Chapter 208: Back to Boardwalk with Maribel

"Where were you all this time?"

Molly’s question came the instant Maribel and I stepped through the barricade entrance. Her arms were crossed, her expression a mixture of concern and suspicion as she blocked our path. Behind her, Marlon, Rico, and several others had gathered, forming what looked uncomfortably like an interrogation committee waiting at the gates.

"Hunting the Hybrid," Maribel answered without hesitation.

The assembled group exchanged glances, their expressions making it abundantly clear they weren’t buying the simple explanation. Marlon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"For what, two hours?" Rico asked, his voice dripping with skepticism.

"Two hours?" I repeated, genuinely startled by the number.

Had we really been gone that long? I’d known we’d spent some time tracking that Infected and then dealing Emily and the others. Then again, that nap I’d taken in the office building must have lasted far longer than the few minutes I’d assumed. Time had a way of slipping away when you were unconscious.

"It was a Hybrid Infected, Rico," Maribel said, an edge creeping into her voice. She glanced sideways at me before continuing. "And he seemed hell-bent on making absolutely sure it stayed dead."

"So you killed it then?" Marlon asked directly.

"What do you think?" Maribel shot back, crossing her arms in a mirror of Molly’s stance. "We wouldn’t be standing here otherwise, would we?"

Rico wasn’t letting it go that easily. He gestured between us with one hand, his expression openly doubtful. "Really? You two went out there without any firearms. So tell me—how exactly did you manage to kill a Hybrid with nothing but your wooden lance, Maribel?"

The suspicion in his voice was quite clear. Even with my enhanced abilities, Hybrid Infected presented a serious challenge. For ordinary humans without supernatural advantages, firearms were essentially the only reliable option—overwhelming firepower, multiple shooters, raining down bullets until the target’s brain was obliterated. The idea that someone could take one down with primitive weapons seemed laughable from their perspective.

Maribel’s eyes flashed dangerously as she gave Rico a sharp, defensive look. "I’m not you, Rico. I don’t need to hide behind bullets. I can handle a Hybrid just fine on my own."

She paused, then glanced at me and cleared her throat awkwardly. "And, well... I wasn’t alone. He’s not half bad at fighting either, so..."

She trailed off, seeming uncertain whether she was making the situation better or worse with her explanation. I couldn’t tell if she was genuinely struggling to find a convincing excuse or if she was just naturally awkward when it came to giving someone else credit.

"Did anything else happen out there?" Marlon asked, his gaze moving between the two of us.

"Like what?" Maribel countered, her defensive tone sharpening further. "And why are you questioning us right at the entrance like we’re criminals being processed?"

She had a valid point. We’d barely made it through the barricade before being surrounded and interrogated. The hostile reception felt excessive, though I supposed their wariness was understandable given the constant threats they faced.

"Why are you getting so nervous now?" Rico pressed, squinting his gaze.

Maribel’s glare could have melted steel.

"We ran into some of Callighan’s men," I said finally, deciding it was better to get the information out there before things deteriorated further.

The reaction was immediate and dramatic. Multiple people took sharp breaths, eyes widening in alarm.

"What? You encountered them?" Molly’s voice rose with disbelief. "His actual people?"

"Yeah, a few of them," I confirmed with a nod.

"And you managed to escape?" Molly asked.

"We wouldn’t be here otherwise," Maribel repeated, her earlier phrase becoming something of a refrain. "Though Ryan took a bullet. He needs Shawn to look at it."

"He took a bullet?" Jake’s voice joined the chorus—unfortunately, as far as I was concerned. He pushed his way into the growing crowd, his eyes scanning me from head to toe with obvious skepticism. "He looks completely fine to me."

"Do you want him to whine and cry about it like you did when Callighan’s men shot you on the leg?" Maribel snapped back, her voice laden with snark.

Quiet laughter rippled through the assembled crowd at her barb. Apparently Jake’s previous injury and his reaction to it were common knowledge and a source of some amusement.

Jake’s face flushed red as he glared at Maribel. "Why are you defending him like this?"

Suddenly everyone’s attention shifted to Maribel with renewed curiosity. I noticed several meaningful glances exchanged among the crowd. Apparently it was unusual for Maribel to speak up so much on someone else’s behalf, and her uncharacteristic behavior was raising eyebrows and questions.

