I stop for a second to think about his question, and then I look out into the street. There are buildings all around us, each of them serving a purpose. There are people walking the streets without guns, without fear that a greyskin or a raider will come in and kill them. The walls can be seen from just about any part of the town, and on top of them walk competent sharp-shooters. But even more than those things, there are small gardens lining the sidewalks with fall flowers. There is a large community garden that the townspeople share in the spring and summer. And there are children, laughing and playing. Before the outbreak, I never even liked kids, but now I understand their innocence. I look back at Gabe’s eyes and nod. “For the first time in a long time, I feel like I belong to something.”

He nods at me, but he almost seems disappointed by my answer.

“Why?” I ask. “You aren’t?”

He shrugs. “I’ve been in Crestwood since Paxton organized the town and I’ve sat through a lot of the elders’ meetings. Things just seem to be getting weird.”

“In what way?” I lean against the building and he comes in closer and lowers his voice, not knowing I would be able to hear him even if he were on the other side of Crestwood.

“How long have you been here now?” he asks.

“About three months. A little bit more.”

He shakes his head and snickers. “You must have a spell over me. I can get in a lot of trouble talking to you about this kind of stuff.”

I feel my forehead creasing. “What kind of stuff?”

“I don’t know…they are just acting weird. They asked me to sit in on one of their meetings the other day so I could give a report of the soldiers and all.” He turns his head to look behind him to make sure no one else is listening. “One of the elders, Lillian, started to say something about a person called Shadowface.”

“Shadowface?”

“Yeah,” he says. “Paxton hushed her real quick and reminded her that I was in the room.”

“But that’s all you heard?” I ask.

“Sort of. I mean the way she said it was weird. Paxton had asked me about weapon supplies and when I told them we were running a little low on ammunition, Lillian told Paxton to put in a request with Shadowface. Things got real awkward, real quick.”

“What do you think it means?”

“I couldn’t tell you,” he shrugs. “I guess if I’m not supposed to know, I’m not supposed to know.”