An Excerpt from A Brief History of the Stupid War
Rowan’s plan is a simple one. She holds the high ground. The top of the rock has a panoramic view of the mountainside, and it’s only accessible by a short, steep climb on the uphill side. Unless the UnAltered have grenades, she’ll be difficult to assail until she runs out of ammunition. Running out of ammunition won’t take all that long, though, and Aidan suspects that their friends know it. Rowan expects them to approach cautiously, to spread out around the rock and try to trade pot-shots with her until she stops returning fire. They’ve got no reason to be in a hurry, no reason not to settle in for a siege.
Unless they have grenades, of course. If they have grenades, she’s screwed.
Aidan’s part in the plan is simple as well. His job is to wait for the hunters to settle into firing positions, then creep up on them, one by one, and slit their throats.
“Head up-slope,” Rowan says. “Don’t leave a trail. Step from rock to rock. Don’t break any branches. Don’t fall down. Find a tree that’s still holding most of its leaves, and get as far up into it as you can. Wait for me to start shooting, then come down quietly and do your thing. Understand?”
“My thing?” Aidan asks.
“Right,” Rowan says, and drags one finger across her throat.
“That’s not actually my thing,” Aidan says. “My thing is writing whiny polemicals about social injustice. This?” He mimics her gesture. “This is pretty much the opposite of my thing.”
“Well,” Rowan says. “As far as I can see, you’ve got two choices. You can make this your thing, at least for this afternoon… Or you can work on figuring out how to get those nanos to shut down your pain receptors. I’m guessing getting chucked into a burn pit stings.”
Aidan opens his mouth to reply, hesitates, then thinks better of it and closes it again.
“Good boy,” Rowan says. “Now go find yourself a hideout, and try not to fall asleep. The shooting might get started any time now.”
Aidan nods, and climbs to his feet. As he’s clambering down the side of the rock, Rowan says, “Hey, Aidan?”
He looks back. She smiles, then shakes her head and looks away.
“Good hunting.”
