It’s still not over yet.
Have you ever felt close to four hundred pairs of eyes on you at one time?
I’m suddenly aware that I haven’t had a proper haircut since the beginning of the Turning; my hair is still singed and uneven from the flaming accident that cost Hallie her life. I lose my body in Rory’s oversized jacket, trying to avoid their stares.
For the first time I think I might understand what causes the lurkers to freeze.
Maverick backs away from the podium before going around it and moving to the front of the stage. Jack is on his feet in the instant following my announcement, already shaking his head as he surges forward to stand next to Maverick. Both of them are peering down at me.
I gulp, but that doesn’t do anything to lessen my resolve.
“How long will it take?” I demand, jutting out my chin in defiance.
“It doesn’t matter. You’re not going.”
I ignore Jack, waiting for an answer.
The stranger—Maverick, and what kind of name isMaverick—looks from Jack’s set jaw to the way my arms are crossed over my chest and I can just see his brain working. There’s enough of a similarity between us that it’s possible we’re related; there’s enough tension to show that there’s definitely a relationship.
He rubs the back of his hand across his mouth and shrugs. “I figure it’s about 40 miles between this place and the bridge that will lead me into Manhattan.” Manhattan. New York… I should’ve known that’s where the lurker hotspot would be. “Without anything stopping us, it might not take more than a few days’ hike to get there, then we’d have to find the nest, stake it out, then make our move. Me? I’m willing to take as long as I have to to burn this nest to the ground. I figure it’ll be…” He thinks about it for a moment. “A couple of weeks at least… and that’s without any trouble. Roads are closed, paths unsafe. Who knows? I might have to go a hundred miles out of the way. It could be a month or more—and I’m not even guaranteeing that anyone who goes on this journey will even come back.”
Huh. Why do I get the feeling that Maverick has decided who he’s backing and it isn’t me? Like he’s trying to convince me to change my mind… but that’s not going to happen.
I’m sorry, but the way I see it, I found my escape from the Grave at last. I’m not going to let it slip through my fingers so easily.
“I’ll take my chances,” I tell him confidently. “It’ll be worth it to be able to take out a nest like that.”
Let him think I just want to pad my own kills. It’s notuntrue. To get revenge for what happened to my family… I want every fucking lurker in the world to burn. And if I have my own ulterior motives behind wanting to take a break from the Grave?
Oh, well.
I’m doing it, and one is stopping me?—
Maverick opens his mouth to say something but Jack holds out his hand, cutting the other man off.
—except, perhaps, my dad.
“Hold on,” he says, and I can tell from the set of his jaw that it’s taking everything Jack has not to forbid me from doing this. As leader, he can’t—and we both know it. Doesn’t stop him from trying, though. “This isn’t a decision to be made lightly. We might not know exactly what’s out there, but every one of us knows what the lurkers can do. I’m in charge here, and it’s my job to make sure we do what’s best for the Grave. And what’s best for the Grave? It’ssurvival. I won’t let one of our own walk out into the woods if there’s even the slightest chance she won’t come back. We can’t just throw a life away. I hope you would all agree with me on that.”
A whisper runs through the auditorium. All around me people are nodding; one or two even start clapping again. Are you kidding me? Jack’s playingdirty. He’s not appealing to me as my father. Oh, no. He’s turning to the survivors as their leader, trying to get them to side with him.
Well, two can play that game.
“You’re right,” I retort, my eyes locked on my father. “We all know what lives past our borders, hiding in the woods.Monsters. Every night there’s the chance one of them might slip past our patrol and feast on the entire Grave—but most of us go to bed at night anyway. I don’t know about you, but I would sleep a lot better if I know that there’s a chance that a nest that big can be destroyed if someone’s brave enough to light the match.
“Now, I’m not asking any of you to go with us. I just want the chance to be able to go out there on my own.” My voice is shaking at this point, but I pretend not to notice. “Jack,” and he’s Jack in this moment to me and the rest of the Grave, “you said you hoped that we’d all agree with you… well, I don’t. I’m not throwing my life away. If I can kill even one of those bastards, I’ll besavinglives. And I hope you’d all agree withthat.”
This time no one dares clap. There’s a collective intake of breath because, while the stranger has no idea, they’re all well aware that I’m Jack’s daughter. Hisonlydaughter now.
And they’re all watching to see what will happen next.
Before Jack can respond, Maverick returns to the microphone. “There’s a very simple solution. We can find out exactly how this community feels.” He shrugs. “You can always vote.”
He says it in such a flippant way, almost off-handed, that it dawns on me that he doesn’t expect anyone to take his suggestion seriously. I don’t know what sort of settlement he’s from—or if he’s from any at all since he claims his town was wiped off the map by lurkers—but he obviously doesn’t know the people of the Grave or how we do things here. Jack may be our leader, but everyone gets a fair say. We all know that.
I’m banking on it.
“A vote, Jack. I like it. What do you say?”