"I did take a bullet," I spoke, shrugging off my jacket to reveal my left arm.

The bandages Maribel had applied were messy and amateurish, already soaked through in places with dark bloodstains that stood out starkly against the white fabric. The injury was real enough, even if I wasn’t experiencing the level of pain a normal person would be feeling.

"It hurts, so if you could just let me get it checked out by that doctor, I promise I’ll be leaving with Clara right after," I said.

Marlon looked at me for a long moment before finally nodding. "Go ahead."

But just as I thought we were done, he turned toward Maribel before she could follow me. "Not you, Maribel. I want the full story of what happened out there."

"Full story?" Maribel scoffed, clearly irritated by the continued interrogation. "There’s nothing story-worthy about it. I already told you everything. We encountered the Hybrid Infected, we dealt with it, we happened to run into Callighan’s men, we managed to escape, and he caught a couple bullets in the process. That’s it."

"And you came away completely unscathed?" Rico’s question was pointed. "How many of them were there? What were they doing in that area? Were they scouting for something specific?"

"They were just looking around," I said quickly, speaking up before Maribel could answer.

I absolutely didn’t want anyone learning about Emily yet. The situation was far too complicated to explain, especially with this many people listening. How would I even begin to describe what had happened—that my former classmate was now somehow working with Callighan, wearing strange metal restraints, and beyond that...

Anyway, I didn’t want the relation between both our communities to degrade because of Emily’s matter. Because it would definitely put them in guard if they learnt my former classmate was with Callighan.

"I didn’t ask you," Rico said sharply, his eyes never leaving Maribel’s face. "I’m asking her."

I caught Maribel’s gaze and gave her what I hoped was a small, pleading look. I needed her to follow my lead on this, to not mention Emily or anything that would require more explanation than we could reasonably provide.

I could see the moment she registered my silent appeal. Her jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, and I could almost hear her internal grumbling about the position I’d put her in. But after a beat, she spoke.

"Yeah, they were just looking around," she said. "They didn’t seem to be planning anything specific. Probably just a patrol or reconnaissance. It wasn’t even that close to here, actually, so I doubt it had anything to do with the Boardwalk."

From what I’d been able to piece together, Liam, Tommy, and the others had been searching for Emily after losing track of her. They’d been trying to recapture her, not conducting any kind of operation against the Boardwalk community. But that truth raised far more questions than it answered for me.

The more I turned the situation over in my mind, the more my worry about Emily intensified.

I couldn’t just pretend everything was normal. Yes, discovering she was alive had brought an overwhelming wave of relief—that crushing weight of guilt I’d been carrying for three months had lightened considerably just knowing she’d survived. But the state I’d found her in was far from reassuring. She clearly wasn’t in her right mind. Nothing about the situation suggested she was okay.

"Should we send some people out to scout the area?" Molly asked Marlon.

Marlon shook his head decisively. "No. As long as Callighan’s people don’t get any closer to our perimeter, we leave it alone. We can’t afford to provoke a confrontation when we’re not ready for one."

I didn’t wait to hear more of their strategic discussions.

I left the group still debating near the gates, trusting Maribel to handle the rest of the explanation about what had happened out there.

My first priority was getting this bullet removed before my wound closed with still the bullet inside my arm.

I made my way to Shawn’s medical center also house.

"Not even a full day has passed and you’re already back here," Shawn said.

"Yeah, but this time it’s for me," I replied, extending my left arm to show him the bloodstained bandages.

He glanced up and immediately grimaced. "Those are terrible bandages. Who did this, a blind person?"

"Maribel’s handiwork," I said.

"Figures," Shawn said with a snort, gesturing toward the examination bed. "She’s only good at swinging weapons around to kill Infected and catch fish. Medical care is definitely not in her skill set."

"She does those things very well though," I said, moving to sit on the bed as instructed. "Can’t expect everyone to be good at everything."

I expected some sarcastic comeback, but none came. When I looked up at him, Shawn had frozen mid-reach for his instruments, his eyes locked on my exposed wound with a deepening frown.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"Yes, actually," he said slowly, leaning closer to examine the injury. "Your wound is showing significant signs of recovery already. The tissue regeneration is... unusual. When exactly did you say you got shot?"

