“We don’t want you to move while we’re working on you,” Reno said. “We don’t want you bleeding again.”

  Maya nodded at Reno, who moved behind Everett and braced to grab onto him if he started to squirm.

  Here goes nothing.

  Maya didn’t count, didn’t even give Everett a warning. She leaned in and inserted the needle-nosed pliers into the gunshot wound. More blood gushed out, and Maya heard the wet, slick sound moments before Everett cried out. He squirmed, but Reno held him still.

  Others in the room turned their faces as many groaned and gasped.

  Maya focused, performing the job she knew so well. Even with Everett shifting around, Maya found the bullet. She opened the pliers, feeling them wrap around the lead projectile. Then she inhaled.

  “Here it comes.”

  She yanked up, the movement making another wet, sucking sound as she pulled the bullet out of the wound.

  With the bullet out, the wound bled even more. Maya held the bloody bullet up where Reno could see it, and he promptly applied pressure to the wound to slow the new bleeding.

  Next, she found someone’s red Solo cup nearby and dropped the bullet into it. Then she turned her attention back to Everett.

  “That wasn’t so bad,” the wounded man said.

  “Told you.” Maya smiled, both to try and comfort him and also to experience her own relief that the medication they’d given Everett had numbed his upper body. She then looked at Reno. “We need to make sure it’s completely disinfected and then we can sew him up.”

  “I can handle it,” Reno said.

  “Nah, it’s okay.”

  “No, seriously. It’s a simple cleaning and stitch job. I can do that. Go be with your kids.”

  Dave came over to Maya. “I can take you somewhere to clean up first.”

  Maya looked down at her hands, covered in blood. Then she looked up at Dave and smiled.

  “That’d be great.”

  7

  Some of the blood swirled down the drain while the rest stained the sink. Maya poured the water onto her hands, rubbing them together to get as much of it off as she could.

  “Thank you for this,” Maya said.

  Dave waved his hand at her. “It’s better than nothing. We might not have running water, but at least we’ve got bottled water. We haven’t used it for bathing, but I think this is an exception. Besides, you worked some magic out there.”

  “Nothing about that was magic. It’s what I was trained to do.”

  “Well, that’s a hell of a trade to know during a time like this. You can save a lot of lives.”

  Maya thought back to all the people she’d watched die since this had started. In the tunnel. The warehouse. She thought about Cameron, and all the soldiers at Fort Campbell. She closed her eyes, trying to push the unholy images away.

  “I’m glad to help.”

  When Maya finished cleaning up, she thanked Dave for his help, then headed back out to the locker room. Most of the people looked over as she entered. She noticed that Everett wasn’t there, and neither was Reno. She figured they’d likely been taken to a quiet and private area for Reno to stitch the injured man up.

  Maya made eye contact with her kids, sitting against a wall on the side of the room, and smiled. She was walking over to them when a few people started clapping. She then looked toward the middle of the room. Almost everyone had stood up and joined in.

  The gesture took Maya by surprise. Treating people’s injuries was nothing more than a job. She’d been thanked plenty of times, but she’d never received a standing ovation before. She blushed as she raised her hand and waved.

  The fanfare subsided as she reached her kids.

  Maya smiled. “Hey guys. How are you doing?”

  “Fine,” Laura said. It was clear she still had a lot on her mind, probably still thinking about her father. Maya let it pass.

  “That was pretty amazing, Mom,” Aiden said.

  Maya realized that Aiden had never seen her in action, although Laura had. They’d been at a restaurant one night when Aiden had been staying the weekend with Gerald. A man in his 60s had suffered a heart attack three tables over, and Maya had treated him until on-duty EMTs had shown up to transport him to the hospital. That had definitely been a different and less bloody situation than this one, but it had still impressed Laura, who’d told her mom all the way home how much of a hero she’d been.

  She ran her hand through Aiden’s hair. “He needed help, so I helped him. You would have done the same in my situation.”

  “It was so cool. I mean, I thought he was going to—”

  “Shut up,” Laura said, slapping her brother on the arm.

  “Ow!”

  “No, your sister is right,” Maya said. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

  “Is he going to be alright?” Aiden asked.

  “Yeah, I think so. The bullet did some damage to his shoulder, but it missed his heart.”

  “He’s really lucky.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “Luckier than some other people.” There’d been a certain snark in Laura’s voice, and she hadn’t looked at either of them when she’d said it.

  Maya peered at her daughter. “Is there something you need to say, Laura?”

  “No.” Laura crossed her arms and stared straight ahead.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Jesus, I’m fine.”

  Laura then stood up and went to the other side of the locker room. She found a place behind a chair and curled up against the wall, covering her face with her coat.

  “Is she okay?” Aiden asked.

  “She’s hurting right now. Are you alright?”

  He nodded. “I’m glad we’re safe.”

  A door opened on the other side of the room and Maya looked up to see Reno. He was cleaning his hands with a towel and walking toward her. She stood and met him halfway.

  “How is he?”

  Reno nodded. “All good. The stuff we gave him started to wear off halfway through stitching him up. He wasn’t too happy about that, but I assured him that was better than not having it when you pulled the bullet out or when I had to deep-clean the wound.”

