Lopez’s radio squawked. “Yeah?”
Justin couldn’t make out what the other side said.
“Be right there!” Lopez turned to them with a terse smile. “A horde’s approaching the north forty. Gotta scram. I’ll be back with gas after the RedDead Alert.” Lopez zoomed off.
Dean didn’t look so good. His face had gone pale, and he had a limp. “Are you okay?” Justin hurried to him.
“Nothin’ a healthy shot of Crown Royal wouldn’t fix.” Dean brushed it off.
“Why’d you leave the truck?” Justin asked.
“Wouldn’t you know. It ran out of gas smackdab in the middle of the dern horde,” Dean said flatly.
“I don’t know about you all—” Luther eyed the plains warily and rubbed his juju bead bracelet. Funny, the toughest of them was also the most superstitious. “I don’t think we should wait for Lopez. Hell only knows when they’ll call off the RedDead Alert.”
They all stared at the vast wasteland of golden wheat-like grasses. Then boom! He saw it. “Guys, guys!” Justin wiggled his brows knowingly.
Dean and Luther instantaneously cocked their weapons.
Luther swiveled from side to side, peering through the M4 scope. “I’m not seeing anything.”
They were looking in the wrong direction. “The Blue Suit’s van. Can go anywhere,” Justin said. “The digital plates have all-access clearance.”
They stared at the white van with Last State’s official seal emblazoned on the side until that aha look swept across Dean and Luther’s faces.
“That’s whut I’m talking about!” Luther fist-bumped him.
Scarlett called them inside, probably anxious to know what the heck was going on. Twila reached Dean first and nearly knocked him over with a wild hug.
“I see that gleam in your eyes.” Scarlett called them on it. “A plan?”
“The HAZMAT van’s”—Justin paused dramatically—“just sitting there.” That got a grin of recognition from Ella.
“I agree with Luther,” Dean sided. “We can’t wait for the RedDead Alert to be called off. We won’t last long here.”
“Not without a shitload of ammo,” Luther hooted like a diehard Marine.
“They might search the bunkhouse next time,” Scarlett said, still monitoring the windows.
“Mommy,” Twila cut in, “the Silver Lady says they found us. This time they’re sending all the bad ones . . .” Fear seemed to ooze from her trembling voice.
“Hell’s bells,” Dean croaked. “Twila, you absolutely sure ’bout that?”
Twila’s slow eerie nod sent a wave of goosebumps up Justin’s arms and down his back. She was hardly ever scared. Bossy and sassy, yes. But not scared.
“We have to listen to her!” Ella demanded with her “caps-lock voice” on.
Scarlett’s hands flew to her head. “Probing. I can’t block them any longer. Sorry, I haven’t recovered from my—incident. I drank some of Ella’s monatomic tea. I’m still a bit spaced-out.”
Dean rubbed his stubbled chin. “It’s settled. We’re taking the van! And going to—”
“Don’t say it!” Twila blurted. “Don’t even think about the place. Make your thoughts go fuzzy.”
Justin side-eyed Luther. This was the part that creeped him out. Regular zombies, he could deal with. But mindreading-paranormal-supernatural Zs gave him the willies.
Ella’s big, beautiful, brown eyes brimmed over with tears. “We have to save mijo.” She kissed Mateo’s curly black hair. His heart wrenched at the thought of losing their son.
“I won’t let them hurt your baby,” Twila nearly spat.
“Alrighty folks, no time to dilly-dally,” Dean said, panning the plains. “We need to get that van. No doubt, Diaz and his men are reconning the property for dead-heads. How ’bout the fellas go out the back and sneak to the van? Staying below the grass line.”
“And what if we can’t find the keys and, and, and—” Justin started having an attack of the what-ifs. What if this turned out to be a shitty idea? What if they couldn’t start the van? What if they encountered a horde and turned—and Enforcers took Ella and Mateo?
“Bro, I can boost the van,” Luther boasted.
“Since when?” Justin was blown away by his statement.
“One of my hobbies before I scored my pro-ball contract. How’d you think I survived the apocalypse?”
“Like, why didn’t you ever teach me—”
“Dean,” Luther interrupted, “hang back. Me and Justin will get the van.” Luther firmly handed his M4 to Dean. “You and Scarlett sniper the stragglers.”
Holy shit! Crawlers could be out there. Hiding in the grasses. Please, God, Goddess—whoever’s listening out there, please let this cray-cray scheme work, Justin chanted to himself.
Dean accepted the weapon. “I’ll cover you best I can.”
“So, once we get there, we look for the van’s keys,” Justin rambled on, amping himself. Those grasses were so . . . tall.
“Forget the damn keys,” Luther huffed. “If they’re not in the ignition, I’m hotwiring it.”
“Ye-ah, right. Okay.” Justin kicked at the loamy soil. He needed to focus.
“Scarlett, you mind gathering the supplies just outside the backdoor? I’ll give you a shout-out if I need sniper assistance,” Dean said.
“I’ll help you, Mommy,” Twila chirped.
“You ready for this?” Luther slapped a fresh mag into his Glock.
Justin patted himself down, making sure he had his knife and extra mags. He planted a quick kiss on Ella’s pouty lips. “Love you, hon,” he mouthed. He avoided looking at his son to keep from choking up.
Ella adamantly shook her head no, looking from Dean to Luther to Justin with sadness spilling from her watery eyes. Justin nodded yes. He had to go. A horde was coming—for them. It was like he envisioned them snaking through the plains. This ESP thing really sucks. But deep down, he recognized it for the lifesaver it was.
“Let’s make haste.” Dean steered him and Luther out the bunkhouse’s backdoor while Scarlett gathered their supplies. “I’ll be right here. Holler if you see anything a’tall.”
Justin and Luther crept to the edge of the clearing. The HAZMAT van was maybe two to three football fields away. It might as well
