“Sorry about that,” Shannon said the moment they were out of earshot. He knocked Reid’s shoulder, trying to get his attention. It only got him another sneer.

“Come on, man. I had to play the part. Everyone thinks you’re some traitor. Besides, I’m funny.”

“Are you now?” Ashley said without turning. “This is news to me.”

“You know I’m goddamn hilarious. The both of you do.” Shannon turned on his heels, walked down the hall backward until they stopped at the last door on the right. “It’s all about optics, Reid. If they put all their hate in you-“

“You look squeaky,” Reid finished for him.

Ashley huffed. “Or at least less grimy.”

Shannon opened the door and they were greeted by yet another tight corridor. It led forward and the room opened up. A sign greeted them on an ornate coffee table reading Lady Pellatt’s Suite. It smelled of stale potpourri and dust which she assumed was due to the aged furniture. But it was all in perfect condition. Even a tea trolley with china with only a thin layer of dust. It was a sitting room, a small sofa, two chairs, and a blocked-off fireplace. Beyond the furniture, it expanded into a round room with windows on all sides. The white curtains diffused all in gentle light that shone on the marble columns.

It was opulent. Unnecessarily so and larger than any apartment she’d have died to live in years ago. All three stepped into the sitting room, but Reid was the first to collect the standing stanchions and drag them to the side. A door, on the right, led to another room but it was closed. To her left, she peered into a marble bathroom. Floor to ceiling. A tub, a toilet and….

What I’d give for a real shower. Ashley stepped inside, right past the stanchion, and examined the metal pipes. Copper curled along the wall. She considered picking Lancaster’s brain about getting it working.

“Fuckin’ hell, no one needs a shitter that nice,” Shannon said over her shoulder.

Ashley chuckled and returned to the room.

“Looks like it’s adjoined. There’s another set of chairs and a bedroom over there,” Reid said as he reappeared. “Probably a good place to hole up.”

“There’s a meeting room above Lancaster’s lab too, big ol’ table and loads of chairs.” Shannon looked around “No bed in here though.”

“That’s fine,” Ashley said. She stepped up to the largest of the round room windows and pulled it back. “I don’t need much.”

“Lancaster’s a weird one,” Shannon said to Reid. “But he seems to be doing fine out here.”

“That’s assuming he’s been the only one here this whole time,” Reid said.

“You think he wasn’t?”

“I dunno,” Reid said. “It’s a big place to be on your own. And who wouldn’t run to the only castle in the city?”

Shannon laughed. “It’s not a castle, Reid. Is a manor.”

Ashley imagined Reid was rolling his eyes but didn’t turn to find out. Instead, she looked out on the gardens below. Nature had reclaimed what man had forgotten to cut back. Though fall was nearly over, green clung to nearly every surface. Vines, trees, unkempt shrubs. Stone walls, patios, and fountains devoured in the overgrowth. And beyond the garden, the city lay still in a dormancy that let the wild flourish.

From her view, she could see more of the city than she had in years and there was a calm in it. Birds weaving before her view, the silence of a dead metropolis. In the streets, the same thought had occurred to her with stifling claustrophobia, like the walls would come crumbling down or the ground would break with wendigos clawing. But up high, in the stone and behind glass it was peaceful.

Safe even, if she dared to hope.

Maybe no one will respond. The thought came at her in between Reid and Shannon’s discussion about… nothing in particular. A strange thought that seemed whispered from the view. If Outreach doesn’t respond, what then? She looked down and spied vines creeping at the bottom of the window. Industrious tendrils reaching for purchase to the sky.

Keep running? Ashley reached out to the chair next to her and ran her hand along its upholstery. I could get used to a roof like this. Not too many people. Just a bit of quiet. Keeping dry and warm. She retraced her steps through the manor and found herself making more than escape routes. Could plant in the thick of the trees. The garden walls are high. Collect water in the towers, grow through the winter using the conservatory. Fireplaces could still work even if they need to be cleared. Neighbourhood has loads of trees, taking down a few could work at the right hours. Could make a life here for us.

Ashley frowned as a single word stuck in her mind.

Us?

“We’ll only be here a day or two,” Reid said. With his words, the room came crashing in on her. The wilds seemed dangerous and teeming with threats, the city filled with towers waiting to fall.

“Yeah, at least it’s better than sleeping in the forest,” Shannon said. “Thanks for that, by the way. Tracking you was like sprint-camping and I hated every goddamn minute of it.”

They’ll respond. They always respond. They’ll come. They’ll never stop coming. The comfort the view offered drained away and Ashley shut the curtains. Could break a window, use bedsheets to climb down. Could be some gear around here, might even be rope in one of the boarded rooms. If not, the tunnels should go somewhere. Could get some space between them and me. But won’t make it out of the city before first snow. Not on foot. Might need to hole up in the suburbs. Dangerous but doable alone. Wait out winter from house to house.

“I do not miss the cold beans…” Reid muttered.

She turned and faced them, not really hearing their banter. There was more to consider. How long can the college last? She imagined all the ways the settlement could crumble, and she didn’t have to get all too creative with it either. I’ve gone through all the trouble already, could I really run now?

Reid caught her eye and his grimace lessened. He dared a smile and her chest tightened.

“Fuck, I hate chickpeas,” Shannon said as he flopped in one of the armchairs. “The fuckin’ skin on them, and they taste like tin.”

“Everything tastes like tin,” Ashley said. She walked to where Shannon was sitting and stepped over the back of the powder blue couch. With her feet on the cushions, butt on the back, she shrugged. “But the skin’s are probably the worst.

“If I had to choose, it’d be black beans,” Shannon mused as he kicked out his feet and rest them on the antique coffee table. “Don’t take the tin quite the same. But you know you’re real lucky when you find-“

“Chef Boyardee,” Reid finished. The taste conjured in Ashley’s mouth, one of cold pasta and salty tomato sauce. But as their laughs died, a sombre thought seemed to solidify in them all.

The only houses with that stuff had kids. Empty houses. Dead families.

Ashley slid down to the sofa cushion and mirrored Shannon with her boots on the table. I either run and let them die or get traded and help them live.

“Well you two look settled here,” Shannon announced with a wink Reid’s way. He slapped the medic’s shoulder as he made for the door. “Hollar if you need me, I'll be with-”

“Tish. I got it.” Reid nodded and Shannon disappeared around the corner.

[MAD Wendigo - Prologue Narration]

Thank you for reading!