Ruth gasped. “A vampire city! Zeke, come on!” She tugged at his sleeve. “We should get back to the others, warn them!” Her dark glare stabbed at me behind his arm. “She could be one of those pets Jeb told us about! She could be out hunting for new blood slaves.”
“I’m not a pet,” I snapped at her. “And pets don’t bother hunting for blood slaves—they let the raiding parties do that. Do you see anyone else around here?”
The boy, Zeke, hesitated, shaking off Ruth’s arm. “If you came from a vampire city, what are you doing here?” he asked in a reasonable voice.
“I left.” I raised my chin and stared him down defiantly. “I got tired of being hunted, of watching the vamps do whatever they want to us, because we’re just animals to them. Better to take my chances outside the Wall and free than stay in the city as a slave to some bloodsucker. So I got out. And I’m never going back. If you want to shoot me for that, you go right ahead. It’s better than what I left behind.”
The boy blinked and seemed about to say something, when Caleb let out a soft cry and rushed forward, hitting his leg.
“Don’t shoot her, Zee!” Caleb ordered as the boy flinched, more in surprise than pain. “She’s nice! She helped me find you.” He pounded the leg again with his small fists. “If you shoot her, I’ll be mad at you forever. Leave her alone!”
“Ow. Okay, okay. I won’t shoot her.” Zeke winced and lowered his pistol, as Ruth grabbed Caleb by the arm, dragging him away. “I wasn’t going to, anyway.” He sighed and sheathed the gun in a back holster, turning to me with a resigned shrug. “Sorry about that. We were all freaking out when we couldn’t find the rug rat, and we don’t run into many people out here. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine,” I said, and the tension diffused. Ruth was still glaring at me, with Caleb in her arms now, squirming to get down. But she seemed petty and unimportant compared to the boy across from me.
He smiled and suddenly looked younger, far less threatening. “Let’s try this introduction thing again,” he offered with a rueful look. “Thank you for bringing Caleb back. I’m Zeke Crosse. This is Ruth—” he nodded to the girl, who narrowed her eyes even more “—and you’ve already met Caleb.”
“Allison. Or Allie.” I nodded at them, looking around for other humans besides the trio, finding none. “What are you doing out here? Is it just the three of you all alone?”
He shook his head, raking bangs out of his eyes. “Just passing through, like you said. We stopped here to look for supplies before we move out again.”
“How many of you are there?”
“About a dozen.” He blinked, regarding me intently. I raised an eyebrow and gazed back. “You really came from a vampire city?” he asked in an awed voice. “And you’ve been traveling since then, all alone? Do you know how dangerous it is out here?”
“Yes.” I reached back and touched the hilt of my katana. “And you don’t have to worry. I can take care of myself.”
Zeke whistled softly. “I don’t doubt it,” he muttered, and I thought I caught a hint of respect below the quiet surface. He blew out a breath and smiled at me. “Listen, I have to get these two,” he nodded at Caleb and Ruth, “back to the others before Jeb goes through the roof. Do you need anything? We don’t have much, but I’m sure we can spare a bag of chips or a can of beans or something. You don’t look like you’ve eaten much lately.”
I blinked in shock. His offer seemed genuine, which caught me off guard, making me wary again. Humans never gave food away to complete strangers. But before I could say anything, Ruth put Caleb down and stalked forward, eyes blazing.
“Zeke!” she hissed, tugging his sleeve again. He sighed as she bent close. “We don’t know anything about her,” she said in a whisper, though I could hear every word. “She could be a thief, or a pet or a kidnapper for all we know. What will Jeb say if we come back with a complete stranger? Especially one who lived with vampires?”
“She just helped us find Caleb,” Zeke replied, frowning. “I don’t think she was going to spirit him off to New Covington or wherever she’s from. Besides, you weren’t worried when we let Darren join us, and he was from a bandit camp. What are you afraid of?”
“I want her to come,” Caleb said, clinging to Zeke’s pant leg. “Don’t make her leave. She should come with us.”
Well, this was entertaining, but it was probably time I left. There was no way I could travel with a group during the daylight hours. Though if I hung back and waited until they went to sleep…