by Angel Lawson
“You guys can do that, can’t you? I mean, that was Dad’s original goal, right?”
“Yes, with the right tools, which Hamilton has provided, we should be able to produce what he wants.”
My sister is odd. She has strange mannerisms and an ability to make everyone feel lesser at all times. She’s brilliant with a touch of narcissism that must remain in check. She’s come a long way since she first unleashed the E-TR virus on the world, trying hard to redeem herself. Right now though, she’s twisting her hands together and I can tell something’s got her on edge.
“What’s wrong?”
“I need you to understand that Hamilton is dangerous.”
“I watched him execute Erwin and Green. I know that.” But that image has been softened by the display at the orientation meeting. That was just war, right? There’s more though, the familiar words he used at the close of his talk—the ones that matched Jane’s view when she unleashed the virus on the world. That makes me more nervous than anything else.
She shakes her head. “He’s serious about getting rid of all the Hybrids and Mutts. I have faith in the EVI-3. He’ll never know but if something came up, a side effect or reoccurrence, he’ll kill you on the spot. I have no doubt.”
“What about you? You took it too.”
“He needs me and I can make sure he always does. Same with Dad, but you guys? You need to get out of here fast. Follow orders. Get on the road. Track down Hybrids.”
“For how long?” Because that is not where I picture my life going in the long run—although to be fair, God knows how many of us have a long run.
“Until we know the EVI-3 is not a problem. Until you find Paul and Cole and come up with a better plan. Just don’t fight back. Not now.”
I lean back against the sofa. “I wasn’t planning on it. Wyatt and I already agreed to follow orders.” She gives me a wary look. I hold my hands up. “I’m serious.”
“I know you think you’re serious but neither you or Wyatt are great at sticking to a plan or following directions.” Her next sentence comes out in a whisper. “Hamilton is dangerous—his ideas…”
“They’re extreme.”
“It took me a long time to understand why my actions with the E-TR virus were wrong. I was convinced I was helping the world with science and not emotion.” She looks at her hands. “It wasn’t until I created Chloe and she turned on me that I realized my mistake. You, Dad, Avi and the others…you helped me see that. Not everyone has a support system like you guys.”
She’s tip-toeing around something but I sense she’s done talking. I take her hand and squeeze. “I promise we’ll be careful. You do your work—we’ll do ours.”
Her face and shoulders relax and I think she finally believes me. I have a million other questions about why she’s so concerned about this—does she think the EVI-3 is going to be a problem? If so, she’s taken it, too. We knew it was a risk. It was a trial—rushed to fight Chloe and the Hybrids. But as of now I feel fine. Sleep and food helped.
“Walker says we’re leaving in the morning. I’m not sure where we’re going or how all of this is going to work, but I think it will be fine.” I smile. “Just another day in the apocalypse.”
“I’m sorry you’re having to clean up my mess.”
My jaw drops. “Dude, it isn’t a ’mess’, it’s the freaking apocalypse. I’m on like, mutant-patrol or something.”
“I know. I know.”
“Make the vaccine and take care of Dad. That’s your job.” I bump her on the shoulder with my first. “I’ll take care of everything else.”
“You’re an amazing little sister, did you know that?”
“Honestly? I sort of did know that.”
She laughs and I give her another hug. It feels like a goodbye.
Maybe it is.
*
The transport van sprays gravel in our direction as it heads down the road. We’re on the edge of the Death Fields, the thin line between civilization and ruin. The weird thing is, I feel a sense of relief at leaving the city behind. Chaos comes in different forms. At least out here I can identify my enemy. Back in the city it’s too hard to tell what people want from me. Even Jane’s last-minute warnings hang over me like a cloud.
“So what? We’re on foot?” Jude asks. He says it to Walker’s back. Her red curly hair is in a loose ponytail and she’s headed toward a small garage attached to a worn down building. When she doesn’t reply, he shrugs and follows her, Mary Ellen right on his heels.
“Any idea if we’ll meet up with Davis?” I reach out to straighten the straps on Wyatt’s pack. The bags had been waiting for us in the transport vehicle. I searched the contents and found everything inside—except my mother’s ring. I cursed myself for losing it along the way.
Wyatt glances over at Walker and Jude, who are struggling to lift the garage door up. He scratches his forehead with his thumb. “I haven’t heard anything more than you have. I hope so. He’s definitely someone I’d like to have our backs while taking down Hybrids.”
“Same.”
The wind blows, making it clear winter is on the way. I spent most of spring and summer locked up in Chloe’s prison. I don’t take sunlight and fresh air for granted, but the chill runs through me. Wyatt notices and grips my hands with his, giving me a little bit of his warmth. I can’t help but smile and when he smiles back at me, a sudden sense of fear rolls down my spine. I remove my hands from him and walk over to the others.
He trots behind me and says, “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I don’t know how to express what I just felt. Things feel fragile right now. “I think we should keep the affection on the down low. I don’t want added complications.”
Wyatt nods. “Sure, okay.”
He walks past me and squeezes between Jude and Walker to help lift the door. His back flexes and the door rolls up, loudly shaking the hinges. A figure steps from the shadows and everyone but Walker pulls their guns.
“Hey, hey,” she says. “It’s Jackson, don’t blow his head off.”
I can’t describe the feeling in my chest when Jackson finally emerges, hands up. Part relief, part joy. These are the people I need in my life right now. People I know and can trust.
Wyatt approaches him first, giving him a quick handshake. They don’t know one another well, but any history is better than nothing in our world. I step forward and don’t even wait. I just throw myself at him and go for the hug. “It’s so good to see you. Things were a little crazy the other day. I was afraid you’d be sent somewhere else.”
“Nope,” he says, squeezing me back. “Hamilton wanted me to go with you guys. And not just me.” He looks over his shoulder and I realize there’s someone else behind him. “This is Zoe.”
Zoe steps out from Jackson’s shadow and I’m surprised to see a teenaged girl. She has caramel-colored hair and warm, brown skin. Her eyes are a stunning green that do not carry the jaded look of my partners. She looks young and remarkably clean, with barely a scuff on her shiny, black boots. My first thought is how I don’t want to have to carry the weight of someone inexperienced. We’ve already got Mary Ellen to contend with, at least I know she’s committed and understands what we’re up against.
Wyatt nods but frowns as he assesses her size and the way she holds gun in her hands. Jude looks disappointed and I see him pull Walker to the side and whisper something to her. She replies and whatever she says isn’t what he wants to hear. Mary Ellen doesn’t look upset to see another girl enter our mix and goes over to speak to her.
I point to the truck hiding in the garage. “Does that work?”
Jackson nods. “Yep.”
“Good, because I do not want to walk. Been there, done that.”
He smiles and it’s nice to see. “So where do we go first?” I ask, tossing my bag into the back of the truck. I’ve already decided I’ll sit outside—again, those months Chloe kept me cooped up have made me dislike the indoors.
Walker opens the dri
ver’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.
Chapter Four
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.
Chapter Five
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 watches me check the re
st 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.”
