“I know my father. I know what he cares about, and ultimately, as long as I don’t interfere with his goals, I’m not on his list of concerns.”
“You think we should just leave?” Aerin says, speaking up for the first time in a long time. “What about finding the people responsible for the fires?”
“I think we need to get everyone here to safety first,” I say. “I haven’t forgotten about what’s happened, but the survivors have to be our priority.”
“You might be a fighter,” Milo says, “but that can’t be said for the rest of us. As much as I want revenge for Jonny, there’s no point in it if we don’t find a new place to live. We can’t go back to where we were.”
“No, we can’t.”
“You’re just going to listen to him and do what he says, aren’t you?” Will stands up and points his finger at me. “After everything he’s done—everything he’s admitted to—you’re still going to trust him?”
“I do trust him.” Milo scans the group. “I think ultimately we’ve all learned to trust Talen’s actions even if we didn’t know who he really was. I’ve known him long enough to see him put himself in danger for our sake plenty of times. He didn’t have to do that. He didn’t have to stay in Plastictown and help us, but he did. That speaks louder than his recent absence or his heritage.”
“Well, I’m not going to blindly follow a Thaves spy.” Will grabs a pack from near the fire. “Maybe you are all okay with following him to your deaths, but I’ve already been down that route. I’m not doing it again.”
“Will, you can’t be serious.” Samuel grabs for his cane and pushes himself up, trying to catch up with Will before he leaves the depression. “You can’t go off on your own, boy! You won’t survive the night!”
“I survived a long time on my own,” Will says darkly. “I had to because of what he did. At least this time, I have a choice.”
Without another word, Will walks away from the group and down the hillside.
“I’ll go after him.” I start to stand, but Milo stops me.
“There is nothing you can say that’s going to change his mind. Don’t waste your energy.”
“He’s going to get himself killed.”
“If he does, it’s on his own terms,” Milo responds. “We have others to worry about.”
He glances at Samuel, who stares at him wide-eyed. Samuel opens his mouth to protest but quickly closes it again. He looks longingly at Will’s departing figure before shuffling back to the fire.
I glance over at Milo, and he’s locked in a gaze with Keller, who still stands silently, rubbing his jaw. I expect him to follow Will and abandon the group, but instead, he sits down in the shadows at the back of the depression.
Though I’ve always considered Milo to have a strong personality, I’m surprised at how quickly and efficiently he has taken the role of leader. He seems to be a natural, and I’m glad of it. People like him and trust him, and it’s clear from some of the looks I’m still getting from the group that not all of them trust me any longer.
“Tell us more about this building inside the mountain,” Milo says.
Beginning from the moment the quake hit and Aerin and I were trapped in the shaft, we tell our story. Aerin and I take turns describing the complex and the people we found inside, including the mention of my father and the doctor responsible for the viruses.
“So, you’re from the capital as well?” Layshell asks Aerin.
“Yes,” Aerin says after I give her a quick nod. “My mother worked in the capital city, and my father was in the military.”
“Where are they now?”
“My father died a few years ago,” Aerin says. “I assume my mother and brother are still in the capital, waiting for me to return with information.”
“Your brother?” I tilt my head and look at Aerin questioningly. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“Younger brother,” Aerin says.
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I guess he just didn’t come up,” Aerin replies with a shrug. “We’ve been rather busy.”
“True.”
“We could really use some of the supplies you were talking about,” Layshell says. “I’m not sure we’re going to survive a long journey north with what we have.”