Chapter 480: Cindy Worried

"So, from what I understand, you’re going there to save two girls?"

Summer walked beside me through the dimly lit Boardwalk streets, matching my pace as I carried the box containing the Resonance Disruptor.

"Mei and Emily," she added. "That’s who you said?"

"Not only them," I replied.

Summer looked toward me.

Obviously, Mei and Emily were the people I thought about most.

Mei had been with us since the beginning. She had survived Jackson Township with us. She had been there through the first days of the outbreak, when nobody knew what was happening or who they could trust. She was in Brigantine because I had failed to get her out when I had the chance.

And Emily...

She was someone I had known before any of this started. A classmate. Someone who had been dragged into Callighan’s world and kept locked away because of also me.

But there were others too.

I could not pretend they did not matter simply because I did not know them as well.

"There’s Tommy," I said. "He used to be my classmate in high school."

Summer listened quietly.

"And Keith," I continued. "He’s Lucy’s brother."

"So four people."

"Yeah."

The box in my hand felt heavier than before.

Four people.

Tommy.

Keith.

Mei.

Emily.

If the plan worked, all four would be on that boat tonight.

Summer looked ahead as we walked.

"Three of them were already part of Callighan’s group, weren’t they?"

"Yeah."

I nodded slowly.

"But it’s complicated."

Summer glanced back at me.

"How?"

"They didn’t all choose it."

I looked toward the water in the distance.

"Tommy told me a lot of people in Brigantine are only there because they had nowhere else to go. Callighan found them, brought them in, gave them food and shelter. For some people, it was probably that or die outside."

Summer’s expression became thoughtful.

"They aren’t all evil," I said. "There are bad people there, obviously. People like Gaspar, Romero, and the ones who enjoy having power over others. But there are also people who got dragged into it and don’t know how to get out."

"Yeah," Summer said quietly. "They just weren’t lucky."

"Yeah."

I nodded.

Though, in a way, they had been lucky.

Without Callighan, some of them probably would not have survived the first weeks of the outbreak. He had taken people in. He had given them somewhere protected. Food. Weapons. A place behind walls.

The problem was what came after.

Safety turned into control.

Shelter turned into a cage.

And before people realized it, they were doing things they never thought they would do because Callighan had made himself the only person standing between them and death.

But if they had found Margaret first...

Or Marlon.

Things would have been different.

Margaret would have helped them without turning them into prisoners.

Marlon would have protected them without using fear to keep them obedient.

They would have had a chance to become part of something better.

"Emily was your classmate too?" Summer asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Both Emily and Tommy were."

"And Mei?"

"Mei has been with us for a while. Since the beginning, actually."

I smiled faintly despite myself.

"She was from another school, though."

Summer smiled.

"Aren’t they lucky?"

I looked at her.

"They have someone who will go all the way there to protect them," she said. "Someone who is going to bring them back to safe ground."

"Well..."

I looked away for a moment.

"They’re good people. They’re friends."

At least, I considered them friends.

Mei was much more than that, even if I still did not know exactly what we were supposed to call each other now. But she was important to me. She had been important from the beginning.

Emily mattered too.

She had not deserved what happened to her. She had not deserved to be locked in a basement twenty-four hours a day because people were afraid of the power inside her.

Tommy was a good person as well.

People at school used to hate him for stupid reasons. Maybe jealousy. Maybe because he was different. Maybe because he did not care about fitting in with people who did not matter.

But Tommy had always been decent.

No wonder Emily had been with him before the outbreak.

He cared about her.

He felt guilty now because he had trusted Gaspar. He had not understood Symbiotes. He had not known what would happen to Emily or how badly Callighan’s group would treat her.

He had believed Gaspar because he thought Gaspar was trying to help contain her power.

In a way, he had kept Emily from hurting people while she was unstable.

But it had gone too far.

Way too far.

Emily could not be treated like a weapon or an animal locked in a basement. She needed help. She needed someone who understood what was happening to her.

She needed to be free.

"Well," Summer said, bringing me out of my thoughts, "you helped me too."

I looked at her.

"Back then, we barely knew each other," she continued. "But you still helped me."

"I mean, that was normal."

Summer gave me a look.

"Was it?"

"Yeah."

I shifted the box in my hands.

"Anyone with my abilities wouldn’t just abandon someone in danger."

Summer smiled softly.

"I guess."

Then she looked forward again.

"But you do more than necessary sometimes."

I frowned.

"About what?"

"Everything."

She spoke as though the answer was obvious.

"Especially helping people."

"I think that’s normal," I replied. "Especially now. If we don’t help each other, none of us survives for long."

"Yeah," Summer said. "But not everyone understands that."

Her expression became slightly more serious.

"A lot of people take things for granted. Or they’re lazy. Or they only care about saving themselves."

I thought of Brad, Billy, and Kyle.

Of the way they attacked Margaret for offering shelter to people who had lost their homes.

Maybe Summer was right.

"Are you lazy?" I asked.

Summer turned toward me with a dry look.

"Do I look lazy to you?"

"No."

I smiled.

Summer was my age, but she worked constantly. I had seen her helping with the barricades, tending injuries, carrying supplies, watching the younger survivors, and checking on people after the Screamer attack.

She had Marlon’s stubbornness.

That was obvious.

But she also had a gentler side he did not show often. She cared about people, even when she complained about them. She cared about the Boardwalk. She cared about her father.

