Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,258

my trauma, so why should I?”

I stared at Jules, unsure if that was a healthy coping mechanism. “Jules, I care about your trauma. I care about you,” I said. We weren’t conventional friends. We wouldn’t have gotten along had the world not shoved us together. But I loved her all the same.

Jules swallowed and paused to look at me. “I care about you too, you dumb, naive little Walker,” she sniffled and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. “As much as I hate to admit it. You’ve grown on me. But caring gets you killed. Let's survive for a bit, then we can go on to holding hands and braiding each other’s hair.”

“You forgot to add driving your brothers crazy,” I added with a small smile.

“Oh, that’s just assumed. My mere existence drives them crazy.”

I trusted Jules and resolved to survive this so we could settle into a new routine—together.

“How well do you know Madam B?” I asked her then while adjusting a podium in the center of the large basement. I was surprised by the makeshift headquarters Madam B created in her brothel.

“I know she’s been here for a while. I know she’s determined to overthrow Cavil. When we arrived in the Zone, she was our first point of contact. She’s been helping Scavengers sneak supplies out of the Zone for years.”

I nodded, still feeling unsure. “Something just feels...off?” I mentioned, making sure to keep my voice low as I spoke. I didn’t want to create new enemies too soon.

Jules looked around the room then headed towards me. Grabbing my wrist, she pulled me towards the corner of the room before whispering, “Madam B saved our lives. Saved Jacob. She’s rough around the edges, but she’s good. But...keep your eyes open. Everyone has an agenda. Everyone wants power, money, or both. Survival is relative, and even the people with the best intentions can turn on a dime.”

I stared at Jules, taking in the way her eyes bored into mine. “When did you get so mature?” I asked. “When did you grow up? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always admired you a bit. Even when you were a brat.” We both laughed. “But this new you? It's empowering.”

Jules fought a smile. I saw it on her full lips, she bit back the preening joy of my compliment and twisted her expression so that it looked unamused. But I saw the pride bubbling beneath the surface. “I grew up the day I died.”

Chapter Twelve

Small groups of men arrived sporadically for the meeting to avoid suspicion. I watched from my seat as Walkers wearing gloves and masks filed in. Louis took extra care to inspect each person, making sure they didn’t have the bruise colored boils consistently present with someone infected with X. Each Walker walked through sanitizing mist and sat down. Some chatted, but most waited quietly for the meeting to start. The guys were upstairs receiving the rejection cure. I couldn’t watch them get the shot. There was something about knowing they could contract X and disappear from my life that made me nauseous. There was no winning.

It took a full hour for the seats to fill up, and eventually, Tallis and my men filed in.

“You okay?” Hux asked me as Tallis made his way to the podium. Patrick settled into the seat to my left while I stared ahead. The room smelled of sweat and sanitizer spray. Patrick grabbed my hand, and when I looked down at his arm, I took in the band-aid covering the spot where I knew he received the rejection cure. Bile rose in my throat.

“I guess,” I replied. The energy of the room was pure, white-hot anger. Everyone was scowling, shifting uncomfortably in their seat. It was like the Walkers were ready to strike, they just needed a reason to. I couldn’t help but stare at the various masked faces. Their lips were covered, but I could see the hopelessness in their eyes. This was a group of angry people with nothing to lose.

“Thank you for coming,” Tallis said while nodding towards someone to shut the door. “Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

Tallis looked over at Jules for a moment then back to the crowd. To my left, Lowe, Kaye, Jade, and Blythe entered and shuffled to their seats just before the door shut. I ached to go to Blythe and find out how Maverick was doing, but they each seemed focused on the meeting.

“We plan to strike at the