Free Vengeance (Twenty-Five Percent Book 3) by Nerys Wheatley

thought. Instead he said, “We had no idea you were there. I did call.”
    “We were safe until you showed up,” a girl said. “You almost got us killed. What is wrong with you?”
    The others raised their voices in anger, their accusations ranging from gross stupidity, to intentionally risking their lives for fun, to Alex wanting to feast on them himself. Alex and Micah waited for them to calm down. It was a long wait.
    The girl holding the baby stood at the back in silence. When her companions finally quietened, she stepped forward.
    “Can you take us home in that?” she said, nodding towards the tank. The baby whimpered and she bounced the bundle, holding it close to her.
    “Where’s home?” Alex said.
    She blinked back tears. “Sarcester.”
    Alex remembered the school minibus back on the road. “You were in the crash. You’re from Northgate School.”
    The girl nodded. “We were on a school trip and they wouldn’t let us into the city when we got back. They put us in the Premier Inn for a few days, but when the eaters all came out our teacher tried to get us away. Then our bus crashed and Mrs Campbell and our friends died and then the eaters came and started taking people.” She stopped and drew in a shuddering breath.
    “So you got out and came here?” Alex said.
    “We had to run. Not everyone made it.”
    Everyone was silent, the now tearful teenagers looking like the children they still were. Alex felt terrible. He’d put them through even more trauma. The baby started to cry and the girl murmured to her, bouncing the tightly wrapped child in her arms.
    “Is she yours?” Alex said.
    The girl shook her head and lowered the bundle a little, revealing a round, red face framed by wisps of brown hair. “We found her in one of the cars. Her parents were dead, but she was okay in her car seat. I couldn’t leave her there for them to find.” As if sensing the attention, the baby cried louder. “She’s hungry. Her milk is in there.” She nodded towards the warehouse.
    Alex touched a finger to the baby’s cheek and she stopped wailing for a moment. Then she started again with even more gusto. He snatched his hand away.
    “I’m Alex, this is Micah. We’ll take you back to Sarcester. You’ll be safe there.” Until Boot shows up and tries to kill everyone because of me .
    “We can go home?” one of the boys said. “We can see our families again?”
    Alex and Micah exchanged glances.
    “We can take you there,” Micah said. “There are people who will help you.”
    “You mean our families are dead,” the boy at the front said, his voice emotionless.
    “A lot of people died in Sarcester,” Micah said. “Not everyone, but a lot. There’s a chance your families are still alive, but there’s also a chance they’re not. But you won’t be left alone.”
    The girl looked down at the fussing baby in her arms. “Can she stay with me?”
    Alex smiled. “I’m sure that won’t be a problem. What’s her name?”
    “We don’t know, but we had a vote.” She looked slightly embarrassed. “So now she’s called Leia.” 
    “Cool name,” Micah said.
    It was a tight squeeze to get all of them into the tank. One by one, with Micah’s help, they climbed up onto the hull and down through the hatch. Alex offered to hold Leia while Kim, her guardian, got in. As soon as he took the little girl she quietened, her round brown eyes staring up at him in fascination. He’d experienced this before. Unlike adults, children weren’t afraid of his pale eyes and even babies as young as the little girl he held in his arms now, who looked to be no more than four or five months old, could tell there was something unusual about him. She reached towards his face, wrapping her tiny hand around the finger he offered her.
    “Don’t worry,” he whispered to her, “you’re going to be all right. Whatever happens, you’ll be safe. I promise.”
     
    . . .
     
    Alex got his turn at driving the tank as they