Killjoy (A Lesbian Story)

9: Steve

"Nathan." Grace shook her head as she laid back in her office chair, "That name isn't familiar to me. He must have joined Grimes after I dealt with him. And coming here to take Max? Who does he think he is?"

"An asshole." Thor sighed as he stood with his shoulder against the bookshelf. The two of us had to go and tell Grace of what happened. She didn't seem surprised at all. None of us really were. After getting the note from that guy Max tried to save, the men showing up was just something we were waiting for.

"They're coming back at noon tomorrow." I said from my spot on the chair, "What are we going to do?"

"What we can do. Fight." Thor glanced at me, "We have the people and the advantage. Take them by surprise."

He had a point there. With the knowledge of the roads around the Homestead and the group of Army men training people, we could beat their small group. They've gotten a look at us, but I'm sure they scoped us out beforehand. A team like that seemed too experience to walk in blindly.

"Thor, we need to be careful." Grace said, "These guys are ruthless and with the vulnerability of our people in the hospital, it's dangerous. If you're going to fight them, you need to take them away from the hospital. Away from Max."

"We will." Thor stepped forward and nodded to Grace, "I won't let them get near her. I promise."

Releasing a breath, Grace nodded and relaxed in her chair, "We are making progress with them. A cure is just out of our grasp, but it's not impossible to reach."

"Good to hear it." Thor said, "I'm gonna go give my men a plan and reroute our guards. Steve, will you meet us at the East border by five am?"

"Yes sir." I nodded.

"Atta-boy." Thor slapped my shoulder with a grin, "See you then. Get some rest."

With that, Thor walked out of the office to leave Grace and I. Shifting my gaze, I looked to her, "So how is Max?"

"Same." Grace sank into her chair, letting her hands rest on the arms of the chair. She spun side to side softly, keeping her eyes on the desk, "We're getting close, but we need more time. I don't think we'll find the cure by tomorrow and Grimes isn't going to make it any easier on us."

"We can hold them off." I reassured her, "We can stop Grimes. Take care of him."

"That man is a cockroach." Grace scoffed, picking up a pen and twirling it in her fingers, "He just keeps coming back. I believe we really can stop him this time. Save Max and everyone else. I'll make sure he doesn't come back this time."

***

After speaking with Grace, I made my way through the Homestead to try to find Ashley. Ever since she stormed off, I hadn't seen her. Granted, I've been out at the border since she left, but Ashley still just disappeared. I walked in to the lobby of the hotel and saw many people hustling around. Families were gathering supplies and rounding up their people. News must have gotten out that there was going to be a fight. They were already hunkering down.

"Steve!" A voice called out. I turned to see Amelia jogging up to me. My brain went on autopilot mode when I saw her. Over the passed few days, I haven't seen much of her. She stopped in front of me as asked, "Is it true that there are people coming to attack us?"

"Yes." I nodded, "People came today and asked for Max. They're coming back tomorrow to take her and we're going to fight them."

"I'm in." She nodded.

Blinking, I looked at her. I shook my head slightly, "I'm sorry, but what?"

"I'm joining the fight." Amelia cocked her head slightly, as she crossed her arms, "I want to fight. It's the least I can do after you guys helped my family. It's the least I can do for Max."