He shakes his head. “I watched my brother get killed over a bag of sugar.” He touches his chest. “Shot in the heart by the woman that taught my Sunday school class.”
“That’s awful.”
“People just didn’t know what to do
. It was like their biggest fears coming true.” He leans back on the couch. “I think it hurt the religious folks the most. They kept waiting for God to come down and save them. When he didn’t, they panicked.”
I never had the luxury of blaming God. I knew the name and face of the person behind this. I knew the virus was the result of science and not a greater force. Humans did this for very human reasons—the one Green just described: fear. I glance across the room where my sister still sits at the kitchen table. Her plate of food is uneaten. We make eye contact and she looks small and uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry about your brother,” I say to Green.
“Yeah, he was an asshole but he was family, you know?”
I nod and sense Jane get up from the table and disappear into the bedroom. The door closes with a soft click. Looking back at the map I mutter, “Trust me, I understand.”
Chapter 1
Finding a suitable car in the apocalypse is harder than you would imagine. Especially near the lakefront. People stuck close to home—near their TVs and internet access—waiting for the end of the world to come. They didn’t, apparently, drive to their lakefront cabins to wait it out. They should have.
We need something big enough for the five of us and our supplies, and we all agree sitting in the back of a pick-up truck during the winter isn’t something any of us want to do. The first two appropriate cars Jackson finds have dead batteries and not enough gas to make it worthwhile. He keeps trying though, and we comb the garages one by one until he finds one that seems like a possibility.
Green and I cover Jackson and Walker as they work on the vehicle. It’s a four door truck with a camper on the back, tucked behind a storage facility. Two full cans of gas sit on a shelf near the back and Jackson pours the additive inside.
Jane stands among us like an odd thumb. Her boots are too shiny and her weapons useless and mishandled. She sits on the step of the cabin and lets the rest of us do the work. I’m not sure how long the others will tolerate this behavior, but I know I’m already annoyed.
When Green and I are a safe distance away I ask, “So really, what do you think about my sister?”
His eyebrow lifts. “The Director.”
“You do know she’s not directing anyone or anything anymore, right? There was a coup.”
“What should I call her then? Ms. Ramsey?”
“You may want to start.” From what Jane told me, her former partner, Avi, isn’t going to be into her title anyway. Plus, it’s a giveaway if we encounter any enemies. “You didn’t answer my question.”
He glances over his shoulder to make sure we’re alone. “Truth? She’s scary.”
I laugh, covering my mouth to muffle the sound. “Scary? She can’t use a weapon. She’s never even faced an Eater before. There’s nothing she can do to you.”
“I guess she’s just intimidating. Like that smart chick from science class in high school that is three steps ahead of the rest of the class and the teacher.” He gives me a look. “You were probably that girl once upon a time, too, so you don’t get it.”
I ignore the semi-compliment. “She’s a genius, like, freaking smart as hell, who is also incredibly fallible. She needs people to stand up to her more than you realize. Don’t call her the Director anymore. She needs to learn how to be part of a team—not the fake leader of this one.”
A scream pierces the late morning quiet, and Green and I are on the move running through the leaves toward the house. Walker and Jackson meet us at the front steps, guns raised.
Jane is gone.
“Where’d she go?” Walker asks, eyes everywhere but particularly on me.
“She was just here.”
“Well, she’s not now.”
Another cry comes from near the lake and we run down to the shore. Jane stands on a wobbly dock with two Eaters moving toward her on the walkway. A boathouse door is open halfway down the lawn and more Eaters spill out of the narrow opening. They stumble and push their way past one another, focused on one thing: attacking one of us.
“I’ll get Jane!” I shout to the others, but Walker holds up a hand.
“No. You had your chance. I’ll get her,” she says, already halfway down the path. She kills two Eaters coming at her, quick and easy before going after the ones on the dock.