I have a little better understanding what Walker meant by them being an urban legend. I do add, “Although like a dog, it’s best if you don’t taunt them.”
She rolls her eyes and watch
es me check the rest of the store.
Wyatt is back by the time we get outside and there’s no mistaking the impatience from the tic in his jaw. When Walker appears from a shop he asks, “Are we really going to go through the whole town?”
Walker rubs dust off her hands. “I agree, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. We’re going to have to come up with a better method.”
Jackson, Jude, and Mary Ellen walk toward us from the south side of town. Jude shrugs and it’s clear they’ve been unsuccessful.
Jackson confirms this, adding, “There’s nothing. I don’t think anyone has been back.”
The whole scene is getting on my nerves. What are we even doing here? After the fights and the battles and everything with Erwin and Chloe over the years, I feel like we’re walking in circles. And for what? To prove we’re with Hamilton and his cause?
A hand touches mine and I look up, well aware of the scowl on my face. “Calm down.”
“I’m not un-calm,” I snap at Wyatt.
To my surprise Jude says, “This whole thing is making me crazy.” I glance down at his hands and notice they’re trembling. I pull my hand from Wyatt’s grip and it only takes a second for the tremor to start up in my own.
“What the hell is that?” Wyatt whispers.
“Jane said side effects were possible. She also said to keep the focus off it we need to do what Hamilton wants.”
Wyatt studies us closely, his lips in a firm line. His eyes flash over to Walker and Jackson and the tension in his neck ratchets up. When he finally speaks he says, “Believe it or not I think Walker is out of her league here. She’ll never find the Hybrids like this. They’re too fast and they’re not going to leave themselves vulnerable.”
I nod in agreement. “Right. So what do we do?”
Without notice, Wyatt walks over to the others. I grip my hatchet to keep my hands steady. “I can find the Hybrids,” he says, interrupting their conversation. “But it won’t happen like this. I tracked them for months down in Georgia with Jude’s help.”
Jude laughs. “Help is an exaggeration, but he showed me how to scout. Back then they had Chloe’s orders pushing them along. Now? They’re alone. They’ll be scattered all over. They won’t come to a place like this—the Mutts either. They don’t have a sense of nostalgia. Their number one motive, all the time, is survival.”
There’s no reason for Walker or Jackson to argue. They know it’s true, they know Wyatt and what he’s capable of doing. She pushes a stray piece of red hair out of her eyes and asks, “Fine, what do you suggest?”
“I imagine right now they’ve all got a heightened adrenaline and are on the run. I don’t think most will stick together—particularly the Hybrids. If they don’t have a leader then they’ll maybe keep in small groups for safety from the Eaters. They’ll scavenge for food, shelter. They’ll kill any survivors they meet along the way—that is programmed in their brain. Humans must be obliterated.”
Zoe’s eyes are wide—she’s absorbing every word. Wyatt has that effect on people—girls in particular. He’s smart, handsome, and totally kick-ass. I have no doubt he’ll have a new fangirl before he finishes speaking.
“Jude and Mary Ellen will scout in one direction. Alex and I in the other,” he says, but Walker is already shaking her head. He doesn’t care. “You guys carry the supplies and act as liaison between us and the Safe Cities. We have to be quiet and stealth. They hear everything. Small pairings—no vehicles. We’ll meet back up every few days and plan our next move.”
Walker thinks it over and we pretend like it’s her call. Wyatt’s just proven one thing. We’ve got the upper hand, but to keep the peace with Hamilton we have to play the game. “Fine,” she says. “But one change. Zoe goes with you and Alex.”
The girl looks like she won the apocalypse lottery and she smiles wide for the first time all day. I bite my lip, concerned about protecting her and ourselves but keep quiet as Wyatt makes the agreement and the next step in our plan.
Seriously though, this apocalypse just keeps getting better and better.
5
Before we split up the next morning I ask Walker for a minute alone. We huddle in the chilly morning air next to the front barricade. “What’s the deal with Zoe?”
Walker’s face reveals nothing—just a blank expression. “What do you mean?”
I cross my arms. It’s too early and there’s not enough coffee left in this town to deal with passive-aggressiveness. I start flipping fingers into the air with each of my upcoming points. “Who is she? Why is she here? Where did she come from? Can she shoot and kill if she needs to?” I take a breath to keep going but Walker snatches my hand out of the air, nearly crushing my fingers. I flex back and we stare at one another.
“Don’t be obnoxious,” she spats.
