To Be A Warrior

Chapter 23: Caravan of Love

"No, I mean, I don't mind the guys from the castle. They're nice people! Just, well, you know." Sam sighs through my headset, trying to come up with the words without sounding like too much of a complainer. "Shower rota time is less than five minutes now."

Peter hums, his grip on my wrist secure as he leads me along on our scouting run. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Still, have you heard some of their stories when Kytan runs those sharing circles? That girl Tijuca who ran with the Last Riders for a while-the story about how they made her kill her brother... I mean, it made dying in a collapsing skyscraper seem like a light romantic comedy."

"Surprisingly, our trauma at such a young age is something we've been able to bond over," I say. "Nicole and I can't reveal as much since, well, you know, eyes and ears everywhere. Don't want to suddenly get shot with a poison dart by a Torrencer. But we were able to talk about some things with them. Nicole's even starting to become acquaintances with some of them."

"Acquaintances. Wow," Sam says in awe. "That's surprising. I mean, I still really don't like her, but if she's making friends then maybe she won't act like she has a stick up her arse all the time."

"You're her brother-in-law. She's always going to act like that towards you."

"Probably. Still, I think the guys from the castle told Janine a lot of useful stuff about how the Riders operate. You know, where their stashes and haunts are. And Veronica's installing and testing that clean version of A.N.N.I.E. software. When it's stable, she'll be able to hook up her new core. So we're getting closer to dealing with the Last Riders and the V-Types."

The door to the coms shack bursts open. I flinch at the sound and Peter's already half-way to grabbing his knife.

"Runner Three, Runner Five, abort your patrol," Janine demands, and the urgency in her voice is enough to make us tense up. "Colonel Sage, leader of Banktown, has an urgent message." I hear Sam yelp as she practically pushes his chair out of the way, before she types something into the computer. "Patching you in now, Sage."

"De Luca, I have received a distress call from a convoy en route to my settlement through Pennant Valley," He says, his voice calm but still holding an air of tension. "Playing it for you now."

"We've been hit!" A terrified voice yells, and I wince. "An arrow. A flaming arrow. Oh God, the Riders! They're in the hills!"

"The situation is grave, and I have no runners in the area. Colonel De Luca led me to understand at the peace conference that I could contact you if I were in distress."

"We're on it," Sam says instantly. "Guys, Pennant Valley's not too far."

Peter and I share a look and pick up the pace.

"The convoy is north-northwest, formed of thirty-two caravans and has 342 souls aboard," Janine informs. "Runners, you must not alert the Riders to your approach. Surprise is our only advantage. Many lives are at stake."

Peter nods, opening his mouth to speak, before he trips. His hand grips my wrist, and I use my free hand to grab his arm to pull him up so he can regain his balance. I look back at the thing that nearly caused him to faceplant.

It's a zom that had been laying down and hadn't bothered to get up. We've certainly given it the incentive to do so now.

"Yeah, many lives, including yours," Sam says. "That zom's getting up and there are more in the tree line. Run!"

We take off, our feet pounding into the ground as the wind whips my hair around. Peter snickers when my ponytail flings forward and slaps me in the face.

"Having some trouble there, Five-o?"

"Shut up," I grumble.

"What? I was just asking. I know you don't like your hair getting too long. Want me to cut it when we get back to Abel?"