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biggest of his life, and lowered his weapon with one hand while extending the other in peace. Goliath turned to Keb, then to Chloe as if seeking permission.
    Just like a big dumb dog.
    “Shake it, and let’s get on with this,” Chloe said.
    Keb went first, reaching out and shaking Liam’s hand, stronger than necessary. Liam stared at his arms, trying to untangle the patterns beneath the blood.
    “I’m Liam,” Liam said, meeting the man’s eyes, appearing confident and respectful but not threatening.
    “Keb,” the man said, then dropped his palm.
    Goliath went next, offering Liam a surprisingly relaxed handshake. “The name’s Marcus.”
    “Liam,” he repeated, trying not to get lost in staring at the man’s forest of misshapen teeth. As they shook, Liam caught a kindness in the man mountain’s eyes and realized the man was probably only gruff due to years of abuse from others. He was the kind of guy who’d make a loyal partner once you’d earned his trust.
    Chloe lowered her crossbow and offered her palm. “Good to meet you, Liam,” she said. “Don’t make us regret this.”
    Liam shook Chloe’s hand, her fingers gently teasing his skin as they parted. He turned, wondering if she could tell he was semi-hard. Probably. She was good at working people, maybe better than him. While Liam wasn’t fool enough to fall for her charms, he’d play whatever game he had to in order to survive.
    He hoped Marcus and Keb could hold their tempers once Chloe started flirting overtly, trying to turn them against one another once it suited her to do so. He’d bet his balls that was part of her plan. She would expect the stronger to take out the weaker, and it didn’t matter who was left.
    “I promise you won’t regret it,” Liam said to Chloe with a wink, then turned to Keb. “So, where we headed?”
    “North,” Keb said, nodding up and along the seam. “We heard from another player that there’s a weapons stash near the river.”
    “Another player?” Liam asked.
    “Yeah, he didn’t make it,” Marcus grinned awkwardly.
    “All right then, to the north,” Liam said, grateful they’d be heading toward where he hoped Ana was.
    However, he still had to figure out how to handle the situation once they ran into her. Without any bullets, he had zero chance of stopping them from killing her. While it made sense for the trio to partner with Liam and his advertised sharpshooting skills, there was no way in hell this would ever be a party of five.

CHAPTER 17 — Anastasia Lovecraft
    A na had been walking for nearly thirty minutes when she realized that she was lost.
    She couldn’t find any sign of the Fire Wall and wondered if she’d somehow shot past it and needed to turn around, or keep heading in what she thought to be the right way.
    Panic began to feed doubts at her faster and faster.
    What if I went too far south and completely missed Liam?
    What if Liam went to the spot, saw I wasn’t there, figured I was dead, and kept going without me?
    What if Liam is dead?
    Standing in the cold, dark woods, far away from everything she’d ever known, it was all she could do to not break down right there.
    But she thought of the humming orb overhead, watching and broadcasting her every move.
    I will not let them see me weak.
    She looked up to the half moon in the sky, peeking down through the clouds, giving just enough light that she wasn’t completely blind. She was traveling along a path that she thought would lead her back to the seam, with thick, dark woods on either side of her.
    She tried not to think of the zombies or mutant beasts lurking beyond the dark walls on either side.
    Just keep moving.
    You’ll find the Fire Wall.
    You have to.
    You’ll find the wall. You’ll find Liam. And the two of you will fight to the end.
    But then what? What happens at the end? Will he kill you? Can you kill him?
    The thoughts were too much and made her head hurt. She tried to push them down and focus instead on her surroundings.
    Ana heard a sudden crunch of snow to her left, just beyond the veil of darkness that was the forest.
    She dropped to one knee, sword ready, tensed for attack, but nothing came. She stayed crouched, eyes scanning the darkness, her fingers wrapping tighter around the sword’s hilt as her heart pounded against her chest.
    Another unmistakable crunch of ice told Ana whatever it was, it had to be close, unless it was the whisper of the wind or her imagination. Silence followed as Ana leaped