Cole came at me, running and weaving sporadically as he approached. Once he was less than a foot away, I ducked my head down, and heard his arm swish right over me. He let out a groan as his body weight sent him sailing past me. We’d been sparring for almost an hour and he hadn’t beaten me once.
I braced my weight on the ground, swinging my own leg out to knock him onto his back. He hit the ground with a heavy thud.
“Nice try. You’ll be up to Belle’s level soon,” I said as I sprang back up and stood over him with a grin. I offered Cole my hand and hoisted him onto his feet. “Next time, do it with a little less flailing.”
“I wasn’t flailing.”
“If you say so.” I chuckled, playfully leaning my weight into Cole, knocking him slightly off balance. “The weaving wasn’t great either.”
“I was trying to keep you guessing, so you wouldn’t know which way I’d attack from next.”
“And if I were a zombie, first generation and completely mindless, that might have worked. If you want to take down a person, or even a second gen Z, you need to assume they’re at least as smart as you are. Even if they’re infinitely smarter.” I brought my hands up to frame my face. “Case and point.”
“Har har. Well, maybe I don’t want to take out any of infected. Why would I kill someone we might be able to save?” As he spoke, he watched me carefully as though weighing my every reaction.
I rolled my eyes. “Because they’ll have absolutely no reservations about killing you. As in, zero. This isn’t a game, Cole. You have to put yourself first.” It was clear the idea still bothered him, but he couldn’t argue my point. Even before all of these people became little more than rabid animals, when it came down to them or you, you had to fight for your own survival above all else.“How long have you been out in the big bad world, again? I’m not sure how you managed to make it this far.”
“You barrel through everywhere you go. I stick to the shadows and stay out of the way. Plus, I usually have a gun. It does the trick.”
“Guns are noisy, and you might not always have it with you when you need it. I know everything seems pretty safe out here,” I said, my eyes scanning the empty school ground where we were fighting, “but, an attack can come from somewhere completely unexpected. You’ll last a lot longer if you can fight an attacker off with nothing but your wits and your bare hands.”
I tried my best to sound like I knew what I was doing, as though I’d been fighting every day since my parents died. I didn’t claim to be an expert, but I needed to know Cole was taking this seriously. Taking me seriously. If he let it get in the way, caution wouldn’t do much other than getting him hurt.
Even without my help, he was a good shot and could do some real damage with a blunt weapon, but sparring kept us busy as we worked our way through Indiana by night. We hadn’t seen any signs of life, but the most dangerous enemies were the ones that didn’t make themselves known to people meandering through their territory.
What we did see was a lot of the infected trapped inside of buildings. It looked as though the United Militia had taken time to clear this small nowhere town of anything dangerous out in the open, but it hadn’t bothered with those trapped inside. Quick and efficient maybe, but it didn’t seem all that practical. Inside the buildings was where the supplies were.
Cole kept insisting that they were doing experiments and saving Zs to use as guinea pigs. I insisted that that was more his groups M.O. Despite what Alex thought he’d seen them do to Zack, it looked like these militia guys were doing something right.
Thanks to another long morning of planning and sparring, it was nearly noon by the time we went to bed. We’d set loose two imprisoned Zs so Cole could have some firsthand experience, and while he’d done well the drill had left us both exhausted. Even after being on the road for a few days, it felt strange to curl up in the front seat of our car while the sun was shining bright in the sky, but eventually I’d gotten used to it.
Cole insisted that sleeping during the day and traveling at night was the safest plan of action. I didn’t always love his slow and steady way of doing things, but I’d learned to defer anything stealth or survival related to him. He trusted me to have his back in a fight, and I could trust him to keep us out of trouble when it came to the militia.
We only traveled between ten and twenty miles a day, but Cole insisted we were only a few days out from our destination, so I tried to keep my complaints to a minimum.
