Chapter 221: Claiming Atlantic City [2]

“Let’s do this, then,” he said.

He turned to address his assembled fighters, raising his voice so everyone could hear clearly. “Alright, everyone! We move out in two minutes! Final weapons check, make sure you’ve got water and any supplies you might need! Stay together, watch each other’s backs, and remember—aim for the head, always the head!”

As Martin’s people began conducting their final preparations—checking weapon grips, adjusting backpack straps, sharing nervous glances and words of encouragement—I turned my attention to my own group.

Rachel, Sydney, Cindy, and Christopher would all be accompanying me into the Whitesun Hotel for the dangerous work of clearing it floor by floor, room by room. But they weren’t the only members of our group who’d decided to participate in the operation.

My gaze shifted to Ivy, who stood slightly apart from the others in her characteristic stance—calm, composed, almost serene despite the violence we were about to engage in. Her hands were tucked into the pockets of her white coat, which she wore despite the impracticality of such a garment for combat situations. A small bag was slung over her shoulders, probably containing various supplies and equipment she might need.

Looking at her standing there so peacefully, I couldn’t help but worry. Was she really going to be okay in what was about to happen?

I approached her quietly.

“Are you absolutely sure you want to come with us, Ivy?” I asked directly, searching her face for any sign of hesitation or doubt.

“I am certain,” she replied simply, turning her dark brown eyes to meet mine with that unreadable expression she always wore.

“I mean, I’ve seen you kill Infected before,” I continued, trying to articulate my concerns without sounding condescending or overprotective. “You’re clearly capable of defending yourself in isolated encounters. But we’re going to be killing dozens of them maybe even a hundred or more depending on how many have nested in that hotel. We’ll be fighting constantly for hours. This isn’t really your domain of expertise, is it?”

I paused, making sure she understood I wasn’t trying to insult her capabilities. “And you’re a nurse someone with incredibly rare and invaluable medical knowledge and skills in a world where trained healthcare workers are almost nonexistent. We genuinely don’t want to lose you to something preventable. If you got injured or killed during the clearing operation, that would be a great loss for everyone.”

My thoughts turned to the three who’d chosen differently. Mei, Rebecca, and Daisy had all made the conscious decision not to participate in the clearing operation, fully understanding how dangerous and intense it was going to be. They’d recognized with quite self-awareness that their presence would make them liabilities rather than assets—people the rest of us would need to protect rather than additional combat strength we could rely on.

But Ivy clearly didn’t see herself in that same category. And to be fair, she was objectively more capable than those three in combat situations. I’d witnessed her calm, methodical approach to killing Infected, the way she could maintain perfect composure even in chaotic circumstances. That kind of mental fortitude was incredibly valuable.

Still, I was afraid. The thought of something happening to her, of her getting overwhelmed or injured because I hadn’t been able to protect her adequately, gnawed at me.

“Then you should make certain to protect me properly,” Ivy replied, fixing me with that same neutral gaze before turning and walking away to join the others.

The dismissiveness of her response left me standing there for a moment, slightly stunned.

“Right… I will definitely protect you,” I muttered to myself, finding absolutely no point in trying to argue further with someone as stubbornly independent as Ivy.

“Looks like you got rejected for once,” Sydney observed with barely concealed amusement, appearing at my shoulder with that trademark smirk on her face. “How does it feel to be on the receiving end of someone completely dismissing your concerns?”

“We can talk about that later,” I said, ignoring her teasing. “Right now, is everyone ready to move out?”

“We’re all ready,” Sydney confirmed. “But it’s time for the emotional goodbyes first. We might never see each other again after all, so we should make it count.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder toward where Rachel was having what appeared to be a serious conversation with her younger sister.

“Very funny Sydney,” I muttered as I turned my attention in that direction, observing the interaction between the two siblings.

“Just be careful out there, and please don’t throw yourself uselessly into danger,” Rebecca was saying. “Don’t try to be a hero or take unnecessary risks.”

“I will be careful, I promise,” Rachel replied gently. “And I’m asking the exact same thing of you, Rebecca. While we’re gone, be gentle with the others and behave yourself. Don’t start arguments or cause problems.”

