Some of the smarter ones broke away from the crowd, trying to escape sideways through the thick fog. Too bad one of the hunters guarding the sides was Natalie. She kept teleporting in and out of sight along the road. With her moving like that, there was no way for anyone to get away. The unarmed ones were bad off, but the ones carrying makeshift guns were worse. Their weapons were just empty shells—no bullets, no use at all. "Who the heck stole our bullets?!" someone yelled. "Huff-choo!" Back at Villa 1's yard, Lucky sneezed loudly. She sniffed, lifted her paw, and smacked Jacob—who already looked ready to pee his pants—right in the face. "Ow, ow, ow?!" As if saying, you're cursing me in your head, huh?! Natalie and the others had gone to chase the bad guys. Lucky, Baron, and Cash stayed behind, so they wouldn't get hit by stray bullets—and to guard the house. They also had to watch over the nasty old man sitting there. Jacob sat slumped on the ground, glaring at Lucky's bossy stance. He was angry but too scared to fight back. One wrong move, and the dog might bite him again. So he forced a smile and slid farther away. Inside, though, he was fuming. This dog was definitely Natalie's dog! When that ungrateful brat came back, I'd make her pay for it. She owed me big time. Meanwhile, on the other side, the fastest guy—Philbert—dodged the first burst of gunfire and ran toward the spot where they'd parked the cars. When the Grayhound Sect members reached Greenhaven Mountain, they came in two vans. One was for people—now empty—and the other was packed full of explosives. Lisa had already driven the people van away. She fled first. Only the bomb van stayed. Philbert took a deep breath. He didn't blame Lisa for running off alone. Back then, her father had taken him in when he was an orphan, raised him, and taught him how to stand on his own. After the apocalypse hit, Lisa had saved him many times and helped him survive. Also, he knew she was rushing back for her child. Joe was still waiting at the hotel. If Lisa couldn't get back, the child would be in real danger. Philbert paused for a few seconds beside the van, then clenched his teeth, climbed inside, and decided to buy Lisa time to get away. Natalie was freaky. She could appear and vanish anywhere in a flash. Nobody knew how far she could go. He wasn't going to let her catch Lisa. The keys were in. He locked the doors, started the engine, and drove the van sideways across the road. He planned to use a whole van of explosives to block their pursuers. If they kept coming, he would speed up and take them all down with him. Soon, a few fast runners saw the van blocking the road and shouted in excitement, "Look! A way out! Make it past and we're safe! "Hey, Villa 1! There's a van full of explosives up ahead! We can blow the whole street up! Back off if you don't want to die!" In front, Cassian heard the warning and held up his hand to stop Olivia and the others behind him. "Hold your fire. Be careful—it could blow." The people they were chasing finally caught a break and ran forward as fast as they could.Cassian looked at Natalie. "I'll put my gun away and go check it out." Natalie shook her head. "Even with no gun, it's still risky. These people are organized with jobs to do, not just random survivors. Even if we don't shoot, somebody crazy could light the van up just to kill us all." After all, anyone who stopped running and turned back to block a pursuit like this had to be more than brave—borderline suicidal. Ghania, who had been firing with wild energy, took a breath and forced herself to calm down after hearing Natalie's warning. She said, "Don't chase a cornered rat. Let's not risk more. We already drove them off. I don't think they'll try again." But Natalie didn't agree. There were too many of them. Maybe someone with a grudge would come back later. She looked into the thick fog for a moment and said quietly, "I'll handle it." She understood the saying "don't push a beaten enemy too far," but that wasn't her style. Her way was to pull problems out completely. If she let those people get away, she wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully. Sure, she could spare someone and make them suffer later—but only if she had them under her control, like she had with Tiffany and Braxton. This Grayhound Sect was different. If she didn't finish them now, they might scatter, regroup somewhere else, and someday come back to hunt her in the dark. No way she would let that happen. She gave Cassian a calm, reassuring look, then blinked out of sight. Cassian stared at the empty place where she had been. His hands curled into fists, and his body felt tight with tension.