"What do you mean?" Evey asked.

"She went back to where she dropped Chester," Joey said.

He yawned before rolling onto his side and curling into a ball. Evey thought that she was going to be sick. She clutched her pounding heart before rushing out of the room.

This cannot be happening, she thought. This is not happening.

Ford was lying on the bed. He had one arm tucked behind his head. His brows were furrowed when he saw Evey burst into the room.

"We have to go," she said.

Ford shook his head as he pushed himself to sit on the bed. Evey used the flashlight to find her knife and gun on the nightstand. Her hands were shaking as she tried to fasten the straps.

"Evey, what is going on?" he asked.

"Josie is gone," she said. "She went to go find that fucking bear."

Ford scrambled to get off the bed and find his clothes. They hastily got ready before running down the hallway. Evey used the flashlight to guide them through the dark house. They ran out the front door, and Evey shone the light around the street. How long ago did she leave?

Johnson was sitting on the porch across the street. He leaned back in the chair with his feet on the porch railing. He was fiddling with the radio in his hands. He kicked his feet off the banister and stood when he saw the light.

Evey ran across the lawn toward Johnson. Which direction did Josie run off into? She surely would not be able to retrace their steps to Chester. How could Johnson even let a little girl run away from the group? If it were Gomez, she'd understand.

"Where did she go?" Evey asked.

"Who?" Johnson asked.

"Josie," Ford said. "She ran away."

Johnson's eyes went wide.

"Where did she go?" he asked.

"You didn't see her?!" Evey shouted. "You're supposed to be on the lookout."

"I'm looking out for Infected, not little girls running away."

Evey balled her fist at her side. Ford put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back. She was too far from Johnson to swing, but Ford could not predict what she would do.

"She was in the house with the two of you," Johnson said. "How did you not notice her leaving?"

"We said she snuck out," Ford said.

Evey bent over, placing her hands on her thighs. If she and Ford were not having sex, this would have never happened. There were only two bedrooms in the house. Did everyone else know that? One of them should have been sleeping on the couch.

"I didn't see her," Johnson said. "Which direction do you think she went?"

Ford let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked from his left to right, but it was useless in the dark.

There was a screech, and Evey stood straight. It came from her right. There was a louder screech that pierced the silent air. Evey brushed her fingers along the knife on her thigh before she took off running. That poor little girl was probably fighting for her life against a hoard of Infected.

"Evey!" Ford shouted.

He quickly caught up with her. He put his hand on her arm, but she pushed him off. The flashlight was in a tight grip in her hand. The beam of light bounced as she ran.

"Evey, you'll die," Ford said.

"I can't let her die," she said.

She had let Lila die. She had given her sister's finger willingly to the soldiers. She even held her down when Johnson did the blood test. She could not keep her alive, so she vowed to keep the twins alive. She could not fail at that. They were so close to Toronto. They were so close to finding the Cure.

Evey followed the sound of shrieking. The sound was shrill, and she was thankful it was not a little girl's sound. There was a chance that Josie was still alive. One more screech told her to take a right.

Evey froze and gasped as she turned the corner on the street. A group of Infected were roaming around the road. They were not going in a particular direction but wandering in circles. They all turned to look at Evey.

The Infected at the front, a woman around Evey's age with blood pouring from her eyes, stretched out her hands and screamed. She charged forward. Evey's heart pounded. She took a step back. She flashed the light to different areas of the street to look for Josie, and the Infected woman ran in a jerky motion from side to side.

Evey's light flashed twice before going out completely. She pressed her finger on the button frantically, but the light would not turn back on. The battery was dead.

Evey took a few more steps back. The Infected woman stopped running and stood still. Evey's heart was pounding in her ears as she was frozen in fear. She managed to tear her eyes off the scene to glance at Ford. He was still next to her.

The Infected woman returned to roaming in circles on the street. Evey looked down at the flashlight in her hand with her brows furrowed.

"The light," Ford said in a harsh whisper. "They like the light."

