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He tilted his head and studied me.“Will you survive without the trucks?”
The question surprised me.
“As well as we would with them,” I said with an indifferent shrug.
His gaze finally lifted from mine and swept over the rest of my group.
“The infected are growing smarter,” he said, speaking only to me.“Be careful.”
He gave me another long look then motioned to his friends.Three hopped into the cabs, and two joined him as they skirted around the fence and started running back in the direction they’d come.
“Move, Andie,” Patrick said as the rumble of the truck engines faded.
I hustled to the Humvee and got behind the wheel.Kevin claimed the passenger seat, and Patrick climbed into the back, which shouldn’t have surprised me.
The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, known as the MRAP, led the way out of town, plowing through any undead who came running at the sound.
“Did you believe a word of that?”Patrick asked when we reached the first set of fields.
His doubt sent a shard of guilt through me.I hadn’t even thought to question whether the big one had been telling the truth.The blood covering the creature could have been the woman’s blood for all I knew.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.“I can’t see why he would need to lie about any of it.There’s no reason to lull us when they obviously hold all the cards.You saw how quickly they disarmed us the first time.They took our weapons but not our lives.And why spare us just to send the dogs after us later?Or all those undead that had been outside the fence?They’ve had plenty of opportunity to end us and haven’t.”
“Knowledge,” Patrick said.“The woman said Whiteman.That’s where we were headed.”
“Were?”Kevin asked, paying attention to our conversation even as he scanned for undead.
“I don’t like that the woman gave us the location,” Patrick said.“It feels like a trap.”
“You think she was warning us?”I asked.
“Maybe.”
Patrick wasn’t an oversharer by any means, but he sure liked picking through everyone else’s thoughts.
“What’s the plan then?”I maneuvered around a car without slowing.
“We head back to the Wichita FOB and send a message to Irwin that we made contact.We need more men.”
We fell silent after that.I wasn’t sure what type of help Patrick thought we would get.Sure, I’d seen the impressive fleet of vehicles and aircraft at Fort Irwin, but I’d also seen how many had been put to use.
Despite the natural barrier the Rockies provided, personnel were still needed at the watchtowers to guard roads and passes.It took a lot of people to secure the west coast from the spreading sickness.And then there were the ongoing air evacuations for qualified civilians to the island sanctuaries.And supply missions.And training programs.Everyone and everything was already being used for something.Why else would a barista be driving a Humvee?
Three weeks ago, we’d left with a forty-four-person volunteer-based platoon for a reason.While our mission was important, the people in charge hadn’t been willing to sacrifice much-needed personnel.
“Tree line to the left,” I said, spotting movement.
“What’s the road look like ahead?”Kevin asked through the walkie.
“There’s a line of cars positioned across it,” Roland said.“We’re going through.”
The MRAP sped up.I kept my pace steady, letting myself fall just a bit behind.
“Hope they filled the washer reservoir,” I said under my breath.
The MRAP hit the cars with a thundering bang, punching the first set of vehicles to the side and pushing the second one a distance before knocking it free.
The undead hiding within the cars couldn’t spill out and watched us pass with their cloudy eyes.
