“She’s fine,” Angela said. “You need to stay away.”

“And we need to kill those things before they get out,” Lilou said.

“You’re not killing them,” he said.

“So what’s your story?” Angela stood and walked over to the man. He didn’t back down, but neither did he face up to her. Sammi sensed no real threat in him, but he was someone still filled with mysteries.

“I could ask the same,” he said.

“Yeah, but I asked first, and we outnumber you.”

Bone glanced at them all, as if sizing them up.

“And I can fire lightning from my hand,” Sammi said, holding up her right hand. The skin of her palm was tight and shiny, but other than that there was no sign of what she had so recently done. It was so far beyond what she had believed herself capable of that it should have been surreal, unbelievable. And yet the power nestling within her felt so at home. The sickness was abating, although she still felt weak and woozy. I’m someone I never thought I would be. She smiled at Bone, and he offered an uncertain smile in return.

“Mohserran is my father,” Bone said.

“I did wonder,” Lilou said. “And you’re the one who escaped from here, though you must have been a kid when it happened.”

“Oh shit,” Angela said. “Am I the only human left in the world?”

Sammi laughed. It was loud and strong, considering how weak and crappy she felt, and Angela’s look of surprise at her outburst only made her laugh some more.

Bang-bang-bang came from the old cooler room, as if in response to the revelation. Bone looked that way and Sammi could not read his expression. No wonder he doesn’t want them killed, she thought.

“He might have been your father once, but not anymore,” Lilou said. “He’s been under the water for forty years. And you’ve seen what they’ve become.”

“He’s still alive,” Bone said.

“No.”

“Yes! I came here to find out once and for all what happened to him, and the last thing I expected was to find him walking.”

“You warned us about them,” Angela said.

“They scared me.”

“They scared me. If it hadn’t been for Sammi...” She turned and smiled at the girl.

Bang-bang-bang.

“You know they’re still infected,” Lilou said. “You came here to find out what happened, I came here to make sure they’re all dead.”

“He saved me,” Bone said.

“How come you weren’t infected?” Sammi asked.

“I was. We all were, but it just made the humans sick. The Kin—the pure Kin—it drove into a frenzy.”

“And you?”

“He fought against it for me. Gave me his last breath to escape. He’s a good Kin. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”