What was he supposed to do? Look them in the eye? Look away? Back off? Don’t back off? He couldn’t remember.

His questions evaporated as the two coywolv seized Jones’s legs in their teeth and dragged the limp body away into the darkness.

Why didn’t they go after me? I was right there. And then the answer, as all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Because she didn’t douse me with that stuff the way she did half the platoon. She set this all up.

Soa was still screaming. “Get it off! Get it off!” But there were three coywolv on him now, and everyone had their hands full, and then Soa rolled right into the fire and his screaming stopped being words. Coywolv leaped off his back, blazing canine forms, yelping and crazed.

Soa staggered upright, a human torch.

“Get him down!” Ocho shouted. “Roll him!”

But Soa was past hearing. He stumbled about, ran into the ladder, and then it was on fire, too, flames leaping up toward the squat, catching plastics and paper, and then suddenly half the building was on fire.

Ocho gave up on his rifle and started trying to crawl away from the roaring flames. His chest felt like it was being stabbed by knives. His arms and legs felt heavy and clumsy.

Suddenly the castoff was there, grabbing him, hauling him upright. Ocho stared at her, stunned. “What the—?”

She slung his arm over her shoulder. “I didn’t spend all that time stitching you up just to watch you get killed. Can you lean on me?”

Ocho felt something tear as she pulled him away from the fire. “You set us up.”

She didn’t answer, just dragged him into the darkness. Behind them, flames roared higher. Blazing heat. Ocho wished he had his gun, or a knife to stick her, anything at all, but the pain was too much and he was weak and she wasn’t stopping to let him catch his breath. “I’m going to kill you,” he panted. He tried to grab at her throat.

“Cut it out, I’m saving your maggot ass.” She jabbed him in his stitches with the stump of her hand. He gasped and doubled over. He felt like a baby, he was so weak.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because I’m too stupid to know better.” They reached a tree, and she shoved him up against it. “If you climb, you’ll make it.”

Ocho wanted to turn back, to go to his boys, but she fought off his weak resistance and started lifting him up. “You can’t help them,” she grunted. She jammed him farther up into the tree. “I’m only doing this because you almost act human. Goes-around-comes-around, soldier boy. Now climb!”

“I can’t!”

“You climb or you’re coywolv bait.” She boosted him higher. “Get up there, you maggot!”