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It was just before midnight. I’d fallen asleep way too early after Molev finished with me.
Carefully rolling to my side, I sat up. Nothing ached too badly, so I stood. My legs were sore like I’d been climbing the rope course again. After a long hot shower, I started stretching and rubbing my thighs. Faint clanks and other metal sounds continued from outside, prodding me to dress and investigate.
The section of wall not far from the house was a bevy of activity. Fey worked together to hoist and weld cars into place, filling gaps with other metal objects. They were meticulous with how they placed pieces so it wasn’t dependent on the welds to stay upright.
They’d already finished a decent section, moving the lights so they shone down outside the wall from the top of the new third layer. I scanned the fey for Molev’s familiar shape and spotted him holding a car in place.
“Hey, handsome,” I said. “I heard something fall. Was anyone squished?”
A nearby fey chuckled.
“No one was hurt, Andie,” he said.
“Someone might be if you guys wake up any sleeping babies. Why don’t you all take a break and wait until morning to keep going?”
The fey shook his head. “Molev said we need to complete this as soon as possible. We’re running out of time.”
I watched Molev. Although I was sure he could hear my conversation with the fey, along with every other fey present, he wasn’t watching me. He was focused on the car he was trying to position.
That level of focus spoke to the urgency he felt. It had to be another gut feeling.
“Do you know if Drav is awake?” I asked the fey.
“If he is not, he will wake when you knock. Mya sleeps well and won’t notice.”
I nodded and made my way to Drav and Mya’s house. I knocked softly, just in case Mya was sleeping. It took a minute for Drav to answer.
“Sorry for stopping by so late. Matt mentioned he communicates with Tolerance over the radio you have. Would you mind if I check in with Matt?”
Drav led me to the radio they had in the kitchen, and I waited a few minutes for Matt to answer.
“Molev’s working on the wall here like a madman,” I said. “I’m guessing it’s his intuition saying we need to hurry. It’s never wrong. Have you heard anything from the bases?”
“Nothing. Every channel is quiet,” Matt said. “We haven’t stopped trying. June, myself, and a few other volunteers are taking shifts so we’re continuously broadcasting.”
Did that mean more bases had fallen or that we were too far into the dead zone to reach anyone?
“Let’s change up our message. Instead of just trying to reach the bases, we need to reach out to anyone listening. We warn them what’s coming and find out what’s going on through anyone willing to communicate.”
“It’ll be tough getting answers,” he said. “People are scared and afraid to communicate.”
“We win their trust. Tell them, as of last week, Vance Airforce base was clear of infected but cleaned out of supplies. There are aircraft in the field, but they have no fuel. The infected in the area are watching it, and it should be avoided. Give them the location of the Wichita base. Let them know that’s been cleaned out too. The road between the two locations had very little movement, but Vance was attacked by a hound that’s now dead. Be specific. Say a fey killed it.”
“Is that smart?” Matt asked.
“Would you believe anything else managed to kill one of those?”
“I wouldn’t, but that’s because I’ve seen what they can do.”
“So have I. I’m betting there are more people out there who have too. Once we share what we know, ask if anyone out there has any updates on other locations regarding infected or hellhound movement. Give them a channel to listen to, and let them know you and your people will be listening around the clock. It will help anyone who’s listening know they aren’t alone and maybe give them enough hope to communicate.”
“All right. We’ll change up the message now.”
“How’s progress on your wall?” I asked.
“Good,” he said. “About an eighth of it has a third layer. They’re going to need to head out in the morning to look for more supplies. At this rate, they think they’ll be done in five or six days.”
“We have the same timeline,” Drav said behind me.
