“The outlying sewers, subway tunnels, the mountains?”
“Why hasn’t Ezra asked to have home base moved to different sections of the city? Wouldn’t that make it easier to locate other survivors? We can only travel so far in a day.” I exhaled sharply out of my nose. None of it made sense.
“Without proof, there’s no need,” Ezra said from behind us. “At the first sign of other survivors, we move. That’s my orders. Until we see with our own eyes that there are others, we continue on as we have been.”
I whirled. “You take your orders from me, not some unknown on the hill living among luxury. Do you understand?”
He gave me a sardonic salute and stormed away, leaving me thinking I’d made an enemy. The forbidden tears pricked at my eyelids. Being a leader had its drawbacks. As inexperienced as I was, I wouldn’t know until any damage was done whether I’d made the right choice.
“Don’t worry. Ezra is always gruff. Let’s go get this week’s supplies.” Fawke clapped me on the shoulder.
Which constituted our life. A week of fighting, one day of provisions and rest, then back to a week of fighting. Dread filled me that this would be my life for the next ten years. Spotting a group of Malignants across the weed-filled courtyard, I turned and followed Fawke back into the building.
A few minutes later, armed with our weapons and scarves tied around the lower half of our faces, we headed for the tunnels. My mind drifted to the precious supplies we’d left behind. If there were other survivors, and they found our hideout, they’d clean us out, leaving us with nothing. We needed to find a way to protect our supplies.
“Ezra will fetch the crate this time,” I said when we spotted the drop.
“Fine by me.” The big man darted forward, grabbed the crate and returned, flashing me a sly grin. “A man’s job, not something a tiny girl could accomplish.”
He was right, since I’d not be able to carry the weight, but the sarcasm which he said it rankled. Nose in the air, I went to turn, freezing at the sound of Malignants close by. We’d let our guard down and were now surrounded.
Ezra placed the crate on the ground. We formed a circle, backs to the crates, weapons ready, and waited to see whether the creatures would get past the foul smell of us and attack.
Snorts and the sound of calloused feet across concrete grew louder. They sniffed. The growing stench that rose above our own attempt at camouflage alerted us to their closeness.
I fought to regulate my breathing, to keep my heart rate normal. From the sounds around us, I guessed this to be the largest group we’d encountered since my arrival. Had Fawke and I trained enough for me to be an asset?
Gage’s breathing next to me came in gasps. “There are too many.”
“Shh.” Kira shook her head. “Remember your training.”
A group of ten Malignants approached at a slow crawl, heads raised, nostrils quivering. They stopped a few feet away, confused by our smell and stillness. One of them opened its mouth and shrieked.
Thank goodness I’d grown used to the sound and didn’t move to clamp my hands over my ears. My palm grew sweaty around the handle of my sword. They could see us, or we wouldn’t need the scarves to cover the black lines on my face. Humans who smelled like Malignants. How long until they discovered our charade?
They turned and darted away.
“I don’t think we’ll get away so easily next time.” Moses slung his weapon over his shoulder. “The leader studied us a little too long for my taste. Once upon a time, before the bombs and disease, they were like us which means they can think and learn.”
Ezra hefted the crate to his shoulder. “Let’s get out of here before they come back.”
Fawke stopped us at the mouth of the tunnels and listened. Nothing but a sour-smelling breeze came our way. He waved us forward.
Gage’s foot sent a rock rolling into a wall.
Shrieks rose around us.
“It’s a trap.” Dante took off at a sprint, the rest of us on his heels.
I increased my speed at the sound of pursuit to the point I thought my lungs would burst. In order to fight, we needed to be in the open. I glanced back to see Ezra falling behind. The weight of the crate kept him from running at full speed.
“Drop it!”
He shook his head. “We need this.”
I slowed, then stopped and turned around. As I did, so did the others. We formed our fighting circle and raised our weapons. “We don’t leave anyone behind, and since Ezra is determined not to lose our supplies, we fight. May the Supreme Being be with us.” I gave a war cry. The others followed suit.
The approaching creatures faltered in their race toward us. I raised my sword higher and gave another yell. Let them know we wouldn’t cower in silence anymore.
The air filled with the sound of weapons firing, lasers slicing through the gloom and cutting the approaching group in half before we had to fight hand-to-hand. I thrust my sword out, slicing a shoulder. The creature screamed and attacked again. Fawke spun, his sword taking off the Malignant’s head.
I dropped to one knee and jabbed upward, cutting through the stomach of another. After shooting half of them, taking out the rest was easy, but we weren’t safe yet. From down the tunnel came the sounds of many more. “Let’s go. Dante, help Ezra.”
They each grabbed one of the handles on the crate, and we raced toward our hideout. I gripped the rungs of the ladder that would take me up and out of the tunnel and glanced back. Yellow eyes grew
