HOTSPOT

5

The end of the fighting surprises me almost as much as the beginning of it did. The third level of the garage is mostly unused, and still filled with the rotting skeletons of cars, parked in neat rows. I'm crouched behind one of them, gun poised, watching for any flicker of movement between the windows. There's someone in here, and he's tracking me, shadow flickering as he passes in and out of the streams of sunlight that pour in. I'm joined by two others, huddled against the flaking side of the SUV. Jonathan leans heavily against a woman with red hair who helps him support his weight, crippled leg twisted awkwardly across the pavement.

I'm just peering over the hood, rifle set across it, when our tail appears again, sliding between two bumpers. I place my finger on the trigger just as a woman approaches him, pace quick and purposeful.

"Hey. We're clearing out."

"What?" He lowers the barrel of his shotgun. "Why?"

"Too many casualties. It's not worth it."

"Seriously?"

He glances at me and I duck behind the hood again, expecting to hear a bullet whistle over my head. The woman grabs his arm.

"It's not worth it, man. We've already lost five—don't make yourself the sixth."

"Fuck." He drops the muzzle of his shotgun, then lifts it again. "Fine. Cover me on our way out, one of them's got a gun."

With both of their firearms pointed at my hiding spot, I don't dare to look out until I'm sure they've gone. Jonathan slumps next to me, breathing ragged.

"What the hell was that about?" The woman asks shakily.

I give my head a shake. "Don't know. But let's not take it for granted. We have to get down to the others."

The two of us lift Jonathan to his feet and help him down the ramps until we finally touch down outside. I realize I'm shaking, knuckles trembling with exertion. But it feels good. I made myself useful—I protected us.

Ama appears from nowhere, throwing herself into my arms.

"Teddy!"

I grab at her shoulders, burying my face in her hair.

"I'm okay, Ama."

She pulls back slightly. "You're hurt."

"It's just bleeding a lot. It looks worse than it is. Are you okay?"

She nods. "Yeah. Everyone else is, too. We brought them back as soon as those guys left."

To my left, I watch Noah gently release his grip on Maddy's hand. She throws herself into the arms of a woman I recognize as her mother, shaking with sobs.

Winona approaches me, followed closely by Lora. She grabs my arm.

"Teddy, we need you."

"Is everyone okay? Did we lose anyone?"

Her gaze meets mine, distant and heavy like a far-off thunderhead. I haven't seen this expression on her face since our days of clearing the garage together.

"Three."

"Shit."

It feels like a punch to the gut. People die sometimes—I lost a friend in the early days of killing mutated and securing the fence. Most of us did. But we've lived in relative safety for so long, the reminder of just how dangerous things really are is like a slap.

"There's a lot to do. We need to search for injured and set them up for Lora. The bodies need to be cleared out. The fence needs to be guarded day and night until we can find supplies to repair it."