Inhuman (21 page)

“Rafe said he’d get the photograph for me.”

“You believe that?” Everson scoffed. “After he just gave you up to save himself?”

Did I believe it? I looked at Rafe…. Well, no. And considering the way my notion of reality kept shattering and reforming with each new piece of information, I didn’t expect to trust anybody anytime soon. Still, one truth hadn’t budged — if my father was going to escape execution, someone had to fetch Spurling’s photo.

“I don’t even want to think about what that lowlife has planned for you,” Everson growled.

“What are you two whispering about?” Rafe yelled. It seemed the standoff between the crowd and the guards was beginning to make even him nervous.

“I know he’s not the most trustworthy person on the planet, but he’s willing to do the fetch for my dad.”

“Forget the fetch.” Everson paused, his wide shoulders shifting. “My mother has clout … political clout. Let me see what she can do for Mack. There are better — smarter — ways to help your dad. Ways that don’t require a machete,” he added, gesturing to the weapon in my hand.

He was offering me a real solution. The inside of my skull filled with floating dots, and my legs started to tingle. Everson seemed so confident and capable in his Kevlar body armor. He could take me away from this dangerous place of snuffling, shuffling manimals and bring my father home safely as well. But did his mother really have the clout to help my dad? And even if she did, why would she? She didn’t know me or my father. What if Everson couldn’t persuade her to help us? As good as his intentions were, I couldn’t risk it.

“Cruz, stop jawing and let’s get out of this slum hole.” Fairfax hopped off the back of the jeep.

I shoved the machete into my messenger bag. Everson was right about one thing, though. Blindly trusting Rafe was stupid.

“Slum hole, huh?” a voice rasped.

I looked back at the jeep. The armadillo-man had resurfaced at the front of the crowd. He flicked his tongue at Fairfax, coming within an inch of his nose. Bellowing with disgust, the guard jerked up his gun and took aim. “You want to be put down, animal?”

“Fairfax, stand down!” Everson shouted.

A sick feeling bloomed in my stomach. The guards were here because of me and now it was looking more likely they weren’t going to make it back to Arsenal unscathed.

“We’re leaving, okay?” Everson told Fairfax and started toward him. Over his shoulder, he said, “Come on, Lane. No one here can help you.”

“You’re right.” I shouldn’t have kidded myself for even a second that I could put my dad’s life in someone else’s hands, sit back, and hope for the best. “I have help myself, and I’ll need your jeep.”

Everson stopped short, his momentum rocking him up on his toes. “What?”

I headed for him. “It’s the only way I can get to Chicago and back in time,” I said, trying to sound reasonable.

He stared down at me. “I’m not lending you our jeep.”

“You’ve got walkie-talkies. Call for another one.”

“No,” he said firmly, every inch the line guard again. “You’re out of options, Lane. Just come with us.”

I was getting really tired of people telling me that I was out of options. Spurling, Rafe, and Everson. Especially because it wasn’t true. I had another option: I could
take
the jeep.

But how? The guards had guns and I had … manimals. I turned to the crowd. “Excuse me, everyone. Hi. My name is Delaney Park McEvoy.”

“What are you doing?” Everson hissed.

“McEvoy?” the walrus-man asked. “Are you Mack’s kid?”

“Yes, I am. I came here because he’s in trouble. Big trouble. As in, his life is on the line. If I want to save him, I have to do a fetch.” I pointed at the jeep. “And this is the only way I can get it done in time.”

That was all it took. I didn’t need to mention that if something happened to my dad, he wouldn’t be bringing them medicine anymore. I didn’t even need to tell them how they could help me. They knew. Before Fairfax understood what was happening, the walrus-man had locked him in a clinch, and the mastiff-man had ripped the gun from his grip. The others surged forward and stripped Bearly and Everson of their weapons the instant I’d finished speaking.

Everson flushed with anger. “Are you crazy?”

“No. Desperate.” I opened my palm and a squirrely looking girl handed me Everson’s handgun, which was heavier than I’d expected.

Rafe whistled with appreciation. “Guess you are Mack’s daughter after all.”

Hagen clapped. “Nice.”

“Not anymore,” I said firmly. The weight of the gun intimidated me. I didn’t know where to put it, and I had no idea how to load or shoot. But Rafe would know, and by the time we got to Chicago, so would I.

I faced Bearly, who looked none too happy to be surrounded by Moline townsfolk. “I need the key to Rafe’s handcuffs.”

Scowling, she dug in her pocket. “Cruz pulled every string there is to come here and get you. This is how you thank him?” She dropped a key into my palm and moved away from the jeep.

“Hey, Bear Lake, I want my gun back,” Rafe said.

She held up her hands. “One of those things took it off me.”

“Which of you hairballs has my shotgun?” Rafe asked the crowd. “Hand it over now.” When no one offered it up, he scowled.

“All right, people, mission accomplished,” Hagen called out. “Give ’em some breathing room. Ed, put him down!”

The walrus-man released Fairfax from his viselike hug. The guard crumpled to his knees, wheezing for breath.

“Sid, please open the gate,” I said. With a nod, he trotted off. “Sorry,” I told the guards, without meeting Everson’s eyes. I didn’t feel good about leaving them here unarmed. “You can call the base as soon as we’re out of Moline.”

“What do you mean
we
?” Rafe demanded. “You’re not going.”

“There’s been a change of plan.” I tossed my messenger bag onto the backseat next to him. “I’m the fetch. You’re the hack.”

“Forget it,” he growled.

“I had a feeling you’d be like that.” I climbed behind the wheel. “And that’s why you’re staying cuffed until we’re out of the compound.”

Hagen looked worried. “Mack is not going to like this.”

“Yeah, and guess who he’ll blame?” Rafe glared at me in the rearview mirror.

