“Hey, there, Assholes. It’s Cipher and Kitten. We got delayed, but we’re on our way home now.”
“Thanks for finally updating us. We’ve been trying to reach you all night,” Artemis said with a huff of displeasure. When Cipher was out on a mission, she usually acted as leader in his place.
“Where the fuck have you two been?” Macon asked.
“Long story,” Cipher said, “but the short of it is, Rabids.”
“Are you okay?” Artemis asked.
I grabbed the radio from Cipher. “Cipher broke his arm. We’re on our way back now so I can try and mend it.”
“FYI, there’s been new development here too,” Artemis said, sounding cryptic and not entirely happy about it.
“What is it? United Forces again?” Cipher asked, commandeering the radio.
“No. And we’re not in danger. But you need to get home as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, we’ll be there soon. Be nice if you could give me a heads-up as to what we’re walking into, though,” Cipher said.
“Like I said, we’re not in danger,” she repeated.
“Macon, you gonna break rank and tell me what the hell’s going on?” Cipher asked.
“Sorry, boss. Should’ve checked in with us last night. You’re both on the naughty list. You’ll find out when you get here.”
“Assholes,” he muttered and jammed the radio back into its holster on his hip. He took one last draw from the bottle, draining it completely, then tossed it into the overgrown grass.
“Did you want some?” he asked because I was still staring at him.
“Are you drunk?”
“A little.”
“You need to eat something,” I said and stuffed a piece of smoked meat in his mouth.
“You’re so aggressive with food. God, I hate it when she does that,” he said, miffed that Artemis hadn’t told him what was going on. Cipher hated surprises.
“She probably just doesn’t want you to freak out and do something reckless.”
“Me, reckless?” he asked.
We didn’t have time for me to detail all the ways in which he was reckless and besides that, I was anxious to get him home. We mounted up again and arrived back at the compound a little while later. Macon was manning the watchtower, and he radioed for Wylie to come open the gate for us. Artemis was already there, armed with her crossbow, unusual for her inside the compound. No doubt Cipher noticed it too. While Wylie made quick work of the locks, Cipher dismounted, and I wheeled the dirt bike in behind him. Artemis took a long look at both of us. Me, wearing only my underwear and combat boots. Cipher, day drunk with dried blood on his clothes and his arm in a makeshift sling.
“Rabids,” Cipher said shortly as our explanation. “Now what the fuck is going on here?”
“We have guests,” Artemis said with a pointed look at Cipher. The two of them communicated silently; most of the time it went over my head. From behind her, a group of strangers emerged from the house. I didn’t know any of them. Except one. Maybe? He was thin and scruffy, sporting a beard thicker than I’d ever seen him wear before. Could it be?
“Santi?” I asked while setting the bike on its kickstand. The man grinned, and I knew for sure it was my brother. I ran toward him, grabbed him in a big bear hug, and nearly tackled him to the ground. He managed to stay upright and tried to lift me off my feet as he’d done when I was younger, but I was bigger now, so he was only able to squeeze me tightly.
“Joshua, you’re huge. What the hell happened to you?” He scanned me from head to foot then shot a questioning look at Cipher. Cipher’s face was neutral, as it would be with anyone outside our group. “Why are you naked?” he asked me.
“Cipher broke his arm, so I used my shirt as a splint. Then we had to get down from the roof using my jeans.”
“How’d you break your arm?” Macon asked. He’d come down from the watchtower to greet us, still armed with the rifle.
“I fell on it,” Cipher said, eying my brother and the others with obvious suspicion.
“We went out to scavenge and came across some Rabids at a CVS,” I added for the group’s benefit. “We had to climb through the HVAC system and hang out on the roof overnight until they left.”
