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Some of the tension left Varesh’s jaw, and Tim’s eyes were a little less troubled. “Do you think it’ll need stitches?” he asked.

“That part I’m not sure of.” Varesh cleaned the wound using careful pats of the wipe. He paused when Tim winced, continuing with even gentler strokes.

Ava’s eyes met mine, and she gave me a tight smile.

Confident Varesh had it under control, I tilted my head toward the window. She slipped in beside me, and we took in the view outside.

The road we’d left behind was almost unrecognisable now.

People dived between vehicles as the rain poured down, clutching weapons and shouting at one another. Drivers and passengers who’d been injured in the crashes climbed out, and fights broke out between the wrecked cars. Other people sprinted for warehouses, just as we’d done.

On the opposite side of the road, a woman clambered up and over the fence surrounding a transport depot, turning to a man who passed a small child to her.

“They’ve had the same idea,” Ava said. “I hope everyone stays on that side of the road. I don’t want anyone coming in here with us.”

“Neighbours are fine, but we don’t need roommates.” It looked like more than ten cars had crashed after the first ute, completely cutting off access on either side of the road. Our car was farther back in line, where the vehicles on the wrong side had time to stop before reaching the pile-up. We were still boxed in, though. I pointed it out to Ava.

She took a second to locate it, then sighed. “Oh.”

Her arm brushed mine, both our sleeves heavy from the rain. Strands of wet hair had stuck to her cheek and temple, and her skin was flushed from the cold.

I unstuck the hair with my thumb and pushed it back from her face. “We’ll figure it out,” I said. “We always find a way.”

“I know,” she said.

There was no smile or teasing glance, just the slightest softening of her features before she stared outside again.

Behind us, Varesh finished securing Tim’s bandage. “We’ll see if that holds,” he said. “If we need to, we’ll find something to close the wound properly.”

“Good as new. Thanks, love.”

I looked over my shoulder as Tim pulled his shirt back into place, then faced the front again.

Rain fell over the industrial estate, the wind pushing it sideways.

Another warehouse door opened across the road as more survivors took shelter. Waiting and watching, just like us.

A man in boots and a waterproof jacket dragged an older man straight out of his car, throwing a punch that knocked the silver-haired guy out cold.

As he collapsed on the ground, I turned away from the window.

“Now that I’m done playing nurse,” Varesh said, “we should think about setting up beds and finding a way to keep warm.”

“Why don’t you and I check out the back?” I suggested, grateful for a reason to move. “There’d have to be packing boxes. Removal blankets. If we’re stuck here for the night, I’d prefer cardboard over carpet.”

“All right, let’s do that. It’s only going to get colder the longer we wait.”

Ava moved back from the view outside. “You better find me the thickest piece of cardboard.”

I smiled, and because it felt like the most natural thing to do, I bent and kissed her. “I’ll get you a stack, so you can be the Pea Princess.”

“It’s the Princess and the Pea, but close enough.” She gave my chest a soft pat as I pulled away.

Varesh and I left the room, heading down the corridor to the back of the building.

We stepped into the warehouse again, moving straight to the shelving and pallets on the right.

A pack of bottled water sat on the middle shelf, and I carried it to the door to take inside with us when we were done.