The Girl Who Kicked Ass (Death Fields 3)

Davis shakes his head. “Exactly. He didn’t see you coming, either.”

Chapter 14

We spend the next four days packing for the long road trip. The journey from Chattanooga to Augusta will be the farthest any of us has traveled on the road in months, and everyone is on edge. We’ll skirt around Atlanta, everything we’ve heard says it’s overrun, and stick as close to the cleared areas as possible. There’s no doubt we will spend at least one day traveling through the Death Fields and we need to be prepared.

Our packs are loaded down with everything we’ll need from camping gear to food, and of course, weapons. The teams will head out separately, going various routes so as not to appear noticeable or allowing ourselves to be a target of Jane’s soldiers or the Eaters. In the garage before we leave, I spread the road map across the table and trace the zig-zagging course I’ve designed.

“We’re keeping off the highways. Erwin’s flown over the city and he says the car backup goes for miles so there’s no way to take a direct shot,” I explain. “Instead, we’ll take back roads as far as we can. It’s not the most efficient route but hopefully the least deadly.”

“Does anyone else feel like this is a suicide mission? Not just taking on the Vaccine Center, but the journey itself?” Jude asks, looking across the table. I don’t expect a reaction from Davis but do wait for a reply from Cole or Paul, even Parker, but no one says a word. I realize that Jude’s not talking about the fight ahead but getting there. Only Cole knows what it’s like to travel for weeks on the road like this.

“You see these dots?” I say, pointing to the map. “If we stick to our schedule, those are the areas we’ll look for somewhere to rest up.

One of Erwin’s officers in charge of the vehicle fleet points us to the truck we’re taking. It’s not military—but a large, black SUV. He points out the extra supplies packed. “There are four tanks of gas in the back and under the seats I hid extra ammo and guns. Hopefully that’s enough.”

“Thanks.”

“Good luck out there,” he says, patting the back of the car.

Cole steps next to me as I stash my bag in the back. His blonde hair is tucked beneath a black stocking cap, accentuating the sharp angles of his cheeks and jaw.

“Do you think this is suicide?” I ask.

“I don’t think there’s much we do these days that isn’t a risk,” he replies, securing a zipper. “Sacrifice is the currency we trade in now. You should know that.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

He reaches up and closes the heavy back door of the SUV. “You sacrificed your mother for your mission. Jude took his parents out for his own survival. Paul by force.” He inhales sharply. “Chloe paid with her soul.”

“We’ll get her back. She’s not lost to us. I refuse to believe that.”

His eyes grow cold and stormy. “My point is that risk is the only currency we have right now. It’s what we have to do to stay in the game. Look at Wyatt. Even that selfish bastard has paid heavily.”

“Wyatt?” I’m increasingly confused.

He laughs darkly. “I’m not an idiot, Alex.”

“I never said you were—and I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Wyatt is playing a deadly game as a double-agent right now for something he thinks is worth the risk.” He adjusts his cap, tugging it down over his ears. “All I’m saying is that before this mission is over, someone will pay Jane’s price. If I have my way, it will be me.”

*

“This road has been a disaster,” Parker grumbles next to me.

“I know. Sorry,” I say for the tenth time this hour. We got seventy miles away from the base and came to a complete standstill. “I just didn’t expect this.”

At some point, I assume early on, survivors camped out in a sprawling athletic park just outside the town of Greenville. A chain link fence surrounds the former baseball fields and the remains of tents and other abandoned camping supplies litter the area.

That’s not really the issue, though. The problem comes from the infected roaming the area. They’re slow moving, bone thin, and not the biggest threat we’ve come across. There’s just a freaking ton of them.

“Have you seen anything like this before?” Paul asks. His expression is one of befuddlement. It’s definitely an odd sight. A sea of brain dead infected just waiting to be put out of their misery.

“We suspected the bodies would eventually decay and fall apart,” Cole says from the middle row. “Their bodies are overtaken by the parasite and as long as they find something—or someone—to eat, they’ll keep going, but weather and body composition do come into play.”

Jude looks out the SUV window. “It looks like it’s been a long time since these guys had something to eat.”

They amble down the road, clogging nearly every available space. Lumped in groups against old storefronts and under the gas station