“I don’t doubt that for a minute,” said Kira, and sat down on a low bench by the bonfire. A handful of children ran up to gawk at the newcomers, then scampered off, too full of energy to stop for more than a second. A portly man in a greasy apron handed her a plate of mashed potatoes liberally whipped together with garlic and chives and covered with a gob of smoky white cheese, and before she could thank him, he ladled on a pile of rich, meaty chili. The smell of hot peppers tickled her nose, and her mouth watered, but she was too overwhelmed to eat a single bite. Another little girl poured her a glass of cool water, and Kira guzzled it gratefully. Samm thanked everyone softly, nibbling politely on the food, but kept his focus on the people and the area around them, ever wary.

Calix and the older woman who’d spoken before pulled up a bench and sat in front of them. The three-year-old boy in her arms wriggled to the ground and ran off to play. “Eat,” said the woman, “but talk between bites. Your arrival is . . . well, like you said. We didn’t think there were any other humans left. And giving you dinner doesn’t mean we trust you. At least, not yet.” She gave a tight smile. “My name’s Laura; I’m kind of the mayor around here.”

Kira set down her food. “I’m so sorry about before, Laura—I didn’t mean to ignore you, it’s just that—how do you have children?”

Laura laughed. “Same way everybody does.”

“But that’s the thing,” said Kira, “none of us can.” She had a sudden thought and leapt to her feet in terror, afraid of what she might have brought into the settlement with her. “Do you not have RM?”

“Of course we have RM,” said Calix. “Everybody does.” She paused, frowning at Kira. “Are you saying you don’t have the cure?”

“You have a cure?”

Calix seemed just as surprised as Kira. “How can you survive without the cure?”

“How did you do it?” asked Kira. “Is it the pheromone—have you been able to synthesize it?”

“What pheromone?”

“The Partial pheromone,” said Kira, “that was our best lead. Is that not how you do it? Please, you have to tell me—we have to get this back to East Meadow—”

“Of course it’s not a Partial pheromone,” said Laura. “The Partials are all dead, too.” She paused, glancing back and forth nervously from Samm to Kira. “Unless you’ve got some bad news to go with the good stuff.”

“I wouldn’t necessary call it ‘bad,’” said Samm, but Kira cut him off before he could say any more; the people here were suspicious enough already, there was no point in telling them their newcomers were Partials until they’d built up a little more trust.