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“Molev said it’s time to wake up.”
“They’re back?”
“For an hour now. They’ve moved the vehicles we have to the airstrip and already made plans to go out again tomorrow.”
She didn’t look excited, though. She looked worried.
“What’s wrong?”
“They ran into a lot of infected. Brandon and Molev were trying to be low-key about it, but the fueler and Molev were disgusting when they returned. Steve and Roni made them spill everything, saying ignorance wouldn’t keep us alive.”
“What’d they say?”
“They were swarmed at the first gas station. Brandon was safe enough inside the truck, but Molev had to work fast to keep the infected from wrecking it. Then, once he thought he had them cleared, he found some hiding under it, clinging to whatever they could like they were going to hitch a ride back here.”
I nodded. “Yeah, they’re smart like that. You said first gas station. Did they have to go to a second?”
“They did, but not for gas. Brandon had Molev clear out the food from both. They came back with boxes tied on the roof of the cab and around the tanker. So we have food and fuel now.”
“That’s good. We’ll need it. Did I miss anything else?”
She shook her head, and we left the room to find Molev. He was speaking to a group of soldiers and gesturing to the roof and fence. When he saw me, he stopped and focused only on my approach.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“I think we will not have another calm night,” he said with blunt honesty.
“I kind of figured that would be the case and had the volunteers pairing up with people who had more experience as lookouts today. We can use them to add to the number of people on the roofs.”
“Good. Did you eat?”
“Not yet.”
“Go eat. Find me before the sun sets.”
I returned to the housing. Instead of eating, though, I coordinated securing the building. We moved furniture and mattresses into the second-story hall, and I explained how the people standing guard would need to use them to barricade the stairwell in case of an emergency. After that, I braced my heart and went to talk to the handful of moms and kids. I explained the sounds they might hear, including moans, roars, and gunshots, and how, no matter what, they couldn’t make a sound.
Molev found me silently crying in the bathroom after that.
“I never want to have kids,” I said softly, crying against his chest. “They would never be safe enough.”
Molev didn’t argue or try to tell me all the wonderful things kids would bring—things I already knew because of my niece and nephew—he just held me and stroked my hair until I stopped crying.
“You did well, Andie. They will be safer because of you.”
I snorted. “I traumatized them, Molev. No matter how nice I was about it, I stripped away a layer of innocence they should have been able to keep for years yet.”
He didn’t say anything more and just held me until I pulled away on my own.
“Sorry.”
“Never be sorry for your compassion, Andie. Too few humans have enough of it.”
He threaded his fingers through mine and led me out of the housing and into the early dusk.
“I want you on the roof with me,” he said. “We have lights around the perimeter of the fence, radios with every lookout, and night vision in each direction.”
“So you’re expecting a lot of trouble then.”
