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“That’s what he says,” I answered.
She grinned a little. “Yeah, they’re like that.” She held out her hand to me. “It’s good to meet you.” I thought I was going in for a handshake. Instead, she pulled me inside the house. “Please tell me you have a ticket to exit this train to crazy town.”
I followed her to a normal living room. The house in Fort Irwin had been safe, but not homey. This place had all the touches that made a house a home. Extra pillows on the sofa. Throw blankets. A cup on the side table. Books in random places. It felt lived in.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said, bringing my attention back to Mya.
“Take your coat off. Sit.” She waved me toward the sofa she already occupied. “Before I get into the woes of Tolerance and surrounding communities, tell me where you’re from. How many more humans are out there? What’s the world like now?”
“Communities? As in there are more than one like this?” I asked, taking off my jacket, which Molev took from me.
“Yeah. This is Tolerance. We made this place when the people over at Whiteman were trying to use the fey like slaves. Then, when Whiteman fell, we helped the survivors build Tenacity to the north. Same setup with a secure automobile wall around houses in a decent-sized subdivision. But that’s where the help stopped. Too many people there still wanted to use the fey without giving the fey what they were due.”
“And what are they due?” I asked.
“The same considerations and rights that we have. Sleep. Help when needed. A simple thank you. But some of the people there weren’t really ready to allow those things. Those people are gone now.” Mya glanced at Molev. “The ones spreading the hate and causing all the trouble went too far. They beat someone to the point he couldn’t walk and stole his food. They continued bullying and stealing until they were caught on camera. Hard evidence to kick them out for good. The fey are welcome to come and go in Tenacity as they please now.”
Molev grunted.
“Because of that, Matt and June, they’re the two heading up things over there, decided some restructuring was needed. Fewer people crammed into houses and more opportunity for fey cohabitation had us all looking for a third location. Which we found. The wall is going up over there as we speak.”
“That sounds amazing,” I said. “Are there enough fey to keep the infected away from all of them?”
Her gaze swept over me, and I saw a flicker of judgment this time.
“It’s not only the fey’s responsibility to keep the infected away,” she said. “We need to share it.”
I glanced at Molev, who was quietly standing next to Drav. They were both watching us with a look of expectation.
“If you’re the leader, why aren’t you doing the talking?” I asked Molev.
“They prefer a more laid-back approach now that we’re in the picture,” Mya said.
“As in we’re the leaders?” I managed to ask it without showing a hint of the shock or panic I felt.
“Think of us more as liaisons. We’re not responsible for all of humanity. We just need to stand up for the rights on both sides. Voices of reason that they listen to when making decisions.”
I gave a dry laugh.
“Not responsible for all of humanity? You’re wrong. You want to know how many of us are left? Probably not many. The mountains and the barrier we created using them had kept the infected out until about a week ago. The west fell. The infected are in, drawn to the west by the number of survivors hiding there.
“Once they all turn, that wave of infected will be drawn to the next largest gathering of humans. I’m pretty sure that will be your three communities since Waurlyn, the leader at Fort Irwin, took Molev’s warning seriously and started breaking up the camps into smaller groups.
“The survivors are counting on us to find a cure for the infection. So yeah, we kind of are responsible for all of humanity now. Molev said you’re immune. We have researchers with us who’d like to study your blood.”
Drav growled and stepped forward.
“I know,” I said. “No one wants to be a lab rat. Molev’s been giving them samples of his blood since we arrived on the west coast months ago. But all their attempts at a cure have failed. If we had months more, maybe they could keep trying with Molev’s blood. But we don’t. We have another week or two at most before that tide of newly turned infected heads this way. We need your help.”
“It’s fine,” Mya said. “I think I should be able to safely give some blood, but it might not be necessary.”
The conversation Drav and Ben had on the top of the truck echoed in my head.
“How far along are you?” I asked, my gaze flicking to her midsection.
“Hard to say. I’m guessing it happened a few weeks after the quakes. Cassie, our resident doctor-in-the-making, thinks I just finished the first trimester.”
I glanced at Drav. He was staring at Mya with complete love and devotion in his gaze. Molev watched Mya with equal intensity but an unreadable expression.
