My heart breaks as Bree disappears. I feel awful to have caused her pain. I need to explain to her about Dad, about my gut feeling that the message is from him. Once she understands that, she’ll see why I have no choice but to leave.

“Brooke,” General Reece says, “I think you should reconsider leaving. You’d be going to Texas on nothing more than a hunch. I don’t want to lose my best shooter.”

“It’s more than a hunch,” I reply. “Zeke’s right when he said we would have picked the message up sooner if it had been recorded years ago. I’m absolutely certain that message has only just been sent, that they’re all alive. I want to find them.”

“I’m with Brooke,” a voice says and my heart skips a beat

I turn and look over at Ryan. All these months that we’ve been debating isolationism and rescuing survivors, he’s been the person most opposed to my views. He’s always wanted to stop me from leaving, to convince me that it’s better just to stay. Yet now, he’s the first to volunteer to come with me.

“Why?” I ask, astonished.

He smirks. “Because the chances of you changing your mind are nil,” he says. “And I’m not about to let you walk out alone into your death. So that leaves me no other option.”

My stomach flips. That Ryan would do that for me, it’s more than my heart can handle.

“I’m coming too.”

I turn and am floored to see Molly smiling back.

“Unless I’d be a third wheel,” she adds wryly.

“You won’t,” Zeke adds. “Because I’ll be with you all.”

I look from one to the other, relief swelling inside of me that I’m not doing this alone. And gratitude. I am touched that they care about me so much that they’d all risk their lives for me.

“Brooke,” the Commander says, “come to my office tomorrow morning. All of you,” he adds, addressing Zeke, Ryan, and Molly. “We’ll formulate a plan for your departure.”

My stomach flips again at the thought that this is really happening, and that the Commander is going to help me. My whole body is a mixture of excitement and anticipation. After six months of dreaming about leaving this place, it’s finally about to happen.

But there’s something else there too, a deep, hollow sensation inside of me. I realize it’s the thought of leaving Charlie, Ben, and Bree behind. I know they won’t come with me. Bree loves Fort Noix too much, Charlie is her hopelessly devoted shadow who will do anything she asks, and Ben’s too unwell to come even if he wanted to.