Hundreds of zombies thundered down the tracks after them. Theresa, still moving at full speed, gripped the edge of the open roof and hauled Quentin into the truck with a sharp pull. The moment she landed inside, she saw two unfamiliar women huddled in the back. "Who are you?" she demanded, her tone sharp and cold. "I saved them!" Orren shouted from the passenger seat, puffed up with pride. "You should've seen it—there were zombies everywhere! They were too exhausted to run, collapsed right on the tracks, and were about to be swarmed. Then I jumped in, right into the horde, and pulled them both out!" The more Theresa listened, the hotter her temper burned. So, that was why her last order hadn't been carried out on time—because this idiot decided to play hero. Thank God Louisa and her team weren't as reckless. Their timely explosions had drawn most of the horde away; otherwise, Theresa would've been trapped in the underground lot for good. "See that?" Orren went on smugly. "I'm not just some coward hiding behind my sister and Solan. You see me now—" He didn't get to finish. Theresa lunged forward, dragged him out of the passenger seat, and beat him mercilessly. Her fists landed with bone-crunching force, each blow a thunderclap of fury. "I have never met anyone as brainless as you," she spat between punches. "Did you drink tainted milk as a kid or eat fertilizer for breakfast? Everyone else grows a brain—yours turned into a tumor. You weigh one-thirty, and a hundred-twenty of that is pure crap. Even dung beetles would see you as paradise, and zombies? They turn the other way at the sight of you!"She hit him again, voice rising, "Because even the undead know better than to eat someone whose head's full of sh*t!" Everyone else fell silent. Each insult came with another blow until Orren's face was an unrecognizable mess. "Useless! Worthless! You screw up everything you touch!" she shouted. Orren, bruised and gasping, yelled back between coughs, "I'm not useless! You can call me stupid all you want—but I'm not worthless!" Theresa met his defiant glare and let out a low, humorless laugh. She dropped him like trash and turned away. He was hopeless. There was no satisfaction in beating someone that stupid—it felt like stepping in a pile of filth. Putting down schemers and hypocrites was at least therapeutic. But beating a fool? That just gave her a headache. She wouldn't argue with a sewer. She didn't look at him again, and didn't waste another word. The best way to handle a cesspool was to pretend it didn't exist. But Theresa's indifference only made Orren angrier. He jabbed a trembling finger toward the two women huddled in the back seat—mother and daughter, clutching each other. "Maybe I mess things up, but I saved them! Two living people! I didn't delay your plan, I didn't hurt anyone! How does that make me worthless?" Theresa calmly shoved earplugs in and closed her eyes. She swore that as soon as they made it out, she was leaving—and she would never set foot in Solan Camp again. Just then, the truck screeched violently to a halt.Orren, still ranting, slammed headfirst into the dashboard, and the people in back lurched forward in a tangle of limbs. Only Theresa stayed steady, bracing herself and keeping hold of Quentin. "What happened?" she asked. In front of them yawned a gaping trench—twenty-five feet deep and nearly forty feet wide, splitting the tracks clean in two. From beyond the rails came the low roar of chaos. Hordes of zombies were pouring out from Firestone, flooding toward them. Then, she heard it. Thud. Thud. Thud. The ground trembled beneath her boots, a rhythm she knew too well. She turned toward the smoke-choked skyline of Firestone and saw a swirl of greenish haze rising into the air. The poisonous mist. And within it—a giant zombie was coming. Louisa stared, eyes wide. "That can't be right! It's too soon for the toxin fog to appear!" Before her words faded, the two women in the backseat suddenly moved. In perfect sync, they whipped out syringes and lunged for Theresa and Louisa. They were fast—too fast. Louisa's mind went blank. There was a sharp snap—and an invisible barrier shimmered into view. The syringes stopped inches from their faces, suspended midair.A second later came the sound of bones breaking. Both women screamed as their hands went limp, wrists crushed by Theresa's grip. Before anyone could react, Theresa had already seized them by the throats. Her movements were blindingly quick—by the time the others caught up, she had both of them pinned, her fingers locked tight around their necks.