Returning from Haven 18 was supposed to be the end. But nothing is ever easy—and in a world full of zombies, finding the missing is next to impossible. There are breadcrumbs. Tiny clues. But what are a few tiny clues in a world of the dead?
Nurrin is desperate to find her brother, but that will mean trusting Finn O’Malley. A man shrouded in secrets, who kills as easily as breathing. And the more she learns about him, the more questions she has. But she has learned one thing—the zombies are changing. Adapting. And this time, the Haven walls won’t keep them out.
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Bonus Scene
This is Part 3 in a three-part story. Check out the first two here and here.
Roadside Cleaning.
Travel seemed like a brilliant idea, until it was actually happening. Then, Collin is forced to wonder what the hell he had been thinking. Taking a man with a broken ankle and a live infection into the Wide Open is asking for trouble.
Finn will kick his ass for this. The thought make Collin grin behind his helmet. Bastard will have to come back with Ren before he can get angry.
He hit another bump, and Dustin groans, the sharp jolt shaking his leg. Collin curses softly and guns the bike forward, trying to avoid the worst potholes and dead bodies.
“We have to stop,” Dustin shouts in his ear.
Collin bites down on his sharp response—they’d been traveling for less than two hours, and couldn’t afford to stop already.
“I’m going to be sick, man,” Dustin yells.
Collin swerved to a stop, and Dustin falls off the bike, stumbling away and retching. It’s disgusting. Collin watches—he’s moving fast, too quickly for a sick man. Blood is caked on his palm, from the night before, and the cuts on his arm.
“Dustin,” Collin snaps sharply. “Tell me when you met Ren.”
Confusion clouds the younger man’s eyes. “When y’all moved to Hellspawn—just before the harvest fest.”
Some of the tension eases out of Collin. He’s still in the safe zone—his speech is clear. He might be showing the other two signs of infection—speed and unusual bleeding—but they were still in the safe zone.
“We have to move faster than this.” Collin murmurs.
But they can’t.
Dustin stares at him, surprisingly lucid. “You should leave me behind.”
Collin gives him a disgusted look, and Dustin laughs. “You look just like O’Malley, when you do that.”
“We’ll camp here tonight.” Collin says.
That it’s suicidal to make camp in the Wide Open, without some kind of shelter, is obvious, but neither address it. Collin moves to the road, and begins stacking the dead. They’ll form a barrier. He works silently for almost an hour, and then motions for Dustin to situate himself on one curve of the wall of dead.
It’s macabre, but it will serve it’s purpose.
“Say something,” Collin says sharply. Dustin blinks at him.
“Finn will protect her.”
It’s not what Collin expects, and he goes very still, fear slipping across his face. Finally, he nods. “He would die for her. More importantly, he will kill for her.”
Dustin smiles and closes his eyes. Collin sits on his side of the wall, for a long time, staring at the wide expanse of open sky. Wherever the infects are, they’re left alone for the night, and near dawn, Collin falls into a fitful sleep.
He wakes when a shotgun nudges against his ribs, and he blinks sleep and confusion out of his eyes. A silver truck idles a few feet away.
A Black robed Priest smiles down at Collin over the barrel of his gun.
About the Author
Nazarea Andrews is an avid reader and tends to write the stories she wants to read. She loves chocolate and coffee almost as much as she loves books, but not quite as much as she loves her kids. She lives in south Georgia with her husband, daughters, and overgrown dog. She is the author of Girl Lost, Edge of the Falls, and The University of Branton Series. Blog | Website | Twitter | Facebook | Nazarea’s Newsletter | Facebook Reader Group | Author Goodreads | Pinterest | Instagram
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