They paused at the end of the driveway, talking among themselves. I held my breath, hoping they would keep walking, bypassing our house completely. But they didn’t. They turned and walked toward the house.

Stella and I were near the edge of the driveway, so they would see us when they got closer. We were somewhat hidden in the trees for now, so we had a chance to run and hide. Or we could step out and introduce ourselves.

I wasn’t sure what the best course of action was, but the three strangers were walking to the house, where Boden, Serg, and Max were playing cards in the basement game room. I couldn’t let people blunder on in them.

“Stay behind me,” I told Stella.

I still held her hand, but I’d moved so I was blocking her with my body. I took a few steps out to the driveway, and she moved with me, hiding behind me.

“Excuse me.” I cleared my throat, and the three people stopped short on the driveway. The smaller man and the woman looked startled, but the giant didn’t have any clear expression. “Can I help you?”

“I don’t know,” the smaller man said, his voice lilting with an accent. I couldn’t place it for certain, but it sounded almost Irish. “Can you help us?”

“Did you need something?” I asked, rephrasing my question.

“Is this your house?” the woman asked, and she at least attempted to sound friendly.

“Yes.” I stood up straighter and tried to sound more confident. “Yes, it is.”

“You live here by yourself then?” the wiry guy asked, smirking a bit, and then gestured to Stella hiding behind me. “You and the little girl, I mean?”

I shook my head. “No. There’s three other guys in the house. Waiting for us.”

His smile fell away, and he exchanged a look with the redhead. I definitely did not like the vibe I was getting from them. I wanted to run to the house away from them, but I feared if I ran, like mad dogs, they would give chase.

“Where are my manners?” The woman laughed lightly. “I haven’t even introduced myself. I’m Hayley, that’s Louis,” – she pointed to the wiry guy – “and this big guy here is Bruce.”

“I’m Remy,” I said, because I had to say something back. “And that’s Stella.”

“We’ve been wandering for days,” Hayley said. “And as you can imagine, we’re quite tired. You wouldn’t mind if we stopped and just took a little break here?”

“I …” I started to shake my head. “I don’t think – ”

“We wouldn’t be any bother,” Hayley insisted and took a step toward me. “We have our own food, so we wouldn’t eat yours. We just need a little break, to put our feet up.”

I was wrong about Bruce, the giant standing behind her. I’d thought he didn’t have any expressions, but he was definitely grimacing now as he glared down at me.

“I’ll see,” I said, because I wasn’t sure that I could fight a giant like that on my own. But in the house, with Boden, Serg, and several guns, I thought I might stand a chance. “I have to check with the others.”

I picked up Stella then, putting her on my hip, and I turned to walk quickly to the house. I didn’t look back, but I could hear them following me, Bruce’s heavy steps clomping on the ground.

As soon as I got in the door, I put her down and whispered, “Go to your room and lock the door.”

She raced up the stairs, and I walked farther into the house, wanting to put distance between myself and the weary travellers.

“Boden!” I shouted, hoping he heard the unease in my voice. “Serg!”

Louis whistled when he came inside, eyeing up the rather impressive living room. I’d stepped back, moving deeper into the living room away from them. Bruce made a noise that was a cross between a grunt and a growl, and I have no idea if that was good or not.

“This is some place you got here,” Louis commented.

“And you have all this space just for the couple of you?” Hayley asked.

“Thanks,” I muttered, and Louis took off his backpack and casually tossed it on the sofa. “Boden! We have company!”

“Company?” Boden’s voice wafted up the stairs, and within seconds, I heard footsteps tramping up them.

Boden, Serg, and Max came upstairs, all three of them looking confused. I hadn’t called for Max, and I was hoping that they’d take the hint that I wanted him to wait downstairs. I had no idea what this might turn into, but I was certain that it’d better if Max stayed out of it.

“Oh, company.” Boden’s eyes widened with understanding and surprise when he saw Hayley, Bruce, and Louis standing our living room.

“This is Hayley, Louis, and Bruce,” I said, gesturing to each of them as I said their name.

Max, who always tried to be polite, couldn’t seem to help but gape up at Bruce. I motioned for him, but it took a few seconds for him to notice, since he kept staring.

I hissed his name, and then finally Max saw me and walked over to me. I put my arm around him, pulling him as close to me as I could without looking really weird about it.

“Sorry to just intrude like this,” Hayley said, smiling at Boden. “But we just needed a bit of rest.”

“And you definitely have the room for us,” Louis said as his eyes searched the room. I couldn’t help but get the feeling that he was casing the joint.

“No, no, it’s not an intrusion,” Boden said. He glanced quizzically at me, and then turned his attention back to our “guests.” Pushing up the sleeves of his fitted black shirt, he stepped toward them. “It’s always good to help out fellow survivors.”

“We’re glad to hear you say that,” Hayley said. “Some people can be so cruel.”

“And selfish,” Louis added.

“Well, um, we try not to be.” Boden smiled thinly at them. “I’m Sergeant Boden of the US Army.”

“Oh, a soldier?” Hayley attempted to look impressed, but it came across as condescending.

I’d never heard Boden introduce himself as soldier before, so I had a feeling he was trying to intimidate them. Let them know that he knew how to kill, and he would have no hesitation doing it again.

“And this is Private Serg.” Boden gestured over to Serg, who had no army training whatsoever.