Chapter 166: And then there was two
Anxiety prickled at the back of my neck as we kept walking.
Not away from the city.
Toward it.
Which had to be one of the dumbest calls I’d made in a while, and that was saying something.
Every step closer to those walls made my stomach pull tighter. I could already picture how it would go. They’d stop us. Ask questions. Shine lights in our faces. Search bags we didn’t have. Check eyes. Skin. Reflexes. Pulse.
Then what?
What happened when they learned I’d helped kill their own people a few miles back?
What happened when they saw her?
I touched under my nose and came back with blood.
Great.
Too much lattice again.
Too much pressure, too little sleep, too many close calls. My head felt packed with hot wires.
I looked left.
Lila walked beside me, holding my hand like we were on some evening stroll instead of trying to slip into a guarded city after nearly getting executed. I’d found her a hood and scarf from an abandoned car. It covered most of her face, even the eyes.
She looked at me and smiled.
Soft. Warm. Like none of this was real.
I gave one back, weak and late.
Why had I dragged this so far?
Why hadn’t I left when I had chances?
Because I needed it to mean something.
Because Canada had become bigger than a place. It was proof there was still something ahead. Something worth bleeding toward.
I had to know.
"HEY!"
My whole body jolted.
I stopped dead.
So did Lila.
Her free hand already dipped toward her pocket.
Knife.
My eyes widened. I shook my head sharply.
No.
No more killing.
Please.
She looked at me through the hood, confused, then annoyed.
I slowly turned with my hands raised.
One soldier stood under a street lamp maybe twenty feet away.
Woman.
Same uniform as the others we’d seen, though cleaner. Better fitted. Tactical vest. Sidearm. Baton. Rifle slung across her chest. A cap tucked brunette hair back, though a few strands framed a face that might’ve looked kind in another life.
"It’s past curfew," she said. "You two residents?"
Her voice was level. Almost bored.
"No. No, ma’am. We’re just—"
She clicked on a flashlight.
Straight in my face.
I hissed and raised an arm.
Behind me, Lila shifted closer until I felt her shoulder against my back.
The soldier lowered the beam slightly.
"Answer again," she said.
"We’re travelers. Looking for entry. We don’t want trouble."
She stared at me for a few seconds too long.
Not listening.
Studying.
Then her light dipped to my mouth.
"Why is there blood on your face?"
My brain snagged.
"What?"
I wiped again. Fresh red.
Damn it.
"Oh. Uh... deer."
"Deer."
"Yeah."
"At night."
"Long day."
"With no gear?"
I swallowed.
"My sister and I got turned around."
The second the word left my mouth, I felt Lila’s eyes on the side of my head.
Sister.
I don’t know why I said it.
Maybe because girlfriend sounded messy. Maybe because anything romantic would invite more questions. Maybe because part of me knew Lila looked at me in ways normal people didn’t.
The woman’s mouth twitched.
"Your sister?"
"Yeah."
She moved the flashlight past me.
Lila kept her chin lowered.
"Sweet thing like you hunts deer?" the woman asked.
I forced a laugh.
"Guess I’m full of surprises."
"I’m impressed," she said.
Her tone was playful.
Her eyes were not.
She stepped closer. I caught perfume under the smell of oil and cold air.
"You armed?"
"No."
"Truthful answer?"
I hesitated half a beat too long.
She smiled wider.
"That one was cute."
My pulse kicked.
"We dropped what we had running."
"From what?"
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came.
She leaned in a little.
"Take your time."
Lila’s grip on my hand became painful.
The woman noticed. Her eyes flicked down, then up again.
"She doesn’t talk much?"
"She’s shy."
"Is she."
The flashlight rose toward Lila’s hood.
I moved without thinking, a half-step into the beam.
"She’s scared," I said. "Please."
The woman looked at me.
Then slowly lowered the light.
Interesting.
That was the look in her eyes.
Like she’d found a toy that did tricks.
"What are your names?"
I answered too fast.
"Adam."
"Adam," she repeated.
Then toward Lila.
"And shy girl?"
My throat tightened.
"Leah."
Lila almost squeezed my fingers numb.
The woman glanced between us.
"Those are the names we’re using tonight?"
My heart skipped.
Then she laughed softly.
I didn’t.
She reached for a radio on her shoulder, pressed it, then let go without speaking.
Just checking if I’d flinch.
I did.
She saw.
Finally she stepped aside and motioned toward the checkpoint ahead.
"Come on then. Before I change my mind."
