Storm Girls (The Juniper Wars Book 4) by Aaron Ritchey (best books to read for teens .txt) 📗

ever in her overalls, clean and free of coal dust though it was her job to keep the Moby Dick running and powered. She had tattoos on her neck and arms, even behind her ears. At one time, I’d found them shocking, but now they were just a part of her. She petted my hair, kissed my ear, and whispered, “So good to see you, Cavatica. So good.”

I blushed. I knew Tech was sweet on me.

Peeperz held my hand. Bad scars pinched all his features together, but his eyes were sparkling and cute. “Cavvy, we left your pups on one of Mavis’ ranches, and I miss ’em, but gosh, I miss ya more.”

I wished I were three people, so I could hug them all, and I wished I wasn’t so thin ’cause if I were thicker, I could’ve felt more of them around me, my friends, my comrades in arms. There’s a reason veterans continue to meet, year after year, even after the wars are all over. ’Cause combat creates sisters, brothers, family to the end.

All their faces, all their smells, everything about them, reminded me I’d always have some kind of family. Even if the one I’d grown up with was dead.

Sketchy rattled on about hearing how I’d lost track of Sharlotte and Wren, and that Wren had a beautiful boy named Dutch, who Sketchy had heard was a rake and a ne’er-do-well, and that we’d turned a Vixx into not only a friend, but a sister.

“Don’t lose hope, Cavatica,” Sketchy said. “Pilate doesn’t think they’re dead, and he says to have faith, and though I don’t believe in God, I think they’re alive. But Cavvy, you’re still a Christian, right?”

“Sure,” I said. Didn’t want to argue the point. In reality, I was a disciple of Pilate’s and his church of silence. Such a religion fit us at the time, though it would never fill churches or pack the collection plate with dollar bills.

June Mai, Pilate, and Micaiah hustled us into the Chhaang House for planning. Marie Atlas, June Mai’s right-hand woman, also joined us.

We all clustered inside and sat at a table next to the cold fireplace. June Mai and Marie Atlas sat next to each other, across the table from me and my people, and it felt like a negotiation between enemies, not a strategic meeting among allies.

Micaiah had a protein bar for me, still in a wrapper, and it made an okay breakfast. Pilate shared his coffee with me.

“It’s okay, Cavvy,” he said. “I’m a priest. I don’t have any sexually transmitted diseases. Jesus saved me from syphilis.”

I sighed at his joke and took a sip. It was strong, bitter, and lukewarmish, but I liked the jolt of caffeine. It got me talking. “So, June Mai, I reckon you plan on waltzing down I-70 to Hays, isn’t that right? Take your army down the highway and either blast your way across the border or stare them down until they open up the gate and let you in. Once you’re back in the World, well, you can tell everyone about the chalkdrive. That about right?”

June Mai nodded. Didn’t say a word. Her eyes bored into me.

I went on. “We have to assume a few things, assumptions we should’ve made before we blundered into Nevada.”

I paused. Everyone was listening to me, and for a minute, I forgot I was a leader. I felt like a stupid seventeen-year-old girl. My cheeks glowed until Pilate touched my shoulder, Sketchy, Tech and Peeperz all grinned at me, encouraging me, and then there was Micaiah, who could prolly guess my every word.

“Go on,” June Mai said.

I did. “We have to assume there are Severin spies in your camp and that your plan is being sent on to Hays. Even now, I bet they have a runner with news that Micaiah is in the camp, that I showed up, and we have the chalkdrive, and we’re making for Kansas.”

Marie Atlas couldn’t suppress her laughter. “That’s impossible. Our soldiers are loyal. We’ve vetted each and every one. Those we can’t trust or have severe issues, we used to send to the Psycho Princess. Now, generally, the hogs grab them.”

At that, all eyes went to Micaiah. He’d told them about the Gammas, and how they were the accidental mutants of genetic manipulation.

June Mai didn’t react to her lieutenant’s outburst. She fixed those dark eyes on me and made a twirling gesture with her index finger, which meant she wanted me to keep on talking.

Again, I felt how surreal the situation was. Why was June Mai listening to me? I was just some high school girl, some piece of Juniper trash.

I continued talking anyway. “Hays is going to be crawling with ARK soldiers and I would imagine—since Tibbs Hoyt is in bed with the U.S. government—there will be American military forces, too. Sketchy mentioned something about that. If that’s the case, we’re looking at tanks, gunships, charge guns, full-on tech and electricity with perfect communication, laser targeting—all that and a bag of chips. And once you hit the border and they see you, more reinforcements will be sent. Hoyt isn’t going mess around. He’s had months to prepare for our return.”

Marie Atlas wasn’t convinced. “Nonsense. They have thousands of kilometers of border to protect. Why would they choose to focus all those forces on some cow town in Kansas?”

Sketchy erupted, “The HYS ain’t no cow town, well, it is, but it’s also a major hub in these parts, and those Kestrel 15.2 gunships can cover hundreds of kilometers in no time. If the ARK skanks get wind that Cavvy is coming through, they will descend upon you like the hosts of hell. Not that I believe in such things as hell and the Devil, mind you.”

“I was without cigars for months,” Pilate said. “There is a hell, I can assure you. And I heard about Wren’s gladiatorial games in Glenwood, so there’s the Devil right there.”

June Mai didn’t flinch. She stared into my eyes, and it