“Good job,” I said.

“Thanks.” Lazlo was still catching his breath, staring down at Vega’s corpse. “I told you that you needed me.”

“Yeah, I guess I do.” I turned back to the room.

Harlow was wide awake, hiding behind a bunk, and Blue stood in front of her bed, shielding her.

“What happened?” Harlow asked.

“The zombie must’ve gotten her today when it attacked her.” I wiped blood off my brow with the back of my arm.

“That was really fast,” Lazlo commented, coming up behind me.

“Sometimes it happens that way.” I shrugged. “You never can tell.”

London and Sam came in a few moments later to make sure we were okay. They’d heard the commotion down the hall. Sam took Vega’s body out, and London explained that they burned all the infected bodies they found.

Hope came in a little after they left to wipe everything down with bleach and clean up the mess we’d made. She sent Lazlo and me down to the tub room to clean up. They had no showers, but they had a claw foot tub they filled with water from a hose. It was too cold to climb in, so Lazlo and I stood next to it, washing ourselves with rags.

When we went back to the room, Hope had already gone, and the room had been set right. Harlow lay in her bed with her covers pulled up to her chin, but she was wide awake. I got in my own bed without saying anything and tried to get comfortable.

“Do you think Vega’s in heaven?” Harlow asked me.

“I don’t know,” I said and rolled over, so my back was to her.

I slept horribly all night, even though I was exhausted. I tossed and turned, and I had horrible nightmares about Vega, Lia, and Beck. I had been trying not to think about Beck at all, since that was my policy when people died, but Lazlo had brought up all sorts of feelings about him.

When I woke, Harlow was still asleep. I went out to get some breakfast, figuring that stale toast with squirrel meat sounded better than nothing.

Still munching on the horrible dry toast, I made my way back to the room, almost getting lost in the process. Harlow was awake and ready for the day. She changed into a clean skirt with a sweater, and her hair was up.

I would’ve taken this all as a good sign if she weren’t hurriedly packing her bag. Lazlo sat on my bed across from her, looking sheepish.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I gulped down the rest of my toast.

“I’m going with you,” Harlow said without looking up.

“Sorry,” Lazlo smiled meekly at me.

“Why did you tell her?” I snapped, and he shrunk back a little.

“She heard me talking to Blue.”

“It doesn’t matter how you know,” I decided. “Harlow, you can’t come with.”

“It’s not open for discussion,” she said.

“Um… yeah. Exactly.” I was thrown off by her reaction. “You’re not coming with. End of story.”

“No, I am coming with. End of story.” She finally looked up at me.

Her blue eyes were almost too big for her face, but not in a bad way. It just made her look younger and more innocent, although, right now, her resolution made her look older.

“There’s no way I’m letting you come with.” I brushed past her to get to my bed. With my back to her, I packed up my own stuff.

“This isn’t a jail. They won’t keep me prisoner here. If you leave, there’s nothing to stop me from leaving right after you. And I will,” she threatened. “Whether you take me with you or not, I am not staying here. If I have to go out on my own, so be it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s suicide.” I shoved my clothes into my bag.

“Maybe,” she replied simply.

“Really?” I turned back to her. “You’d get yourself killed just to spite me?”

“Not to spite you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not getting left behind. If anyone can survive the end of the world, it’s you, so I’m safer with you than anywhere else.”

“That’s not even true,” I shook my head. “Everyone around me dies! Sommer, and then Lia yesterday. And my brother…” I swallowed and busied myself with my bag so she couldn’t see my reaction. “No. It’s dangerous and stupid. Here is the safest place.”

“If it’s so great here, then why don’t you stay?” Harlow countered.

“You know why I can’t stay.” I zipped my bag shut and turned back to her. “I have to find-”

“Your little brother, yeah, yeah,” she cut me off. “You do realize he’s with the army, right? I mean, that’s why you’re running across the country, fighting zombies and cult leaders. So you can get to a government run facility surrounded by armed soldiers. To rescue your brother.”

“I’m not rescuing him,” I rolled my eyes. “He’s just a little kid, and I need to be with him.”

“Why?” Harlow asked. I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder, preparing to storm out, but she blocked my path. “Remy, you know it doesn’t make sense. Either he is safe, and you can’t protect him any better than he already is, or he never made it to the quarantine, and there’s nothing you can do.”

“It doesn’t matter! I need to know he’s safe! I can’t just hope for the best and forget about him!” I threw my hands up on the air, exasperated. Fighting about this would only waste more time. “Fine. Whatever. You wanna come with and get yourself killed, that’s your problem.”

“Wait. So, we’re leaving right now?” Lazlo asked when I started walking away, and in reply, I kept walking. “But I’m not ready! Hold on!”

I heard him scrambling behind me, but I didn’t stop. I shouldn’t even be letting them go with me. They would only slow me down, and they’d probably just end up dead or infected.

I couldn’t even figure out why they wanted to leave the safety of the compound. I wouldn’t. But some things mattered more than safety, and for me that was Max.

“I’m not gonna get myself killed,” Harlow said as she caught up to me. Her thin legs carried her surprisingly fast, especially considering the clunky footwear she insisted on. “I just won’t be left behind.”

“I don’t know what you think you’re being left behind from, but trust me, it’s way better than what I’m doing.”