Chapter 3

• COLT
• I BARELY slept after leaving the guard post.
• I wanted booze, but nowadays, you felt like a goddamn billionaire if you had a bottle of cheap whiskey at your disposal.
• Frost pissed me off. He could have threatened the group by bringing a stranger to our camp. That woman could be dangerous no matter how weak she might look.
• Darick was still recovering from his bullet wound—he’d been with us for months and proved his value, and being our supply runner, we could not afford to lose a resourceful person like him.
• What had gone wrong with the last run? I still didn’t have the answer.
• And then those eyes—taunted with terror.
• Those terrified eyes.
• I’ve seen many, but there was something in how she stared back at me—not just pleading for her life to spare—something more.
• “Hey.”
• “Cora.” I locked my cabin and faced her.
• “Where did you sleep last night?” Well, that’s not what I expect to start a conversation in the morning. She gave me a smile that men would be glad to take my place.
• Cora was beautiful, and despite this world dying, there was still a beauty left in it to ponder. She had this vibrant looked with long wavy blonde hair and a body that every man wanted to warm his bed, but her attitude was not entirely pleasing.
• She was a pain in the ass to everyone in the camp and a little overconfident. Cora was the type of girl that man never wished to bring to meet his parents.
• “In my room,” I answered politely. “Do you need anything?”
• “But it was locked.” She moved closer and spread her hands on my chest.
• “Of course, it’s locked because I was sleeping, and that’s why we have this called knocking.”
• She rolled her eyes. “But the last time I came, it’s un—”
• “Look, Cora. I told you what happened to us three nights ago shouldn’t have happened and will never happen again. That was good—the sex, and you’re a good lay, but that’s it.” I sounded like an asshole, but what she needed was the fact.
• “Look at us. We barely eat and protect ourselves from what’s out there. Darick is still in his bed. I couldn’t think of a relationship right now or a roll in the hay because I have to focus on protecting our people. Look what happened the last time.” I swallowed, remembering the scariest thing I never wanted to look back at.
• “So, is it true that Frost found a girl?” She changed the topic because she knew me—if I said no, it remained no.
• “Yeah, and she’s leaving once she wakes up.”
• “Good. Because if she’s sick, she can’t stay here and infect us all.”
• “She’s not infected. She’s just... weak.”
• “Then we don’t need a weak or another member, right?”
• “That’s not up to me, Cora. If Gael wants her here, we have to respect his decision.”
• She shrugged. “Of course.”
• I walked past her. “Got to see Gael.”
• “Are you sure? — fine.” She was not pleased, but I didn’t give a shit. She was just a distraction and the least of my priorities.
• I knocked on Lois’s cabin. When no one opened up, I pressed my ear against the door, but it was silent.
• I strode towards Gael’s and almost bumped into her at the front door.
• “Colt!” Her brown eyes lit up. Lois was one of the people I cared about. She had the kindest heart, and people thought she was weak, but the truth was, she was one of the strongest people I knew. She wouldn’t make it this far if she was what people thought she was.
• “Hey. I was in your cabin.”
• She smiled. “Oh, I brought her to Gael.”
• “She’s awake?” My brow cocked, surprised.
• The blue-eyed.
• She whispered, “Yes. She jumped out of bed when she couldn’t find her necklace.”
• “Huh.” I saw that necklace—it was an ordinary silver chain, but the pendant was a vintage blue mini perfume bottle.
• She shrugged. “She said it’s her mom’s.”
• “I see. I have to see Gael.”
• “Sure.” Lois nodded in resignation.
• She was definitely awake. Her voice was soft as silk and melodious as the Oscines. There was a warmth in the way she spoke—it reminded me of how Mom sang us lullabies—it was just like hers.
• I could hear their conversation, and it was a good decision that Gael told her we didn’t recruit people.
• Our lack of supplies meant we couldn’t afford another mouth to feed. And by her look, she needed lots of it to get back in shape.
• She was so skinny and looked like a walking corpse. Her skin was so pale, and her bones were prominent. She was barely breathing when Frost and Lois found her two nights ago, and now she was talking with Gael.
• No matter how ruthless we had become, we couldn’t just throw her out of the camp, unconscious and defenseless. She could barely stand on her own feet, what more protecting herself.
• I knew the moment she walked out of the gate. She signed her death wish. It was odd how she survived all alone out there—that thought alone made me anxious and skeptical.
• “But I wouldn’t mind you staying here with us for as long as you want, Iris,” said Gael.
• For as long as she wants? What the fuck?
• “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I bolted inside his office.
• Gael’s brows furrowed. “And do you have an idea where to send her?”
• It was my mistake to question his decision. We respected and never doubted his ability to lead us because of his experience in the military, which kept us all alive.
• Gael cared about this group, and I knew we were always his top priority before anything else. He must have seen something in this woman that made him decide to keep her.
• “She survived for months out there. What made you think she won’t survive again?” I asked fiercely and watched the woman’s reaction.
• Despite my protest, she remained seated in front of Gael. She stared down at her necklace, playing with the pendant. What was so important about it?
• “Because she was still in shape that time, Colt. Look at her now.”
• “Let me send her back to where she came from with food that will last a few days. She gets her strength back by then and can look after herself again.”
• “No. She stays, and that’s final.”
• “Are you sure about that? She could be snooping, or she came here on purpose. To scout this place. I couldn’t put our people at risk. Not again, Gael.” We’d been through hell, ambushed, lost the people we cared about, and everything. And now, he just decided to let her stay?
• What the hell is wrong with him?
• We could barely protect ourselves, and yet he took her in. Just like that, because she’s fucking weak!
• And who is this woman that he’s willing to put his group in jeopardy?
• “I think about that, too.”
• “And?”
• “She will stay.”
• Has he lost his mind?