Several minutes passed in the large and now near destroyed dining hall of the Compass Rose during which no one said anything. The fact that they had all survived was enough. After several minutes, Jason spoke from his position on the floor.

“Rick, I don’t think there’re any more Reavers.”

“Seems not,” replied the big man.

“Jason,” said Sarah, who was now lying on the floor where Jason had set her down before collapsing himself.

“Yeah.”

“You’re hurting me. Could you get off.”

Jason pushed himself off of Sarah and tried to get to his feet. He had sprained his left ankle badly when he had fallen into the cabin to rescue the girl. Somehow, through shear adrenaline, he had managed to ignore the pain and carry her the short distance back. How they had both managed to climb out of the cabin, was still a bit of a fuzzy mystery. Now that his normal senses where returning, even standing on his own was challenging.

His weight off of her, Sarah rose to her feet. In the years since leaving Canton, this had not been the first time she had come close to being raped or otherwise physically assaulted. It tended to go with the territory of being a woman on her own in the shadier half of the ‘Verse. She knew from experience that now was not the time for her to indulge hysterics. Wiping her eyes, she then wrapped the remaining torn leg of her cargo pants around her waist like a skirt. Then, putting one arm around Jason’s waist, Sarah helped him over to one of the other couches that were set against the walls.

“So what now, Boss?” asked Rick.

“Now I’m the boss?” asked Jason, chuckling in mild surprise. Rick had never called him that before.

“Well, your plan kept us alive, figure that earns ya something.”

“We all kept us alive, Rick. I don’t think there’s a one among us that doesn’t owe their life to another. Reckon we best just call it even, stead of keeping score.”

“I best take a look at that ankle Jason. You walk on it too much like that and your likely to really muck yourself u