Don’t you dare leave me.

Devin carefully ran his fingers through Noah’s hair and pulled back the bangs from Noah’s forehead. Noah was laid out on the floor with his head and shoulders across Devin’s lap. Devin shifted slightly. He had no idea how long he had been sitting with Noah.

Too long. Time to wake up, you big idiot.

He watched Noah’s chest, appreciating every rise and fall. If Noah had died, he had no idea what he would have done. All of this had been for him, and Devin didn’t know how he could go back if it wasn’t with Noah. Noah’s skin was warm under his thumb as Devin stroked a line over his temple. Just for a moment he let go of everything that had come before. He focused on Noah and dared to smile.

Swallowing hard, Devin leaned forward. “Wake up. You hear me?” He stared down at Noah and waited.

Noah’s eyes rolled behind his lids, sluggish movements as he slept, but Devin was left disappointed.

Leaning back, Devin checked around the dim room. It was getting late and they were losing light as the sun dropped in the sky. Across from him, a man and woman were standing in quiet conversation. They were armed, and clearly the ones who were trained and in charge of whatever was going on here. The other part of the group seemed to be made up of civilians—two men and a woman. Devin had gleaned that they each had some kind of medical or science background—doctors, researchers, those who would be happier in white coats and labs, not running from virus-crafted monsters.

Hank was sitting a few feet away. Though disarmed, he was people-watching, and Devin could almost see his pattern of thoughts as he worked his way from one strategy for escape to the next. Where were his enemies, his exits? What weapons were at his disposal? What route would he take once he got out of this room? Then there was the short glance Hank took over his shoulder and any plan he might have had dissolved. Hank reached up and retied his hair, fastening loose strands back into the long ponytail he wore. With a sniff, he repositioned himself, crossing his legs before returning to his watching, and started his plan over.

Devin eyed the group of civilians and, in particular, the female doctor who had treated Noah. She was pale and shaken compared with how she had dealt with the urgency of their situation. One of the men was massaging her wrists and forearms, as if doing his best to stop her from breaking down.

The need to protect Noah overwhelmed Devin as the other man got to his feet. He had introduced himself earlier as Brandon and had made it clear he was well aware of Noah’s immunity. Devin closed his hand around the material of Noah’s T-shirt as Brandon approached them. With his hand on Noah’s shoulder, Devin looked Brandon up and down.

Brandon gave the impression of being somewhat timid, in part due to his shorter stature compared to the others in his group, and came across as someone who might be reasoned with.

Who would have no sway in the end.

Devin chewed on his lip and glanced at Hank when Brandon stalled mid-stride. Devin raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure what had provoked Brandon’s reaction as Hank turned his head.

“He’s quite the watchdog,” Brandon said. He removed his glasses, and wiped them on the sleeve of his cardigan, out of what appeared to be nervousness. He raised the spectacles and frowned, giving them a firmer clean. “May I?” He indicated the space beside Devin. He pushed his glasses back on his face and scratched his bearded jaw.

Devin nodded. He raised his free hand to his mouth, running the knuckle of his index finger just beneath his lip. His skin felt dry and rough.

“How’s he doing?” Brandon sat but kept what he must have considered a safe distance.

Devin lowered his hand and ran the back of it over Noah’s cheek and jaw. “He’ll be okay.” He hesitated. Though he’d had some basic medical training back when he was in the army, and Hank too it seemed, fear had gotten the better of him. It was because of these people that Noah was alive. “Thank you.”

Brandon’s eyes held curiosity as he glanced from Devin to Noah. “He told me someone would be waiting for him. I figure that someone is you?”

Breathing in, Devin considered his answer, opting instead for deflection. “The cuffs. Were they you?” He tilted his head in the direction of Noah’s wrapped hand.

“Not exactly.” Brandon threaded his fingers together and propped his elbows on his knees. “He had a run-in with Mac and Yara. They did what they thought was best. Not everyone we’ve come across this last year has exactly been friendly.” He gave a wry smile. “It’s hard to trust.” Brandon looked directly into Devin’s eyes. “I think you’re someone who understands that.”

