Tyger lowered his gun. "You have to come back, Theresa." Theresa smiled at him. Lucas and Tyger both put their weapons away and stepped aside. The two of them also held Tania and the dogs back. Theresa looked over everyone who'd been accounted for. Her eyes dropped to Quentin, who was still leaning off to the side, all casual and grinning. "Quentin." "Beautiful, I'm here." Quentin stood up with a goofy smile and walked toward her. "I knew you'd come back. But if you don't, I'm out. Don't blame me." Theresa listened, stared at his only remaining eye for three seconds, then said, "You don't have to wait. You're free now. I'm giving your freedom back. Take care of yourself. Stay alive. And don't let anyone catch you." She finished without giving Quentin a chance to answer, then turned and followed Sage onto the plane. I'm doing it on purpose. I mean every word of it. Nothing works on Quentin. I can beat him or sweet-talk him, and it still goes nowhere. I've already given up on trying to squeeze even a little loyalty out of that b*stard. So fine. If pushing forward doesn't work, I might as well pull back and let him go. If that troublemaker has even a tiny bit of a conscience, then right now at all times, he should show me at least a little loyalty. Just a little. One small bit is enough for me. And if that jerk really doesn't have a conscience, then whatever. Letting him go is my choice. I don't want him anymore. Quentin watched Theresa walk off without a word and just stood there, stunned. When the helicopter lifted off, and everyone in the Blazing Sun Alliance finished seeing her off, the whole group headed straight for the front line. Quentin was the only one left standing in the empty plaza. He stayed frozen for a long time before he suddenly let out a laugh. "Playing the long game, huh?" Quentin had always been sharp. Ever since he was a kid, he could pick up on people's intentions before they even said a word. Especially when it came to being used, the second someone tried to get something out of him, he felt it right away.The moment he first saw Theresa, he knew she was interested. By the second meeting, he was sure she had set her sights on him. By the third, he stopped running. He wanted to know what she was really after, because he never understood why she wanted his loyalty. To him, loyalty was pointless. He couldn't figure out why she valued it. "But if you want it, then you can have it." Quentin lifted his head toward the disappearing helicopter and pressed a hand to his chest. "Every bit of it. All my loyalty, my Beautiful." … Meanwhile, in the helicopter. Theresa was silently praying that Quentin, that troublesome man, would take the bait and give her a little more loyalty. It doesn't have to be much. Just a little. Just a tiny bit. A little more and I get the ability. Right then, a voice popped into her mind out of nowhere. "Beep. Quentin's loyalty level just bumped up to gold loyalty." A burst of blinding gold light flashed through her mind. Theresa, who had been waiting, caught that sudden streak of gold loyalty and froze for a second. Gold... actual gold. That's the purest loyalty there is. "Beep. Congrats, you've unlocked a space-based ability!" "Beep. Congrats, you've gained a special trait, half-zombie!" Right after those two messages dropped, Theresa felt something strange rush through her body. One of her eyes shifted, and the whole world looked different through it. She covered that eye right away. The moment her hand touched her eye, she started picking up Quentin's special trait. 'Half-zombie. A passive trait that keeps you immune to the zombie virus. Zombies see you as one of their own and won't attack unless provoked.' 'Note. The host's right eye only turns into a zombie eye when the zombie virus tries to invade.' Once she finished reading everything, Theresa was buzzing with excitement. Half zombie. It's half zombie. I actually got a permanent immunity to the zombie virus. This is the strongest ability in an apocalypse. I basically just pulled an ultimate trump card. "You okay?" Sage watched her keep a hand over her right eye and finally spoke. "I'm fine." Theresa let her hand fall. She lifted her face and looked straight at him. Her eyes looked the same as before, yet something about her felt different to Sage. He held her gaze for a long moment before he finally said, "You shouldn't have come." "Then where was I supposed to go?" Theresa sat up straighter with a small, tired smile. Sage didn't answer because he had nothing to give her. I'm already promoted. I'm part of the Starborn Order's upper ranks now. And I know exactly what the Order is after.