The scowling Suds shakes his head with his weapon trained on the gangbanger. “What the ever-lovin’ fuck are you talkin’ about?”
“The EMP pulse. It took out all of the East Coast’s infrastructure. Haven’t you been watching the news?” His face shows no sign of falsehood, but clearly, he’s confused. If a bomb took out all electronic equipment, that would also include TV and radio stations.
“Sorry, bro, you’ve been duped.” Suds Sutcliff faces me like I might have a dose of reality for this dude, but I’m all out of magic pills.
I’d prefer to shoot them all, find the ladies, and be done with this nonsense.
As I’m about to give the command to move out, Slate lowers his weapon before holding up a fist. “There’s no point in denying it. We’re here to join up.”
This catches the biker’s attention. “We have orders to kill anyone who tries.” The gatekeeper appears so conflicted I almost feel sorry for him.
Stepping forward, the Patten commander lowers his voice. “Use your brain, dude. Add three experienced soldiers to your ranks. You need us if you’re going to fend off the impending shit show. If you take us to Dr. Lewis, I'm sure he’ll agree.”
Slate’s namedropping has the desired effect. For a brief moment, the three survivalists point their barrels at the dirt and glance at each other. I use this opportunity to fire upon the lock. After Suds kicks the gate open, Slate tackles the biggest. Whilethey struggle, I throw a knife, which lodges in the hand of the smart-ass kid about to pull the trigger.
“D-d-don’t shoot.” Smelling of urine, the quiet one sets his rifle on the ground, then raises his palms in the air.
Soon, we have all three prone on the ground with hands tie-wrapped behind their backs. We can’t afford to have the braver two jump up ugly, so we bind their ankles and knock them unconscious.
Back at the gate, Slate glances up the empty hill, then squats beside the sobbing teen. “You have a choice. Take me to my wife ordie. You try to call out, youdie. Should you do anything I don’t like, youdie. Understand?”
One bob of the head later, My First Soldier, leads us toward our wives.
Chapter 15
“There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.” — George Carlin
Gwen
Deep in the mine tunnel, lit only by Dolly’s dim flashlight, my thoughts buzz. What happens when we’re caught trying to break into Lewis’ office? I slip my right hand into my hoodie’s pocket, then finger the cold metal of my RF lipstick weapon.
Shuddering, I climb the next ladder until my neighbor stops abruptly.
“Shit.” My chin lifts so I can squint into the distance.
Light flickers around the corner as the echoes of men’s voices bounce off the walls. “Our leader says not to touch them. He’ll raffle them off once he’s interrogated them.”
Another guy coughs before rasping out, “Fuck that. I’m taking one now.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Carl.” As their volume increases, my companion pushes me into the wall.
Wulf, where are you?Heart thumping in my ear, I hold my breath until the footsteps disappear.
“Stay put, I’ll be right back.” Dollyturns on her flashlight, shines it on the knife in her other hand, and sneaks back the way we came.
A scuffle ensues, and a man grunts. In the nothingness, I pull out my only means of self-defense. What will I do if she doesn’t return? A few minutes later, the tunnel's far end brightens, and I bite down on my lower lip.
C’mon, c’mon.
Thank God, it’sDollywho steps out of the darkness. Lowering my shaking arm, I use my fingers and toes to reach her in the dim light.
I don’t ask what happened. The blood on her clothes says it all. In silence, we make our way forward. Soon, the air becomes fresher, the pathway less dark, and we exit into a forest. We must be on the other side of the hill from the compound.
The break of day dispels some of my exhaustion. Holy crap, what I wouldn’t give for a cup of coffee. When the Eveready Bunny, AKACat Lady, AKACIA agent, climbs higher, I have no choice but to follow.
“Head down.” She crawls on all fours to a rock outcropping with a bird’s eye view of the whole facility.
I count over a hundred mini-houses dotted all over the hillside. At the summit sits the mine’s steel entrance—
