TWO MONTHS LATER

The weight of the gun was foreign in Evey's hands. She had not held a weapon since coming to the hospital. This was the first time that she would be leaving the grounds. Despite Ford's complaining, she insisted on joining the crew. Her shoulder had healed, and she wanted to be a valuable team member.

"Evey, one last chance," Ford said.

"I'm not staying behind," Evey said. "I want to help."

"You're going to get killed."

Caleb snorted before laughing.

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine? Have some faith," he said. "Let's open those doors."

Ford turned to glare at him. Caleb shrugged, not shrinking under Ford's intense stare.

"Caleb, you've been trying to go outside since we arrived here," Austin said.

"I'm eager to get one of these fuckers," he said. "D'Souza needs to study one."

"You realize what will happen if he finds a cure, correct?" Austin asked. "He will test the vaccine out when Millie has her baby."

"If it is the only way for my son or daughter to survive Thyestean, then I'm going to have to be okay with it."

Evey had wanted a Cure, but she never thought about having to trial vaccines. Would innocent newborn souls be lost because they were experimenting?

"Stay behind, Evey," Ford said. "We need you here as a nurse."

Evey rolled her eyes and pushed past Ford, heading toward the door. He reached to grab her arm, but she pulled away. Caleb chuckled and followed close behind.

"She will be the death of me," Ford muttered.

"There are worse ways to go," Austin said before stepping forward.

Ross was patrolling the door. It was the only door not barricaded but held shut by a chain with a lock. Ross unlocked it before pulling the chain out from the handles. The doors creaked as they opened, and Evey stepped outside.

She missed the days when she could take deep breaths of clean, fresh air.

The air inside the hospital was stale, but the horrid stench of rotten flesh was outside. Bodies of dead Infected littered the streets. Like Johnson used to remind them, the Infected were human and not a member of the undead. After a few weeks, most starved and died.

Guilt was heavy on Evey's mind. She was so eager to get to the hospital. If she had waited a few more weeks, maybe more of them would have survived.

Tightening her grip on her gun, Evey stepped over the body of a dead Infected. The silence was almost deafening. Before coming to the hospital, she had grown accustomed to the shrieking and screeching of the Infected. She looked from side to side, but none of the bodies moved. They had brought a dead body to D'Souza last month, but he wanted a live subject now.

"How far do you think we'll have to go?" Caleb asked.

"They may already be all dead," Ford said.

"There has to be at least one alive somewhere," Evey said.

There was an echo of a scream. It sent shivers down Evey's spine because it was the sound of Thyestean.

"We should go left," she said.

"Stay behind me," Ford said.

Evey pressed her lips into a hard line as she watched Ford walk forward. His gun was out, and he was ready to fire if anything moved. They were no longer restricted to using knives as coming across an Infected was a rarity now.

Evey hurried so that she was walking beside Ford. Her gun was out and ready. Caleb and Austin were behind them. They stayed quiet as they listened for the shrieking. Evey struggled not to stare down at the ground. She did not want to trip over a dead body, but she did not want to miss any Infected hiding.

Another shriek rang through the air. It was much louder, and goosebumps broke out across Evey's skin. She sucked in a deep breath to stop her hands from trembling.

One more screech was released from the Infected. Ford stopped and held out his hand to motion for the rest to not go further. He peered around the edge of the building to see an Infected in the alleyway. The Infected was scratching her fingernails against the bricks of the building. Her clothes were coated in dry blood, and foam dripped from her mouth.

"There's one," Ford whispered.

"What are we going to do?" Austin asked.

"I suggest we don't get eaten," Caleb said.

Ford scowled as he looked at Caleb. He stepped forward to see into the alley, but Ford held out his arm to stop him.

"Don't," Ford said.

"We need to keep it alive," Evey said.

"Did you bring that thing for its mouth?" Austin asked.

Evey reached into her bag and pulled out the mouthpiece she found in the endoscopy area. It was an open circle with a strap. While keeping the Infected's mouth open, it would also prevent her from biting them. Ford snatched it from Evey and held it toward Caleb.

"You're not doing it, Evey," Ford said.

"Stop treating me like I'm incapable and made of glass," she said.

"I would never forgive myself if something happened to you."

Caleb grabbed the strap and let the mouthpiece dangle. Shaking it in Ford's face, he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"What am I?" Caleb asked. "Chopped liver? Why do I have to be attacked?"

Ford peered into the alleyway once more before cocking his gun. Evey put her hand on Ford's shoulder, and he looked down at her.

"Remember," she said. "She stays alive. We don't know how many are alive anymore."

"Alive," Ford repeated.

"If Austin and I each run around her from opposite sides, she can attack both of us. We get her hands behind her back. You have the zip ties, Austin?"

"I do," Austin said.

"Hand me one," Evey said.

Austin reached into his bag and handed the black zip tie to Evey. Ford was scowling, but Evey chose to ignore him.

"She'll probably come after one of us. She looks hungry," Evey said. "Kalen, only shoot if it looks like one of us will be killed."

"Ev-" he started.

"Caleb," she cut him off. "Get that thing in her mouth as quickly as you can. Understand, everyone?"

The crew nodded.

"Let's go," she said.

Evey and Austin stepped into the alley. The Infected woman heard their movements. She growled as drool dripped from her lips. Evey swallowed past the lump forming in her throat. She could not afford to be scared.

The Infected let out a screech as she charged forward. Evey and Austin ran toward her. Evey did not have time to look over her shoulder at Ford, but she prayed he would not shoot. The woman swiped at Austin, who ducked to dodge the attack. Evey grabbed the woman's wrist. The woman shrieked before trying to shake Evey off. Holding on as tight as she could, Evey struggled to keep a tight hold. The Infected woman lunged toward Austin, narrowly missing him with his nails. His back was up against the wall, and the woman was only inches away.

Taking a deep breath, Evey knew what she had to do. She twisted the woman's arm as hard as she could. Evey did not stop until she heard the bones in the woman's wrists snap. The Infected howled and wailed as she fell to her knees. Austin slid away and grabbed the woman's unbroken wrist. Together they secured the zip tie around her wrists.

Calev came up behind them. Austin held the Infected's head in an attempt to get her to stop thrashing. When she screamed, Caleb forced the piece into her mouth and wrapped the straps around her head.

"Good move, Evey," Austin said. "I appreciate it."

"We all have to have each other's backs," she said. "We have to in this world."

Caleb pulled the woman onto her feet. She was fighting against the restraints, so Austin helped push her forward. Evey smiled when she saw Ford standing at the end of the alley.

"See?" Evey said. "You don't have to worry about me."

"I always will," he said.