If Ely was right about Mexico, this could be the decision that saved all of their lives. Still, four or five hours was a long time. In this world, it only took a minute to die.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Carter
I drove down the mountain into Elderton by myself. Generally no one went anywhere alone, but I guess if the responsibility of being in charge gave me any privileges at all, then the ability to break the rules was one of them.
If this trip down to San Angelo was going to work, I needed help. Supplies, if I could get them. Manpower would be even better. Yes, Armadale had pissed me off, but he obviously knew what he was doing.
Maybe I could talk him into helping us. Or maybe he’d shoot me on sight. No matter what happened, I didn’t want any witnesses. Even if he didn’t shoot me where I stood, I would probably have to beg him not to. And a good leader never lets his people see him grovel, right?
Thirty minutes after leaving Base Camp, I pulled into Elderton. I made one pass driving through town, heading right down Main Street before circling back to the outskirts of town where the Armadales lived. I saw only a few signs of life in town, but the people of Elderton hadn’t stayed alive by sending out welcoming committees every time someone came through town. This time, I wanted people to know I was coming. No sneaking, no surprises.
I parked on the street in front of their house and sat in the car a while before climbing out. Then I leaned against the car door, legs stretched out in front of me, just waiting. I stood there in the cold until the wind burned my cheeks and my fingers started to go numb, even though they were shoved into my pockets. Then I pulled my hands out and held them up as I walked to the front door, like a prisoner about to surrender. I rang the bell. Then I knocked. Then I waited some more.
Finally, I called out, “Come on, Armadale, I know you’re still there. I’m not here to steal from you or ask for any favors.” That wasn’t strictly true. “I just want to talk. I’m alone. I’m unarmed.” And I was out of options. Time to grovel. “Mr. Armadale, please let me in.”
Finally, I heard a door creak open somewhere around back. I purposely hadn’t headed into the backyard. The last thing I wanted was Mr. Trigger-Happy thinking I was poaching.
He took his time meandering around the side of the house. He stood on the porch, his shotgun propped carelessly over his shoulder. His posture was casual enough that I knew he wasn’t out here alone. Someone was watching his back.
Armadale gave me a smile that was more teeth than warmth. “I thought we settled this the other day. I’m not giving you any help, you’re not asking for any, and that way we don’t ever have to come to blows.”
Just like during our previous meeting, Armadale talked with a backwoods drawl that made him sound ignorant. I wasn’t fooled by it. No one who had survived the Ticks and kept their family alive was stupid. “That still stands,” I called out. “But I have new information.”
“Weren’t you here just two days ago?”
I tried not to laugh—not because it was funny, but because it was ironic. A few days ago, the day Lily had been shot, seemed like a lifetime ago now. Now everything was different.
Armadale eyed me for a minute, like he was trying to figure out if I was lying to him. Then he swung around and headed back down the porch, saying, “Well, then, you’d better come on in.”
I followed him around back, where he let me into the kitchen. I sat at the table, hands flat—and visible—on the scarred oak. He sat at the head of the table, his shotgun between us, his hand resting on the stock.
He just watched me. So I started talking. I told him about the Tick attack on Base Camp and about the dead we’d lost and about Ely and Zeke. But mostly I talked about the Farm in San Angelo and all the kids who were going to die.
Armadale didn’t interrupt, not even to ask questions, but as I spoke his boys came to sit at the table. By the time I finished, even Dawn was standing in the doorway, her head cocked to one side so her hair fell over the side of her face, making her expression hard to read.
She was interested; I’d sensed that the other day. She might be willing to help. To fight, even. Maybe Armadale wasn’t the only one I could convince.
When I finally finished explaining where I was going and what I needed help with, Armadale just sat there for a while, considering.
“That’s all interesting, but I don’t see that it has anything to do with me or my family.”
“Look, I’m trying to do the right thing here.”
Armadale nodded. “I can see that.”
“I’m taking twenty-five guys halfway across the country to try to rescue what could be a thousand kids. And between us, we’ve got eleven handguns, five shotguns, and six tranq rifles.” Armadale just kept staring at me, forcing me to ask outright. “If you have any weapons to spare, any ammunition you’ve stockpiled, we could damn sure use them.”
“I got the impression you’d been scavenging for a long time now.”
“We have. We’ve hit abandoned homes and stores all over the Midwest. We’ve been lucky when it came to finding food. We haven’t been lucky about finding weapons.” It baffled me, thinking that when people left their homes, they’d brought weapons with them but not food. “Plus, I can’t leave Base Camp unprotected. I have to leave at least half of what I have there.”
Actually, I’d planned to ask if he could help guard Base Camp, but now that seemed like pushing my luck.
He looked at me a long moment, then shook his head. “This trip you’re taking down to Texas, this isn’t my battle.”
“With all due respect, this is everyone’s battle.”
“Nope. Not mine. My only goal here is to protect my family, and I don’t see how outfitting your boys is in my family’s best interest.”
“Does it matter if your ammo kills Ticks here or in Texas? I’d think a dead Tick is a dead Tick, no matter where we kill it.”
Armadale tilted his head to the side and scratched at the stubble on his jaw with the back of his fingernails. “Now, here I thought guns didn’t kill Ticks anyway. Aren’t they unstoppable?”
“They are not unstoppable.” I aimed for logic and reason, because my gut told me a big show of emotion wasn’t going to cut it with Armadale. This was a man devoted to keeping his family safe at all costs. No matter how sympathetic he was to our plight, I wasn’t going to sway him unless I convinced him that an alliance with us would benefit him. And it would. We had knowledge he didn’t. And once Sebastian came back, we’d have him, too. “A stake through the heart will stop one. You put enough bullets in a Tick, it’ll go down just like any other animal. You can kill them. I’ve done it. You don’t believe me, then you come with me to Texas yourself and I’ll let you watch while I do it.”
For a second, Armadale seemed to be wavering. One of his sons, Darren I think, certainly was. Darren couldn’t have been more than fifteen, but he was tall, like his father. He had the twitchy nerves of someone who’d been under the thumb of a strong parent. He’d been drumming a silent rhythm on the table with his fingers and he couldn’t keep his eyes off his father’s shotgun.
Armadale’s lips twitched like he was amused. “Nice try, but I’m not buying it. Besides, the way I see it, if I hand guns and ammo over to you, I might as well be arming my enemy.”
“Your enemy? Is that really what you think, that humans are your enemy? If I was your enemy, would I have walked back here to talk to you? Would I have just told you how to kill the Ticks?”
“Maybe not. Not yet, anyway. You’ve been able to find food so far. Well, you’ve been lucky. But how long before you start running out? Especially if you’re talking about bringing another thousand people back? Let’s say I loan you guns and ammo. What’s to keep you from coming down here and stealing my food?”
“I don’t need your food. I need a way to protect my people,” I said.