It wasn’t just the infected following Lián Xīng.

  First, it was a group that was led by someone who looked strikingly like Grandfather’s description of Miss Porter’s ex-husband, which promptly got attacked by the infected shortly after she camouflaged herself away.

  There was one particular infected that showed up often, always out of the corner of her eye. His face looked as if it were overtaken by galaxies and shimmered like stars. It was almost beautiful in a terrifying way.

  It was growing too coincidental whenever a team of scavengers tried to harm her they got attacked and she wondered if perhaps the one who followed her the most had something to do with it.

  One day, she was cornered by some hunter scavengers.

  “We’ve heard about you. The girl who seeks out the zombies.”

  “They are not zombies.” She looked around the group of men and women, some laughed at her comment while others glared.

  One such woman sneered, “I saw my cousin torn apart by a zombie’s teeth.”

  “Zombies from stories eat their victims, but that’s not what the infected do. They are reactive, not hunters.”

  The laughs grew louder, and Lián Xīng narrowed her eyes.

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  “It’s easier to think they are the undead so you all feel no guilt for killing them, but they are not something from a story. They are still alive, but they’ve lost their memories. The infection reduces them to their base instincts.”

  “How could you know so much?”

  A man that had a busted lip and dark circles around his eyes whispered something in the leader’s ear.

  “You! You are the healer we’ve heard about.”

  Lián Xīng kept silent and didn’t confirm anything.

  “Well, this is perfect. You’ll come back with us to the new city base.” The leader, a broad-shouldered man with a sneer-like grin. “We’ll be heroes, bringing in the only known healer superpowered individual.”

  “I’m not going with you. I have responsibilities elsewhere.”

  “You don’t get a choice. You are either with us or against us.”

  Guns cocked and the superpowered drew out their elements arming themselves against a healer.

  Lián Xīng snorted, “Worse heroes I’ve seen.”

  A roar sounded behind them but at least one gun stayed pointing towards her, whereas the superpowered turned to face off the incoming ‘horde’ as they called the incoming dozens of infected.

  The infected group had grown, and it looked more organized.

  Lián Xīng looked around, trying to find an escape. Seeing a ladder leading up the side of the building, she scooted closer to it only to hear the gunfire. She saw the bullet flying toward her and moved just in time to only be grazed.

  She watched as her skin knit itself back together and heard someone gasp, “She really can heal!”

  The gunman was bowled over as he shot again; this time, she was able to get out of the way of the shot. She glanced at the team of hunters who were being attacked before making eye contact with the infected who’d followed her. He made a nod toward the ladder, and she quickly made her way up it and climbed until she reached the roof before running the length until she reached another ladder that was a safe distance away from the fight.