I blinked.
"That’s it?"
"No. That’s mercy." She smiled. "Don’t waste it."
She walked us forward.
I followed carefully, Lila glued to my side.
The checkpoint opened into floodlights, fencing, concrete barriers, armed guards, trucks, watchtowers. Orders being shouted. Boots on pavement. Generators humming.
It looked alive.
Structured.
My chest tightened at the sight of streets beyond it. Lights in windows. Smoke from vents. Actual homes.
Maybe this place was real.
Maybe we’d made it.
I tried to keep my head down as we passed other soldiers.
If any of them recognized me, it was over.
But all I got were tired glances.
Confused faces.
No alarm.
No shouting.
No gunfire.
"What you got there, Jen?" one guard asked.
The woman grinned.
"Two late strays. Lost in the dark."
"Did a screening?"
My lungs stopped.
"Yup," She said smoothly.
No pause.
No tell.
Just...yup.
The guard waved us through.
Relief hit so hard my knees almost weakened.
She lied.
For us.
Why?
I looked at her.
She was already looking back.
That same smirk.
Like she knew exactly what that lie was worth to me.
We were sent toward intake housing after that. Rows of converted apartments and bunk units. Quiet streets under curfew lights. Distant voices behind windows.
Jennifer walked us herself.
Too personally.
Too interested.
"Thank you so much, Miss—"
"Jennifer."
I smiled politely.
"Thank you, Miss Jennif—"
"Just Jennifer is fine."
Lila’s hand tightened again.
Jennifer’s smile dimmed slightly, but not enough to alarm me.
When I glanced at Lila, the hood hid most of her face, but I saw enough.
Stillness.
The dangerous kind.
We reached a narrow unit with a numbered door.
Jennifer opened it and stood aside.
"One night here. Processing in the morning."
"That’s more than enough," I said.
I stepped past her with Lila.
"And Adrian?"
I froze.
Slowly turned.
I had never told her my name.
Jennifer leaned on the doorframe, smiling like we shared a secret.
"Pretty things like you shouldn’t be wandering after dark," she said softly. "People get attached. People keep them."
Cold moved through my stomach.
I forced a dumb smile.
"Right."
She looked past me to Lila under the hood.
Then back to me.
"Sleep well."
She closed the door behind us.
The lock clicked.
Lila stood in the middle of the room, silent.
Then she lowered her hood.
Her red eyes were wet and bright.
"Who," she asked quietly, "the fuck was that?"
—
Jennifer stood outside the door after it shut.
Didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
Her hand still rested on the knob, fingers curled there lightly like she was deciding whether to turn it again.
Inside, the room had gone quiet. She could hear nothing through the cheap wood now. No voices. No footsteps. Not even whispering.
She smiled at that.
Or perhaps they were just that quiet.
Her eyes drifted to the number bolted into the frame. She traced it with a thumb, slow and absentminded.
Unit 14-C.
She’d remember that.
The hallway lights buzzed overhead. One of them flickered every few seconds, washing the corridor in brief pulses of dim yellow. Somewhere farther down, plumbing rattled in the walls. A baby cried once, then stopped.
Jennifer still didn’t move.
Her radio cracked alive on her shoulder.
"Patrol Three to Officer Parsons. Jennifer, you copy?"
She let it buzz once.
Twice.
Her eyes stayed on the door.
"Officer Parsons?"
She finally lifted the handset.
"Go ahead."
Static hissed, then a male voice came through.
"Command’s asking if you saw any persons of interest on your route. Two transients. Male and female. Possible evasion at outer west line. Male late teens to early twenties, brown hair. Female possibly infected presentation. You get eyes on anybody matching?"
Jennifer’s face gave nothing away.
She listened until the channel hissed again.
"Jennifer?"
"No," she said.
Flat. Easy.
"No one at all."
There was a pause.
Then a disappointed exhale.
"Damn. That’s a bummer."
She glanced once more at the door.
"Maybe they escaped."
"Maybe," the man answered.
He sounded tired. Everyone did these days.
Another burst of static.
"Well, we’re gonna keep sweeping. Let me know if you find anything."
Jennifer’s mouth curved faintly.
"I will."
She clipped the radio back in place.
For a moment, she remained there.
Then she bent slightly and looked at the narrow gap under the door.
No shadows moving.
No feet approaching.
Still smart.
Still careful.
She straightened and walked down the corridor.
Bootsteps measured. Calm. No hurry.
Already planning how morning would go.