Isolation by Jones, Nathan (the first e reader .TXT) 📗

his thoughts she hastily continued. “We joined you walking away from Jay because we don't want to be a part of his war anymore. But now we have no idea where to go or what to do . . . Wensbrook is out of the question, since both Jay and Stanberry will be able to find us there.” She hesitated, then continued in a small voice. “We need someone to lead us, and you're the one we followed.”

Larry looked around at everyone helplessly. How could they want him to be in charge when he'd bungled things so badly up until now? He'd failed to stop his own best friend from becoming a homicidal maniac, and also failed to convince their friends who were on the whole decent, kind people not to follow him.

Nobody among those who'd left with him was one of Jay's fighters. These people had gone with Jay up until now, but they hadn't helped him in the war against Stanberry.

Nobody but Larry himself, that is. “I'm going to turn myself in,” he said firmly. “If you want I'll speak to Stanberry on your behalf, make sure they know none of you were part of this fight. Maybe they'd be willing to let you in.”

“You're crazy,” Wesley Banks, an older man who'd lived all the way across Wensbrook from him, snapped. “Stanberry is the worst place for us to go, even if you could convince them to take us in. They hate us, and even worse Jay hates them. If we go then we'll be in the middle of his next attack.”

That was all true, but Larry didn't care. “I have to take responsibility for my part in this, for the people who suffered on both sides. I'm going. I'm not asking anyone else to come with me.”

“That's good, because I'm sure as the blazes not going to. I'll find some other place to go, something else to do. You can get yourself hanged alone.” Wesley turned and strode towards the SUV next to the truck. After a brief hesitation, the others followed him.

Everyone but Liza. “You should go too,” Larry told her.

She shook her head. “You were wrong that none of us were part of this fight. I trained with Jay, drove vehicles on his patrols and raids. I'm as guilty as you.”

“That's all the more reason for you not to go anywhere near Stanberry.”

Liza snorted bitterly. “You think you're the only one who can take responsibility for your actions? Besides, I've been closer to Jay's plans than you since he shut you out after the fires, so I've got information to offer too.” She opened the driver's side door and climbed in, leaning forward to start the engine. “Come on, let's go.”

Larry hesitated. He didn't want her to do this, which made him wonder if he was wrong to do this himself. But he had lots of information that would help the people of Stanberry, and she was right that she had just as much right to make this decision as he did.

He reluctantly circled the truck and climbed into the passenger seat, putting on his seatbelt as Liza maneuvered them out of the meadow and onto the dirt track leading away from the camp.

Towards Stanberry.

Chapter Ten

Comeuppance

“Daddy? Wake up, Daddy!”

Nick had to drag himself to consciousness as his daughter shook his shoulder insistently. Which meant he couldn't have been sleeping long. “What is it, sweetie girl?” he mumbled.

“Your radio is buzzing,” she chirped in his ear, shaking him some more.

Of course it was. His team had drawn the long straw when they'd been picking people for the next patrol shifts after the raid on the camp, so he'd been looking forward to actually getting a decent night's sleep for once.

He should've realized that that was hoping for too much.

Groaning, Nick sat up and reached for his radio, absently wrapping an arm around Tallie when she climbed into his lap and cuddled close. Sure enough, the emergency channel he'd set it to before going to sleep was lighting up, the conversation no more than a buzz at lowest volume.

He turned it up in time to hear Denny say, “I repeat, anyone in the survivors' camp who's actually bothering to listen to this, I need someone to come pick up some prisoners.”

Wait, that was what was worth waking him up for? There'd never been a demand for off-duty fighters to drop everything for new arrivals before. “Why?” he demanded, more sharply than he'd meant to. “Is it a huge group of something?”

“Even better,” Denny said, sounding baffled. “It's some of Jay's people turning themselves in.”

That woke Nick up a bit. “All right, I'll grab some of my people and come get them. Where you at?”

“South of town, on the road.” The leader of the survivor patrols sounded even more baffled. “Jay's big friend and a blond lady who I assume is his wife or girlfriend. They just drove right to the edge of our patrol route in a truck, got out with their hands raised, and stood there waiting for us to scoop them up.”

Nick's first response was suspicion. “You check the truck for explosives? And them?”

“First thing. They left their weapons in the cab and seem clean, although I'm with you . . . got my eyes wide open for some sort of trick.”

“Be right there.” He tossed the radio onto his gear and looked down at Tallie, who looked as if she was drifting off to sleep again. “Guess we'll need to drop you off with Aimee, sweetie.”

“Can I go back to bed after that?” she mumbled.

“I think Aimee would appreciate that, since she's probably sleepy too.” He kissed the top of her head, then set her back on her sleeping bag while he pulled on his socks and shoes and grabbed his gear, then helped Tallie get her shoes on too.

Once they were ready Nick dragged himself out of the tent carrying his gear and his daughter's sleeping bag. Tallie trudged out after