Justin waited until the room settled.
Not calm—nothing about this was calm—but quieter. Less movement. Less arguing. Less emotional sparks waiting to catch. He watched the newcomers shift into awareness, watched them take inventory the same way he did: exits, windows, shelves, bodies. He recognized it. Fear turning into math.
Then he asked the question that had been clawing at him since sunrise.
"Do any of you know where we are?"
The five exchanged looks. Justin felt something tighten in his chest. If they didn't know, they were worse off than he'd thought.
"I mean specifically," he added. "Street. Area. Anything. I got turned around last night—smoke, detours, blocked roads. GPS died hours ago."
A man in a torn hoodie let out a breath like he'd been holding it since yesterday. "Yeah. You're on the south side. Near Savannah Mall. Off Abercorn."
The words hit Justin hard.
"Savannah Mall," he repeated slowly.
The woman beside the man nodded. "We were trying to head north. Midtown, maybe. But everything collapsed at the red lights. People just… ran."
Justin rubbed his face with both hands. The skin felt tight, gritty. He'd been driving blind for so long he'd started to believe he was closer to home than he was.
Mari noticed immediately. "That's not where you thought we were."
"I know," Justin said quietly. "I know."
Kenzie shifted closer to Barbie. The dog stayed silent, tucked against her like she understood that sound meant death now.
Tally scoffed loudly, as if sarcasm could save them. "Great. So not only are we trapped in a gas station with strangers, we're also lost."
Mari snapped back without hesitation. "You don't get to complain about consequences you caused."
Tally spun. "Oh my God, you are obsessed with me."
"No," Mari shot back. "I'm exhausted by you."
Justin cut in sharply. "Stop."
But the word didn't land.
Tally's eyes slid toward Kenzie, and the air changed—something colder creeping under the argument, something personal and petty that had survived the end of the world.
"You," Tally said.
Kenzie stiffened.
Tally took a step closer. "You didn't say a word last night."
Kenzie frowned, confused. "What?"
"When Mari was coming at me," Tally said, her voice rising. "You just stood there."
Mari let out a short laugh, incredulous. "Coming at you?"
"You're supposed to be my friend," Tally snapped at Kenzie. "Or you were."
Kenzie swallowed. "Tally, I—"
"You didn't have my back," Tally kept going, louder. "You let her talk to me like I was trash. After everything."
Kenzie's eyes flashed. "I didn't let anything happen. I just didn't agree with you."
That landed like a slap.
Tally's face twisted. "Wow. So you're on her side now."
"There aren't sides," Kenzie said quietly. "This isn't high school."
Tally laughed—sharp, cruel. "Of course you'd say that. You've always been desperate to be liked."
Kenzie flinched. It was small, but Justin saw it. The way her shoulders pulled inward. The way she tried to make herself smaller.
Mari stepped forward like she couldn't watch it. "That's enough."
"No," Tally snapped. "You don't get to jump in now."
She turned back to Kenzie, eyes bright with anger. "You've been riding my coattails since freshman year and now suddenly you grow a spine?"
Kenzie's hands trembled, but she didn't back away this time. "I grew up," she said softly. "You didn't."
The room went still.
Justin felt it—the shift, the snap of something that couldn't be un-said.
Tally's face went white-hot. "You think you're better than me?"
Kenzie shook her head once. "No. I think I don't want to die because of you."
Tally lunged forward.
Justin caught her around the shoulders, hauling her back before she could shove Kenzie. Tally twisted violently, screaming like she'd been betrayed by everyone in the room.
"LET GO OF ME!" she yelled. "She's fake—she's always been fake!"
Mari moved in front of Kenzie without thinking, protective. "Back off."
Tally laughed hysterically, eyes wet but furious. "Oh my God. You really replaced me with her."
"That's not what this is," Justin snapped.
"It is to me," Tally fired back. "You all turned on me."
"You keep putting us in danger," Mari shot back. "Again and again."
"I SAVED PEOPLE!" Tally screamed.
"And you almost got us killed!" Mari shouted back.
The five newcomers stared, stunned. One of them muttered, "Jesus…"
Justin shoved himself between the women, voice raw, low enough not to carry outside. "Enough. All of you. Shut up."
Silence dropped hard.
Justin stared at Tally. "I love you. But you don't get to treat people like this. Not anymore."
Tally's eyes glistened—but the emotion didn't soften her. It hardened her.
"Fine," she said coldly. "Just remember who didn't hesitate when it mattered."
She turned away, arms crossed, chin high.
Mari stared at the floor like she was trying not to say something unforgivable.
Kenzie's breathing was tight, controlled, like she'd just pulled herself out from under water.
Justin looked at the five. "I'm sorry," he said. "You didn't sign up for this."
The woman with blood crusted on her sleeve spoke quietly. "We didn't sign up for anything. We were in a group… bigger. Fifteen people. Cars stopped at a red light near Abercorn. Someone screamed. Someone fell."
Her voice shook. "We ran. The rest didn't make it."
A man added, even quieter, "They follow sound."
Everyone went still at that, because it matched what Justin already knew and still didn't want to accept.
Outside, something moaned as it wandered past.
Morning made everything visible.
Including the cracks inside them.