"Can they see us?" she asked.

"Doubt it."

Evey tightened her grip on the flashlight as she took a step forward. None of the Infected reacted to her movement, so she took another step. Ford put his hand on her shoulder, but she shook him off. Josie did not have a light. There was a chance that she would survive this crowd.

Evey held her breath as she walked by the woman who had just been charging her. The woman let out a low growl but did not move. Evey's knuckles ached from how tight she held onto the dead flashlight. If Ford's theory was wrong, then she would be eaten within seconds.

Ford shook his head as he followed behind Evey. He could not let her get into this mess without trying to keep her safe.

It was difficult for Evey to see in the dark street. Her heart continued to pound. What if she bumped into one of these things? Would they attack her? She slowly pulled out her knife, just in case. The gun was of no use in this situation.

She finally breathed when she got past the remaining Infected. She spun around to see that Ford was weaving through the Infected. He stormed over to Evey, grabbed her arm, and pulled her off the road to the side street.

"What was that?" he growled in her ear.

"We have to find Josie," she said.

"Where did she go?" he asked. The hint of sarcasm behind his voice irritated her. "Where do we find her? When did she leave?"

Evey tried to free her arm from his grip, but Ford tightened his hold. She took a step to the side, and he yanked her closer.

"You should have been on the couch," Evey said.

"You're blaming me?" he asked.

"We should have stopped for two seconds for that stupid bear."

"So you are blaming me?"

Evey bit down on her lip. Her eyes burned as she was seconds away from crying. She took a sharp breath to push them away, but it was no use. She was sobbing. She let a little girl be killed. Josie probably had a horrible death. Evey was so close to getting her to the city and giving her some sort of normal life, but that was all gone.

Ford let go of his painful grip on Evey. He wrapped his arms around her. She fought against it for a moment before burying her face in his chest. She bit down on her lip, not wanting her crying to attract any Infected. Ford rubbed her back, and the small gesture made her cry even harder. She should not be blaming him. It was both of their faults.

"Let's get back," he said. "Joey is alone."

Joey.

It was no longer the twins. It was only Joey now. Josie would be gone forever.

Evey nodded as she pulled back. She hastily wiped the tears off her cheeks. She could not protect Lila or Josie. Joey was her last chance.

Ford grabbed her hand as they walked back to the house. They took the roads that were free of Infected. Evey kept her head down and let Ford guide her. She did not want to cry in front of Joey when they got to the house.

Ford opened the door, and someone rushed to the front door. Evey lifted her head, expecting it to be Joey. He must have woken up and panicked being alone in the house. Fiona was in front of Evey and Ford, though. Evey realized her hand was still in Ford's and ripped it free. She was not sure if Fiona saw, but Fiona extended her arms and wrapped them around Evey in a hug.

"Johnson woke me and told me," she said, her voice wavering with tears. "I am so sorry Evey."

"I want to keep looking," Evey said.

"No," Ford said. "Too dangerous."

"She's just a little girl," Evey said. "She couldn't have gotten far."

"Do you know how long ago she left?"

Evey's body tensed. She knew exactly when she left, but she could not tell any of them that. It would be her and Ford's secret.

"We were asleep," Ford said.

Evey nodded. Fiona sighed.

"I have watch," Ford said.

He turned and left. Evey was sure that he was desperate to get away from the awkward situation. Did he regret sleeping with her?

Fiona pulled Evey to the couch. They sat, and Evey rested her head on Fiona's shoulder. She kept an arm around Evey.

"We should tell Joey," Evey said.

"Let him sleep," Fiona said. "We can tell everyone in the morning."

Evey shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose to stop her from crying again.

"We were so close," Evey said. "We have to find her."

"You'll get yourself killed looking for her," Fiona said. "You have no idea what direction she went off in. Stay alive for Joey. He's really going to need you now."

Evey let out a shaky breath. She let two children be killed. She needed to keep Joey safe.

She needed to.

She must.