“Sol . . .”
“Don’t waste the time that I have left on this land.”
“I need to get help.”
“By the time you get back, I turn.”
“No!” I shook my head.
“I have a favor to ask you... I don’t want to turn.” He paused to catch a breath.
“No!”
“Listen, I don’t want to become a crawler. I want to stay human.”
I shook my head.
“You only need —”
“No!” I shouted.
“Ty, you told all of us that you yourself would kill anyone who got infected.”
“That was before the water.”
“Look at me! I’m missing the lower half of my body. No water can fix that!”
“You don’t know that.”
“By the time you get back I will be gone.”
“We have to try.” I was going to get up, but he caught my arm with surprising strength and squeezed.
"Being a leader means making choices that no one else is willing to make."
I only shook my head, hating how cool he sounded, hating that I was considering giving him what he wanted.
Sol reached for my hand and squeezed it. I nodded, watching the shadows painting his face.
“I’m ready.” He closed his eyes.
I could see the pitch-black veins coloring his eyelids.
“Ty! Please. There’s no time. I —”
All of the sudden, he stopped mid-sentence, and his head jerked backwards.
I cried out, plunging the blade into his temple. His head fell back, and the deep, suffocating silence consumed me.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
ALINA
The door was splitting from the outside with a force that left no hope for what lay beyond. Women screamed, panic spreading like wildfire around me. But I remained still, focusing on the entrance. I was the only one here who could try to stop it.
With one intense blow, the wood cracked and the monster’s head appeared on the other side. I stepped closer, ignoring the commotion behind me.
The crawler screeched and lifted up its head. Its massive claws tore at the remaining panels. Its eyes darted behind me, excited with the prospect of getting all the fresh blood and flesh.
