“You’re letting fear starve you,” I called. “My family had pizza the other night and spaghetti with garlic bread last night. The food is out there for those brave enough to find it for themselves.”
Someone said, “Fuck it,” then several more people stepped forward.
“I hope this is worth it,” a man said, looking at me.
“Me, too. I really want some chips this time.”
I used the ladders along with the rest of the humans to get out to the trucks and took my usual spot as co-pilot for Garrett.
“Morning,” he said. “Hope you brought your hand warmers. It feels colder today.”
“I have four,” I said, patting my pocket. “Enough to keep my toes nice and toasty. It’ll be a sad day when I run out.”
“We’ll find more.”
He started the truck and rolled along behind Ryan’s vehicle. When I glanced out the window, I caught a fey watching me, but he quickly looked away. I sighed and leaned back into the seat.
“How does it work? You living at Tolerance?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the fey want all the girls for themselves. I would have thought they would see you as competition and kick you out.”
“They see me like another Ryan. They accept him because he’s Mya’s family. They accept me because Angel claimed me as her family. Shax very briefly thought I was making moves on Angel, and let’s just say I will never horn in on any woman a fey has his heart set on. Truly terrifying,” he said with a chuckle.
“So, what does that mean for you? You’re supposed to just resign yourself to a life alone?”
He grew serious.
“I hope not. But thinking of that possibility always helps me understand how the fey probably feel. And there’s a lot more prejudice against them than me.”
I looked out at the fey running alongside the trucks and immediately spotted Thallirin. As always, he was a bit apart from the rest. Was the thought of a life alone why he’d been so overbearingly stalkerish? On the tail of that thought, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Why me out of all the other women in the two safe zones?” What about me had made him think I would be the solution to a lifetime of loneliness?
The ride to Harrisonville took a lot longer because we needed to go around to the west side. My butt was numb by the time Garrett pulled to a stop behind Ryan’s truck.
“About time,” I grumbled.
“We’re not there yet,” he said. “Watch this.” He cut the engine and slipped the gear into neutral.
Fey lined up behind the truck in front of us and started pushing it forward.
“Stealth mode,” Garrett said before our truck started moving, too. “Pulling the trucks up to the houses after we’ve been spotted is dangerous. Driving in right away is dangerous. Both make too much noise. This is a hell of a lot quieter, gets the trucks closer for immediate loading, and gets us out faster when we’re done.”
“Hey, no justification needed on my end. It’s a smart idea.”
I kind of felt bad for the fey who had to push the huge trucks, though. My gaze went to Thallirin, who was in front of us. Unlike the other fey, whose strain was visible because they wore no shirt, or wore something that barely fit, Thallirin was covered by a large jacket that went to his hips. Though he was probably working just as hard as the rest, there was no view of rippling muscles to show it off. I briefly wondered why.
We rolled right up to the first house, turning so that the passenger truck would be the first one out and the soft-sided supply trucks would be closest to the houses.
An infected came around the side of a house at a run. One of the fey intercepted it and pulled its head clean off. I’d never get used to the ease with which the fey decapitated infected.
“Be careful out there,” Garrett said softly before easing his door open.
I did the same and lightly jumped down. Zach jogged past me with a nod and joined six fey who broke off toward one of the houses. I moved to the grille of the truck then climbed my way to the roof for a better view.
It was weird being in the trenches and seeing the scavenging as it happened. Fey and humans alike worked in tandem, going from house to house, clearing the supplies and bringing them back to the trucks. It wasn’t completely noiseless, but there was nothing that I thought would draw attention.
Soon the immediate street was clear, and the groups moved deeper into the neighborhood.
I glanced at Thallirin and the five other fey who remained with me. They watched the houses and the yards, keeping their backs to the trucks as they continually moved.
Several streets away, I watched a fey jump from a low roof to one of the two-story buildings. A lookout.
Knowing he would spot anything coming at us from straight ahead, I focused on the houses to our right and left. Everything was quiet, and supplies continued to trickle our way as the teams cleared more houses. I was pretty sure I even spotted a bag of potato chips in one of the bins. A small and very quiet happy dance may have occurred at the sight.
From the corner of my eye, I thought I caught the reflection of a face in an upstairs window. When I looked, there was nothing there.
I didn’t doubt what I’d seen, though, and made a small “hst” sound to catch the fey’s attention.
“Brenna?” Thallirin said softly.
“Second story. Window on the end. Maybe nothing,” I said, trying to be as brief and as quiet as possible.
He looked at one of the other fey, who went into the house. Knowing the fey would deal with whatever he found, I refocused and studied the other homes around us. Farther down, something moved in another second story window as well. I wasn’t the only one to see it, though. A fey went running off.
I frowned and glanced at the remaining four fey. Why did I feel like the infected were thinning the herd?
A thump of noise came from the original house, and I looked over to see the fey holding up a head in the window. Making a face, I turned away.
My gaze caught on the bay door of the garage next to us. The twelve-inch gap wasn’t a big deal. People did that all the time for cats to come and go as they pleased. It could have been like that when we pulled up, and I just hadn’t noticed. Yet, the undisturbed snow line in front of the door said otherwise.
As I stared, a hand appeared, its pale fingers grasping the edge of the door.
“Infected,” I said softly.
Another hand appeared then another.
I lifted my bow. That’s when I noticed that the garage door two houses down started to lift. I swung my head and saw the same on the other side.
“Stay on the roof, Brenna,” Thallirin said.
The doors flew upward all at once, and infected poured out. I fired arrow after arrow, aiming for the eyes. Some shots killed. Some blinded. Both worked, but not quickly enough. Infected swarmed the fey and rushed the truck. Giving up on protecting the fey, I focused on protecting myself as the infected started to climb the sides and the hood of the truck.
With growing fear, I fought to keep up with their advance. There were too many infected. I couldn’t shoot fast enough.
A roar shattered the silence. Deep and raw, it stopped all movement for half a second. I didn’t look to see who was making the sound. Deep down, I knew.
Thallirin.
From the corner of my eye, I caught an eruption of bodies and blood to my right. I barely registered the devastation or its source as I nocked, drew, aimed, and released again and again. As my arrows found their marks, my targets would fall back from the truck, only to make room for the next ones. As a whole, they climbed higher, clearing the hood and reaching for me.