AVERY’S POV
Declan and I remained silent for what seemed to be ages.
The woman hadn’t relaxed one bit, her eyes carried a hint of fear in them, clearly not expecting us to have barged into her home.
Finally, I cleared my throat, lowering the rifle a bit.
“Who— uh— who are you? We’re not here to harm you.”
Her grip on the bat didn’t loosen, if anything it tightened as her gaze slid to Declan who looked horrified.
“Oh yeah? Tell that to your partner.”
There was a certain kind of relief I felt.
What were the odds of finding a survivor in these times?
Apparently very low.
And seeing her here, it gave me hope.
That perhaps my mum and my dad were fine.
That they were just like her — fighting but still alive.
I turned to Declan, turning my face away so the woman couldn’t read my lips as I whispered to him.
“You’re scaring the lady, Declan. Stop giving her that look.”
He didn’t even look at me.
“Yeah well, what’s a civilian doing living in the city? On her own. Willingly.”
The woman didn’t look impressed at his smartass comment.
“You can’t possibly think I’d trust the military. My home is safe. Until you two decide to break into it.”
I groaned, raising my hands.
“Hey, I’m sorry, we didn’t think that—”
She was staring at me with unnerving recognition.
“What’s your name?”
I opened my mouth to say something when Declan cut me off.
“Are you out of your mind? We are getting the fuck out of here right now.”
I gave him a glare, then turned back to the woman.
“I’m Avery. Avery Bennett.”
Declan stared at me for a few seconds, his expression making it painfully obvious that he was already regretting the decision to let me speak.
The woman, however, seemed to have other plans.
She slowly lowered the bat, although she didn’t put it down, and kept her eyes on us as she answered.
“My name is Priya Voss. I was a virologist before all of this happened. I was in the city for a conference when the invasion started. The military, they’re keeping tabs on people still in the city.”
How helpful.
“A virologist?” I repeated, looking at her properly now, hope rising fiercely in me.
“Do you know my mother?”
The question came out before I could stop it and her expression changed.
Her fingers tightened around the bat and she looked at me for a moment longer than she should have.
“What’s your mother’s name?”
I told her and she didn’t answer immediately.
“Dr. Voss?”
“I’ve heard the name,” she finally said, but there was something strange in the way she said it.
“There are a lot of people in the medical field. I can’t say I know everyone I’ve ever come across.”
Right.
What was I expecting?
I stared at her, trying to decide whether to push further, but Declan stepped in before I could.
“We’re leaving.”
I turned towards him.
“What?”
He pointed towards the door, collecting the rifle from me.
“Now.”
“She’s coming with us.” I immediately said.
His eyes widened slightly. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Avery.”
“We can’t leave her here.” I hissed.
He looked irritated at the idea.
“She has a safe apartment, food, water and apparently enough sense to survive by herself. What exactly do you think we’re offering her?”
“A chance to not be alone.”
“She has been alone.” He reminded me.
“We do not need an extra person in the group.”
I lowered my voice as I moved closer to him.
“And you think that’s better? You are also an extra person and you don’t see me complaining even if I don’t like your sorry arrogant ass.”
Declan glared at me.
“Jesus.I think it’s safer than dragging her into whatever the hell we’re walking towards.”
I glanced back at Priya, who was watching us with the most unimpressed expression I’d seen all morning.
“Are you two done discussing me like I’m not standing here?” She scowled.
Declan closed his eyes briefly.
I placed my hands on my hips.
“We’re trying to figure out what to do with you,” I told her.
“I gathered that.” She dead-panned.
“You’re coming with us.” I straightened up.
“If you want.”
Declan gave me a look and Priya surprised me by nodding.
“Fine.”
He turned towards her.
“Fine?”
She shrugged, running a hand through her ginger colored hair.
“Yes. I’m coming.”
“Just like that?”
She shrugged.
“I’ve been listening to the broadcast too. I know where you’re going. If you’ve managed to survive long enough to get this far, then you’re probably a better option than staying here and waiting for something to eventually find me.”
Declan opened his mouth, but she continued before he could say anything.
“And before you ask, no, I’m not going to tell you what’s inside what I’m about to carry. Do not ask.”
She walked past us and headed towards a cabinet tucked against the far wall.
I exchanged a look with Declan.
“What is she doing?”
He sighed.
“Apparently, we’re finding out.”
Priya unlocked the cabinet with a small key she pulled from beneath her shirt and removed a metal case from inside.
It was roughly the size of a briefcase, completely silver, with two thick locks on the front.
She checked both of them before carrying it towards us.
Declan reached out immediately.
“I’ll take that.”
“No.”
He frowned.
“It’s a fucking box.”
“Then I rather carry the fucking box by myself it’s incredibly important. Get your hands off it, boy.” She walked straight past him.
He just stood there, his lips slightly parted before he recovered and threw his head back with a sigh.
“The name is Declan, ma’am.”
She stopped at a cabinet, her brown eyes watching him.
Then she was stuffing some stuff into a bag I hadn’t noticed her bring out.
Declan looked at me.
“Don’t.”
I immediately stifled a laugh.
“I didn’t say anything.”
He gave me a look that said he didn’t believe me, then followed us towards the door.
We made our way downstairs carefully, with Priya keeping the metal case firmly against her side.
Outside, the others were waiting near the entrance.
Joel immediately looked at Priya, then at me, then back at Priya.
I knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Where the hell did you find her?” Nadia helped him ask, her small voice filled with confusion as she looked at the new adult with us.
“Language, Nadia. She’s coming with us,” I said before anyone else could ask.
Derek frowned.
“Who is she?”
“Dr. Priya Voss.”
He nodded.
“She’s a doctor?”
“Virologist,” Priya corrected.
Derek looked even more confused, shifting his weight.
“Whatever that means.”
“It means I know more about viruses than you do.” She gave him a tight smile.
He opened his mouth, then decided against whatever response he’d been preparing.
Smart.
We started moving again, keeping our pace steady as we left the apartment building behind.
Declan took point while Joel stayed towards the back, occasionally looking over his shoulder.
Priya walked beside me, still carrying the metal case like it contained something she was prepared to fight us over if necessary.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then she leaned slightly closer.
“Your mother is Dr. Amara Bennett, right? Lead scientist at R&D labs.”
My steps faltered and I looked at her, but she was still looking ahead.
“Excuse me?”
“I told you I’ve heard the name.She finally looked at me, and there was something different in her expression now.
The uncertainty from inside the apartment was gone.
“I do know your mother.”
My heart gave a hard thud and I lowered my voice.
“How?”
“She worked on something involving genetic markers. Your name came up during the research. Never thought I’d run into you though.” She mused to herself.
“It’s… Incredible.”
What the hell?
I stared at her.
“What research?”
She glanced ahead at Declan before looking back at me.
“Have you noticed anything strange since this started?”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“A Rig,” she said quietly.
“Maybe one of them following you specifically. Or Fractured behaving differently around you. Something that seemed targeted rather than reactive.”
I stopped walking and Priya stopped too.
“What the fuck did you just say?”