Devin checked on Hank. There was visible tension in the way his friend held himself. It was as if he was swallowing back a boulder as he faced Brandon again. “What do you want to know?”

“Your eyes? How? You’ve no visible bites. You’re not infected or turning.”

With pursed lips, Devin considered the other doctors and felt the spark of something he thought they had lost—hope.

Can they do what Chicago couldn’t? Save the world?

Making a decision, Devin pulled down his collar. “I was bitten.” He touched the healed wound. “It’s difficult to explain. But you’re right about one thing. Noah is special.”

Brandon smiled. “You care about him.”

“He’s the reason I’m alive.”

“Brandon, get away from him,” Yara said. Her voice held a new level of disdain Devin didn’t think he’d heard even in his mother’s voice when she’d found out he was gay.

“We’re just talking,” Brandon insisted, though he did slide back, putting an extra foot or two between them.

“It’s bad enough I’m stuck in here with them. I don’t want to have to listen to their whiny-ass voices too.”

Devin twisted his head, until he felt the satisfying click of his sore neck. Ignore her. Don’t engage.

It was Hank who spoke up. “Door’s right there, sweetheart.” Hank ran his tongue over his upper teeth.

“Hank,” Devin warned.

Yara placed her hand over her sidearm. “After you. I insist.”

“Nobody’s going anywhere.” Mac stepped from the shadowed corner behind the door. “Not until we decide on a plan.” He stood tall and stared his companion down. “We might not like it, but we’re in this together.”

Mac clenched his fists as Yara glared at him. The pair locked eyes.

This isn’t going to get us anywhere.

The tension eased when Yara, who was in no way inferior to her male counterpart, relaxed her shoulders first and backed down.

“Sure, let’s work with the dumb assholes who let those things in here in the first place,” she said.

Devin took a deep breath. “You shot at us,” he stated. “Riled them up. What did you expect was going to happen?”

Yara stiffened, setting her jaw as she eyed the floor.

Devin gave a humorless laugh. “So it was you,” he stated. “You did a bang-up job if your plan was to keep this place secure.”

“Maybe I should have just shot you?” she said.

“Maybe you should have.”

Mac seemed to ignore the bickering, and stated, “Can’t be many of those things left out there.” Mac met Devin’s eyes. In the poor lighting of the room, Mac’s eyes appeared almost black. He tilted his head as he seemed to scrutinize Devin’s gaze, probably trying to figure out what kind of man or monster Devin was. “A dozen maybe that separated from the group when they entered.” Mac folded his arms as if bracing himself for something. “We should clear the corridors. The four of us.”

“No way.” Yara’s refusal was accompanied by a snort of disgust and a shake of her head.

“We need to clear those things out. We need to finish what we came here for.”

Devin glanced at Brandon who was quick to avert his eyes.

Why are you here?

Brandon knew Noah was immune. The man had a medical background and had taken an interest in Noah.

Yara rocked back on her heels. “I don’t trust them.”

“If it makes you feel any better we don’t trust you either,” Hank said in a low voice.

Yara set her gaze in Hank’s direction. “Anders is dead because of you.”

“Your friend is dead because he was foolish. He brought those freaks down on top of us and nearly got us all killed. You can’t blame us for that,” Hank’s reply was too harsh for Devin’s liking.

The accusation unsettled Devin. They could play the blame game all they wanted—Anders shouldn’t have panicked, he and Hank shouldn’t have busted open the exit, Yara shouldn’t have shot at them, Noah shouldn’t have headed out here alone. The dead should have stayed dead. Swallowing back the urge to scream at them to just “shut the hell up”, he wrapped his hand around Noah’s wrist and felt his faint but steady heartbeat. The gentle throb calmed Devin.

Noah had survived so much for so long, and he had done it alone. Sometimes Devin wished he had never gone to the farm, never interrupted the status quo of Noah’s life and his survival.

Noah would tell you not to be an idiot. Together they had survived Corden and his messed up rule. They would survive this too.

“But I do blame you.” Yara made a move toward Hank, but in the end it was Brandon who rose to his feet to face her.

“Just give it a rest, Yara. You know as well as the rest of us Anders was unreliable and volatile. It was only a matter of time before he got himself or someone else killed.”

