“Why would they go after him if he doesn’t have a gun?” Luce asked.

  “Because they’ve learned our strengths and weaknesses. They know our weapons can kill them. You saw them destroying the magazines out there, right?”

  “Yeah, I did. But—”

  Gallegos passed the second shotgun to him. As she put it in his hands, she looked him in the eye and said, “I’ve seen the sucker faces tear into a crowd of unarmed civilians, forcing the Marines that were shooting at them to kill the people along with the monsters in order to save themselves.”

  “Why did—”

  “If they hadn’t, the sucker faces would have taken the Marines down one by one, using the civilians as cover. I saw one platoon make that mistake. We all did, and after that, none of us made the same mistake.”

  That shook Luce up, and she was glad to see it. He took the shotgun and held it in the crook of his arm like a hunter.

  She needed every one of them to understand that their roles were changing. They’d been rescuers before the world ended. Now they still needed to use those skills to survive, but they would be doing so as warfighters.

  Dom and Matty weren’t happy with what she’d told them either. Matty hugged his trauma bag close against his hip as he accepted the shotgun she handed him. Dom rested his weapon on one shoulder and slung the bandoliers of 5.56 over the other.

  “We should move out, yeah?” he asked.

  “Rah,” Gallegos said. “Let’s go.”

  Outside the arms room, Reeve and Jo were standing near the door. Welch was up at the corner watching the hall.

  Gallegos handed Reeve one of the Claymore bags. He dropped his pack again and stowed the mine. Gallegos waited until he was finished before she did the same. Then she dropped her magazine and started reloading from her bandolier. The other men all moved up closer to Welch in a huddle.

  Reeve shifted so they were all at his back. “Sergeant, we should grab Mahton’s tags.”

  “Good call, Reeve. Oorah,” she said and continued loading her magazine.

  When Gallegos finished, she stood up and Reeve asked her in a hushed voice, “You sure they’ll be good to go out there?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  “They’re lifesavers, Sergeant. Not life takers. You saw how that Dom guy was acting. He’s not—”

  “They’ll be good, Reeve. We aren’t taking lives. We’re avenging them. One of theirs, and one of ours.”

  — 17 —

  Jed stayed at their six, watching the hallway and forcing himself not to fixate on Leigh and Mahton lying amidst all the dead monsters.

  Why’d we have to lose them? Why now?

  He stepped back a pace, rounding the corner so it was harder to see his fallen comrades. He was closer to the firefighters now. They stood apart from Reeve and Sergeant G, in a cluster just behind him.

  “Hey, y’all,” he said over his shoulder. “I’m sorry about Leigh. She saved us.”

  “Yeah, she did,” Matty said. “Sorry about your man, too. Even if he did almost shoot me in the head when he first saw me.”

  Jed held in an awkward chuckle. The instinct to laugh made him feel like an asshole and it seemed like Matty felt the same way. A smile faltered on his face and drooped into a grimace in a heartbeat.

  Sergeant G moved away from the arms room to stand by Jo. The firefighter had an old-as-hell grenade launcher and a belt with a few rounds on it. Jo slung the belt over a shoulder and held the thump gun at the ready. Jed could tell something was eating her up, and he had a pretty good idea what it was. He was feeling the same pain working on his insides about two people.

  First Meg and now Mahton. Doesn’t matter what I do…

  He turned to Jo again and saw her eyes twitching with tears she was only just holding in.

  “You couldn’t have saved her. None of us could.”

  “It’s not that. I’m not sad about it. I’m pissed off.”

  “Huh?”

  “All she needed was an opportunity,” Jo said.

  Dom turned where he stood and clapped a hand on Jo’s shoulder. “Leigh wasn’t like that, Jo, and you know it. She didn’t go out just to go out. She was always thinking about other people, even if it meant forgetting herself.”

  “I know,” Jo said. “But she could have let us know first. We didn’t even get a chance to change her mind.”

  Jed simply nodded and put his eyes back on their six.

  Didn’t have more than two seconds to change her mind. Or Mahton’s. We’d be down one more at least if we’d tried. We might all be dead if it wasn’t for them.

