Someone had given them a chance to escape. Theresa was not a woman who wasted time with thank-yous or courtesies. The second a door opened, she ran through it without looking back. "Go! Don't stop!" The boat drifted across the wide, endless ocean for a full day. Theresa gripped her communicator, checking it over and over, but silence pressed in from all sides. The sea stretched forever. No towers. No stations. No hope of contact. She thought she must already be across the far edge of the ocean. The distance felt unbearable. Her jaw locked tight. She still needed a tower. She had to reach her people. As the sun dropped low, her communicator flickered with life. A signal brushed across the waves. "There's a tower ahead!" She followed it and soon spotted a small survivor base. The island stirred with life. Men and women of every skin tone filled the shore. When they saw her, they waved both arms with joy. Their signals pulsed in welcome. Theresa held herself back. Instinct told her to be cautious. She cast her mind across the island in a sweep. About a hundred people lived there. Little more than a handful had powers. The rest were simple survivors. Once she was sure they were harmless, she stepped onto land with her team.Even without her, the ten guards at her side could have crushed this place with ease. Instead, they were met with smiles and open hands. After a few words, Theresa climbed the signal tower. She sent a sharp message screaming into the air toward the Summer Alliance. "Leave right away." Relief washed through her chest when Lucas' answer came. By dawn, he would reach her. Then a voice called out, "Hall, will you leave the moment your friends arrive?" Theresa turned. A tall man with golden hair and piercing blue eyes strode toward her. She answered in his tongue, smooth and clear. "Yes. Thank you for your kindness, Tyson." Her foreign language was polished. She had ruled the top of her class in school for years. More than that, she was fearless. Even if she made mistakes, her meaning always cut through. Tyson's smile dimmed with regret. "That's too bad. Everyone here was thrilled to meet new people." "I feel the same. But once we return, we can keep in touch." "You're right." His name was Tyson, the leader here. He told her their story. Once, they had been passengers on a cruise. When the zombies struck, terror tore the ship apart. People jumped into the waves. Only they lived through it. At first, they survived on scraps. They scoured the island for supplies. They dragged wreckage from the sea. Piece by piece, they built a place to live.Tyson rested a hand on the tower. With it, he sent out messages, calling strangers from the horizon. They had given the island a name. Eden. "How is your homeland?" "Terrible," Tyson admitted, shaking his head. "Every coastal city has fallen. I reached out to twenty-one survivor camps. Ten are already gone. The others told me the land is hell. Zombies keep changing. Their space keeps shrinking. They are about to collapse." Theresa's brow tightened. "They never tried to come here?" "They thought about it," Tyson said. "But it's nearly impossible. This island is too far from the coast. All I can do is pray for them. May God watch over them." Theresa dipped her head. His words struck hard. The story was the same everywhere. The world broke the same way. The real tragedy was simple. No one stood together. Scattered power was nothing at all. "Where are you from?" he asked. "Avalon." "Good Lord. You can't be serious." "I know. I think the same," Theresa said with a faint smile. Tyson's eyes shifted to the group behind her. "Who's the sleeping beauty with you?" "My Aunt Tania." Tania had burned with fever since they left the boat. She had not opened her eyes once."She's breathtaking," Tyson whispered. "I've never seen a woman like her. Will you introduce me when she wakes?" Theresa's face stayed still. Her lips pressed into a thin line. Before she could answer, the air above them ripped open. The sky shook with the pounding of rotors. A helicopter dropped from the clouds. The instant Theresa heard it, her chest seized. It was far too early for her alliance to be here. Her gaze snapped upward. The shape cut through the sky, sharp and familiar.