To say the least, Mattie was surprised that Nick didn't move on without her. No, in fact, he seemed concerned. Why? she wondered. Why did he care about her? And why did [i]she[/i] care about [i]him?[/i] she thought, increasingly aggravated by her own feelings and the fact that it was so hard to decipher them. Right now––his expression––there was something about his face that she could absolutely swear she'd seen before! 

And that wasn't even the worst part. She [i]did[/i] have blood everywhere. Now that the detached rage was fading, panic was replacing it. She couldn't become one of those mindless whatever-they-weres. She looked down at her shirt and shuddered. 

"We can check the place for food first. Just... don't let me touch anything." She strengthened her grip on the knife and gave a stiff nod. "I'm fine for now. But keep the machete handy."