  Silence filled the hallway between Jed and the firefighters. As much as Jed wanted to say something else, offer some sympathy or show he understood what they were feeling, he knew that his words would just made it worse. He wasn’t sure they’d hear him anyway. They were all carrying shotguns and pistols now, and it looked like the first time any of them had ever held a gun. Except for Jo, who had the funky grenade launcher and an M9 tucked into her belt. She might have been torn up inside, but she held the thump gun like it was second nature.

  Sergeant G and Reeve came forward, next to Jed’s position. Sergeant G turned back and faced the group.

  “We’ve lost people, but we still have our mission. We move out to the hide. Regroup, resupply, and get everybody some chow. Then we go after the ones who did this to us.”

  “I’m all for stopping them,” Matty said. “But wouldn’t it be better to wait until they show up again? I mean we could get back to wherever you’re holed up, but then just wait it out. See if they come around?”

  “We don’t have that kind of time because the people Tucker gave to the monsters don’t have that kind of time. Everybody pick up empty magazines on the way out. We need to reload and be ready for what’s outside. Welch, you got point.”

  “Errr, Sergeant,” he said and stepped forward, clearing the corner and going back into the remains of the battle that took Leigh and Mahton.

  ***

  Gallegos held in the anger and pain as they passed Mahton’s body. Reeve stooped down and lifted the slim chain off his neck. He held it in his closed fist for a moment before standing and putting it in his pocket.

  On the way to the stairwell, they picked up close to a dozen empty magazines. She had the team hold at the top of the stairs, with Welch and Reeve watching both directions for any signs of the sucker faces.

  Only five of the magazines were serviceable. The others were damaged by shrapnel from the grenade, or the sucker faces’ claws. Gallegos showed the firefighters how to use the speed loader, and they did two mags for now.

  “We top off completely at the hide. Right now Reeve and I have a full magazine each, plus one spare. Welch, you have a full box in the SAW plus two in the bags, oorah?”

  “Rah, Sergeant.”

  “Good. We’re saddled up. Let’s move out.”

  Welch led them away from the scene of the battle and down the stairwell. Even with the new equipment they’d scavenged, Gallegos had to fight to hold in the shakes and screams that kept tearing at her inside. Her adrenaline drained away, leaving the shock of battle to settle over her, pushing her down. She fought against it, holding her head up proudly, just like she had in the sandbox. She’d done everything she could to make sure they all got away. The monsters found a way to be one step ahead.

  And they took two of ours with them.

  Beside her, Reeve was his old self again, weapon up and watching the path ahead.

  “They snuck up on us,” he said. “They always made noise before. Always.”

  “They changed,” Luciano said from behind Gallegos. “Fucking things changed. It ain’t the first time.”

  Gallegos signaled them all to keep quiet and move out with a purpose.

  We knew they might change. Command told us to watch for ‘new variants’ right before they launched Reaper. Sure enough, they changed, and Luce says it ain’t the first time.

  I bet it won’t be the last.

  — 18 —

  Downstairs, Jed crossed the entrance to the parking lot. He scanned the shadows outside for any movement. He didn’t see anything, but had only given himself a second to be in the open. Before he waved the others to follow him, he slid back along the wall of the little dayroom and took in as much of the parking lot as he could.

  After two weeks of staying quiet so the monsters wouldn’t hear them at Meg’s fire station, it was weird to suddenly feel such a heavy silence all around him. It should have made him feel safer, happier, he thought. Every street they’d been on out there had the scattered remains of monsters killed by the chemical bombs. And getting into the stronghold had been almost like going home for Jed. It was another fire station, and that was the closest to home he could imagine now.

  But the sucker faces got in, and now Mahton’s gone. And Leigh.

  “Welch, I want you to post at the truck. Watch for enemy. Reeve will come out and drive the truck back here to the steps. Stay tight with him. We’ll load in from here. Keep exposure to a minimum.”

  “Oorah,” Jed said.

