Page 17 of Marked for Extinction
Perhaps it was because his assignment didn’t deter me like it was supposed to.
“I’ll go,” I blurted out, tired of the tension in the room.
Dean nodded with a smile. “Good. You’ll be sent out the next morning when the sun rises to reduce the chance of running into bloodsuckers.”
His response was immediate, as if he anticipated my answer. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion but didn’t say anything else.
“Well, gentlemen, that’s it for the meeting. Get some rest. You’ll need it,” Ozzy instructed before getting to his feet and leaving before everyone else with Dean following soon after.
“They planned that shit,” Amir mumbled.
“I know.”
“I’ll meet you guys before the sun crests the horizon,” Carson threw out before lightly slamming his hand on the table and pushing himself to stand.
“You want to leave Vanessa so soon?” I asked.
He looked over his shoulder without expression. “It’s the life we’ve vowed to live. She understands this. She’s not naive to what happens out there. It’s why I’ve waited so long. But my life couldn’t just revolve around killing vampires. I needed to do something for myself too. Losing Carlos made me realize my life was slowly being thrown away to the wind. I’m not going down like that. I’m not letting her slip away.”
As Carson exited the room, I sat there for a few moments thinking about what he said. It reflected what the food merchant talked about. This was beginning to become a theme. I couldn’t afford that. I couldn’t afford letting another life attach to me when I was having a hard enough time keeping the lives around me alive when we were out on missions.
Luckily this was just a scouting trip. A little recon. A little recovery. It should be quick and easy.
“Come on man, let's head back and get some sleep,” Amir reminded me.
“Yeah. You’re right.”
The moment we exited out of the strategy room, we made our way through the west tunnels.
Vanessa was already there, her arms wrapped around Carson in a tight embrace as Angel made her way to me in a sprint, jumping upon impact. I laughed and scratched behind her ears. Angel would have to be enough for me. I was lucky to even have her in my life.
“Hey, girl,” I cooed. “Let’s go home.”
ChapterSeven
Amirand I headed to the southern exit with Carson behind us. Angel trotted beside me happily, eager to go topside and explore.
The figure standing at the southern exit stopped me in my tracks. Angel ran up to her and yipped happily. She stretched her hand down to run it through her fur while staring directly at me.
“I’m coming with you,” Inés stated matter-of-factly.
I suppressed a grin. “Yeah?”
She nodded as Angel came back to my side, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth.
“I’m sorry to tell you, you’re not ready.” Amir covered his laughter with a cough and I continued. “We’ll be doing some more training when we get back—”
“Not ready for a scouting mission? You’re talking out of your ass.”
Amir coughed again, but this time joined in with Carson. Angel yipped as if to add to all the noise.
“Maybe I am, but you’re still not going,” I told her.
She stared daggers into me as I walked past her with Angel in tow, heading toward the metal rung ladder that leads to the top.
The men didn’t say a word as we all proceeded to climb up until the light of the community disappeared, closing us in darkness until my hand hit the top of the metal latch, tracing the word hope before finding the handle and pushing the latch open, bathing us in the early morning light.
With the directions ingrained into our minds from the quick meeting we had with the scout, we quietly made our way toward the woods, our weapons strapped onto our backs and legs.
