Page 75 of Such a Feral Little Lamb
“There’s danger on every job,” I say, and Rae looks at me sharply.
“Not like this.”
I sigh. She isn’t wrong. The worst part is that even Autumn was aware of that. The first time leaving the Citadel in her entire life, and sheknewthat something was… off here.
“We should be out there,” Blake snarls. He wipes down the pick end of one hammer, then the other. “We can’t trust them to protect our team.”
I let go of my bat, leaning it against the wall next to me. “They’ll be better at finding them than we are.”
Blake shakes his head. “They’ve beenlyingto us this entire time! Fucking… magic. A necromancer. You really believe all that shit?”
“I’ve seen the magic.”
“Sure, fine. Just because they’ve tricked you—”
“Blake,” Rae snaps. She pushes her hands through her hair and gets to her feet. “Enough. I’m going to go find something to eat.”
She walks off before either of us can stop her and I know better than to follow. She might be hungry, but what she’s after is space.
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. Blake pushes into a standing position too and puts his hammers back where they belong. “They’re hiding something.”
“What? Blake…”
“They have to be. Think about it. They knew about our guns. They know about the Citadel, that we’re sent out here.”
“Other survivors—”
“Therearen’tany other survivors. You know that better than I do. Everyone in this town has been here since the outbreak. Or whatever.” He shakes his head when I fall silent. “You saw that fucking bag, Isaac. You know it’s not one of ours.”
I scowl. I want to argue—this is Blake, after all, and this might be the most civil conversation we’ve ever had, which certainly speaks to him attempting to manipulate me, but…
He’s not wrong. Otto’s head was in a bag from the Citadel. I know that.
“Who else could have taken them?” Blake asks. “We might not have seen Dane go, but Otto was with us. Autumn, too. There aren’t any other survivors here—and if they’renotlying about their magic and they can, I don’t know, stop people coming into the town, then why wouldn’t they know if someone was here?”
“We got in,” I say, but my voice sounds distant. The train did get in. We got in.
And zombies attacked us that night.
Mason was watching, and then zombies attacked.
“If there’s any evidence, it’ll be wherever Nia or Mason stay,” Blake says. His upper lip curls, but he keeps his voice steady when he asks, “Did you notice anything in his room when you were there?”
Not like I did a thorough exploration, but— “No. Nothing.”
“And Nia?”
I swallow. “She has an office. There’s a… cabinet. Cupboard. Could be stuff inside.”
“You know how to get there?”
“Blake, we can’t—”
“I can pick the lock. We’ll be quick. Careful. Back here before they know it.”
I shake my head, but it’s too late. The doubts are there. I want to believe Mason, so maybehedoesn’t know who took them, but Blake’s right. There’s plenty here that doesn’t add up.
“Fuck, okay. In and out. We’re not getting caught.”
