Page 98 of After the Burn

Yes, yes, I did. The man may no longer wear the cut, but he was a dirty biker through and through.

And I liked it.

We ran breakneck toward the hotel when I spotted Mace through the crowd. He was staring directly at me, hungry and possessive.

If that son of a bitch got close, I would show him why I’m not to be fucked with. After seeing how upset Lila was because of that dick, he was on my shit list.

He started toward me, and I gripped GG tighter.

Then, two infected slammed into him from opposite sides. One latched onto his arm with a hand that was missing two fingers, and the other grabbed his shirt. He threw the first one twenty feet and the second through a nearby wagon.

Even surrounded… he was terrifying.

A smile broke across my face because Beck still kicked his ass. I bet that had shocked the big fucker.

Then, suddenly, smoke swallowed him.

Gone.

Hopefully dead.

We finally fought our way into the hotel where Lila and I had stayed. It was eerily quiet and felt empty. No infected seemed to have made it inside.

Beck reached Lila’s room first and threw open the door, but it was empty.

“No,” I whispered, then raced out and threw open every door in the hallway.

Every single one of them was empty.

“What the fuck?” I mumbled as I jerked open the last one.

All the beds were made, and no belongings were anywhere to be found. It was almost as if they were never here.

“Lila!” I called, even though I knew it wouldn't do any good.

Nothing.

Silence.

Max barked, alerting us to someone's presence. I turned to see Harper running around the corner, carrying Rory, with Finley close behind, a medical bag slung over one shoulder.

Then…Wren.

She appeared from nowhere, clutching a weird stuffed animal. It looked like a chicken with only one eye. “I’m here, Robin!”

Even in a time of crisis, with the living dead coming at us from every direction, she stood out as strange.

“Thank God we found you!” Harper panted, out of breath. “We have to get out of here. The town is collapsing.”

“I can’t find Lila!” I grabbed Harper’s arm. “Is there anywhere else she might be?”

Before she could answer, we heard an explosion from outside.

“Come on! She’s probably outside somewhere, looking for us,” Lucas panted, already heading for the exit.

We were all moving again immediately. No time to linger as the dead came through the fences in droves. Being trapped here would be a death sentence.

As soon as we got outside, I saw a man stuck beneath a collapsed porch.