Redemption

Chapter Six

          Six

          “We need to get out of the city.”

            “I don’t think we should follow Reed’s map,” Jagger says, clutching it at his side. “He’s going to lead us right to the heart of everything.”

            “But they’re after me.” I hold Jagger’s gaze and then move from him to Cole to show them I’m serious. “And I want to know why.”

            Cole has no idea, but I catch Jagger as his eyes briefly move down to my ankle, a wound that healed in record time instead of turning me into a monster. That’s why they want me. But I want to know how. How could they know?

            “And then what, Sloane?” His voice is loud, harsher than it needs to be. “You’ll walk happily away from them and they won’t mind letting you go? There’s a reason they sent this,” he gestures towards the noises fading in the distance.

            Cole steps between us as my grip on my shotgun becomes airtight. “Which is why we need to keep moving and can discuss this when we’re somewhere safe. Right now we have the military and zombies, both ready to rip us to shreds. We don’t need you both doing the same.”

            He takes the map from Jagger’s hand and folds it back into its original square before shoving it into his back pocket. “Come on.”

            He stalks off down the alleyway, his shadow stretching out behind him. Jagger and I follow behind him wordlessly at a distance both from Cole and each other. With everything going on, my guard shouldn’t be down and neither should the barrel of my gun, however I can’t help feel some sense of relief going in the opposite direction of the rumbling noises behind us.

            When we reach the end of the block, Cole crouches on the corner of the brick wall to peer around the side, when the coast is clear, he stays down and motions for us to follow. The three of us hug the wall with Bullet staying close behind until we reach the very street we were on before with Reed.

            “We might be able to see what we’re dealing with from here,” Cole says. He tilts his head past the safety of the wall and looks down the road. With my hand on my shoulder, I maneuver until I’m behind him, behind my neck to see the people who are after me.

            “Tanks,” Jagger says. I don’t realize he’s staring over the top of my head until he speaks. “And Jeeps?”

            Cole sighs and moves out of sight. He presses his back to the wall and rubs his face as Jagger continues to watch and I sink to the ground beside Cole. “Looks like it.”

            “They have people walking along the storefronts. They really want you, Sloane,” he adds quietly.

            When we begin moving, all of us silent as we walk through the streets. All the zombies are gone, just like Reed said. And with the sound of the humans and their machines, it’s no guess that they’re on their way there. I just hope that they get what they’re looking for.

            Cole handles the note Reed gave me, using it to guide us through the city as we put more and more distance between us in the military. He says we’ll be far enough away that we’re safe but close enough to get back on track towards Reed’s destination for me if we choose to go.

            We. Because if Jagger and Cole don’t want to go with me, I’ll go alone.

            Though our food supplies are low because Reed ambushed us before we could go through the store, no one says anything, because no one wants to break the silence. I hope that wherever we stop will have food, though being in the city it seems like a longshot. Everyone who’s surviving would have raided everywhere by now, and if the people were smart before they abandoned their homes, they would have took what they had with him.