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“Hey guys, how’s it going?”
The question comes from Evander, who’s approaching our table. Like Olin, he’s dressed in camo pants and a T-shirt, but his is white, and it sets off the dark shade of his skin. Unlike Olin, Evander fills his out completely, the sleeves hugging his defined biceps.
“It’s all good,” Olin assures him.
When Evander meets my gaze, he says, “Did you get your bow back?”
“No.”
He pinches his brows together. “Someone was supposed to bring it to you.”
“It’s probably ruined anyway,” I grumble. “This place is like a giant block of ice.”
“We’ve got bows here, if you decide to join us and you want another one.”
He has no idea how long it took me to make that bow, and if he did, he wouldn’t care.
“Hey, what’s with those two?” Marcus asks Evander, gesturing at two women on the other side of the room with a nod.
They’re sitting on the floor, their backs against the wall. Both of them have dirty, worn clothes and look like they haven’t bathed in a long time. They don’t look much older than my twenty-seven, and one of them has her arms wrapped around her legs, her knees against her chest.
Evander sighs softly. “They got here this morning. They were part of a group, but they got ambushed and only the two of them survived.”
An ache knots in my stomach. It’s clear they’re both in shock to some extent. They’re both staring ahead vacantly.
“God, that’s awful,” Briar says. “Is there anything we can do?”
He shakes his head. “I think they want to be left alone. They’re not ready to shower or go to a room yet.”
“For fuck’s sake, don’t let Neil interrogate them,” I snap.
“No one’s interrogating them. We’re taking them somewhere safe when they’re ready.”
“Was it one of the cartels?” Marcus asks. “The ambush?”
Evander’s expression darkens. “No, it was something worse—the Deadmen.”
“Who are they?” Briar asks.
“You’ll hear about them tomorrow in the briefing.” He glances over at the table he came from. “I just wanted to check in and see how you guys are doing. And to let you know we got communication set up on your island. Chance says everything’s good there. They got the food shipment we sent.”
I feel a pang for my former home. Our dear friends Ellison and Nova are there, and many others. The heat there is oppressive and the living conditions are primitive. There’s still a lot of rebuilding to do after a volcano destroyed much of the island, including the crops, but I’d go back in a heartbeat if I could take my friends with me.
We can’t do that, though. We’re going to the former Carson City, Nevada, where Mae is. In the hell that is New America, Carson City is the devil’s private suite. It’s the capital, and it’s well protected.
There has to be a way to reach Mae, though, and we’ll find it. I just need to keep myself as hidden as I can. If I’m discovered by the wrong people, not even aromium will help me escape them.
6
“The wildfires are our opening. They’ll chase invisible enemies while we take back our power.” – Amethyst, Mallory Network founder
Amira
Everyone seated around the massive conference table is looking at me expectantly. I only need to say a single word, but I can’t make it come out of my mouth.
The others—Pax and Briar—immediately said yes when the ILF told us their mission is to bring down New America and return democracy to the United States. If I don’t want to join, they said they’ll take me to a safe place a few hundred miles away and give me supplies to start over on my own.
They’ll take me in a vehicle without windows. I won’t know where Briar or the others are. I’ll be completely alone again. So there’s only one answer.