  Thinking about being outside on his own, he felt the silence of the city put him on edge even more. He scanned the parking lot one more time, and every high point he could see from his position. He said a quick prayer for his squad’s safety and moved outside.

  At the bottom of the short steps, Jed cut left and posted by the hood of the dirty white truck. He inspected the grill first. When he didn’t see any wires or obvious signs of a bomb, he moved around the truck to the left, checking it as best he could. Reeve had done a quick check of it when they’d arrived, but Jed wasn’t going to have them all taken out because of that cowboy’s mistake.

  If Tucker had left a trap on the vehicle, Jed wanted to make sure he saw it before anyone else came close.

  None of the side windows were whole anymore. Pebbles of safety glass lined the frames. The windshield was intact except for a crack that started in the passenger side corner and went up to the top. Shorter cracks split off like veins from the main line. Jed checked the interior, gave a quick look into the bed, and went down on his knees to check underneath. He didn’t see anything suspicious, so he stood and moved back to the steps.

  “Looks clear, Sergeant.”

  She waited just inside the stronghold with Reeve on the opposite side of the door.

  “Good lookin’ out, Welch. Stay by the truck.”

  Jed grunted a Rah and went back to the truck, posting by the hood and monitoring their perimeter again.

  Reeve came out behind him and jumped into the driver’s seat. He fired up the engine and flashed a thumbs up. Jed peeled away from the hood to stand by the passenger door, weapon up and scanning their perimeter. Reeve called over to him.

  “I’m gonna back it up to the door. Stay with me and stay frosty. Rah?”

  “Errr.”

  Jed stepped away from the truck. Reeve wheeled it around to aim the tailgate at the steps. Jed kept pace with the vehicle, using it as cover on one side.

  If the hit is gonna come, it’s gonna come. Can’t stay covered from every direction. Just gotta stay sharp. Stay frosty.

  Splintered wood and shattered stone filled his view wherever he looked. Rubble and mounds of earth surrounded the parking lot. And all of it carried the threat of another ambush, or one of Tucker’s snipers. Even though Leigh had told them Tucker was bluffing, Jed couldn’t shake the sensation of being watched every second he was outside.

  Reeve crawled the truck back to the steps, letting Jed move at an easy pace while he watched out for the enemy.

  Tucker. The monsters. They’re all the same now.

  The truck stopped and Jed stayed by the passenger door. Reeve jumped out and ran inside. A beat later, he and Sergeant G came out. They posted at the bottom of the steps flanking the firefighters as they came out.

  Dom and Luce had their shotguns up and moved to the rear cab of the truck. Matty came next carrying the trauma bag against his hip and his shotgun held tucked against his side. Jo came out last with the grenade launcher up and ready. The firefighters all moved fast, but with every passing second, Jed felt like an hour passed as the dead city surrounded them and threatened to add them to the body count.

  One by one the squad climbed into the extra cab, until only Jo was left outside.

  ***

  “In the truck,” Gallegos said, waving the firefighter on. But Jo shook her head and went to the tailgate. She hopped onto the bumper and into the truck bed in a single movement.

  That’s all right. She needs to be out in the action. And if that thump gun does work, we need her out back with it, not stuffed in the cab.

  Gallegos watched the others all crouch low in the rear cab, staying out of sight as best they could. She moved around the truck and directed Welch to move up to the front. He did and rested the SAW on the hood, roving the muzzle around their perimeter and the roof of the stronghold. Gallegos did the same, watching the debris around the parking lot for any signs of Tucker or the sucker faces.

  The ruins around them stared back, empty, lifeless, and silent except for a howling wind that snuck through the cracks and found its way under Gallegos’ collar.

  “Reeve, let’s move.”

  He stepped forward and climbed into the driver’s seat again. Gallegos moved up to the passenger door.

  “Let’s go, Welch,” she said. “Hop in back with Jo. If Tucker shows his ass, I want to finish it quick so we can get on with the mission.”

  Welch moved out and Gallegos climbed into the truck.

  “Back home?” Reeve asked.

