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She knelt at the edge of the hole and lowered the lantern.
“I don’t think there’s more of these,” she continued. “But I’ll have some guys check. They can drive some rebar down to see if they hit anything. Can’t spare too many people, though. Everyone’s either helping with the wounded or working on the walls. We’re really stretched thin.”
“Got to be done, though,” said Sam.
They all moved out into the sunlight. There were screams from people in agony and moans from people in despair. The street was splashed with blood, red and black. Here and there bodies were covered by sheets. Karen asked, “You going back to talk to Collins?”
“Yes,” said Gutsy.
Karen turned and stepped close to Ledger. She looked up into the soldier’s hard, scarred face. “I don’t care what you have to do to get those answers, but get them. You hear me?”
“Loud and clear, sister.”
The head of town security nodded, then turned and hurried back to the hospital.
“She must be in hell,” said Sam. “Blackmailed into helping Collins and Morton…”
“This whole place is hell,” said Alethea, and no one even tried to contradict her.
As they walked back to the school, Gutsy fell into step with Nix.
“Was it worth it?” she asked.
Nix frowned. “Was what worth it?”
“Leaving your home in California. Was everything you went through worth finding out what was out here? Those reapers and all this mess?”
Nix walked half a block before answering. “When you go looking for the truth, you can’t expect it to be all sunflowers and puppies. The world is the world. I, for one, do not want to live in ignorance.”
Gutsy nodded, accepting the practicality of that.
“Tell you what, though,” said Nix, a smile blossoming on her freckled face. “It isn’t all bad out here. It’s dangerous, sure, but we’ve seen so much that’s beautiful along the way. Not every person we meet is a psychopath or a monster. We’ve met good people out here. Friends.”
“Like Captain Ledger and Sam Imura?”
Nix gave Gutsy a sidelong look. “Sure. And other people, too. When the world’s this messed up, maybe you have to go a long way from home to meet your real family. Not blood kin, but what my mother used to call ‘soul family.’?”
“What’s that?”
“The family you choose for yourself. The ones who’ve been through enough stuff to understand someone else who has scars.”
She didn’t ask Gutsy if she understood what that meant, and didn’t water it down by explaining that she wasn’t talking about physical scars. Nix was making a judgment call that Gutsy got her. Which she did.
They smiled at each other.
Soul family.
Up ahead, Benny suddenly jerked to a stop. “Wait… something’s wrong,” he said sharply.
The front door of the high school stood open, and there was blood smeared on it.
“Chong!” screamed Lilah, and bolted forward.
The others drew their weapons and ran after her.
6
THEY FOUND ONE OF THE two town guards just inside the front door. Alethea gagged and turned away, her face going gray. Spider stood with huge, unblinking eyes.
