“Hands up,” Wyatt shouts, and without question Jude lifts his hands upward, an arrow splits the sky, severing the binds. Wyatt winks at Davis and says, “Paul has amazing aim.” To my astonishment, Davis tosses Wyatt a gun that he aims a gun at Walker’s head and says, “Let go of her. Now.”
Walker tugs me backwards, knowing I’m the only thing between her and certain death. “I knew it,” she hisses in my ear. “Those two will betray everyone else, but not each other or you.”
“Walker,” he says again, taking a step closer. She tightens her arm on my throat and I gag.
“I’ll kill her, Faraday. Then you’ll kill me. Either way, she’s dead.”
Her words are drowned out by the screams in the stadium. The attack set the crowd, who is already on edge, into a frenzy. The stadium falls into chaos, the guards instantly overwhelmed. People swell in stands, jumping over rows, falling onto the field. They rush the exits blocked by armed guards. The stairwells clog with people looking for cover from the attack above. They’re trapped and don’t know it’s the good guys outside the fence. They’re just scared.
An explosion rocks the ground—not from inside—but outside the stadium. People scream louder. Hamilton, in the midst of losing control, grapples with Zoe.
Across the stage, Perez--who moves faster than I expected--and her Council are gathered by the soldiers on stage. The rest of us are left in our dramatic showdown. I make eye contact with the woman, who is surrounded by guards, and make a plea.
“Perez!” I choke out, against the pressure of Walker’s arm. She stumbles just as a series of bombs go off outside the walls. “They want to work with you. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
She looks at me with regret but I point at my sister and father and shout one last thing. “Take them with you.”
Jane looks indignant. I know she can handle herself but my father can’t. Even Walker seems to have no problem letting them go. They hold the cure. None of us can afford to lose them.
Movement from the front of the stage catches my eye as Hamilt
on copies Walker’s move and grabs Zoe, turning her into a shield. He’s shouting while Zoe cries, fat tears rolling down her smooth cheeks. Wyatt keeps the gun focused on Walker, who just squeezes me tighter. Jude and Jackson brawl across the stage landing punch after punch. Parker has thrown her body over Mary Ellen’s, protecting her from the fight. Inch by inch they make their way off the platform. It all happens in a whirlwind of activity, but something else tugs at my consciousness.
Those two first arrows landed with intent, missing both Hamilton and Zoe. I stare at them now, green-tufted feathers sticking straight out of the board. Paul shot those arrows. Wyatt said so himself. I glance skyward but the sentries on top are gone, the battle having moved outside the stadium.
Hamilton shouts, “It doesn’t end like this. The freaks will not inherit the earth. You’re an abomination in God’s eyes. He will not let this stand and neither can I—”
The ripping sound echoes in my ears, even over the escalating sounds of a heavy fighting outside. The straps are leather but the arrows weakened them, giving the sleeping beast the chance to make his move.
Cole lunges from the board, awake and most definitely alive. Pushing Zoe to the ground, his strong hands wrap round Hamilton’s neck. Walker gasps in my ear.
“Me or him,” I tell her, but leverage the moment to elbow her in the gut and slam my foot down on her toes. Wyatt jumps at his chance, disarming and disabling Walker, and I race toward Davis. He quickly cuts the binds and tosses me the hatchet that he hung from his belt.
Jude lands a punch on Jackson, knocking him to the ground where he tips over and falls with a thud. Already the sounds of the battle have waned. It shouldn’t take long for the Mutts and Birmingham to make their point. Perez isn’t dumb enough to make a mistake twice today
“Help me,” Hamilton begs Walker, eyes bulging.
“Let it go,” Wyatt says to her. I have little doubt he’ll pull the trigger if she moves an inch. “Cole. It’s time to end this.”
He’s giving him the choice. And I watch the tic in Cole’s jaw as he runs the plays through his head. Kill him. Hurt him. Maim him. Finally he says, “You spoke of my life before—how it was filled with hope and possibility—how I threw it away.”
Hamilton’s down on his knees now, eyes pleading.
“There’s only one thing I lost in all of this that I regret. Everything else was worth it. The decisions I made were for the better of this country—for the people. How dare you question my loyalty.” He glances over and I feel the pain in his words. “To anyone.”
“I was wrong. I didn’t understand,” Hamilton says, but his arrogance betrays his hatred. Once again the crowd roars. I look up and see a man emerge from the center tunnel leading the Mutts and Bama Brigade inside. A wide, real—not painted—smile on his face.
Reality bears down on Hamilton and Walker. Cole resumes his condemnation. “No. You didn’t understand. You have no idea what the real world is like out there. You don’t know what it’s like to be hunted and to hunt. We didn’t have walls protecting us and even when we did we had to make decisions based on survival.”
Cole’s voice is calm. Eerily so, and he bends closer to Hamilton and points a gun at Zoe, who is frozen to her spot on the stage.
“Would you kill her for the future? Would you sacrifice family?”
Hamilton looks at his daughter—weak and pathetic. He takes a deep breath. “Yes. I would.”
Cole’s back straightens. “That’s the difference between us. Because I couldn’t. Alex couldn’t.” His hand tightens around his throat and says, “You’re the real monster.”
The snap is quick, brutal, the light of Hamilton’s eyes extinguishing in an instant. Zoe gasps and I run across the stage to her. She falls in my arms, sobbing, and I watch Cole as he stands. Walker falls to her knees, tossing her weapon at Wyatt. Davis ties her hands in binds, while Jude does the same to Jackson.