“How far away are they?” I ask once we get to a second rise.
“They came in a little bit south. Come on, I’ll show you.”
I have a dozen questions to ask but he takes the hill in a sprint and I fall behind, unable to keep up with his long legs. Halfway up I get an uneasy feeling. Mostly because he’s acting pretty normal. Is that his plan? Lull me into complacency and then kill me?
I’m about to turn and run for it but run where? Back to a Mutt-filled camp? I swallow my fears and climb over a rock that gets me to the top of the hill. Cole waits at the top. A strange smile on his face. I frown. Or maybe it’s just strange to see a smile on his face.
I follow his eyes and look down. A large parking lot sits below us and a building, big and industrial-looking, is almost a mile away. Vehicles fill the lot, but they’re not in organized positions—not like the ones closest to the building. No, these are military green, stamped with US identifiers. National Guard. Army. Marines. Two have flags hanging lank from poles but I can tell they are red, white, and blue.
“He found them?”
“Yes, and because they were so close to the Georgia state line they were well aware of the Hybrids. A couple of Jane’s original Fighters escaped West during the Coup.”
Cole goes first, quickly descending the hill. I come in faster than I’d like. A dozen soldiers watch me tumble in. I trip over a root near the bottom and land with a thud. Wyatt emerges and I give him a threatening stink eye if he even dares help me off the ground.
These people have no idea who I am—but I’m not some girl that needs help off the ground.
Wyatt backs off and waits as I stand, brushing my scraped hands on my pants.
“Guess that injection is finally wearing off.”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Maybe so.”
Paul, dressed in black head to toe, walks over. I give him a fast, tight hug.
“So it’s true? You brought an army?”
“Yep. And they know about everything. A few guys—good ones I thought we’d lost along the way—managed to get to Birmingham and they know about everything.” I must not look convinced because he adds, “The good and the bad, Alex. They know all of it.”
“And they’re willing to work with us?”
“Birmingham has struggled to get on their feet. Besides the original setbacks of the Eaters and infected citizens, they had to spend a huge amount of time sealing the city. The main supervisor over the emergency procedures died in the first wave of victims. The backup facilitators were unprepared. They have limited power and water management but they did secure the border. Their walls are strong but their infrastructure is weak.”
“Wow.”
“But they’ve also already had to survive Hybrid attacks. Chloe must have sent some of her people west while she was looking for us. But Alabama’s military is strong. Rebuilding is the issue. I think it’s been a hard road, like we all have had. But, they’re doing well now and it’s actually a pretty nice place. We’d all be welcome there.”
“Winston-Salem may not be so easy. Hamilton has laid some groundwork and what we told them didn’t seem to convince them.” I don’t say that it may have made it worse.
“Well,” Paul says, scratching his chin. “At least you’ll have back up when you go back in. The Bama Brigade is also willing to send in some people for a conversation about the Mutts.”
Bama Brigade. Seriously, only Alabama. Wyatt nods at the guys loitering in the parking lot. “What do they want from us?”
Paul gives a tired but knowing smile. “They’re hoping some of us will go back with them. They need help protecting and building the city. They have a long way to go.”
“The first bridge we have to cross is getting the council in Winston-Salem on board. They’re better than Hamilton but he’s convincing. Very persuasive. He’ll tell them what they want to hear,” I say.
Paul sighs and glances at Wyatt. Davis is over with the group from Birmingham, filling them in with Cole.
“Let’s get everyone together and work out a plan. We’ll get on the road ASAP,” Wyatt says. Paul nods and leaves to tell the others.
“You think this can work?” I think of Ms. Perez at the Council. She was tough but fair. The others are just afraid enough to want someone like Hamilton in charge. I’m going to need to get to her first.
Wyatt confirms what I’m thinking. “I think it’s a matter of who gets there first.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
We make no attempt to disguise ourselves or vehicles on the way back to Winston-Salem. We may be considered fugitives but our motives are clear. We’ve got nothing to hide and hopefully Perez and the other council members will understand that.