The plan was to make our way back to Cole’s people, who called themselves the Hitchhiker Initiative. They were supposed to have supplies and information we’d need to infiltrate the militia. From there, it was all about stealing the supplies we’d need to start distributing the cure on a large scale. If we could find a few well-placed scientists to help further our cause, well that certainly wouldn’t hurt.
I fell asleep wondering what my life would be like when we made it to the realm of the science geeks, as I’d been calling it in my head. Would they try to keep me locked up again, calling it safety, or would I be allowed to be a part of the next phase of their plan? Cole promised I’d be where the action was, and if his own father was willing to let him risk his life, they probably wouldn’t try to stop me from doing anything. Well, except killing uber Zs.
I didn’t get to sleep for long, and the only dream I remembered involved running down a cold, sterile hallway. It seemed endless, but I knew there was someone important the end, someone who was waiting for me.
I woke up to the sound of engines and, tires crunching on gravel in the distance. Thankfully, we’d left the driver’s side window cracked open so we wouldn’t miss any warning signs after we drifted off. I’d been sleeping in the reclined passenger seat while Cole got to stretch out in the back of the car.
From the window it was clear that an entire convoy of vehicles was coming right toward us. Beside each truck walked a small cluster of people. It was way too similar to what the guys and I had seen on the highway to ignore the very real possibility that this was the militia.
Had they followed us here?
Wiggling down farther into my seat, I looked frantically at Cole. His eyes were wide with panic as he motioned for me to hop into the back with him. It wasn’t graceful, but we both managed to fit ourselves in, crouched into either side of the vehicle.
It was only moments before we heard the first truck pass us. I held my breath, certain they’d seen my legs flying into the back seat of the SUV.
I shot Cole a look, hoping he had some sort of plan for this, but he motioned for me to stay down. I was happy to do so, until he straightened his shoulders, his eyes level with the bottom of the window. I started to sit up too, but he gently pushed me back down. I gave him the finger, but knew he couldn’t see me with his back turned to my outrage.
After a few minutes, my legs began to cramp, so I rolled myself up onto the seat bench. Cole glanced down but didn’t say anything. I lay there, staring up at a wad of gum someone had mushed into the fabric on the SUV’s ceiling, trying to listen for a clue as to what I was missing.
The convoy must have been moving at a snails pace because they took forever to go by. How many men could these people possibly have? And how was it that I’d never heard of these people only a week ago, but now I couldn’t seem to avoid them? I guess strolling into their territory was a good way to ensure a meeting.
Cole uttered a faint gasp and I braced myself for some kind of attack. The convoy carried on, but Cole remained glued to the window.
I couldn’t wait any longer, I rolled over onto my stomach and peeked over the side of the window.
“What is it?” All I saw was a bunch of soldiers walking behind the last truck of the group, each wearing a bright red bandanna around one of their arms. If any of them looked towards the school, they’d have spotted us for sure.
“See that guy, the one with the long hair.”
“Ponytail dude? What about him?”
“That’s my brother. That’s Ethan.”
“No shit,” I swore under my breath. “What’s he doing with them?”
“I’m not sure,” he said, finally turning his face towards mine. “He went missing months ago, so we assumed he was dead.”
I was about to apologize again but realized it wasn’t necessary. His brother was right there, walking away with the rest of his group. Zack, Pierce, and Alex were the closest I ever had to brothers. I’d never even thought to ask if Cole had siblings. I’d had no idea.
Cole’s face set into a hard grimace as he turned back towards the window. “He must have been coerced into joining. Ethan was always a science nerd, just like my dad.”
I sat there in silence as the convoy disappeared down the street.
“We have to get him back,” Cole finally said, as I sat up and tried to stretch the kinks out of my muscles.
“And how exactly do you propose we do that?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll come up with something. For now, we need to follow them.”
“Umm, how about no?”
“If we lose track of them, I’ll never see him again.”
