Page 63 of Following Their Heart

“The fuck?” Brawn says. He’s grinding his molars, but he doesn’t challenge Rev. At least not yet. I get the sense he’s waiting to hear how bad the news is first.

I speak up. “Where are you going first?” I ask the question to show my support for Rev’s plan. Whatever it is, it’s what the Working showed him. That makes it our best bet to retrieve Jud. I just hope he’s in one piece when we get to him.

Rev’s eyes are as intense as ever as he glares at Brawn, but when he turns to me, his gaze goes soft, appreciative. “I’m getting’ to it, little one. Patience.” To the whole room he says, “Yeah. Patience. We’re all gonna need it. I didn’t want to get churchy on you, but it seems you need it.”

Brawn shifts on his feet.

“If you think it’s easy for me to stand up here handing out jobs to do around camp when we could be chasing down that asshole and his cronies—who have what’s ours!—” He raises his voice to a shout that fills the great room. “You’ve got another think coming. Jud is ours,” he says, thumping a fist on his chest. “Raptor has our leader. He has our brother. We’re sure as hell gonna get him back, and the Working has shown me how. Now, I know what I have to say is gonna piss some of you off, but it’s what needs done. I’m gonna need you all to fall in line, because Jud’s freedom is what’s at stake. Hislifeis at stake. I think you all know that, but it has to be said.

“I’m not tellin’ you the outcome is certain. I don’t know if we’ll succeed. All I know is the Working showed me the next steps. The best chance we have is doing what it showed me. So, listen up. All of you. It’s gonna take all of us working together to make this happen.

“Now.” He blows out a breath, purging himself of the high emotion that had him scolding us. He fixes his gaze on Grim.

“Grim, Doc, you two deal with the birds. Using your Gifts,” he adds, meaningfully.

Grim’s brow furrows. “What?”

Doc says, “Come again.”

“The Working showed me you two working together,” Rev says. “Touching the birds. Both of you. Focus on your Gifts. After last night with our Heart, they’ll be strong. Real strong. Touch the birds. Listen to your instincts. That’s all I have on that.”

Doc and Grim exchange a look, but they both agree to do what Rev says. I wonder how their gifts will help move dead birds out of the way. I would have thought Brawn, with his strength, could get it done quickest. But I’m not the one receiving the Working’s instructions. At least not this time.

“Shep,” Rev says. “How’s Bernard? Any news since last night?”

Shep shakes his head. “I am worried about him. I haven’t from heard him since before the birds came.”

Rev nods. “Okay. Keep trying. If he’s in distress, we can send Doc out to find him and help him. In the meantime, you’ll round up the animals that can’t take care of themselves and trailer them to our nearest neighbor who can handle livestock. Consult Jud’s maps to find ’em if you don’t know where they are offhand. Bring all the feed and supplies they’ll need for a month, and load up some kind of compensation. Ask what else they need in exchange for the favor, and we’ll make it happen. We’ll entrust the animals to our neighbors while we’re away. If they balk, remind them they’re under our protection, and that doesn’t have to be the case.”

Shep nods. He looks uncomfortable at the last part, but he doesn’t complain.

“Did you say a month?” Doc has his arms folded. He’s frowning. “Doesn’t take a month to drive to New Orleans and back.”

“I don’t anticipate it taking us that long,” Rev says, “but when they sent men to the moon, they sent twice the supplies they thought they’d need. We’ll do the same. Brawn,” he says, moving right along. “It’s your turn to patrol the lodge. Watch Doc and Grim’s backs while they work, and keep Cora safe. She’ll be inside, organizing our meals. After patrol, you’ll help me scout the crash site. We’ll learn what we can about our enemy. For example, what kinds of Gifts we might be facing. Maybe there are clues in the downed chopper. Whoever was jamming our equipment will be a real pain in the ass if he’s still among the living. We need all the advantages we can get for when we hit the Big Easy.”

“Scrappy Boy.” He turns his attention to Scrap, who man-spreads to take up the whole couch opposite the one Grim and I are on. “You’ll divide your time between security detail and tuning up Bessy for a long haul. We’ll take one of the missile trucks too, and the Humvee. Spend most of your time on the vehicles but keep an eye on Jud’s security cams. By now it’s pretty clear Raptor’s team has hit the road, but we still gotta be careful. They’re not the only predators out there. There are always stragglers who survived the Virus and wildlife. And possibly survivors from the chopper crash.”

Scrap juts out his lower lip and nods. “I can do that.” He’s not as brash and flirty as usual. I wonder if he’s feeling weird about kissing Rev in front of everyone last night or if it’s because he’s missing Jud, like the rest of us.

“Now listen up,” Rev says. “This goes for everyone, and it’s important. I want each one of you focusing on your Gifts. No more taking them for granted. I wanna see what you can do when you try. Push yourselves. After last night with our baby girl, we’re stronger. Test your Gifts to see how strong.” He pauses to look everyone in the eye. Most of the guys look confused, but no one argues.

“Grim, Doc.” Rev splits his attention between them. “I don’t know how long it’ll take you to deal with the birds, but when you’re done, you both plus Brawn will load up Bessie. We take every weapon that’s not bolted down plus enough supplies to last us a month on the road.

“Here’s the part you’re not gonna like,” he says. “We’re going to New Orleans, but we’re making a stop along the way.”

“Where?” Doc says.

“Texas.”

Silence.

“Where in Texas?” Doc says, at last.

“Not sure. The Working hasn’t shown me yet.”

“Fuck,” Brawn mutters. He shakes his head, eyebrows making angry slashes over brooding eyes.

Doc pulls a face likeof course he doesn’t know.“More of this learn-as-you-go bullshit. Damnit! I thought we were past that.”

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