Page 151 of After the Burn

Finley took Rory, and Max followed close behind. The scarred old dog had decided it was his job to protect the little girl.

Colson pulled Wren down behind a fallen oak, and Lucas and Taryn disappeared beside me into a thick patch of brush, Beck hot on our heels.

I could hear the engines clearly now.

Three vehicles; I tilted my head, maybe four.

The first truck came around the bend, and my stomach tightened.

Gideon.

Even through the windshield, I recognized him.

Taryn went rigid beside me. “Son of a bitch.”

“Yes, he is. I knew his mother.” Wren piped up as Colson shushed her.

Mace sat in the passenger seat; another truck followed behind them.

It looked like what remained of Gideon’s town rode in the beds and cabs, and they looked like hell.

Their carefully maintained civilized appearance was gone.

One man had his arm strapped to his chest. Another wore a bloody bandage wrapped around his head, and a third had burns creeping from his collar to his jaw. Clothes ripped, faces hollow, not nearly as many weapons as usual. Maybe nine men in total.

Only nine.

Maybe the warehouse held more survivors. But even so, for a town that had once held dozens, that was nothing.

The small number of men in the trucks were still dangerous. All of them moved differently from ordinary survivors.

Faster.

Sharper.

Definitely enhanced.

Taryn had pulled GG from her pack and was gripping the bat tightly.

Beck whispered behind her, “That’s all that’s left?”

“No,” Wren breathed. “That can’t be right.” Her face had gone pale.

The trucks passed.

Lucas leaned close to Taryn. “You okay, Menace?”

She shot him a look, but he ignored it and leaned in to kiss her temple.

Beck made a strangled sound, and I almost laughed.

“I’m fine,” Taryn whispered, exasperated. “I didn’t notice you asking me things like that before you got your dick wet.”

Beck smothered a laugh, and Lucas flipped him off.

He turned back to Taryn and nuzzled her neck. “Don’t be mean.”

The engines faded in the distance as Beck gagged. “Fox, please give him back his balls. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”