CHAPTER 6

“Why are you pointing a gun at me?”

Amy’s declaration had made me forget all about Sam. A wave of relief washes over me as he wakes, but the others aren’t as happy. I tighten my grip on the knife and stand in front of Sam as I glare at Dom. “Put that away.”

“Like hell I will. If he’s one of them…her too.” The gun wavers back and forth between Sam and Amy.

“Don’t you point that fucking thing at her,” I growl, tensing to tackle Dom and take him down if I have to, but Sam grabs my shoulder as he gets to his feet. He’s a bit wobbly, but he manages to stay upright with my help.

“I take it you told them my secret.”

“Not like I had a choice, Sam,” I huff over my shoulder. “You screamed and passed out like a little girl right after you took those things down.”

“And since we just found out they can get in your head and control you, you should understand why there’s a gun pointed at you. Did you bring them here? Is Amy covering for you?” Luke’s tone is harsh, and I turn my warning glare on him.

“Give him a moment to gather his wits. He just had a breakdown of some sort.”

“It’s okay, Bix.” Sam squeezes my shoulder a little tighter. “They deserve an explanation or at least the side of the story I understand.” His eyes move warily over Dom and the rifle. “But only if you put that thing down.”

Dom, stubborn bastard he is, keeps it pointed at us, but finally Badger takes it out of his hands.

“Okay. Yes, they get in my head. I can hear them, quite clearly at times. And yeah, they did control me at first. But not anymore. I can fight back now. I figure taking both those bastards down is proof in itself.”

“Can’t argue that,” Robyn says, and I stare back at her in surprise again. “Besides, the kid over here is saying she’s the one that brought them here, not him, whatever that means. You guys are one messed up family is all I know.”

Sam follows Robyn’s pointing finger and his eyes widen.

“Ames,” is all he manages to get out before she nearly bowls him—and me—over in the process.

“Sammy.” Amy’s blubbering is muffled as she buries her head in his shoulder, her back heaving with her sobs of joy. Her pure happiness at seeing her brother makes my own eyes mist, and I blink hard, trying to keep the tears at bay. I can’t show any weakness. Not right now. Not with tensions being so high. For a moment, I forget about Amy’s troublesome words and bask in their reunion.

They hug each other tight, Sam running his hands over his little sister’s hair like he can’t believe she’s actually standing in front of him. Finally, she pulls back and beams up at him.

“I always knew you were okay, Sammy. I knew it.” She smiles through her tears, and Sam wipes them away with his thumbs on each cheek.

“As touching as this reunion is, we have a more serious issue.” Luke seems oblivious to Amy’s happiness, and I shrivel a little inside with the realization of how much he’s changed over these past few weeks. “McKinley, you’re lucky we haven’t shot you by now. Give me one good reason we shouldn’t throw you back into that tunnel of leeches.”

Sam gently pushes Amy to the side and stands up taller, facing Luke. “Because you’d be stupid to do that. You’re missing out on the one key component of this whole debacle. I’m a queen leech detector, for crying out loud. I can tell you when they’re near, so you can avoid them. Good enough reason?”

“It’s true,” I say, backing Sam up. “I’ve seen proof of it.”

“Not good enough, Whitman,” Dom hurls at Luke. “He’s too much of a risk. What if those things crawl into his head while we’re sleeping and tell him to slit our throats? You want to take that chance?”

“It doesn’t work that way, idiot,” Sam growls. “They have to be really near for their control to work, and I can sense them long before that. Plus, they don’t think like we do. I don’t know how to explain it, but their thoughts are not as developed as ours. Theirs are much simpler, filled with basic drives and needs.”

“Oh, that makes me feel so much better… not.” Dom’s words drip with sarcasm. “By your own accounts, you’re infected. Can you infect us with the same thing? Is your sister infected, too? What did she mean she told them we were here?”

A murmur from below tells me the others are paying much more attention to us than I thought.

“Keep your voice down, prick.” I glare at Dom. “We don’t want to cause a panic. And of course Amy didn’t tell the leeches we were here. She just said that to try and save her brother. Duh.”

Before Dom can reply, Morley bounds up the stairs and points to the door. Thin wisps of smoke seep through from underneath and swirl up to disappear into the gloom above us. “I don’t know what you guys are debating up here, but I think it’s time we move. That fire is not dying out anytime soon. We need to get out in the open.”

