Page 56 of Such a Feral Little Lamb
When I turn my head, Mason is standing in the entrance to the church. He doesn’t make a move to approach us; he’s watching and waiting, and I know he can be impatient, that he wants to be in charge, but I feel that he’ll let this moment last as long as I need it to.
“I don’t know,” I reply, “but I don’t think the Citadel sent us here to get rid of zombies.”
“Yeah, neither do I.”
“You think we’ll get to the bottom of it?”
“In the next three days?” Otto sighs. “I can’t go back, can I?”
“We’re taking you back.”
Otto takes a step closer, lowering his voice further. “You know as well as I do that Dane and Blake won’t keep their mouths shut about what happened. Like it or not, my fate was sealed the moment that zombie dug its teeth in.”
“Otto…”
“I don’t know what’ll happen if I stay here, either. The Citadel will send more teams. Whatever they’re looking for, I don’t think we’ve found it.”
“You don’t?” It has to be magic, doesn’t it? The ability to heal—they’ll want that for themselves. Another way to keep us in line, to ensure that everyone at the top is safe and secure, even as we throw our lives away trying to keep the rest alive.
Otto studies my face. “Maybe not. It’s more than what we know. It has to be.”
“Why?”
“If they had an inkling about”—Otto darts a look down the church, where Mason still waits, then back at me again—“magic, then why send a team with no idea at all? They’re looking for something else. Something hidden that they think we can uncover.”
I think about getting off the train. The flat stillness of the air. No blood.
And Dane, talking to the train driver. At the time, I figured he was just confirming our return, but it’s a given. We all know how long we have. We all know that if we don’t make it on the train, we don’t get to go back at all.
“We need to find Dane,” I say, and Otto nods. I don’t know if he’s had the same train of thought as me or not, but he follows me agreeably down the aisle all the same.
“Everything all right?” Mason asks, casting a dark look between me and Otto.
“Fine,” I reply. “We should go search.”
Mason frowns. I’m sure he’d prefer to do anything other than hunt Dane down, but now I have questions burning in the back of my mind, questions that desperately need answers.
We’re all subdued as we make our way down into the town and then split into groups. Callum goes with Blake, who begrudgingly accepts his presence. Rae is with Autumn, of course. And Mason sticks close to me and Otto, dark coat brushing his ankles as he walks a few feet ahead.
The shadows feel more menacing today. Maybe I’m just jumpy. More than once, the sensation of eyes following my every move prickles my skin, but when I do a three-sixty, I see nothing.
We make our way towards the park I first visited with Mason a few days ago. This time, he doesn’t play. His eyes are narrowed as he scans the landscape, shadows growing longer as the sun ducks lower.
Otto is a few feet away when Mason finally approaches me.
“I didn’t think you would search this hard for him.”
“Did you do something?”
Mason scoffs and shoves his hands deep into the pockets of his coat. He glances off into the distance again. The field beyond thepark rolls into trees, a small forest overshadowed by dark grey clouds.
“Mason,” I snap. “Did you?”
“No.” The word is sharp. “You told me not to.”
He might have, if I hadn’t warned him off. But then, I don’t see how he could have. I’d have woken if he left the bed, and I saw Dane before I went to Mason’s room.
“The zombies might have—”
