I jump slightly when I feel a hand squeeze my arm. “Waverly,” Lucas whispers to me.

I open my eyes at the sound of my name and I meet his stare. His blue eyes seem as though he can see right through me. The three years of traveling together through these desolate lands that were once our home has taught us a lot about each other. In this new world, fear is the most common emotion, and the best way to cope is to have someone you love next to you. We live in fear together day-by-day.

“They have guns,” Lucas says to me. “And they’ve seen us.”

“We’ve got to try and run,” I say.

He shakes his head slowly and peeks just above the broken window at the back of the car. I can see from his softly moving lips that he’s counting. My heart sinks when he mouths the word eleven and then ducks back down.

It’s too many, I think.

He rakes his fingers through his shaggy, blonde hair and takes a deep breath. “They would catch up to us within seconds,” he says, pulling his makeshift spear next to him. It’s not much more than a long, wooden stick with a sharp knife tied to it by thin rope. “They don’t seem too friendly - not really the type to just let us go.”

“Raiders usually don’t,” I say. I look past Lucas at Gilbert and Ethan who seem equally nervous.

“Come out, rats!” the gravelly voice yells. His words echo off the buildings around us.

With my back against the car, I look straight ahead, hoping to find an escape route that will allow us to lose the raiders, but all I see are a couple of alleys and the main road. It wouldn’t take long for them to catch us, especially if this truly is their territory.

I look past Lucas again and see Gilbert mouthing something to us. “What is he saying?” I whisper to Lucas.

Lucas shrugs. “I’m not sure.”

I despise Gilbert. His slick, dark hair and pale, gaunt face has always given him a devious look. The moment Lucas and I met him and Ethan two days ago, I knew he would be trouble. He is one of those people that is all about self-reliance and cares less about helping others survive in the process. He is exactly the type who would lead a band of raiders but is probably too young to gain a following.