Mac rallied to Brandon’s side. “Yara. Please.” His voice was gruff. He sounded weary.

“That could have been us,” she said.

Mac shook his head. “No, it couldn’t. Because we’d have known better.”

The tension between the two of them eased as Yara puffed out her cheeks. She appeared to make some small peace with the situation.

Relaxing his shoulders, Devin checked on Hank. Their eyes met for a moment and Devin was reassured his friend had his back no matter what happened.

“We’ll help you,” Devin said. “We all want out of here, right?”

Brandon glanced over his shoulder. There was obviously something they weren’t sharing, but that was a bridge Devin would have to cross when they got to it.

We need to keep our eyes open. I need to. Wide open. For all our sakes. Devin wasn’t foolish enough to think the others would tell him all their plans. After all, he had done his best to keep personal or sensitive information about him and his group to himself. Though he didn’t think these people were a threat to home, they were in Garnett for a reason, and he feared that reason might be something Noah was inescapably tangled up in.

“So? We’re doing this?” Brandon looked between the two groups.

Devin didn’t need to check with Hank, not on this. He nodded. “Yeah. We’re in.”

Mac cocked his head in Yara’s direction.

She closed her eyes and shrugged. “Sure. Whatever.”

“Okay, then.” Mac held out a handgun to Brandon. “Like before, yeah? You keep them safe.” He indicated the other civilians.

Brandon took the gun in both his hands. He didn’t say anything, but walked to the side of the room and leaned back on a desk.

“My job is to keep these people safe,” Mac said. He stood over Devin. He was holding their weapons. “We’ve been on the road together for months. There are people out there who… It’s not just the walking corpses you need to fear.”

Devin didn’t say anything, but he understood. He knew enough of the atrocities people did to people and that was before any of this nightmare. Carefully, he lifted Noah’s head, supporting his lover’s neck as he slid from beneath him.

Wake up. Devin leaned over Noah and stroked his cheek. Too pale. “I’ll be back soon.” He pressed a kiss to Noah’s forehead, then got to his feet.

“You get we never meant for any of this to happen?” Mac held the ax out to Devin.

Devin took the weapon. He gripped the solid handle. “Neither did we.” He raised his eyes. Mac’s gaze was intense and Devin figured Mac was forming opinions based on what he saw.

“I’d like to hear about those when we’re done. Brandon, too, I’d imagine.” Mac returned Devin’s sidearm, then held out Noah’s gun he had picked up in the corridor.

The ease with how Mac disregarded the color of Devin’s eyes was unsettling.

How can he not be concerned? Does he not wonder if I’m just one more monster?

But Devin was also relieved to not have to defend himself, prove himself. Anders’ reaction had cut deep, and had left Devin feeling little hope on whether anything would ever change.

“Do you have any ammo? We’re pretty low ourselves.”

“That mine?” Hank was at Devin’s side, indicating the rifle over Mac’s shoulder. The tension he’d held in his shoulders visibly eased as Mac handed over his weapon. He checked over his equipment. “We’ve ammo.”

Mac raised one of his thin, dark eyebrows. A scar cut its peak in two.

“Anders has it.” Hank glared in Yara’s direction.

Blank-faced and with her head down, Yara didn’t respond when Hank named her former colleague. She grabbed her weapon and a pack, and joined them.

Hank pulled the strap of his rifle up and over his head. “A second rifle too.”

“So we get them first,” Yara said matter-of-factly.

“You sure you’re okay with this?” Devin slipped his gun into its holster and secured the spare in his waistband.

There was a pride that could’ve been mistaken for arrogance in the way she held herself, standing tall as she looked him in the eye. “I’ve worked with plenty of whiny assholes in my day. What’s a couple more?” She pressed her lips into a line and clenched her jaw, briefly. She then relaxed, a smirk teasing the corner of her mouth. “I’ll be fine. It’s my job.”

Devin nodded. The tense air between them seemed to clear, at least for the time being. “We’ll follow your lead.”