“I’m not a child anymore!” Rebecca retorted, her face flushing with indignation. “Enough with treating me like I’m twelve years old!”

“You will always be my little sister, no matter how old you get,” Rachel said with obvious affection, reaching out to stroke Rebecca’s hair.

Rebecca let out an exasperated snort, clearly trying to hide her embarrassment at the public display of sisterly affection. She pulled away from Rachel’s touch and walked off without another word, though the redness in her cheeks showed the moment had affected her more than she wanted to admit.

“Please make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid while we’re gone,” Rebecca added, turning her attention to Christopher with a pleading look.

“You should probably be saying that to Sydney instead,” Christopher replied immediately, deflecting the responsibility. “She’s far more likely to cause chaos than Rachel is.”

“I completely agree with that assessment,” Cindy chimed in, nodding seriously.

“I think you’re all mistaken about who the real problem is here,” Sydney spoke up blinking. “Ryan is obviously the one most likely to attempt something dramatically heroic and stupidly dangerous—probably to show off and impress Rachel with his masculine prowess or something equally ridiculous.”

“How did you manage to drag both me and Rachel into that accusation?” I asked, feeling my eye twitch at her provocation.

Sydney just grinned at me in response, clearly enjoying having gotten under my skin.

I watched Rebecca’s retreating form as she walked past me, her gaze briefly flickering in my direction before quickly looking away. The moment of eye contact was so brief I might have imagined it, but it left me wondering once again about our complicated relationship.

Would our relationship ever actually become good? The question had been bothering me for months now, and lately it felt like the answer might be ’never’. The thought made me feel genuinely bad, especially since Rebecca was Rachel’s sister. For Rachel’s sake if nothing else, I genuinely wanted to establish a positive relationship with Rebecca, to have her trust me or at least not actively dislike me.

But every interaction we had seemed to reinforce the walls between us rather than breaking them down.

“Well, everyone please be careful out there!” Daisy called out, her voice trembling slightly with emotion as she looked at those of us who were about to depart. Her eyes were noticeably watery behind her broken glasses, as if she might start crying at any moment.

“You look particularly stupid with those broken lenses in your glasses, you know,” Sydney observed bluntly, pointing at the cracked glass that had been bothering Daisy for days now. “Like you’re trying to see the world through a shattered windshield.”

Daisy’s face immediately flushed red with embarrassment. She reached up self-consciously toward her glasses, her fingers touching the damaged frames as if she’d momentarily forgotten about the visible defect.

“Is that really how you thank someone for worrying about you, Sydney?” Rachel complained, reaching out to grab Sydney’s ear and give it a sharp tug. “She’s being sweet and you’re being needlessly cruel!”

“Hey! I’m just pointing out an objective fact!” Sydney protested, pulling away from Rachel’s grip and rubbing her reddened ear with an injured expression. “It’s not cruel if it’s true!”

“We’ll look for replacement glasses once we get to Atlantic City,” I said. “There are bound to be optical centers scattered around the city with pre-made prescription glasses still sitting on shelves. We might be able to find something that fits your prescription, or at least something close enough to be functional.”

“T…That would be wonderful!” Daisy exclaimed, her expression brightening considerably at the prospect of finally being able to see clearly again without looking through cracked lenses. “I really appreciate that!”

It must be incredibly frustrating for her, I realized. Trying to navigate a dangerous post-apocalyptic world while your vision was compromised by damaged glasses had to be both annoying and genuinely dangerous.

I was about to turn my attention lastly to Mei, wanting to say goodbye and maybe offer some reassurance or final words before heading into danger, but when I looked around for her distinctive figure, she’d disappeared from where I’d last seen her standing.

Scanning the area more carefully, I finally spotted her walking away from the group, heading back toward the camping van with unhurried steps.

I quickly moved to catch up with her, my longer strides closing the distance between us.

“Mei,” I called out when I was close enough that she’d definitely hear me.

“What is it?” She asked without bothering to turn around or slow her pace, continuing to walk away as if my presence was irrelevant.

