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“I’m guessing, based on the supplies you had,” Ryan said, “you didn’t need to leave that bunker much. Stay close to your assigned fey. They’ll keep you safe and let you know what to do. Glad you’re coming with us. Tenacity needs all the help it can get.”
Neither of us said anything as we followed the rest of the humans to the trucks. We climbed into the back of one and settled in for a long ride. No one talked. Still tired, I leaned against Adam’s shoulder and dozed until the truck stopped.
When the doors finally opened, there were dozens of fey waiting just outside.
“You know the drill,” Ryan said. “One human to six fey. Be smart. Be quiet. Be careful. If anything looks or feels wrong, tell your fey and get out of there.”
A shiver of fear worked its way down my spine.
People started moving away, and without a word, fey protectively surrounded them. Adam took my hand and followed their lead.
“We stick together,” he said to me as the fey fell in around us.
I nodded. He glanced at the fey to his left, who was looking at our hands.
“We’re new to this. Any advice you can give us would be much appreciated, friend.”
The fey smiled at Adam, showing his pointed teeth.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Adam. This is June, my girlfriend. What’s your name?”
“Tor.” His gaze flicked to me then to my hand locked with Adam’s. “You tell us which house to clear. Three of us will check for infected. The rest will wait outside with you. If there are no infected, you can come inside and gather supplies.”
Adam and I shared a glance. Nothing was ever that easy anymore.
“Okay. Let’s look for the houses that have signs of kids having lived there,” I said. “Those are more likely to hold more food.”
For the next hour, it was as easy as they’d said it would be. Easy didn’t mean less scary, though. While the fey did their best to kill any infected they found, some of the more intelligent infected proved better at hiding and managed to avoid detection. But that was why the fey stuck close to us humans while we collected supplies.
Adam was thorough and took everything he thought would be useful. From the obvious, like food, to the less obvious, like space heaters. Whatever we found went into a tote that someone from our assigned group of fey ran back to the trucks.
Tor stuck to us like our personal bodyguard and guide as we worked our way through the rooms.
“Check this out,” Adam called.
I left the master bathroom, my assigned fey trailing behind me, to find Adam in the walk-in closet.
“Someone was prepped for stuffing stockings.” He passed down a plastic bag. “We’re almost done here,” he said, looking at my assigned fey. “Would you mind scouting for another house with toys in the garage?”
While he left, I peeked inside at the Christmas candy. Tor leaned over my shoulder and studied the colorfully wrapped confections.
It was weird being this close to one of the fey, but I was slowly getting used to it. Their size might have made them intimidating at first, but the more time I spent around them, the more I saw beyond their appearances. They were quietly curious about everything and observed closely.
“What is it?” Tor asked.
“You’ve never had candy?” I asked.
He shook his head.
While Adam kept digging, I opened a bag and handed Tor a piece, taking one for myself. I showed him how to unwrap it then popped mine into my mouth. It was one of those taffy mints I used to like as a kid.
Tor mimicked what I did until he chewed. His neutral expression shifted to disgust before he started coughing and sputtering. I giggled a little and patted his arm.
“It’s okay. It’s not for everyone. Adam doesn’t like them either.”
“Did she give you one of those crappy mints?” he asked. “That’s just cruel, June.”
