There wasn’t anything else of interest, so Summer slid out of the truck and planted her feet in the dirt, landing about the same time as Krista finished her exterior vehicle sweep.
“Well?” Zimmer asked both of them in a breathy voice, the color in his face back to normal.
“Not sure,” Summer said, still working through the facts in her brain.
Krista pointed at the driver’s side door. “There are some footprints leading away. Bare ones. They start near the gas tank.”
“That’s where she must have dropped down,” Summer said.
“From above or below the truck?” Zimmer asked.
“Could be either,” Krista added, aiming her finger at the side of the barn. “The tracks lead to the door from there.”
“She obviously hid when Horton and Lipton got out,” Summer said. “Otherwise the guards would have seen her.”
“How?” Zimmer asked.
Summer thought for a moment before responding, aiming her thumb at the back of the truck. “I found her blindfold inside. She must have worked it loose like some kind of magician.”
“Probably used her toes,” Krista said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Should’ve bound her feet as well. That one’s on me.”
Summer shook her head. “I don’t think so. I found some blood on a sharp weld. She must have used it to cut the rope from her hands, then pulled the blindfold off.”
Krista shook her head. “Actually, it was just the opposite. She used her toes to remove the blindfold, then cut the paracord on the metal. She had to see the bad weld first, in order to use it.”
“Still doesn’t explain how she got out without anyone seeing her,” Zimmer said.
“What about Stuart’s body?” Summer asked Krista, remembering the camo-colored tarp they used to cover his body.
Krista paused, then said, “She must have hidden under the tarp right before my men got there to escort Lipton and Horton, then slipped out later when nobody was looking. There was plenty of time before anyone came back for the body.”
“Clever girl,” Summer said, seeing a virtual replay in her mind. It showed Helena’s steps one by one.
First, her toes removing the blindfold. Then scrambling to the weld and using it to slice the rope free, before tucking herself under the edge of the tarp, hiding her skinny frame between Edison’s corpse and the edge of the truck bed.
If the tarp was angled out and held loose, it would have appeared natural to the guards, while their attention was elsewhere, helping a blindfolded Lipton and Horton out of the truck.
Summer had experienced her share of amazing escapes over the years, but nothing like what Helena had done. The Scab Girl had skills. Just as Horton had said. Unfortunately.
“It’s time to send out a search party,” Zimmer said in a sharp tone. “She could be anywhere by now.”
Krista put her pistol into its holster. “Couldn’t have gotten that far, Rod. Not barefoot over uneven ground and not in this cold. I’m thinking a five-mile search grid ought to do it.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t assume anything at this point,” Summer said.
Zimmer nodded. “I agree.”
“Okay,” Krista answered. “Let’s make it ten. We’ll need to draft some volunteers to help.”
CHAPTER 11
“Please, Krista,” Summer yelled out, pushing her legs into a trot down the neon green corridor that connected the command center to the old missile bay.
Krista stopped ten feet ahead and turned, her cheeks filling with red. “For the last time, I said, no.”
Summer caught up and stood a foot in front of her. “Come on, I really need to do this. The only reason she escaped is because I talked you into bringing her back here. That was my mistake. I should be the one to go out there and make it right.”
“We’ve already talked about it and nothing you say is going to change my mind,” Krista said, turning to resume her fast-walk.
Summer grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. “What if I made it a direct order, like before, on the road?”
“Oh, you mean that order that took us right into an ambush?”
“Yeah, that one. You had to listen to me, right? Even if it was wrong?”
“Not this time, Summer. All security decisions regarding Nirvana are my sole responsibility. Even you can’t override them. That’s how Edison wanted it.”
“Yeah, well, Edison’s not here now, is he?”
“Still, the rules are the rules. We all follow them or we have chaos. Even you don’t want chaos, do you?”
“No, of course not, but—”
“Well, then, there you go. Issue settled.”
“What if you and I changed the rules? We could do that, right? If we really wanted to?”
Krista stood there blinking and didn’t respond.
Summer continued. “I mean, who’s going to stop us? Really?”
“No. That’s never going to happen. Like I said before, the rules are the rules and what happens security-wise around here is up to me.”
“Well, technically, the mission is going to be outside the silo. So that means it’s my decision. Like before, right?”
“Not when it comes to sending our search parties. I alone am responsible for who goes and who stays. Same with guard rotations, security perimeters, patrols, armaments, disciplinary actions, and Seeker Missions. We all have a job to do. Yours is here, as the new leader. Where it’s safe.”
“But what if I decide to go anyway? What are you going to do about it? Throw me in the brig with those other two?”
“If I have to, I will. But you’re not coming with us. That’s final.”
“You don’t seem to understand that I have way more experience out there than you do. You need me. You really do. You heard Horton. That girl is like a ninja. She’s going to be tough to bring in.”
“Trust me, we can handle her, regardless of her supposed skills.”
“But what if there are more of them?”
“Scab Girls?”
“Yes, girls—well, I don’t know. Maybe the men, too. You know, another attack. You’re going to need more help.”
“That’s exactly why you need to stay right here. I’m not losing another leader on my watch. This is the safest place for you. End of discussion.”
“I get that, but what if you’re wrong?”
“You’re the leader now, Summer. Your duty is here,” Krista said, pointing at the south wall of the silo. “Mine is out there, looking for the escaped prisoner. We all know what will happen if Fletcher finds her first.”
“What if I don’t want to be the new leader? Ever think of that?”
“It’s what Edison wanted. You know the Rules of Succession as well as I do.”
Summer held back a wince when a sharp pain slammed into the center of her chest. It was followed by a tingle across her skin—a cold, clammy sensation, like she had just been caught stealing money from her mother’s purse. “I don’t think I’m cut out for any of this. You’d be a way better leader. Maybe you should take over? Let me go back to being a Seeker. I’m good at that.”
Krista put her palms on Summer’s shoulders, squeezing gently. “You’ll do fine, Summer. I have every confidence in you.”
“Yeah, you say that now. But what if—”
Krista shook her head, not letting her finish the sentence. “—Edison wouldn’t have put you in charge if he didn’t think you were ready.”
“Well, I’m not ready. In fact, I’m scared to death. Everywhere I look I see people staring at me. Even the kids. What if I screw up and someone gets hurt? How am I supposed to live with that?”
“Trust me. You are ready.”