Far from Done: Far Series Book Six, page 26
Jace’s grin didn’t fade, but it did change slightly when he looked at Kiaya. It was softer, less comical, and more sincere. “No one is going to miss me, Kiaya, and if it means these assholes get what’s coming to them, I’m willing to sacrifice myself.”
“Well, I’m not,” she shot back.
Jace only shook his head.
For the first time ever, the exchange allowed me to catch a glimpse of the kid Kiaya knew. It was there one second and gone the next, but I couldn’t deny it had happened. Jace had let his guard down.
“We can talk about the logistics later if the time comes, but for now, I’m inclined to let Jace come.” Devon looked around, gauging our reactions to the plan so far. “Any objections that don’t have to do with how much you like or dislike Jace?” No one said a thing. “Good. Let’s fill the others in and get moving.”
We spread the word, letting everyone know what was going on, and met with the team leaders to make sure we were all on the same page.
“I’m not sure how this is going to play out,” Gabe said to Rick as the troops who weren’t coming with us filed into the two neighboring houses, “but we’ll either come back here or radio to let you know we need backup. Don’t try to contact us, though. I don’t need the radio squawking and giving us away.”
“And if you don’t come back?” Lisa asked. “What then? How long do we wait before coming to look for you?”
The expression on her face left no room for debate about the last point. She was flat out telling Gabe she wouldn’t leave without searching for him. No matter what.
“If we don’t come back or radio by morning,” he said, “you can assume something went wrong.”
“That’s not what I asked,” Lisa snapped.
“Don’t come looking for us.” Gabe’s tone was firm. “You know what these people are capable of. We all do.”
Lisa’s mouth scrunched up.
“You’re telling us to leave you behind?” Max sounded appalled. “Without even looking for you?”
“They don’t take prisoners,” Kiaya reminded him. “We all know that. If we don’t come back, it’s because we’re dead.”
Silence settled over us, and Eden moved closer to Rick, who put his arm around her. Lisa looked away, blinking, and Max swore under his breath.
Devon swallowed. “Gabe’s right. We can’t risk everyone else’s lives.”
“What about Mike and the other kids?” Ari asked, his usually lighthearted tone somber. “We just leave them?”
“I guess that’s something you’ll need to discuss if the time comes,” Devon replied.
Again, no one said anything for a few seconds.
It was Gabe who broke the silence. “We should get going.”
The others nodded and began to move, those going with us adjusting packs and checking weapons while others murmured goodbyes before heading to the closest house.
Lisa went to Gabe. “You better come back to me. Understand?”
He pulled her against him, resting his forehead against hers. “I love you. Don’t forget that.”
“That’s not the response I wanted.” She balled her hands in his shirt. “Tell me you’ll come back.”
“I’ll do everything I can to make it back to you. I swear.”
“Damn you, Gabe,” she said.
She started to say something else but was cut off when he slammed his mouth against hers. The kiss was desperate and full of all the emotions that would accompany a kiss goodbye.
I turned my back to them.
“You ready?” Kiaya was saying to Jace.
“Ready to meet the devil, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“No one is meeting the devil today,” she said. “We can do this. I believe in us.”
Jace tilted his head, his mask slipping away for the second time today. “You’re the only one who’s ever believed in me. You know that, Kiaya?”
“I know.” She clipped the strap of her backpack across her chest. “But I’m determined not to be the last.”
At that, the mask returned, and Jace’s mouth twisted into a cocky grin. His eyes darted around like he was trying to figure out who’d noticed the exchange, stopping on me. We stared at each other for a few seconds, him braced as if waiting for a blow, me trying to work out who the hell this kid really was. He looked away before I could come close to forming a hypothesis.
“Everyone ready?” Gabe called once Lisa had joined the others in the house.
“Let’s do this,” Devon said and started walking.
The rest of us followed.
Kiaya and I rarely held hands. She was more affectionate with me than she had been in the beginning, but public displays weren’t exactly her thing. Especially in moments like this. For some reason, though, I found myself slowing until we were walking side by side, and I took her hand.
She glanced my way, her eyebrows raised questioningly.
“I love you. You know that, right?”
“I do,” she said, then tilted her head. “And I love you.”
I gave her hand a squeeze. “If things start to go bad, if it looks like we’re in trouble, I want you to run. Don’t worry about me or anyone else. Get back to the rest of the group and home to Zara and Lexi. Got it?”
“You know I’m not going to do that.”
I let out a strained breath. “Humor me and lie.”
“You know that’s not me, Doug.”
This time, I sighed. “You always have to be difficult, don’t you?”
“Honest is more like it,” she said.
We walked in silence after that, but I didn’t let go of her hand.
It was easier with just the seven of us, and we made it to the school without drawing more attention from the dead. We also didn’t see a single person or sign that indicated anyone living was around, which had me worrying Ryan was wrong about Minster. At least until the school came into view. Once it did, we knew we were in the right place.
