by Cross, Amy
He nod. “Three of them. They attacked the other day and killed almost everyone, and then they dropped bombs and destroyed most of the facility. The worst part is, I know exactly who sent them as well.”
“Who?”
“A group of very dangerous people who've taken up a position in Boston. Have you ever been to Boston?”
I shake my head. Spotting movement nearby, I watch as a man comes around from the other side of the truck, with several rifles hoisted over his shoulder.
“We should get moving,” he says sternly.
“In a moment,” Patterson replies, keeping his eyes fixed on me. “Tell me about the helicopters, Thomas.”
“They came to... where I was staying,” I reply, still not certain when or not I can trust him. “There were three of them. We thought they were going to help, but then they opened fire. They killed almost everyone. Hundreds of people...”
“They were sent to Mitchfield as well,” he says. “I believe they'd also been to at least one other location where large numbers of people had gathered. We had forty-odd people at Mitchfield, and now there are only twelve of us left. Believe me, Thomas, we've all witnessed some horror over the past few days, and that's why...” He pauses for a moment. “Well, that's why we're going to Boston.”
“But I thought you said -”
“We have weapons,” he continues, interrupting me. “We talked about it amongst ourselves, and we unanimously agreed that this situation can't be allowed to stand. What's happening in Boston is wrong, and if we don't stamp it out now, it'll just get worse and worse until...” Another pause. “I'm fairly certain that there are only around eight people in the city at the moment, so we figure that we have a good chance of surprising them. We're going to take that city and we're going to stamp out the cancer at its heart. We also need everyone we can get out hands on to come and help.”
“I don't think I -”
“Let me be clear,” he adds, interrupting me again. “You have every right to refuse to come with us, but you also can't stop us stripping this town bare before we move on. Now that accent of yours is pretty strong, and I'll be damned if you're not from Oklahoma. Am I right?”
“Sure,” I reply, “but -”
“And that truck over there,” he continues, pointing at my truck, “has Oklahoma license plates. So I'm gonna put two and two together here and say that you came into town on that thing. Am I right, or am I right?”
“What if you are?” I ask cautiously.
“We're taking it with us.”
“No!”
“You can't stop us,” he replies firmly. “We're going to strip this town of everything we can use, and then we're going to take that truck with us when we head off and continue our journey to Boston. You're welcome to stay behind, Thomas, but you'll be completely stranded.”
“You can't do that!”
“We can and we will. Or, you can play nice, come with us, join our little group and help out, and then we'll extend every possible hospitality to you, not only during the journey but also after you've helped us to liberate Boston. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like I'm being blackmailed,” I reply bitterly.
“Blackmail is such an ugly word,” he replies. “Think of it as friendly persuasion. Are you any good with weapons, Thomas?”
“I... I can get by.”
“We'll train you up along the way,” he tells, me holding out his hand again. “A lot of people here have scores to settle when we get to Boston. We're thinking this whole mess can be dealt with pretty fast, they've got defenses there but no real soldiers. The helicopters are the biggest problem, but we have something to take care of them. So what do you say? Are you going to do the right thing and join our little army? I can assure you, by the time we get to Boston we figure we'll have picked up quite a few people.”
I stare at his hand for a moment, before finally shaking it.
“But then I'm going to Lake Erie,” I tell him. “I'm not staying in Boston.”
“That's fine,” he replies with a smile. “We'll even give you some supplies to help you on your way. Now, I think its' about time we start picking this town apart and seeing what we can find.” He turns to the man with several guns slung over his shoulders. “Toad, maybe you can help Thomas get settled.”
“Sure,” the guy replies, clearly not too keen on the idea.
“Okay, people,” Patterson says, turning to the soldiers, “let's get this town stripped to the goddamn bone and roll out by sunset!”
As they start getting ready, I turn and look back over at my truck. I might be getting forced to take a detour to Boston, but I'm still heading back to Lake Erie as soon as possible. Back to Melissa and Katie.
“Come on,” Toad says, tapping my shoulder. “We've got work to do.”
To be continued in:
Day 100
(Mass Extinction Event book 6)
