Hanso and I walked the streets in the morning. These streets were crowded as there weren't many people with homes yet. It was like a new start. A fresh new start. You had to find your own homes before they were taken. Or, simply build your own home. As to whether the latter was legal or not—if anything it most likely wasn't. The government couldn't care less about us. Hanso and I had planned to roam the area in hopes of finding Andrew (Maynard's son), Rafael, or even the more positive things like other abandoned houses to loot. A woman fell in beside me as I walked alongside Hanso. She was quite young. She seemed a bit paranoid, perpetually wearing a face that hinted at her cowardice. Her shoulders kept raised. I watched out for a particular thing, but there wasn't a creature hovering over these narrow shoulders. The woman averted her eyes as I peered into them. They were blue eyes. But they weren't enough to buy my trust. She clasped her hands behind her back. "I'm a little lost and … hungry. Really hungry. W-will they be serving food today; the ones who served us yesterday? I've been waiting in this exact area they served last time. You see, some teenage boys knocked my tray out of my hands. So I haven't gotten to—""I'm sorry," I said, "I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that question." I looked away from her as she slowed down. She stopped for a bit, but then she caught up again. "I- I can't die of hunger. My mother would kill me. But she's already dead so," she chuckled, "that's impossible." That was the craziest chuckle I had ever heard from a woman. "My point is," she frowned, "I need some food. Oh and," she averted her eyes, blushing, "friends."I looked at Hanso, hoping that I would get some help dealing with this wacky woman. But, Hanso just looked away and started whistling. He probably didn't want me breaking rule three. I cursed in my head. Sighing, I looked at the woman again. "How am I supposed to help you?" I tried to show the annoyance in my voice. She thrust a fist into the air. Then, she clapped her hands. "Yeah! Yippee! I'm so glad you're helping me. You're the best person ever!"I narrowed my eyes. "I didn't say I was gonna help you. Maybe if you tell me what you want specifically, I can probably help."Probably indeed. I didn't want another task at hand. We had too many. She frowned. "Ohh. I thought I succeeded there. My bad," she

tittered. "I'm … ahem … hungry. And I was wondering if … maybe," she looked down at the floor as she walked, "you can spare me some food from all the loot you went home with yesterday."I rolled my eyes. 'This happens when you break rule one.'I sighed. "Our loot was unfortunately stolen from us. So no … I can't even spare you a food particle. And we don't have a home. We never had. In fact, that's what we were looking for before you appeared."The girl frowned. "Stolen from you? No home? Awww, that's not good."Of course it wasn't. Nothing was 'good' these days. Nothing. "So no food, huh?" She put her hands on his waist. "Then maybe … you know … I can help you find some. We can go looting together. The three of us. I'd really like that since I've never had … people. They all think I'm crazy. You don't seem to think I'm crazy. So … friends?" She tilted her head as her voice trailed off. Nope. Red flags were prevalent. No way was I falling for this trap. "I don't know …" I said, pretending to be thoughtful."I'm a perfect fit for the team," the girl said. "I can kick bad guy ass. I have an insanely and inhumanly great sense of smell. And, I have a—"I scratched my head. "Ah, I still don't know. This isn't a team thing. The guy standing next me to is," I scratched my head again, "my brother. Yeah, he's my brother. We're not a team. Just siblings. Until you find some way to be my sibling, I'll have to decline.""He's your brother," the girl grimaced, scrutinizing Hanso. "He doesn't look like your brother. Is he really your brother? Older brother? Twin?""Older brother," I replied. Luckily Hanso was giving me the silent treatment. If not, I might have had some trouble lying in his face like that. "Hmmmm," the girl furrowed her brows, "one silent brother. Maybe he's crazy. Is he deaf or dumb? Deaf and dumb? Dumb and deaf? Senile? Blind? What is he?"I rolled my eyes, sighing. "Maybe he's being quiet on purpose," I said."Ohhh," she raised her brows, "haven't thought of that one. Or … he's just crazy. Only crazy people be quiet on purpose. Because someone trying to be quiet isn't actually quiet. And what sane person would try to be something he's not?"She chuckled. "I guess I'm crazy. Because I'm Claudia and I pretended to be my cat Sam to get a check up from the vet this one time. That was back when the world was normal. It hurt so bad when they refused to inject me. The name's Claudia, by the way.""Weren't you suppose to walk away from the time I declined your request?" I asked, unable to look her in the face. I felt mean. "Ohh … you're right," she frowned, slowing down. "Thank you very much for the … the help. I guess I won't be putting my perfect replication ability to use anytime soon after all." She halted. Did she say …"Perfect replication?" Hanso blurted, turning around.I stopped and turned around us well. "Can you … repeat that?"Claudia grimaced at us. Hanso blushed. "Emilia … you're a perfect fit for our team. We love you. We were … uhhh … just kidding about what we said earlier. We just wanted a reaction of you."I leaned in. "Camila, can we be friends?"