The sounds of Adam’s voice had me scrambling to my knees. He looked pale in the dim light, and his pupils were messed up.
“You hit your head, Adam. What’s the last thing you remember?”
He frowned, his gaze flicking to the fey holding him.
“I don’t know. Am I dreaming?”
“No. He’s real. The infected attacked the bunker, and one knocked you into the wall. These guys helped us.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He started to close his eyes.
“Adam, I don’t think you should go back to sleep.”
“June?” His eyes popped open, and he glanced at the fey. “Am I dreaming?”
I knew it was a concussion, but understanding that didn’t make it any easier to see Adam’s confusion and complete dependence. After answering him again, I did my best to keep him alert for a while. His continued memory reset was upsetting, but I counted us lucky that we hadn’t suffered worse as Uan struggled to breathe with each mile.
When the trucks finally rolled to a stop, I was relieved.
The doors opened, letting in a blast of colder air. I shivered lightly and looked over at Uan. His grey skin looked waxen with a green undertone.
“He needs a doctor fast,” I said.
The fey at the door grunted and jumped into the truck with a few of his friends. They tried gently lifting Uan, but he groaned.
“It might be easier if you set him on the blanket then lift the blanket. It’s strong. It’ll hold.”
The fey immediately listened, working together to move the injured fey and carry him out of the truck.
When the one holding Adam stood, Adam opened his eyes.
“What in the hell are you?”
“Adam, you hit your head,” I said yet again. “He’s helping you.”
“June? Am I seeing things?”
“If you’re seeing a guy with grey skin and pointy ears, then no, you aren’t.”
“Did you give me something? My head is pounding like a bitch.”
It wasn’t the first time he mentioned it.
“No. I didn’t give you anything. I wanted to wait until you were a little more with it. Does anything else hurt?”
“No. Just my head.”
The fey jumped out with Adam, and another was there to offer me a hand, which was way more than a hand. He lightly gripped my waist and lifted me down.
“I’m going to throw up,” Adam said a minute before he heaved. Thankfully, not on the fey who carried him but to the side.
I barely noted his suffering, though. Our surroundings had caught my attention. We stood near a wall of smashed-together vehicles. That feat of repurposed metal stretched as far as I could see in either direction. In front of us, two huge metal gates slowly opened.
“Come,” the fey said. “Matt will help you.”
I followed the fey with Adam through the door. Another man was hurrying to meet us. I had a hard time staying focused as I tried to take in everything. The wall surrounded what looked like an entire subdivision of houses. There were people everywhere. Human people.