The sun rose as we got closer to the nest. Grayson told Edan that the teams were waiting until daylight to go back and search for us, but that they hadn’t had much hope. Apparently the team members who’d been in the van with us had searched until they saw the scrabs outside the house and then were forced to hightail it out of there. I couldn’t blame them.
I stopped the van on the side of the road. I couldn’t see the house where we’d hidden from here, but I knew we were close.
I swallowed down a wave of fear as I looked out at the empty field. It had only been a few hours since Edan and I made a run for it, both of us convinced those minutes were our last. I sort of wished Grayson had told us to go back to Paris. I wanted a bed and a shower, not more scrab fighting.
A Jeep appeared on the road, followed by several more, and a long line of vans and trucks. About ten all-terrain vehicles zipped around them into the grass.
Grayson was in the passenger seat of the first Jeep, and he jumped out before it had completely come to a stop. Edan and I stepped out of the van.
Grayson rushed to Edan, almost knocking him over as he hugged him.
“You asshole,” Grayson said as he released him. “I thought you were dead.”
“I would have been, if it weren’t for Clara.” Edan smiled at me.
Several members of team seven jumped out of the Jeeps, and I was suddenly crushed between Patrick and Priya.
“You’re not dead!” Priya exclaimed, jumping up and down with her arms around my waist.
“Not yet,” I said with a laugh. I was actually sort of delighted by how happy Priya was that I wasn’t dead.
The rest of the team stood a few steps away. Noah was grinning. Laila and Madison were laughing about something. Even Gage looked moderately happy to see us. Behind them, Naomi and the rest of UK team nine waved from their Jeep. I waved back.
“Julian?” I asked.
“Still in Paris,” Noah said.
“We thought for sure you were dead when we saw all those scrabs over the hill,” Laila said, leaning against the van. “Noah started video tributes that he was going to post after they notified your families.”
“Oh god, you didn’t notify my family, did you?” I asked Grayson.
He shook his head with a smile. “No. It’s policy to wait forty-eight hours after you go missing to notify.”
I let out a breath. “OK. Good.”
“This is an MDG van?” Grayson laid his hand on the hood.
“Yeah,” Edan said. “What should we do with it?”
“Just leave it here. I’m sure they’ll be back to this area soon.”
“Edan told you what we saw? The scrabs they were . . .” Training? Controlling? I didn’t know what to call it.
“What?” Madison asked. “What did you see?” The rest of the team looked at us curiously.
“Let’s deal with these scrabs first, and then we’ll talk about it,” Grayson said. “Team seven, will you go back to your Jeeps and get ready? Edan, Clara, grab some weapons. I need you two to lead us to the nest.”
“They’re hard to miss,” Edan muttered. We walked to the second Jeep, where Laila was waiting with several weapons in hand. She gave both of us a machete.
“You guys can support me and Noah first,” she said. “Noah and Madison came up with a plan to keep us mostly together, so you can squeeze into the Jeep with us.”
I glanced over to where Noah and Madison were talking. They came up with a plan? Why hadn’t Julian left Paris right away when he heard we were missing? Or when he’d heard there were scrabs? Grayson had said he was planning to come here this morning regardless, which meant Julian knew his team would be hunting this morning. Was Julian doing something important in Paris? Had he even cared that I was missing?
“What does support mean?” Edan asked. Patrick slid into the driver’s seat of the Jeep, and Dorsey took the passenger’s seat. A camera was mounted to the top of our vehicle. I noticed that several team members were also wearing the little cameras that Noah had recently received. Grayson had one on too.
“It means literally holding my legs while I shoot so I don’t fall out of this thing,” Noah said. He took one of the rifles Laila had in her hands and climbed into the Jeep. He stayed standing, pointing to the seat behind him. “Edan, you sit there.”
Laila hopped up next to Noah, and I slid into the seat next to Edan. In front of us, Grayson’s Jeep took off into the grass. Patrick hit the gas and followed.
“I hope they’re still there,” Noah said.
My thoughts were mirrored on Edan’s face—I sort of hoped they’d left. Edan told Grayson how many scrabs we had seen, but I didn’t know if he fully understood the sheer numbers out here.
On the other hand, I didn’t want MDG to have the scrabs if they were going to lock them up and train them. I couldn’t imagine what they wanted to train them for, but it would certainly be a disaster. They’d already let hundreds escape.
“There they are,” Patrick said.
My head snapped forward. The patch of houses was straight ahead. I spotted the one where Edan and I had hid.
Two scrabs stood on their hind legs, watching us.
“Are you sure it’s a nest?” Dorsey asked.
Another scrab climbed out of a hole. Then another. And another, and another, climbing out of holes all around the house.
“Never mind,” Dorsey said.
“Get us a little closer,” Laila said to Patrick. She and Noah had their rifles balanced on the frame of the Jeep. “Clara, hold my legs tight!”
I leaned forward and wrapped my arms firmly around her waist. Edan did the same to Noah. Around us, engines roared as vehicles zipped by.
