Page 29 of Faith Among Monsters

“I gotta get to her,” I say, already turning toward the building. “Tell the rest of the guards, head shots only. Don’t waste a bullet on anything else. You hear me?”

Wilkes nods, but he doesn’t move right away.

“Enforce curfew,” I add, though my tone makes it clear it’s not a request. “Until we get a grip on what the hell we’re looking at, nobody moves.”

I barely wait for his nod before turning back toward the building, my feet already moving. My mind churns through worst-case scenarios, my chest tightening with every step.

Then I hear it.

A scream.

High-pitched, desperate, and unmistakably female.

It cuts through me like a goddamn blade, curling around my reason and twisting it to pieces.

I break into a run, my boots pounding against the dirt.

“Faith!” I shout, my voice raw and frantic.If one of those things, if one of those things…

“Faith!”

My heart slams against my ribs as the scream echoes again.

A group of inmates moves toward the sound, their movements sharp and quick. Too quick.

I skid to a halt, my gun snapping up, my finger hovering over the trigger. My vision narrows as I aim, but I can’t pull the trigger. Not yet. I can’t see where she is.

“Faith!” I shout again, louder this time. “Wilkes! Make some noise with me!”

He’s at my side instantly, his voice joining mine in a desperate shout.

“Faith!”

The inmates hesitate, their heads turning toward us, but I’m already moving, my eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of her.

“Don’t fire unless you can hit your target!” I snap at Wilkes, my voice sharp and controlled even as chaos swirls around us.

The zombies change direction, their movements erratic and jerky. My pulse pounds as time seems to slow. I measure the distance, calculating how close I can let them get without risking her being in the line of fire.

Her next scream orients me, sharpens my focus.

I pop off a round, the crack of the shot barely registering in my ears. One of the zombies jerks back, then another darts toward the sound of her voice.

Shit.

My attention splits as they move closer to her scream. One lunges toward her.

Wilkes fires. I fire.

Two bodies hit the ground, crumpling in awkward heaps.

Then there’s another.Shit. Three.

I take aim again, steadying my hand as I fire. The last one drops, the echo of my shot cutting through the madness.

I push forward, closing the gap between us and the thrashing, wrestling bodies.

And then they go still. All of them.