Those Who Remain (Book 2) by Priscila Santa Rosa

and hope Ma already left Redwood for good.

 
     
     
     
     
     

     
    The Hunter's Daughter VI
    December 18th, Friday, 1 am
     
     
    As soon I hear three car doors shutting, I put the truck in reverse, turn it around and accelerate. We head back to the school. My eyes go from the front window to the rear-view mirror: I spot two military-grade trucks painted in green camouflage coming fast in our direction. I turn a corner and park my truck on the back of the school, backing up the bed of the truck to block the basketball court’s doors.
    “Get out and tell people to come take the weapons. Arm everyone that doesn’t look like they will shoot themselves in the eye,” I say to Mrs. Terrence.
    “What about you? Where are you going?”
    “Slow them down. Use the time to prepare everything like I told you earlier, okay?”
    I open the door, but she places a hand on my arm. “Lily, wait… You can’t go alone. I’m going with you.”
    There it is again. The same determined look. We don’t have time to argue.
    “Fine, but you do what I say, okay?” She nods. I turn to O’Neil. “You.”
    “Me?” The skinny police officer barks from the backseat.
    “Don’t let them in. Don’t let anyone leave either, okay? And keep everyone calm. I’ll be back soon.”
    After a brief hesitation, he nods. I jump out of the car, taking one of weapon bags with me. Mrs. Terrence tries to keep up with my pace as I run, head low and staying out of view, using the buildings as cover. For a second, I let myself think of Roger’s fate. Could it be that he stole the trucks to get to town faster?
    That hope dies quickly enough as I picture what Father would say about that. “He’s dead. And you will be too if you keep doing this.”
    “What’s our plan?”
    I chew the inside of my mouth, eyes fixed on the street ahead. “Assess the situation. Find a weakness in their defense. Keep them away from the school as long as we can. Kick their… butts.” No way I’m saying ‘ass’ to her. That road leads to a long lecture.
    “That’s a list of goals, not a plan, dear.”
    “I’m working on it.”
    “Okay. Let me know if I can help.”
    Using the fire escape on the drugstore, we reach the building’s roof. The store is right in front of the Pizzeria and the tallest building on Main Street. I have the advantage here.
    I crouch next to the wall, and take out a sniper rifle from my bag, loading it with swift fingers. My aim is still suffering from my shoulder injury, but now’s not the time to worry about the pain of the recoil.
    The trucks are parked in the middle of the street, with their front highlights illuminating the darkness around it. Three people come out of them, all wearing camouflaged uniforms, helmets and heavy bulletproof vests, which means I have to be creative. With my bad shoulder and worse aim, I can’t snipe them from here like I wanted. It’s going to be close combat or nothing. Each solder has an automatic rifle with a flashlight in its tips and a small handgun. They wear trinkets, jewelry, colorful helmets and various other decorations. They definitely aren’t with the Army, or any official military organization for that matter.
    They start kicking in the windows and doors of Old Joe’s Pizzeria. I wait, because I know they wouldn’t leave the trucks unguarded. With my scope I survey the inside of each truck and find two drivers. That’s five people. I can deal with these odds.
    Father’s lessons on combat strategies fill my mind. Of course, most of them needed two people to work, but I’m not sold on the idea of risking Mrs. Terrence’s life, so I’ll need to be creative.
    “Mrs. Terrence, how good you are with a sniper rifle?” I whisper, both our heads down.
    “I have no idea, but I suspect better than most.”
    I bite my lip. “Okay, here’s the plan. I’m going down there, inside the pizzeria, to get rid of some of them. This will make the drivers get out of their cars to find out what’s