The Land of the Shadow (37 page)

Marcus bent and pulled the hidden pistol he’d been carrying from his boot and shot the three gators with swift precision. He looked back over his shoulder. “Some fresh meat, if you want it.”

Leaning down, he picked up the smallest gator and slung it over his shoulder as he headed off down the road, whistling once again.

“Fucker,” Justin muttered. “Town meeting. Now.”

“Sam, call,” Carly said.

Sam tossed his head back and let out a long howl.

Carly wondered if this was how history was written. Years from now, would students be studying this moment in their fledgling new society? Were the people seated in this room—the ones she and Justin had deemed “the Principals”—the founding mothers and fathers? It gave her a little chill, thinking about how those students might judge the words she was about to say.

They were gathered in the courthouse again. Carly and Justin perched on the edge of the prosecution’s table.

“They’re coming,” Justin said without preamble.

Small nods around the room. They knew it, too. Justin had warned them, and if Marcus’s visit had been meant to lull them into thinking his group’s intentions were peaceful, it had failed.

“I don’t think he believes I bought his line of bullshit about wanting to join us and deferring leadership to Carly and me. So, when they come, it’s going to be in force, and I don’t think they particularly care if they kill every last one of us. It’s the town they want. The Wall, the fields, our supplies. They’re hoping we’ll be dumb enough to let them in, and then they can take us down from the inside with relative ease. But if we’re not that dumb, I don’t think it will bother them to do it the hard way. I suspect they intend to turn us out—most of us, anyway.”

“What do you mean,
most of us
?” Kross asked.

Stan answered him. “The ones they think aren’t a threat in regards to organizing the survivors and trying to take the town back. They’d kill Justin, no doubt, and most likely the rest of us in this room, too. They’d probably want to keep some of the women.”

Carly couldn’t hide her grimace.

“So, what’s the plan?” Pearl asked.

“We prepare for attack,” Justin said. “As we’ve been doing. We—”

Carly stood. She looked around at the faces of these people, the faces of her friends, faces that she loved. A community she was willing to do anything to protect. “I think we should go on the offensive.”

The room fell silent. Justin turned slowly to look at her. She couldn’t gauge his thoughts from his impassive face, but his eyes held a hint of surprise. And a gleam of respect.

Pearl stared at her. “You mean, attack them first? A preemptive strike?”

Carly swallowed. “Yes. I’m thinking . . . I’m thinking of the town. Why should we wait for them to come and try to take over? Why should we risk our homes being damaged by bullets and fire? Our fields? We don’t know what weapons they have, but even guns could cause a lot of damage. And it would put our noncombatants in danger as well.” She glanced around and saw nods. She took a deep breath.

“I say, we take the fight to them. We’ll have the benefit of surprise—I doubt if Marcus will be expecting it. He thinks we’re weak, on the defensive. We’ve fortified the town as much as we can. I say we leave a small force here, so the town’s not helpless in our absence . . . and then we hit them hard.”

“Who would go?” Pearl asked.

Carly glanced over at Justin. This was more his province than hers. He made a swift survey of those present and said, “The ones in this room. Anyone in the Watch who’s not present here would be our National Guard, so to speak, tasked with watching over the town until we come back. And . . . if we don’t come back . . . they’ll have the ability to defend themselves against the remnants of Marcus’s group.”

“Remnants?”

Justin’s black eyes gleamed in the low light. “If we don’t defeat them, I can guaran-goddamn-tee you we will severely reduce their numbers.”

Carly’s head swam a little as she shook hands with everyone when they departed. A pact had been sealed, informally, but insolubly nonetheless. They were going to do this. They were really going to do this. Just the thought set her heart to beating faster.

Several times, while they were discussing the logistics, she had wanted to shout that she’d changed her mind. Could she honestly put these people she cared about in danger? She spent the rest of the meeting in a surreal daze. It wasn’t until after the meeting when Justin spoke to her that Carly snapped fully back into reality.

“You always surprise me, you know.”

Lost in her thoughts, Justin’s voice made her jump. He stood behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, drawing her back against him. He bent his head down and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Every time I’m getting confident I know what you would do, you turn around and prove me wrong.”

“How’s that?” Carly asked.

“Going on the offensive like that. I thought you would only fight if we’re forced to, in defense.”

Carly gave a soft laugh. “I’m hoping Marcus thinks the same thing. But, Justin, you can’t defend our community based on what I want. You need to plan its defense based on the smartest strategy.”

His breath tickled her neck. “You
are
the community.”

She gave his hand a little reproving swat. “I’m not always the best guide for this kind of thing, Justin. Tell me . . . what would you have done if my opinion wasn’t a consideration?”

There was a hard edge to Justin’s voice as he answered. “I would have gone in the middle of the night and . . . eliminated the threat.”

Carly shivered despite the heat of the courtroom. “So, I’m—I’m making the right choice? Strategy-wise?”

He gave it some consideration. “Your reasoning was sound. Go in fast, before they realize what hit them. We have the element of surprise. They think we’re weak. They’re overconfident, likely from meeting little other opposition all this time.”

