“I get it,” the guy said. “You hate it here, but it wasn’t my doing.” He stepped closer. The bars framed his face. I saw how the dark hair on his chin was coated with frost, as if he’d just come in from the cold.

  “You sure know how to treat a guest,” I said. “You gonna bust my skull open too?”

  The man shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry, Mr. Miller. I heard all about it.” He held up his hands. I’m innocent. “But I wasn’t here. If I was, you can believe that wouldn’t have happened.”

  “And who are you?”

  “I’m Nicholas Rider. Nick, to my friends.”

  I was sitting on the edge of the bed, a few feet from the door. Rider stuck his hand through the bars. Like Berretti, I ignored his attempted greeting. Unlike Berretti, he wasn’t offended—not outwardly, at least. Ramsey had told me about this man too.

  I said, “I want to see my friend. I want to see Mia and the baby.”

  “You the father?”

  “The father’s dead.”

  “You kill him?”

  “No, but I would’ve. He was infected.”

  Rider grimaced. “That’s tough. We’ve all had to do things we shouldn’t have had to do.”

  “Just let me out of here.”

  The guy was silent for a while. Then he reached down in his jacket pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He unlocked the door and opened it, the hinges creaking like a rusty cemetery gate, and stepped back.

  I shot up before he could close it in my face, which was what I expected but didn’t happen, and I went through. I was free. Finally.

  “I can assure you the men who assaulted you will be punished,” Nicholas Rider said. “If things go the way they should, they will be voted out of the City.”

  I blinked heavily a few times. I thought I was dreaming. “It’s not the minions you gotta worry about. It’s the one who sent them.”

  Rider nodded. “I can’t do anything about Berretti, I’m sorry. He’s too important, and he knows it. That’s his leverage.” He paused and shrugged. “You and John got off on the wrong foot, and maybe you want revenge, but it’s best to let him be.”

  “Damn right I want revenge. We’re only a couple months removed from a functioning society. We’re not complete savages yet, are we? People should pay for assaulting someone without cause.”

  “And I agree with you, Mr. Miller, but society as we knew it is gone.”

  I gave no reply because I didn’t want to think about society as we knew it being gone, or what the future held for our species. It was too grim.

  “I heard about your arrival,” Rider said. “You crossing through the snow with the girl and her baby in your arms, wearing only a t-shirt. You’re a hero in my eyes, kid.”

  “Thanks,” I replied without sincerity. “But we won’t be staying. Least you can do is give us a ride outta here.”

  Rider cocked an eyebrow. “I suppose I can arrange that, but I don’t think it’s really in your best interests to leave. Not with an infant. Here, she can receive the proper care she needs. And Doc Hart told me Mia was pretty rough when you all got here. Stitches and the like. She’s on the mend. Perhaps when she’s up and at ‘em and the baby is not such a baby anymore… But, of course, I can’t stop you.”

  He had a point. Damn it, he had a point. We’d come all this way for what, to turn back? Leaving now would be beyond idiotic.

  But why would I want to stay in a place that treated its citizens like scum?

  Doesn’t matter, I thought, because that’s just what you’re gonna have to do.

  “If a single hair on her or Monica’s head is harmed, I will not go quietly, Rider. I promise you that.”

  “They were well taken care of, Mr. Miller, I assure you. Berretti can be petulant and his mean streaks can cause a good amount of damage, both physically and mentally, but he would never stoop so low as to order an infant and her mother to be—”

  “Tortured? Because that’s the welcome gift I received.”

  For a moment, Rider seemed on the verge of a breakdown. The sincerity in this show of emotion caught me by surprise. “Son, I am so sorry. I really am. I know, you don’t wanna hear my apologies. I wouldn’t either, but it’s all I can do for now. That, and take you to see your friend.” He started walking down the corridor. “C’mon, let’s go.”

  After he got about twenty feet ahead of me, I followed.

  The walk was a long one, mostly reduced to gray corridor after gray corridor, and moving was a pain, but Rider tried his best to pass the time.