  “Rah. Back to the hide. Secure our position, resupply. Then we patrol underground. Find the hive and get our people back. With the big one dead, the sucker faces around here should be easier to take down.”

  “Oorah on that,” Reeve said. “I hope you’re right.”

  Gallegos grunted an Errr.

  Mission first, everything else second.

  Right now, her mission included keeping her people alive, saving anybody trapped underground, and killing the motherfuckers responsible for making them prisoners in the first place. They might be dead, or they might be alive. Whatever condition they were in, she wanted their captors in her sight picture, and from the looks on everyone else’s faces, she knew the rest of her squad, new members and old, felt the same way.

  ***

  Jed hopped onto the tailgate and scooted into the bed. Jo sat against the cab with the grenade launcher held across her chest. Jed sat to her right with the SAW resting on his knees.

  The motor started up and Jed watched the dead city spin around him as Reeve positioned the truck to reverse through the breezeway. For a second, he thought Jo would be blowing them a hole through the gate, but he felt Reeve put the truck into neutral. Sergeant G jumped out and headed for the gate.

  “Eyes out,” she said as she ran by the bed.

  “Rah, Sergeant.”

  “Why do you all say that?” Jo asked.

  “Rah? It’s just what we say. It’s easy, you know? You could say a whole sentence, or a whole paragraph. Or you could say Rah.”

  “I think I get it.”

  “Rah?”

  She let out a quick laugh and said, “Rah.”

  Jed grinned and dared Tucker to reveal himself. If the guy was telling the truth about having snipers, then he and Jo were sitting ducks. Even though that scared him to think about, he was part of a squad again. He had brothers and sisters around him, bearing the burden. The way Jo looked at the city around them, holding the grenade launcher, Jed figured she was ready for whatever came next. Then he noticed her white knuckle grip on the weapon.

  “Hey, Jo,” he said. She looked him in the eye. Her shoulders were tight, and she blinked fast as she stared back at him. Jed had never been here before, facing off against another person’s fear and knowing it was up to him to help.

  “Hey, it’s just the shakes, Jo. You’ll be good. Keep your eyes cool and easy, you know? Stay frosty. Try to see as much as you can, and don’t forget to breathe.”

  Jo let out a breath and coughed. “I didn’t even—,” she said.

  “I know. That’s why I reminded you.”

  Sergeant G was at the gate and yanking it open. Jed clapped a hand on Jo’s shoulder. She was still a little tense, but she’d fought back the flight response. He gave her a nod and a grin, and went back to monitoring their perimeter.

  If you’re out there looking at us, Tucker, just take the shot. Show us where you’re hiding and it’ll be the last thing you do.

  ***

  Gallegos motioned for Welch and Jo to watch through the breezeway. At the gate, she paused to listen for another truck motor. The city was still and quiet, and that made every sound echo all the more. Fearing what that meant for their escape, Gallegos grabbed the gate and took three breaths before she pulled. The tangle of metal plates and wire squealed against the pavement, and it only moved a few inches before snagging on the ground. She, breathed in and yanked on it again, moving it a little more. With each screech of metal on stone, she expected Tucker’s black truck to slam into her, or for a swarm of suckers to flood the parking lot.

  Inch by inch, Gallegos cleared them a path. When the breezeway was open, she got her weapon up and back pedaled to the truck, slapping the wheel well as she passed the bed. “Move out!” she shouted. The truck rocked as she leaped into the passenger seat and Reeve put it in gear. Gallegos said a silent prayer that Welch or Jo would see the enemy first and that their aim would be true.

  Reeve reversed them through the breezeway and they left the ruins of the stronghold behind. The street outside was empty and quiet, and no sniper fire came slamming into the truck.

  We’re out. We’re going to make it!

  Reeve cranked them around to face toward 3rd Avenue. The truck pitched forward. For a brief second, Gallegos wanted to smile. Then she pictured Leigh’s and Mahton’s bodies in the hallway upstairs, and imagined other people from Operation Reaper trapped underground with the monsters. Her half-grin faded to a scowl and she felt the burn of rage in her chest.