They had been expecting it after hitting the checkpoint, and yet it still felt… weird.

Everything here was so…

Normal.

It was like the mutant attacks and hunting never happened.

Just like the last place they never saw any children – where were all the kids – but the adults walked around and smiled and talked to each other like the world hadn't fucking ended.

He hated it.

It felt like a town made of doll houses.

The café was even worse, a painfully sweet little place decorated in pink and flowers.

Esme and Sophie paid, and he saw her following the money with a suspicious eye and slight frown. He slipped his hand under the table and squeezed her leg.

She never flinched, but she did take his hand and squeeze it until it hurt.