I suck the blood away as I turn to rejoin the others. We don't walk much farther before the path branches and we face a decision. Argos trots down each one, sniffing furiously before coming to sit at my feet, tongue lolling from the side of his mouth.

“We can either separate, scout them out or just choose one,” Harry says, his hands on his hips as he peers down the path that branches to the right. There's a small clearing where the three paths meet and Beth has taken the opportunity to curl up on her side in the dirt, her shawl tight around her shoulders and her head resting on Jed's outstretched legs.

Cass sits with Jacob, her hand wrapped around his as she helps him trace his numbers in the dirt.

“It's an easy choice,” she says without looking up. “We should take the path that leads us away from her.” She points at where Gabrielle throws herself at the fence with the same furor as the first time she found us. She is the reason we've been forced to walk single file down this narrow path, fearful that if we walked side by side she would be able to reach one of us.

“Cass makes a good point,” Travis says. “If we take the left branch, there's no way she can follow us.”

Everyone in agreement, Jed helps Beth from the ground and we trudge down the path to the left, leaving Gabrielle mauling the fence behind us. The path almost feels empty without her constant presence and a small part of me realizes that I miss her.

We come to two more breaks in the narrow path during the heat of the day, each time randomly choosing which direction to take. Just as the light shifts, causing distances to blur, Harry, who has been walking ahead, suddenly stops.

“It's a dead end,” he says.

“What?” Cass yells. Her voice has a note of hysteria in it and she steps around Harry to see for herself. She begins to bang against the section of fence that ends the path, and she reminds me of the Unconsecrated, always wanting what is on the other side.

Finally, Travis goes to her and wraps her in his arms. He tells her to shush and he rocks her slowly and Harry steps behind her and lays a hand on her shoulder. Together they try to ease Cass's shuddering sobs. Even Argos trots to her side, leaning against her legs and licking her hand. She clutches at Travis; I can see how her fingers sink into the flesh of his shoulder by the collar of his shirt, and I cannot help but watch with a sense of jealousy, a small pebble like possession in the pit of my stomach.