[She backs up and Joel stays put, his mind racing. If she starts turning on him (if, Holly Heights made no sense at all, maybe bringing a dead woman back infected was something the guy in charge wouldn't do- or maybe it was exactly what he would do), they're gonna have to do some quick thinking.

He keeps a gun in his coat pocket these days, hidden. If it's not hidden, the citizens get nervous. Otherwise he looks the same, except for being clean, rested and well-fed. Christ, how is he supposed to explain this to her, fresh off the arrival list?

He steels his voice and gestures to her; listen.]

Tess, look around. Everything's gone. Everything's different. Right now, I gotta- [throat closing up, he inhales and cleans the hurt out of his voice, exhales.] I gotta see it, one more time. Is it still there?

[Word on the street was nobody showed up injured. Sick. But you just never goddamn knew, not with the landlord.]