The Fall (Book 3): War of the Living by Joshua Guess Read Free Book Online

easily unfolded and set up in less than a minute. Another clever solution to living on the run. Kell wondered how many ideas like that had been thought up since the end of the world.
    The tent's sides were up, revealing Dodger hunched over an ancient radio plugged into a makeshift array of car batteries. One of his headphones was pushed back from his ear, but his body language was pure concentration. He was listening to a live feed of the fight. This time around, the leaders of each unit wore radios with the microphones locked on.
    The death of the prisoner from the last attack had been written off as self-defense, as expected. The only witnesses were Kell and Scotty, and their story was the same. This trip didn't require capturing anyone, but Dodger had sent orders to bring in the commander if possible. He wanted the sort of intelligence only people in leadership positions would have access to.
    Kell imagined Kate would be searching for the commander as well, if for completely different reasons.
    He stood a respectful distance away, waiting for Dodger to acknowledge him. It didn't take long; the sound of gunfire had already begun to slow, the initial attack having long since transitioned into entry into the camp and man-to-man combat.
    Dodger looked over and motioned for Kell to sit in one of the empty folding chairs near the radio. His head was still cocked slightly to one side as he listened to the feed, but his eyes were focused on Kell. “What's up?” he asked.
    “Sir, what's our goal with the Hunters?” Kell asked in return.
    Dodger blinked in surprise. “As far as I know, we're going to stop them from taking out any more communities. It'll be a long, drawn-out fight until we push them hard enough that they retreat back to their main camp.”
    “So just to make sure I'm understanding you, we're going to kill them?”
    Slightly exasperated, Dodger nodded. “Yeah, man. Didn't I just say that?”
    “No, you said we're going to fight them,” Kell said. “We don't have to do that if we just want to kill them.”
    Dodger waved one of the guards over, handing the man the headset. “Put this on,” he said. “If you hear anything go wrong, if anyone gives one of the emergency signals, you yell for me. I'll be just over there.”
    He hauled Kell twenty feet away, stopping out of earshot. The man's face was intense, curious, and a little frightening. “I'm listening,” he said.
    Kell talked.
     
     
    The convoy driving back to New Haven was much larger than the one that left. There were less people—they had suffered losses—but the number of vehicles had hugely increased. Many of the injured were in good enough condition to drive, and thanks to the fuel reserves carried by the Hunters, there was no need to leave any useful set of wheels behind.
    Trucks carrying the supplies raided from communities by the Hunters rode alongside several new assault vehicles. One trailer held all the weapons Kell's group had liberated from their defeated enemies, along with a huge stock of ammunition. Other vehicles were brought on their own merit; a modified and armored tanker for fuel, and one for propane. Anything and everything of value had been piled together, every useless bus and truck drained of fuel in order to return as much value for the trip as possible.
    It remained unspoken that no amount of loot could replace the lives lost, but those deaths had not been in vain. The purpose of the trip was to bloody the Hunters, to show them that New Haven and its allies would not allow the attacks to continue.
    Kell, sitting in the back of a truck atop a pile of reclaimed clothing, thought they had managed that goal admirably.
    “I can't believe you just went up to Dodger and casually told him you could make chemical weapons,” Kate said, not for the first time.
    “It wasn't like that,” Kell replied, shifting his weight in a futile attempt to get comfortable. “I poured the bleach and the idea hit me. I had to say something