“Fuck.” Mac winced as he lowered the monster to the ground, and yanked his knife from its skull.

“You okay?” Devin asked in a hushed voice. He edged forward.

Mac raised his arm as he stood, balling his hand into a fist. “Yeah. Just tweaked it.” He rubbed at his bandaged wrist.

A low guttural sound came from behind Mac. Another one of the infected emerged from the shadow of a doorway. Its face was ravaged, a chunk missing from beneath its eye socket. The eye was gone, too. The freak twisted its head, settling the gaze of its one good eye on Mac before lurching forward.

Mac raised his arm and braced himself for the attack, but Devin was able to come in from the side where the monster’s vision was impaired. With a forceful blow, Devin swung his ax into the side of the freak’s neck. There was a sharp crack and a throaty whine as it hit the floor with its head hanging at an unnatural angle.

“Thanks,” Mac said, rotating his shoulder.

Devin stood over the downed freak. He screwed his mouth up at the sight of fresh blood on its lips. “Where to next?” he asked. He lifted the pack he wore higher, noting the low chime of the links in the metal chain moving over each other.

Yara and Hank had headed in the opposite direction, looking to clear out any of the strays, while Devin and Mac went to find the ammo and seal the door.

“This way.” Mac pointed along the corridor that went off to the left. “Should bring us out round the corner from where we found you.”

Devin nodded. “Okay.” He listened. It was too quiet.

“Yara will look after him,” Mac said in a seeming attempt to put Devin at ease. “You can trust her.”

Devin met Mac’s eyes. Trust was not something Devin gave easily, not in light of everything that had happened. “Hank can take care of himself.” If only one of the pair was to return, he would bet on Hank every single time.

“So can you.” Mac chewed on his lip. “Army?”

Devin took the lead. “Yeah. A long time ago.” He twisted the handle of the ax in his hand. He pressed on a closed door. It was shut firm. They didn’t need any surprises.

“We can cut through here.” Mac indicated another door. He leaned inside. “Clear,” he said.

“You seem to know your way around this place.” he said.

“Yeah. We spent time sealing off some of the areas we didn’t see as being of much use to us. Took a couple of days to be sure we’d cleared out the rest.” Mac glanced over his shoulder at Devin.

Devin followed him, checking any obscured corners as they made their way through a series of linking rooms until they reached the open space of a ward. Beds were set at odd angles and a chill passed over Devin as he eyed the few drawn curtains, some spattered with dark stains. Carefully, he stepped over the scattered contents of a trolley.

There was a muffled sound up ahead. Devin halted.

“The exit we need to seal is out there and round to the right.” Mac indicated the far end of the ward.

Devin nodded before moving forward. Tension tightened in his chest as he checked behind the curtains. Old blood and disarray greeted him. He glanced at the dirt-covered plush toy lying on the floor beside the bed. The thought of the people who had been here at the time of the outbreak did nothing to lessen the weight he felt over his heart.

Focus, Devin.

There was nothing he could do for them now. It was Noah and the people back at the prison who needed him.

“Okay?” Mac asked in a quiet voice as he stopped beside him. He eyed Devin curiously.

“I’m fine.” Devin settled his gaze on the dim light beyond the propped open double doors of the ward. “Let’s get this over with.” They needed to get to the ammunition and clear the last of the freaks from the corridors. Only then were they going to be able to get out of this place.

Taking a deep breath, Devin continued to the doors. The sound of infected reverberated in the air and to the pit of his stomach. A burst of commotion caused Devin to stop. Shadows swayed in the corridor. He checked Mac was still with him.

“How many?” Mac mouthed. He narrowed his eyes as he strained to hear.

Devin shook his head and tried to differentiate between the raspy noises. “More than one,” was all he could say for sure. He winced at a scraping sound, figuring one of the freaks had knocked into something. Crouching, he slowly edged forward until he could see into the corridor. A tall, gaunt ghost of a man stood beside the window.

Maybe something outside had caught its attention.

“Shit.” Devin pulled back as the freak turned. Gripping the ax, he waited for any sign he’d been spotted. There was no change in behavior, no riled up shriek at having spotted a prey to hunt.

Where are your friends?

There had to be at least one more monster out there.

