My first thought is that Jed was wrong and Beth has turned, but then out of the corner of my eye I see a flash of red and my heart stops beating. I choke on my own breath as I see Gabrielle coming for us. I brace myself for the impact, for the clash of teeth, but then I hear the rattle of the fence as Gabrielle slams into it. Three arrows protrude from her torso and one arm hangs at an odd angle, but that doesn't stop or even slow her down.

Other Unconsecrated stumble behind her, eventually joining her at the fence, all clamoring for us.

Travis throws dirt on the embers of last night's fire while Harry and Jed stand ready with their axes. But the fence holds the Unconsecrated back and we are merely assaulted by the smell of their fetid flesh and the sounds of their desperate moans.

We leave our little campsite without a word, slipping back into single file as the path narrows.

We walk quickly, leaving the slow Unconsecrated dragging behind after us, unable to keep up.

But Gabrielle is with us at every turn. She is like Argos, running ahead along the fence, pushing against it, testing for weakness, running back to us, trying to get through.

“How did she get out of the village?” I hear Beth wail. “How did she find us?” Jed draws his wife against him, the path barely wide enough for them to walk side by side. He meets my eyes over her head. “She must have made it back through the breach,” he says.

“That means there must be nothing left in the village for her,” I hear Harry say. “That means the village must be totally gone. If they couldn't kill her …” His voice trails off, allowing the rest of us to draw our own conclusions.

Cass, near the front of the line, stops at these words, and when I approach she slips Jacob's hand into mine and falls in line behind us. I can hear her sobs, hear her body shuddering as she struggles to breathe. I want to stop and hold her, to comfort her, but instead I grasp Jacob's hand tighter.

“Why is that one so different?” he asks me in his small voice tinged with a slight little-boy lisp.

He points to Gabrielle in her bright red vest.

I shake my head. I think of Gabrielle being locked in the Cathedral with the Sisters, of the last time I saw her and how I searched and searched but could never find her. I think of the tunnel, the doors set off it, the little room, the handwriting in the Scripture. I cannot help but wonder again what the Sisters did to Gabrielle, how they must have caused this destruction.