KimRae’s jaw dropped. “How can I trust you?” the Ranger asks. She looked from him and the other man in disbelief. Shoving away from the wall, she put her hands on her hips, arms akimbo and glared at him.<br/>“I don’t know.” She answered with a thrust of her chin. “I don’t carry around a resume or a pile of character references so you can have your mind eased of whether or not you can trust me. I don’t know you from a hole in the ground,” and she nodded toward one of the ominous craters, “but I was willing to bet, back there, that I could trust you.” Heat was rising in her cheeks and her eyes were blazing.<br/>“How can you trust me?” she put steel in her voice to keep it from trembling. “Maybe because I didn’t go into hysterics back there and bring that monster’s attention to you. Maybe because I didn’t throw a knife at your back while we ran through the city. How the hell am I supposed to know what proof you want?”<br/>A sane voice in the back of her head chided her for her romanticized version of Rangers. So gullible, it whispered. Maybe Rangers are not what you have imagined all this time. Her shoulders sagged and she wrapped her arms around herself.<br/>“Let me stay or not, the choice is yours. I’m only interested in staying alive and minding my own business. I know the dangers of the city and maybe better the devil I know than the one I don’t”. KimRae looked pointedly at the Ranger.<br/>She wanted to stay so badly her teeth ached. Being solitary in a world where allies were needed was a fool’s game. That nasty voice in her head whispered, Beg them. Plead with them. Cry. Act like a helpless girl. Big strong men might be honor bound to save you. KimRae jerked her chin up again.<br/>“I will go in this building and scout it out to see if it is safe. Follow me in five minutes if you wish and if you don’t then go. I have made it by myself this far and will do what I must to survive.”<br/>KimRae slipped into the building through the paneless window and was swallowed up by the darkness.