I hate this shit. Fucking creeping around in tight spaces.

Mac tapped Devin’s shoulder, making him flinch. Mac’s forehead was creased in a reassuring determination. The look in his eyes was a way of letting Devin know he had his back.

Okay. Devin considered what to do. He had no idea what was waiting for them. He pressed his hand to the door, got to his feet, and composed himself with a breath. The freak by the window was shuffling away from them and Devin dared to lean out farther. Convinced the freak was set on its course, Devin checked in the opposite direction. A loud wail erupted beside him.

“Christ.” Devin stumbled backward, narrowly missing the freak’s reach as it lashed out. Somehow, he managed to keep his balance. He made a dash for the open space of the ward. Mac put distance between them, seeming to keep out of the line of sight of the freak as it hunted down Devin.

“Get the fuck away from me.” Devin darted sideways behind one of the gurney beds. He shoved it forward, slamming the metal frame into the undead woman’s gut.

The monster was distracted long enough for Mac to make his move. He grabbed the female by her shoulder and punctured the base of her skull with his knife.

The freak dropped to the ground, but the victory was short-lived as an anguished cry drew their attention back to the door.

“Definitely more than one.” Devin backed up as three more freaks appeared in the doorway. “Shit.” He kept the bed between him and the monsters.

“Fuck it,” Mac declared and drew his gun. He made a headshot, taking down the first of the three.

The remaining two split, one went for Mac and the other ran at the bed, slamming into it as it tried to get to Devin. The freak grabbed at the bedding in an attempt to get up and over the gurney. In doing so it created an opportunity as Devin swung down his ax, burying it in the crook of its neck. The monster flailed with the ax stuck in its throat. It jolted away, dragging the slick ax handle from Devin’s grip.

Crazed, the freak let out a high-pitched scream and attacked the bed. Devin was nudged back as the frame hit his stomach, forcing him toward the wall. While searching for something to use as a weapon, he was only half-aware of the blur of motion to his right and the sound of more gunshots.

There was nothing of use nearby so he grabbed the edge of the bed and rolled the gurney, trying to force the freak back. The monster lunged across the bed and Devin jerked to the side, managing to stay just out of reach. It was then he caught sight of Mac. That was the last freak to deal with. He twisted the bed and was able to trap the monster against the wall.

“I’m really tired of this shit.” The stomach churning sound of tearing flesh echoed through the ward as Mac ripped the ax from the freak’s neck. He then smashed the ax down on its face, smashing its eye socket and penetrating deep enough to kill it.

The freak slumped and Devin relaxed his hold on the bed. “That all of them?”

Mac nodded and handed over Devin’s ax. “I think so.” He caught his breath. “Let’s get that door sealed. I’d rather not find out if there’s anything left out there I just alerted to our position.” He didn’t wait for Devin to say whether or not he agreed, instead he covered the door and checked the corridor was clear.

Devin chewed on his lip as he watched Mac for a moment. Using the gun had been the right thing to do. The immediate threat outweighed any possible risk of drawing further infected to them.

“Okay. We’re good,” Mac said and stepped out. He continued to check back and forth along the corridor as he headed for the back exit.

Mac stopped when he reached the open doors. “Damn.” He eyed the passage that had brought Hank and Devin to the back of the building. The floor was littered with rotted bodies. “I’m sorry.” He rubbed his forehead.

Briefly, Devin glanced at the bodies. Devin didn’t feel like discussing who was at fault. He and Hank were alive and that would have to be enough. “Yara did what she thought was right.” If their roles had been switched, he couldn’t say he wouldn’t have done the same and taken a warning shot at a perceived threat. “It’s fine.” He pulled the chain from his pack. “You got something to secure it?”

“Yeah.” Mac pulled the doors closed then took the chain from Devin.

Devin scanned the area, noting the smeared, bloody trail leading away from them. Hank’s rifle sat in a pool of blood. With a grimace, he picked up the weapon and cleaned it off as best he could on his pant leg. He put the rifle over his shoulder. The pack with the ammunition was missing. And so was Anders’ body. He rubbed a hand over his jaw and took a few steps in the direction the trail headed. “Damn.” His gaze settled on the orange diamond on the sole of a boot in an open doorway. The severed limb sat in a pool of blood.

