"Breathe," he says. "You did good back there. Kept your head. Returned fire. Moved when I told you. You did everything right."
"I shot someone."
"You defended yourself. Someone came through that window with a gun. That's survival."
My chest tightens. Air comes faster, harder. The shaking spreads from my hands to my arms. Delayed shock is setting in.
"Sela. Look at me."
I turn my head. His eyes stay on the road but his grip is firm on mine.
"You're alive. I'm alive. We're getting clear and linking up with Finn. You did everything right. Now I need you to keep it together a little longer. Can you do that?"
"Yes."
"Good."
He releases my fingers. Both hands are back on the wheel as we take a curve too fast. The truck fishtails. He corrects without apparent effort.
Headlights behind us are gaining. They have faster vehicles. Better drivers maybe. Or just more motivation to catch us before we reach help.
Marc takes a hard right onto the access road. It's narrow and unpaved. Trees press in on both sides. Branches scrape the truck.
Ahead, lights flash twice. Please let that be Finn.
Marc keeps us moving through the darkness.
Behind us, pursuit vehicles hit the turn. One makes it. The other overshoots and crashes into the treeline with the sound of metal crumpling. One vehicle down.
Finn's truck appears ahead, positioned sideways across the road. He's out with a rifle, using his vehicle as cover.
Marc doesn't slow. He takes us past Finn's position. I twist in my seat to look back. Finn opens fire on the remaining pursuit vehicle. Controlled shots. The tire blows. The vehicle swerves, loses control, impacts a tree hard enough that I hear it from here.
Finn's back in his truck immediately, pulling out to follow us.
Time blurs. We're climbing through dense forest on a path barely wide enough for one vehicle. Then we're through a gate and into a clearing where lights shine from a cabin.
Cara's on the porch with a rifle, watching the treeline while Finn parks behind us.
"Clear?" Finn asks.
"For now," Marc says. "Lost them on the back roads, but they'll regroup."
Cara lowers her weapon. "Get inside. We built a guest cabin last year. You'll have privacy and a defensible position."
I climb out on shaky legs and look at the cabin, the outbuildings, the cleared space around them. They've thought about security here.
Finn leads us to a small cabin set back from the main house. It's a single room with a wood stove, bed, and small bathroom. Supplies are stocked. Windows are positioned for tactical advantage.
"You're secure here," Finn says. "Motion sensors are on all approaches. We've got watch rotation covered. Get some rest." He looks at Marc. "Your arm needs attention."
"It's fine."
"Sela's a nurse," Cara says from the doorway. "Let her decide what's fine."
They leave us alone.
I turn to Marc. "Shirt off."
