Chapter 50

They took more than an hour at the Diamond Back gas station, in no small part because Freyja needed time to gather herself after the revelation that she and Kait were half-sisters. No one had asked her how she had killed the Tiger, nor mentioned her going back for its body. Not everyone had seen her turn around to scoop it up, but they could feel her general location. She knew the questions on their minds as well as why they hesitated to ask them thanks to the Link. Thankfully, the trip from the truck stop had been relatively uneventful save for the abandoned vehicles they had to occasionally push out of the road. Most people, it seemed, were doing their best not to be out and about.

We've got a roadblock ahead, but Carrie says it's okay, Snow said as the convoy crested the final hill before the terrain dipped down to the town of Spring Brook.

Nearby fences had been cut. Excavators worked to move dirt and rock along the bottom of a make-shift wall composed of a variety of metal shipping containers, large chunks of limestone, and huge interlocking concrete blocks. A firetruck and eighteen wheeler surrounded by armed townsfolk blocked the road ahead of them.

Everyone stop when we reach it. I'm going to join Carrie at the front, Freyja instructed.

Freyja wove around the rest of the vehicles when they stopped as ordered, pulling up beside Carrie's little red truck. Odin continued to cling to her right shoulder while Sprinkles did the same to her left. She wasn't sure either would be able to stay on the whole trip, but each cat had insisted on riding with her. She hoped she wouldn't need to whip any of the guns out again. Without her shoulders free she would have to use a different part of her body.

A tall middle-aged Latino man wearing fire fighter's pants approached Carrie's truck with a shotgun resting on his shoulder. Pit stains marred his dark blue T-shirt despite the morning temperatures not yet reaching their peak for the day. His expression spoke of familiarity without animosity, so Freyja sat quietly on Page's bike. Carrie rolled down her window and leaned out a little.

"For fucks sake, Hector. I leave for two minutes and y'all turn the town into a fortress," Carrie said with a smile.

Hector gestured with his free hand toward the convoy. "And what the fuck is this? I thought you took some kid to a doctor."

"It's complicated but he's better now. Got a load of rescue cats to take back to Battalion Meadows," she said.

Hector tilted his head up, looking down his nose at Carrie, then over to Freyja where she sat on the still rumbling motorcycle. Freyja couldn't feel any minds connected to the Link beyond her group, save for the continued sensation of an extra presence riding behind her on the bike.

"'Rescue cats?'" Hector echoed. "Do I want to know how the kid 'got better?' That girl with him said she could see the bone. You should've just taken him to the hospital here."

"Like I said, it's complicated. Can you let us through?"

Thankfully, no one operating the roadblock had moved in an aggressive way. Freyja didn't think she'd have to fight anyone, but it was clear Hector wasn't buying anything Carrie was selling.

"Why can't you just go around?" He asked.

"Are you serious? It's faster to cut through this side of town to my ranch than go the long way around. We already have one car the Butcher Boys shot up and I've got close to a hundred cats in here," Carrie replied. "How long is that fucking wall y'all made, anyway? It go all the way around?"

Hector locked eyes with Freyja. "It does."

Freyja leaned back on the bike a bit more, easily using her legs to hold the large machine up without a problem. Odin hung off her right shoulder while Sprinkles clung to her left. She was surprised the latter had stayed quiet so far. Her shirt collar had already been stretched out beyond its limit when she'd shifted the Barret out of her shoulder to kill the Tiger. On the plus side, she had her own clothing in her bag, even if it was currently stored within her interspacial void along with the guns, cat toys, mech, and Page's corpse.

Not sure if that's better than thinking I ate them or not, she thought only to herself.

"Let us through," Carrie ordered.

The tall man shrugged. "Let you through with your fake cats like those two on her shirt? No."

"They're not fake, they're just idiots," Freyja replied.

Should we speak? Odin asked.

No, you should not, Freyja ordered, forcing Sprinkles to keep his mouth shut at the same time. Hop off my shoulder though and do a big stretch.

Odin obeyed, leaping down to the asphalt to stick his front legs before him, with his butt and tail in the air.

"Why's it's eye red?" Hector asked.

"Pinkeye," Freyja replied. "Very contagious. You should let us through quickly to get us out of your hair."

Hector leaned a little to get a better look at the rest of the vehicles. "You got bikers and a cop with you?"

"Cop's asleep," Freyja said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because he was tired."

"You know what? Fuck it. We'll let y'all through, but you go straight to your ranch and don't linger in town. I'll call ahead to the other roadblock to let them know you're coming," Hector said.

They're letting us through the roadblocks. Follow Carrie to her ranch, Freyja said to everyone.

The Linked Humans barely had to speak their confirmations now, but she knew they'd heard her, as had the Hive cats. It was a lot to handle and the fact that it was easier by the hour gave her a little pause. Not that now was a good time to think about any of it.

Odin climbed back onto Freyja's shoulder, sinking his claws back into her shirt and flesh as Hector radioed it in. Sprinkles didn't mentally struggle as much as Officer Gatas had when she'd locked him up within the Link. The cat continued to hang on to her left shoulder like a plush toy, silently watching everything going on. The fire truck and semi each backed up just enough to let them through.

