Anna dried off after a lukewarm shower and pulled on the clothes Violet had loaned her. The freshly laundered grey t-shirt and black cargo trousers were clean and comfortable against her skin. Jamie Edwards had applied a fresh dressing on her left arm and patched up her cheek and shins with Steri-Strips. Her boots remained filthy, but she pulled them on anyway.

She felt more herself now. Ready to do what had to be done. There was no doubt in her mind about what the Chittrix were doing. Fox could say what he liked, but the queens were swarming, and if no one stopped them it was the next step in game over.

The plain military room pressed down on her. Grey walls, a small bunk with sheets, and a standard, scratchy grey blanket. A cupboard nook with two bent coat hangers, and a shelf underneath.

She needed to escape.

Violet wanted her to rest for a few hours, but if she stayed in this room, she’d go crazy. She needed the cold night air on her face and in her lungs. Then she’d straighten her head out, decide what she needed to say to General Fox to convince him that everything they had here was on the line.

And then there was Garrick. His concern touched her. No man ever worried about her wellbeing. Keen to remove her underwear or undermine her work to make themselves look good, yes. Consideration and tenderness, not so much. It aroused new and fragile emotions within her that she was unsure how to deal with. Her emotions jangled, brittle and exposed.

Anna’s palms were slick with apprehension as she opened the door. Sticking her head out into the corridor she listened for the echo of approaching footsteps, but the buffed linoleum was silent and empty in both directions.

Relief flowed through her as she slipped from the room and pressed the door closed. The base hummed around her, ticking over through the night as she jogged up the corridor retracing her steps.

She stole past the communications room and the infirmary where Julia was resting. A glimpse through the small window at the top of the door revealed Edwards, bent over piles of books, illuminated by a pool of yellow light.

Anna reached down into her boot and gripped the handle of her knife. She wasn’t going to ask permission to leave, so without hesitation she headed up the access tunnel to the heavy, red security doors.

She slid her knife under the edge of the access panel, wiggling it off with the blade. The wires exposed, she stripped off the plastic casings and bound them together in a new configuration. The bolts in the door unlocked one at a time.

Boom, Boom.

They were bloody loud, and she willed them to hurry up and be a bit fucking quieter too why don't you as anxiety unzipped her bad mouth.

The final bolt slammed free.

She darted through the gap and slammed the door shut behind her, hearing the locks automatically re-sink into position.

Outside, finally. She sucked in lungfuls of fresh air. It smelled absolutely brilliant. Cool and sharp with the green scent of grass and trees. Craning her neck, she scanned the muted purple sky. It appeared clear, only shifting clouds scudding above her head.

She skirted to the back, where the building overlooked a row of red and white boxy houses before giving way to the black edge of the New Forest in the distance. Derelict gardens and driveways were outlined in subdued light as she scrambled down across grass that extended for several hundred feet before disappearing into rustling trees.

His hand threaded into hers without warning.

Anna started, jerking instinctively away, but Garrick caught her and tugged her close, scowling. How was he so damn silent?

“You are one obstinate woman. And difficult to find.”

Then he bent and kissed her, sending a hot rush through her body as his hands plunged deep into her hair. She broke away breathless, her hands flat to the hard planes of his chest. It was so easy to forget reality with him and lose herself. He was warm and real under her fingertips. She rested her head in the crook of his neck, breathing him in.

“How did you get out here?” His voice was gruff.

She shook her head. “I needed to think.”

“And?” His hands gripped her sides.

“I don’t know how to do ‘together’ Garrick. I’ve always been alone, I’ve never let anyone in. I’m a safety girl, especially with the world the way it is.”

He gripped her chin, tilting her face to his.

“That’s all the more reason for us to grab this, whatever it is, and not it let go.”

She replaced her head on his chest. Soothing warmth radiated from him. The way his presence encompassed her was addictive. The rhythmic thump of his heart filled her ears, blotting everything else out. Life was easier like this; when she didn’t have to think.

“You worry too much,” he said reading her mind.

“I know nothing about relationships.” The words fell from her mouth, uncensored. He didn’t flinch, but his arms flexed round her in response.

“I’m hardly an expert either. We can work it out together.”

Hot emotion welled in her throat, thwarting any words. Tears threatened at the corners of her eyes. Despite everything, he still wanted her. She’d tried to push him away, and he just kept coming back. No one had ever done that.

“I don’t want to do this without you, Anna. I’ve spent the last six months on autopilot after my brother died, and then you came and blew me out of the water. I’ve never met anyone like you.” He paused, his voice a breath against the top of her head. “Smart. Beautiful. Sexy.” His lips pressed into her hair in a kiss. “You woke me up. I’m not letting you go, and I’ll fight anyone or anything who tries to keep you from me.” He brushed his knuckles along her cheek with infinite gentleness. “Including you.”

Anna squeezed her eyes closed, letting him wash over and through her. She glimpsed a future where he’d never leave her, and they relied on each other in this new brutal reality. Her heart raced at the unknown possibilities in front of her.

“Garrick—”

A Chittrix hunting-scream ripped through the sky above, freezing the words in her throat. Anna stumbled as Garrick threw her violently to the left, hurling her to the ground. Her hip connected with unyielding stones, driving the air from her lungs. She rolled, searching wildly for the source of the scream.

Garrick stood in front of her, his machete drawn as he lunged at the Chittrix. Its silvered wings beat the air frenziedly, while its elongated legs slashed through the space separating them, trying to disarm him.

The hillside was bare. There was nowhere to run, no protection.

Fear rode her in a crashing, paralysing wave. Her fingers dug into the soil under her palms, grit grinding against her fingernails. The Chittrix connected with the grass briefly, its hindquarters flexing, giving it leverage to pound Garrick with its barbed tail and toss him in an easy throw. He landed awkwardly, his body twisting with a grunt.

Seeing him lying there released Anna. Dirty fingers burrowed deep into her boot for her knife. If she was going to die, she was going to die fighting. She jumped to her feet, rage bellowing from her lungs as she raced across the grassy space separating them.

It was the wasp-like Chittrix, the yellow-striped one she’d seen only days ago when Magdon Down was razed to nothing. The glossy head twitched sideways as she sprinted towards it, her thighs protesting at the violence of her run.

Its tail swung as she closed the final few feet between them. She ducked, bringing her arm up to protect herself, but she misjudged the clubbed pincer driving from the other side. It whipped through the air with a crack, an unstoppable steam-train that collided solidly with her temple.

Blackness engulfed her.