“He’s right,” Luke interjects. “Everyone reload and let’s get our people out of here. We’ll head for the safe house on Tanner Street.”

“Tanner Street?” I question. “That’s a four hour walk at least. Our people need food, water, medical assistance. Half of them won’t make a four-hour walk.”

“So what the hell you suggest, Bix? Hunker down here with no food or water and a fire burning on the other side of that door?”

“I have a solution,” Morley interjects. Dude is fucking full of solutions it seems. “Our base is not far from here. Very little food but we have water we can share. Least we can do in return for you guys helping get our people out as well.”

Luke nods. “Sounds good to me. All in agreement?”

Everyone on the walkway nods. I’m just happy to have their attention taken off Sam for a moment. But that relief is short lived.

“What about him?” Dom points his chin toward Sam.

“He goes with us, for now. If what he and Bix say is true, then he may just come in handy.”

Dom doesn’t try to hide his grunt of disapproval, but he doesn’t argue. I, on the other hand, don’t stay as quiet.

“If?” I ask. “You don’t believe me?” The words are out before I can stop them, and I try to conceal my hurt. Save my shredded dignity. Luke has every damn reason not to trust me, but hearing him say it out loud wounds me, since there was a point in time when he took my word like gospel.

“If,” he reiterates. “Seems like this wouldn’t be the first time you’ve lied to us.”

I’m quick to anger, but Sam’s hand on my arm quells my snarky response. “Pick and choose your battles, Bix. Now’s not the time.”

He’s right. At least they’re letting Sam go with us. Could have been a much worse outcome.

“Understood. I’ll start getting everyone ready to move out.” My words are cold. Emotionless. If Luke wants to treat me like a pariah, then two can play at this game. Only thing is it’s not a game I really want to play.

# # #

Morley’s base really wasn’t that far from the subway but traveling with our people slowed us down big time. Even Badger, Mike, and Tina had time to catch up with us before we made it there. Luke allowed a few moments for a reunion. At least he hadn’t gone completely emotionless. Tina was thrilled to see her kin, and Badger had been at the Grand from day one. He had a lot invested in these people. It hadn’t taken Badger long to notice everyone wasn’t there, though, and I had to be the bearer of bad news once again. Gunner had taken some of our people away. Not the sort of news one relishes telling.

While Luke, Dom, and Morley lead the front of the pack of somber travelers and the rest of the crew flank the sides, I stay at the back with Sam and Amy. They are the only two able to look me in the eye right now. Sam’s predicament had quickly been outlined to Mike and Badger, and I can see their questioning looks as they glance back every few feet like they expect Sam to grow claws and attack. The strain of everything he’s been through shows on Sam’s face, and I can’t help my need to comfort him. I reach out and snag his fingers in mine, and he glances over in surprise.

“You sure you want to be seen touching me? When they finally agree to outcast me, you may feel the residual effects of that.”

I shrug. “Hey, it’s the least I can do to thank you for saving my life. That QL was not going to let me walk away. You saved me, and for that I’m grateful.”

He raises a brow. “QL?”

“Queen leech is such a mouthful, don’t you think?”

He releases a quiet chuckle. “You’re so weird.”

“Thanks.”

We walk in silence a few minutes, watching Amy skip in front of us. She’s humming a little tune and oblivious to the tension of the group, just happy to have all three of us back together. I keep waiting for her to bring up Liv, but so far nothing. Maybe just having Sam around is all she needs for the moment, although I know she’s going to ask sooner or later, and I dread the questions.

“Sam, what do you think Amy meant when she said she told the leeches we were coming?”

His stormy eyes search mine. “You said it was to protect me. Don’t you believe that?”

My gaze switches back to the curly haired girl. “I don’t know. She sounded so sure of what she was saying. Like she really thought she was speaking the truth.”

Sam pulls his hand from mine and heaves a loud sigh. “Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out. Amy, can you come here please?”

She turns with a bright smile on her face. “Sure.”

She wedges her way between us and stares up at her brother with adoring eyes. “What do you want, Sammy?”

“I have a question for you, and you have to answer it with all honesty, okay?”

The smile drops from her face and she nods. “I will.”

“Back at the tunnels when you said you told the monsters we were coming; did you say that just to keep them from blaming me?”

