I’d say Walker and I were lucky getting out of the Fort with Green and Jackson, but there had to be reasons Jane picked them in the first place. She would have surrounded herself with the best, particularly for an escape.
Both men are capable and well-trained. They’re nice and even fun to be around. It took several weeks for them to recover from the dehydration and wounds they suffered at the Winchester compound, but once they were better they were quick to get back to training.
I’d stumbled on them one cold morning. The snow was just slush at that point—the result of a few warmer than normal days. I saw Green and Jackson slip into the warehouse and I followed.
Through a small dusty window I watched them spar, using moves I had no idea existed outside an action movie. Sure, I knew these guys were good fighters. I’d seen them in action, but killing Eaters was more about getting the sharp object in the right place. What I watched that day was physical poetry.
I’d asked Jackson to teach me. He was the expert, having practiced Brazilian jiu-jitsu for the last ten years. Walker found out and joined in. It was tough. Bruising. But during the cold winter months while the rest of the town hibernated, we trained. Hard. I felt the change in my body. I was more agile on my feet, my muscles leaner. Regular food helped—natural food that wasn’t totally processed. Catlettsburg had crops and livestock that Avi encouraged them to preserve from the beginning.
“You ladies ready to stop arguing and ready to fight?” Walker yells at the men, leaning into the stretchy bands surrounding the ring. Jackson turns with an arched eyebrow in her direction. There’s chemistry between those two. More than once, I’ve wondered if something is going on.
“Yeah, we’re coming,” he replies, jogging over to the ring and slipping through the bands. Green follows and the lesson begins.
The next three hours will be spent refining our skills, because the four of us know what the others in this town don’t. This is simply the quiet before the storm. Something bad is on the horizon—there always is and there always will be.
This time, I think, dodging a jab at my face and swiping my foot at Walker, topping her for the first time in weeks, I’ll be prepared.
Chapter 12
In late March the snow melts.
From my window I watch the ice drip from trees and rivers of water rush toward the banks of the Ohio. The streets fill with dirty sludge, the yards turn muddy.
Tiny buds appear on the tips of branches. Green shoots from the dark earth and for once I can step outside without my cheeks cracking from the dry wind blowing off the river.
I’m at a crossroads. I know this. My paranoia has waned over time. I no longer sleep with a gun under my pillow. The fences around the town remain strong and my body grows firm and efficient. The more I prepare, the less I think it’s necessary. Maybe, like Avi has drilled into my head, I really am safe here. The idea leads me to consider beyond the next moment. The next mission.
Before college, I had a laser-like focus on valedictorian and pre-med at Duke. From there I would pick a specialty in science. Maybe epidemiology like my father or sister.
Then all that ended and college evaporated into nothing more than a dream. I became a foot soldier. First in my sister’s army. Then in someone else’s. Sure I had my Resistance, but I was never anything more than a pawn in someone else’s game.
But now, up here in this place of snow and peace, this place where I no longer feel like I have to fight for every breath I take, I feel the urge to declare myself. Find something I want to do. Today will be a test of that future. We’re headed out on a new mission outside the gates of Catlettsburg. I’m eager to see what the future holds.
I pick up my pack from where I keep
it by the door and move to my spying spot in the stairwell, although it’s unnecessary. Jane and Avi have been fighting loudly for hours. Weeks, really. Ever since he announced casually over dinner that he’d shared the vaccine with a small community outside the fence line.
“When did you do this?” she asked that night over dinner. Her tone was sharper than it had been in months. “How long ago?”
“Months before you arrived. We had extra and this is a farming community we often trade with. It seemed like a good idea.”
She shook her head. “You shouldn’t have.”
He frowns, his forehead creasing. “You don’t think I should have helped people in need, if I had the opportunity?”
“It was a risk. A stupid one.” Walker and I sat on opposite sides of the table, watching their exchange like a tennis match. It was obvious from my sister’s tone of her voice she was worried about something. “It’s dangerous to tell anyone that there’s a vaccine. In this world it’s more valuable than gold. Second, all inoculations of the EVI-1 vaccine should be monitored.”
Avi pushed his glasses up his nose and stabbed his fork into the cured ham we shared for dinner. He ate a bite and chewed slowly. Jane waited for his response, eyes growing wider with each passing second.
“They’re an outlier community. Fringe even before all of this. It’s why I befriended them. They’re Mennonites and keep to themselves and we last traded with them before Christmas. The weather since then has made it impossible to visit or monitor for any vaccination problems.” He points to the pork on our plate. “You’re eating their food right now.”
Jane placed her silverware on the table and folded her napkin into a square. “I’d like to visit the community as soon as possible. I should check up on them.”
“I thought your days in epidemiology were over.”
“I have an obligation to those people.” She gave him a hard look. “As do you. To this town, as well. It’s been months since you’ve seen or heard from them. Anything could have happened during that time.”
Jane’s behavior seemed paranoid at the time, at least to me, but when I spoke to Walker after dinner she had a theory. Jane was worried other groups would find out about the vaccine and demand it for themselves. Larger groups—even some of the military Erwin said were active up here.