Maggie was spitting like a cat when we let her know.

  We talked after dinner, when all four of us were back in our tent. Maggie and Eleanor took up most of the tent’s square footage, their sleeping rolls on top of yoga mats with a small side table between their heads. On top of it sat a handful of tea lights, one currently burning. I sat on my bedroll next to the zipped-up entrance, and Hutch was across from me.

  Everyone was still hungry after dinner. Alice announced half-portions for everyone, citing minimal supplies, and no one bothered to argue with them. I heard a couple people muttering over their bowls of oatmeal and salami, but no one was going to question her directly. It would mean that Marshall would get involved, and Marshall’s men all got full portions for their strength. Only Hutch and I were served half, and neither of us wanted to start a fight the night before we headed out. To account for our slim meal, Maggie pulled out her precious supply of beef jerky sticks and tossed them into the center of our tent. We spent the last few minutes peeling back the plastic and chowing down on them as Hutch recounted the plan.

  “You’re going without me?” Maggie snapped, her cheeks turning apple red.

  Eleanor shook her head sadly. “We’re stronger together, and Marshall knows it.”

  “He made it sound like we’re trying to take Eden over,” I said, shaking my head before I ripped off a piece of beef jerky and chewed it quickly.

  “Sometimes I wonder…would it be easier for us to just keep going?“ Eleanor asked quietly. “I wouldn’t have minded. There’s more people I can help here, but you three got enough injuries to keep me busy.”

  Maggie scoffed. “Thanks, El.”

  “I mean it.” She poked Maggie’s knee. “Even now, you’re all sunburned from that plasma blast. You’ll all look like lobsters tomorrow morning.”

  I shuddered, thinking about the deepening burns on my skin from the heat. It wasn’t as bad as the first time it happened, but I was beginning to feel the sting. Thank God I stole burn gels and aloe vera for Eleanor, because she had enough to slather on all of our faces and necks. We all looked like well-oiled seafood sitting in our tent, except Eleanor.

  “I can always sneak out and go with you.”

  “He’s definitely going to make sure you don’t.” Hutch looked between the three of us. “It will risk any of us who stay. And when we come back, we’ll all be in trouble.”

  “I don’t think the plan is for us to come back,” I told Hutch.

  “Too bad.” He smiled at me. “I’ve just started enjoying my guard post.”

  Maggie curled her knees to her chest. She looked younger suddenly, and I almost needed to look away from the sadness in her eyes. We were only two years apart, but she’d just been starting out in the world before everything happened. I was lucky enough to have finished police academy, been on the beat, and got my promotion in that amount of time. I already lived a bit of my life, but Maggie’s was completely robbed from her.

  Hutch, too. How long did a man train for the Navy SEAL team, only for everything to go to shit? How much time did he sink on operations that meant nothing? All of the perks of the military were wiped out in seconds.

  It was just…it was unfair.

  I hated thinking like that, because it felt immature, but it was plain and simple: everything was fucking unfair.

  “I wish we kept walking,” I suddenly said, and then I set down the rest of my beef stick. Eleanor would make me finish it because of ants, so I nodded for Hutch to take the rest. He immediately swiped it from my wrapper pile.

  “We all do, sweetie,” Eleanor said, and Maggie nodded. “But we have to take what we can get and make the best of it. I know you can, Jack.”

  I looked down at my hands.

  I didn’t know if I could. But it was nice that someone believed in the contrary.

  ***

  I slept terribly that night, constantly rolling back and forth and waking up to people moving in their own tents. Maggie snored, and somehow wrangled herself out of her sleeping bag and splayed herself halfway across the tent floor. I could smell her soap from all the way over here, and her long dark hair looked like snakes rearing back to bite me in the dim moonlight seeping through our thin tent fabric.

  I watched her and Eleanor for a while, glad that they were both safe right now. It was hard to be around them during the first few weeks. They were both civilians in the most innate sense: neither of them went through any official training to go through crisis. Eleanor worked in the emergency room, giving her some sort of preparation, but Maggie was just…here.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  I knew why she wanted to come with us. We were the only people she knew now. Everyone in her world was inside Dallas.

  At least you’ll have Eleanor, I thought to her. It’ll make the time pass easier.

  That morning, Hutch and I woke up early to meet up with Dex. I shook my head when he gestured at them, wondering if we should wake them up.

  For some reason, I thought it would be a hard goodbye.

  We walked through the crisp winter air toward Alice’s tent, trying to be quiet for the others still sleeping. Dawn barely touched the horizon, and we were lucky that the stars and moon were bright tonight—their pale light casting long shadows across the camp, making the tents look like sleeping giants.

  Dex met us halfway to Alice’s, and I immediately wondered if we should just abandon him here.

