Chapter Forty-Nine
GREELEY’S FIST IS SWOLLEN LIKE a raspberry from her relentless banging on Chief’s front door. “Let us in, Chief!” she shouts.
The early morning sun rises to its designated spot in the sky.
We gave ourselves until sunrise to recover from last night’s events—events that I put into motion.
Because I didn’t listen to Jasper. And now images of Grandma’s warped face, her hungry snarl and matted hair, her handless arms, haunt my every blink.
I didn’t sleep much last night.
Bang, bang, bang.
I wonder if, when they were together, Chandler contained Greeley’s inner fire so much that now it’s running rampant. How much more does she have until she burns out? Who would she be without it—without all this rage?
“He’s not home,” Jasper says, standing a safe two feet behind her. “We’ll try again later.”
“Waste of our fucking time,” Greeley says, kicking a rock.
I laugh. “If only we could’ve texted him first to ask if he was home.”
“If only,” Greeley mocks. “If only there were cell phones and electricity and showers and same-day delivery. Cry me a river.”
“I wasn’t—”
“The hell you weren’t.” Greeley steps in my face and narrows her eyes. “The world moved on. When will you?”
“Greeley,” I say. “We’re on the same side.”
Greeley sticks out her tongue, but the anger drains from her face. She bangs again on the door. “Hello! It’s your favorite squad, sir! Open the fuck up!”
“What’s all the ruckus about?” Chief’s voice startles me, and the three of us spin around.
Chief tucks two leather gloves in his back pocket, a wide smile plastered on his face.
How does he keep his teeth so white? “My apologies, kiddos. I was tending to some zomweeds crawling up Jamison’s front door. Kota, have you met Jamison yet?”
As I start to tell him no, Greeley interjects. “Next time, tell Jamison to shove the weeds up his ass. Let us inside. We need to talk.”
Chief’s smile quickly fades. “Something happened.”
Jasper says, “Yes, Chief. Something happened.”
“So are you gonna let us in or what?” Greeley persists.
“Careful, Greeley,” Chief says, pulling the house key from his pocket. “Come in, now, all of you.”
I’VE EARNED MY SEAT AT this strategy table—which, admittedly, is simply a small round dining table.
Still. After just a few days here, this house feels different.
Even the glass of tea and slice of bread before me.
I understand Chief’s offerings: a demonstration of excess.
Chief has disposable things. He could dispose of us, too, since he can apparently get just about anything he wants.
But he chooses to keep us. To trust us. To appeal to our most basic desires: food.
Crusty bread, like Grandma used to make.
I will never taste her bread again.
“Southern hospitality at its finest,” Greeley says, stuffing the entire slice in her mouth. She smiles, cheeks full like an acorn-glutted squirrel.
I glance at Chief, who chuckles at Greeley’s lack of manners. Soon as the bread hits my tongue, saliva floods my mouth. Now I understand why Greeley went for the one-bite tactic. I follow suit.
The food lands in my stomach with a much-welcome thud, keeping hunger pangs and cramps at bay. If only the food could fix the wounds painted on my skin. I wash down the crumbs with the nectar from the gods: sweet tea. We never really left the South, did we?
Chief leans forward, his gaze shifting between me, Jasper, and Greeley. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
Jasper says, “Chandler’s crew has been watching Kota. Last night, when Kota was outside the Split alone—”
Chief raises an eyebrow. “How did that come about?”
“Not important,” I interject.
“They tried to kill her. There were two of them—Peter and Indy. We killed Indy after he admitted that Egal is planning an attack. Two days.”
“What happened to the other, Peter?” Chief asks.
“He got away.” Jasper turns to Greeley. “Just take it.”
Greeley stops ogling at his bread only to gobble it up. She takes Jasper’s comment as permission to finish his tea, too.
“And,” I add, “Chandler killed my grandmother. She defiled her. Turned one of her own citizens into a zombie.” An image of the handless zombie version of Grandma comes to mind. What kind of experiments was she running?
Chief barely reacts to my words. “We can’t afford to lose lives.
There are fewer than four hundred humans inside the Split, and not many beyond its walls.
If we bring death into this valley, we bring death to us all.
” Chief clears his throat. “We proceed with the original plan, with one exception. Jasper, see to it that the tunnel dig is complete by sunrise.”
“They won’t be able to—”
“See to it.”
Jasper nods. “Yes, sir.”
After a long, thick silence, Chief says, “And unfortunately, we have no other choice: We must kill Chandler.”
All eyes are on Jasper. His face is steely, unreadable. He doesn’t so much as flinch at the mention of killing his sister. For what it’s worth, neither does Greeley.
“Yes, sir,” Jasper repeats.
I scootch forward on my seat, a sudden thought striking me.
“Are you worried that removing their leader will cause people to revolt? Especially one as revered as Chandler. They’ll want justice.
Possibly even avenge her death.” I’m sure many Egals were scared of Chandler; I was.
But I was staunchly loyal to her. I believed in her.
“Kota, your name is known in the community, yes?”
“Maybe . . .” Being one of the doughboys did earn me some respect. “But there are new recruits who don’t know me. Greeley and I ran into two boys—children—on the watchtower.”
“When?” Chief asks.
“Couple days ago,” Greeley answers. “When we went up Paris Mountain to gather water samples. No luck with those yet, by the way. Though Kota did catch some juicy fish. And claws.”
“Focus, Greeley,” Chief says. He turns back to me. “Chandler will die. And when she does, you can claim the title of leader.”
A cold sheet of shock washes down my shoulders. I make a face that I think portrays, Come again?
“Fear not,” Chief continues, catching my drift. “You will be but a public figure. Meanwhile, I will rule silently by your side.”
My jaw nearly drops to my empty plate. “That would never work. And I don’t want that.”
In fact, I’d rather cut out the wounds on my leg with a butter knife.
Though, as I sit with Chief’s train of thought, I worry it tracks.
The people of Egal would trust me more than they’d trust Chief—especially considering many of them left Chief’s rule three years ago.
If I tell them I’ve been held captive this whole time and have come back to lead the people, would they follow me?
If they called for bloodshed, and I instead ordered peace inside the Split, would they listen?
My gut tells me no.
“We have to try,” Chief says, sounding desperate for the first time since I’ve known him.
“It won’t work.”
“Dakota—”
“Fine,” I concede. “I’ll do what you say. But I want your word that you will keep my sister safe.”
“That will not be an easy task.”
“I want your word.”
Without further hesitation, Chief pushes up from the table and extends a hand.
“You have my word.” The entirety of his hand covers mine as we shake.
I pull back, but Chief gives me another firm squeeze before releasing me.
The small gesture gives me strength. “I believe this conversation is over. Jasper, off to the tunnels. Greeley, try not to kill anyone—”
“No promises, Chief,” Greeley interrupts, elbowing Jasper with a wink.
“And Kota, get some rest. You’ll need it, come morning”
I stifle a laugh. There’s no way I’m getting any sleep—not with the amount of nerves jittering through my body, and certainly not with thoughts of Bunny orbiting my head.
“You got it,” I say. “I’ll just curl myself up on my plush Tempur-Pedic mattress.”
With a toothy smile, Chief says, “That’s the spirit.” He doesn’t catch my sarcasm. “And sweet dreams.”
Ha. I haven’t had a sweet dream since all of my family members were alive and well. Been a while since that was the case.
With an awkward wave, I follow Greeley and Jasper out of Chief’s hobbit-like house. I’m not quite ready for another adventure, but going forward is the only thing to do.