“New ‘do?” I ask, leaning against the door.
She looks up and I spot the bright blue eyes identical to Cole’s. She runs a hand over the stubble on her head. “Yep. Decided to go for the Mad Max look, you know? Kick ass warrior.”
“I like it.” If anything it makes her more beautiful.
“Thanks.” She looks at the clock. “Seems a little late to be down here?”
I shake my head, thinking of the fights I just watched. Wyatt had us sit through three, each one more nerve-wracking than the last. I can’t decide how I feel about using the Eaters for target practice. In one way it makes sense. It’s h
ard to understand the reality of actually fighting these monsters without firsthand experience. On the other hand, it’s just horrible. Awful.
It’s reality.
I keep this to myself, because the last thing Chloe needs to know while she’s trying to get healthy is that there’s an apocalypse-style WWE Smackdown in the basement.
“On my way back from some training. Jane is letting me join the FF.”
A line creases between her eyes. “The Fighters? You’re kidding.”
“Nope. The vaccine is ready. I’m going to be on the inoculation team.”
Her jaw drops. “Wow. Okay, I know you’ve wanted to do more, but are you sure? Sounds dangerous.”
Chloe and I met when she and her brother saved me and Wyatt from a pack of Eaters trying to take us down on a boat in North Carolina. We were lucky they showed up with their compound bows and survival skills, because we were one second from being an apocalypse casualty. “Danger is my middle name.” I laugh. “You know that.”
“When do you leave?”
“Soon, I think. It’s all very hush-hush but I’m getting the feeling we may roll out at any minute.”
“So you came to say goodbye?”
I give her a sad smile. “I wish you could come with me.”
“Me, too. I hate being cooped up in here.” She touches her head and the red, jagged scar. “I’m doing good, for being shot in the head, but sometimes it takes a minute for everything to…” She trails off searching for the word.
“Process?”
“Process. Right. It’s obnoxious. Like, the word is right there but I can’t…” she moves her fingers like she’s trying to catch something. I smile, hoping it’s not too sympathetic. Chloe is tough as nails, even with a bullet in her brain.
Cole says the lingering effects of the bullet wound are mental not physical. Like the synapses in her brain stopped connecting or skip a link here and there. She’s working with a physical therapist (yes, Jane has those in The Fort) but progress is slow.
“How does my brother feel about you leaving?”
I sit on the edge of her bed. “I’m hoping he’ll come with me but he’s busy doing Lab Guy stuff. Saving the day, one microscope slide at a time.” I leave it at that. She doesn’t need to know she’s one of the reasons he’s sticking around.
“So he’s not happy then. Because…” she pauses, racking her brain. “Because…he wouldn’t let you go without him.”
“We’ve got different battles to fight. We’re all good.”
“And Wyatt?”
“What about him?”
“Is he going?”
“Probably. I’m not exactly in on all the plans.”
Chloe thinks I have a thing for Wyatt. I don’t. Really, I don’t. But we both know he’s handsome. Sexy, even. Like, really sexy in that post-apocalyptic-last-man-on-earth kind of way. He’s fit, confident, and possibly a ninja. He makes me feel safe. He’s also a smart-ass, secretive, and dangerous. I only trust him with my life because to him I’m a job. There’s no way I’d trust him with my heart.