Her face scrunches in puzzlement. “Why would I do that? That would be lying. I did tell them you were coming.”

Sam’s gaze meets mine above her head. “But how? Did you talk to them?”

She giggles. “Kind of, but not really. They don’t talk like us. I don’t know how to say it. It was like I could hear their words and feel them, too. They sound real funny, kind of fading in and out like daddy’s ham radio. Remember using the radio, Sammy?”

He nods. “What else can you tell us?”

She screws up her face like she’s thinking really hard. “They were looking for us. I could hear them. Outside the train car while everyone was sleeping. They knew you were coming for us, Sammy, and they wanted to find you. I could feel it as I sat by the broken window, waiting for you to come get me. I told them to get away and leave us alone. I told them you and Bix were coming, and you would fight them for us.” She glances up at me sideways, and her mouth turns down at the corners like what she’s about to say is distasteful. “They don’t like you, Bix. You or Luke or any of the others. They don’t like you at all. As soon as I mentioned you guys, I had this bad feeling. I kept trying to tell them that you guys are really nice and wouldn’t hurt anybody. Much nicer than the people that took us, but I don’t think they believed me. If I had known one of them was going to try to hurt you in the tunnel, Bix, I never would have told them you were coming.”

My mouth gets drier with every word Amy says. None of this makes any fucking sense. Is she telling us right now that she can understand those things? How is that even possible?

“How long have you been able to understand them?” Sam asks gently, thinking more rationally than I am at the moment.

“I don’t know. Only in the tunnel. Never seen one before. Never heard them talk before. I don’t think anyone else heard them, though, ‘cause when I was talking to the monsters, everyone else told me to be quiet, so the bad things wouldn’t find us.”

This was not making one lick of sense. What exactly is Amy saying? How is it possible? She’s never been in a pod or connected to any hive mind. She’s never had any contact with queen leeches. And what does she mean they were looking for us?

“Can you hear them now?” I ask, and she shakes her head.

“No, silly. There’s none here.” Suddenly, she stops and points to the dilapidated buildings to our right. “Oh, look at that. I remember that big yellow M. Daddy used to take us to that place for fries. Remember, Sammy?”

Our conversation obviously forgotten, Amy is more enthralled with the remnant of the past. I forget how most of the Grand’s people rarely saw the outside other than the Grand’s rooftop gardens or small courtyard. Being back out in the bowels of the city is all new to them again. I let the questioning drop for now. I know how Amy can be. If she didn’t want to discuss the leeches anymore, she wouldn’t. Not until she was good and ready. Stubborn little critter.

“In here.”

Morley yells out from the front of the group and hops up the concrete steps leading to the sturdy brick building of a public library. With its narrow, barred windows and two heavily enforced oak doors, I gotta give him kudos. It was a pretty decent choice of a hideaway, and nothing like crushing my belief that they all lived underground. Easy to defend and no one would probably ever entertain the idea of raiding the library for supplies. As much as I enjoyed reading in my younger years, scavenging for books was pretty low on our list of priorities.

As our people file inside, still mute from shock and exhaustion, Sam, Amy and I bring up the rear. By the time we get in the doors, most everyone is already lining their way up the wide staircase flanking the back wall to the upper level. We follow them up as Morley and Tina lead us to a smaller, windowless room at the back of the building.

Inside, we see traces of this being the primary living quarters. Made sense. No windows meant no chance of light being seen from outside threats. The heavy doors are reinforced with bolts and locks on the inside and the large, ornate fireplace dominating the middle of the room is a perfect source for heat and cooking. Not a bad spot all in all. Cots set up between random empty shelves provide a semblance of privacy for sleeping quarters.

Tina flits about the room, lighting lanterns as someone else starts a fire burning in the hearth.

“Everyone find a place to settle down.” Luke’s voice booms in the crowded room. “There probably aren’t enough cots but try and get some rest. As soon as we are able, we’ll have you set up with water.”

They do as he orders. They just don’t have the gumption to disobey.

“Sam, pick a spot for us, and get Amy settled in. I’m going to check on Jess then I’ll be back with water for you both.”

I’m grateful he agrees with me. Amy does need to rest, but Sam has been looking peaked after his melt down. As much as he won’t admit it, he probably needs the rest as well.

