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Something flickered across his face. Something that said he regretted saying anything and wished he’d pretended ignorance. “I just do.”

I turned my attention to the building. Up close, there were more signs of neglect: the red metal shutter had more rust than metal in places and showed signs of corrosion. The shutter didn’t reach all the way to the ground, a half-meter gap remaining at the bottom. “I assume you’ve been here before?”

“I have not,” Tobias said breezily. “But it looks like an interesting place to check out, right?”

I eyed the gap with fresh eyes, assuming it was the point at which he intended to access the building. “It could be full of biters.”

“It could be.” Tobias smirked. “Scared?”

“No!” Despite my denial, my heart rate picked up. Once upon a time, I’d been braver, but there was nothing quite like having a biter sink its teeth into your shoulder and refuse to let go to make you reassess whether your bravery had actually been stupidity.

My attacker had been a woman. Shorter than me. A lot thinner. Far quicker and stronger, and with a jaw strength that had made me fear losing my entire arm before others had come to my rescue. Even thinking about it, had the scar on my arm throbbing like the biter’s teeth were still embedded in my flesh.

“Because you can stay here if you want?” Tobias offered with a glint in his eye. “And I’ll come back and let you know when it’s safe.”

“Fuck you!”

He seemed surprised at the vehemence of my response. “Did I hit a nerve?”

I refused to give him the satisfaction of an answer. Luckily, he didn’t push for one. He wheeled his bike over to where it couldn’t be seen from the road, the overgrown foliage at least affording that advantage, and then strolled over to the shutter, gaze fixed on the gap. Following, I crouched down and tried to see underneath, nothing but darkness and dust behind it.

“Can you see anything?” Tobias asked.

“Nothing.”

“Guess we’re going in then.” He squinted up at the sky, the light already beginning to fail. “If it’s clear, we can stay here tonight.”

“And then tomorrow, you’ll take me to where you keep the suppressants.?”

“At first light,” Tobias agreed. “We should reach them before midday.”

Satisfied with his answer, I nodded. He crouched next to me. “Do you want me to go in first?” When I threw him a filthy look, he held his hands up in mock defense. “Hey! You just don’t seem that keen, that’s all.”

I dropped to my stomach before I thought better of it, inching my way under the gap that suddenly felt far smaller than it had looked. For a horrifying moment, I thought I might get wedged—unable to move in or out—but with one last effort and a grit of my teeth, I made it through. I clambered quickly to my feet, crossbow at the ready. There was no sign of Tobias. What if he lowered the shutter and this was a trap?

I dismissed the thought. Unless he was a twisted bastard who liked to feed the biters, he had nothing to gain from it. A scuffling sound preceded Tobias working his own way under the barrier, his entrance quicker and easier on account of his leaner frame.

We both turned in a slow circle, taking in our surroundings. The room was enormous, its ceiling high. Near the roof, broken panes let in just enough light to give the space dim visibility.

“Fire engine,” Tobias said, pointing at a silent vehicle parked in the middle of the space. “I guess the rest of them were out when all hell broke loose and they never made it back.”

“I guess,” I agreed, my understanding of the picture he painted limited. Tobias rolled his eyes. “I thought you were taking the piss before. You never came across a fire station in the army?” I shook my head. “Weird,” he said. “I would have thought you’d be more well-traveled than I am.”

“We operated in a fairly small area,” I offered. “In Scotland. Different units had different areas to cover.”

“Uh-huh.”

We stood, neither of us moving a muscle. After a minute of nothing but silence, Tobias offered another one of those smiles, his teeth glinting in the dull light. “No biters in here.”

“That doesn’t mean there are none in the rest of the building.”

“Very true. Which is why we’re going to check it over first.” Tobias pulled his axe from his jacket, the blade devilishly sharp. He jerked his head toward a closed door at the far side of the room. “That way.”

I followed him over to it, crossbow lifted to eye-level in case anything jumped out of the shadows.

“Don’t shoot me in the head,” Tobias said.

“I’ll try not to. Maybe don’t say anything you shouldn’t.”