Zero Trilogy (Book 2): Day One (11 page)

“We’ll talk about that later,” Danes replied.

“Or we could talk
now
.”

“You’re starving and dehydrated. I suggest you eat first.”

“No. I want to talk.”

Danes folded his arms across his chest, chewing on his lower lip. He tilted his head, studying Bravo. “All right. We’ll talk.” He pointed to the far corner of the room. “You three”— he waved a hand at Georgia, Jay and Flash— “go eat.” He looked at Elle. “You and the dog can come with me.”

“Hey, if you’re talking, I want to hear, too,” Jay stated.

“I didn’t ask you what you wanted,” Danes answered. “Do what I say, kid.”

Jay curled his fingers into fists. Elle touched his shoulder.

“Just do it,” she advised. “I’ll be back.”

Jay swallowed and glared at the floor as Georgia muttered something under her breath. Jay seemed to agree with whatever she said and turned away, Flash following.

“This way,” Danes told Elle.

Elle clicked her tongue and Bravo stayed close to Elle as they moved out of the Refugee Ward, into the
stairwell outside. Danes leaned against the railing, a pensive expression on his face.

“Where’d you find the dog?” he asked at last.

“Why do you care?” Elle demanded, defensive. She kept her arms folded, her stance defiant.

“Kid, your dog’s name is Bravo. He belonged to Nathan Ingalls, a lieutenant from Sector Twenty-Seven.” He shook his head. “Nathan went MIA about two weeks ago, along with his dog, a bomb dog from the military K-9 units that existed before the EMP. So what I’m asking you is this: why the hell do you have Nathan’s dog?”

“You knew Nathan,” Elle stated. “He was your friend.”

“Yeah, he was my friend,” Danes replies. “Now tell me the truth, because I can throw you out of here just as quick as I picked you up.”

“You think I killed him?” Elle asked, raising an eyebrow.

Danes didn’t reply. He only waited.

“I didn’t.” Elle looked him straight in the eye. “I found him dying in an abandoned mining camp in the middle of the desert. Bravo was the one who brought
me to him. I tried to save him, I swear, but there was nothing I could do. He just…slipped away.”

Danes blinked, swallowing hard.

“So he’s dead,” he said.

“Yes, sir.”

“And you took the dog?”

“The dog took me, sir. I had nothing to do with it.”

Danes smiled slowly.

“And these kids you’re with?”

“They’re just kids.”

“You’re obviously in charge of the group. What’s your story?”

“My story is just like everyone else’s. I’m trying to stay alive.”

“You’re fresh out of Slaver Territory with a bomb dog and a group of kids trailing behind you like a Boy Scout troop,” Danes remarked. “That’s no small feat.”

Elle didn’t answer.

“You and your friends can stay here,” Danes said at last. “For now.”

Elle nodded. That was fair.

“We were originally headed to Sacramento,” she said. “We heard it was safe there.”

“It’s safe for now.”

“Is it worth trying for?”

“Anything’s worth trying for, now.” He paused. “You look after your dog, Elle, and he’ll look after you.” He touched Bravo’s head, scratched him softly. “Go eat and get some rest. We’ll talk more after.”

Elle didn’t argue.

She couldn’t afford to.

“Samuel is dead,” Elle said
.

Aunt and Uncle were sitting at the breakfast table. Uncle was wearing his leather duster, his flight cap stuck into the pocket of his pants. Aunt raised an eyebrow
.

“You don’t know that for sure, Elle,” Aunt replied
.

“Yes, I do.” Elle stepped into the kitchen, placing her hands on the breakfast table. “He was supposed to be back here with Mom two days ago. I’m telling you – he’s dead. You haven’t seen the city like I have. It’s bad. People are killing each other and—”

“I
have
seen the city, my girl,” Uncle interrupted. “I don’t take my plane out every day for pleasure rides anymore. I’m looking, searching. And what I’ve seen are bad things.”

“We have to go back into the city and find Mom.”

“We can’t do that.”

“How can you say that? She’s your sister! She’s your—”

“Enough, Elle.” Aunt raised her hand. Elle shut her mouth. “We have something we want to say to you.”

Elle tensed
.

What could they possibly have to say to her at a time like this?

“I’m leaving,” Uncle said
.

“You’re…going away?”

