Watching him pace the room, and the changes he'd made to shut out any prying eyes, Ellie was reminded of home, and everything that they'd left behind. It was so strange to think of it now, and yet she knew Joel was right. She'd seen what people were capable of when pushed to the edge, the same hadn't happened there. But it could.

When he turned to face her, she knew she had to go through with it. She had to tell him about Tess and Sarah. What if he ran into Sarah, or Tess, before she told him? Ellie never was very good at probability, and this being a city of thousands wasn't something to dissuade her that it could happen.

She'd managed to find him, after all. What's to say he couldn't find anyone else? And Sarah--

She steeled herself. If she needed proof, she could show him the network. She'd had a few conversations with Sarah there. And she could show him he'd been there before. She just needed to work her way up to talking. She unpursed her lips after a beat, and just blurted out the truth. "Tess and Sarah are here."

She'd never been very good with subtlety, and she braced herself for what she figured Joel's reaction would be.