Saying that, he waved a hand at the man with tied-back hair, signaling him to leave first.
Only after the tent flap dropped back into place did he point toward the old sofa, gesturing for the two to take a seat.
He pulled up a folding chair for himself, sitting opposite them while casually brushing the maps aside to make space for conversation.
"I'm Nate. How should I address you two?"
"I'm Suzy, and this is Mark."
"How did you get to know Tina? How is she doing now?" Nate asked. "The last time I saw her was a month ago. She passed through here with a group, didn't stick around long, and took off."
Suzy sat down and briefly reiterated what she had told the man with tied hair earlier—that she and Tina knew each other before the apocalypse, ran into each other in X City by coincidence, and became close after helping each other out.
Nate listened without pressing for details. He merely nodded, as if mentally aligning her information with his own memories.
