Caleb killed the sedan's engine behind his apartment block before it stalled. The bumper hung from its zip ties. He lifted his duffel with his left hand.
Suzu shut the passenger door with both hands. Her carbon-fiber leg brace clicked when she stepped around a pothole. She looked up at the four flights of exterior stairs.
"You can still turn around," Caleb said.
"I came down the expressway in that car. I'm committed."
"The stairs are worse."
"Then your building should fix them."
She took the first step before he could offer an arm. He followed with his good hand on the railing. By the third landing the nutrient paste from the staging tent was gone, and the sealed cut beside his collarbone pulled with each step. Suzu heard his breath change and slowed without looking back.
Caleb unlocked apartment 4B. Synthetic onions and machine oil met him at the door. The oxygen concentrator hummed behind his brother's closed bedroom door.