Laila began firing. Dorsey shouted his approval as scrabs began screaming.
“Damn, you are good!” he said, twisting around to look at her. “They should have put you on a sharpshooter team.”
I leaned to the side to peer around Laila at the scrabs in front of us. Two jerked as bullets pierced their flesh. They began scattering, running in every direction. Grayson’s Jeep spewed dirt as tires spun. A scrab barreled straight for us.
“Hold on!” Patrick yelled.
I held Laila tighter as he jerked the wheel to the right. We barely swerved in time to miss hitting a scrab. Patrick spun the wheel again, turning us back around to face it. Noah and Laila fired.
We took off again, leaving the dead scrab in the dust.
“Patrick!” Dorsey yelled, pointing to the left.
Patrick hit the gas, but the scrab was already there. It crashed against the Jeep.
I tried to hold on to Laila, but the whole Jeep tilted violently to the right. The scrab slammed into the side again.
Someone screamed as we tipped over and crashed onto the ground. I fell on top of Edan and Noah. Laila fell on top of me.
“Ow,” Edan said.
The scrab braced its claws against the frame of the Jeep, baring its teeth as it roared at us. Laila lifted her gun and shot directly into its mouth. Blood splattered across us as its head flew back. It collapsed.
“Gross,” she said. She grabbed the frame and pulled herself out of the Jeep, then offered me her hand.
I stumbled out, grabbing my baton. Nearby, someone whooped. I heard gunfire.
I turned around. Two ATVs zipped past me, spraying dirt into the air. Jeeps and vans circled the area, picking off scrabs with bullets. Another van had crashed, and American team five ran on foot to a cluster of scrabs.
“Stand back,” Laila said.
Five scrabs galloped straight toward us. Laila and Noah strode forward, guns aimed at them. Noah glanced to his left, then said something to Laila. They both lowered their guns.
A Jeep raced across the grass and skidded to a stop in front of them. It was the rest of team seven. Archer was driving, Priya in the seat next to him. Madison stood in the back with a gun, Gage and Zoe on the seats behind her. Archer stopped the Jeep between us and the scrabs. Madison began firing.
Laila and Noah ran to either side of the Jeep to help.
“Guys,” Patrick said, pointing to my left. I whirled around. Three scrabs ran in our direction.
Gage and Zoe jumped out of their Jeep and ran to us. Gage flexed the fingers of his left hand. He wore brass knuckles with three-inch spikes attached. I hadn’t seen that one amongst Grayson’s weapons.
Gage darted forward as the first scrab approached. He swung the machete in his right hand high across its face and, with his left hand, drove his spikes directly under its chin. He punched the scrab with such force that its whole body jerked.
I winced, thinking of that punch hitting Edan’s face.
The scrab stumbled back, and I leapt forward, sinking my blade into its neck. Gage nodded in approval.
Patrick and Zoe already had the second scrab on the ground, and Dorsey was poised to drive his blade into the stomach of the third one as Edan distracted it.
Another scrab was headed in our direction. I gripped my baton.
“Attention!” I heard from behind me.
I quickly stepped back as an ATV whizzed by. The driver held one of the bladed clubs out to his side. It connected with the scrab, sending blood flying from its neck. I jumped forward, finishing it off with a quick stab to its stomach.
“Thank you!” I called as the ATV raced away.
“De rien!” the driver shouted over his shoulder.
Several members of team seven were attempting to right the Jeep. Patrick grimaced as they pushed it back up on its tires.
“Let’s go!” he said, running around to the driver’s side.
I climbed in behind Laila. She shot off a few more rounds as we took off, but dead scrabs littered the ground in every direction. A recruit in another Jeep lifted his arms in victory.
“Hey!” Grayson’s Jeep sped up beside ours. Patrick slowed. “Where is the nest?”
“That house,” I said, pointing to the house not far ahead. “On the side with the bushes.”
“All right. Stay here.” His Jeep took off. He jumped out as they approached the house. He peered into the hole and then stepped back, a huge grin on his face.
“Move back! Take cover!” he yelled.
Patrick put the Jeep in reverse.
“Keep us pointed at that,” Noah said, looking up at the camera on the roof. Patrick stopped the Jeep.
Grayson tossed something in the hole and jumped in the Jeep. It sped away.
A blast rocked the earth. Fire and debris spewed out of the hole as it exploded. Recruits all around me cheered.
“Guys?” Patrick said. He pointed in the direction of the road. Three black vans like the one Edan and I had stolen veered into the grass and bounced toward us. The first one came to an abrupt stop, and Webb jumped out. His face was furious as he strode toward us. One hand rested on the gun at his hip.
“I don’t think he’s happy to see us,” Edan said.
A Jeep rolled in front of us, blocking our view of Webb. Grayson hopped out, a grin on his face.
“Sorry guys, but we got them all. Better luck next time.”
Webb grabbed his gun and aimed it at Grayson’s chest.