Page 66 of Blood We Steal

“They might turn on you.”

“They could try.” He spoke it like a fact he’d accepted and didn’t feel anything about one way or another.

“Still, you do something like that and they could easily conclude they’re no better off with you than the COs. Restraint might help you win them over completely.”

“This isn’t a charm offensive, Simone,” he said.

“Of course not, but never hurts to be liked.”

“It’s not something I care about,” he said.

His face was set in the stubborn expression, but I didn’t let that deter me. He was angry, but surely he could see. I’d make him see.

“Rubin, I⁠—”

My words drowned in a concussive thud that grew into a deafening crash.

Rubin

The wall moved a half an inch but settled into place. I didn’t feel relief though and didn’t waste more than a second before I pulled Simone close and ran back inside.

Lorik was waiting at the door. “Krye! Come quick!”

We raced up the stairs to the fourth floor, Simone at my side the entire way. I stopped and peered out the window, wondering what horrors I would see.

I stared at the scene, the handgun tight in my grip. The weight of a gun in my hand was as familiar as taking a breath, but the weapon was useless. An ambulance lay on its side against the prison wall where it had clearly crashed, one wheel spinning.

The vehicle hadn’t been big enough to knock down the wall, but that wasn’t good.

Because what it was, was the perfect height for those things to climb on. They’d been gathering for days, a few more each day, and the noise of the crash drew them to the ambulance. It was a garish show, watching them clumsily move toward the ambulance, only to fall and be stepped on by others, creating a perverse step ladder.

“Should we shoot them?” Besnik asked.

“No,” I said. “Too many.”

The first to make it to the top of the ambulance fell over and tumbled down into the courtyard.

Then the next.

And the next.

So many that the conclusion was impossible to ignore.

I turned to the men, who all looked at me.

Glanced at Simone but quickly looked away.

“Check the exits and make sure they are secure. The courtyard is gone.”

THIRTY-ONE

Simone

“Got a new fit, Moni?” Aaron said.

I smiled at him with happiness I didn’t feel. “Apocalypse chic. It only took the end of the world for me to become a fashion girlie.”

He gave me a pitiable smile, then patted my hand. “Eat something,” he said, sliding a pack of peanut butter crackers across the table.