“You should know those of us who’ve been incarcerated take loyalty very seriously. I’m loyal to my old gang. And I’m loyal to the militia. I’m loyal to Kor. And my mission is to aid you. It’s a matter of honor, of loyalty.”
Anton eyed him, trying to see if he was telling the truth. He probably was. From the sound of it, those militia guys were crazy. Almost too intense.
“Hey, boss?” said one of the guys, calling out across the swirling snow. “What’s the word?”
“You wait!” shouted Anton. “Until you hear otherwise, got it?”
“We’re freezing our asses off, boss.”
“Then light a fire or some shit,” yelled Anton.
He thought being a leader was going to be easy. Kara had made the whole thing look like a cakewalk.
But here they were, his own men, questioning his orders.
It was enough to drive anyone insane.
He felt the anger rising through his chest, which felt as hot as a burning coal, despite the freezing wind.
He felt the anger in his head. His forehead was scorching hot.
“You get more respect from them talking to them… differently,” said Marshal.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion, OK?” snapped Anton.
“Whatever you say, Anton.”
Anton stared at Marshal, quivering in anger.
But Marshal remained calm. Nothing seemed to shake him.
“Look,” said Marshal. “I’m here as an envoy. Observe. But also help. Right?”
Anton just stared at him.
“What I’d do,” said Marshal, “is I’d send in a scout. A single guy. See what’s going on.”
“But we know right where they are. The marks in the trees… they must lead back to the camp.”
“Yes, but there’s a reason you’ve been here stalling for an hour, right?”
Anton didn’t say anything.
“Obviously the enemy knows how to fight. They know how to shoot. We can’t underestimate them, and we’ve got to assume they’re taking this time to set up some defenses.”
“You don’t think they’ll just flee?”
“No, and neither do you. Or else you would have rushed in.”
Anton knew he was right. Max and the others wouldn’t want to abandon their gear. Their radios. Leaving their camp was as good as committing suicide. Anton knew that they didn’t have proper winter gear. They didn’t have it when they’d visited the compound, at least.
“Max is probably setting up some defenses,” said Anton. “I don’t think they’ll flee. For a variety of reasons.”
Marshal nodded. “I don’t think they will, either. Now we’ve got to know what we’re up against.”
Anton nodded. The anger was starting to leave him. He was starting to see that Marshal was making some sense. Maybe Marshal really did want to help.
It had all gotten turned around in his head. It’d been the cold, the snow, the intense wind. He hadn’t been expecting any of that.
Just a few hours ago, he’d been convinced he’d impress Marshal.
Now he wasn’t sure what the roles were. It was all muddled.
Anton didn’t like things like that. He liked things cut and dry. Clear. That was why he’d wanted to be the leader, to take power. If he ruled the compound, he could keep things simple. He could make things the way he liked them, and not have to worry about the wishes of others muddling things up for him. It’d be his way or no way.
“All right,” said Anton. “I’ll send someone in to see what they’re up to. We’ll be able to better coordinate our attack.”
“All right,” said Marshal, nodding. “Sounds like a good plan.”
Anton shivered in the cold. His fingers and toes were freezing and going partially numb. He couldn’t feel the end of his nose. There was ice building up on his eyelashes.
He’d never expected a storm to move in, nor for it to move in this fast. The dropping temperature was a surprise. Normally it dropped during the night, not during the day.
Marshal didn’t seem affected by the cold. Maybe he was made of tougher stuff than Anton.
Anton was trying his best not to appear cold. But his body was shaking almost uncontrollably at this point.
He wasn’t unusual. Marshal was the unusual one. If Anton was this cold, surely his men would be too.
If they were going to fight well, they’d need to warm up.
“OK,” said Anton, clapping his numb hands together, and walking towards the men. “Ricky, you’re going to be scouting.”
“But, Anton…”
“I don’t want to hear it, Ricky,” said Anton, raising his hand. “Get in there close enough to see what’s going on. Report back with information that’ll help us attack.”
Ricky stood there, his mouth hanging open. There was ice forming in his beard.
“You heard me,” shouted Anton. “Now get going!”
Ricky stood frozen for a full ten seconds before he started to move.
Anton stared him down as he walked away, his eyes drilling holes into his snow-covered back.
Morale wasn’t good. Anton could understand that. But he needed people to do what he said. He was the leader, after all.
“OK, you, over there.”
“Wilson, sir.”
“Wilson, yeah, get a fire started. The rest of you, help him get the wood.”
“I don’t know if we can start one in all this snow.”
“I don’t care how you do it. Just get it done.”
Anton’s voice was already feeling a little horse from yelling above the gusts of wind.
He walked back over to Marshal, who wasn’t shivering.
A wry smile appeared on Marshal’s lips. “You really told them, huh?”
“Maybe they’re right,” said Anton, ignoring him. “I don’t know how they’re going to get a fire started in this snow.”
“If we don’t, we’re going to freeze to death. The sun’s going to be going down soon.”
“You don’t sound worried about it. And why the hell are you smiling? You just said we might die.”
“I’m just along for the ride,” said Marshal, cryptically.
12
Mandy couldn’t feel her feet or her hands.
Max was in worse shape. And it wasn’t a surprise. He was wearing the same jacket he’d been wearing all along. It wasn’t designed for cold weather, and it was amazing he’d made it this far with the jacket.
Now he was paying the price.
Mandy didn’t know if they’d make it back to camp before he froze to death.
“You’ve got to take my jacket, Max. Just for a little while.”
Max shook his head.
“It’s no longer a matter of being noble or whatever it is. You’re being stubborn, and it’s going to get you killed.”
“I recognize that tree,” said Max, through chattering teeth. “We’re close by.”
“And what if we’re not? What if it’s like the last three trees that I thought I recognized?”
“We’ll have to make a fire,” said Max. “It’ll get us through the night.”
Mandy wasn’t so sure about that. For one thing, she didn’t know if they’d be able to start a fire in the snow.
Maybe Max was right. Maybe this was time they finally found the camp. They’d been walking in circles for hours. Actual circles, not just that feeling when you’re lost and you think you’re walking in circles. They’d been intentionally walking in circles, hoping that they were close to the camp, and that they’d eventually stumble onto it.
For all Mandy knew, they could have passed twenty feet from the camp. They never would have known it.
Mandy trusted Max. He knew his limits. He was almost obscenely practical, even to the determinant of his own safety sometimes. But he’d always considered the safety of others. Especially Mandy. He’d never intentionally let his own stubbornness endanger her or the others.