"A couple hours ago," I answered quickly, then tried to redirect. "Can you just remove the bullet? It’s starting to ache more."

The lie about increased pain was transparent, but I needed him to move on before he started asking questions I couldn’t answer without revealing too much. My enhanced healing was already working overtime—not enough to be superhuman by most standards, but definitely faster than normal human recovery. To a trained medical professional like Shawn, the accelerated healing would absolutely look strange.

He stared me for a long moment, his eyes searching my face for something. I kept my expression neutral, hoping he’d let it go.

Finally, mercifully, he seemed to decide not to press the issue. "Alright," he said, reaching for his tools. "Let’s get this done."

The next several minutes were spent in relative silence as Shawn worked. He carefully removed the soiled bandages, cleaned the area around the wound, extracted the bullet with steady hands and precise movements, then thoroughly cleaned and re-dressed the injury with proper medical-grade supplies.

"Done," he said, tying off the final bandage with a neat knot.

"Thanks," I said, standing up and testing the mobility of my arm. It felt much better already—cleaner, properly treated.

"You already checked on Clara, right?" I asked, remembering my other concern.

"Yes, earlier," Shawn confirmed, organizing the used instruments for sterilization. "She should be fine, but don’t try to move her around too much today. She needs rest more than anything else right now."

"I won’t push her," I assured him, already heading toward the door. "Thanks again."

I left the place and made my way directly to the hotel where I’d left Clara. The sooner we could leave the Boardwalk, the better.

When I reached the room on the first floor, I noticed the door was already half-open. A brief spike of concern shot through me until I heard familiar voices drifting out from inside.

I pushed the door open fully and stepped inside. Clara was still in the bed where I’d left her, but now she was sitting up and actively eating—specifically, she was eating from the same meal portions that had been prepared for me. Carmen and Shannon were both present, sitting in chairs they’d pulled up beside the bed.

"Oh, Ryan! You’re back," Shannon said brightly the moment she spotted me. "Is everything okay? Did something happen out there?"

"Everything’s fine," I assured her. "We just happened to encounter a Hybrid Infected, but we dealt with it."

"A Hybrid?" Shannon’s eyes widened. "I’ve never actually seen one myself, but everyone says they’re terrifying."

"Well, this one’s dead now, so there’s nothing to worry about," I said, glancing at Clara to assess her condition. She looked significantly better than earlier—maybe because she was eating proper food and declines one made by Carmen’s talented hands.

"Since you left to handle that situation, we decided to bring the food ourselves rather than waiting," Carmen explained, a note of apology in her voice. "I hope we weren’t disturbing her rest."

"Not at all—thank you for doing that," I said sincerely. "I got held up, so I’m glad she had company." I turned my attention fully to Clara. "But we need to leave now. Are you feeling well enough to travel?"

"W...What? Already?" Shannon’s face fell, disappointment clear in her expression.

"Yes, we don’t really have any reason to stay longer," I explained gently. "I need to get Clara back to our group. They’ll be worried about us."

"Oh..." Shannon’s voice was small, her earlier brightness dimming. "So... will we see each other again? Maybe soon?"

"Shannon," Carmen’s voice turned stern.

"Maybe," I offered with what I hoped was a reassuring smile, though it felt awkward on my face. "Who knows what’ll happen? But thank you for the food—it was really good. And thank you for everything else too."

Carmen smiled warmly. "It’s the least I could do after you saved my daughter’s life. Thank you again for that. We’ll always be grateful."

"Yes, thank you so much!" Shannon tried to move toward me, possibly for a hug, but Carmen’s hand shot out and caught her daughter by the back of her shirt collar, holding her in place.

"Well, goodbye Ryan, Clara," Carmen said pleasantly, waving with her free hand while maintaining her grip on Shannon. "Let’s hope our paths cross again under better circumstances."

"Wait, Mom!" Shannon protested as Carmen began physically dragging her toward the door, her feet sliding across the floor.

The door closed behind them, cutting off Shannon’s continued complaints about being hauled away.

Behind me, Clara let out a soft giggle.

"I’m starting to believe Sydney might be right," she said, her voice still weak but carrying a teasing edge. "Maybe you really are some kind of chosen Hero meant to rescue the world."

"Please, don’t."