“I’m Remi,” I tell her. “Your name is Evie?”

She nods emphatically like she is proud of nothing more.

“Short for Evelyn?” I ask, turning my head toward Stephen and then to Lydia.

“You can’t take her,” Lydia says, now standing. “She’s been my baby since…since the day it all started.”

I hadn’t planned on taking anyone, but what better opportunity for me than to bring Paxton his granddaughter? He would welcome me in without question. All would be made right. All would be forgiven. I would demand to be a soldier. Not just a soldier, but a commander. Paxton might even ask me to be an elder. This little girl is all the security I need.

“But her grandfather is still alive,” I say. “He runs a town not too far from here.”

“You can't take her anywhere,” Stephen says.

“If you didn’t want me to take her, then why did you show her to me?” I ask. “Why did you bring me here instead of just sending me on my way?”

“Because you made it to the maternity ward all by yourself and back to the entrance without a scratch,” he says. “That takes talent.”

“I’ve been on the road a lot,” I say.

“We could use a person like you here,” he says. “I want to be open and honest with you. No, Jessi is not here, but her daughter is.”

“Then I should tell Robert Paxton about her,” I say.

“I don’t know who this man is, or what Crestwood is like, but I can promise you that we offer protection,” Stephen says. “I brought you to Lydia and Evie because I want you to know that I’m not lying to you. You’ve got an honest bunch here that really cares about one another. You can offer us your skills and we can offer you protection.”

“But you don’t even know me,” I say. “You don’t know what kind of person I am.”

“I know you are skilled,” he says. “I know that you’re willing and able to go on missions.”

I look down at Evelyn and she smiles back at me. What if this is the new start that I need? What if I don’t take Evelyn back to Paxton? What if I stay with these people? It seems secure enough, though not nearly as comfortable and nice as Crestwood.

“Am I allowed to have a gun?” I ask.

Stephen laughs at me with an eyebrow raised. “Everyone carries a gun if they are old enough. Of course you will be allowed to carry a gun.”

Elkhorn is not the ideal location. There are so many things that can go wrong. It seems that most of their protection consists of a flimsy wall and the hope that most raiders won’t come near the Epicenter because of its past. These are weaknesses that will be their undoing someday.

But not today.