I find Jess being attended to by Cookie. She smiles at me as I draw close. Even Cookie’s grumpy face doesn’t look as pinched as normal. It usually looks like she’s dealing with a real bad case of constipation, so this is the closest I’ll get to a smile from her I’m thinking.

“How you doing, doc?” I ask She shrugs her uninjured shoulder. “I’ll live, thanks to you guys. The bullet went all the way through. The people here tell me they have wild honey for my wound, so that should work just fine to stop any infection. Fingers crossed.”

“Good. Cookie, you holding up okay?”

Cookie ducks her head slightly. “It is what it is, yes? I take it you lot have been to the Grand?”

I swallow hard, knowing what she’s asking me. “Yeah. We were there.”

She looks down and fiddles with the cloth in her hands. “How bad is it?”

“We found survivors. At least eighty or more, including the kids you hid, Cook. You saved them. But we lost a lot of people. Kingsley, Coop, Liv.” My voice hitches on the last name as Cookie closes her eyes and crosses herself in prayer.

“I’m so sorry, chica.”

I shrug and cross my arms, keeping my grief at bay. This is not the time. “As you said, it is what it is. At least we managed to save you lot, even if we didn’t get to you all in time. It churns my gut knowing that he took some of you for trade.”

Jess’s troubled glance meets with Cookie’s before returning to me. “I think it’s worse than that, Bix. Cookie overheard them while they were taking the others away. It sounded like… well, it sounded like they were taking them to the leeches as a sacrifice.”

A sacrifice? What kind of new fuckery is this?

“What the hell does that mean?”

Jessica’s eyes are wide. “That’s all we know. My guess, they were feeding the leeches.”

An uneasy murmuring from the middle of the crowd draws our attention. The muttering evolves into a question shouted out to Luke.

“How bad is it back at the Grand? Are the rest of our people still alive?”

The question rings out from a young man at the back. Seems like Cookie’s not the only one with questions. My heart constricts in my chest knowing the answer that awaits.

Even from this distance, I can tell Luke struggles to find the right words. “Everyone please rest up first. You’ve been through a lot, and there’ll be plenty of time for answers after a night of rest.”

“No, I think we need answers now,” another voice vents from the group accompanied by a few shouts of agreement. Cookie steps away from us and joins Luke in front of the huge fireplace.

“Calm down, all of you.” They quiet down at her stern words. She turns to Luke. “On behalf of everyone here, we want to thank you for saving our lives. Without you, we would have all perished, like so many others did. For that we thank you. But the people at the Grand are our families. Our loved ones. Everyone deserves to know.”

Never thought Cookie would be the voice of reason but she’s right. No one would get any sleep tonight wondering about the fate of those left behind. I glance back over at Sam and Amy. She doesn’t need to hear this right now. Not in this way. But Sam tilts his head Amy’s way and mouths the word ‘asleep’. She’s already out cold on the cot. One less thing to worry about.

My eyes return to Luke. He runs a weary hand over his face, and I’m overcome with a wave of pity for him. And I’m ashamed to admit relief that it’s him carrying this burden of leadership and not me.

“Okay. I won’t lie to any of you. I know you must have seen some of the destruction before you got taken away, but it’s worse than you can imagine. We did find survivors. Some of our people escaped to the roof during the attack. All of the children made it, thanks to Cookie and Mrs. D.”

Sobs and gasps of relief echo around the room.

“Not everyone made it, though. We lost a lot of good people, Cooper and Kingsley amongst them. Most of our guards and hunters. The ravagers showed no mercy. They cut our numbers drastically.”

Silence fills the room once again as all eyes stick to Luke. The silence is overwhelming. You can feel the grief and despair emanating from them like a tangible thing.

“So, will we head back to the Grand tomorrow?”

“Who’s there guarding our people now and keeping them safe?”

“Do you know if Josie from the kitchen is one of the survivors?”

Questions start sprouting up from everyone, reaching an uncomfortable level.

“Quiet, all of you.” Morley’s shout stuns them into silence. “Not sure if you’re all aware or not, but noise is one of the things that attracts the leeches in hordes. Last thing we need is to have a gaggle of them scratching at our door, right? Now quiet down, and let the man speak. Least you can do since he saved your asses.”

The noise drops off. They know he’s right. I decide I kind of like this Morley dude.

