CHAPTER 55: STUPID PEOPLE DO STUPID THINGS

Of course Lachlan had to jump out of the Hummer and go after Noah. Of course he did.

Sera watched them both disappear inside the store.

She counted to ten.

Then twenty.

Then thirty.

But still, she didn’t move.

Her fingers were still curled around the door handle, but she didn’t open it. The Hummer rumbled quietly beneath her, the only thing that felt stable in the entire street.

A little girl ran past the windshield.

Something fast—too fast—chased after her.

She didn’t scream.

She just vanished behind a parked van with a sound like splintering bone.

The screams from inside the café grew louder.

More guttural.

Sera didn’t flinch.

Instead, she reached across the console and unlocked the glove compartment. Inside was a sleek black pistol, loaded. She picked it up and checked the magazine anyway. Safety off.

Someone slammed into the driver’s side window a second later, teeth bared, face half-melted.

She shot them through the glass without hesitation.

The report was muffled. The creature purred.

The body slid down the side of the vehicle, leaving a smear. But Sera knew that the bullet wouldn’t stop it for long. They never did.

Guns were useless against the zombies, she knew that better than anyone.

A minute passed.

Then two.

Finally, the café door burst open again.

Noah stumbled out first, dragging one kid by the backpack, another clinging to his arm. Lachlan had two more in tow. One was limping. The other had blood down the side of her face but was still conscious.

Sera opened the rear door.

They shoved them in without ceremony. The teens were crying. One had pissed himself. The smell hit her nose instantly.

"They’re clean," Lachlan said, already pulling back into traffic. "We checked."

"For now," Sera muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She gave him the next turn.

They didn’t speak for the next mile.

Not until the sound of sirens disappeared.

Not until the city was behind them and the treeline ahead began to thicken.

Only then did Sera finally speak.

"Stupid people do stupid thing," she sneered, looking at the bleeding kids in the back. "And you two are both idiots."

No one argued.

Not even Noah.

The further they got away from downtown City H, the more the trees had started to thicken.

Lachlan took the last bend slow, the tires of the Hummer crunching over loose gravel. They were nearly there. Sera could already feel it in her chest—her cabin wasn’t far. It was the only place that felt remotely safe. Remote. Controlled. Hers.

Which is exactly why she slammed her hand against the dash.

"Pull over."

Lachlan glanced at her. "What?"

"Now," she grunted, not willing to take no for an answer. If they continued to ignore her advice, she would just get out of the car and keep going on her own.

Even if the idea of leaving Lachlan to his own devices tore at her heart.

The Hummer skidded slightly as he stopped at the mouth of an abandoned clearing just off the main path. It had once been a campground—judging by the rotted picnic tables and the remains of a fire pit—but now it looked more like a graveyard waiting to happen.

Sera opened her door, went around to the side, and pulled open the door to the back seat.

"Out," she snapped, pointing to the camp sight. "There is where your ride ends."

The teens in the back stared at her.

"What do you mean, out?" asked one of the girls, her voice cracking. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen.

"We’re stopping here," Sera said, stepping out and folding her arms. "Drop them off."

Lachlan frowned. "Sera—"

"No," she snapped. "It’s bad enough I’m taking him—" she jerked her chin toward Noah, "—to my cabin. I’m not bringing four half-hysterical humans who’ll do nothing but cry, piss themselves, or become food." She pointed to the road behind them, where the shadows were still moving. Still approaching.

"You can’t just leave them," Noah argued, voice sharp. "They’ll die if we leave them here. We’ll bring them with us. Just until morning."

Sera turned, her expression like ice. "If they die, then they were too stupid to live."

"They’re kids!"

"They’re liabilities."

"You’re being a—"

"Just be happy," she cut in, her voice dropping, "that I’m not dropping you off with them. The only reason why I am keeping you is because you are friends with Lachlan. Morals are for people who can afford them, and right now, none of us can."

A beat passed.

Then one of the teens—tall, wiry, shaking with adrenaline—stepped out of the backseat. His face was flushed, his eyes wet.

"You can’t do this," he growled. "We almost died back there."

"Then you missed seeing the number of people who did die back there," Sera replied. "Or did you think that somehow, you were the special ones who got to escape without putting in any effort."

"You’re a bitch," the boy snapped. "You can’t just dump us in the woods and act like that makes you better than us. Take us back. Take us home. You owe us!"

Sera blinked at him once.

Then turned away.

"I’m not your mom," she said flatly. "And I don’t have to do jack shit to save you. If you’re so tough, go save yourself."

The girl behind him burst into tears, her whole body shaking.

Lachlan rubbed the back of his neck and stepped forward, voice gentler. "Sera... come on. They’re scared."

"And that’s supposed to be my problem?"

"They won’t survive out here."

"They won’t survive with me either." Her voice was dry. "I’m not babysitting. And I’m sure as hell not dying for a bunch of strangers who wouldn’t last five minutes if I wasn’t here."

"You don’t know that."

"I do." Her eyes narrowed. "I know exactly what kind of people survive this. It’s not the kind that begs to be saved."

Noah crossed his arms. "So what? We just leave them? Like garbage?"

Sera didn’t answer.

She was already climbing back into the passenger seat when the girl sobbed out, "Why are you like this?"

Sera didn’t turn around.

She didn’t answer.

Because this was her being nice. Because this was survival. And the sooner they learned that, the better.

"Drive," she told Lachlan. "The longer we sit here, the more likely something else shows up."

Lachlan hesitated, jaw clenched.

Then he started the Hummer.

The teens faded into the rearview mirror like ghosts.

And Sera didn’t look back.