We set up in a grouping of trees so we could stake out the building, each of us silent as we pulled out binoculars and got comfortable. We were at the back of the school, and from where we crouched, we could see the entire playground. A chain link fence topped with barbed wire had been erected around it, and every inch of space that wasn’t blacktop had been turned into fields. There were dozens of kids, some as young as five, while others appeared to be in their early teens. They were all working, all digging in the dirt with their hands, or lugging buckets of water while armed men and women stood over them. Guarding them.
I could see the kids clearly through my binoculars, and I searched the sea of faces for any that looked familiar. A little girl caught my eye, and I paused, trying to recall who she was since I’d only really interacted with Mike and Lexi. I was pretty sure the girl was Denise’s daughter, but I didn’t know her name. It was the boy next to her that really caught my attention, though. His back was to me, but he had dark brown skin just like Mike. Only, he looked older. Bigger. Of course, Mike would be older now. Nine months older, to be exact. And he could have gone through a growth spurt. Hell, for all we knew, he could have sprouted wings.
“I see him,” Devon said. “There. Next to Allie.”
Since I didn’t know her name, I could only assume he was referring to Denise’s daughter.
“You sure that’s him?” Brian asked. “He looks too big.”
“He grew,” I said.
“A kid his age can change a lot in nine months,” Gabe added.
He would know.
“Okay,” Devon said, inhaling. “So, we found him. Great. What now? Does anyone see a way in? Where are they vulnerable?”
“It looks secure.” Kiaya turned her head, staring through the binoculars as she scanned the entire yard. “There are five armed guards. Not a lot, but we can assume there are more inside. The fence is maybe ten feet high and has barbed wire at the top, which isn’t great. But it is chain link, so it’s possible we could cut our way through after the sun sets.”
“That’s a start,” Gabe said.
“Where are we, Ryan?” Devon asked. “What part of the school?”
“If you go through the doors at the other end of the blacktop, you’ll be in a hall with classrooms,” he said, pointing as he studied the building through his own binoculars. “The cafeteria, gym, and offices are to the left, with more classrooms beyond them. The bulk of the classrooms are to the right, though.”
“It’s probably a safe bet that they’re keeping the kids in the gym,” Kiaya said.
“How so?” I asked.
She lowered her binoculars so she could look at me when she responded. “It seems likely they’d keep the kids together in one big room rather than split them up. Easier to guard that way. The gym is the biggest room, and there are dozens of kids. It just makes sense.”
“Is the front door near the gym?” Devon asked, not even questioning Kiaya’s logic before going back to studying the building.
“Not too close,” Ryan replied. “Why?”
Devon lowered his binoculars, and I did as well, wanting to give him my full attention. “I was thinking of using a variation of their own tactics against them. We could start fires at all the entrances except the two that lead to the playground, flushing them outside where our troops will be armed and waiting. Little do they know, though, that a few of us are already inside.”
“How do we get in?” I asked.
“Like Kiaya said. We cut the chain link, sneak in, position most of our troops in the playground while a select few of us go inside. We can take out any stragglers the way they did at the other settlements but also make sure the kids are safe. I’m betting these people won’t rush to save the kids when faced with trouble.”
“That sounds like a safe bet, considering their track record,” Gabe agreed.
“How do we get inside the building?” I prompted since he hadn’t really answered my question.
“We pray they don’t lock the doors to the playground.” Devon once again lifted his binoculars. “If they do, we’ll have to break in. Quietly.”
“What do we do until then?” Brian asked.
“We’ll need to get a look at the front of the building, but I want to wait until closer to nightfall,” Devon said. “We’ll need the darkness.”
“Definitely,” Gabe agreed.
“We’ll send a small group once the time is right.” Devon scanned the playground through his binoculars. “Until then, we’re just going to wait and watch what happens. It’s all we can do.”
No one responded, but no one looked away from the school.
It was almost six by the time the kids were allowed to quit working. One of the guards blew a whistle, and they all stood, brushing the dirt from their hands as they dragged themselves across the fields to the blacktop. Once gathered, they were ushered inside in a line, flanked by armed men and women. Not very many, although I was sure more would rush outside if there was even a hint of trouble.
It was impossible to tell whether they locked the doors, but no one stayed outside, and as far as I could tell, no one was on watch. It was strange and short-sighted. No, cocky. That was the word Jace had used to describe these people. They were cocky. So sure no one could touch them they weren’t being smart enough. I hoped it was something we could use to our advantage.
The sun moved closer to the horizon, and shadows fell across the school.
“We should go,” Gabe said, already gathering his things. “Jace and Brian. You’re with me. We’ll move through the adjoining neighborhood to make our way to the front of the building so we can get a better take on what’s going on. Once I’m sure we have a plan, we’ll head back this way.”
“We’ll be here,” Devon said.
A minute later, the three had disappeared between two houses, leaving the four of us to keep an eye on the back of the building.
Lights became visible in the windows, growing brighter as night fell and giving us a glimpse into the vultures’ world. The classrooms to the right had been set up like apartments with dining room tables and couches and even televisions, and people were visible in most of them. Men and women, but toddlers and small children as well. These must have been the kids too little to work. They seemed better taken care of than the other kids, who’d looked dirty and exhausted. At least these people weren’t totally heartless.