“Don’t be obtuse. You know the more information we have, the more likely we all come out of this alive.” I narrow my eyes. “Or is that not the goal?”
Her jaw sets. “Our goal is to rid the Death Fields of Hybrids and Mutts. We’re here to create a future for our country. Nothing more.” I’m thinking of how I want to punch her in stomach, just finally knock her off her high horse, and she must see the intent in my eyes. In a low voice she replies, “Zoe is Hamilton’s daughter.”
“You’re f-ing with me.” I take a sideways glance at the girl in question. Her skin and hair are lighter but her lean frame and confidence reek of her dad.
“No. She was in New Hope when we arrived. She’s never been out of the city until now.”
“She’s been in there this whole time? Since the virus spread?”
“Yes.”
“Then why the hell did he send her out here on a mission like this? It’s suicide!” Walker rewards me with a smirk that she barely contains from full-out laughter. “What?”
“I’m thinking back to how you demanded Jane send you to the Vaccine Center and pitched a fit to your father to make it happen.”
“I did not pitch a fit.”
“Sure you didn’t.” The smirk is still there.
“Fine, maybe I persuaded my family into letting me go, but back then we were just fighting Eaters, something I had experience with. We weren’t tracking down genetically modified super soldiers.”
Walker sighs. “For the record, I tried to talk him out of it, but I only have so much sway. He thinks it will be good for her to get some boots on the ground.”
“The fact he didn’t listen to you says a lot.”
“Hamilton has a way of being persuasive. His arguments were solid.”
“Did he threaten to execute you too? Like Erwin? Like Green?”
Walker never had an allegiance to Erwin but Green was a partner. We all went through a lot together during that first year. She can’t pretend his death doesn’t hurt. Even so she says, “Green wasn’t the same person I knew. He’d made a deadly choice.” Meaning his decision to turn Mutt. “You’ll have to keep her safe. I’m not going to lie and say that sending her with you isn’t an insurance policy. You and Wyatt have had plans before to sneak off and leave this shit-show. That can’t happen. Not yet—not now.”
“Why does everyone think we’re about to bolt?”
“Who else thinks this?”
“Jane mentioned it.” The irony is I don’t even know what I want to do. Run? Stay? Curl up in a fetal position and sleep for three years? “We’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Keep it PG around her, okay? You and Wyatt still vibrate off one another like competing earthquakes.”
I make a face because, no. “Don’t worry about us. Worry about getting yourself to the meeting point in one piece. It’s not going to be easy. The Hybrids may not be here, but they’re out there somewhere and they’re primed to kill.”
“Have you always been this dramatic?” she asks, without a trace of humor. But I forget she wasn’t with us the last six months, during the imprisonment and torture. Walker doesn’t truly know us anymore or who our real enemies are.
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“Good luck,” I say to her because I don’t feel like getting into it. “You’ve got your map?”
“Yeah, marked with the meeting spot.”
I walk toward Wyatt and Zoe, both itching to get started. Again, it feels like a goodbye, but this time I may be ready for it.
“What was that all about?” Wyatt asks. He’s squatting on the ground, tying his boot lace into a double knot. He reaches for mine when he’s finished and does the same.
“Just getting a little more information.”
“Anything useful?”
Zoe watches our exchange but her feet tap with restlessness. “Nothing much. Come on, let’s get out of here. Night will come soon enough.”
I jerk awake, the sound of the forest pulling me from sleep. I was thick in a dream—my black pistol clenched in my hand. The crack and deafening ring of a gunshot splintering Chloe’s skull. Her face morphs at the last minute to Cole and my heart hammers in fear until I feel smell the dirt and decaying leaves of the woods. I blink away the darkness and my eyes adjust enough to see Wyatt pressed against the nearest tree. We camped out after getting lost the day before and finding ourselves too far away from shelter before night fell. Zoe sleeps next to me, curled up in a sleeping bag, and I look to Wyatt to see if I should wake her. His eyes, reflecting the moonlight from above, connect with mine and he shakes his head at the same time his shoulders relax.
I stand and step over the girl, nearly losing my footing. Wyatt reaches out and grips my arms, lifting me over Zoe, right into his chest. In a flash he’s got me pressed against the tree and my heart rate—which was already sky high from the dream—jumps a notch. He lowers his mouth to my ear and I brace myself—not realizing how much I missed his touch over the last week.
“I found something in the apartment,” he says, which is not what I expected. I push my hand under the bottom of his jacket, seeking warmth and closeness. I wait for him to continue. “It was a message. From Paul.”
