“From Alexander? No.” I sigh. “How’s Jeff?”

“Fine. He’s got a concussion, but that’s all.”

It could be worse, I guess.

“What about Derek? Is he doing okay?”

“I haven’t seen him since he got back from the scouting mission.” She clears her throat at the mention of the moment she discovered Alexander was missing. “Who’s that guy?” She points to Uriah.

“That’s Uriah,” I reply. “He was the sentry guard at Camp Freedom.”

Uriah has washed the grime off his face, revealing an olive complexion and slightly shaggy, jet black hair. His eyes are dark — so dark they’re almost as black as his hair. It’s a striking combination, I have to admit.

“We’ve got a few hours before Omega comes around the corner,” I state.

“I know.”

“If Rivera won’t work with us, then we’re only half as strong as we thought we’d be.” I close my fist. “Is there anyplace on this planet where stupid people don’t end up being in charge of everything?”

Sophia shushes me, alarmed.

“Don’t talk that way too loud,” she warns. “There’s a lot of loyalty to Rivera in the National Guard.”

“Our militia is loyal to Chris.”

I grab my canteen of water from the table and take a long drink. The liquid oxygen does me good. I stand up and walk over to Chris, lowering myself into a chair next to him.

“Well?” I ask. “What’s our next move?”

“I talk to Rivera,” he replies.

His voice is strained, tired.

“What are you going to say to him? Thanks for screwing us over? I mean, come on. He’s an idiot. What’s his problem? He was supposed to back us up! That was the deal!”

“Technically, there was no deal,” Chris answers, raising his eyes to mine. Green eyes tinged with red. “We’re here strictly on a volunteer basis. We use their vehicles, their weapons, everything. Rivera’s men are under different orders.”

“He’s still an idiot,” I say.

“I’m not arguing with you about that,” he grins. “I’m just stating a fact.”

I sigh heavily and slump against the chair.

“This was supposed to be easier,” I say.

“Life was supposed to be easier, but here we are.” Chris leans forward and takes my hand. “You’ve grown a lot, Cassie. The way you conduct yourself in high stress situations is a lot different than how you survived last year.”

“Last year I was a stupid kid from L.A.,” I say.

“You weren’t stupid, just naïve.” He presses a soft kiss to my knuckles. “That was part of your charm.”

“Are you saying I’m not charming anymore?” I smile.

“You’re charming, just in a different way.” He kisses my hand once more, winking. “Let’s go talk to Rivera.”

“Us?”

“I want you there. Come on.”

We rise slowly, sore and drained. As we exit the Jack in the Box, I spot Manny’s biplane resting on the offramp/runway leading into the rest stop. I feel a small sense of relief. If his plane made it back in one piece, so did Manny.

“How many hours do you think we have until the first wave hits?” I ask.

“Maybe three.” He looks grim. “Tops.”

We are so screwed.

And yet I don’t voice my opinion out loud, as if giving life to the negative thought will make it a reality. I just don’t want to die yet. I want to hold onto the hope that somehow, someway, we’ll all survive this.

Or maybe I’m just a hopeless optimist.

Headquarters is filled with people. Derek is one of them, leaning casually against the bar, under a rainbow of dusty piñatas. He gives us a two-finger salute as we walk in the door. I smile, glad that he’s feeling better. A group of officers that are unfamiliar to me are gathered around Colonel Rivera — National Guard men from his platoons. Not that it should matter. We’re all National Guard here. But the resentment is there, simmering under the surface.

These are the people that left us alone at the front lines.

“Young, good to see you made it back,” Colonel Rivera states. He taps his cigar against the tabletop, standing near a lantern casting light on a group of open maps. “Hart, you too.”

Yeah, I can see how happy you are, moron.

It’s taking everything I have to keep my mouth shut and let Chris do the talking.

“We could have used backup out there,” Chris says simply.

“I couldn’t do that, boy. Too much risk. You were in a hole and sending my men up the interstate would have gotten them killed.”

“I would have sent my men to help yours.”

“That’s your method, not mine.” Colonel Rivera’s face is cold and hard. “This is war. Don’t get emotional, just look at everything strategically.”

“Strategically?” I snap. “We were ambushed by mercenaries on the front lines! You could have sent help and you didn’t because you’d rather make the militias do all the hard work so you can send your men in after us. Easier for you, and half of our men get sacrificed in the process. How is that supposed to be teamwork?”

A stony silence drops over the room.

I should have kept my mouth shut.

“We all have opinions,” Colonel Rivera replies slowly, never flinching. “Thanks for sharing yours. Now let’s move on.”

“You’re a jerk,” I say under my breath.

“Cassie…” Chris warns quietly.

I dig my fingers into the palms of my hands with so much pressure that I actually draw blood. How can he not be angry about this? How can Rivera be such an absolute moron? How can anybody be okay with this?

“We’ve got three hours at the most until Omega comes around that corner,” Chris says firmly. “We’ve got some forces out at the Chokepoint, but we’re going to need everybody out there. Everybody. Call in air support. We’ll take these suckers out little by little.”

“My men will follow your platoons,” Colonel Rivera replies. “You’re proficient in guerilla warfare techniques. Clear a path up the side of the hill and my men will be right behind you.”

“Why not join us at the front lines?” I say, seething. “Your men are just as capable as ours.”

A hushed murmur breaks out within the officers’ ranks.

“You don’t keep things to yourself, do you?” Rivera comments, twitching. “This is the way it’s going to be. Take it or leave it.”

“We’ll leave it,” I state.

“We’ll take it,” Chris replies, silencing me with a look. “But my men will not take the brunt of every attack. It will be equal. We’re a team, and we’ll operate like one.”

Rivera says nothing. He just watches us with a rigid, catlike expression on his face. I fix him with my most powerful glare as Chris steps up to the table of maps. They review the plan one more time. And I just stand there and watch. Derek and I lock gazes. He shakes his head slowly, as if to say, There’s no way this is going to end well.

I don’t want to agree.

But I have a terrible feeling about this.

A powerful clap on my shoulder jolts me out of the morbidity settling over the room. “Cheery gathering of folks, isn’t it?” Manny asks. His face is layered in black ashes and smoke. There are white circles around his eyes where his flight goggles were.

“He didn’t give us backup,” I hiss, keeping my voice low.

“He’s a military commander,” Manny replies, keeping his arm around my shoulders. “What do you expect? Politics, politics, politics.”

“Politics has nothing to do with it.”

“It has everything to do with it.” Manny shifts. He smells like fuel. “Men in power, they’re too often corrupted by it. Seen it happen a time or two before. That’s the two things age gives you, you know.”

“What two things?”

“Wrinkles and wisdom.” He winks. “Mostly wisdom in my case, of course.”

“Ha. Ha.” I smile. “Thanks for backing us up today, Manny.”

“That’s what I came here for.”

“Still. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, of course.” He pops his canteen of whiskey out of his pocket. “Drink?”

“No, thanks. I have enough to deal with.”