BREN

"That'll work," I said after looking through the night vision binoculars. "And the hotel next to it looks empty."

Miguel, Jun, Peter, Logan, and I were perched on a hilly spot overlooking I-81. Half a mile away was the Red Lion Inn—and a few other traveler's lodges—next to a three-story parking garage, which was also used for parking vehicles for government employees for the Department of Game Commission, Environmental Services, PEMA labs, and the Susquehanna School District. They were clustered together in some office park along with other buildings, banks, trading offices, insurance, and what-have-you, but they all looked empty, too.

"What do you think, Jun?" I asked, handing the binoculars back to him.

Jun looked through the binoculars once again. "The hotels blocked the view from the garage. Anyone looking up the hill from the freeway won't see us if we decide to make a fire. Overall, I like it."

I smiled. "Great. That settles it. We're gonna camp out on the upper floors. It gives us a good view of everything around us." I couldn't risk going door-to-door, checking to see if the hotel was empty with survivors, or worse, vectors. I didn't want to rattle anyone's nests, so it was better to use the parking garage.

I saw the others nodding to my plan. Logan quietly looked around, watching everyone else's reaction. When he caught me looking, he lowered his gaze. Our conversation earlier was still fresh in his mind, and it didn't help everyone in the RV heard about it. I was thankful none of them brought it up once I got out of the cabin and sat on the couch. Aria and Yousef tried to continue their conversation, but it sounded forced. There was definitely tension in the air, and I was desperately trying to cut it down.

I need to cool off, I thought when I walked back to the RV.

We parked on the third floor, though not on the rooftop garage since I wanted some protection from the elements. It might rain, and that's just cruel for everyone who would sleep in the tents. We couldn't all fit in the RV.

The Wheelers, the frat boys, and the girls from the outpost started setting up their tents—sometimes single or 3-men-sized tents—unrolled their sleeping bags, some pillows, blankets, and other nightly routines that they do. Paloma and her friends would sleep in their van since the seats converted into one giant mattress. I realized that they had already eaten dinner, but I made Miguel brew some jasmine tea to warm them up for the night. It wasn't to make up for anything, though I doubted giving them tea would suddenly allow them to forget what I had done. That would have been nice, I thought, but sadly, I didn't have that power.

Still, they didn't refuse when I offered it to them, but there was hesitation from the frat boys. They probably heard about me poisoning those soldiers, and I made a mental note to talk to Haskell about letting unwanted things slip off his tongue. I knew he was unnerved by all we had done, but that's no excuse to run his mouth around, a point which I told to Peter.

"Relax. I already talked to him," Peter said. "He's a little scared and jittery."

"Just make sure he's doing okay, alright? I don't want him to fall off the wagon."

"I will. Don't worry."

The others refused to talk to me (by others, I meant the new guys) or were at least jumpy when I am around. I tried not to let it bother me since it was still fresh in everyone's mind. It was understandable. After all, it was one hell of a first impression, and we barely knew each other for less than a day. Still, I kept my eye on them all night. Who knew what they're going to do once they decided I'm a loose end? People who thought they're above you would do unspeakable things, and I saw some already view me like that.

Miguel was still jolly as always when I talked to him, though I could feel his voice strained a little bit. Alfie completely ignored the entire situation, probably compartmentalizing it at the back of his mind. Yousef was the only one who was quiet, and though he thought he was pretty clever trying to avoid me, I noticed. All I could think of was that I needed to teach Yousef his poker game. The lying, too. It would do him some good in the future, a nice ace up his sleeve if he got into trouble. I couldn't always be there to save his skin. I owe Luke that much.

Several people had gathered in a circle around Edgar's portable heater, sipping jasmine tea. They didn't really need the heater since it was a sweltering day, and tonight was still in the lower sixties. But it was nice to have around.

I made sure to go around and talk to each of the girls we rescued. I pulled Aria aside and made her introduce me to them, and she happily obliged. There was Lauren, early-twenties, with green eyes and pixie-cut blonde hair (similar to Aria's, but she grew it down to her shoulders), and I was surprised to find another science major who shared my interests in biology.