“I know you all have a million questions, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you the names of every single survivor. When we left the Grand, we were all in a state of shock ourselves. What I can tell you is that we won’t be going back there. Our people are no longer there. On our trip to Ottawa, we met a new bunch of survivors. They have a farm on Highway Seven. It’s well hidden, well protected, with plenty of room and food. Our people have gone there. As we will, too, first thing in the morning. The Grand was our home for many years, but it being compromised means we’d never feel safe there again. We need to go somewhere safe. Start over. Coop and the others would have wanted that for us.”

That familiar hitch in my chest starts up again at the mention of Coop’s name, but I bury it deep. I know I’m going to need time to process the grief for him and Liv, and time is something I don’t have right now.

“Who’s going to lead now that Coop is gone? You Whitman?”

One of Kingsley’s men hurls the question. Luke looks up in surprise, almost as if the question throws him for a loop.

“That’s not something that can be decided by me. That’s a decision to be made by all of us. But I do promise you this. I will get you to the farm, all in one piece, if it’s the last thing I do. So as I said, rest up. Sleep if you can. We have a long journey ahead of us, but trust me, you’ll get your answers when you get there.”

His explanation appears to appease them. They break off into groups to find a spot to settle down as Morley’s people start handing out the water. I wait my turn, getting water for Sam and Amy and myself before heading back to the corner of the room Sam chose.

I guess the wait for water took longer than expected because Sam has curled up by Amy on the cot and joined her in dreamland, his arm protectively around her. Not wanting to disturb them, I lay the cups of water by the head of the cot where they’ll be sure to find them and head back to the front of the room where Luke and the others sit. My mind is in overdrive, and I won’t be able to sleep while I’m so on edge. Things are bouncing around up there, driving me nuts. The decision of my crew about Sam. The idea that Amy can understand the hybrids. What Jess said about our people being a sacrifice. It all threatens to boil over and leave me blubbering with madness. I need to do something to occupy myself, to keep my mind off that and my growling, empty stomach. I have a proposition for Luke.

He watches me from across the room, and his quiet conversation with Morley tapers off as I approach. He eyes me, waiting for me to speak first.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“Sounds dangerous,” he replies.

I ignore Morley’s quiet snort of laughter. “It’s going to take us twice as long to travel to Tanner Street with everyone in tow tomorrow, especially without food. Plus, it’s kind of out of the way going to the farm.”

“I’m aware,” he says.

“I can get there and back in six hours. Me and maybe Gordo? We know every shortcut there is to know. We can get there, get the food supplies, provided the place hasn’t been ransacked.” I glance over at Morley and scowl. He holds his hands up in surrender.

“Haven’t found that place yet so if it’s raided, it wasn’t us.”

“I’ll radio Kip at the farm to send her trucks halfway to pick us all up. We could do that and be back before the sun comes up. Whaddya say?”

He eyeballs me in silence before rubbing his eyes wearily. “I must not be running on all cylinders, else I would have thought of that already. I agree. It’s a good idea, except for one thing. You aren’t the one going.”

“What?” I snap, lowering my voice as I receive a few curious looks. “Of course, I’m going. It’s my idea.”

“Too bad. When was the last time you slept, Bix? Not to mention, you’re still recovering from a goose egg on your head and almost being throttled by that queen leech. You think you’re the best one to be out and about right now?”

I bite my lip in frustration, before glaring over at Morley who’s watching us in amusement and not even trying to hide it.

“Mind giving us a minute?” I growl, and he leisurely wanders off into the room.

“You’re not going to change my mind on this,” Luke says to me as he crosses his arms over his massive chest. I take a deep breath to stop the angry retort from spewing from my lips. Instead, my response is more desperate than angry.

“Please, Luke. I need to go. I need to do this. I cannot stay cooped up in this room for hours. I need to be out there. I need to be doing something to take my mind off my grief and guilt and depression else I will go insane. I need to be away from…” I glance around the room. “From all of this just so my mind can have some peace and quiet. I feel like I’m coming apart at the seams and being around everyone is making it that much worse. I don’t expect you to understand, but please let me go. Please.”

I don’t know what changes his mind. If it’s my words or the sheer desperation he hears in my voice, but he finally sighs.

“Fine. You can go. But on one condition. I go with you.”