  “No kidding.”

  Reno looked over Maya’s shoulder at Aiden. Then he searched around the room.

  “Where’s Laura?”

  Maya pointed to the place where Laura had gone to be on her own. “She’s taking the stuff with Gerald really hard.”

  Reno shrugged. “Hard to blame her, I guess.” Then he looked up at Maya. “You aren’t having re—”

  Maya took his hands and shook her head. “No. Don’t even think like that. He basically made that decision himself by acting the way he did.”

  Maya saw Nick approaching out of the corner of her eye, and she let go of Reno’s hands and turned to face the approaching man.

  “I can’t thank you enough for what you did,” Nick said.

  “There’s no need,” Maya said.

  “Yeah, I’m glad we were here,” Reno said. “It’s what we do.”

  “Well, listen, I really appreciate it regardless. We all do. In fact, I was hoping I could repay you by inviting you to have dinner with me in my office tonight.”

  “That’s really not necessary,” Maya said. “We don’t mind eating with the others.”

  Nick laughed. “Well, I didn’t say you’d be getting a T-bone or anything like that. But it’ll be a little quieter, and I’d like to talk to you guys about some stuff anyways.”

  Maya and Reno looked at each other. In truth, Maya wanted to sit in a quiet corner with her children and have her dinner. She didn’t care about going off with Nick and talking. Her mind could use a rest.

  “I insist,” Nick said.

  After a moment of silence, Reno nodded and shook Nick’s hand. “We’ll be there.”

  “Thank you. See you later.”

  Nick walked away to talk with some of the others. Reno looked at Maya and shrugged.

  “Sorry, but he was going to make us eat with him anyway.”

  “It’s okay. I hope he isn’t expecting us to stay here and play doctor for them.”

  Reno narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean? You don’t wanna stay? Where would we even go?”

  “No, I’m not saying that. I honestly don’t know. This place seems really good right now, but we can’t stay here forever. Especially not with what you know, Reno.”

  Reno nodded. “We worked through our lunch. Let’s have dinner with him tonight and see what he has to say. Then we can go from there and discuss what we want to do.”

  Maya raised an eyebrow and smiled. She nodded, then walked away.

  “Where are you going?”

  Maya looked back. “To do my makeup and put on my best dress.”

  8

  Even with a three-hour nap, time passed slowly for Maya. There was little more to do than sit around and sleep. The kids had found some other teenagers, though, which relieved Maya. She didn’t want them sitting around obsessing about what had happened to their father.

  Reno had given Maya some space. He’d apparently been in more of a mood to mingle, and was on the other side of the room chatting with a couple of guys.

  Maya had only been awake for a few minutes, and she hated the way her mind would race after coming out of a deep sleep. She always found herself waking up thinking about something stressful. Now she was thinking about what she had said to Reno.

  On the surface, they seemed to have everything they needed at the stadium. The group there had remained safe since the invaders in the sky had shown up. They had food, medical supplies, and a security system to help them keep the aliens at bay in the form of the stadium lights. Even so, Maya wondered if it was the best move for them to stay at the stadium. How much food did they have, and when would it run out? And they couldn’t keep the lights running forever. What would happen when they couldn’t turn the lights on anymore to fend off the aliens?

  In the short-term, the stadium was a safe haven. But what about the future? And to that point, would anywhere be safe long-term?

  It could be, she knew, glancing over at Reno again. He knew how to take down that dome in Nashville. Whether or not they could replicate that in a massive counterattack had yet to be seen, but it felt promising. They had to find a way to get that knowledge into the right hands.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw new people entering the room—Nick, Everett, and Naomi. Most of the room stood and clapped as Everett entered. He wore a black tank top, the bandage visible where it was wrapped around his shoulder. He smiled and waved with his uninjured arm.

  Everett and Naomi went to chat with some of the others while Nick approached Maya. He glanced at his watch before looking up and smiling.

  “You about ready for dinner?”

  “It’s that time already?” Maybe time hadn’t been moving as slowly as Maya had thought.

  “Well, we can eat a little early, as long as that’s alright with you.”

  “For sure. Let me grab Re—”

  “Hey, guys.” Reno appeared next to Maya with a football helmet on his head.

  Maya smiled. “Never mind.”

  “Bring the kids, too,” Nick said.

  The desk in Nick’s office had been cleared and moved to the center of the room. Five chairs surrounded it, and the table was large enough for everyone to have plenty of space. Paper plates had already been set out on the table, and plastic utensils had been placed before each seat. Nick invited them each to pick the chairs they wanted before taking a seat for himself.

  Like a waiter at a fancy restaurant, Nick dropped a plastic-wrapped burrito on each person’s plate. Maya unwrapped hers and took a bite—polar cap on the outside and nuclear fusion on the inside, the typical microwave variety.

  “Thanks for inviting us,” Maya said.

  “Yeah, thanks a lot, Mr. Nick,” Aiden said.

  Nick smiled. “No problem. Glad to have you here. It’s the least I can do for your mom and Reno helping out.”