Spring Brook was a quiet town. No one was outside, just like other places the had traveled through. The roadblocks had cut down on the traffic which made traversing it go quickly. The next blockade was ready for them, parting long enough for their group to get past. Once they were outside of the small town again, they continued on for about a mile. A heavy duty seven foot tall metal fence was the first sign that they were nearing Carrie's ranch. The open pastures, dotted with a variety of cabins, three barns each a different color, and fenced in paddocks populated by grazing exotic animals were the second. A larger multi-story building with construction equipment parked near its unfinished parking lot sat closer to the road, yet far enough back for a small herd of bison to lazily chomp on grass in a field between it and the exterior fence.

I guess that's the hotel, Freyja thought.

It's huge, Kait replied.

I was not expecting this, Gee said.

Me either, Babe, Damien said. After this we gotta go get my Mom.

Absolutely. She'll love it here, Gee agreed.

Freyja nearly cut her connection to the Link while everyone chattered among themselves about the ranch. Instead, she focused on the task at hand.

Carrie pulled onto a driveway with two stone sculptures of lions flanking an entry. She typed a code into a keypad, which unlocked the gates, sliding them open, then drove through. Freyja hung back, prepared to type the numbers she'd seen Carrie use in again should the gates close before everyone was through. They stayed open just long enough for the last of the Brother's of Fervor to drive past, followed by Freyja herself.

Carrie's little red truck wove through the dirt roads of the ranch to a green barn, built in the classic shape, unlike Kait's old one. A steadily flowing creek passed by its far side. Freyja wasn't sure about having a building that close to a water source. If it were to flood the structure wouldn't fare well. She parked Page's bike next to Carrie's truck as everyone else found places nearby to stop their vehicles as well. Sprinkles hopped off her should when she released him from her mental hold, skittering off into the grass after a cicada. His delight echoed across the Link when he caught it. Odin, shapeshifted into his Human form as he leapt off Freyja's shoulder. She dismounted the bike and stretched her neck a little.

Carrie left her truck and raised both fists in the air with a cheer, "Welcome to Battalion Meadows!"

"This place is huge," Kait said once she was out of her van.

"You said that," Saffron replied.

"She only said it in our heads. Not everyone can hear our thoughts," Snow corrected. "Anyway, I think it's wonderful. Were those buffalo by the road?"

Carrie smirked. "American Bison, yeah. Kincade was supposed to move them to the back pasture but we can do that tomorrow. None of the guest cabins are occupied right now and you're welcome to put your wormy space cats in the Green Barn. There's nothing in it right now since we had a flood last year, but the building's sound. We moved all the feed and hay and whatnot to the Red and Blue Barns so we didn't have to deal with shit getting wet again."

Freyja nodded. "I'm sure some of us want to get some shut-eye. You mentioned cabins. Do we need keys for them?"

"I'll go get them once I unlock this place. Even without the hotel there should be enough room for all of y'all."

"Thank you, Carrie, for sheltering us in your domain. We owe you our lives," Odin said while kneeling toward her.

The woman frowned. "That's weird."

"My apologies. I can resume my previous form-"

"No. No. The kneeling thing. I got used to you being a cat-man pretty quick. The weird bit is you acting like I'm suddenly a feudal Lord," Carrie said with a shake of her head. "Come on, I'll unlock the Barn and y'all can make yourselves at home."

***

Moving the Barn Cats to the Green Barn went quickly. Picking out cabins for each group of Humans took a little more time. Kait chose a small one near the Green Barn for herself and her inside cats. Gee and Damien found another one for themselves and Zoe a little further down the road near a pasture with llamas in it. Freyja was certain both men had to use their powers to keep the little girl from trying to scale the fence to the fuzzy animals. All the teens piled into the second largest cabin on the property. Hal's mind marked the location like a flickering flame while Saffron and Snow seemed more faint. The only adult in that building was Sam, who'd seemed a little less shell shocked since Freyja had called him by his screen name at Kait's house. The Brothers of Fervor chose the biggest cabin with more beds in it for themselves. They took Gatas with them.

The cop is a problem we'll have to deal with, Freyja thought as she entered the cabin she'd chosen for herself. It was bigger than she wanted, but so was the other remaining house. She didn't want to be in the same building with anyone right now. Not even her family. The revelation that Kait was her half-sister complicated things more.

I need to be alone.

"You wish me to leave?" Odin asked.

He'd followed her the whole time, still using his Human form as they oversaw moving the Barn Cats from the vehicles. She'd been surprised with how tender he'd been with the kittens. He'd grown a lot in the few days she'd known him, shapeshifting notwithstanding.

But it had only been a few days.

She stopped when she reached the middle of the living room.

"When were you going to tell me she's my sister?"

Odin hissed. "When the time presented itself."

His guilt was impossible to miss. She couldn't say he was wrong for keeping the information to himself. As far as she could tell even Odin hadn't known about the connection for long. Still...it stung.

"Go keep an eye on the other Hive cats," she said without turning around. "I need some time alone. Need a shower and a nap."

"I understand. Yes, Commander."

Freyja closed her eyes while he retreated back to the front door, shutting it behind him. She could feel him hurry back down the road faster than a cat could run, likely jogging in his Human form. Everyone else in her Hive went about settling into their new homes. Some of the Hive cats in the Link stayed neared their Sparks while Hemi remained at the Green Barn. Odin called ahead to her to announce he was on the way. Everyone else felt like murmurs, distant conversations expressing their relief that Freyja could easily track without paying attention but didn't want to overhear.

She closed herself off to the Link.

All the minds faded but one.

Dead ahead.

Freyja looked up toward the first door on the left. A figure, clad in a black leather jacket and dark jeans with heavy boots, leaned against the door jam with their arms crossed.

"I thought he'd never leave," Page said with a smile.

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