And she had cared about me enough to threaten Marlon if he tried to train me while I was still injured.

"No," I repeated. "You definitely don’t look lazy."

Summer’s cheeks turned slightly red.

"Good."

We kept walking until we reached the front of the Whitesun Hotel.

The night watch had gathered near the entrance, and a few battery lights illuminated the area. Some people were preparing weapons. Others were speaking in low voices, probably checking the final security arrangements before we left.

Then I spotted Marlon.

He sat outside on a chair near the entrance with Molly beside him. Both had glasses in their hands. They seemed to have been speaking quietly before we arrived.

Summer immediately narrowed her eyes.

"Dad," she said. "Are you drinking?"

Marlon looked up.

He raised his glass slightly.

"Just a little, Summer. Don’t worry."

I looked at him carefully.

He seemed completely fine.

Marlon was not slurring his words. He did not look unsteady. If anything, he looked as alert as always. I doubted someone like him would let himself get drunk when the Boardwalk was preparing for a possible crisis.

Still, Summer did not look convinced.

"You should be setting an example," she said.

"I am."

"With alcohol?"

"With moderation."

Molly covered a small laugh beside him.

Summer sighed.

I had to admit, Marlon deserved a moment to breathe too. He had spent days organizing repairs, defending the Boardwalk, training people, watching over the night shifts, and dealing with the aftermath of Callighan’s attack.

Even someone like him needed a break sometimes.

Then Marlon’s gaze moved to me.

His eyes fell on the long box in my hands.

Then they shifted to Summer.

His expression immediately became displeased.

"I see both of you together too often these days for my taste," he said suspiciously.

"I just came to pick up the weapon," I said, lifting the rectangular case slightly.

Marlon’s eyes moved from my face to the box in my hand.

The suspicion in his expression disappeared almost immediately.

"Oh."

Then he leaned forward in his chair, his glass lowering slightly.

"So you’re leaving?"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

"I’m going to get Mei and the others tonight."

Marlon’s face became serious.

"Rico is still at the Golden Nugget Hotel, right?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "He is."

Marlon sat up straighter.

The relaxed atmosphere from a few seconds ago disappeared.

"So you’re going to Brigantine tonight?"

"Yeah," I said. "Not inside the town, though."

I adjusted my grip on the weapon case.

"We’re waiting near the shore. Tommy is supposed to bring Mei, Emily, Keith, and himself to the boat. Rachel, Lucy, and I will be there to make sure they get onto our side safely."

"As bodyguards, then?" Molly asked.

"Something like that."

I gave her a small smile.

Molly chuckled.

"You really are something, Ryan."

I looked at her.

"I’ve never seen kids like you."

"You’re thinking too much of me."

"I’m not lying."

Molly’s expression remained warm, but there was a seriousness underneath it too.

"At your age, you’re already far above most people in every way that matters. You can fight. You can lead. You think about people other than yourself. You keep moving even when you should be resting."

She looked toward the damaged streets around the hotel.

"You’ve already done more than most people would do in an entire lifetime."

I did not know how to answer that.

Praise always made me uncomfortable.

Especially after Gaspar.

Especially after failing to get Mei out the first time.

Especially when I kept thinking about the people I had not saved during the Screamer attack.

Molly continued anyway.

"And you’re still doing it."

Her smile softened.

"The world after all this is going to need people like you. People who can help rebuild it after people like Marlon and I are gone."

"You’re exaggerating," I said, feeling my face heat slightly.

Molly shook her head.

"No. I’m not."

Then she looked toward Marlon.

"Right, Marlon?"

Marlon looked at me.

He took a small sip from his glass, as though he needed time to think about his answer.

"I guess he’s not bad," he said finally.

Summer rolled her eyes.

"Can’t you be more honest, Dad?"

Marlon glanced at her.

"I was honest."

"You said he’s ’not bad.’"

"That’s a compliment."

"That is not a compliment."

"It is from him," Molly said with a quiet laugh.

I smiled.

"It’s fine."

Honestly, it was.

Coming from Marlon, not bad probably meant more than most people’s speeches.

I looked at the three of them again.

Marlon.

Molly.

Summer.

Standing outside the Emerald Hotel. Listening to Molly tease Marlon. Watching Summer argue with her father. Carrying a weapon Marlon trusted me enough to give me.

It felt like something worth coming back to.

Something I did not want to lose.

"Then I’ll leave," I said.

I turned away.

"Boy."

Marlon’s voice stopped me.

I looked back.

Marlon had put his glass down.

His expression was serious now.

"Be careful," he said.

For a second, I did not answer.

A strange feeling rose in my chest.

Marlon did not say things like that often.

He trained me by beating me up. He insulted me when I complained. He made me clean fish because apparently being able to survive meant knowing how to cut one properly.

But beneath all of that, he cared.

I had known it for a while.

Hearing him say it directly still affected me more than I expected.

"Yeah," I said quietly.

Then I managed a small smile.

"See you later."

I raised one hand in a brief wave.

Marlon nodded once.

Molly lifted her glass toward me.

Then I looked at Summer.

She was trying to look calm, but I could see the concern in her eyes.

"Don’t worry," I told her.

Summer did not smile.

"Just come back," she said.

The words were quiet.

But I heard them clearly.

I nodded.

Then I turned around and started walking away.

The Resonance Disruptor felt heavy in my hand.

Midnight was getting closer.

And tonight, I had to make sure Mei, Emily, Tommy, and Keith made it back alive.