"Naomi!?" I shouted, hands cupped around my mouth to throw the sound farther through the trees.
My voice bounced off trunks and died somewhere ahead.
Leaves cracked under my boots as Lila and I pushed through the brush. Every step tugged at the soreness in my leg. My ribs still ached from the fight. My throat felt scraped raw from shouting, but I did it again anyway.
"Naomi!"
There was a reason for it.
A real one.
Naomi knew routes. Naomi knew how to keep her head when things went bad. Naomi knew how to talk like the world hadn't fully ended yet. Around her, for brief stretches, I could almost pretend I was still just some guy dealing with bad luck instead of a body count and a trail of mistakes.
Lila had to know that.
Maybe that was why she kept clicking her tongue every few seconds. Sharp little sounds. Then whistling low and tuneless through her teeth.
She had never whistled before.
It was deliberate.
"Naomi!" I called again.
"God, you're annoying," Lila muttered.
