The Girl who Saved the World (Death Fields 6)

The transport van sprays gravel in our direction as it heads down the road. We’re on the edge of the Death Fields, the thin line between civilization and ruin. The weird thing is, I feel a sense of relief at leaving the city behind. Chaos comes in different forms. At least out here I can identify my enemy. Back in the city it’s too hard to tell what people want from me. Even Jane’s last-minute warnings hang over me like a cloud.

“So what? We’re on foot?” Jude asks. He says it to Walker’s back. Her red curly hair is in a loose ponytail and she’s headed toward a small garage attached to a worn down building. When she doesn’t reply, he shrugs and follows her, Mary Ellen right on his heels.

“Any idea if we’ll meet up with Davis?” I reach out to straighten the straps on Wyatt’s pack. The bags had been waiting for us in the transport vehicle. I searched the contents and found everything inside—except my mother’s ring. I cursed myself for losing it along the way.

Wyatt glances over at Walker and Jude, who are struggling to lift the garage door up. He scratches his forehead with his thumb. “I haven’t heard anything more than you have. I hope so. He’s definitely someone I’d like to have our backs while taking down Hybrids.”

“Same.”

The wind blows, making it clear winter is on the way. I spent most of spring and summer locked up in Chloe’s prison. I don’t take sunlight and fresh air for granted, but the chill runs through me. Wyatt notices and grips my hands with his, giving me a little bit of his warmth. I can’t help but smile and when he smiles back at me, a sudden sense of fear rolls down my spine. I remove my hands from him and walk over to the others.

He trots behind me and says, “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I don’t know how to express what I just felt. Things feel fragile right now. “I think we should keep the affection on the down low. I don’t want added complications.”

Wyatt nods. “Sure, okay.”

He walks past me and squeezes between Jude and Walker to help lift the door. His back flexes and the door rolls up, loudly shaking the hinges. A figure steps from the shadows and everyone but Walker pulls their guns.

“Hey, hey,” she says. “It’s Jackson, don’t blow his head off.”

I can’t describe the feeling in my chest when Jackson finally emerges, hands up. Part relief, part joy. These are the people I need in my life right now. People I know and can trust.

Wyatt approaches him first, giving him a quick handshake. They don’t know one another well, but any history is better than nothing in our world. I step forward and don’t even wait. I just throw myself at him and go for the hug. “It’s so good to see you. Things were a little crazy the other day. I was afraid you’d be sent somewhere else.”

“Nope,” he says, squeezing me back. “Hamilton wanted me to go with you guys. And not just me.” He looks over his shoulder and I realize there’s someone else behind him. “This is Zoe.”

Zoe steps out from Jackson’s shadow and I’m surprised to see a teenaged girl. She has caramel-colored hair and warm, brown skin. Her eyes are a stunning green that do not carry the jaded look of my partners. She looks young and remarkably clean, with barely a scuff on her shiny, black boots. My first thought is how I don’t want to have to carry the weight of someone inexperienced. We’ve already got Mary Ellen to contend with, at least I know she’s committed and understands what we’re up against.

Wyatt nods but frowns as he assesses her size and the way she holds gun in her hands. Jude looks disappointed and I see him pull Walker to the side and whisper something to her. She replies and whatever she says isn’t what he wants to hear. Mary Ellen doesn’t look upset to see another girl enter our mix and goes over to speak to her.

I point to the truck hiding in the garage. “Does that work?”

Jackson nods. “Yep.”

“Good, because I do not want to walk. Been there, done that.”

He smiles and it’s nice to see. “So where do we go first?” I ask, tossing my bag into the back of the truck. I’ve already decided I’ll sit outside—again, those months Chloe kept me cooped up have made me dislike the indoors.

Walker opens the dri

ver’s side door. “First stop—Catlettsburg.”

“Really?” I scoot over, giving Wyatt some space. He doesn’t seem to want it and presses his hip against mine. “Why there?”

“We’ve got to sweep the town for Hybrids and Mutts. It’s possible some, particularly the Mutts that came from there, are hiding out.” She looks us over. Jude has also climbed in the bed. He stows his pack between his legs. “The good news is we’re all familiar with the town. Shouldn’t take too long. From there, Hamilton ordered us south.”

Her head disappears into the cab of the truck and she slams the door. It takes a minute for the engine to turn—who knows how long it’s been out here—but eventually it catches and she speeds away from the tiny garage.

“Anyone else feel like we’re about to get the greatest hits tour of the apocalypse?” Jude asks over the sound of the road and wind.

I fight a laugh but it’s pointless. We’re hunters now. Not fighters. Not soldiers. We’re looking for needles in a very big haystack. If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry, and I am definitely not crying.

Chapter Four

Catlettsburg is a ghost town.

It had always been a quiet place but now, looking up at the massive barricades, I feel in in my bones. There’s no one here, human or mutation.