"He was!" Bunny snapped. "That's exactly what he was."
"He was a man!" York barked at her.
"And in a few hours, or less, he would’ve been vomiting tainted blood everywhere!" Bunny yelled at him. "In my car, on your wife! Then he would’ve bitten into her, eaten her!"
"We don't know that," York shot back.
"I do," Bunny told him. "I showed him mercy. I made it quick. He won't come back. That's all we could do for him."
York said nothing else as Bunny walked away from him. Ahead of her, Angel looked at her with a mixture of fear and respect as Lucy tried not to look at anything but the ground in front of her. She heard Tanner tell York she had done the right thing, but it meant little.
She walked past them, to the restroom, and slammed the door. Only there, did she let herself collapse a little. Her hands shook and she felt like she wanted to cry, or vomit, or both. No amount of doing the right thing, of mercy in the world, would ever make it easier to kill a man. Only knowing she'd saved four other people and herself made it even bearable.
She pulled herself together and washed her face, staring at herself in the dirty mirror by the light of a pale naked bulb, for a long time. She wasn't a monster, no, not yet anyway. She was just a survivor. She was merely willing to do what was necessary to stay alive. There was nothing wrong with that.
It was better than being a martyr, at least.
She repeated it several times before she could take a deep breath without shaking. Only then, did she step out of the bathroom, to find herself faced with Angel. She stared at the woman for a moment, but the look she got back was just as hard as the one she gave.
"You're right," Angel said at last. "You are crazy."
"Who isn't these days?" Bunny asked.
"You did right," the other woman said as Bunny walked past her. "I think I'll take you up on that offer for a ride."
"Because I'm crazy?" Bunny asked her.
"Because I think I might live longer with you than I will without you," Angel replied before she stepped into the restroom.
As Bunny came around the corner, she looked up and saw Tanner talking to York and Lucy. Though York looked at her strangely, Lucy didn't, and she assumed Tanner had assured them that what she’d said was true. It bothered her slightly that she knew she could no longer afford the luxury of having people be comfortable with her, but she held onto the hope that they would at least understand her.
"Tanner, I got a question for you," she said as she walked up.
"Ask away," he replied with a bright smile, obvious in his attempt to act as if everything was fine.
"The power’s still on. It's been four days, so I know that's not possible. The grid couldn't sustain itself that long. What do you know about it?" she asked him.
He nodded, suddenly serious again. "The Colonel thought of that pretty fast and dispatched several Companies to maintain the power grid. Corp of Engineers is helping with it, too. He wanted to keep the lights on as long as possible, so big chunks of the city still have electricity. There've been some accidents here and there, and power's out in a lot of places, but for the most part, we should have it for a while yet."
Bunny mulled that one over for a bit. "What're the odds of us getting to one of the relay stations instead of the Park and hitching a helicopter ride?"
"Pretty slim," he admitted. "The guys sent to guard those were given orders to shoot first and ask questions never."
"Makes sense," Bunny said. "Okay, so it's straight through to the Park then. You get the radio working?"
"I'll have it up in no time," he assured her.
"Good," Bunny said as Angel rejoined them. "Everyone who's riding with me, get in the car. We've got a rough road ahead, and with some luck, a warm meal waiting for us tonight. Anyone who doesn't want to ride with me anymore, good luck."
With that, she opened the door of the Camaro. No one said a word as they climbed in. Everyone understood the stakes now, better than they had earlier. York gave her another odd look, but said nothing as he took the backseat, Lucy between he and Angel.
"I hope you're as good a driver as you are a shooter," Tanner admitted as he slid into the front.
"I'm better. Why?"
"We got half the city between us and the Park, and none of them are alive."
"Perfect," Bunny said as she got in and started the engine. "I'd hate for things to get boring now."
Chapter Fourteen
NOBODY spoke a word for a while as they drove through the deserted city streets. Tanner had set his rifle across the dashboard and put the duffel at his feet, giving him easier aim, and faster reload time. Behind him, York stared out the window as Lucy stared at her hands. Angel, however, stared at the back of Bunny's head.
"Is this what we’ve become?" York asked softly.
"How do you mean?" Bunny asked when no one else said anything.
"Killers," he said plainly.
Bunny watched the street in front of her as she answered. "If need be."
"What happened to you, Beckman? You were one of the best." York's voice was clearly torn as he said it, speaking volumes not only of his opinion of the way she'd handled Jerry, but of her career as a police officer.
"Got raped in a shower," she said back. "Tends to change your priorities."
York looked down, unable to meet her eyes in the