Donna was the oldest of the women, mid-thirties, and she had a sick husband who got pneumonia from the camps. She had her sister, and her husband took care of her while she joined Captain Drucker into the outpost as, with the way she told it, allotted payment in exchange for her husband's medical care.

She took good care of the other girls, Brighton and Sarah, both in their mid-twenties, apparently popular with the soldiers. The two were Harrisburg residents; the former, Brighton, was a pre-school teacher while Sarah was a receptionist at an acupuncture clinic. They were one of many Harrisburg residents who didn't heed the government's call to evacuate the city immediately when the containment in New York had failed, thinking it wouldn't get to them. But once Harrisburg went into lockdown and forced to live in the designated safe zones, it became all too real.

"Then, I reckon you two all know about the city?" I asked them.

Brighton nodded. "I've lived here since I was six."

"Since high school," added Sarah.

I pulled out the city map from the RV and handed it to them. "Tell me everything you know."

We talked for more than an hour, labeling, putting symbols, adding numbers, arrows, and everything else that I needed reminding of on paper. Since they had been in Harrisburg from the start of the lockdown, first they told me about certain districts that had gone into complete quarantine due to a level 2 outbreak (military-speak for infected individuals in the triple digits). Second, where the military would gather the most (mainly in the downtown area, which I didn't like); heard friends who were trapped behind Alpha lines east of the city; and certain safe zones that were evacuated so that the refugees could go to another camp across the river. Apparently, most of the residents had been evacuated there, and only a few were left in the city proper.

She made a note that all of Penbrook and Allison Hill was a war zone, but that's the best route toward downtown when the northern neighborhoods were crawling with level 2 or 3 outbreaks. I'd rather face the Alphas than a horde of vectors; at least the former could get tired.

I thanked them for their time, and both girls shuffled off toward Donna, and they resumed the conversation I had interrupted.

I pulled Aria aside. "How are they doing?" I asked.

"Well, better than I expected. Better than most nights, I see them in. They're usually in the tent by sundown, and they never get back to our room until three in the morning. The worst nights were when the soldiers would find booze they looted from the neighborhood, and twenty guys would walk into that tent and never come out for hours." Aria paused to take a deep breath. "Garcia wanted me to join, says it's good for morale and that a lot of guys fancied me, but I always tell her Captain Drucker won't let me, you know? I think she just had a thing for him. The captain had this weird fetish of consent. He wouldn't do it unless we said yes."

I raised a brow. "There were more?"

"A lot of women had come and gone into the outpost before you came along, some even younger than me, and Captain Drucker tosses them aside once he's done with them, or he let the other soldiers have them As long as he got first dibs, he would say.

He would brag to the boys about taking their virginity, that he managed to get them to say yes, but I say that's bullshit. It's more like manipulation and rape, all but in name. So, I thought I could play that game, too. I wasn't gonna give him my consent, but I realized that turned him on even more. Big mistake of my life." Aria shuddered. "Thank you. At least I won't see that bastard ever again."

"If we run into him, I can shoot him for you."

"What, and get you shot? No. I don't want that in my conscience."

"I'm harder to hit, thank you very much."

Aria gave me a small smile but didn't say anything. The silence grew between us, thought that maybe it was time for me to walk away, but she suddenly spoke up. "I saw you tortured a soldier for information without blinking, saw it with my own eyes. And I also saw you took down Peter and his squad in the woods like they were nothing. And even before that, you walked across a vector-ridden New York City to get us supplies without complaining, twice. I never asked you how Bobby and Natalie died, especially Nat. I already assume you had something to do with it. So, I won't ask you what you did to the soldiers back there."

"Aria, I..."

"And I understand. She was a bitch through and through, even to her last moments. Am I right?"

I didn't answer.

