When I push the door open to our room, two men are kicking Ryan senseless.

Ryan's curled into a ball, arms over his head, crying into his teeth.

I don't waste my breath trying to reason with the two Hunters before me. If they're here, they're Singh's dogs.

One continues kicking Ryan while the other breaks off to keep me away. He draws a knife and lunges at me.

I grab his arm in both hands, knife inches from my pecs.

His knee cracks against my ribs.

I risk dropping one hand from his arm and the knife inches closer to my chest. I slam my heel of my palm into his nose and he staggers back. I dart forward, blocking his arm with mine when he swings the knife in a wild arc. I kick him once in the ribs. When the knife pulls back, I jump and kick him in the chest with both my feet.

He's a Hunter too, so that wouldn't kill him. But I put enough force in the kick to send him slamming into the wall and falling directly onto the table between mine and Ryan's beds.

The second man finally leaves Ryan and comes at me with a bellow. He doesn't draw a weapon, just cracks his fist towards my face.

I barely manage to duck in time, feeling the swish of air over my head.

"Too bad Singh said you're off limits," the Hunter growls. "Or I'd kill you for being a traitor." He claps his hands against my ears.

I cry out and stagger, but I'd been moving, so he didn't get a good angle, meaning my eardrums don't rupture. Even if they did, they'd heal in a few hours, but still.

He seems a bit caught off guard when I shake the blow off and keep coming. "Stop!" he shouts.

I drop low and take out his legs.

He hits the ground with a crunch and roars into his teeth. "My ribs!"

I look up, chest heaving, ready to continue my fight with the first guy, only to find him pointing a gun at Ryan's head. I stop and let my arms go lax at my sides. "Alright," I say, "you've won. What now?"

"Now, I kill him," the man spits.

"Well, that seems like a bad idea, considering I'll kill you right after."

He shakes the gun at Ryan's head. "This is my job."

"He's not infected," I growl. "This is the furthest thing from your job."

"My job is to protect the Academy. To protect Singh!"

"Your job is to protect people from the Infection. You owe no loyalty to that woman and neither do we. Ryan made a choice to save people instead of blindly following the wrong person. You have the same choice. Make the right one, or your family loses a son."

The Hunter swallows. He shakes his head. "I'm not a traitor. Unlike you."

When I see his finger start to squeeze, I launch myself at him, throwing us both back into the wall he's already hit once.

He wheezes, but he keeps a good grip on the gun. He fires once, aiming for my leg and missing, the bullet hitting the tile floor. He manages to crack his head into my nose.

Even with my Hunter abilities, the blow is too much for me. My legs give out and I crumple against my bed.

"Now, to end this," he hisses, pointing his gun back at Ryan's head.

My eyes find Dion's gun I'd hid behind the table. The Hunter hitting it must've dislodged it, because it lays on the floor beside me.

The shot rings out.

I flinch, heat tearing at my throat like a set of dog fangs.

"NO!" The other Hunter is on his feet now, clutching his ribs and staggering towards his friend. "I'll kill you!" he screams at me, eyes wild and crazed. Rabid.

I fire again. I don't flinch this time.

At least, not until the man's body falls to the ground and reveals Sasha and Amari in the doorway.