"This plows ahead, making a trail for the rest, and knocking any of the dead out of the way." Mills nodded.
"Clever," she admitted.
"He don't got a chest full of metal for bein' stupid," Mills said as he leaned back and closed the hood. "Only thing we have been lacking is someone certified to drive this monster. Or certifiable enough."
"And that's where I come in?"
Mills grinned. "You ramped a Camaro off a car hauler, while it was overheating, across the fence line. I think that makes you the only person ballsy enough, crazy enough, and stupid enough to take this thing out and lead a convoy across 20 plus miles of snow-covered, dead-infested city."
"I take it there's a compliment in there somewhere?" she asked.
"All of it is, girl. All of it is," Mills sighed. "Colonel is a smart man. He knows how to utilize his assets. The boys and girls we got here are mostly play soldiers. National Guardsmen that ain't never seen a real battle till now. Don't get me wrong, they're good kids, but they're kids. To pull this off, there ain't no room for backing down, freaking out, or stopping to scratch your dick."
"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Williams," Bunny sighed. "I'm no hero."
Mills gripped her shoulder and smiled at her, the smile of tired old man who'd seen it all in his time. "I don't give a fuck what you think. I know you are. Otherwise, you'd be roamin' the streets moanin' for brains by now. Get over it and do what you know needs to be done."
She shook her head. "I'll do what needs done to get these people out of here. Doesn't make me a hero."
"Kinda does," he told her.
Bunny snorted. "Come on, we can start with this monster after I get back tomorrow. For now, I'd like to get the engine back in my car."
"Why?" Mills asked her as he went to gather the tarp. "I know you love that old thing, but she ain't never leaving here."
"We'll see," Bunny told him, helping him cover the vehicle back up.
"Don't you think it's time you stopped wasting energy on that?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "What else am I going to do?"
"Let go of the past," he offered.
Bunny bowed her head, finding she had nothing to say back to that. Mills opened the door and waved her through, shutting off the light as they went. Tomorrow, she would go looking for Marco. Then, she would learn everything she needed to know about the Beast.
She knew it was time to admit there was no room left for things she couldn't save.
Chapter Seventeen
“THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA,” Caroline grumbled.
Bunny looked over her shoulder then returned to packing the duffel bag on the cot in front of her. "I won't be gone that long."
"It's not about how long you'll be gone," Caroline said. "It's where you're going."
"To look for a friend." Bunny zipped up the bag and slug it over her shoulder. "Which Bruno tells me you asked to do several times."
Caroline frowned. "Him and his big mouth."
"He was right to stop you," Bunny told her.
"That was different," Caroline said. "I wanted to go look for you. You're going to look for a guy that by now may think of you as his next fine dining experience."
Bunny shook her head. "He won't. He's different."
"And you're willing to bet your life on that?" Caroline asked her.
"Yeah," she told her. "I am."
"You are way too trusting. Did you know that?"
Bunny sighed. "Look, it's not like I'm ever going to be in any real danger. Tanner and Andrea are going with me, we're all well-armed, and the Blackhawk will be minutes away. It's a quick in and out, just to see if he's still in the area."
Caroline gave her a dark look. "Whether he's still around or not really isn't what’s important. There will be Gaunts; that much you can bet on. They’ll be everywhere, and there's only going to be three of you."
"Caroline, look," Bunny said, resting her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Pete's got something planned, and you can bet it isn't in our best interest. Our only chance of finding out what's up is to find Marco and convince him to help us. Without him, we're sitting around in the dark waiting for who knows what."
"Doesn't mean I have to like this stupid idea,” the other woman grumbled.
Bunny smiled. "No, it doesn't. But it's necessary. Marco knows me, so he's more likely to come out, and more likely to not get shot if I'm there."
"You better come back," Caroline finally relented.
"Don't I always?" Bunny asked.
Outside the tent, Tanner and Andrea waited, already geared up and ready. Behind them, Bruno, Rebecca, Randy, York, Lucy, and Angel loitered, looking just as happy about this as Caroline. Andrea looked at them, then back at Bunny with an exasperated expression while Tanner smiled brightly.
"Kinda makes me wonder why I don't get a sendoff like this every time I go do something insanely dangerous," he said.
"’Cause I'm cuter than you," Bunny replied with a grin.
He nodded. "Well, yeah, there is that."
"Can we go now?" Andrea asked.
Bunny gave her a smile and a nod. "One second."
"You sure you won't reconsider this?" Bruno begged.
"I'll be fine. I promise," she said, not just to Bruno, but all of them. "Be back before you know it."
"You better be," Randy grumbled.
Bunny gave him a hug then said to the two soldiers. "Let's go, before one of them decides to tie me to something."
"Kinky," Tanner grinned, earning a slap on the back of his head from Andrea. "What? It would be."
The three of
