I turn to tell Crenshaw we should move out of the crowd, but when I look for him he’s gone. Vanished silently into thin air.
“Wiley old SOB,” I mutter.
“Joss.”
I spin around to find Trent effortlessly jogging through the crowd toward me.
“Trent, where did you go? What’s happening?”
Before he can answer me, Trent spots Vin. He holds out his hand to him, surprising both of us. It’s such a human move for my robot.
“I hereby happily return your people to you,” he tells Vin. “Good luck.”
Vin smiles as he shakes his hand. “Not a fan of leadership, huh?”
“People are whiners.”
“I won’t argue with you there.”
“Trent,” I nag.
“What?”
“Where did you go?!”
“To the cannibals. I led them through the tunnels to the cannibals’ home, but none of the Colonists wanted to be there and I don’t think the cannibals were very happy about it either. I released the prisoners, then—”
“You did what?” Vin snaps.
Trent looks at him with utter calm before repeating, “The Colonist Leaders you had locked up. I let them go.”
“They’ll go straight back to the Colonies and tell them what’s happening!” I cry.
“I certainly hope so.”
“Why would you want that?”
“Because they don’t know what’s happening.”
I look to Vin, completely confused. He looks back at me with an expression that clearly says, Fix it before I kill it.
“All right, all right,” I mutter. “Trent, what’s your plan? Please tell me you have a plan. Please tell me there’s a reason why you just completely screwed us.”
“The Leaders only know that a Hive member,” he points to Vin, “took over the Colony, held them hostage, and that The Hive came to the Pod to take it over but the people were evacuated. That’s all they know. That’s exactly what they’ll tell the Leaders in the stadiums.”
“They’ll immediately send an army up there to take back the Pod before The Hive can get too comfortable,” Vin says, understanding much more than I do.
Trent nods. “Yes.”
“We’ll have to move fast.”
“We should already be moving.”
“What are we talking about?” I demand.
Vin grins at Trent. “Your creepy friend here is smarter than I gave him credit for. He’s diverted Colony forces away from the stadiums to fight The Hive for the northern Pod. They’ll be weakened because they think the only threat is in the north. They don’t know anything about us down here right outside their door.”
“What about all these people, though? They have to have seen the Vashons crossing the water to get here.”
“Not if the Vashons did it right,” Trent disagrees.
“Judging by the way they’re handling that Risen crowd,” Vin says, glancing over his shoulder to watch the soldiers systematically mow down the advancing horde, “they did it right. They know what they’re doing.”
“So wait, we have a Vashon army of three hundred people, plus two hundred Colonist refugees?” I ask.
Trent shakes his head. “More than that. Sixty or so cannibals are here too.”
“The cannibals came with you?”
“After we heard the blast they got nervous. They came out of the tunnels.”
I glance around, noticing some whiter-than-white skin in the huge crowd. “Okay, but they aren’t all fighters.”
“No, but twenty or so are.”
“Twenty of them, maybe fifty fighters from my people, three hundred Vashons, and a weakened Colony defensive line,” Vin surmises before whistling happily. “We might be able to pull this off.”
“Oh, you’re in this now?” I ask him, disbelieving. “Since when?”
He frowns at me, feigning hurt. “Kitten, it’s for the greater good.”
“It’s for your good is what it is. You lost your Pod, now you want a shot at another one.”
“A bigger one,” he amends.
“You’ll get nothing if we don’t move on this right now,” Trent reminds us.
“You’re right. Where’s the head of these Vashons? We need to talk to him.”
“Her,” I correct.
Vin scowls. “A woman?”
“Not just any woman,” I tell him with a satisfied smile. “Persephone.”
It’s not easy to find her. The place is packed with confused, scared people milling around and looking suspiciously at one another. Getting them to fight together is going to be a nightmare—one we’ll need a miracle to make it out of—and I’m wishing for Ryan more than ever even as my stomach fills with dread every second I don’t see him.
But Cren promised me he’s alive, and even if it’s stupid and superstitious, I’m putting faith in that.
We finally find her back at Crenshaw’s hut, the wise old wizard standing beside her. She looks different than I remember. Her hair is pulled back fiercely in a tight, dark ponytail and her serious face has devolved into an angry scowl. I know we parted on decent terms, but as I look at her speaking to other Vashons, her hand resting comfortably on the gun at her hip, I’m suddenly worried.
“Is that your friend?” Vin asks.
I swallow hard before shaking my head. “Not a friend exactly.”
“That one is,” Trent says, waving.
Sam waves back from behind Alissa, his face breaking out into a broad smile when he sees us. He nudges Ali then points in our direction. Her eyes scan the crowd and when they fall on me, they narrow.
My hands start to sweat.
“About time you showed up.”
I look around me, unsure she’s talking to me.
“Yes, you,” she clarifies. “Where have you been? We show up to fight this war with you and you’re nowhere to be found.”
“Fight this war with me? You kicked us off the island!”
“Because we had to fight off the Colonist attack that you brought down on our heads,” she fires back.
I purse my lips, wanting to fight, but I don’t have a leg to stand on.
“So, where have you been?” she insists.
“We were getting more help.”
She points back the way we came. “You mean the shaking, terrified group of Colonists out there? Perfect. They’ll be a huge help.”
“There are others,” I insist, getting angry. “Fighters.”
“Really? Where?”
“They’re out there, mixed in with the Colonists.”
“And where did you scrounge them up from?”
“The sewers,” Trent tells her.
Her eyes go wide. “Cannibals?”
“Where else was I supposed to go?!” I shout.
“You’ve mixed flesh eaters in with our people? Unbelievable. Sam, go tell Alvarez now. We need to separate them immediately.”
“Wait, where will they go?”
Sam ignores me, taking off at a sprint.
“Not here,” Ali says firmly.
“You can’t kick them out. The outside is swarming with zombies.”
“Yeah, speaking of, what the hell? Do you people ever kill them?”
“All the time,” I reply defensively.
“Yeah, it shows.”
I don’t think I like her tone.
“We had them down to nearly nothing before a Colony collapsed and swarmed us again. And this new wave we’re seeing? You can thank Marlow for that mess.”
Ali grins darkly. “If I see Marlow, I won’t be thanking him. I’ll kill him.”
“Too late,” Vin deadpans.
Her eyebrows shoot high. “Really? He’s gone?”
Vin nods once.
“Well, one down. One to go.” She looks from Vin to Trent, her expression darkening. “Where’s the other guy?”
I cringe inwardly, looking away to hide it. “He’s missing.”
“You should find him. I like him better than this one. This one is trouble.”
I don’t have to look up to know she’s talking about Vin. Or to know he’s grinning at her.