The Break Free Trilogy (Book 3): Through The Frozen Dawn by E.M. Fitch

she asked, nodding towards the locked gate. He looked her up and down, taking his time, and then spit on the ground at her feet.
    "Once it's locked, it's locked," he said, grunting. "I don't make the rules."
    Kaylee didn't bother arguing. She turned and headed for the back of the lot. People watched her suspiciously as she wove through the abandoned cars. One woman shielded the trunk she was rooting through from view, as though Kaylee might reach over and snatch whatever she wanted. Kaylee didn't make eye contact. She headed for the cinderblock wall. She was tired and grungy. She knew she shouldn't be so hungry, not after the venison she had breakfast, but still her stomach felt hollow. Anna would need food too, and Andrew. There was a pile up of rusted cars pushed back against the wall. She climbed to the hood of one, then onto the roof. She reached for the top of the wall and hoisted herself up, not bothering to ask anyone's permission.
    Whatever was stored in the lot would already be claimed. She would take her chances in the streets.
    She had no idea where they were, possible South Dakota, maybe even Wyoming. She hadn't been paying attention to how far they had traveled. She only knew the goal was Alaska. Or, that had been the goal. The wind gusted around her, her hair flying back from her face. It was cold. Snow would be falling soon and what then? How would she find her sister and Jack?
    The streets around her were abandoned and the the stores looked looted. Window were broken out, leaves and debris had drifted into the aisles. Kaylee didn't bother with those. She saw a side street ahead, lined with small homes. She took off on a jog, grimacing into the slight wind. Her muscles warmed as she ran, aching in that familiar way. She was sore from chasing those men through the woods, her body still healing from the exertion and terror of that night. But still, it felt good to stretch, to move free of prying eyes. She kept her breathing even and soft, jogging to a stop at the front step of the first home. The screen door hung off its hinges but the door behind it was locked when Kaylee pressed on it. She figured that was a good thing, maybe nothing was wandering inside. She snuck to the back, her footsteps light on the dry grass. All the windows were intact, the back door still shut.
    Kaylee picked a rock out of an overgrown flower garden. It had once been artistically placed, now it was nearly covered with overgrown weeds and out of control grass. She hurled it through the back door window. She waited, ears pricked for the telltale shuffling, the moans that rose when the infected sensed food was near. There was nothing. The door swung open on creaking hinges as soon as she unbolted it. Her nose wrinkled as she moved into the dusty home, something smelled strongly of rot. She blinked, momentarily blinded by the water that rose in her eyes at the smell. She let the door hang open, hoping to clear whatever odor it was that hung around the house.
    Her muscles locked when she heard the groans. She was poised to run, gun in her hand. But she couldn't pinpoint the source of the moans. Outside the wind rustled through dead branches, leaves kicked over the brown lawn. There was a soft cry of birdsong before that fell quiet, too. No, the creature was inside.
    But it wasn't coming closer.
    Kaylee moved cautiously towards the kitchen cupboards, gritting her teeth as they slid open on creaky hinges. There were two cans of peaches, several cans of baked beans, and a jar of tomato paste. In the next, she found a large box of unopened granola bars and she forgot the moaning for a moment as she ripped one open, shoving the entire thing in her mouth. The groaning shifted, now accompanied by a loud scraping. Kaylee swallowed roughly and pressed forward. If the creature got any louder, she was afraid it might attract others. There was a short, narrow hall off the kitchen, a door on either side. She pressed her ear to each door, pausing for a