  “Your blood test came back negative,” he said.

  “Not surprised. I’ve been close to the monsters outside, but not that close.”

  “Security footage saw a fire in the bridge. Mia told us the story about what happened there.” He clucked his tongue. “Your own mother? Boy, you’re stronger than me.”

  I said nothing. That was something I didn’t want to think about.

  “So you’re the president and Berretti’s the V.P.”

  “Something like that.”

  “Who gave you the keys to the kingdom?”

  “Well, son, I did. No one else seemed too keen to take on a leadership role, except for Berretti, but we’re trying to keep the spirit of democracy alive here, not give rise to another Hitler.” He chuckled. “So I keep him on a leash, but every now and then you gotta loosen up your hold on it, give him some slack, you know, or he’ll catch on.” Rider stopped, turned to me, and whispered, “He’s smart in his sciences, but he lacks common sense.”

  “I can tell.”

  “We haven’t had any new arrivals in weeks, so I figured I’d go out on the supply run with the men and women tasked with keeping this place stocked. I figured I’d show the people here I’m more than just a talking head. You gotta get your hands dirty every once in a while and all that. I thought to myself, ‘Now Nicky, bad things are gonna happen with Berretti at the helm,’ and sure enough I was right. See, no one around here will stand up to him but me. Doc Hart, she’s got a good heart, but she’s too timid. The other people living in the City, they just wanna get by. They’re waiting for this all to pass, so they've got tunnel vision.” He shrugged. “It happens. If I was here, you three would’ve been ushered right into the medical facility, had your blood tested, a physical examination, and when the docs said Mia and the little one were good to go, you’d be moved to your own houses. Lord knows we have a lot of vacancies.”

  “Sounds like you run a tight ship.”

  “Yeah,” Rider said. “We keep it running, that’s for sure. A month ago, I’d even say this City was a well-oiled machine. But tragedy struck and tossed a wrench in the gears.”

  At a T-junction, Rider went left. The lighting in the halls had grown progressively brighter, and it was the brightest here. We passed empty rooms full of medical equipment—hospital beds, IV stands, monitors. Around the middle of the hallway, canned studio laughter drifted toward us. Rider stopped and pointed to the second-to-last room’s half-closed door.

  “She’s in there, boss. I’ll leave you to it.”

  I’ll admit, after the treatment I received in the care of John Berretti, some hospitality and kindness went a long way. It didn’t undo what happened to me, but it helped.

  As Rider turned to leave, I said, “Hey, Nick.” He stopped, eyes wide, lips raising into a smile. I stuck my hand out, he took it, and we shook. “Thanks.”

  “No, son, thank you. Your heroism hasn’t gone unnoticed throughout the City. People who’ve never met you are all talking about the crazy fella who ran through the snow in nothing but a t-shirt, and I think that was exactly what some of these folks needed to pick them back up after a long past few weeks. It’s what they needed to open up their tunnel vision a bit.”

  I returned the smile, and then I went into Mia’s room.

  She was eating a hot fudge sundae. Her face lit up when she saw me, and the spoon fell out of her hand and clattered against the glass bowl. Chocolate syrup was smeared at the corners of her mouth. Next to her, in a bassinet, lay Monica, swaddled, wearing a tiny pink hat on her head.

  “Grady!” Mia nearly yelled before catching herself and turning her volume down to a whisper-yell. “You bastard, it’s so good to see you!”

  I grinned and felt like crying, mostly because of how good she looked. Color brightened her cheeks. Her eyes were shining, her grin was sharp, and her hair was washed, brushed, and held back in a loose ponytail. After giving birth in the cramped cab of an old snowmobile, she had looked on the cusp of death. Now she looked normal. Healthy.

  “I’m gonna hug you,” I announced. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  She set the bowl on the table by her bed and held her arms out wide. We hugged. I didn’t dare squeeze her too hard, the blood she lost during labor fresh in my mind, but she didn’t hold back. “This is a one-time thing, Grady. FYI.”

