I grabbed his arm and dragged him back through the gap in the hedge to his house. I towed him up the steps and onto the front porch before looking over my shoulder to make sure no one had noticed us.
“My mom left me a note,” I hissed before he could ask.
“Okay…” he frowned at me, waiting for me to go on.
“And the things she was saying made it sound a hell of a lot like the city is going to be closing its doors without letting everyone inside.”
“Let me see,” he said, holding his hand out.
I bit my lip, irritated at myself for dropping it. “I left it inside,” I admitted. “But she said we need to hurry to the waiting zone and her and Dad will be able to get us accepted. What the hell does that mean? That's not how it's supposed to work-“
“Maybe you're just reading into it,” Linc said. “She might have just meant-“
“No. She said her and Dad had been selected. Like they were only picking certain people.“
“You know the Wardens came to escort your family into the city. They're just selecting people with special skills like your Dad and making sure they get inside safely. It's all well and good offering everyone safety within The Wall but if they don't have people in there with the necessary skills then the whole thing could fall apart.” Lincoln took my hand and made me stand still. I hadn't even realised I'd been pacing.
“I dunno. She said something about hordes heading for the city too. And getting somewhere defendable. Hordes of what?”
Linc stilled at my words, a strange look flickered in his eyes and he released my hand. He walked away from me, running a hand over the back of his head as he thought about something.
“I need to get in touch with my unit,” he said eventually. “Can you make sure the others are ready to leave in five minutes?”
“What's going on?” I asked, taking a step towards him.
“I'm sorry; I can't tell you everything I know right now. It's classified information-“
“So you're telling me you do know something? Is it true then?” I asked desperately, wanting him to reveal everything despite the rules.
“I haven't been given any concrete intel,” he insisted and I believed him. “But a member of my team is good at finding things out. She relayed some rumours which might tie in with your suspicions. But I haven't spoken to her in hours so I can't be sure.”
I nodded slowly, knowing he wouldn't lie to me. “But you can find out?” I asked.
“I can try.”
A low, haunting wail sounded from somewhere nearby and we both turned to look out towards the street.
After several moments, the noise didn't repeat itself so I turned my attention back to Lincoln.
“Trust me Katy. I'm gunna get you out of here. Just go.” He gave me a little shove towards my house and headed through his front door, closing it behind him.
I stood staring at the blue door in surprise before turning and heading back to join the others. I didn't know if I should tell them about the note or not but I was already worrying about some of them. If they thought we might not be able to get into the city, I wasn't sure how they'd react. It wasn't worth me causing a panic, we just needed to get to The Wall. Hopefully once we got there they'd just let us inside and my worries would prove unfounded.
Doubt coiled in my stomach uncomfortably but I ignored it, heading back to my house to make sure the others were ready.
“Where did you go?” Reese asked as he spotted me coming through the front door.
“I was just talking to Linc. He wants us ready to move asap.” I pushed the door shut behind me, resisting the urge to slide the deadbolt across.
“We’re ready whenever. It might be a bit difficult to move Tommy though.”
“Has he woken up?” I asked anxiously.
“He's been mumbling. He opened his eyes for a few seconds but that was it. I'm afraid he might…” Reese trailed off, unable to finish what he was going to say but I knew what he meant. He was worried that Tommy might die.
“Those wounds weren't that deep and I know it looked like a lot of blood but… He’ll be okay. He has to be.” I patted Reese on the arm awkwardly. Our relationship had gone so far beyond friendliness that even reassuring him seemed odd.
I moved away from him quickly, not wanting to linger in the weird moment. I headed in