A Commander is waiting for us when we disembark from the ferry. She stands with her arms behind her back and a camo hat pulled low over her eyes. "So, you're the fresh meat Singh sent me. I'm Commander Lancaster, but you can call me Rayne." She shakes each of our hands. Her eyes linger on Ryan's face with a frown when she steps back. "I will be your supervising officer during your stay here. Any questions?"

"Do you work for Singh?" Amari asks.

Lancaster frowns and narrows her eyes. "Sweetheart, we all work for Singh."

"I work for the people I protect," Amari growls.

"Babe," Sasha warns, grabbing her wrist.

Ryan leans into me. "What's her deal?"

I shove him off and shoulder my pack. "Where are we staying?"

Lancaster claps her hands together. "Right this way."

Ryan and I get put in a dorm across the hall from Sasha and Amari. Them sharing a room is a terrible idea, but they'd both kill me if I pointed this out to Lancaster, so I keep my mouth shut.

"You'll shadow trained Hunters for a while," Lancaster says. "Once we've determined that you're fit for field work, you'll get your own assignment."

"Will we be leaving the city?" Sasha asks.

Lancaster shrugs. "Most Hunters prefer working in the city. It's safer. But that means most of the jobs here are usually filled. Your performance will determine where you're placed."

Sasha, Amari, and I share a strained look.

The Hunters in the city are supposed to catch the Infection before it ever has a chance to grow. The pack we found in the sewers was from Singh's carelessness, but the Hunters should've been aware of it long before it had the chance to get that bad.

It's strange that I haven't been able to find missing persons' reports on any of the Infected we... disposed of. The Infection doesn't choose who it effects. There's no way it would've picked only people no one would notice were missing. Unless Singh's hand in it reaches even further than we thought. Could it be possible she picked people to be infected?

As risky as it is, maybe I should meet up with Tae and Tomas. None of us are happy sitting here waiting for Singh to make her next move.

I'm afraid she's already made it.

"Hey," Ryan says.

I look up, realizing I've been spaced out for a while, staring at the wall in front of my cot.

He rubs the back of his neck and approaches, settling on the foot of my bed. "I get it. First assignment off the island. It's a lot."

"It's not my first," I say, unlacing my boots.

"Then, what's going on with you? It's like you're on another planet."

"Look, I appreciate the concern and all, as my Protector, but we're not friends." I push off the bed, settling my boots between it and our shared side table.

"Can't we be?"

The look on his face is earnest, but I don't trust him. Amari has been spot on about people long before she got visions as a side-effect of almost dying.

"Why? Will that make it easier to do our jobs? I've learned that emotions do nothing but get in the way."

"You're talking about Tarak."

"I'm talking about our duty. To protect people. If all we care about is protecting each other, innocent people will get hurt. We will get hurt."

"What about Amari and Sasha?"

"What about you and your Hunter?"

His jaw tightens and he looks away. "You're my Hunter."

"I could help you," I tell him, "figure out the truth and all."

"Like I said before... Singh will strip me of my title as a Protector if I don't drop it."

"Is that really such a bad thing if it means learning the truth?"

Ryan scoffs and stands. "Maybe you don't understand since you're an orphan, but those of us with family aren't thinking about ourselves. Losing our title would make our families disrespected. Hated, even. People have died over it before." He looks down at his feet and clenches his fists. "I'm first-generation. My family is not well-off, so if I'm not a Protector, they don't get my income. They don't get compensated when I die. I don't agree with Singh any more than you do, but I have to do what she says to keep my family safe. We'll go to great lengths to keep our positions. To protect those we love."

Even blow up a building to cover up lies by the woman who took your title in the first place. Working with someone you resent even though you're older and more experienced. Become someone's Protector when you're clearly not ready to move on from your last Hunter.

I bite my lip. "Just because I'm an orphan doesn't mean I don't have people I care about. The orphanage that raised me gets everything if I die in battle. I understand, Ryan."

His eyes water and he looks away, out our only window above the side table. "Look, I'll admit it, this is just a job for me. I'm on thin-ice with Singh and needed something to get back in her good graces. But we might as well make the most of it. We're stuck to each other for the next year, so the least we can do is be civil." He puts his hand out and meets my gaze. "What do you say?"

I hold in an agitated sigh. Something about him is rubbing me the wrong way. Maybe it's just me blindly trusting Amari too much, but I can't shake the feeling that this is a bad idea.

Still, I take his hand and shake it.