“Damn straight,” Yara said. She opened the pack and pulled out a chain. She tossed the chain to Hank. “You chain the door you busted open and we’ll cover you.” She quirked an eyebrow as Hank fumbled with stray metal links.

Mac ran his wrapped hand over his shaved head, smoothing the waves of black growth at his hairline. He seemed to wince when he lowered his hand.

“Everything okay?” Devin pressed the ax tight to his thigh. There was no evidence of blood seeping through the bandaging, no sign Mac had been bitten. Like everyone, Mac’s appearance was of a man who was exhausted, beaten down.

It was clearer than ever Mac wasn’t an idiot. He knew what Devin was asking. “It’s not what you think. Like they’re not what I think.” He nodded, holding Devin’s gaze. He raised his hand and bent his fingers. “We came across this group a few weeks back. I should have known something was off but…” He cleared his throat. “For all the threats of what they’d do if we didn’t tell them what they wanted to know, give them what they wanted, they didn’t actually ask all that much.”

“I’m sorry.”

Mac shrugged. “As Brandon said, it’s hard to trust. So, I’m sorry. Sorry things turned to shit quite so fantastically.”

Devin watched the quirk of Mac’s lips as he spoke. His accent was quite something, a strange hybrid. “Where are you from? Your accent… English, right?”

“Mmm.” Mac drew a hunting knife, which had been secured on his belt. “Originally, anyway. My wife’s family is from Detroit. I moved out here with her. Made a life, a career.” He stopped when there was a low thud outside the room. With his eyes on the door, he continued, “But that’s a story for another time.”

There was a low growl and the sound of something dragging its feet along the corridor outside.

“Damn things,” Yara said in a low voice.

“Hopefully, it’s just one,” said Mac.

Devin glanced at the ax in his hand. “It’s never just one.” There’s always another around the next corner. He would feel a lot better once they’d retrieved the pack of ammunition. He didn’t doubt Yara and Mac were capable killers, but he had learned the hard way not to put his faith in others. When it came down to it, relying on himself was his best option.

And Hank. The knot of fear loosened in his gut when Hank came to stand beside him.

“If you can take them out silently and safely, try to hold off with the gunfire,” Mac instructed as he bundled material around his neck, securing it in the top of his jacket. “If they’re spread out thin, I’d like to keep it that way.”

Yara swung a curved climbing ax, slashing the air with the pointed blade. “Fine by me.” She headed toward the back of the room.

Mac went after her, meeting Devin’s eyes as he passed. “This way.” He led them to a door.

Devin shot Hank a curious look.

Hank tensed his jaw as he watched Mac.

I did say we’d follow their lead.

If they wanted to get out of there and back home, they needed to work with these people.

Devin shared a short nod with Hank. “It’s okay.” Hank went ahead and Devin checked on Noah one last time. He wished he could wake him up and tell him he’d be right back.

“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Brandon said, evidently sensing Devin’s hesitation. “You go do your thing. Leave Noah to us.”

“If…when he wakes up. Tell him…” Devin considered what message to leave. “Just tell him I’m okay and I’ll be back soon.”

Brandon nodded and lowered himself to the floor, sitting close to Noah.

Backing away, Devin kept his eyes on Noah until he had no choice but to turn and follow the others. The door opened into some kind of storage room with lines of shelving units stacked with plastic containers and cardboard boxes. In the far corner was a stepladder, and Yara was already on the top rung, easing open a panel in the ceiling.

“Not claustrophobic are ya?” she teased, then lifted herself into the space, swinging her legs up.

Mac waited until Yara was clear of the opening. “We can get to nearly anywhere in the hospital from here. Safer for the others if we head farther out and work our way back. The reception is secure. We can go from there.”

Devin looked up at the crawlspace. He could hear the flexing of metal as Yara crawled above them. “Is it safe? Structurally?”

Mac pursed his lips. “Just follow us, yeah.” He climbed the ladder.

Devin stepped forward and cast a cautionary glance over his shoulder.

“Trust me,” Mac insisted as he hoisted himself into the crawlspace with a grunt.

“Do we?” Hank asked quietly. “Trust them?”

The ladder frame was cool to the touch. “I guess we do.”

At least until they give us a reason not to.