I didn’t care who my dad blamed as long as he escaped the firing squad. “I’ll tell him that I forced you to take me along.”

Rafe waved off my promise. “If I don’t knock you out the first chance I get and haul you back to Arsenal, Mack’s not going to want to hear it.”

“Thanks for the heads up.” I put the jeep in reverse. “Now I’ll keep you cuffed all the way to Chicago.”

“That better be a joke,” he warned.

With a shrug, I steered the jeep into a three-point turn. “Guess I don’t have such a humane heart after all.”

“What?”

I glanced into the mirror to see Rafe’s brow furrow. “Nothing. It was just something Chorda said.”

“The grupped tiger-guy said something” — his voice turned hard — “about your heart….”

Leave it to him to mistake civilized conversation for murderous intent. He wasn’t going to let a little thing like logic change his mind. So why waste my breath arguing that Chorda was not the rogue? I had bigger worries. Now that I had the jeep pointed toward the open gate, I shifted into drive, only to catch movement out of the corner of my eye. Everson shoved past the walrus-man, dashed for the jeep, and dropped into the passenger seat.

I lifted my foot off the gas. “What are you doing?”

“Coming with you,” he said.

Bearly hustled over. “Ev, get out. Our orders were to go as far as Moline.”

“I’m done following orders.”

“You’re going rogue?” she gasped.

“Can we not use that term?” Rafe asked from the backseat.

“Don’t be stupid, Ev!” Bearly gripped the edge of the jeep’s windshield. “Not for some unruly girl.”

Unruly
. I kind of liked it.

“Think the patrol will ever let me cross the bridge again after this screw up?” Everson asked her. “Not a chance. If I’m going to get the blood samples Dr. Solis needs, it has to be now.”

She scowled. “Well if you’re going, then I have to.”

“Why do you have to babysit him?” Rafe asked her.

“She doesn’t.” Everson stepped on my foot, forcing me to floor the gas pedal.

“Yes, I — Hey!” Bearly shouted as the jeep launched forward. “Stop!”

But it was too late. With my foot trapped under Everson’s, all I could do was steer toward the gate, leaving Bearly in a cloud of dust.

Sid waved as we sped through. “Sayonara!” He held up a shotgun and then banged the gate closed behind us.

“That pig has my gun!” Rafe jerked on the handcuff. “Unlock me.”

I shoved at Everson as we pulled onto the broken road. “Get off.” Good thing I was wearing steel-toed boots.

“When I get back, I’m going to tenderize some pork!” Rafe shouted at Sid.

When Everson lifted his foot off mine, I slammed on the brakes. “I don’t know what you think you’re going to get out of this, because I’m not stopping along the way so you can hunt for forty different strains of the virus.”

“We’re only missing thirty-two,” he said calmly.

“You should go back to Arsenal with the others.”

“Look, I’ll get whatever blood samples I can.” He popped the portable GPS unit out of the dashboard. “And if we can’t stop, I’ll keep track of where the infected people are.” He clicked a button on the side of the device, and a red dot appeared on the screen. “If I have specific locations, it’ll be easier to make a case for coming back.”

I turned in my seat to face Rafe. “Tell him how dangerous it is in the Feral Zone. Tell him about the rogue ferals and chimpacabras.”

“Actually, I think it’s a good idea to bring hunky and his fancy compass.”

Everson made a face. “Don’t call me that.”

“You said he was the silkiest of the bunch,” I reminded him.

“Who cares? Look at him.” Rafe flicked his free hand toward Everson. “The guy’s a Sasquatch. He’ll make good backup.”

“We don’t need backup,” I said.

“Really?” Rafe scoffed. “ ’Cause I’m thinking the feral has picked its next victim. You. And we have one gun between us. So if you won’t let this stiff take you back to Arsenal —”

“No,” I snapped. “And I’m not staying put in Moline either.”

He leveled a hard look at me. “And I’m not taking chances with Mack’s daughter.”

“What’s that mean?” Everson asked. “The feral has picked its next victim?”

“It means you could get hurt.”

“Wow,” Rafe said, oozing sympathy. “Guess all your guard training doesn’t impress her.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Why did Rafe have to turn everything into an insult?

“Look, unless he skipped boot camp — You didn’t, did you?”

“I ranked highest in my class in every skill set,” Everson ground out.

Rafe turned to me. “See? The silky can use a gun and compass. If something happens to me, he’ll get you back to Arsenal. Right?”

Everson frowned. “Of course.”

“Okay. Discussion over.” Rafe jangled his cuff. “Now how ’bout unlocking me?”

I tossed him the key and looked at the two of them — one clean-cut and controlled, the other a lewd, crude scam artist. What could possibly go wrong? “Promise you won’t fight.”

“I’m not going to arrest him, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Everson said.

“That’s not what she’s worried about.” Rafe dropped the handcuffs onto the floor, leaned back in his seat, and propped his booted feet by my headrest. “She’s worried we’re going to fight over her.”

I shoved Rafe’s feet off the seat. “I am not. That’s not what I was saying.”

I really hoped Everson didn’t believe that. I glanced over and caught his grin, which was big and broad — like him. Well, he could choke on it. Yes, the idea of two boys fighting over me was hysterical, but he could’ve at least tried to hide his amusement. I flopped back into my seat and stomped on the gas. “Forget it. You two can kill each other for all I care.”

They both cracked up. So glad they could share a laugh over a joke, except that I hadn’t made one. I narrowed my gaze on the weedy road and turned the wheel sharply, sending them spilling toward the jeep’s open sides. Their amusement vanished as they scrambled for handholds.

“Pothole,” I said with a shrug and got a couple of disgruntled looks in return, which had me smiling.
Should be an interesting trip
.