Forever Between (Between Life and Death Book 2) by Ann Christy Page A

hard bites of our carrots from every angle against our teeth, the sky turns the most glorious shades of pink and red just above the horizon. Underneath the shadows of the clouds, the colors deepen to purple. It’s breathtaking.
    Emily told me once that after a volcano in the Philippines erupted long ago, much of the world experienced the most beautiful sunsets for months. She thought maybe something like that had happened somewhere, because our sunsets grew so lovely all of the sudden and still are. I don’t know, but for whatever reason that thought provides comfort. Just knowing the processes of the world are still going on gives me hope, because in those processes, creation is occurring. It’s probably stupid, but there it is.
    As the evening begins to settle in, I know we can’t stay here all night. There is that lack of leg-possessing deaders to make us feel secure, but sleeping out in the open is just asking for trouble. And despite the persistent silence and darkness of the hospital complex, I feel eyes upon me. But are they waiting for us to leave, waiting for us to settle in so they can kill us, or waiting for something else altogether?
    I can feel Charlie looking at me from the corner of my eye. He’s waiting for me to decide it’s time to leave. He knows it’s the right move but still, he’s waiting for me to admit it.
    I say, “I don’t think that place is empty, but I know we can’t stay here overnight.”
    “There are some trucks back by the gas station. We could sleep on top of one of those,” he suggests.
    I nod, not saying anything, trying to search for any sign of life at the hospital’s many windows.
    “We’ll come back tomorrow morning. If we don’t see any change, then we’ll go in. Will that do?” he asks.
    “Yeah. It’ll have to, but it will only get us half of what we’re after and that’s only if we’re lucky.”
    He pats my shoulder, an affectionate and consoling pat, like I didn’t win a prize that I really wanted. Then he stands and gives me a hand up. I brush off the seat of my pants and look at the hospital one more time, hoping against hope that I’ll see a light come on somewhere inside, but there’s nothing.
    We climb onto the bikes, my butt bones protesting more seriously this time, and turn them around to go back the way we came. I feel a little defeated and my tire looks a little squishy.
    “Hey, Charlie, you think my tire looks…hey!” I cry out as his arm reaches out like my mom’s used to when she had to hit the brakes hard. I almost fall off the bike but right myself only to see Charlie staring open-mouthed ahead of him.
    I’m prepared for deaders or in-betweeners, so I’m reaching for my bow even as I look up.
    Charlie says, “Don’t,” really low in this throat and his hands begin to slowly rise, reaching for the sky. It’s almost dark, and it takes me a minute to distinguish the figures standing so quietly a few barriers beyond us.
    Three men, or maybe two men and a woman if I use size as my judge, stand still and silent behind a barrier. I can’t see the particulars of what they’re wearing, but they all have the sharp angles I associate with military uniforms and their weapons are highlighted in front of them by the last of the light. Rifles.
    I raise my hands as well and we stand there, looking at each other’s deepening shadows as night finishes falling. The tension of it all is beginning to rise, making me want to scream. What will they do now? Shoot us? Hurt us in some other way? I’m not stupid and I know what a girl might be worth to some people in this world. Emily made sure I understood the consequences of getting captured.
    My shoulders are starting to ache and I’m just about ready to lower my hands and make a run for it on the bike when I hear the crackle of a walkie-talkie or some other such communications device. Two short squawks and then the man in front raises a hand to his waist and I hear two sharp clicks in return. I