When we got back to the school Sarah was waiting for me with Jake. She wrinkled her nose, and I explained to her and Jake what had happened. Sarah shook her head and handed me Jake after I had stripped my gear off.

“Got a surprise for you.” She headed into the hallway.

I followed with Jake, who was pulling at my collar and cooing.

Sarah stopped at a classroom and peeked in. She stepped aside and motioned me in. I went in puzzled, then went into defense mode as something grabbed me from behind. I held Jake out with one hand, slammed my elbow back and spun around, hoping to dislodge whatever had me.

I heard a “Whoof!” as my elbow connected and then a “Whoa!” as my spin tossed the person off of me into a cluster of desks. I put Jake down and stepped in front of him as the other person climbed painfully to his feet. Jake sat down and waved his hands, excited as he recognized the newcomer. Sarah covered her smile with her hand as Nate stood up and rubbed his ribs.

“Nice shot, John. Good to see you too.”

I relaxed. “Nate!” I went over and wrapped the big man in a bear hug. Nate groaned as I squeezed his sore ribs. “Oops Sorry about that. Can’t be too careful.”

Nate shrugged it off. “My fault. I should know better than to mess with someone who just came in from the outside. Your nerves are still on overload.”

I nodded. “No kidding. You should have seen what Mark and I found at the recreation center.” I filled Nate in on the details and Sarah just shook her head and put an arm around my waist. Nate noticed her but said nothing. I finished, pointing to the burning building out the north window. “That glow? That’s mine. The good news is the building is isolated so no others will go up. The bad news is the building could have been useful.”

Nate shrugged. “At least you dealt with it. Some people would have stayed and fought.”