The meeting was at the railway bridge again.
This time, I didn't go alone. I took Alex, Lily, and a squad of five workers armed with the new Spirit Stone rifles we had salvaged from the Titan's tech.
Claire was there. She didn't bring mutants this time. She brought a tank.
A rusted, barely-running M60 tank, its turret pointed squarely at the bridge.
"A little excessive, don't you think?" I called out, stopping at the center of the span.
"I watched a Titan fall yesterday," Claire shouted from the cupola. "I watched you fight a Lord. I'm not taking chances."
She climbed down. She looked terrified. The confident, Siphon Queen was gone, replaced by a desperate warlord.
"He's coming back," she said, skipping pleasantries. "The Lord. He's massing at the quarry. I saw them. Hundreds of them. And not just shamblers. He's making more Titans."
"How many?"
"Three," she whispered. "Maybe four."
My tactical mind raced. Four Titans. Even with the Spear, even with Ryan's fire, we couldn't stop four.
"You can't fight them," I said. "And neither can I. Not alone."
"That's why I'm here," she said. "Full alliance. No borders. Combined forces. You have the barrier; I have the heavy ammo. We merge the bases."
"You want me to open my gates to you?"
"I want us to survive the week!" she screamed. Her voice echoed over the ravine. "He hates you, Evie. You wounded his pride. He's going to burn your garden to the ground and salt the earth. I'm just the appetizer."
I looked at her. I saw the truth in her eyes. She was right. The Lord was coming for me.
"We don't merge," I said coldly. "But we coordinate. You funnel his horde into the valley pass. My Sentinels and my son will burn them. Your tank provides cover fire."
"And if he breaks the line?"
"Then we run," I said. "Into the tunnels. And we blow the valley behind us."
Claire stared at me, calculating the odds. Finally, she nodded.
"Deal."
We didn't shake hands. We didn't trust each other. But for the next forty-eight hours, we were the only thing keeping each other alive.