“Yes. I think I can help the militias in their fight against the Omega invasion. I’m going to do my duty and help end this nightmare.” He looked at Aunt, and she touched his hand across the breakfast table. “I feel called, I guess.”

“You’re
leaving
us alone to go join a militia somewhere?” Elle repeated
.

“I’m leaving to fight for my country—”

“Don’t give me that patriotic crap. You’re
leaving
.”

“It’s not crap, Elle. It’s the truth. It’s not right for me to sit here and wait this out.” Uncle shook his head, running a hand through his wild gray hair. “I’m able to help, so I have to. I’m obligated.”

“You mean you’re obligated to go join a militia, but you’re
not
obligated to go looking for your own family lost in the city?” Elle’s vision was red around the edges – she was furious. “I can see what’s more important to you.”

“Don’t take it like that. Searching for your mother would be like searching for a needle in a haystack,” Aunt answered. “It’s not that we don’t love her – because we do, Elle. We love her so much. But we can’t help her, so this is what we
can
do to help. Everybody needs to play their part – including you.”

Elle stared at them. They were so calm, announcing Uncle’s departure. Announcing the acceptance of Mom’s death. How could they be like this? Didn’t they care at all?

“Fine,” Elle said. “Do what you want.”

“Elle—” Uncle began, but Elle stalked away
.

“I’ll do it myself, then,” she muttered
.

She would have to go back into the city, and she would have to do it alone
.

Elle sat at the end of a plastic table, absently stirring the hot bowl of stew in front of her. It smelled delicious, filled with chunks of meat and pieces of
vegetables. She ate slowly, savoring the flavor. It had been so long since she’d had real food. She didn’t want to make herself sick by eating too fast.

Bravo sat on the floor by her feet, eating a bowl of food provided by the woman called Myra Linch. It was a mix of old meat and cuts of fat. The dog practically inhaled it.

There were conversations all around her. Voices echoed against the underground walls. It was overwhelming. So many people in one room. So many potential threats.

Elle kept her head down and listened, trying to latch onto a single voice to focus on, to keep the clamor of the crowd from becoming overwhelming.

“…The Freedom Fighters is where it started, initially,” one woman was saying. “One of the first militia groups in the hills, a hillbilly group of rednecks, the way you’d hear the Scouts tell it. But it was effective.”

“And the Mountain Rangers?” a man asked.

“Further up in the Sierra Nevadas.” The woman paused. “Rumor is, the militias in the mountains are in a bit of trouble. They couldn’t stay hidden from Omega forever, after all. The Mountain Rangers have been
fleeing – they say they’re headed toward the coastline. Monterey, maybe. Monterey is supposed to be safer than Sacramento.”
Elle frowned and took another bite of the stew.

“The militias and the U.S. Military are becoming one,” the man replied, his voice lower. “It worries me.”

“I trust our military a lot more than I trust Omega,” the woman said.

“So do I, I’m just saying…” Another pause. “Merging all of these groups of people at a time like this. Either it’s a smart move or a ticking time bomb.”

Elle shook her head. She didn’t know what to think.

“Hey, we’ve been looking for you, shortstack.”

Georgia sat down in a chair across from Elle. Flash sat directly beside her and Jay took a place on Elle’s right. “What did he say?” Jay asked.

Elle pulled herself out of the conversation behind her.

“Who?” she said.

“Lieutenant Danes,” Jay replied. “What did he
say
when you talked to him?”

“Oh, that.” Elle shrugged. “He said we could stay…for now.”

“What else did he say?”

“That’s about it, actually.” Elle didn’t tell them about Nathan Ingalls. For some reason, she didn’t think they needed to know. “As long as we keep our heads down and behave, they’ll let us stay.”

“But not forever. They can’t just feed hundreds of people every day indefinitely,” Georgia pointed out, smoothing her curly hair. “They’ve got to kick people out at some point.”

“People here have jobs,” Elle said, nodding toward the guards at the doors. “People contribute to the cause, and they get a place to stay and food to eat. It’s not a bad system.”

“So if we want to stay we’re going to have to work,” Flash replied.

“Yes, which is completely fair.”

“Totally.” Georgia smirked. “I’ve never had an honest job before.”

“Speak for yourself, blondie,” Jay cracked. “I’ve had
lots
of jobs.”

