She curled her fingers and toes, carefully testing each one. They burned and protested at first, then movement came more easily. Encouraged by their progress, she drew a breath of air that tasted like smoke and attempted to sit up. Pain—hot, lancing, angry—blossomed from a point in her back. It sliced through her like a spear through water, seeming to cleave her in two. A noise escaped her mouth, and suddenly the tent flap was pulled aside.

There was a disorienting swirl of dust and daylight, then the flap was closed, returning the room to smoky darkness. Only this time, there was someone else inside. Hands landed on her shoulders, holding her firmly against the bed.

“Lie back, would you?” The boy’s voice was gruff and distantly familiar.

Caledonia’s eyes settled on his arms, on the old scar running across one bicep. In this light, everything was washed in a colorless shadow, but she knew what hue she’d find there—a dense, violent orange.

A moment ago, her body had been full of so much pain it threatened to overwhelm her. Now she was alert. Her heartbeat quickened, energy surged through her, and suddenly all that pain was a faded memory.

She twisted beneath the boy’s hands and leapt to her feet. He stumbled back with a look of keen irritation. He was bigger than she was, and his muscles left no doubt in Caledonia’s mind that he would best her with barely a thought. So she wouldn’t give him time to think.

While he climbed to his feet again, she was through the tent flap and running. She found herself in a ring of tents beyond which tall trees stretched toward the sky. The air was fresh and cold, tinged with woodsmoke and pine. And everywhere she looked there were more of them.

Bullets.

Even if she couldn’t see their bandoliers, she could sense it in their walk, their gaze, their sudden focus on her. There were dozens of them. She was in a camp of Bullets.

She quashed her instinct to head toward the horizon and instead turned toward the woods. The trees would be harder to navigate in her current state, but they would provide cover. The Bullet from inside the tent emerged with a scowl, his eyes finding her immediately. Now that they were in daylight, she could see that his skin was a pale, smoky brown, and stubble darkened the strong line of his jaw. He was not quite as large as she’d thought at first. Still, he was uninjured and unimpressed.

Caledonia broke for the woods, running as hard as her legs allowed. She spotted a narrow trail that slipped between the tall trees and avoided it. Her only hope was to become invisible as quickly as possible.