Chapter 472: Eternity 33.

"Are we stopping here?"

"For a little while," Yan answered. "The road is blocked. We’re going to

move enough of the cars to get through, but we haven’t checked what’s

around the bend."

Mother Yan glanced at the windows. "Do you want Lili and me to stay

here?"

"Yes," Bai said. "Please keep her away from the windows. Lock the inner

door. If anything comes too close, take her to the reinforced sleeping

compartment and wait for our signal before opening it."

Mother Yan’s expression became serious. She did not ask whether Bai was

sure she could handle the danger. She had seen enough by now to

understand that Bai and Yan were more capable than almost anyone they

were likely to meet, but she also understood why the instructions

mattered. Strength did not stop a child from getting frightened or a

stray projectile from breaking a window. A plan mattered even when the

people carrying it out were strong enough to survive without one.

"I understand," she said. Then she turned to Lili and softened her

voice. "Come on, sweetheart. We’re going to make ourselves useful from

here."

Lili looked toward Bai, who was pulling on her gloves. "Are you going to

fight the cars?"

Bai paused. "If the cars start it, I’ll consider it."

Yan made a small sound that was almost a laugh. "The cars have been very

rude. They are blocking the road."

"Exactly. I won’t stand for such behavior."

Lili seemed to think about this seriously. Then she nodded as if Bai had

made a perfectly sensible point and followed Mother Yan toward the

inside of the vehicle. Bai watched until they were out of the way, then

checked the weapons at her waist and took Whisperfang in hand. The blade

looked almost plain in the dim light, but its presence settled something

in her. She checked the revolver as well, though she had no intention of

wasting bullets on anything she could reach safely with a blade.

Yan took her crossbow and checked the bolt case. Her regular revolver

rested in its holster, with the remaining bullets counted and arranged

where she could reach them without looking. She disliked using

ammunition when there was another option, not because she was afraid of

firing, but because every shot was a noise that could bring more

trouble. Their trip was too long for careless waste. She had already

marked how many bolts she had used during the final checks before

leaving Riverside Apartment, and she intended to keep the count

accurate.

Bai opened the side door and stepped down onto the road. The air smelled

of hot rubber, old rain, and something sweetly rotten from a storm drain

near the curb. She shut the door behind her, then walked slowly toward

the abandoned cars, looking at the road surface and the spaces beneath

the vehicles. No fresh blood gleamed on the asphalt. There were no

obvious drag marks leading into the buildings. But one of the cars had a

rear tire flattened against the rim, and another’s back window had been

broken from the outside. The angle of the shattered glass suggested that

something had struck it hard.

"Don’t go too far ahead," Yan called softly from near the front of the

caravan.

"I know."

"You say that every time."

"And every time I come back."

"That isn’t the reassuring argument you think it is."

Bai looked over her shoulder. Yan was watching her with the same steady

attention she used in a fight, but there was a small crease between her

brows. Bai felt a familiar and not entirely welcome warmth in her chest.

There was no reason for a simple warning to affect her this much. Yan

worried about the people she cared for. That was normal. Bai just

happened to care far too much about the fact that Yan worried about her.

"I’ll stay where you can see me," Bai promised.

Yan’s expression eased a little. "Thank you."

Bai turned back toward the cars before her face could betray how much

she liked hearing that. The first obstacle was a small sedan with its

wheels turned sharply. She crouched by the front bumper, checked the

space around the tires, and put one gloved hand against the frame. The

car was lighter than it looked. She lifted the front end just enough to

break the tires free of their jammed position, then shifted it a little

toward the curb. Metal groaned against pavement. The sound carried

farther than she liked, rolling between the buildings and fading into

the distance.

She paused and listened.

For a few seconds, there was nothing. Then a faint scraping sound came

from beyond the van.

Yan raised her crossbow. "Something heard that."

"I expected as much." Bai moved the sedan another half meter, putting it

at a safer angle. "Watch the left side."

A shape darted between the cars. It moved too quickly to be a person

running on tired legs, and its shoulders hit the side of a parked

vehicle with enough force to make the door buckle. A second shape

followed it, crawling over the hood of a car. The first zombie had been

ordinary once, but its spine now curved forward, and its fingers had

grown into dark, hooked claws. The second was smaller, with a damaged

jaw and a mouth that opened much wider than it should have. They both

turned toward Bai when she stepped away from the sedan.

The first one came at her without hesitation. Bai waited until it was

close enough that it could not change direction easily, then stepped to

the side and drove Whisperfang through its neck. The creature’s momentum

carried it past her. She pulled the blade free and let the body fall

against the car. Before the second zombie could reach her, Yan’s bolt

struck its shoulder and pinned it momentarily against the van’s metal

panel.

"Right side!" Yan called.

Bai heard the movement before she saw it. A third zombie was squeezing

TO BE CONTINUED.