“WHAT’S GOING ON? Is everything okay?” I asked.
All Greer said was, “Gonzalez.”
“Where?”
“Down the trail. And he’s not alone. He’s got a twitchy-looking Marvin with him.”
Damn it. “The kids still asleep?”
Greer nodded. “You want me with you?”
“Yeah. Go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”
He started to fade into the dark.
“Wait! We should talk about the—”
“Forget it,” he said.
“But—”
“Don’t worry,” Greer said. “There’s plenty of time for me to call you a jackass in the morning. Now let’s get moving.”
The dark swallowed him up as he moved down the trail. I changed out of my running clothes, trying to still the nervous tremors in my hands. Gonzalez and a Marvin showing up in the middle of the night on the day they announced that the Guard was bugging out. Whatever they wanted, it couldn’t be good.
I found the three of them in a circle of light at the first turn of the trail. Gonzalez was standing there with a flashlight, looking uncomfortable in his body armor, helmet, and mask. The Marvin was next to him.
He had on the same blue hazmat suit as the men in the truck, but sported a clear faceplate with a hose running to a tank on his back. It was overkill, but not unusual for someone new to the QZ. Through the faceplate I could make out dark eyes set in a slab-of-granite face. His gloved fingers were tapping against his biceps, which bulged beneath the blue plastic. By the time I joined them, Greer was doing a little song and dance in front of him.
“. . . you should totally take off that mask, Marvin. Maybe you’re immune! You’d be like a gift to science.”
“Greer, could you please—”
“Hush, Gonzalez. Now, about the suits. Are you guys trying to look like giant blueberries or—”
“Cardinal!” Gonzalez edged Greer out of the way when he saw me coming. “This is Mr. Raney. He’ll be handling security in the QZ once Martinson Vine takes over. I’m guessing Greer told you about today’s announcement.”
So it was really true. The Guard was bailing on us. I stopped a few feet away from them and crossed my arms.
“What can we do for you guys?”
Gonzalez started to speak, but Raney stepped out ahead of him. “Two gentlemen showed up at the doc’s office earlier today. Both of them beat up pretty bad. Thought maybe you’d have an idea how they got that way.”
“Why would I?”
“Said they ran into a girl with green hair and a skinny black kid wearing a Bio-Mask.”
Greer let out a big laugh. “Well, that leaves Cardinal out, Marvin. My man here is bi-racial!”
“Greer,” Gonzalez warned.
“We don’t know any girls with green hair,” I said. “And I’m not the only uninfected kid in town. I’m guessing one or two others might look like me.”
“Really?”
I gave Raney the biggest, most innocent smile I could muster. “Well, sir, Black River has always prided itself on being a diverse community.”
Greer cackled, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Gonzalez. Raney stood perfectly still. There was a tense hush as he looked from me to Gonzalez to Greer. When he was done, he walked past me to take a higher position on the trail. He nodded up toward the camp.
“So, you guys have been living up here since the beginning, huh?”
I glanced over at Greer. “Uh . . . yeah. Just about.”
“That’s good,” he said. “I got a couple nephews about your age. All they do is sit inside and play video games. I try to take them hiking or fishing, and they act like I’m suggesting we reenact the Bataan Death March.” Raney chuckled to himself, then shifted so he was looking down at the three of us.
“Listen, fellas. I’ve been the new sheriff in town before. Everybody thinks I’m planning to come in and declare that up is down and black is white. And I’m not saying there won’t be changes—we’ll be making sure you all start school again, for one thing—but at this point I see no reason to cancel Lieutenant Gonzalez’s live-and-let-live policy when it comes to you-all. Sound good?”
He smiled, but there was something about it that made me think of the Terminator—like if I looked close enough, I’d see a titanium chassis behind his lips.
“And just between us,” he said, lowering his voice like it was some big secret, “those guys getting stitched up in the doc’s office? They look to me like the types that maybe could have used a good beating. So how about we just call that one even for now? If you should happen to hear anything more about it, or if you hear about anything else going on in the QZ you think I should know about, you’ll come tell me. How’s that for a deal?”
Raney stuck his blue-gloved hand out. Not seeing what choice I had, I shook it.
“Outstanding,” he said. “And tell you what, to seal the deal—Salvation Army sent us a big shipment just the other day. Lots of kids’ stuff in there. Clothes and whatnot. How about I send some of it up here with my guys?”