The woman leaned against the wall, breathing hard, though her eyes never stopped scanning for threats. Her eyes locked onto Lana’s astonished gaze on the other side of the window.

***

Hardly daring to believe her eyes, Lana’s hand moved to the window latch and pushed it open.

“Come in, quickly!” she urged the tall woman.

Nori narrowed her eyes as she took in the sight of the raven-haired girl. Seeing nothing suspicious, she climbed through the window, leaving the Warped to howl on the street.

“Anyone else with you?” the tall woman asked hoarsely, her eyes darting around, taking in the room. Everything was a mess. Trash littered the floor and furniture was spread haphazardly across the room.

“Just my friend Nathan. He went out to bring us something to eat.”

Nori studied the other woman closely. The woman was younger and shorter than her and wore baggy clothes. She looked ordinary, but there was a glint in her eye that spoke of friendly optimism. That would never last, she thought bitterly. Nothing good will last in this broken world.

Unlike Nori’s calculating look, Lana’s expression was full of wonder. For her, the athletic woman with the dreadlocks was something out of legend. She braved the streets on her own and managed to escape one of the Warped. She even kicked it in the face. “Ahem,” she said awkwardly. “I like your tan.”

Nori ignored Lana’s admiring gaze. “I wouldn’t mind something to eat as well. I’ve been running on empty for a while now.”

A disappointed howl came from outside, followed by the heavy steps of the monster as it ran away, looking for easier prey.

The door opened suddenly, revealing a young man, hardly more than a boy, holding a small pack of Cheerios. When he saw Nori standing next to Lana, he took a step back, his eyes wide in fright.

“Nathan, wait, it’s OK!” Lana said hurriedly. “This is Nori. She’s nice. She just escaped one of those monsters, and she’s hungry. We can spare some food, right?”

The teenager halted his retreat and looked at the tall woman with apprehension. Then he looked back at Lana and nodded.

“Great!” The woman beamed. “Nathan says we can spare some for now, but we’ll have to go look for more later.”

Nori frowned. “You got all that from the nod he gave you?”

“Huh?” Lana said distractedly, already reaching out for the box. “Oh, yeah, I sort of learned to understand what he means, you know?” She motioned to the man to sit, then she lowered her voice. “Poor Nathan isn’t doing very well. I think he saw something horrible before we met that traumatized him. He’s sort of withdrawn into himself. He doesn’t speak and he’s wary of strangers.”

“How have you two survived on your own? Why didn’t you join one of the shelters?”