Natalie nodded and walked Olivia to the front gate. Just as she turned to go back inside, someone suddenly called out to her. "Ms. Ashford!" Natalie turned around and saw a man with striking blond hair emerging from the thick fog. Theodore? Her expression instantly darkened. She turned and tried to shut the door. "Hey, don't close it!" Theodore, who had been strolling lazily, suddenly broke into a jog and barely caught the door before it closed. He let out a relieved sigh, then flashed her a bright smile. "Ms. Ashford, we meet again!" Natalie's eyes dropped to his hand gripping the door. His fingers were long and slender, his nails cut perfectly short with no white edges showing—trimmed so close it almost looked painful. His clothes were spotless and carried the faint scent of laundry detergent, clearly freshly washed. Even in the middle of an apocalypse, he still cared about looking clean. He's definitely a neat freak, Natalie thought. Her voice was cold. "What do you want?" She hadn't put on her gas mask—she'd just come out to see Olivia off—so she didn't plan to stand here chatting in the fog. Theodore, still grinning, pushed the door open a little wider. He wore a half-face respirator that made his voice sound muffled. "It's nothing serious. I just thought I'd visit my lovely neighbor. You seem to have quite a few guests lately ... " As he spoke, he frowned at the door he was holding. "Where did you even get this thing?" He clicked his tongue. It's hideous. This was supposed to be Hillside Villa District, the most luxurious neighborhood in Northlorn. To anyone walking by, this door looked like something straight out of the 1980s. Natalie's lips curved slightly. "Got it from a labor camp." Theodore blinked. "A labor camp? What do you mean?" "You know the Grayhound Gang, right?" Natalie said. "The ones who attacked Hillside last week?" he asked. She nodded. "Yeah. They have a labor camp where they ... satisfy their men's desires." "What?" Theodore yelped, jerking his hand away like he'd touched an electric fence. He dug out a disinfectant wipe and scrubbed his hand like crazy. Natalie had to bite back a laugh. He really was a germaphobe. He'd walked less than 50 yards from Villa 2 to Villa 1 and still carried wipes. "Natalie," he said with disgust, "how could you bring home something so filthy—and so ugly?" She rolled her eyes. "How is that your business?" It was just a door. Its job was to protect her home, not to look pretty. And besides, she'd disinfected it thoroughly—several times—so it was perfectly safe. But Theodore didn't care about that. He looked ready to peel his own skin off after touching it. His shout had already drawn Cassian and Lucky to the entryway.Lucky started growling right away, clearly not a fan of Theodore. Cassian moved to Natalie's side, his tone calm but firm. "Mr. Theodore, what's the matter?" Theodore scrunched up his nose, tossed the used wipe aside, and said casually, "Nothing big. I just came to have a little chat." He said it to Cassian, but his eyes were clearly on Natalie. Cassian noticed and stepped forward slightly, blocking her with his body. "Sorry," he said coolly. "We don't have time today. If you want to talk, find someone else." He started to close the door. Theodore caught it again—but then realized what he'd touched, yelped softly, and quickly pulled his hand back. Out came another wipe. While furiously disinfecting his fingers, he said, "Wait, hold on! My dad sent me. He wants to discuss something important." He shot another disgusted look at the door. "Can we talk inside? Please?" Cassian didn't move. "What exactly do you need to discuss?" Theodore clicked his tongue impatiently. This guy is so difficult. "My dad's taking this invasion seriously," he said. "He sent me to talk about how Hillside should strengthen its defenses." Seeing Cassian still unmoved, he added irritably, "What's your deal? It's fine if you don't want to respect me, but now you're disrespecting my dad, too?" Lucky, unmasked, started growling louder. The fog always made her more on edge, and Theodore's arrogance was setting her off. She bared her teeth, ready to lunge. Cassian reached down and patted her back to calm her. He was about to reply when a voice suddenly echoed through the mist. "Mr. Theodore!"They all turned to see a slim figure hurrying toward them through the fog. Theodore frowned. "Raven? What are you doing here?" The young woman froze for half a second when she heard him call her Raven instead of his usual "Rae Rae." She knew right away he was annoyed. Great, she thought bitterly. Like I wanted to come here? If it hadn't been for Mr. Dave's orders, I wouldn't have stepped outside—especially not into this toxic fog.