Her dismissive tone stung a bit, but I’d been expecting something like this. Mei had been noticeably cooler toward all of us since the incident where I along others had left for Atlantic City without explicitly informing her we were going. The fact that we’d reunited only hours later hadn’t seemed to matter, she’d taken it as a sign of being excluded it seems or maybe she wanted to come along as well.

“I understand you’re angry that we left without telling you directly,” I said. “But we were genuinely in a hurry. The decision to scout Atlantic City was made quickly, and we didn’t have time to track everyone down and explain the plan.”

“I was literally just a few houses behind you, not stranded in Florida or some distant location,” Mei retorted sharply, still not turning to face me. “But I suppose treating Miss Ivy and me like outsiders—like we’re not really part of the core group—has become a comfortable habit for all of you by now.”

I quickly reached out and caught her arm, gently but firmly stopping her forward movement. “Look at me,” I said quietly.

Mei finally stopped walking and slowly turned her gaze toward me. Her dark eyes were guarded, defensive, revealing more vulnerability than she probably intended to show.

“You are absolutely not an outsider,” I said with as much sincerity as I could convey. “You’re one of us—a full member of this group. You’re just as important to me as Sydney, Rachel, Cindy, or any of the others. I mean that completely.”

I paused, trying to find the right words to explain without making excuses. “Sometimes I might do questionable things—like choosing to stay quiet about certain plans or making decisions without consulting everyone first. But those choices are never because I don’t value you the same way I value the others. It’s never about trust or importance. Far from it, actually. You matter to me, Mei. Please believe that.”

Mei continued staring at me with those penetrating dark eyes for a long, uncomfortable moment, her expression unreadable. Then she looked away, breaking the intensity of the eye contact.

“What did you actually want to say to me?” She asked, stuttering a bit.

“R…Right,” I stammered, suddenly feeling awkward about the whole interaction.

I released her arm, letting my hand drop back to my side.

“It’s about Rebecca and Daisy,” I said. “I need you to keep an eye on them while we’re gone clearing the city. Especially Rebecca—she can be impulsive and confrontational when she’s stressed or scared.”

I hesitated before continuing with the more serious concern. “I know the probability is relatively low, but there’s a chance Wanda could be in danger.”

“You want me to protect her?” Mei asked, crossing her arms. “Have you forgotten that I don’t have superpowers like you, Sydney, Rachel, and the others? I’m just an ordinary human with decent combat training. What exactly do you expect me to accomplish against serious threats?”

“No, I know you don’t have enhanced abilities,” I acknowledged quickly, realizing my request might have come across as unfair or unrealistic. “I’m not asking you to fight off entire groups of armed attackers or take on Enhanced Infected single-handedly. Just… be aware, be vigilant, and be careful. If something seems wrong or dangerous, get everyone to safety and don’t try to be a hero. That’s all I’m asking.”

I offered her a somewhat awkward, wry smile, hoping she’d understand I wasn’t trying to burden her with impossible responsibilities.

“Worry about yourself, Ryan,” Mei replied simply, then turned and resumed walking away without waiting for any response.

I watched her go for a moment, trying to interpret whether that had been acceptance of my request or just a dismissal of the entire conversation. With Mei, it was genuinely difficult to tell sometimes.

I supposed that response meant “yes”? Or at least meant she’d heard my concerns and would factor them into her awareness? That would have to be good enough.

Anyway, it was definitely time to leave. We’d already spent too much time on farewells and last-minute preparations.

I turned and jogged back to where the rest of my group had gathered, all of them armed and ready, waiting for my return so we could finally move out.

“We’ll take point and go ahead,” I said to Martin. “Your group follows behind us at about fifty yards distance. Watch our backs and sides for any Infected we might miss or any threats approaching from angles we can’t see.”

“You got it,” Martin confirmed with a nod. “We’ll keep you covered.”

Satisfied that everyone understood the plan, I turned my attention to my own group—Rachel, Sydney, Cindy, Christopher, and Ivy all standing ready with their various weapons in hand.

“Let’s go, everyone.”

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