“Two years,” Carly said. “All this time. That’s how they’ve lived, isn’t it? Preying on the weak, the scattered, the defenseless.” It made her feel better about her decision. Someone had to stop them, but there were no police to call anymore. The people of Colby were the only ones who could do it.

Stan and Mindy were in heated discussion near the judge’s bench, though their voices were too low for Carly to hear what they were saying. Stan chopped his hands in the air for emphasis. He laid a hand over Mindy’s still-flat abdomen, and Carly could see the plea in his eyes. But Mindy shook her head with a stubborn set to her jaw and marched over to where Carly and Justin stood.

“How about a night scope for my rifle?” she asked. “Is it possible to rig up something?”

Justin nodded. “I think we can come up with something, if that’s what you want.”

Mindy turned her head to gaze at Stan, who had retreated to the window, staring toward the closed shutters with blank eyes. “It’s not what I want, but what we want doesn’t really matter right now, does it?”

Carly wished she could tell Mindy to forget about it, to go home with Stan and be one of the defenders who would stay here at Colby. But they needed her. She was a crack shot, and that had to outweigh any reservations they had about bringing a pregnant woman into battle.

“Carly?” Veronica appeared in the doorway. “It’s the dog. Stacy needs you and Justin to come to the clinic.”

With everything going on, Carly had almost forgotten about the bulldog. She and Justin exchanged a glance and headed across the common to the clinic.

Inside, Stacy had lamps set up around the table where the bulldog lay. Carly had always thought bulldogs looked perpetually sad, with their droopy, wrinkled features, but this poor creature looked absolutely miserable. She lay on her side, her breath billowing in heavy wheezes, her large belly heaving. An IV ran from her foreleg to a clear bag of fluid. The dog tried to lift her massive head when Justin and Carly entered, but it seemed too much effort for her. She dropped back to the table, her eyes half-closed.

Carly stroked her ears and hummed to her. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s in labor, as Marcus said.” Stacy picked up a book, her knuckles white as she gripped the spine. “How long, I don’t know, but she’s weak. Very weak. She’s also dehydrated. I put in an IV, but her veins . . . she’s in bad shape, Carly.”

“Why? What’s the problem?”

Stacy indicated the book. “Veronica was able to find this in the bookstore. The bulldog breed sometimes has trouble giving birth because the pups have such large heads. They often need a cesarean.”

A dog breed that couldn’t survive without advanced human medical intervention? Dear God. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I called you. I’ve never done anything like this. And even if I were a skilled surgeon, she’s in such bad shape that the anesthesia might kill her, let alone the stress of the surgery.”

“We’ve got to try. We can’t just let her lie there and die. She’s in pain.”

Stacy took a deep breath. “Carly, I . . .”

Justin spoke up. “From a practical standpoint, Stacy, wouldn’t you rather your first surgery be performed on a nonhuman, instead of on one of your friends in an emergency?”

Carly’s first reaction was to chide him because it sounded so cold-hearted, but it seemed to be what Stacy needed to hear. She set her jaw and nodded. “I’ll do it. You two . . . you go on home. I know you have a lot going on. I’ll have Veronica go get Mindy to come assist. We’ll do our best, Carly, but I don’t want you . . .” She rubbed her forehead. “Just don’t get your hopes up.”

Carly hugged her. “I know you’ll do all you can, Stacy, and I won’t blame you if it doesn’t go well.”

Carly turned back to the table and stroked the bulldog’s head, looking down into those miserable brown eyes. Even if she didn’t make it through the surgery, it was better than letting her suffer.

Carly and Justin headed home, stopping by the Reverend’s house to pick up Dagny. Carly chatted with Mrs. Davis for a few minutes while Justin spoke to the Reverend on the porch. She could hear the low murmurs of their voices. She wondered if Justin was seeking advice but dismissed the idea. Probably just catching him up on what had transpired at the meeting in case the Reverend wanted to mention it at church to make sure everyone understood the situation. Justin wasn’t the type to wonder about the religious implications of the issues. He would do what needed to be done and deal with the fallout later.

“I’m going to call a prayer meeting while you’re . . . while you’re gone,” the Reverend said to Carly when she stepped out back outside.

She shifted Dagny to her hip and extended her hand. “Thank you.”

Carly had a sense of peace as they approached the little house they now called their own.
Home
. She took Justin’s hand in her own. It proved to her that it wasn’t the house that made a home, but the family that dwelt there. Any place could be her home as long as she had those she loved.

Kaden stood as soon as they entered, the air around him almost crackling with nervous energy. He waited until Carly had the baby settled, playing with her toys on a blanket on the floor, before he spoke.

“Uh, okay.” Kaden rubbed the back of his neck, and it was so like Justin that Carly’s heart ached. “Listen, I know you guys have to keep some things quiet because you’re leaders and all, but I need to know . . .” Kaden stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. “I need to know what’s going to happen. I don’t mean to be . . . it’s just . . . you are my family now, and I think I have a right to know what’s going to happen with my family.”