Chapter 28 #2
“That makes sense, but how are we even going to do this? We’re heavily out-numbered and out-gunned, especially now they know we’re coming,” Alex says with a frustrated breath as he finishes scrubbing the blood from his arms. “They have guards crawling all over the place in camp, including guards with rifles sitting on watchtowers.”
Theo drops the rag he was using to wipe down Ollie into the bucket of water. “How many captives did you see there?”
“I don’t know, maybe forty or fifty,” Ollie says after a moment.
There’s a twinkle in Theo’s eyes that tells me he’s got an idea. “What are you thinking?” I ask, cocking my head to the side.
“Do you think if we tell them we’re here to liberate them, they’ll fight with us? Help even the odds?”
My eyebrows shoot upward. Well shit. That’s fucking brilliant, if a little risky. I turn to Ollie. “What do you think?”
She mulls over my question. “I know for a fact Tobias would be onboard. He’s already causing trouble at the camp and I’m sure he’d be able to convince at least some of them to help.” She glances at Alex. “What about you? What do you think about all of this?”
He shrugs. “It could work, yeah. I’m not sure how well they’ll do in a fight, though. A lot of them looked really skinny and weak and they might just ignore us if we ask for their help.”
I nod. “That’s a possibility, especially for those who’ve been there the longest. They might be so beaten down that they have no fight left in them. But if we can get at least half of them to turn, then we’ll have the advantage. Everyone agreed?”
Everyone murmurs and nods in agreement.
“Good. Now for the tricky part; deciding when to attack.”
“Well, it’s already Wednesday and there’s no way we’re going to attack on Friday. Maybe Saturday?” Theo suggests, but I shake my head.
“No, it needs to be before Friday. I want to make sure they aren’t given too much time to prepare.”
Ollie’s eyes widen. “You’re thinking of attacking tomorrow? With your injury?” she asks with a mixture of horror and shock as her eyes flick down to my injured arm and shoulder.
“I am. My arm won’t be magically healed by Saturday either, so my injury is irrelevant.
” I’m enjoying her concern over me more than I should, but damn, is it nice for someone other than Theo and Alex to worry about me.
“But tomorrow is our best chance of catching them with their trousers ’round their ankles. ”
Ollie shakes her head in exasperation. “And you say I’m the one who throws themselves in danger,” she scoffs.
“Well, princess, unlike you and Alex, I have the training and experience to back up my words.”
Her eyes flash with anger. “Fuck off, Rhys. Alex and I were more than capable of holding our own today.”
I can’t help but smirk at her. Fucking hell. I’ll never get tired of her fire. “Sure you were, against a guy who forgot that arrows are deadly even when not fired from a bow. Not exactly a criminal mastermind.”
“Stop winding her up, asshole,” Theo says, hitting my chest with the back of his hand before turning his attention to Ollie. “Rhys is right, though. He’ll be injured no matter which day we choose, so it’s better to hit them sooner rather than later.”
She presses her lips together, still not happy. “Fine,” she grinds out after a moment.
My smirk turns into a grin. “Aww, are you worried about me, princess?”
She narrows her eyes at me and snorts. “Fuck no. I just don’t want to have to save your ass again. Maybe we should start calling you damsel, since you’re always in distress.”
Alex chuckles and slings an arm over her shoulder.
Theo laughs and shakes his head. “She’s right,” he says, elbowing me in the ribs. “I bet you’d look great in a dress.”
I scowl and shove him away from me. “Fuck off. She saved your ass, too, you prick.”
“Oh, I know and I plan to thank her as soon as she’ll let me, as many times as she wants.” His grin turns wicked as he winks at her, causing her cheeks to flush and a small smile to play on her luscious lips.
Alex, however, looks less pleased with Theo’s flirting as he shoots daggers at him and tightens his arm around Ollie’s shoulders. Fuck, we need a change of subject before shit hits the fan. Last thing we need is for them getting injured fighting one another before attacking the camp.
“Alright. So we’re agreed that tomorrow we hit the camp,” I say, imbuing my tone with a sternness that causes everyone to turn their attention to me.
They nod, although Ollie doesn’t look pleased as she eyes my shoulder.
“Good.” I scratch the back of my head and hesitate because I know the next thing coming out of my mouth is going to be even more controversial.
Mostly because it’s batshit insane and incredibly dangerous, but it’s the only way we have a chance of winning this fight.
“Since they know we’re coming, they’re going to be extra alert, especially during the day, as it’s the safest time to attack. ”
Theo’s eyes widen as he catches on to what I’m about to say. “You’re fucking kidding,” he says with a shake of his head.
The other two look at him in confusion but say nothing, allowing me to carry on. “However, I don’t think that’s the best time for us to attack.”
“You’re bloody mental,” Alex says, eyes wide with horror while Ollie breathes, “no fucking way,” as understanding dawns on their faces.
I shrug. “Maybe, but it’s our best chance; infected or no infected, suicidal or not. We attack them at night.” And hope the infected don’t kill us first.