The Girl who Saved the World (Death Fields 6)

“Hey! I killed Chloe!”

“After pumping yourself with one of Jane’s cocktails.”

I shake my head. “It was the only way.”

“Do you really think it will fully wear off?” she asks.

“It seems to kick in here and there. Mostly when we need it,” I explain. The tremors in my hands feel less frequent though. “There’s something else I need to tell you before we go.”

“What’s that?”

I sigh and sit on the bed. “It’s about Mary Ellen.”

It doesn’t take long to explain the situation. Parker’s face quickly sets into one of concern and horror. Pregnancy is no joke in the apocalypse.

“She wants to keep that baby.”

“Well then she’s going to need a safe place to stay,” Parker says, running her hands over her thighs. “Like this one.”

“Yes, we need to do everything we can to protect Winston-Salem and keep it an actual Safe City.”

She nods. “We’ll keep an eye on her while you’re gone.”

“Zoe, too?”

“Oh, I’m definitely keeping an eye on her.”

I laugh. “Don’t trust her?”

“Not an inch.”

“I think she’s okay, but we’ve been betrayed before.” And that sums most of my life up. It’s hard to let in new people and settle in a new place. It’s only a matter of time before true intentions reveal themselves or someone comes knocking on the door. Someone without my best interest.

I stand and give Parker one last hug. “We’ll be back. I promise.”

She squeezes my neck. “You better be.”

There’s a knock on the door and Wyatt opens it slowly. “We need to go.”

I nod and grab my bag.

Chapter Eighteen

Leaving the city isn’t exactly easy, but the guards aren’t really used to people like me and Wyatt. The government did a good job of fortifying the walls—much better than anywhere else I’ve been, excluding New Hope. Ironically our time there is what gives Wyatt the idea.

“We need to wait until they come in and out.”

“The front gate?” I ask. We managed to get out of the room and down the stairwell with a slight distraction from our friends. I get the distinct idea that people inside generally don’t try to leave. They’re mostly trying to keep people out.

“No. There are specific entries and exits for the military. They don’t want the townspeople to get nervous.” We’re two blocks away, pressed in the shadows of a brick building.

“There are literally soldiers on every corner.” We’d slipped past a few.

“Those are just low-level peace officers.”

“And how do you know all of this?” His eyes flash in the dark before he leans out to check the street. He waves me to follow and we run down the alley. We don’t stop until we come to a garage two blocks away. I grab him by the shirt. “Seriously, Wyatt, how do you know this?”

“Let’s just say I still have a few contacts.”