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“And if you really want to, you can join us for this little check-in. But don't get in anyone's way.”
Saff barely held in a scoff. She'd watched some of the guards and patrol members so far. It would probably be beneficial if someone got in their way. Maybe it would prevent them from doing something stupid.
Sylvia turned away from her without another word and walked back to the group.
Saff slowly followed, walking back to her spot beside Josh and Carter. Their eyes flickered back and forth between her and Sylvia curiously.
“Kinda surprised she let you stay,” Josh mumbled.
“I feel like that's a bad sign,” Carter said in a low voice. “Like they're getting desperate.”
Saff tried not to take that as an insult.
She watched James as he spoke to Sylvia for a moment before leaving to come their way.
An older man on Sylvia’s other side cleared his throat loudly. Everyone stopped talking and gathered in a small circle around him.
“As you all know,” he started, “there was a small incident on the east side of the wall late last night. We can't be sure whether it was the same group that's been making threats the past few weeks, but it is probable.” A small murmur ran through the crowd. “It doesn't look like they did much damage,” he continued, “but it was tough to tell in the dark. So we need tocheck it out in detail this morning and check the rest of the barrier to make sure they didn't attempt anything else.”
A few people in the group nodded.
“Let's split into two groups and head out,” he said. “Each group will go the opposite way, and we'll meet in the middle.”
He raised his head, giving a signal to someone standing on top of the gate entrance. After a second, they unhooked something that resembled a large metal latch before someone at the bottom of the gate did the same.
Well, that was better than nothing. At least they had some type of protection against one person opening it on their own from the inside.
The crowd began filing out through the small opening, and Saff noticed James and Sylvia hanging behind, staying inside the wall.
Once on the other side, she followed Josh and Carter as they turned to the right and trailed along the edge of the perimeter with two other people.
It took her a second to realize that she was the only one without a gun, and she made a mental note to pay attention and stay close to the group. The one knife she’d kept was still strapped to her leg, hidden behind her pants, but that could only do so much.
As if reading her mind, Carter pulled a small handgun from the holster on his belt.
“Here,” he said, handing it to her.
She took it, instantly feeling more at ease with the familiar weight in her hand. “Thanks.”
They strolled along the wall, and after a few minutes of walking, Josh slowed to a stop. He motioned his rifle to the side. “This is where they said they attacked last night.”
Saff examined the wall carefully. Nothing seemed obviously out of place or damaged.
“What were they doing?” she asked.
“I'm not sure,” Josh replied, stepping up closer to the wall. “But I think someone in the tower heard something hitting the metal, and that's how they realized they were here.”
Saff glanced up. The nearest patrol tower was a good distance away. They would’ve needed to make some pretty loud noise for someone to hear. Which most likely meant that they were testing it’s strength.
She walked up beside Josh and scanned the base of the metal. There were some scratches on the green paint, revealing the shiny silver beneath. But then she noticed something on the ground. The dirt there appeared to be freshly overturned.
Josh seemed to notice it too and leaned down to get a better look.
They spent a minute thoroughly checking the area, testing the strength of the metal to ensure it didn’t need any repairs. And once they were all satisfied, they moved on, continuing on their path around the perimeter.
Every so often, they would stop and check an area in detail.
Saff noticed a few more spots around the gate where the dirt was overturned and almost looked like it'd been freshly dug through. Each time, she stopped and pointed it out to Josh and Carter. They all checked each one carefully but couldn't see any area that had actually been dug through. So they decided to keep going and mention it to the other half of the group when they got back.
