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“Can I trust everyone here?”
    “Can you… of course.” Nolan bends down so he’s more on my level, which is a tad condescending, but I know he’s attempting to comfort me. Like a kid.
    “Right,” I say. “Then, is there a way out? If I decide I don’t want to join?” I say this loud enough for the other boy to hear. He doesn’t react.
    Nolan speaks in a low voice. “It’s tricky, because our base is isolated and we don’t want to draw the fiends near. But if you decide you don’t want to—” He glances around, like he’s checking no one’s listening. “If it’s really what you want, I can help you get to the nearest town.”
    He sounds like he means it. Not that I can trust that, but it’s the best I’m going to get. I breathe out, nodding.
    “That okay? You can ask any questions if you aren’t sure.”
    “Will you teach me how to fight them?” The words come out in a rush.
    “The fiends?”
    I nod, again.
    “Of course.” He steps back. “That’s what we’re here for.”
    I follow him to the group sitting in a circle in the centre. A sharp-featured man sits beside a dark-skinned woman and an older man with streaks of grey in his hair. The last of the group is a girl who looks younger than me, who has a book open in her lap. Her heart-shaped face is framed by curtains of fair hair. The way it’s fluffed up reminds me of Lissa.
    By now, all eyes are on me. I tense up again, but keep my eyes ahead, not on my feet.
    “This is Leah,” Nolan tells the group.
    Four pairs of eyes assess me. I half-expect someone to comment on the lack of hair on my head, which is ridiculous. People with missing limbs are a common sight these days, as are corpse-like, starved beggars on the road, unlucky survivors. But this group look pristine compared to the few ragged strangers we ran into on the road over the past two years. Their skin’s unblemished despite the intense radiation and the dust storms. Where in the world do they come from? How did they escape?
    The younger girl’s the first to speak. “Hi, Leah.” She smiles, and it’s a genuine smile, too. “Welcome to the group.” She looks at the older man, with the grey in his hair. “Can I give her the tour?”
    “Elle, we’re leaving soon,” he says. “Leah, welcome. I’m Murray. Do you want some water?” He offers me his flask.
    At once, it hits me how thirsty I am. I nod gratefully and accept the flask. I try not to drink all of it, but once the cool water hits my parched throat it’s an effort to pull away.
    “We have plenty, take it all,” says Murray.
    “Thank you,” I say.
    I’m disarmed by his kindness. It’s not something you come across every day, especially amongst strangers. The memory of a half-starved man on the road chasing after my sister, trying to snatch her water-flask, flickers to the surface. Why do I keep thinking of Lissa now? It’s like meeting the strangers has lifted the lid on everything I tried to suppress.
    As I drink, the others stand up, and people start pulling down the tents and packing them away into hiking-style backpacks. For a minute, it’s like being back at camp. The girl closes her book and slides it into her bag. She smiles as she sees me watching her.
    “I’m Elle,” she says. “Murray is my dad. He’s the man in charge.”
    She’s not as young as I first thought—fifteen, maybe. Her soft features are a sharp contrast to the bleak landscape. She’s not a natural survivor. The others look older—but some are younger than me. These people can’t have all come searching for the fiends. Something doesn’t add up.
    Nolan hasn’t told me everything.
    “Why did you come here?” I ask Elle. She strikes me as someone willing to talk.
    She glances back at Murray. “I’m not sure my dad wants me to talk about it. But I can tell you anything else.” Her bright eyes remind me more of Lissa by the second, if she’d lived and grown up.
    “Okay,” I say. “What’s a natural?”
    “Ah.