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Chapter Twenty-One
It tookus two hours to reach Ryan’s chosen location. Driving that long wasn’t without its risks. The noise of the trucks drew attention. However, fey watched and listened for any signs of infected and often split off to deal with any that noticed us. Their diligence was usually enough to ensure we didn’t have too many surprises once we reached our destination.
We weren’t so lucky this time.
As soon as the trucks rolled to a stop, infected swarmed us from nearby houses.
Richard swore under his breath as the fey were swallowed up by the number. We both slammed the locks on the doors at the same time.
“Start backing up real slow,” Richard said. “The fey will get out of the way.”
Hands shaking, I tried to do as he said. The truck lurched underneath us, almost dying when I let out the clutch too quickly, and I thought of the people in the back. Slowly, I inched us backward as infected climbed up the sides of the truck and hit the windows. Soon, I couldn’t see through the windshield.
“The road was straight. Keep the wheel straight,” Richard said.
His calm helped me keep some of my own.
Suddenly the bodies were ripped from the windshield and Tor’s blood-smeared face stared back at me.
“Stay inside the truck, June,” he said before pivoting to rip away the infected trying to break off my door handle.
I flashed Richard a quick grin despite the seriousness of the situation.
“Tor always knows exactly what to say to lighten the mood,” I said.
Richard chuckled next to me. “I didn’t know they had a sense of humor.”
“Tor does, and I love it.”
Tor, still close to my door, looked up to flash a quick smile at me. Infected spatter got in his mouth, and I made a face.
“You’re not kissing me until you brush,” I said through the window. “That’s gross.”
He scowled at the next infected like it was its fault, which I thought was hilarious.
“I think we can stop backing up now,” Richard said.
I scanned the infected still trying to get to us. There were too many fey for them to reach the trucks anymore.
“I hope everyone in back is okay,” I said.
“We don’t make a big deal out of it, but the fey lock the passengers in with a padlock. The infected wouldn’t be able to open the door.”
“Yeah, I’m glad I didn’t know I was locked in when I was riding in the back.”
He winked at me and continued watching the infected until the remaining ones scattered. A few fey took off after them, and the rest of us waited. Eventually they returned bloodier than before. Those who’d remained behind had started moving bodies into one large pile, clearing the road. Once done, they broke off into groups to clear nearby houses.
A fey stopped by Ryan’s truck for a moment then jogged back to mine.
“Ryan would like to know what Richard’s thoughts are,” the fey said through the window.
I looked at Richard, who thoughtfully scanned the surrounding houses.
“I doubt there’s another group of infected this size waiting to spring a trap, but it’s better to be cautious in case we missed any. Tell Ryan we need to be in and out in thirty minutes.”
The fey grunted and returned to Ryan’s truck while a few fey emerged from the houses, clean and hair dripping wet.
Tor was one of them. He came to my door and helped me down as someone else opened the back of the truck.