"Thought so. You know, I always wondered why I followed her around. Our classmates call me her shadow and don't even dare deny that. I'm not deaf. I guess it must have something to do with her power, her allure that she exerted to the school, and I was always insecure why she chose me of all the girls to be friends with. My mother owns many big businesses in the area, so she was so happy when she found out I was friends with the mayor's daughter, saying it was good for business. She was ecstatic to be invited into the mayor's circle and his parties." She chuckled. "I guess Nat was just stuck with me because no one liked her."

"She was a nasty bitch."

Aria guffawed, though it sounded like she was about to cry. "She fucking is. Poor Logan."

"Logan seems to be doing well now."

Aria looked at me. "It's because he has you back."

"Me? I don't think so. Sometimes, he's still an asshole."

"I disagree. Natalie will have scratched your eyes out by now if she's still around."

"Good god, please no. I don't know why she hates me so much."

"To be fair, she hates everybody. But you brush it off so easily. That pisses her so much I can't even begin to tell you how much she bitched about you. And everyone tried to please her, you know? So we picked on you. I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry. I was one of those freaking idiots. I'm sorry I posted that...thing."

I remembered that night. It had spread over Instagram and Snapchat like wildfire. Someone even made a TikTok before it got deleted for pornography, but the damage had already been done. I remembered how glued I was to my phone, having a panic attack as I tried to report each video I found. I almost wanted to bury myself with the guilt and nausea. I'm pretty sure I vomited once or twice during the entire night. The school was hell for a whole month.

"Why did you do it?"

Aria didn't say a word for a minute. "It's in bad form to say bad things against the dead, but I gotta do what Natalie tells me. In her words, we couldn't pass this up."

I nodded. "Well, it's all in the past. I think what matters now is what we do moving forward."

"Yikes. Don't get sappy, okay? You could've at least slap me or scream at me. It doesn't suit your image now."

"My image? What image?"

"The others are scared of you."

"I don't want them to."

"But that's power, Bren. Natalie had it. Now you have it."

"Are you really comparing me to her?"

"No, but you certainly have that bitchy attitude. I like that. Power has two sides, you know. You just so happen to inhabit the other. Rather than let that go, I think you should use it. I was shocked when I learned you are the Red Wolf."

"Please, stop. I don't want to hear that name again."

"It's kind of hard not to when it was all over the news a month ago. Many people wanted good news about defeating the Alphas, and you just gave them one."

"You know, you should talk to Peter about what we just discussed. I'm sure he'd like to hear it, too."

Aria flinched. "No offense, Bren, but he's harder to talk to than you. I see the way he looked at me."

"I can ask him to listen. I could even set up the meeting."

"That might...help?"

"He can be a bit much, but I'm sure he will. But I'm not gonna guarantee he'll forgive you."

Aria frowned. "I don't expect him to. I know what I did."

"But it's a start."

——

PALOMA

"He can't be trusted," Randy hissed, eyes darting around to see anyone had heard aside from them. He then shifted closer to Paloma, Edgar, Deon, and Charlene.

Paloma rolled her eyes. "Oh, please."

"You saw what he did."

"The military hadn't done shit since this started, or did you forget Scranton and how they all tucked tail and run and left us all behind to deal with the monsters? We lost good people that day."

Edgar rubbed his fingers under his chin. "When you put it that way, babe, it doesn't surprise me a kid and a couple of nobodies beat them up. We could have done that yesterday!"

"Oh, hush, Ed. You can't even fix the van, much less fire a gun."

"I could've...I could've..."

Paloma smiled and caressed her knuckles on Edgar's jaw. "Sure, you do, hon."

"My sister thinks he did the right thing," Charlene said. "And I agree with her."

Randy rolled his eyes. "Oh, not you, too. What about you, man? What do you think?"

Deon crossed his arms. "I mean, I'm not gonna deny that what he did was horrifying, killing those soldiers..."

"Rapists," Charlene added.

"—But I'm on the fence. A lot of the guys are, too. I mean, it's already a tricky situation. Russell wants to leave—"

"Does he?" Randy asked eagerly, glad that he was not alone.

Deon shot him a dirty glare. "But I convinced him not to. We don't have any weapons, and we certainly can't fight for shit."