“At least now you know he’s alive and where to find him. Think about this,” I pleaded. But as I spoke I knew there would be no reasoning with him. His usually calm expression had been replaced with a mix of emotions I couldn’t place. He was grasping at straws.
“I think they might notice us tailing them. There isn’t exactly any traffic we can blend in with.”
“We’re not going to tail them with the car. That would be suicide.” I exhaled in relief. “We’ll go on foot.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” I grumbled as Cole opened the car’s rear door and pulled me towards some nearby houses.
“You want me to what?” I hissed, sure I must have heard him wrong. The two of us were sidling along a fence less than a block behind the militia’s convoy
“Trust me. You’ll be fine.”
“Cole, this is crazy.” I stopped moving and tugged on his arm until he was forced to stop moving and face me. “You want me to get caught, on purpose, by these people who supposedly kidnapped your brother? On top of any number of other crimes against humanity.”
“And Zack,” Cole added, indignant. “They’ve got Ethan and Zack. Maybe you’ll find something you can use.”
“Okay, let’s say in theory that I agree to do this, which I am definitely not leaning towards at this point. What’s your brilliant plan?”
“I give you this.” Cole shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small black gadget. “It’s a tracking device. My dad gave it to me in case something happened to me, so we wouldn’t have to start the search for Miles all over again.”
Cole put the device in my hand and continued walking in the direction of the convoy. I rolled my eyes but followed him. “Then what?”
“See if you can find anything that might help us. Information, equipment. Meanwhile, I go back home, get some backup and come get you. You, and Ethan, and anyone else who is being held there against their will.”
A small part of me started to see where he was going with this idea. It was risky, but the payoff could be huge. This could be my chance.
“So really, we’re just moving our plan up a bit. I go in ahead, as an early scout, then you bring in the cavalry and we get the hell out of there.”
“Exactly. I wouldn’t even suggest this if there was even a chance you’d get hurt. They’re looking for extra bodies. They’ll use you for something. Plus, you’re a girl. You’ll be totally fine.”
“Your logic here is that I’m a girl? We’re going to need a bit more than that if we want this to work.”
“All you need to do is find Ethan, and tell him what the plan is. He’ll take care of you. Maybe you guys can open a gate for us or something.”
“Cole, you aren’t storming a castle.”
“Okay, I know. But you’ll come up with something. This is what you’re good at, right? This is why you came along—to help people. You could help Zack, Ethan and our entire operation in just a few short days.”
“I’m not an international super-spy.” Even as I said the words, I knew I was going to do it anyway. My interest was piqued about this United Confederation, and I was convinced that Cole wasn’t giving me the whole story.
Cole looked like he was starting to formulate his next argument, but I cut him off. “Okay, I’ll do it. But I do it on my terms. You aren’t calling the shots.”
“Seriously?” Cole spun around to face me again so quickly that I bumped right into him. He grabbed and pulled me into a hug. “I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”
“Well that’s reassuring.” I stepped away from him.
“No, I’m sorry. I’m being a bit of an ass here, aren’t I? You’re going to be totally fine. This will work.”
“Okay,” I said, still unsure. “How long will you be gone?”
“Just a few days. I can travel a lot faster on my own. I wont sleep until this is over with, I swear.”
I held back from telling him he didn’t have to take it that far, which was probably what I was supposed to say. He sure as hell better not sleep until this cracked plan of his worked.
“Alright, alright. I’m convinced.”
A small smile crept onto Cole’s face, and he locked his eyes on mine. He just stood there staring at me for a moment. I thought for sure that he wanted to kiss me, and felt myself leaning in closer to him. Instead, he pulled me into another hug, this one even more enthusiastic than the first.
“Have I mentioned yet that you’re amazing?” Cole said as he released me. He grabbed my hand and the two of us started running to catch up with the militia as quietly as we could, his enthusiasm seeping into me.
Cole had come up with this entire plan in less than ten minutes.
And people say I’m impulsive.
No. I was just the idiot who agreed to this insanity.