Lana nodded. Better. The girl was showing Lana respect. “My name’s Lana. And listen, people, the coyotes aren’t done with us. We need to make sure that door will hold.”
“I’m on it,” Edilio said.
The wounded boy woke with a start.
He stared at the dead coyotes. He reached for his neck. He stared at the blood on his hand.
“You’ll live,” Lana said. “And I’ll fix the rest of it. Just let me keep my hand on it.”
He seemed dubious. He glanced at Astrid.
“She saved our lives,” Astrid said. “And she just closed up a wound that was gushing blood a minute ago.”
Sam allowed her to place her hand against his neck.
“Who are you?” he asked in a croak of a voice.
“Lana. Lana Arwen Lazar,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. But don’t be too grateful: your life may not stay saved.”
He nodded. He listened to the frenzy outside, and flinched when one of the coyotes threw himself against the door.
“Is that a gold bar Edilio is using as a hammer?” Edilio had broken down the bed and was hammering one of the rails over the door.
Lana laughed sardonically. “Yeah. We have a lot of gold. Patrick and me, we’re rich.”
She moved her hand down his neck to his shoulder. “It works better if you take off your shirt,” she said.
He winced in pain. “I don’t think I can.”
Lana slid her hand under his shirt, feeling the gruesome mess of secondary wounds. “It’ll feel better in a few minutes.”
“How do you do that?” he asked.
“There are a lot of weird things going on.”
The boy nodded. “Yeah. We noticed. Thanks for saving my life.”
“You’re welcome, but like I said, it may be temporary. They’re not really trying to get in yet. When Pack Leader gets here, that could change. They’re strong, you know, and smart.”
“You’re bleeding yourself,” he said.
“I’ll fix that,” she said, almost indifferent. “I’ve gotten kind of used to being cut up one way or another.”
She pressed her blood-covered hand against her leg.
“Who is this Pack Leader?” Sam asked.
“He’s the head coyote. I tricked him into letting me come here. I hoped I’d be able to get away. Or at least have something to eat besides roadkill. Coyotes are smart, but they’re still just smart dogs, basically. Are you guys hungry? I am.”
Sam nodded. Then he climbed stiffly to his feet, moving like an old man.
“As soon as I’m done with my leg, I’ll do yours,” Lana said. “We have a pretty good supply of food and plenty of water, at least for a while. The question is whether Pack Leader will be able to find a way in here.”
Astrid said, “You’re talking about this coyote like he’s a person.”
Lana laughed. “Not a person you’d want to hang out with.”
“Is he…is he just a coyote?” Astrid asked.
Lana stared at the girl. Now she could see the intelligence beneath the pretty-girl looks. “What do you know about that?” Lana asked cautiously.
“I know some animals are changing. We’ve seen a seagull with talons. And we saw, well, a snake with what looked like little stub wings.”
Lana nodded. “Yeah, I’ve seen those. Up close. They scare the coyotes half to death, I can tell you that. They can’t quite fly, but the rattlers use the wings to get just a little more range than they used to have. They actually saved my butt once. And I saw them kill a coyote just a few hours ago. Pack Leader said—”
“‘Said’?” Edilio echoed.
“I’ll tell you all about it, but let’s eat first. I’ve had nothing to eat. Although I was offered some raw squirrel. Canned pudding, that’s what I want. I’ve been dreaming about it.”
She hauled out a can and feverishly worked the can opener. She didn’t wait for a dish or spoon, but thrust her hand in and scooped some into her mouth. Then she stood transfixed, overwhelmed by the wonderful sweetness of it.
She was crying when she said, “I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten how to be polite. I’ll get you guys your own can.”
Sam hobbled over and scooped some pudding of his own, following her lead. “I’m way past polite myself,” he said, although she could see he was a little appalled by her wolfish behavior. She decided then that she liked him.
“Listen, Sam, and everyone, you need to know something so it won’t freak you out: Pack Leader can speak. I mean, human words. Like Smart-Girl Barbie there was saying, he’s some kind of mutant or whatever. I know you think I’m probably crazy.”
She had Hermit Jim’s tin cup now and used it to scoop up another helping of wonderful, wonderful pudding. Blondie—Astrid—was opening a can of fruit cocktail.
“What do you know about the FAYZ?” Astrid asked.
Lana stopped eating and stared at her. “The what?”
Astrid shrugged and looked embarrassed. “That’s what people are calling it. The Fallout Alley Youth Zone. FAYZ.”
“What does that mean?”
“Have you seen the barrier?”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. I’ve seen the barrier. I touched the barrier, which, by the way, is not a good idea.”
Sam said, “As far as we can tell, it goes clear around in a big circle. Or maybe a sphere. We think the center is the power plant. It seems like a ten-mile radius from there, you know, twenty miles across.”