Randy scoffed. "Man, you're no help." He turned to Charlene again, ignoring Deon's deepening scowl, and put his hand on her shoulder.

Charlene swatted his hand away. "Hey, it got us in here. Why would I complain? We're one step closer to the bridge than a few hours ago. Bren and his friends are capable-"

"Shh. Don't say his name."

Charlene rolled her eyes. "He's not Voldemort, Randy. And I am not going to break their luck because you can't stand someone with their foot on the pedestal."

"Shut up, Charlene. I wasn't asking you."

"Then why did you invite me here?"

"To be on my side!"

"Putang ina (you motherfucker), that's so typical of you, Randy! Now I see why you can't get a girlfriend that lasts more than a week."

Paloma twirled her braids around her fingers and tuned them out. Deon was already regretting being there, lowered his head, and just stared on the floor. The two were constantly bickering since the day she met them, and she thought they should just fuck already and be done with it. But Charlene liked Colin—Paloma could see that—and not this carbon copy of the man, sans the good parts, this sorry of an excuse of a dick on a stick. Charlene must have hated that Randy and Colin were twins. They were like night and day personality-wise.

"We're not here to talk about my love life, Charlene."

"Then what? About Colin and Audrey's decision to stay? About my mom?"

"Bernadette's old. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

Edgar interjected. "Don't insult a woman's age, man."

Paloma winced and leaned toward Edgar's ear and whispered out of earshot, "Have you been smoking?"

"Just a couple of puffs, love. Don't worry."

Paloma slapped his shoulder. "Ass. You didn't even share."

"Sorry, babe."

Charlene continued, "Yeah, I agree with Edgar. My mom is pretty capable of handling her own decisions. So is my sister, and so does Colin. You're the only one against that."

"Of course, I'm against it! For a start, it's stupid to make deals with the devil. That's the fucking Red Wolf. Have you guys forgotten that?"

"How can we forget, Randy, when you can't shut up about it?" Paloma said into a lilted song. "I'm beginning to think you are a fan."

Randy ignored her. "We should wait until nightfall, grab their guns, and just leave. We're already inside the city. We can get to the bridge on our own."

"If he's the guy that killed all those Alphas upstate, I doubt he'd be happy that we stole from him. Do you want him hunting us like he did with those racist bastards? We got kids. I got my mom."

Randy waved his hand. "So? We kill him, then."

That got Paloma's attention, and she stood straight and slapped Randy, a rope-cracking snap. The shock and utter bewilderment on his face would ever be ingrained in Paloma's mind, but she suppressed the urge to smile and laugh. "You get rid of that idea out of your brain. Trust me. You'll be better off without it. No one's killing anyone."

"Bitch! You just slapped me."

Edgar shot up. "Don't call my girl a bitch, or I swear I'm gonna fart on your face when you sleep. I can be petty like that. You know me. I've done it before!"

Paloma patted Edgar on the shoulder as if to say, nice try, hon, but I got this. "And who do you think is going to kill him? It's certainly not going to be you."

"I can do it."

Charlene chuckled. "You're more than likely to piss your pants than pull the trigger. I doubt Colin will hand you the rifle."

Deon stifled a laugh but said nothing.

Edgar tugged on Paloma's elbow, sighing. "Alright, I'm officially bored. Can we go to bed now?"

Paloma nodded. "Yep, it's been a long day-"

"Now, hold on a minute. We're not done yet. We should plan this out. Some of the frat guys are also thinking about it."

"We're not planning any shit, Randy, and so are those guys because you're filling their ears with your bullshit. Just go to bed," said Charlene.

"I agree with her," Deon said. "I don't appreciate you dragging my friends to whatever you're planning. Is it Barry? Nash?"

"But-!"

"What's done is done! They're dead, and we're not. So, I suggest you leave it," Paloma hissed.

She didn't know why Randy was so adamant about this, but she reckoned it had something to do with Bren and the other guys sitting on the high castle, and Randy wanted a piece of the pie. She knew him long enough to get a somewhat good reading on him, and she never liked what she saw.