All these warriors, p.22
All These Warriors, page 22
“I would never yell at you like that. I would never yell at anyone like that.”
I smiled at him. “I know.”
* * *
Maddie texted me as we were walking back to the hotel.
Are you watching this??? Where are you?
I typed out a response. Walking back to the hotel with Edan. What’s going on?
Come up to our room now! Julian took the scrabs and MDG just ratted him out! This is the best day of my life!!
“Oh my god,” I said with an incredulous laugh. I passed my phone to Edan so he could read the messages.
We raced upstairs and found the team crammed into the room, glued to the television. Maddie waved us over with a grin and we moved closer.
The chyron on the bottom of the screen said Julian Montgomery implicated in scrab theft. An anchor was behind the desk, talking to the camera.
“An arrest warrant has been issued for Julian Montgomery this morning in connection with the missing scrabs in Lubbock, Texas. Multiple witnesses have put Mr. Montgomery in Lubbock when the theft occurred, and sources tell us that he had recently been fired from his role at MDG.
Mr. Montgomery was in police custody in Dallas until early this morning, when he posted bail after being arrested on disorderly conduct and misdemeanor assault charges last night. Those charges are unrelated to the scrab theft.”
Tori’s video flashed on the screen, showing Julian lunging at me and Edan.
“Police ask anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts to come forward immediately.”
“Holy shit,” I breathed. I sat down on the edge of my bed. Edan lowered down beside me, slipping an arm around my waist.
“My thoughts exactly,” Laila said.
“Have they mentioned the Scrab Defense League guys yet?” Edan asked.
“The Post is reporting it,” Maddie said, looking at her phone. “I talked to one of their reporters last night, and he definitely didn’t seem surprised when I said I’d seen guys from the conference go fetch the scrabs. And they have a source that confirms Julian’s exit from MDG was nasty. Multiple people saw him screaming and throwing a fit when they fired him.”
“That’s why he didn’t warn MDG to empty out Dust Storm,” I said. “He just grabbed the scrabs and let us find everything to screw them over.”
Maddie’s eyes lit up as she looked at her phone. “Oh my god, one of the Scrab Defense League guys just confirmed to the Times that Julian stole the scrabs because he had an interested buyer. He’d promised the league guys that they could have a few if they helped him.”
I leaned into Edan’s arm, overwhelmed by the flood of information. He pulled me a little closer.
“That asshole is going to prison for sure this time,” Maddie said. “And you should look at Twitter. Everyone has changed their tune after seeing that video. Lots of people are saying you’re owed an apology.”
“Edan sent it to me. And Julian going to prison will be enough of an apology for me.” I turned to smile at Edan, who gently pressed his lips to mine.
“Hey,” I heard Priya say in a loud whisper. “Edan and Clara are kissing!”
We both laughed as we pulled away. Everyone was looking at us. Priya silently clapped her hands, a delighted expression on her face.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Maddie said dryly.
“They’ve been doing that since yesterday,” Dorsey said.
Priya looked insulted. “What? How come no one told me?”
“Sorry, forgot,” Laila said, her eyes still on the television.
“Finally,” Priya said. “I was about to say something to one of you, because the tension was starting to get to me.”
“Same,” Dorsey said.
“Plus, we all already have enough stress trying to pretend we don’t know Maddie and Noah are hooking up,” Laila said.
Noah’s head snapped up from his phone. Priya clapped her hand over her mouth to suppress a giggle.
Maddie shot Laila an amused look. “I guess you’re tired of pretending, then?”
Laila waved her hand. “Please, we all know.”
“It’s true, we do,” Patrick said.
“Well, it doesn’t matter because Noah’s about to tell us he’s leaving in a week anyway,” Maddie said.
We all looked at Noah, who nodded sheepishly.
“I decided to take that job,” he said. “The scrab documentary? They want me to go to China with them in a week to start scouting locations.”
“That’s awesome,” Priya said.
“It’s going to take several months,” he said. “But I plan on coming back when I’m done. Wherever you guys are. I think I’m going to hold off on college for a couple years.”
“You’re always welcome back,” Maddie said. Noah shot her a smile.
“So, you’re leaving from here?” Dorsey asked.
“Yeah, they bought me a ticket out of Dallas. But I have a few days to keep looking for those missing scrabs, and Maddie said you guys aren’t going anywhere.”
I looked at her in surprise. “We’re staying in Dallas?”
“You are not staying in Dallas,” Maddie said, pointing to me. “Not with Julian still on the loose. Not to mention that your parents might have seen that video and decided to change their minds about making you come home. I’ll buy a ticket for you and Edan to go back to New York tonight.”
“But the scrabs are still unaccounted for,” I protested. “We can’t just leave you guys.”
“Julian screamed repeatedly that he was going to kill you, and I really believe him,” Priya said. “You can’t stay here. We can handle the scrabs if we have to.”
“The governor already deployed the National Guard here, and they’re trained in scrab combat,” Maddie said. “And the FBI sent a bunch of people down too. We probably won’t even have anything to do.”
I frowned, still hesitant to leave them.