The left side of the building stayed dark for the most part. Through a couple windows, faint lights were visible, but that was it, and there was no movement or indication anyone lived in those rooms.
“They must use that side for storage,” Kiaya said. “It’s closer to the gym, which has to be where they keep the kids, so it makes sense they’d want their living quarters as far away from their prisoners as possible.”
“Yeah.” My head bobbed in agreement as I continued studying the building. “Where are their sentries, though? They must have someone on watch.”
“It doesn’t seem like it.” Devon lifted his binoculars back to his eyes. “It’s stupid, but good for us.”
“We need to watch a little longer to make sure,” Kiaya said, “but in the meantime, we should radio the others to make sure they’re prepared. Obviously, we won’t make any final decision until Gabe and the others come back, but I think hitting them at midnight will work.”
“Midnight,” Devon agreed, nodding.
“Midnight,” I repeated.
That gave us three hours to prepare. I hoped it was enough.
30
Mike
A whole day had passed since I left the note for April. She had found it. I was sure of that. Which meant Devon had to have it by now and would be here soon. He’d bring an army with him. I knew it.
I couldn’t wait.
Roberta asked me a lot of questions after we left the West Milton settlement, and I’d answered them all with lies. I wanted to buy Devon time, so I told her a big hunting party was going out next week. If she waited until then to plan an attack, it wouldn’t matter. All these people would be dead by then, and I would be with Lexi.
I’d kept an eye out all day while I worked but hadn’t seen much. A few zombies. That was all. They were on their way, though. I just knew it. I also knew I needed to be ready. There wasn’t much I could do to help once the army did get here since they locked the kids in the gym at night, but I wanted to try. At least I could keep the other kids calm once the fighting started. Let them know we were being rescued. It would be scary. I knew because I’d already been through it. At the other school when those bad guys attacked us, then at the hospital when these people came. This time, though, I wouldn’t be scared. This time I would be jumping for joy.
31
Rowan
I was sitting on the couch, a sleeping Elizabeth on my lap, a small fire crackling in the hearth, and my eyes glued to the clock on the mantel. Ten minutes after ten. Zara and Lexi were in bed, and my dad was still at the clinic, leaving me alone. He’d said he would probably be there all night since both Ryan and Lisa were gone, and while I would have loved the company, I got it. He was a doctor. He had responsibilities. He needed to look after the people who were still fighting this horrible flu. I could handle the stress of waiting. I knew it.
Elizabeth shifted, and I looked down at almost the exact moment a knock at the door shattered the silence. My heart jumped to my throat, and I startled, my gaze snapping to the clock like I hadn’t just been staring at it. Unsurprisingly, it was still ten after ten. Who could be here so late and why?
My pulse quickened when the obvious answer came to me. Something was wrong. Something had happened, and someone had come to give me the bad news. Devon or Kiaya or Doug were dead, possibly all three of them, or maybe even the whole group. That had to be what this was about because there was no other logical reason someone would be knocking on my door this late at night.
I wanted to run into the hall and rip the door open, but with Elizabeth in my arms, I had to move slowly. If this really was bad news, I didn’t want to have to contend with her as well as the emotions it would bring up. And I didn’t want wake Zara or Lexi. I would take in the news, compose myself, and then get Zara. We’d deal with Lexi together. Like a family. Right now, though, I had to stay calm. In control.
I reached the door but paused with my hand on the knob so I could suck in a deep breath. Once I’d exhaled, I forced myself to pull it open.
Peters stood on the porch wearing a smile and the same stupid suit he had on every time I saw him. He also had a bag slung over his shoulder. “Ms. Summers.”
“It’s Mrs. Parks,” I reminded him. I always had to remind him.
His smile didn’t waver. “Oh, yes. My apologies. I always forget since it’s not like the two of you had a wedding or anything.”
I nodded to let him know it was okay, but in truth, I couldn’t have cared less about him intentionally screwing up my name or that he loved to point out Devon and I hadn’t bothered with a ceremony. I was too busy thinking about why Peters was here and what he was going to tell me. Too busy trying to stay calm.
To my annoyance, Peters just stood there smiling at me. Saying absolutely nothing. And as much as I wanted to drag the horrible news out of him, I couldn’t seem to form words. Which meant we just ended up staring at each other like two idiots.
“May I come in?” he finally said.
“Oh, yeah.” I stepped aside so he could enter.
Of course, he wouldn’t want to tell me here. He’d want me to sit down, to brace myself for the news. It was probably smarter that way. As much as I knew I needed to be strong, I was infamous for being emotional. Sitting was better. Smarter. Safer. Sitting would keep my daughter safe if I had another panic attack when Peters finally revealed whatever horrible news he’d come to share with me.
He stepped inside and looked around, the smile still on his face even though his expression made it seem like he was somehow dissatisfied with his surroundings. He probably was. Everyone knew he’d commandeered one of the huge historical homes for himself, and I was sure this place looked more than a little shabby by comparison. It worked for us, though, and considering everything happening in the world, it was hard to make myself care about the house we lived in as long as we had a roof over our heads and a wall to keep the dead out. The wall was essential.
