Nox came up beside me, flicking a lighter in his left hand. We were alone, standing off to the perimeter’s outer edge, facing the glowing of a far-off city miles in the distance. The cities were full of ghouls and frightened humans, but we’d have advance notice if any ghouls started making their way here, and could outrun them at this distance. They weren’t fast, didn’t run or walk, just… hovered at a brisk jogging pace. The grunts did anyway—the scary-ass sentries were anotherstory.
“You think he really can make an arm cuff that would repel them?” Nox asked, in a lowvoice.
I looked over at him, his long dark hair was prettier than mine. Silky andthick.
“I think that if anyone can, it’s them,” I replied honestly. They were Striker Industries, after all. They’d made half the shit I waswearing.
He nodded, looking out at the glowing alien city. “I wouldn’t even know what to do with myself if I wasn’t fightingthem.”
I chuckled. “You and me both.” It’s all we’d known. For the last ten years, twenty-four hours a day, it’s all we thought about. It was all our society focused on. New cars were only put out every four years instead of every year, the manpower and factories instead making weapons, Kevlar clothing and other practical things to survive the Dream Wars. We needed to tend to crops and coffee plantations that kept us awake, make food in labs and work at water treatment facilities. Fashion, consumerism, entertainment were all luxuries that barely existed. We watched old movies, wore old clothes, drove older cars. The only thing that mattered was surviving thenight.
Nox was one of my best friends. Next to Ronnie, I was closest with him. He got me and was deeply spiritual, so I could talk to him about stuff that others scoffedat.
I heard the approaching footsteps, knowing it was Damien without looking. Part of my gift, I sensed energies. Everyone had a mental vibration they gave off, and Damien’s was deep and fast, unique only tohim.
I spun around, gathering all of the professionalism I could muster. He was probably going to bitch about meeting up with these “riffraff thugs,” and suggest we moveon.
“You wanna play cards? It settles Jeremy’s anxiety.” He held up a deck of playing cards, and I immediately chastised myself for judginghim.
When one was hiding out and biding time in the Dream Wars, with no immediate threat, it was common to play games such as cards. I was working though, and I never let my guard down. I’d stare at this open land for the next four hours, bored out of my mind but alert,ready.
“Oh. No, thanks. I need to keep watch,” I toldhim.
“Okay.” He shrugged and turned around to meet up with Jeremy and Josephine, who were sitting on a cloth blanket they had spreadout.
Nox was grinning at me when I faced him oncemore.
“What?” I asked him, adjusting the grip on myweapon.
Nox shook his head. “Go play cards. That was his peace offering for being a dick earlier. Honestly, do you not understand guys after all theseyears?”
I barked out a laugh. “All what years? I’m twenty and I’ve been with like two guys. Brisk being one of them.” Steven Martel being the other, plus a handful of guys I’d kissed and then promptly dumped for being douchebags. Steven had cheated on me, and Brisk and I only dated a month. I didn’t have that much experience with guys to go on. There was no time for love when you were stuck in awar.
But was what Nox said true? Damien was trying to makepeace?
“Go. We have to live with this guy “indefinitely.” It would be nice not to have awkward tension. “I’ll take watch.” His air quotes made mesmile.
I guess I could play one game. Show him I’m not always a coldhearted bitch. Just most of thetime.
“Call me if you see anything. Even a moth,” Ijoked.
He saluted me. “Yes,sir.”
As I made my way over to Damien, his brother, and Josephine, I scanned the area. Ronnie was talking animatedly to Santiago, and most of his crew inside of the pod orchard. Maxine was just outside of it, gun drawn as she scanned the place. She was like a rabid pit bull on a chain—if she saw a ghoul, that chain would snap and the grunt wouldn’t stand a chance. Controlling her was hard, but she was worth the struggle. Brisk stood inside the pod orchard about twenty feet from Maxine, glancing between Ronnie and the open area. Mr. Hansen was surprisingly outside as well, examining the space, including the skies. He had two samurai swords drawn in a fisted grip. Part of me wanted to get some action tonight just so I could see him use them. I’d bet he was badass. The weight of my own samurai swords rested comfortably on my back, in their harness, waiting to be used. Guns were great for distance fighting, but when the ghouls got close, nothing shredded them better thanswords.
“Hey, I guess I will take you up on your offer,” I said to Damien, as I approached their littlecircle.
He looked up at me with a smirk and dealt mycards.
Josephine made room so I could sit between her and Damien. Jeremy’s eyes flicked up to mine and back down quickly. Josephine was still handcuffed to him, but held her cards fanned out with her freehand.
“No card reading, Jer. I can tell when you do that.” She pointed at him, and a lopsided guilty grin lit up his face. Damien smiledtoo.
As I settled into the game, I sent up a silent prayer for all of us to get home safely tonight. I’d lost all faith in God when the ghouls landed, but I couldn’t deny there was something out there. Maybe it was a “she” or an “it” but there was something. I just hoped that something or someone was looking out for me tonight, because the look in Dawn’s eyes earlier had shaken me to mycore.
Chapter Four
Over the next four hours,my team and I traded off watching the perimeter and playing cards with the Striker family. Josephine stayed by Jeremy’s side, handcuffed the entire time. Any time they stopped playing, Jeremy started rocking and breathing heavily, looking around at the landscape and eyeing a place to run. Bombs and guns went off all night here, so much that I barely heard them anymore—it had become like normal background noise to me—but to Jeremy and Maxine, I knew each pop of a bullet wore on their nerves. Now I was watching the horizon with Damien, both of us on guard at the southeastern side of theorchard.