  We parted. “Sure it is.” Standing at the side of her bed, my eyes drifted to Monica.

  “Go ahead, man.”

  “What?”

  “Hold her. I know you want to. Who could resist that cute wittle face?”

  “Did you just use baby talk?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Wow,” I said, “motherhood has already changed you.”

  “Oh fu—frick off, Grady.” She chuckled. “Are you gonna hold my daughter or not?”

  “She’s sleeping. I will when she wakes up. Plus, I already held her.”

  “When she was all…slimy. Now she’s a clean, precious wittle muffin pie.Go on, she ain’t gonna wake up. She sleeps through just about anything.”

  So I held her, but Mia was wrong about that. Monica woke up, only briefly. Her eyes opened wide, big and blue, and I swear she smiled at me. That smile made every terrible thing we had gone through up until this moment worth it.

  Of course, when I told Mia about the smile, she said, “Aw, yeah…that’s just her passing gas,” which got us laughing so hard we had to cover our mouths and bite our lips.

  “Are you all…good?” I asked.

  “Picture of health.”

  “What about the blood?”

  “They couldn’t find anything wrong with me.” Mia lowered her voice. “Know what I think?”

  I shook my head. Who ever knew what Mia was thinking?

  “I think the ‘rages did it. I think they made that blood with whatever supernatural magical bullshit they do. They thought it would run us out, and it did, didn’t it?” She chuckled. “But we made it. Take that, motherfuckers! No, I mean, motherfuggers.”

  Well, it made sense. If it was true, it only made me fear the monsters more. But Mia was right—we had made it.

  The door creaked open a minute or two later, and in came a woman in blue scrubs. Not Dr. Hart, but the resemblance was uncanny. She held a tray of food. Tomato soup and grilled cheese.

  “Yeah, I’m a dessert first type of gal,” Mia said. “Don’t judge.”

  “I’m not judging.”

  The nurse was surprised to see me. She cocked her head. “Oh, I didn’t know you had company.”

  I put Monica back in her bassinet, completely prepared to get kicked out. The baby was fast asleep again. “I’m Grady, ma’am.”

  “Relax, Nina,” Mia said. “He’s with me.”

  Nina smiled as she set the tray down on Mia’s lap. “Not for long, I think.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “A few people just came through. Man and a woman. And a dog. They’re asking for you—the people, not the dog. Although…that’d be pretty cool,” the nurse said.

  Warmth rippled through my body. Mia and I glanced at each other. “Ell and Stone?” I said.

  “And Chewy, you ass. Don’t forget him.”

  “They made it!” I shouted. “Where are they at?”

  “Getting their examinations, I suppose. I can take you there in a second. Just let me finish—”

  But I was too excited and sprinted my way toward the door.

  Mia said, “Go ahead, Nina. I got my grub, I’m good for now.”

  As it happened, I ended up leading the way while Nina, who I later found out was Dr. Hart’s younger sister, shouted directions from behind me.

  “Right down there,” she said, pointing. I squinted and saw Nick Rider leaning against the wall. He held a magazine in one hand. He was chewing gum and blowing big pink bubbles. When he looked up at Nina and me, a particularly large one popped and stuck around his mouth and in his beard.

  “He’s your problem now, Nick!” Nina hollered. “I gotta finish my rounds.”

  I ran—well, that’s being generous…I limped at a decent speed—toward Rider. He set his magazine down on the air register.

  “I see you’ve already heard, Grady. I was just about to come and get you. They should be done with their examinations soon enough. And when the blood work comes back, you can go in.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “Not long.” He motioned to the magazine. “You interested in ‘sculpting the butt you’ve always wanted’?”

  “Uh…”

  “It’s the cover article. Woman’s World. It’s the only stuff I haven’t read around here. And you know what? It’s opened my eyes to a lot about the opposite sex. No wonder my second wife dumped my sorry behind.”

