There is a voice. There is someone who is alive out here, and for a moment Nicholas just pauses and tries to catch his breath. It doesn't sound like any of the adults he knows, but it's someone.

It's also an adult and Nicholas is keenly aware that a can of beans can only do so much as self-defense, so he kind of crouches behind a broken wall. If it's a looter, he might well decide a kid is expendable. He might as well make ready to run.

"... who's there?"