Page 70 of Rising

The final one would come with me if possible. It had extra clothes, some of which we’d change into before crossing into Utah to make up space, and prepare for the weather. A larger navigation kit, extra ammunition and knives, something to sharpen the knives with, a tent, and sleeping bag. Simple enough, easy to grab and go when on the run.

Harley’s ears popped to attention as Amaia walked over, bending down to squeeze around her body, causing her to squirm and pant out of her mothers’ arms. She laughed, kissing around the sides of her face, then up and down her forehead to her nose.

“Good girl baby, you know momma loves you. Right?” Harley licked the side of her face in agreement. “Oh my sweet girl, you’re the prettiest, bestest, smartest, baddest bitch in all of Monterey, okay? You listen to uncle Ril and be a good girl, and maybe a little devil if things get a bit boring around here.”

Harley barked, hopping onto Amaia’s shoulders and slobbering down her shoulders. Suckerpunch whined from next to me, startling me. My heart clenched. I’d said my goodbyes this morning. More tearful than I’d expected, but hey, that’s my kid.

“Papa will be back for ya boy,” I winked, tossing him a piece of jerky from my pack. “Give ‘em hell.”

Amaia mounted her horse, turning to us all, solemn faced as the others let their gazes rest over the wall of The Compound. Prescott and a few soldiers stood in front of the gate, noise starting to hum beyond the wall.

“Ready?” she asked.

Her curls were wrapped in two braids, bouncing as she kicked the horse gently in the side, taking off at a gallop. At that moment, I saw her for who she used to be, who I thought I’d come here to hate, only to find a sorry version of her instead. The woman now in front of me was fierce.

A warrior-like woman on a mission, and God bless whoever ended up in her path.

* * *

Suckerpunch and Harleyfollowed us the first five miles before Amaia gave a final cry for Harley to listen and go back. Harley had let out a loud whimper, and sat in protest with Suckerpunch at her side. They’d howled until we were out of sight. Seth confirmed they’d made it back with Riley an hour later. Amaia and I both letting out a relieved sigh, meeting each other’s eyes briefly.

The ride to Hollister was solid. Picturesque, something that belonged in a frame and would sell for an ungodly amount of money in some rich person’s house. A memory jogged in the back of my mind, envisioning something similar hanging over the tub in my parents’ bathroom. My mom doing her best to make every room feel like an escape from outside the constraints of the home. Her freedom to travel was restricted to my father’s business and where it brought them, if he allowed her to go at all.

The terrain was decent enough. Lots of green rolling hills and scattered oak trees that someone would spend a shit ton of time trying to paint, only for it to come out as a fuzzy brown and green blob. We passed a few vineyards, overgrown, but had probably been an ideal tourist location at some point in the past. Amaia had jokingly grabbed a handful of grapes, saying it’d make the heat more tolerable. Reina had chucked her own handful at her, saying the weather was the dictionary definition of autumn and to “drop the contraband.”

For the most part, it was quiet, peaceful even. The area hadn’t been super populated to begin with, leaving Pansies scattered and far between. Nothing Reina couldn’t take out with an arrow from a distance, or Amaia nonchalantly raising a piece of trash from the ground and forcing it through a skull without a second thought.

Seth had noticed the curiosity in my face, riding up next to me, giving me a simple explanation. “If you leave ‘em alive, you’re only taking another human life.”

There wouldn’t be any hesitation on my end. Was just glad we were all on the same page.

At our leisurely, but steady pace, we made it outside of Hollister right before nightfall. The only two breaks were for Reina to give the horses some water and a quick treat to keep their endurance.

We’d officially crossed into San Jose borders near the beginning of the day, giving us peace of mind that any troops we encountered out here would either be soldiers Amaia sent out to help, or friendly faces from San Jose. But there was always the risk of running into trouble, so Amaia had determined a spot out the way would be best for the night.

It was a decently sized city. Steering clear from the edges of town was probably the safer option anyway, be it from the living or the undead. We left the horses near a vacant rundown roadhouse, tied up near the back with enough lead to lie down for a night’s rest. Amaia and Seth led the way as we walked down the road, stopping between an old facility and some trees.

“Reina, Moe, you two in Seth’s tent,” Amaia directed, curls popping out through her braids from the wind during the ride, exhaustion taking over both her posture and her face.

Reina’s energy, to no one’s surprise, remained high. “What? Seriously, come on, don’t make me share with these two!”

“Hey what’s wrong with us?” Tomoe’s head tilted up from her position, dust from the ground coating the knees of her black jeans crouched on the ground, rumbling through her bags.

“Yeah Reina, I stink?” Seth said mockingly, pretending to care. His face saidplease go anywhere but with us.

She caught on. “Okay, see case in point. Look at them. No way they’re gonna respect my presence.”

“What kind of friend would I be to make you fall asleep to that?”

Reina eyed Tomoe earnestly. “Aw really, Moe?”

“All offense, sister”—Seth looked pointedly to Amaia, the pink and orange from the sky making his red hair appear to be made of flame—”but is there a reason she can’t set up her own tent?”

The blood under my skin turned hot, my fists clenched. “She still doesn’t trust me.”

“That’s what this is about? Make him set up his own tent. Reina can stay with you. Matter fact, since we’re on the subject, if you don’t trust him, now’s a good time to make him turn back around, or this whole thing is pointless.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust him. I just trust you more to protect the two ofthemif something happens in the middle of the night”—my eyes narrowed, vision honing in on Amaia’s mouth, daring her to keep it up—”And yeah, maybe I do only trust him as far as I can throw him. At least for the first night.”

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