Frenzy (The Frenzy Series Book 1) by Casey L. Bond Page A

Meg!”
    Falling on my knees in front of her, I reached out to touch the red hair that was strewn across her forehead. A hand clamped down on mine before I could make contact. “Unless you want to be the one who dies tomorrow night, don’t touch her.”
    I looked up at Everson. “Why did you kill her?”
    “That’s my job. It’s in the treaty.”
    “The treaty?” I pulled my arm away from him. Saul was hovering over me, but grabbed my elbow and helped me up.
    Everson rolled his eyes. “I’m to keep you safe, to act as a guard, and to eliminate any and all Infected found in the forest. It’s for the good of the Colony, or so they say.”
    “She was my friend,” I shoved his chest hard, but he never wavered.
    Instead, he snorted. “You should be thanking me. I did your friend a favor. Now, either find food or go back to the Colony.”
    Saul crouched near Meg’s body. “It’s not her.”
    “What?” The word left me in a mixture of gasp and plea.
    “It’s not Meg,” he affirmed. “This woman’s been Infected for a while now. Meg had freckles and blue eyes. This one’s eyes are green, or at least they were at one time.”
    Milky cataracts covered her corneas, but at the edges, I saw a vivid green.
    I just assumed it was her. Why did I think it was Meg?
    “The two do look alike. It’s... I don’t know. It’s weird.” Saul drew me away with him. “Let’s go,” he said, picking up the crossbow he left on the ground when he started climbing after me. A chill went through me. What if the Infected could still remember how to use those things?
    Our roles were reversed. I was the one raging now. That might not have been Meg, but it very well could have been. It could have been Mercedes. Everson disappeared after I threatened to gut him if he touched my sister. She was still out there somewhere, I hoped. If someone... More hot tears carved their way down my face. Every inch of me trembled. It was a mixture of fear, anger, and bone-deep cold.
    “Let’s make our way back, but keep an ear out.”
    I was too pissed to hear anything.
     

     
    Saul and I failed. We didn’t kill anything. Luckily, the others were luckier. It wasn’t much, but it was more than we had before. The Freemans snared two hares and the Browns were able to kill a coyote.
    Saul spoke first. “Did you have any encounters last night?”
    “With the Infected?” Tim asked. “We didn’t.” Mary shook her head.
    Victor and James looked at one another. “What?” I asked.
    Victor stretched his neck left then right. “We thought we heard something, but never saw anything.”
    “The screaming?”
    He furrowed his brow. “No, more like shuffling.”
    Everson stepped up, bright and peppy. “Almost breakfast, kids. I’m starving.” He smiled and his fangs shone brightly. “We had a little incident, didn’t we?” He threw one arm around Saul’s shoulders and one around mine. I shoved him off of me and Saul stepped away calmly.
    The others asked what happened and Everson began to recount the entire gory event, omitting the fact that the ‘monster’ he slayed was a friend, a neighbor. I didn’t wait for anyone, but walked quickly to the crossing, which was... missing.
    “Where’s the tree?” I muttered to myself. Looking up and down the river, I was positive this was the spot where we’d left it.
    “Well, damn,” Saul said. “Now what do we do?”
    Everson chuckled from behind. “We find another way.”
    I smiled sweetly at him. The sun was almost up. “Guess breakfast will be late.”
    The smile fell from his face and I claimed sweet victory.
    He sighed and waved for us to follow him. “I know another way. It’s just along a more scenic route.”
     

     
    When we finally found the tree line, it had finally begun to clear. The sky was brightening and Father was waiting across the riverbank. I crossed first. “What is it?” His expression was tight and dark bags hung beneath his eyes.
    “They found Meg last