"Have you scanned your people first?" I asked, my voice dropping into a register of cold seriousness. "Any traitors?"
"None," Lilith replied. The response was immediate and unexpected. "We scanned everyone with that tool you gave us. All of them are clean."
"All?!!" I couldn't hide my shock. I stared at her, then at the two boys behind her, looking for any sign of a lie or a mistake.
Even in the most cohesive groups I had encountered—even among those who had bled together for weeks—there were always one or two whose hearts had curdled into treachery. Human nature was predictable in its selfishness.
What was wrong here? Why did this place seem like such an anomaly compared to every other corner of the apocalypse I had visited? Was it the gamer mindset? Did they view "treason" as a low-tier play that didn't fit their optimisation strategy? Or was there something deeper about Worcester that I hadn't grasped yet?