  When I was allowed back about an hour later, which I spent in Mia’s room, I did cry with happiness. Ell and Stone both looked worse for wear, but I could tell the little time behind the safety of the City’s walls was healing.

  Soon as I entered the room, Ell rushed over and wrapped her arms around me. We kissed like a couple who hadn’t seen each other in years instead of days. Stone gagged at every smack of our lips, but there were tears in his eyes too, especially when we did our Musketeer handshake.

  Chewy spun around in a million circles, barking his head off. I bent and rubbed his belly until his leg kicked so fast it became a blur.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay,” Ell said. “I was having the worst dreams. You were being tortured and—”

  “Well, you’re not far off.”

  “What?”

  I smiled. “Nothing. I’ll tell you later.”

  “Where’s Mia? Did she have the baby? Is she okay? They said so, but I don’t know who to believe.” She was beating at my shoulder with every question.

  “She’s fine—they’re both fine.”

  Ell jumped, clapping her hands. She cried tears of happiness too. “Oh, thank God!”

  “That’s another crazy story I’ll have to tell you about.”

  “Can we see her?” Stone asked.

  “I think so.” I looked around for one of the people who performed the exams, thinking I’d see Gas Mask or Tinted Visor or even Berretti, but I hadn’t. If I had, the joy would’ve ended quickly, seeing as I’d knock their teeth down their throats.

  I saw no one, so I led the way to Mia’s room. Stone held on to my shoulder for support. We both limped along the hallway.

  “No Ramsey?”

  “Nope,” Stone said. “We tried, but he gave me some shit about a caged bird needing to spread its wings or something. I don’t know. I told him most caged birds didn’t have to deal with the kind of shit we have to deal with.”

  This news was disappointing, but I thought I’d see Ramsey again. I don’t know why, it was just a feeling.

  The reunion in Mia’s hospital room was loud, which was okay since Monica was awake. Ell and Stone took turns holding the baby.

  When Stone held her, he about freaked when she grinned at him. “Look! Look! She’s smiling at Uncle Stoney!”

  Both Mia and I said, “It’s just gas,” much to his disappointment.

  I recounted our journey to the City, brushed over the last few days, and then Ell and Stone recounted theirs.

  “Nothing matters,” Eleanor said, “besides the fact that we’re together again.”

  She was right.

  “And safe,” Stone added.

  About that, he was mostly right. With Berretti and his cronies here, I wasn’t sure of our safety.

  Maybe an hour later, Nick Rider poked his head around the door frame, and I waved him inside. Introductions were made all around.

  Stone raised a fist. “Glad to see another brother made it this far.” When Eleanor flashed him her signature annoyed glare, he said, “What? You’ve seen horror movies. The black dudes always die first, and aren’t we basically just living in a horror movie?”

  “Yeah, but it’s better than living in a Tom & Jerry cartoon,” I said, and everyone laughed besides Nick, who wasn’t part of that inside joke, but he cleared his throat and smiled politely.

  “It was very nice meeting you all,” he said, “and I think we have a great future ahead of us, but it’s dinnertime for me now. So I guess we’ll talk more soon.”

  The others said their goodbyes, and then their frantic conversation continued. I kept quiet, leaning against the wall by the door and taking it all in. I was so damn happy. All the hell I went through was worth it for this moment alone.

  “I hope you stay,” Rider whispered to me before leaving. “We could use good people like y’all. But I should tell you this: if you choose to stay, you have to pull your weight around here. Nothing’s free. There will be a time when you’re called upon to do something you don’t want to do. Something potentially dangerous.” He paused, staring into my eyes with a cold seriousness. “Can you handle that, Mr. Miller?”

  “Yeah, Nick. I think I can handle that,” I said, but thought: Because I would do anything for these people. “And call me Grady.”

  “Good, Grady, good.” Rider left the room then, his footfalls tapping against the linoleum.

  I turned and watched my friends—no, my family—again, and I smiled.

  For the first time since arriving at the City I felt lighter, as if a terrible weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

  And now I no longer feared the end.

  Afterword

 

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