“Go somewhere closer, if you don’t want to go back to New York,” Patrick said. “Go to Austin. It’s only, like, three hours by bus. You can come back and help if we need it.”
I brightened. That was a better plan. Plus, I didn’t hate the idea of spending time alone with Edan. Alone in a city without scrabs, without the rest of the team. I loved them, but I certainly wouldn’t mind a hotel room with just the two of us.
“What do you think?” I asked Edan.
“I’m game if you are,” he said. He smiled, and I got the impression he was just as excited at the prospect of being alone as I was.
“We’ll do it,” I said, squeezing his hand.
“Perfect,” Maddie said. “I’ll book you guys a hotel where you can’t get upstairs without a room key. And lie low while you’re there. Just in case.” She scooted off her bed. “Everyone go get dressed. We’re going for a celebratory breakfast.”
Edan leaned over to kiss me and then followed the rest of the team out of the room. Maddie swiped at her phone.
“Go ahead and pack your bag. There’s a bus that leaves at noon. We’ll drop you guys off after breakfast. And do you want one room or two at the hotel?”
“One.”
She grinned at me. “Good choice.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Hang around, wait to see if the police find the scrabs. Noah flies out on Wednesday, so I’ll at least stay until then.”
“And then?”
She sighed. “I haven’t decided about Germany. You’re right about a lot of stuff, but Patrick’s been coordinating with Connor about the teams still left in the UK. There’s a decent amount left who are willing to jump right back in.”
“A decent amount isn’t a safe amount,” I said.
“I know. Just give me a few days. I feel sort of overwhelmed by everything right now.” She rubbed at her forehead. “If Grayson were still around, he’d already have figured out a way to turn the MDG revelation about them creating scrabs into a big recruitment effort.”
“We can definitely do that. I imagine the news will be reporting it any day now.”
She smiled. “Send me any ideas you have. And hurry up and pack, because I am eating an entire mountain of pancakes to celebrate Julian’s upcoming jail time.”
* * *
We went to a diner down the street for breakfast. The news about Julian was playing on the televisions, the reporters all speculating about what Julian had planned to do with the scrabs and where they were now.
I hadn’t seen Maddie so happy in months. Her phone kept dinging with interview requests and apologies from people back in New York, but she ignored them. She must have really been thrilled if she didn’t even want to gloat.
All the reporters on television were saying that it probably wouldn’t be long before Julian surrendered. They suspected he was just strategizing with his lawyers before turning himself in. They also said that bail was unlikely, given his wealth and resources. Which meant that I could relax soon. I was going to shut down the email account with all of Julian’s emails and maybe (hopefully) never hear from him again.
Edan slipped his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into him. I still needed to finish my plans for noncombat teams and present them to Maddie, but I’d decided to enjoy a few days with Edan first. A few days without scrabs or Julian or MDG.
Maddie drove us across town to the bus station after we finished eating. It was the same bus station where I’d joined the St. John teams back in May. The whole team piled out of the van to say goodbye, even though we would see them in a few days.
“Eat tacos for me,” Priya said as she hugged me.
“I will,” I said with a laugh.
“What?” I heard Noah say softly, and I turned to see him looking at Maddie worriedly. She was staring down at her phone.
“It’s Julian,” she said, her eyes flicking up to mine. “He’s calling me.”
“Answer it,” Noah said.
She swiped to answer the call and put it on speaker. “Julian?”
“Hi, Madison.” He sounded calm. Almost cheerful, actually.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Is Clara with you?”
Maddie looked up at me, clearly unsure if she should answer that honestly.
I stepped closer to the phone with a sigh. “Yeah, I’m here.”
“Oh, perfect. Hi, Clara.”
An uneasy feeling began to creep into my chest. He sounded almost . . . happy? It was unsettling. I felt Edan’s hand brush mine, and I gripped it, weaving my fingers through his.
“Your neighborhood is a real shithole, you know that?” Julian said. “When you told me you grew up in Dallas. I was picturing a big suburb with those houses that all look alike. You know the ones. Kind of tacky, but still nice enough. But this is definitely not that.”
The blood drained from my face. “Julian, wh—what are you—”
“You kept treating me like I was some kind of monster. No matter what I did or how many times I tried to apologize, you refused to see me as anything but this horrible guy. Even after my parents died, you didn’t have one ounce of sympathy for me. So, I just figured, what the hell?” He laughed hollowly. “If you’re going to insist that I’m the bad guy here, I might as well be one, right?”
I heard screams in the background, followed by a crashing sound.
“Everyone here is running from the scrabs, which is an . . . interesting choice,” Julian said. “But I guess there have never been any scrabs in Dallas, huh? People don’t know what to do.” Distantly, I heard gunshots. “Yep, that dude just tried to shoot a scrab. That did not work out for him, let me tell you.”
Patrick grabbed the van keys from Maddie and ran around to the driver’s seat. The engine roared to life. Edan guided me into the van as I talked into the phone Maddie was still holding.
“Julian, what are you doing?” My words came out frantic. “You’re hurting innocent people, you can’t—”
“You have no one to blame here but yourself, Clara. If you’d just listened to me, none of this would have happened. If you hadn’t been such a selfish, judgmental bitch, we could have avoided all of this! Instead, the whole world has turned against me and everyone thinks you’re some kind of hero.”
