Chapter 114: 114

NADINE’S P.O.V

Over the next two days, Jennifer did not look at me during training.

She acted like I didn’t exist even when I tried to speak to her myself. It reminded me of the time we’d spent out together. It was infuriating.

I thought we’d grown past that, but clearly we hadn’t.

I tried not to focus on it too much, especially seeing as there were more pressing things at hand, like the fact that Trent was preparing to blow up the bunkers.

Joshua and Sam had been trying hard to find a way to broadcast the message while Rowan had been working with Solomon and Edith to find a team that would go to some major landmarks to save as many people as possible.

They’d adamantly refused to go the entire way to the bunker and I couldn’t understand why. Hundreds would die. The people at the bunker weren’t prepared for life outside, but Solomon didn’t seem to care. They’d voted, and we’d have to deal with it.

“Hey.”

I jumped when a hand settled on my shoulder.

Amy stepped back, both hands raised to show that she meant no harm.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. I called your name but you didn’t answer,” she explained, watching me slowly. “Are you alright?”

I nodded slowly. “I’m fine.”

She didn’t believe me, but she didn’t push, instead, she walked alongside me as we walked back towards the house. The air between us was pungent with curiosity, so when she finally opened her mouth, I wasn’t even surprised.

“How’s training?”

I shrugged. “Good, how are the kitchens?”

She smoothed down her gray dress with a small smile.

She’d taken to life here in a way that none of us had. She seemed happier. There were days I’d hear her crying in her room for her son, days I’d itched to reach out and comfort her, but there were also days where she genuinely looked like she’d found joy.

“I love it.” Her voice was soft. “The people here are so kind. It feels good to not have to worry that I’m going to die each morning. You should try it. There are a lot more jobs here that don’t involve going out.”

I laughed.

“I’m serious. You could work with the electrical team or welfare. You don’t have to go out there and hunt and kill.” She grabbed my arms and turned me to face her. “You could be happy.”

“I am happy.”

“Are you, really? Or are you so busy trying to fight for everyone else?” I pulled my hand out of her hold and her smile became sad. “I’m sorry, that was out of line.”

“It’s okay.”

“I just—I finally have something. It’s crazy because I never thought I would. I lost everything and now I’m here. Maybe I just want the loss to have meant something, you know?”

I nodded slowly. “I do.”

She was dealing with her loss the only way she knew how, and I couldn’t fault her for that. I wouldn’t tell her how to grieve.

We walked the rest of the distance in silence, but as soon as we walked into the house, I froze.

Solomon and Sam stood in the middle of the living room. I looked between them and Rowan who was seated like this was a normal occurrence.

“I’m going to go,” Amy said slowly, before disappearing into the room.

The door clicked shut behind her, but I still hadn’t moved from my spot. I hadn’t moved my eyes from Rowan. I tried to read his expression, tried to figure out if this was an ambush, but he looked perfectly at ease.

“What’s going on?” I asked finally as I forced my eyes away from him and onto Solomon. “Why the surprise visit? Where’s Joshua?”

“At the office.” Sam explained. “We found a way to get into their communication. We’d need to do it from a close distance though.”

“You need us to take you there,” I deduced and he nodded.

“You know exactly where the bunker is. We can stay at a safe distance, do what we need and get out.”

I looked at Rowan. “Did you give them an answer yet?”

He shook his head. “I told them to wait for you.”

“Why?”

“Because I knew what you’d say.” He faced the two men. “I’ll save you the trouble of asking her. The answer is no.”

To say they were shocked would have been an understatement. I could see the wheels in their brains turning as they tried to process what he’d just said.

It was Sam who snapped out of his confusion first as his brows rose. “No?”

“I’m not going to do that just to run away.” Rowan said simply.

“If we go there, we save as many people as we can.” I added and Sam scoffed.

“We don’t have the manpower,” Solomon cut in. “We don’t even have enough cars to transport the people.”

“Then we fucking walk.”

“This isn’t up for debate.”

“Yes, it is,” I hissed. “There are children there. We cannot just leave them to die. We’ll take you to the bunker, but we will save the people. That’s our only offer.”

“We could say no, you know?” Solomon asked. “You’re the one who cares about alerting the people. We were happy living out here and we will continue to do so even if everyone else dies.”

“Then you’ll be just like him.” I stepped closer to him. “How do you think your people will feel when they find out that you left innocents to die? It could’ve been any of them.”

I paused, letting my eyes linger on Sam before speaking.

“It could’ve been Lilian.”

His jaw clenched but I didn’t pay him any heed. I’d gotten my point across easily and I could tell that they were both thinking about it.

There was no one Sam cared about more than Lilian, and there was nothing Solomon cared about more than being the savior. It was so obvious in the way they acted, the way they spoke. Solomon cared about the people here, and their perception of him.

I allowed the silence stretch for a moment before turning away from them and heading towards the room.

“You have our offer,” I threw over my shoulder to Solomon. “Think about it.”

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