The Girl Who Kicked Ass (Death Fields 3)

“They went to the church,” the girl says, “and locked the door. Nobody ever came out.”

“We stay away from there,” the Garrett says. “Sometimes we can hear scary noises.”

“Good idea,” Paul agrees. “Definitely stay away from that church. But you do have somewhere safe to stay?”

“Yep.” Devin hoists the gun back on his shoulder. “And we’ve got this. We can protect your car. Don’t worry about us, we know how to take care of ourselves.”

*

We leave the kids and the car in a detached garage behind a house two blocks away. Devin says it will be safe there but I don’t really care. I’m already formulating a plan to come back for those three kids if we make it out of the battle with Chloe alive. They shouldn’t be living in the Death Fields alone.

“You know we may not be able to come back here,” Jude says, following me through the woods. Davis navigated us quickly away from the city and into the cleared safe zone. “I know that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I’m not thinking about anything but the fight ahead,” I say, not interested in admitting how close to the truth he is. It’s a crazy idea but I’m well aware that the odds of us getting out of the upcoming fight alive is slim. That’s why I didn’t say a word to those kids. They don’t need another person letting them down.

“Alex is right. We need to start getting focused,” Davis says, checking the compass he’s carrying. “We should meet up with the first team in a couple of miles.”

When we get to our prearranged camping spot, a small abandoned hunting shed, Davis and I leave the others and meet up with Team Two as expected. Their leader, Lewis, says Team Three and Four are in position as well.

“We head out at dusk,” the man says. He’s short and stocky. Old enough to be a father to either of us. A wad of tobacco is lodged in his cheek and he spits a disgusting glob of brownish sludge every fifteen seconds on the ground.

“We received intel that the Hybrids are waiting for us,” Davis says. “It’s possible they have a man on the inside. Or that they just have more sophisticated technology than we do.”

I snort back and laugh and both men glare at me. “Sorry. By ’more technology’ you mean, any? It feels like the Civil War or something out here. I keep expecting General Lee or Grant to ride by on a horse.”

“You can laugh, sweetheart, but those old Generals and their wars are goin

g to help us win today,” Lewis says before spitting on the ground. “Where do you think we got our plans? This isn’t the first battle fought on this soil. I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

He ambles off muttering about youth and video games and meeting us at the rendezvous point.

“Nice guy.”

“He’s a legend.”

“From one of the World Wars?” I ask.

Davis hits me with a hard, exasperated look. “Seriously, he’s fought in a lot of wars and organized dozens of successful missions, both in Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He knows what he’s doing and we’re lucky he survived long enough to help out today. We’ll follow his lead.”

The reality is that I’m fighting nerves. This battle looms larger than anything else we’ve done. The smash and grabs, even the disaster at the evacuation center a few weeks ago wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. The last time we faced off with Chloe, we nearly lost our lives. The difference, I guess, is that last time we were ambushed. This time, we know what we’re getting into, and it’s terrifying.

My panicked thoughts must have been apparent on my face because Davis stops and gives me soft look. He throws an unexpected arm around my shoulder and says, “I can’t predict the outcome of what will happen today, but I do know you’re a hell of a fighter, Alex. More so than I ever expected.”

“You really think so?” I never expected a compliment like this from Davis.

“Believe it not, you’ve helped me find focus when I was completely lost. PharmaCorp took me in when I needed somewhere to go but it was a bad deal. They were just using me. You’ve allowed me to redeem that—or at least try. I’m thankful for that.”

I feel the pinpricks of tears forming in my eyes. “I feel like a jerk because we’re having a manly moment about wars and battles and being the Resistance and I’m just over here slobbering like a girl.”

He squeezes my neck. “Not just any girl, Alexandra Ramsey. You’re the girl who kicks ass.”

Chapter 17

The first fiery shot comes just after the sun has set. It whizzes through the air, too close to the Resistance fighters hunkered down in the shadows of the forest. They’re well-armed and come charging from all directions. I’ve barely accepted that this is really happening when an explosion rocks the ground and I stumble, racing forward to put the gunfire behind me. Paul runs next to me, yanking me upright.

“Thanks,” I say, but it’s more just to hear my voice. I fall in line and Paul’s quick breaths set our pace. Jude is behind me, loud and too heavy on his feet, but he’s got the best aim so we’ve sacrificed speed and stealth. The gunfire provides bursts of light, and in those brief moments I know we’re running past the front lines and toward the Center itself. Our job is to get close to Chloe and take her out.

Yes, we’re going after Chloe.