As her Camaro took to the air, arching towards the fence and Washington Park beyond, Bunny realized she’d been living her childhood dream. With that realization, she laughed in glee, for a moment the child she had once been, and the adult she’d always dreamed of being.
Bunny took a long, deep breath, fingers gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. Turning her head, she looked at Tanner, who had the look of a man mildly surprised to be alive. Behind her, York was shaking his head, having banged it on the back of Tanner's seat when they landed. Lucy looked dazed as well, while Angel struggled to catch her breath.
"I was right," Angel said as they began to smile. "You are crazy."
"Just a little," Bunny admitted.
Reaching down with trembling fingers, she opened the door, the heavy creak of the metal somehow comforting in the aftermath of their harrowing flight. Steam poured off the engine in waves, and as she stepped out, Bunny shut off the laboring engine and patted the dashboard.
The others began to exit the car as well, staggering slightly, still reeling from not only their brief jump, but the jarring landing. Bunny stepped back a little, taking stock of her car, and had to admit, though the poor thing was pretty well finished, it had gotten them where they needed to go.
Turning again, she found an assault rifle aimed at her, and upon closer look, found it had brought lots of friends. Slowly, she raised her hands and offered a wan smile. Glancing Tanner's way, she saw him holding out his hands, but his fellow soldiers were paying him no mind.
"So," came the voice of Colonel Williams, strong and loud in the silence. "Which one of you is the crazy ass bastard who jumped my fence?"
"Um," Bunny waved. "That would be me."
The Colonel moved through his men to stand in front of her, tall and imposing as he looked her and the others over with an appraising eye. "Of all the hair-brained things I've seen pulled in my life, that had to be the most reckless, thoughtless, and idiotic of them all."
"Oh, well, thank you," Bunny replied.
"I wasn't complimenting you," he shot back. "And you, Tanner. You of all people should know how dangerous this was. I told you to turn back, and instead, you chose to pull some crazy-assed Dukes of Hazzard bullshit into my base camp!"
Tanner came to attention. "Sorry, sir. There were few options, sir."
"Don't even try to put this on him," Bunny told the officer. "I was the one driving. It was my call."
"Your call?" Williams barked. "Your call was the wrong one, lady. You could’ve gotten people killed."
"Staying out there would’ve gotten these people killed. This was a risk worth taking by comparison," she shot back.
Williams stared at her in shock and anger. "These people? I'm not talking about these people! I'm talking about the over one thousand refugees I have in this camp!"
Bunny suddenly couldn't find her voice. Over a thousand people. There were over a thousand survivors, right here. It was way more than she had been expecting. More than she’d honestly thought was left alive in the entire city after what she'd seen, the sheer number of the dead roaming the streets.
"Over a thousand..." she finally managed to get out.
"Yes," Williams snapped. "Over a thousand, not counting the soldiers that you just put at risk with your little stunt. What if you missed and had hit the fence? What then? Or did that thought even cross your mind?"
"No," she admitted. "It didn't. I was thinking of the people in the car and getting them to safety."
Williams stepped closer, glaring down at her with rage. "I can't be concerned about five people when I have this many to worry about."
"Yeah, well, now you got five more," Bunny told him, meeting his glare with steel in her eyes. "You’re welcome, sir."
Williams rocked back a little, looking at her carefully. "Either you’re the craziest bitch left in the whole world, or have bigger balls than any man I know," he said at last.
"I'm sticking with crazy," Angel tossed out.
Williams shot her a dark look that silenced the former gang member quickly. Bunny tried hard not to smile as the Colonel turned back to her. Behind his back, she saw Tanner give her a thumbs-up, which she had no idea what to make of. Next to him, Lucy leaned on York, both of them smiling at her.
"Welcome to Fort Washington," Williams said at last, motioning the soldiers to lower their weapons.
"Been trying to reach it for four days now, so, you know, glad to be here," Bunny replied with an off-hand salute.
Williams nodded. "Well, there're rules in here, which I will expect you to follow from now on, for the safety and continued security of everyone, understand?"
Bunny nodded. "Glad to be in your care, and to be handing over that worry to someone else," she admitted.
"Rule number one," Williams barked, holding up a finger. "All new arrivals will immediately report for medical evaluation."
"Hold up a second," Angel said. "First thing you want to do is give us an anal probe? Seriously?"
Bunny waved her down. "He's right about this one. He needs to know we aren't bringing infection into the camp. It's the smart thing to do, so we'll be happy to do it."
Angel rolled her eyes but offered no further complaints. Bunny saw Williams give her a slight smile and a nod, obviously understanding that she wasn't looking to make waves. Likewise, she was grateful he was smart enough to