“Clara, which way is your neighborhood?” Patrick asked, hitting the gas.
“Her brother’s apartment is at 385 Iris Spring Road,” Julian said. “Don’t be fooled by the pretty street name—the place is a real dump.”
My blood went cold. I fumbled for my phone in my pocket.
“You assholes are so convinced you’re heroes, so come on out here. Save everyone.” The call abruptly ended.
Part Four
Home
26
I frantically swiped open my phone and scrolled down to Laurence’s number as Patrick peeled out of the parking lot. “Someone needs to call the police,” I said.
“Already on it,” Noah said, his phone against his cheek.
I pressed my phone to my ear and listened as it rang. I closed my eyes briefly, willing Laurence to pick up. Edan reached around and buckled my seat belt for me.
“The weapons packs are in back, right?” Dorsey asked, twisting around in his seat to try and see in the back of the van.
“Yes,” Maddie said.
The phone was still ringing. Edan was watching me worriedly. Patrick was driving incredibly fast.
“Hello?”
I let out a huge whoosh of air at the sound of Laurence’s voice. “Oh my god, Laurence, are you OK? Where are you right now?”
“I’m outside my apartment. Clara, there are scrabs everywhere.” He was breathing heavily, like he was running. I could hear screams and a siren in the background.
“I know,” I said. “Julian did it, he—” I shook my head. “Not important. Are you in a safe place?”
“A safe place? I don’t even . . . I don’t have anywhere to go. I just got back home, and there were scrabs crawling through the window of my apartment. They weren’t going in any other windows! Just mine!”
“That . . . Thank god you weren’t home. Listen, you need to try and get somewhere safe. And you need to be on the lookout for Julian, because it is not a coincidence that all those scrabs targeted your apartment.”
“Jesus. Seriously?”
“Yes. We are on our way, but we’re still, like . . .” I looked out the window. “Maybe five minutes away. Get in your truck and start driving north on Iris Spring. You’ll—”
“I can’t, the scrabs completely destroyed the street. I couldn’t get my truck out of the parking lot. I’m just running—wait, do you think he sent scrabs over to Mom and Dad’s too?”
“Maybe,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. It seemed like he would start panicking if I did. “We’ll go straight there once we pick you up, OK? Are you running north or south?”
“South.” I heard screams in the distance. “Holy shit, there—” His voice suddenly cut out. I lowered my phone to see that the call had ended. I cursed and redialed.
“He’s running south on Iris Spring,” I said to Patrick. I listened to the ringing until it went to voicemail. “He’s not picking up.”
“He can’t talk and fight scrabs at the same time,” Maddie said, turning around in the passenger’s seat to look at me. “He told us he had combat class in high school, right? He’s probably just finding a weapon, like they taught him.”
I knew she was just trying to make me feel better, because we both knew that most people, when faced with their first scrab attack, completely panicked. But maybe Laurence would be different. He never was one to lose his cool.
Dorsey grabbed the weapons packs and started distributing them. I took mine, pulling out a sheathed machete and putting the pack on my back.
Patrick turned the corner and gasped. A pickup truck was on its side in the middle of the road.
He hit the brakes hard, turning the wheel as fast as he could to avoid it. The van scraped against the tires before coming to a stop.
“Oh shit,” Patrick breathed.
The truck was mangled, only a few feet away from several big holes in the ground where scrabs must have tunneled out from the earth.
“Can you get around it?” Maddie asked.
“I think so. Going to be a tight squeeze, though.” He backed up and then edged around the truck, bumping it lightly.
There were several more scrab holes in the road, and Patrick weaved around them as he headed down Iris Spring. The holes weren’t a great sign—Julian would have released the scrabs aboveground, so it meant that a bunch of them had tunneled under and would pop up anywhere around the city.
I spotted several dead bodies as we neared Laurence’s apartment. I knew that they couldn’t be him—he was farther down the street when I talked to him—but my chest still clenched painfully.
Patrick slowed the van, and I leaned over to look out the front window. The road in front of us was completely destroyed. A huge number of scrabs had all popped up in the same place. In the distance, I could see people running. A fire hydrant spewed water into the air.
“We’re going to have to get out and run,” Maddie said, unhooking her seat belt. “Everyone has their phone on them, right?” We all nodded. “Try to stay together, but if we get separated, head back to the van if you can. The cell phone towers are probably going to be overloaded on and off, so no one panic if we can’t get in touch. OK?” She climbed out of the van. “Let’s go kill some scrabs.”
We piled out of the van, and I broke into a run, Edan beside me. We skirted the edge of the giant holes in the ground and ran faster. There were more dead bodies on the road, and I tried not to panic every time we approached one that looked even vaguely like Laurence.
I spotted three scrabs suddenly. One of them tossed a woman like she was a doll. I spotted a dark-haired man dart out from behind a car and make a run for it. Laurence.
I pointed. “There!”
“I see him,” Edan said, picking up speed and pulling slightly ahead of me. Patrick, Laila, and Priya cut in front of us, making a beeline for the scrabs.
