T Connor - Bitter Cold Apocalypse 2

She’d never liked being left behind.

“You don’t see why we can’t take you, really?” I asked, casting a very pointed look at her leg. She’d taken off the exoskeleton now, but she was still in a brace, and the wrappings alone were enough to keep her from walking normally—or quickly. I definitely couldn’t have her coming with us and slowing us down—or needing protection.

Her gaze followed mine, and she twisted her mouth in frustration.

I walked across the floor and went to my knees at her side. “Listen, I’m leaving you to do something that’s even more important than what I’m doing,” I told her, allowing my emotions to color my words. “I need you here to make sure everyone else is safe—including Sarah. I need you to make sure nobody gets up and wanders off, or gets too worried and starts to panic. I need you here telling them that everything is going to be okay, and that we’re going to save the day.” I put my palm up to her cheek and stroked it lightly. “I need you here because it’s the best way I can protect you. And because I know you’ll do anything to protect the people of our town while I’m gone.”

She stared into my eyes, her own eyes brimming with tears, and I could see that I already had her agreement. She knew how important it was that we have a leader on the road and one back at camp. Because we couldn’t leave people here to fend for themselves. Not without someone to tell them what to do and make sure they did it.

“Promise you’ll come back to me when it’s all over?” she whispered. “Promise that you’ll be as careful as you can be, and that you’ll be back?”

I leaned forward and gave her a slow, steady kiss. “I promise,” I whispered against her forehead. “As long as you promise that you’ll be waiting here for me when I get here. Unharmed. Don’t go breaking any more bones or fighting bears just to try to prove you’re tougher than me.”

I heard her snort, and then sniffle. “Well the same goes for you. No fighting animals. We’ve done enough of that this week to last us our entire lifetimes. But do me a favor while you’re in town?”

I leaned back and looked at her, wondering what favor I could possibly do for her in town. “Anything.”

Her brows came down, and her expression turned suddenly to one of anger and frustration. “Shoot that bastard Randall. I’m sick of him messing up my life, and messing with the people I love.”

The next morning, we were up as early as we could manage, and getting ready to head out on our mission. Marlon, Bob, and I had made a list of all the people in the town—relying heavily on Bob’s memory of every single person—and then picked out the men who would go with us.

And the women. Because there were four of them as well whose skills would come in handy on this mission.

We’d chosen men of all ages, but we’d worked hard to choose only those who we thought had the best chance of coming back. We needed men who were strong and healthy and willing—but we also wanted men who were smart and quick enough that they’d be able to get through the coming day or two without getting caught. Or killed.

“Whatever we do, it’s going to have to be subtle,” I had told the others. “We’re going to be outnumbered, regardless, so we’re going to have to find a way to sneak into town, right under Randall’s nose. So I need men who can be quiet and crafty. I need men who can sneak. Not ones who have to stomp and yell.”

That had immediately crossed several of the more rambunctious men off the list, and we’d quickly decided that we would tell them we were leaving them here to help Angie with controlling and protecting the crowd.

It was only half a lie. Because the further we got into planning, the more I started to realize that we were going to be leaving a huge vulnerability here, with the women and children and the elderly. Yes, we were going to be attacking Randall and his men, and theoretically they would all be in town when we got there, and then would all be engaged in the battle with us.

Theoretically, they wouldn’t know where we’d stuck the more vulnerable of us. And they wouldn’t have time to go searching.

But…

I’d dealt with Randall, and I’d found him to be far more clever than one would expect. He’d been able to chase us through the snow and ice when he shouldn’t have known where we were going, and he’d been able to catch up with us when he shouldn’t have. Then he’d managed to gather enough men to actually attack the village—with weapons they should never have had.

I wasn’t willing to say that he was more intelligent than us. But he had something working on his side that made it impossible to trust that things would go our way.

I was going to feel a whole lot better knowing that we were leaving ten armed men here to make sure they didn’t go Randall’s way, either, if any of his men happened to guess that we were sheltering our vulnerable at Marlon’s estate.

In the end, we counted eighty men and women who we thought we could take with us. It was a fair number, and though we were certainly going to be outnumbered, we were also counting on sneaking into town and taking them by surprise. And in that situation, it wasn’t the numbers that mattered.

It was how quiet we could be on our way in, and how quickly we could jump on them. Get there quietly enough so that they didn’t even see us coming, and it wouldn’t even be a fair fight.

Which was exactly what I was hoping for.

I looked up from the list and caught Marlon’s eye, then looked to Bob. “Any idea how we’re going to be able to sneak this many people into town?” I asked.

Bob shook his head, but I saw Marlon wearing the look that meant he had something on his mind.

“What?” I asked. “Speak. Share it with the class.”

He grinned at me. “I have a few ideas, but I’m still working on them. I promise I’ll share them as soon as I feel they’re developed.”

Well, that would have to be good enough for now. Besides, I didn’t have time to sit around waiting for him to give in. I had a wife and daughter to say goodbye to before we started our march back to town.

“Remember,” Angie said, squeezing me tightly. “You promised to come back to me.”

I squeezed her back, then put an arm out and pulled Sarah into the hug. “And you know I always keep my promises,” I said roughly, fighting the tears that were threatening at the thought of leaving them. “You can take that to the bank.”

Angie stood back. “You know, I’ve never really understood that saying. Why would you take a promise to the bank? And what exactly would you expect to get out of it?”

I could see that she was joking to try to relieve the stress of the moment, and I let her have it. Because I wouldn’t have traded places with her for the world. I’d never been on her side. Never had to sit and watch someone walking away from me, knowing that they might not come back. Knowing that they were putting themselves in danger so that I didn’t have to—but that it might cost them their life.

I couldn’t imagine doing it. So I wasn’t going to make light of the fact that she got to sit around in the house while I was off doing God knew what.

Besides, I wasn’t stupid. I knew how much danger we were leaving them in. And yes, we were leaving armed men to protect them. But ten armed men against whoever Randall might send…

It might not be enough. I was terrified that it wouldn’t be enough.

I reached out and ran my fingertips gently down her cheek, trying to memorize her face. The bright, burning hair, and those intensely blue eyes. The full lower lip that grew firm only when she was really convinced of something. The way she tilted her chin up to try to accommodate for her short height—and the way she could take on anyone, without fear.