  I didn’t like Dex from the moment we met. He was a reedy punk kid, barely twenty years old, and all he did was bounce on his heels to whatever place needed fucking up, properly fuck that place off, and bounce away again. Someone local once told Maggie that Dex was actually in county jail during the Fall, and his father walked three miles to go bust him out and put him in charge of packing up their house. Now the two of them ran Eden together, along with Alice.

  There were many reasons to not like Dex, but Hutch didn’t like Dex’s bleached spiky hair and piercings. He looked at him in disdain before walking right past him.

  “Sup, Jack,” Dex chose to say to me, rolling his eyes at Hutch’s back.

  “You ready?”

  “I’m fucking cold,” Dex snorted. “And I’m wanting to know what’s going on, so sure, I’m ready.”

  “You know what’s going on.” I gave him a flat look.

  Dex shrugged. “So I saw a giant robot. It’s the end of the fucking world, Jack. And it was far away. What’s the harm of just hanging out here?”

  “It will eventually come for us.”

  “Well, Dad said we’ll be fine.”

  If there was something I wished to do, it would be smack Dex upside the head. But we needed him, and I knew we needed him. Marshall would never believe us and change would never happen in Eden. We got what we wanted, but Dex was the bonus win: if he managed to talk to his dad about what’s out there, enforcements would be easier to manage. I wouldn’t want to leave Eden and feel horrible about doing so.

  Some would consider this Eden’s last chance. If Marshall waved us off after this, I would take my family unit and go.

  Dex and I caught up to Hutch at Alice’s tent, where Eric was currently monitoring the supplies on the table. I almost wanted to laugh at what we were given.

  “This is a handgun,” Hutch said, holding up a Glock.

  Eric cracked a grin. “Glad to see that eating crayons didn’t ruin your brain, Marine.”

  “I was a fucking SEAL, you idiot.“ Hutch picked up the other handgun and handed it over to me. “Where’s the rifles at?”

  Eric pointed at Dex. “He’s the only one who gets one. His dad said so.”

  Dex whooped, throwing his hands up in the air like he was raising the roof.

  Hutch gave me a look that asked permission to shoot Dex and Eric in the face. I shook my head. It would not be a good day for Eleanor if they both survived.

  “Anyway,” Eric continued, rolling his eyes, “I’ve got your packs here. You each get rations for two days. If you’re not back in two days, just figure it out.”

  I didn’t even want to peek in mine. I knew the word ration was playing fast and loose here.

  Hutch handed me my backpack, and I slung it over my shoulders. As I thought, it was unfortunately very light. At least we’d have room to smuggle back Eleanor’s supplies, and maybe some shelf-stable food for the tent. “Thanks,” I told Eric, because one of us had to be on semi-friendly terms with the people of Eden. “We’ll make sure to actually bring everything back this time.”

  “Sure, whatever.” Eric shrugged. “Just make sure you don’t bring back those robots I keep hearing about.”

  Dex piped up, “They’re called Bees, you moron.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Dex.”

  “Fuck you, Eric.”

  Hutch grabbed onto Dex’s shoulder, yanking him away from the table before the two could begin shouting. If a fight erupted, it would delay our start. I wanted us on the road by sunrise. “Give me the keys to the truck,” Hutch said. Eric dangled them in front of him, and Hutch snatched them out of his hand.

  Dex spit on the ground and began walking away without his rifle or backpack. I sighed, grabbing both off the table and following him. Eric said something about hoping Dex died, but I was just glad that neither looked like they were about to keep the argument going for longer than necessary.Hutch fell into place beside me.

  “We’re probably about to fuck ourselves over,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s going to be fun.”

  “I know,” I said. The back of Dex was like a willow branch moving through the tents ahead of us. “We just have to stick it out for a couple of days. We can plan on the road.”

  “Getting those Bees off the warehouse will be easy. Outrunning them…”

  “We’ll talk later, when we’re more awake.” I shrugged. “We know how to stun them at least. It won’t be hard if all of us work together.”

  “I don’t think I would count Dex as part of the team, Jack.”

  I sighed miserably.

  I wouldn’t either, but he was, whether or not we were happy about it. If we were going to try to take the Bees out and prove that we could, or at least get them away from that warehouse, I needed us all to work together. We had three missions ahead of us: one, distract those Bees in case that girl was still alive and could escape. Two, see if we can kill them. And three, drive them further from Eden. If we could do any of those, then we succeeded.

  Hutch looked at me. “Are you still thinking about you know, her?”

  I was. I didn’t sleep last night because I was watching Maggie and Eleanor, wondering if there was a person who had no one making sure they were okay. I couldn’t imagine sleeping well if there were two Bees right behind me.

  I’m sorry we left you, I thought to myself, hoping that the air would carry my thoughts to her. We’re on our way.

  Ahead of us, Dex began to whistle.