"Yeah. I do think you would," he says back to Cassie, deadly serious. He doesn't trust her. He feels like he knows her well enough to estimate that she wouldn't put him in danger, but trust? Not even close. "And you're telling me. Hell is other people, right?"

He walks softly, so his feet barely make any noise against the grassy floor. He's surprised, too, by the bitterness. Sometimes it catches him off guard that she's a veteran. The sourness in her voice seems more believable to him than the amiable exterior.

"Hi, cow," he says under his breath. Fear. Fear makes the world go round. Everything's a threat, doesn't Cassie know that?