news. The bad news was that she was starting to feel a slight tingle coming from her left arm, a clear indication the pain meds were losing their effectiveness.
“Can you walk okay?” Bonnie asked.
“I’m fine. What happened to the lights?”
“Blaine switched them off.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t say.”
Lara could hear voices—Blaine’s and someone else’s—from the other side of the open bridge door in front of them.
“Did Keo radio in yet?” she asked.
“I don’t think so,” Bonnie said. “But you’ll have to ask Blaine. That’s his and Carly’s department.”
The other voice belonged to Carly, and she was standing with Blaine in front of the console, looking out the wraparound windshield. They stood in complete darkness, with only streams of moonlight and the occasional blinking dashboard buttons to see with. Blaine was peering behind a pair of binoculars, and though she couldn’t actually make out the Texas coastline outside, she couldn’t shake the feeling they were much closer than they had been earlier today.
Carly glanced over her shoulder. “Hey, what are you doing up?”
“We’ve moved,” Lara said.
“I moved us closer to shore,” Blaine said. “Don’t worry; I switched off the lights before I got close enough to be spotted.”
She nodded, relieved. “What’s going on?”
“I’m betting my nonexistent week’s salary on World War III,” Carly said.
There was another thoom! in the distance, and like the previous ones, this came from the Texas shoreline, exactly where Sunport would be. As she peered out the windshield at the darkened world, a stream of red and orange flames appeared as if from a dragon’s mouth and slashed from left to right, before seeming to diffuse and disappear, leaving behind small pockets of fire that seemed to be… moving around?
There was another thoom! This one was so loud, she swore she could feel the impact causing the boat to shake slightly under her bare feet, but that couldn’t have been possible given their distance…could it?
“You need to see this,” Blaine said, and handed her his binoculars.
She stepped closer toward the windshield and looked through the lens.
The binocular had night vision, which allowed her to see further than she could have with the naked eye. They were still too far away for her to make out every single detail, but she had no problems picking up the objects moving around in the fields beyond the beach. They looked to be on fire.
There was another thoom! and for just a split second, the explosion lit up what looked like a vehicle surrounded by hordes of ghouls.
“Is that…?” she said.
“It’s a tank,” Blaine said, barely able to contain his excitement. “It’s a fucking U.S. Army tank.”
CHAPTER 7
GABY
It seemed to take forever to get to wherever they were going, with Gaby blindfolded and lying in the back of a moving truck the entire time. Her legs were bound at the ankles, her arms twisted painfully behind her back. Nate and Danny were somewhere to her right, their familiar scents a welcome distraction from the constant bumps in the road. At least they hadn’t gagged her, thank God.
She could also sniff the other two in the back of the truck with them.
Soldiers. More soldiers.
But not the same ones from Louisiana or the ones in black uniforms they had encountered in Hellion when they first made their way inland a few days ago. No, these were different men. Different loyalties. And different agendas.
“What happened?” she had asked Morris.
“You don’t know?” Morris had replied, blinking up at her through a layer of blood.
No, she didn’t know, and neither had Morris. Because these men weren’t collaborators, and neither was the pilot that had laid waste to Morris’s town. These men were something else completely. Something more…dangerous.
Her captors hadn’t said a word since she, Danny, and Nate were unceremoniously tossed into the back of the truck, and every now
“Can you walk okay?” Bonnie asked.
“I’m fine. What happened to the lights?”
“Blaine switched them off.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t say.”
Lara could hear voices—Blaine’s and someone else’s—from the other side of the open bridge door in front of them.
“Did Keo radio in yet?” she asked.
“I don’t think so,” Bonnie said. “But you’ll have to ask Blaine. That’s his and Carly’s department.”
The other voice belonged to Carly, and she was standing with Blaine in front of the console, looking out the wraparound windshield. They stood in complete darkness, with only streams of moonlight and the occasional blinking dashboard buttons to see with. Blaine was peering behind a pair of binoculars, and though she couldn’t actually make out the Texas coastline outside, she couldn’t shake the feeling they were much closer than they had been earlier today.
Carly glanced over her shoulder. “Hey, what are you doing up?”
“We’ve moved,” Lara said.
“I moved us closer to shore,” Blaine said. “Don’t worry; I switched off the lights before I got close enough to be spotted.”
She nodded, relieved. “What’s going on?”
“I’m betting my nonexistent week’s salary on World War III,” Carly said.
There was another thoom! in the distance, and like the previous ones, this came from the Texas shoreline, exactly where Sunport would be. As she peered out the windshield at the darkened world, a stream of red and orange flames appeared as if from a dragon’s mouth and slashed from left to right, before seeming to diffuse and disappear, leaving behind small pockets of fire that seemed to be… moving around?
There was another thoom! This one was so loud, she swore she could feel the impact causing the boat to shake slightly under her bare feet, but that couldn’t have been possible given their distance…could it?
“You need to see this,” Blaine said, and handed her his binoculars.
She stepped closer toward the windshield and looked through the lens.
The binocular had night vision, which allowed her to see further than she could have with the naked eye. They were still too far away for her to make out every single detail, but she had no problems picking up the objects moving around in the fields beyond the beach. They looked to be on fire.
There was another thoom! and for just a split second, the explosion lit up what looked like a vehicle surrounded by hordes of ghouls.
“Is that…?” she said.
“It’s a tank,” Blaine said, barely able to contain his excitement. “It’s a fucking U.S. Army tank.”
CHAPTER 7
GABY
It seemed to take forever to get to wherever they were going, with Gaby blindfolded and lying in the back of a moving truck the entire time. Her legs were bound at the ankles, her arms twisted painfully behind her back. Nate and Danny were somewhere to her right, their familiar scents a welcome distraction from the constant bumps in the road. At least they hadn’t gagged her, thank God.
She could also sniff the other two in the back of the truck with them.
Soldiers. More soldiers.
But not the same ones from Louisiana or the ones in black uniforms they had encountered in Hellion when they first made their way inland a few days ago. No, these were different men. Different loyalties. And different agendas.
“What happened?” she had asked Morris.
“You don’t know?” Morris had replied, blinking up at her through a layer of blood.
No, she didn’t know, and neither had Morris. Because these men weren’t collaborators, and neither was the pilot that had laid waste to Morris’s town. These men were something else completely. Something more…dangerous.
Her captors hadn’t said a word since she, Danny, and Nate were unceremoniously tossed into the back of the truck, and every now
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