  As they continued to unwrap their burritos, no one spoke. Maya thought of ways she could start the conversation, but she didn’t. Why were they getting special treatment? Anyone in Maya and Reno’s situation with the knowledge they had would have done the same thing. It wasn’t like Maya would have stood around while Everett bled out.

  Then Nick broke the silence.

  “I have to say that, from everything I heard, it’s pretty amazing that you all were able to break away from Nashville. If you don’t mind talking about it, I’d love to hear it.”

  Maya and Reno went through the whole story, starting with how they’d been downtown answering a call when the obelisk had first come rising out of the ground. Then about everything that had happened until the two had gotten split up.

  Even though she’d already heard it, it pained her to hear Reno explain what had happened to him when he’d been on his own. He talked about the dome disappearing from over Nashville, allowing the sun to shine upon the battered city.

  “My God,” Nick said when Reno finished his story. The entire time they’d been talking, he’d sat silently, not even touching his burrito. He’d kept his hand to his mouth and listened closely. “It’s amazing that you’re here.”

  Laura and Aiden sat in silence. Maya couldn’t remember how much of the story they’d already heard.

  “We’re glad that you’ve welcomed us.” Maya looked at her kids. “I don’t know what we would have done otherwise.”

  Nick took a sip of his water and cleared his throat. “Well, that’s part of the reason that I wanted you to have dinner with me.”

  “What do you mean?” Reno asked.

  “The truth is, I don’t know how much longer this place is going to be safe. We can only run those lights for so long before we’re not going to be able to power the generators anymore.”

  Maya swallowed. “How long?”

  Nick shrugged. “A few more days probably. At most, a week.”

  Jesus.

  That about decided it for Maya. She wasn’t going to stay. So far, they had done well on their own, moving in a small pack. She couldn’t imagine how these people were going to move out several dozen. They would make a nice target for the creatures in the sky. That was assuming they were going to leave and not try to hold the stadium without the only weapon they’d had—the lights.

  “Why are you sharing this with us?” Reno asked.

  “Because you guys have been out in the thick of it. You’ve survived.” Nick looked down and shook his head. “I don’t really know what we should do. Do we stay? Do we try and leave? I’ve been going back and forth for days, trying to figure it all out.”

  “It’s a nightmare out there. And I don’t know how you’re going to be able to safely move all these people together. But staying here is a huge risk.” Maya shook her head. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

  “Well, I hope that after you have some time to think about it that you can offer me any suggestions you can think of. And I hope that you plan on sticking with us.”

  Maya almost certainly knew her answer to that suggestion. But she wasn’t going to spoil their dinner, and she didn’t want to jump to a decision without talking to Reno. She was tired of making decisions on her own. They were in this together now, and she would consult with him before acting.

  “For now,” she said.

  “Alright, well, hopefully we can still enjoy our dinner.” Nick forced a smile.

  They hardly spoke during the rest of dinner, though the burritos had gone cold and bland.

  9

  When dinner was over, Maya tried to help Nick clean up, but he refused to let her. He simply smiled and thanked her, Reno, and the kids for joining him.

  Reno opened the door, holding it for Maya and the kids. Maya was about to exit when Nick called her name.

  “I’m sure this goes without saying, but let’s keep this conversation between us. We don’t want to start a panic.”

  Maya nodded. “Of course. But when do you plan on letting everyone know what’s going on?”

  Nick looked at the wall to his right. “Let me know if you come up with any ideas.”

  Maya nodded again, then turned and left the room.

  She shut the door behind her, drawing a deep breath. When she exhaled, she glanced at Reno. She knew he was thinking the same thing. Would they stay and come up with a plan to help Nick, or would they leave before things went from bad to worse?

  “We’re leaving before the power goes out,” Laura said. “Right?”

  Maya put her finger to her lips. “Keep it down, Laura.”

  “What? No one can hear me from here.”

  “You don’t think anyone can.”

  “Your mom’s right,” Reno said. “You guys need to keep quiet about all this so that we don’t—”

  “You can’t tell me what to do,” Laura said, cutting Reno off and stepping in front of him. She looked at him with dark, narrowed eyes. “You’re not my goddamn father.”

  “Laura!”

  But before Maya could say more, Laura had already turned around and run into the locker room. Maya started after her, but Reno grabbed her by the arm.

  “Let her go. She’s clearly still upset.”

  Laura pushed through the door at the end of the corridor, not caring that it slammed against the adjacent wall. Maya wanted to pull away from Reno and go after her, but she relented. Reno was right. Laura was going through more than the average teenager. She’d already lost her father to divorce earlier in her life, and now in her mind, she was likely thinking she’d never see him again—that being entirely her mother’s fault.

  Maya felt Aiden standing next to her.

  “Do you believe Mr. Nick? Are we really in trouble here?”

  “We’re going to figure out something before anything happens. Why don’t you go hang out with your new friends?”

  “I miss Luke.”

  “I know.”

  Yet another casualty of this damn war. Maya couldn’t think about all of the people they’d lost or she’d lose her focus.