You understand this world, You understand me. ~Troy Otto~ [Book 1]

Chapter 23

"Nick and Jake are in trouble." I told Ofelia, out of breath since I had sprinted to find her.

"They went out this morning, and I think they came across a horde."

"You think?" She questioned.

"Well the radio's aren't the best but, yeah." I replied. "We need to go out there and see what we're dealing with."

"Wait, why did they go alone?" My former best-friend asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes it matters. We scout in packs. There's safety in numbers, it's protocol, you know that." Ofelia said angrily.

"Troy snuck into the camp last night and told me there was something wrong out there." I told her reluctantly.

"Troy, how wonderful." She said sarcastically. "Crazy Dog is gonna be overjoyed."

"He doesn't have to know how we know. We just need to stop it." I reasoned.

"How do I know Troy isn't waiting to ambush?"

"You don't, but I trust Nick and Jake to stop it." I reassured her. "Have a bit of faith Ofelia."

"Okay, okay. Alert the militia." She said.

I walked over to the table where the militia were sitting, while Ofelia went and brought Crazy Dog over.

"There's a horde coming." I announced.

"How do you know?" Coop immediately questioned.

"That doesn't matter. What matters right now, is that we have to keep everyone here safe." I ordered.

Suddenly, a loud boom went off in the distance.

We were done for.

I then spotted clouds of sand in the distance.

"Oh no." I said, and ran to the front gate where I could get a better view. I was followed by Crazy Dog, then the rest of the militia.

"How far do you think?" I asked Crazy Dog.

"No more than half a mile away." He replied.

"Fair estimate." Coop spoke up, while looking through a pair of binoculars. "We've got to evacuate."

"Taqa left us to protect this place." Crazy Dog told him.

"We can't run." I said, loud enough so everyone could hear.

"Last stand it is." Coop said, before walking off, followed by Crazy Dog.

Ofelia and I followed them into the storage bunker, so we could come up with strategies for how we could survive this.

"Why were Nick and Jake out there?" Crazy Dog immediately questioned.

"Troy came up on me last night before dawn." I explained.

"He was here?" Coop asked.

"He said something was coming. Something that might wipe us all out." I said.

"Something he saw or something he brought down on us?" Crazy Dog said angrily, and I was wondering the same thing.

"You don't know he did this." Coop defended.

"Troy may have saved our lives." Ofelia spoke up.

"Should have shot him when I had the chance." Crazy Dog said aggressively, while checking all his guns had bullets in them.

"That's not what Taqa would have wanted." Ofelia told him.

"We could start with sticks and stones, brother." Coop said. "Bows and blades, but if the dead come in droves, we're gonna need bullets, all of us."