Drew was furious. How could he have let Connor get the slip on them like that? Pacing back and forth, he fumed while Nathan tended to Shawn.

“Damn it!”

“Drew, calm down. He’s gone, and right now there’s nothing we can do,” Nathan snapped. “Help me with Shawn, will ya?”

Unclenching his fists, Drew focused on Shawn, who was bleeding heavily. Connor really clocked him hard. Together he and Nathan half carried, half dragged Shawn over toward the rest of the group.

“What happened?” Julie asked. Jumping to her feet, she rushed over to help them.

“That asshole, Connor, got the jump on us,” Drew growled as they set Shawn down on Kate’s sleeping bag. Stepping back, fists clenched at his side, he watched Kate and Julie attend to Shawn. Damn it. I was too distracted. It’s all Kate’s fault. She is getting under my skin and it’s going to get me and the people I’m responsible for killed.

Nathan was watching him, a knowing look on his disheveled face. It was as if his friend knew that he was holding himself responsible, and by the way he was looking at Kate, he felt she was the reason behind it.

“Drew, come with me,” Nathan said, grabbing his arm and yanking him off to one side.

“What the hell?” Drew shook his friend’s hand off him.

“Cool it, bro,” Nathan held his hands up. “If looks could kill, that poor woman would be six feet under and then some by now. It’s not her fault Connor got away, and it’s not fair to blame her for whatever is going on in that thick head of yours.”

Drew took a step back. Nathan may as well have punched him in the gut. Even that would have been less of a shock. He’d never known his friend to be so forthright and defensive.

They stood and stared at each other in silence for a few moments, Nathan’s words sinking in the more Drew thought about it. Still, it wouldn’t do for him to allow thoughts of Kate to cloud his judgment in the future. Best I stay as far away from her as possible, for everyone’s sake.

Shawn stirred, mumbling as he fought to regain consciousness. Kate continued to apply pressure to his head, gently holding him down in the process.

“What happened?” Shawn muttered, straining to open his eyes.

“Connor knocked you out,” Drew replied. “He escaped.”

“Damn it!” Shawn snapped, pushing Kate away and struggling to his feet. The fool was swaying as he tried to walk toward the entrance.

Before Shawn fell over, Nathan grabbed his arm, stabilizing him. “Shit, you shouldn’t be walking around right now, dude.”

“Get the fuck off me, man! I need to find that bastard before he hurts someone else,” Shawn snapped.

“I don’t give a fuck about anyone other than you right now, Shawn. If you don’t sit down, I’ll take you down,” Nathan replied calmly while leading their friend back to the sleeping bag.

Drew watched silently, noticing a change in Kate. Stepping forward, he tried to get a closer look. Gasping, he took a step back. Her eyes were glowing yellow in the dimly lit room, while her features appeared sharper and more pronounced. The moment their eyes made contact, she quickly turned away from him.

“What’s wrong?” Nathan asked, stepping toward  them.

“Nothing,” Kate replied quickly. “I think we all just need to take a deep breath, calm down, and think about this logically.”

“Calm down? What the fuck? That bastard is out there––”

“Exactly! He’s out there...probably getting as far away from us as possible. So, yes, we need to take a beat and calm the fuck down,” Kate snapped, keeping her face to the shadows as she inhaled deeply.

Walking up to Kate, Drew hesitantly placed a hand upon her shoulder. She tensed at first before turning to face him, a sad smile playing on her pale face. It took everything he had to resist the urge to pull her into his arms. Fuck! Why does she have this hold on me? She is the reason we are all in this mess. No, it isn’t entirely her fault––but she was involved. She was a part of it, and that was something Drew couldn’t just ignore.

“Kate’s right. There’s no sense in blaming each other, or ourselves. The bastard is gone and hopefully he’ll stay that way,” Drew said, squeezing her shoulder.

“Thank you,” she said softly. Her eyes met his and for a moment he thought he would disappear into their depths. Shaking his head, certain he was losing his mind, Drew stepped away from Kate and walked over toward Shawn. His priority right now was to ensure that his friend was okay and that everyone under his protection remained safe and alive.

“Buddy, you really do need to rest up. You took one hell of a knock to that thick head of yours,” Drew admonished his friend, squatting down beside him.

“This is all on me, Drew. I shouldn’t have let him get the slip on me like that. I won’t let him get away with it,” Shawn babbled, attempting to get up again.

Drew not so gently shoved Shawn back down. Listening to the thunder roar above the sound of the rain, he sighed. This is going to be one hell of a long night.

Nathan

Nathan stared at Kate. She was hiding something, and that didn’t sit well with him. Whatever it was, Drew was covering for her––that much was obvious.

