“How long do you have?” she asked.
Kimmy coughed. “If I were my own patient? A few days. A week at most.”
I cleared my throat. “So, we better get moving.”
I didn’t want to leave Kimmy, but I couldn’t find the place without Claire. Claire bravely offered to go by herself, but I’d be cold in the ground before I let her take that risk. We needed each other.
We left Kimmy almost everything we had. We needed to pack light, which meant guns, basic first aid supplies, and not much else. After packing, I steeled myself for what might be the last goodbye.
“You’re still determined to do this?” Kimmy said with a groan. “Stubborn ass. Just like always.”
“Takes one to know one,” I answered, brushing hair out of her face. “I’ll come back as soon as I can. Do me a favour and don’t die between now and then.”
She laughed weakly. “I’ll do my best.”
I kissed her cheek, then left the tent. Claire appeared a moment later and gave me a hug, her eyes red and cheeks wet.
“Sorry,” she mumbled against my shoulder. “It’s just…I love her too.”
“I know, baby,” I said gently, stroking her hair.
She wiped her eyes.
“Right. Let’s go.”
By my best guess, it’d take more than a full day to get to the Cave. We took a risk by following the main roads, but it was faster. Eventually, we both needed rest, but neither of us wanted to stop. The long walk gave us time to talk about the latest attack from the cult.
“How thefuckdo they keep finding us?” I said, frustrated. “I covered our tracks. Every step of the way. I made sure of it.”
Claire sighed. “I don’t doubt you. They must have another way. The compound has technology that I don’t fully understand.”
“But even if they have you bugged, how have we not found it?” I asked. “I searched everything when we left.”
I knew there was another possibility. If the implant could stop guns from firing, it wasn’t a big leap that it might also be capable of tracking someone. But I wasn’t ready to face that yet because I had no idea how to solve the problem, and we were already a little busy.One thing at a time.
“I don’t even understand why they want me,” Claire said softly, a slight tremor in her voice. “They called me the Vessel…whatever that is.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said, taking her hand. “Whatever it means in their fucked-up belief system, I guess, that made them destroy the compound.”
She nodded. “It fits with Holly’s behaviour before the attack, and the way she and my mother drugged me. In retrospect, I think…they were trying to recruit me. Some sort of initiation rite. But I failed the test somehow.”
I squeezed her hand.
“Not surprising. You’re nothing like them.”
She gave a thin smile. “I hope that’s true.”
We were quiet for a while, but it was an easy silence between us. Just Claire’s presence comforted me.
“So…the plan,” I said eventually. “The only way we’ll succeed is by staying hidden. That won’t be easy, but I think we’re fucked otherwise.”
“Agreed,” Claire replied. “I expect the breach to be guarded, and it won’t be easy to reach—it’s near the river, which acts as a natural barrier around the walls.”
We kept going for the rest of the day. I enforced breaks for us to sleep and eat, even though I only slept in short bursts. The last thingI needed was for Claire to keel over on me too. We took turns sleeping a couple of hours, we walked for a couple of hours, rinse and repeat. I focused all my energy on one thing:don’t think about Kimmy.
Instead, I thought about Claire. Our future together. The future I still wanted, no matter how this turned out. When she woke from one of her naps, I laid out the most important part of the game plan.
“No matter what happens in there,” I said firmly, “you have to promise me that you won’t take any risks you don’t have to. Going is enough of a risk as it is. You let me handle the risky stuff.”
