Page 12 of My Undead Love Life

I needed to fucking move.

I forced myself upright. Adrenaline drowned the pain enough to keep me moving. Barely.

My arm burned, and my own blood soaked through my sleeve rapidly now, warm against the freezing underground air before dripping down my fingers and splattering onto the tracks below. My hearing still rang from the nonstop gunfire. Every sound was muffled and distant beneath the high-pitched whine in my ears.

But I was alive…alive without Spencer.

The realization hit me harder than the glass had.

I didn’t know where she was, if those strangers had gotten her somewhere safe, if she was still screaming for me, or if she thought I was dead.

I staggered down the tunnel, boots splashing through shallow puddles of filthy water and blood, before finally hauling myself onto the subway platform. My injured arm trembled every time I moved it, and agony seared down to my hand.

I found the subway stairs and forced myself upward two at a time. My legs felt weak beneath me now that the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. Exhaustion clawed at every inch of my body. My ribs ached every time I breathed, and my vision blurred around the edges.

Still, I kept climbing.

One step.

Then, another.

My blood smeared across the railing when I grabbed it for support.

By the time I shoved through the subway exit door, snow smacked against my face instantly.

The horde had not followed. The freezing air burned my lungs so sharply it almost hurt worse than my arm. I sucked in a harsh breath anyway, steam curling from my mouth into the cold.

The city above was almost silent compared to the nightmare underground.

And just an hour ago, these streets had been swarming with zombies.

Eerie didn’t even begin to cover how I felt right now. Wind howled between abandoned skyscrapers while snow drifted across empty streets littered with wrecked cars, shattered glass, and frozen bodies partially buried beneath white powder.

No screams.

No gunfire.

No voices.

No sign of Tori and her men.

No sign of Spencer and the strangers who’d taken her away for me.

Just emptiness.

For the first time since the outbreak started, I felt completely alone.

My stomach twisted violently.

Was Spencer safe already?

Was she crying?

Did she think I was dead?

The image of her fighting against those strangers while they dragged her away nearly stopped me in my tracks. I could still see the panic on her face. I remembered her fingers clawing desperately for me before they pulled her out of reach.

I’d never forget the sound of her screaming my name.