I could send Ezra with him, but as leader, I felt it my duty to take on the more dangerous tasks. Why have someone do something I wasn’t willing to? If I perished, the next poor fool to land on black would be sent to take my place same as any of them.
Pushing to my feet, I told the others to stay behind and pull the wagons out of sight. “Fawke will go with me.” I eyed Lars and Dayton. “If you two cause any trouble, I’ll have your chips detonated. Run and I’ll shoot you the moment I see you. You heard Sharon. You’re with us now. Prove we can trust you.”
“I’m in no hurry to die,” Dayton said. “You’ll have no trouble from me.” He handed me the pack with the luxury items. “Lars and I aren’t stupid. Good luck getting the same attitude from those you’re meeting up with.”
I nodded, hoping the released prisoners would cooperate because they were no longer behind bars. Not cooperating could easily result in their death. If they ran, they’d die for sure. I doubted any of them would be seasoned fighters. I slung the pack over my shoulder and motioned my head for Fawke to lead the way.
“During our watch last night,” he took the pack from me and put it on himself, “I spotted a tall building that looked as if it might support the weight of several people.”
“Not the chopper?”
“I don’t think they’ll land. The pilot will most likely hover and let the others jump off.” He inhaled long and deep. “With all these newbies, we’re going to have to take a day or two to teach them fighting skills. It’ll be too dangerous to have to babysit so many inexperienced people.”
“We can hold up for a while. If Sharon complains, we’ll explain why.”
He laughed. “You mean you’ll tell her and leave no room for argument.”
I grinned. “Yep.”
“Let’s hope your luck with her continues. I don’t think Soriah has ever met anyone as strong willed as you.”
His words sounded like a compliment and filled me with a rush of warmth. “This may be none of my business, but are you and Gage an item?” The words spewed out before I could stop them.
He stopped and faced me. “With only two years left on my time, why would I get involved with anyone here? Especially someone with nine years left.”
Which meant I had no chance. I shrugged. “That makes sense.”
“Why’d you ask?” His eyes twinkled.
“Seems like folks pair up on occasion. It’s a lonely life out here.”
“I don’t mind being alone.” He resumed our hike.
I stifled a sigh and matched my pace to his. We’d set off early enough that I hoped we wouldn’t run into too many Malignants. At least not until we retrieved the newcomers to our group. I also hoped they came with weapons, guns preferably. Every member of our group needed a long-range rifle and a sword.
A rock clattered to my right. I whirled in time to see a large rat scurry out of sight. The question as to what the Malignants ate when they couldn’t kill a human was answered. Rats would be easy prey to feed their offspring.
“If we ever find a nest,” I said, “we have to dispose of it.”
Fawke arched a brow. “Of course.”
Stupid statement. My face flushed. “Killing young will be easier than the adults.”
Again, his expression said I stated the obvious. “You know what I mean. We’re here to find survivors, but that doesn’t release us from ridding the city of Malignants.”
“Again, that’s obvious. By us clearing the way, scavengers have an easier time filling the coffers of the rich.” Bitterness dripped from his words.
My steps faltered. Fawke rarely showed displeasure with the life he’d been dealt. Did things get mentally harder the closer a person got to their date of freedom? Of course, we’d discovered a lot of deceit in the last few days. Lies told by Soriah to get us to do their bidding.
Fawke slipped through the same opening we’d discovered the day before and halted. “Coast is clear. See that building across the way? It’s got to be ten stories tall. It should suffice for the chopper.”
“If it isn’t full of Malignants.”
“Move as quietly as possible. Our suits will hide our scent.”
True. But I doubted those we were meeting would be dressed in the same suits. I glanced at the sky, relieved not to see any rain clouds. If Sharon really listened to my requests, the newcomers would arrive with a crate containing what they needed to survive out here. We weren’t as expendable as Soriah once thought.
We sprinted down the street toward the building Fawke had chosen. Inside, we stopped and pulled the scarves from our nose and mouth. The air reeked, warning us of Malignants inside.
I pulled my scarf back up to hide the black stripes and make breathing a little easier, then followed Fawke toward a set of stairs. Ten flights. Ugh.
We saw little sign of the creatures in the cement-walled stairwell. A few fresh smears on the wall that looked like blood. They’d brought their kills from yesterday here.
“Keep your eyes open for weapons,” Fawke whispered. “Anything else we can use. If they brought the dead here, they could have been wearing packs.”
That would be an easy score. I remembered the pack I’d spotted across the way a couple of days ago. We’d need to see if it was still there if others hadn’t found it first. We weren’t in any position to let anything useable lie out to rot.
On the fourth floor we found the remains of the first body in the middle of a nest. No sign of