“You done?” Devin craned his neck to see the blood continued inside. He took a step back.

There was the chime of metal. “Yep.”

“Good. You should probably come see this.”

“What is—” Mac fell silent. He leaned back his head and closed his eyes. “Anders,” he said. He took out his knife and stared at the blood leading from the dismembered lower leg.

Devin remained quiet. He didn’t know the dynamics of Mac’s group. How they had come together. What bonds they shared. Anders was young and maybe Mac felt responsible for him. Devin swallowed back the memory of Lee. Lee had looked up to Devin and Devin had failed him. Failed Kerry in protecting her son.

“He turned. I’d hoped… I know it wouldn’t have been quick but I thought maybe it would be the end of it for him.”

“You can’t say for sure what he felt.” Devin didn’t know how to comfort Mac. Anders had been swarmed by freaks, his body torn into by the hungry monsters. But they hadn’t finished the job. The blood trail had been left when Anders had reawakened, his undead shell dragging itself along the corridor.

“Maybe.” Mac entered the room into which the blood led.

Devin scratched his head, then followed him. Just inside the door, he found Hank’s rucksack.

“Damn it, kid.” Mac crouched down, obscured by the desk.

There was a throaty sound from behind the desk from what Devin assumed remained of Anders. He didn’t interfere, instead he checked the supplies.

All here. He took a full clip for his handgun and slung the pack on his shoulder with the rifle.

“Fuck.” Mac stood, placing the bloodied knife on the desk. He pressed his hand down as if to steady himself. “I can’t wait to leave this place.”

“I’m sorry,” Devin said and inserted the clip.

“Yeah, me too.” Solemnly, Mac looked down at where Anders lay. “We do what we have to.”

Devin stared at the gun in his hand. “We do.” He lifted the gun and pointed it at Mac.

Mac tensed his jaw as he met Devin’s eyes. “I didn’t think… You’re not a murderer.”

Devin shook his head. “You don’t know anything about me or what I’ve done.”

Mac’s hand was close to his waist.

“Put your hands up,” Devin insisted.

“Okay. Okay.” Mac raised his hand higher. “Maybe I know you better than you think.”

“Both hands.”

Mac still had his other hand on the knife. He glanced down at Anders’ body. “You could have killed him long before the infected got to him. You didn’t.” He tightened his hold around the blade’s handle, then released it and instead raised his hand. He turned so he was facing Devin straight on. “We can figure this out.”

“I can’t lose him.” Without Noah, what else was there for Devin? Emily hadn’t needed him in a long time, not really.

“You don’t have to. Come with us.”

Devin shook his head. If only it was that simple. “There’s people counting on us, waiting for us. I won’t just abandon them.”

Mac nodded. “Because that’s who you are.”

Devin steadied the gun with his other hand. “I don’t have a choice.”

“Thing is,” Mac said. “It’s not your choice to make. Is it?” He held Devin’s gaze. “I think you know that.” He stepped forward as if testing Devin’s resolve.

To keep the distance between them, Devin stepped back. Though he wanted to, he couldn’t ignore the fact that Mac was right. It was Noah’s choice to make. Noah came out here, back to Garnett, because he wanted to help people.

“Noah wouldn’t want this.”

Devin narrowed his eyes. “I promised to protect Noah. Even if that means protecting him from himself.” He reaffirmed his grip on the gun, lowering his supporting hand as his other steadied.

Mac’s expression changed as he stared at the gun. “Please. Don’t do this.”

Devin carefully felt out the trigger.

“You can still do what’s right.”

What is right anymore?

Devin considered the fear that had crept onto Mac’s face, replacing the quiet determination he had worn since they had met.

The world was not the same as it used to be. Right and wrong had been skewed beyond recognition.

“I don’t think I know what that is anymore.” He lifted the gun a little higher. Doubt plagued him.

“Then let’s figure it out together.”

Devin glanced down at the bloody floor. All he could think about was Noah and the possibility of losing him.

What would Noah want? Devin had promised to protect him. He looked along the length of the gun at Mac. Was this really who Devin was?

I’m sorry, Noah.

There wasn’t only Noah to think about in all this. Devin met Mac’s eyes.

Do what’s right.