Zocopalypse (Death Fields 1)

She shakes her head. “No.”

“What about him?” He nods toward Wyatt, who hops out behind me. He reveals his arms.

“I’m clean,” he says and walks past us over to the waiting men. Another series of bro-handshakes take place and I’ve definitely got more questions than I’m comfortable with but now is not the time. Everyone begins moving quickly, tossing bags and supplies into the truck.

“Here,” a ninja says tossing me a familiar looking bag. My bag. I rip into it and find all my stuff, my books, my photos, my clothes. He walks over to a table and comes back with a hatchet, no my hatchet in his hand. “This one’s yours too right?”

“Dude, how’d you get this?” I ask taking it from him. He doesn’t answer but goes to get Cole and Chloe’s belongings as well. Cole’s face breaks into a grin at the sight of his crossbow. What a dork, I think while marveling at how the weight of the hatchet feels perfectly at home in my hand.

We’re motioned to get in the truck and I settle in the back, under the canvas top between the twins. Richardson and two ninjas get in with us. The driver’s side door opens and through the back window, I see Wyatt slide behind the wheel. A shiver runs up my spine.

“Any idea what that’s about?” Cole whispers.

“Nope but everyone looks awfully friendly, don’t they?”

As the garage door opens and we exit down the road cloaked in thick trees, Cole turns to his sister and asks, “What happened to you guys?”

“After we split up from you guys we hunted for a couple hours,” she starts in a low voice. “Wyatt caught some rabbit. When we got back to the site we ran into a couple of Eater’s in full rage mode. After fighting them off and searching the area, it was pretty obvious that those Eaters were left to distract us from the fact you’d been taken. We saw the tranq darts on the ground.”

“Then what?” I ask.

“We hightailed it out of there in the truck—camped out for a couple of days circling around to the base. I was freaking out.” She looks at her brother—tears in her red, tired eyes. “That’s when Wyatt tells me he knows where you are and that he’s got a plan to get you guys back. I just have to play along.”

“He knew the whole time where we were?” I ask.

“Play along with what?” Cole interrupts, keeping on track. He’s right because of course Wyatt knew. It feels like everyone knows what’s going on around here but me.

She gives a slight shrug. “That night we left the truck and started hiking. By dawn we’d been spotted by the military. Right before they got us, Wyatt said, ‘Fight back but let them take you in.’ That’s what I did. And now we’re here.”

The truck rumbles along and I try to process what Chloe is saying—what’s going on right now. Richardson pushes the flap covering the window and peeks outside. His eyes narrow from the bright light and his shoulders stiffen.

“Are we really safe from Erwin out here?” I ask him.

The truck lurches to a stop and I notice his grip tighten around his gun. Without looking over he says, “Erwin’s not our problem at the moment.”

I hear them over the rumble of the truck’s large engine. A mixture of moan and howl—some more agitated than others. Not now, I think. With a sense of dread, I push open the flap nearest me.

“Oh, my God,” Cole says also looking out.

A sea of Eater’s surrounds us—more than I’ve ever seen before. They bob and drift aimlessly, searching for something with their dark, spidery eyes.

“There are so many,” I say trying to comprehend the sheer number. Since this all started I hadn’t encountered more than a couple at a time. I thought things were more under control—people safe at the evacuation centers. People holed up in their houses. “I didn’t realize…”

“The plague is here, Ramsey,” Richardson says. “Did you think it was going to get better?”

A mile or so beyond them I see high brick and wire fences. Barricades cover any path or road. “What is that?”

“That’s the base we just rescued you from,” a ninja says, his face pale and tense. “We knew these bastards were out there but had no idea there would be this many. Erwin’s been busy.”

Richardson glances at me. “Erwin has spent the last month capturing as many Eaters as possible to surround the base. No one goes in or out without his permission or without dying. This is about weapons, Ramsey. The virus. The Eaters. What the Colonel said the other day was correct, we’re in a war.”

“Then why the hell did you take us out this way?” Chloe asks.

“It was now or never. That escape tunnel led us to a warehouse just outside the fence line. But this horde is thick. Erwin is a genius—he knew we may get the jump on him but not without fighting for it,” Richardson continues.

“But…” I struggle for words. “Who are you? Who are you working for?”

The truck rumbles to life again, Wyatt obviously having made a tactical decision from the front of the truck. Richardson looks over and says over the deafening roar of cannibals, “PharmaCorp, of course.”