“Yeah? Name one.”

“My parent’s liquor store. I ran that in high school.” Jay swallowed his food, then suddenly stopped talking.

She understood that. She knew that pain.

“…There’s a lot of colorful characters with the militias, too.” Elle tuned into the conversation behind her once more as her table fell into morbid silence. “A mixed bag,” the woman said, laughing. “They’ve got ex-teachers and lawyers toting rifles. It’s quite an army, let me tell you.”

“You’ve seen it?” someone asked.

“I was running with the Freedom Fighters until a few weeks ago,” the woman continued. Elle barely turned her body, enough to glance long strands of white-blond hair, sandy fatigues and a denim jacket. “Good people. They weren’t born fighters, but they became fighters. Our commander, Chris Young, was the best leader the militias will ever have.”

“There’s a lot being said about him lately.”

“Rightly so. He’s a good man.”

“So how did you end up down here?”

“The Freedom Fighters split. Commander Young and the better lieutenants like Cassidy Hart and Alexander Ramos joined the National Guard in Sector 20. I didn’t like being up in the hills without Young as a leader. I came down to find the National Guard. Had
some help locating them from the pilot at Camp Freedom.”

“Ah,
Manny
,” someone laughed. “He’s well-known, too. The crazy pilot.”

Elle suddenly stood up, whirling around. She walked to the table behind theirs and stared at the woman. She was middle-aged, with deep green eyes.

“You know Manny Costas?” Elle asked.

“Everybody knows who Manny—”

“Do you know where he
is
?”

The woman shook her head.

“How should I know?” she answered. “I haven’t seen him since he joined up with the National Guard. He could be anywhere.”

“But he was with the militias in the mountains.” Elle took a deep breath, her cheeks flushing. “He’s alive.”

The woman gave Elle a suspicious look.

“What are you…his grandchild or something?” she asked.

“Or something.” Elle placed her hands flat on the table. “Listen, where did you last see him?”

“Well…” The woman stopped to think, wrinkling her brow. “It was right before the Battle of the
Grapevine, maybe a week ago? He was flying overwatch for the National Guard. I ended up wounded in the first round of the fight”—she held up her left arm, where in place of a hand, there was a bandaged stump—“so they sent me here to heal up.”

“So he’s still alive,” Elle said again.

“Don’t go looking for him,” the woman warned. “I can see it in your face. He’s a friend of yours, and you want to find him. But I’m telling you – don’t. The Battle of the Grapevine was hell, so I’m told. I didn’t see the aftermath but—”

“I’ve seen it,” Elle interrupted. “Dead bodies for miles and miles. But I didn’t see a biplane. Manny’s still alive.”

Elle’s heart filled with hope. Uncle was alive. He was close.

After finding Aunt and Uncle’s ranch abandoned in the Tehachapi Mountains, she had assumed that they were both dead. But now she knew for certain that Uncle had been alive just a week ago.

This was a silver lining.

This changed everything.

Elle hurried back to her own table and finished her stew, her mind working at the speed of light. Jay
and Georgia stared at her, tried to pry her out of her thoughts, but Elle was focused.

“Hey, girl.”

The woman walked to Elle’s table. Elle met her steady gaze.

“The National Guard unit that was at the Battle of the Grapevine,” she continued, “the one Manny was a part of? They’ve pulled back to Sacramento, but the Mountain Rangers are based in Camp Freedom, in the mountains. That’s where Manny might be.” She nodded. “I hope you don’t do anything stupid with the information, but I felt like you needed to know.”

Elle blinked hard. Was she going to
cry
? No way.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

The woman walked away.

“Who’s Manny?” Georgia asked. “Somebody you know?”

“He’s my uncle,” Elle replied.

“Are you going to find him?” Jay said.

“Yes,” Elle answered. “Of course.”

Flash suddenly looked up from his stew, his eyes red.

“I’m not coming with you,” he said. “I can’t go back out there. Not this time.”

Elle sighed.

“I’m not asking you to,” she replied. “Look. I hunted you down, I found you, I dragged your sorry butts across the desert”— she grinned —“and now you’re safe with the military. Our journey ends here. I’m taking Bravo and I’m going to find my uncle. You don’t have to come with me. Stay safe here. Your chances of survival are better.”

Flash bowed his head.