James barely had time to let go of Abby before the first Sick reached them.

It stumbled from between two abandoned cars with a broken sprint that somehow managed to be faster than it had any right to be. Its head snapped toward the truck, drawn by the endless blare of the horn.

James raised his rifle.

The shot cracked through the parking lot.

The creature collapsed, but three more poured from the motel lobby behind it.

"Left!" Abby shouted.

James spun, firing twice more before slinging the rifle over his shoulder and drawing the hatchet from his belt as another closed the distance.

Steel buried itself deep in the creature's skull.

He ripped the blade free just as another survivor rushed past with a crowbar.

For several frantic minutes, the parking lot became nothing but noise. Gunshots echoed off the concrete motel walls while the horn continued to scream. Every shot seemed to summon another pair of Sick from somewhere inside the building.

A woman with gray hair emptied a revolver through a shattered motel window. Two teenage boys dragged furniture into the doorway to slow anything trying to force its way out. Abby fought beside James with practiced precision, never wasting a movement.

She'd learned.

Not just survived.

She'd become dangerous.

From the tree line, Maggie watched through the scope of John's rifle.

"They've got this," John whispered.

"They don't."

John followed Maggie's gaze.

Near the edge of the parking lot, the scout was slipping away.

While everyone else fought, he wasn't helping. He wasn't protecting anyone. He was backing toward the woods, hoping the chaos would swallow him whole.

James saw him at the same moment.

"You!"

The scout froze.

Recognition flashed across his face before panic took over. He turned and bolted.

James didn't hesitate.

He sprinted after him.

"James!" Abby shouted.

He didn't answer.

Branches whipped against his face as he tore through the woods. Somewhere behind him he heard Abby giving chase, and farther off came Maggie crashing through the brush from her hiding place.

The scout wasn't as fast as he used to be.

He'd lost weight.

His clothes hung loose from his frame.

He stumbled over an exposed root.

That was all James needed.

He slammed into the scout from behind, driving both of them into the forest floor. The rifle skidded into the undergrowth.

Before the man could crawl away, James straddled him and drove a fist into his jaw.

"You saw them."

Another punch.

"You found my family."

Again.

"And you led those things to them!"

The scout curled into himself, throwing both arms over his face.

"I had to!"

James grabbed him by the front of his filthy jacket and hauled him halfway off the ground.

"Had to?"

"You can't have her!"

James froze.

"What?"

Abby reached them, breathing hard.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

The scout's eyes darted to her.

"Nothing."

The answer came too quickly.

"Is that the motherfucker?" Maggie asked as she burst through the brush, fists already clenched.

The scout immediately shrank back, all the fight draining out of him.

"How do you know him?" Abby asked.

"This asshole led a horde to our cabin last week," Maggie said, never taking her eyes off him. Then, almost as an afterthought, she offered Abby a hand.

"Abby, I presume?"

Abby looked at the hand for a second before shaking it.

"Yeah. And you are?"

"Maggie Anderson. Our parents used to all work together."

James looked between them.

"Maybe we could get back to the psychopath on the ground?"

Their attention snapped back to the scout.

Abby's eyes narrowed.

"You found them over a week ago?"

He said nothing.

"You found them over a week ago?!" she shouted.

"I saved you," the scout insisted.

James looked at Abby, then back at him.

"He tried to kill me because he's in love with you?"

"You did what?" Abby whispered.

"I found you after everything fell apart."

"You found a starving group of strangers."

"I protected you."

"You stalked me."

"I loved you."

Abby's face hardened into something colder than James had ever seen.

"No."

"You just never saw it."

"No," she repeated. "I never loved you."

The scout glared at James. "You weren't even there for her."

James tightened his grip. "So you murdered innocent people instead?"

"I was trying to get rid of you."

"You nearly got children killed."

"I didn't know there were kids!"

"Yes you did. You just didn't care." There was no way he hadn't seen any of the kids during his scouting. They were outside more than inside.

Silence settled over the forest.

Finally Abby stepped closer.

"The paper got wet," she said quietly. "We only had part of the coordinates. We've spent months trying to find you."

She swallowed. "You found the cabin." The scout looked away. "You found them..." His silence answered for him. "...and instead you tried to kill them?"

No one spoke.

Even the woods seemed to hold their breath.

Abby's voice dropped to barely more than a whisper.

"I'm going to kill you myself."

She raised her rifle.

James instinctively pushed the barrel toward the ground.

She shot him a look.

"He deserves it."

"He does."

"Then let me."

James looked down at the man trembling beneath him.

Every instinct told him to step aside.

Instead, he slowly shook his head.

"If you kill him now..." he said quietly, "...he gets the easy way out."

Maggie rested a hand on her crossbow.

"So what do we do with him?"

Behind them, the motel had fallen silent.

The truck's horn finally died.

The only sound left was the wind moving through the trees.

James looked back toward the survivors gathering outside the motel.

Then down at the scout.

"We're taking him home."

Abby frowned.

"Home?"

James nodded.

"I think my mom deserves to decide what happens to the man who tried to wipe out her family."