Page 39 of Creepy
Wade laughed a bit.“I thought you were planning to.I’d rather you not.”
“Of course, I planned on leaving already, but whatever Mabel gave me for pain knocked me out.Planned to leave before dark, though.”
“That’s smart.”
“Yeah, duh.And I’ve been there, but more importantly, Dillon wants to talk to me.”
“You’re hurt.What are you thinking?”
“You all don’t know who you are dealing with.”
“I’m not scared of Dillon.”
“Dillon is not the same man he was before.”
“We’ve all had to do whatever it takes to survive.He’s not the only one who’s changed.”
“He’s got backup.Lots of it.”
“And if you come and get hurt...You’re already hurt.”
“I can distract Dillon while you break Troy loose.It’s perfect.No risking Joey or anyone else.”
“Are you set on this?Who’s to say he’s still alive.”
“I’ll be going with or without your help, Wade.”
“How are we going to get in?”
We were planning now, so I assumed he agreed with me going.“I’d intended to just drive up and give myself over to Dillon and talk to him.Ask him to release Troy.”
“Trade yourself for him.I don’t think so.You know that Joey and I don’t care about whoever this guy is, Troy, right?”
I nodded about the name part but understood they had no connections to Troy.
“The only reason we’ll be rescuing him is on account of you.The only reason I’d planned to go tonight myself was, so you don’t go and do something stupid.”
“Stupid?”
“Giving yourself over to Dillon is stupid.Especially, when we could just sneak in there and break your friend loose.”
“So, what’s your plan?”
“How many people are we talking about?How many are in his gang?”
“Loads, hundreds.”
Wade almost choked.“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“No joke.Anyone from around these parts who survived has joined them.I’m sure if my brother hadn’t been with you, the Stayers would’ve recruited you too.”
“No way.We’ve come across a few groups.We’re not about joining any communes.”
“Well, I only said recruited because it’s the word the Stayers use, but people essentially don’t have a choice.You wouldn’t have had a choice.”
“If that’s a fact, you genuinely think Dillon will just hand Troy over?”
Only if I gave myself up or promised to at a later date.Something that had crossed my mind.Or if I promised more sex or something.I truly didn’t have a plan other than appealing to Dillon’s sympathies.“You’re right.We need a different plan.”