Striding toward Kate, he pulled her aside. “What the hell is going on? And don’t give me any bullshit about Fitzgerald. That look on your face had nothing to do with him.”

Kate inhaled sharply and tried desperately to move away from him. Tightening his grip, he pulled her closer. “Answer me. Now,” Nathan hissed.

“I––I can’t,” she stammered, avoiding eye contact.

Before Nathan could speak a huge crash at the front of the building had him reaching for his gun. Almost instantly, Drew was at his side, weapon drawn.

“What the hell was that?” Drew asked.

“I don’t know, but whatever it was, it can’t be good,” Nathan replied.

“Kate, go watch Shawn,” Drew ordered.

As she hurried back to Shawn, Max appeared from the rear of the building.

“Max––come with us, and bring a weapon,” Drew called out.

“I’m coming too,” Megan said, walking up behind her brother.

“You armed?” Nathan asked, skeptically.

“Damn straight I am,” she replied, lifting her shirt to reveal not one, but two guns strapped to her hip.

Nathan nodded. He was unsure whether she knew how to handle herself, but he also realized that they needed the extra hands. Inching forward, he and Drew took the lead, while the siblings brought up the rear.

Nathan was the first to arrive at the front door. Upon his arrival, he was able to see that a beam had dislodged and crashed in front of the door, blocking their only safe exit. It was obvious that it was going to take more manpower than they had available in order to shift it.

“Fuck!” Nathan shouted, kicking at the metal barrier. Bracing his hands against the wall, he took a few deep breaths. He couldn’t lose it now. Not when they were down two men and they had a deranged monster out there on the loose, along with all the other monsters. Nathan began to chuckle to himself, unsure which breed of monster was worse.

Nathan could feel himself beginning to unravel. He’d always considered himself a good man––a strong, capable man to have around, but everyone had their limits and his were being tested today. Between Sully’s misadventure, discovering what kind of man Connor really was, and now Shawn being laid up––it was no surprise that he was acting a little frayed at the seams. It didn’t help that in the last few weeks he had taken on a lot of Drew’s responsibilities. Not that he blamed Drew. His friend was understandably preoccupied with trying to find Tyson. However, Drew needed to realize that he was needed here...to lead this group with him. He couldn’t be expected to do it all alone.

“Nate––I’m sorry,” Drew said, moving to stand next to Nathan.

Nathan looked at him questionably, a frown playing on his brow. “What for?”

“For not being around. I’ve fucked off and left you to deal with all of this on your own,” Drew swept his arm around the room. “It hasn’t been fair to expect you to take it all on without my help.”

Nathan shook his head and stood up straight. “Drew, you need to find Tyson. I understand that better than anyone. If I could find my sister––”

No one knew better than Drew just how hard it was for him to have given up looking for Claire after their town was swarmed with undead creatures. He had no choice but to abandon the search and get out with the rest of them. Ever since that day, the guilt had been eating at him, and it killed him to know that his sister may still be out there, battling God knows what. The only thought worse than that was that she may not be. 

“No, Nate, my priority should be this group. If Ty is alive, he’s old enough and ugly enough to take care of himself for a while. Once we’ve found somewhere safer for everyone to hole up then maybe I can start looking again,” Drew said firmly, crossing his arms.

Nathan thought about arguing, but he knew Drew well enough to know that he wasn’t going to back down. No matter what the best course of action was, he would put the group’s well-being ahead of his own. Nathan respected that, and yet, it didn’t sit well with him that Drew would give up the search for Tyson so easily.

“Fine, we get everyone moved somewhere safe and then one of us will help you look for Tyson,” he agreed. Turning to Max and Megan, he said, “You two come with me.”

Nathan strode toward the rear of the building with the siblings following closely behind, and Drew on their heels. Stopping at the rear entrance to the warehouse, there was a large, rolling garage type door, which was blocked by various crates. It had obviously seen better days. “We need to get these crates moved at first light. Once they have been shifted, we need to book it. We have two vehicles and not nearly enough room.”

“My truck can fit five people...six at a push,” Max interrupted.

“Good, that will help,” Nathan replied. “We need to gather everything together and be ready to move at first light.”

Holding his hands up, Drew interjected. “Nate, it’s one thing to say we just up and leave, but where the hell are, we going? We need to scout for a safe place to hole up.”

“Drew, we have been scouting places––Shawn, Sully, and me. We finally came to a decision about where to go.”

“And where’s that, Nate?”

“The ocean,” Nathan replied calmly, staring Drew dead in the eye. “We head for New Orleans, find a boat and go to one of the new settlement islands that were never populated.”

“You’re crazy! How the hell are we going to get clear across the country without getting attacked?” Drew asked, running a hand through his tousled hair in frustration.

“The old-fashioned way,” Nathan replied calmly. “We drive.”