“No, I am coming with. End of story.” She finally looked up at me.

Her blue eyes were almost too big for her face, but not in a bad way. It just made her look younger and more innocent, although, right now, her resolution made her look older.

“There’s no way I’m letting you come with.” I brushed past her to get to my bed. With my back to her, I packed up my own stuff.

“This isn’t a jail. They won’t keep me prisoner here. If you leave, there’s nothing to stop me from leaving right after you. And I will,” she threatened. “Whether you take me with you or not, I am not staying here. If I have to go out on my own, so be it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s suicide.” I shoved my clothes into my bag.

“Maybe,” she replied simply.

“Really?” I turned back to her. “You’d get yourself killed just to spite me?”

“Not to spite you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not getting left behind. If anyone can survive the end of the world, it’s you, so I’m safer with you than anywhere else.”

“That’s not even true,” I shook my head. “Everyone around me dies! Sommer, and then Lia yesterday. And my brother…” I swallowed and busied myself with my bag so she couldn’t see my reaction. “No. It’s dangerous and stupid. Here is the safest place.”

“If it’s so great here, then why don’t you stay?” Harlow countered.

“You know why I can’t stay.” I zipped my bag shut and turned back to her. “I have to find-”

“Your little brother, yeah, yeah,” she cut me off. “You do realize he’s with the army, right? I mean, that’s why you’re running across the country, fighting zombies and cult leaders. So you can get to a government run facility surrounded by armed soldiers. To rescue your brother.”

“I’m not rescuing him,” I rolled my eyes. “He’s just a little kid, and I need to be with him.”

“Why?” Harlow asked. I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder, preparing to storm out, but she blocked my path. “Remy, you know it doesn’t make sense. Either he is safe, and you can’t protect him any better than he already is, or he never made it to the quarantine, and there’s nothing you can do.”

“It doesn’t matter! I need to know he’s safe! I can’t just hope for the best and forget about him!” I threw my hands up on the air, exasperated. Fighting about this would only waste more time. “Fine. Whatever. You wanna come with and get yourself killed, that’s your problem.”

“Wait. So, we’re leaving right now?” Lazlo asked when I started walking away, and in reply, I kept walking. “But I’m not ready! Hold on!”

I heard him scrambling behind me, but I didn’t stop. I shouldn’t even be letting them go with me. They would only slow me down, and they’d probably just end up dead or infected.

I couldn’t even figure out why they wanted to leave the safety of the compound. I wouldn’t. But some things mattered more than safety, and for me that was Max.

“I’m not gonna get myself killed,” Harlow said as she caught up to me. Her thin legs carried her surprisingly fast, especially considering the clunky footwear she insisted on. “I just won’t be left behind.”

“I don’t know what you think you’re being left behind from, but trust me, it’s way better than what I’m doing.”

Lazlo ran up behind us, already out of breath, and we hadn’t even left yet. Before leaving, I found Blue talking with London. He once again reminded us that we were free to stay on, and I encouraged both Lazlo and Harlow to take him up on that.

London offered to help us out. He gave us another shotgun and some ammunition, and then he gave us the best gift ever: a vehicle. They had stockpiled several cars and trucks, and he figured they could spare one. Admittedly, it was a beaten up old station wagon with brown paneling, but it was much better than walking.

The car was hidden in an old carriage house in the woods behind the compound. The marauders had a tendency to damage or take anything they wanted, so London and Sam stored and hid anything of value. They rarely used vehicles anyway, since it made them more conspicuous to marauder attacks.

Sam led us through the intricately linked hallways, so we exited through an entirely different set of doors than the ones we came in. Like the cellar doors, a few strategically placed bushes all but blocked the doorway.

When I slid by, the branches stung at my skin, making me acutely aware of the ramifications of having an open wound. I had gone out first, after Sam, and I pushed the branches back with my arm, waiting until everyone else made their way out.

A startling chill nipped at the air, the first real chill I’d felt in our travels. Time moved differently than it had before, but fall had to be arriving. Dense fog settled around us, making it hard to see, and everything I heard sounded muffled and far away. The circumstances weren’t ideal for an escape plan, but I didn’t want to wait any longer.

“It’s over that way,” Sam pointed to an area to the east of us. With the fog, the trees looked like shadows, since I could only see the silhouettes. “In those trees.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Harlow asked.

“I’ve got things to do,” Sam replied noncommittally. Maybe that was true, but based on his quick exit back into the compound, I bet he felt it too. Something just felt… off. Like an electricity in the air. Uneasiness seemed to set in, and even Blue didn’t look right.