Abby is, for all intents and purposes, a perfectly loyal soldier. Once, she overheard a little snippet of gossip passed around some of the older survivors: the Salt Lake kids were "a good find". It's not exactly hard to understand why when they're young, fit and capable, and willing to work hard for a spot at the table. There is no plan B. From now on, they're Seattle kids.

All this means is that nobody expects for Abby to up and leave abruptly in two days time. She does show up for training, but only so she can linger behind afterward and palm bullets out of the storerooms, marking the equipment off as she goes in the log book under a different name, and with her wrong hand. They won't look into it if they think it's gone on purpose. It's so easy. Should it be this easy?

She takes double rations from the kitchen. ... Okay, Manny actually takes double rations from the kitchen, 'cuz he thinks he's helping her out when she asks him to get her a couple extra things, citing her crazy schedule at the gym. Tells him she's a growing girl with her mouth full of five-bean chilli, just to make him laugh and fetch her seconds, and she feels bad about lying to him, but she'll make it up to him. Once Joel is dead she can do whatever she wants. She can come back here and slot herself right back in like nothing happened, and the thought is terrifying, and liberating all at once.

Manny will forgive her. He has a dad too.

When she comes out to the forest the day of she's late to join him by five or ten minutes, and she arrives quiet. Her eyes are red. In the interest of not drawing any attention to herself, she allows her full pack to slip from her back and into the grass so she can come and look at the bike.

Clearing her throat, she says, "No," and skims her hand up the side of it. Skeptically, "Is it safe?" Kinda looks like it could fall apart at any second...