Page 5
Story: Ghosts of the Dead
“Like the planet?”
He raises an eyebrow and looks at me with something gleaming in his black eyes. His mouth opens like he wants to say something, but I steamroll right over him. “Well, Mars, I’m sorry for getting you trapped up here and in this whole mess.”
He dismisses it with a shake of his head. “No need to apologize, Autumn.” Then he grins wide. “Like the season.”
His joke soars past me, because a different kind of panic seizes my chest. “How…”
“I was tracking you. It’s my fault you’re in this mess. You only ran because of the mess we made trying decide what to do about the sniper. I should have taken my shot on him when I had the chance.”
“We?” I question, but he’s not looking at me anymore. His gaze is fixed on something in the distance. He raises his arm and waves again. Someone is out there, watching and waiting for him. For me, too, by the sound of it.
He had claimed not to know anything about Summer, but he was looking for me specifically. That doesn’t add up. What else is he hiding? Was anything he told me true?
My mind races through worst-case scenarios. I can’t be captured. Not like this. If I’m going to be taken, it’ll be by the same people who took Summer. At least then I’d find her and we’d be together again.
Mars continues making hand signals in the air. He’s distracted. Now or never.
I glance around, gauging the distance. If I take a running start, I can make it to the next rooftop. Maybe. It’s a risk, but it’s my only chance.
Seizing the moment, I slowly back away, then burst into a sprint. My boots slam against the rooftop with each step. The edge approaches at a rapid pace. With my breath held tight in my newly functional lungs, I leap.
The gap is wider than it appeared. My boots hit the far edge, but the landing is rough. Pain shoots up my wrist when I stumble forward into a roll, but I bite back a cry before pushing to my feet and hurrying toward the nearest door.
It’s locked. I curse and bolt for the fire escape instead. My legs burn and my lungs strain, but at least they work. I descend the metal stairs with haste, putting distance between myself and Mars, escaping the most immediate danger.
My options are limited. I force my quickening breaths toslow. There won’t be a dark-eyed guardian angel to save me if I lose control again.
At street level, I press against the brick wall. My chest heaves. My heart thunders against my ribs.
Then the moaning intensifies. Ahead of me and above me. My moment of reprieve evaporates.
The air reeks of rot. I’m not done running yet.
3
MARS
She’s fast for someone who can barely breathe.
I catch the tail end of her jump. Her boots scrape the far edge of the neighboring rooftop before she rolls and disappears from view. The landing looks brutal. Too brutal. I hear the sickening thud, see the way she catches herself one-handed. Her wrist buckles under the impact, but she doesn’t stop. She pushes through the pain and keeps running.
Dammit Autumn.
As impressed as I am with her stubborn independence, I’m frustrated as fuck that she hurt herself in the process.
I bolt after her. The rooftop shudders beneath my boots when I race across the cracked surface coated in grit and debris. Behind me, the door explodes off its hinges and skitters across the concrete. Moans pour through the air as the dead funnel out onto the roof. Even if Autumn hadn’t run, we’d be out of time anyway and I probably would have thrown her over there myself. I launch myself across the gap and hit the far roof hard. My knees scream from the impact, but I ignore it and rush toward the fire escape.
Dust and rust cascade from the corroded rails and the fire escape groans beneath my weight, trembling with everystep. I hit the alley below and scan left, then right. No sign of her. Only wind and the distant chorus of rotters. Then a shadow disappears around a corner.
“Shit.” I take off after her.
There’s no way to warn Jace or Caspian that we’re on the move. They’re both probably still out there waiting for my next signal. By the time they figure out she’s gone, it might be too late.
I round the corner at full speed and spot her. Purple hair whips around in the wind and her legs pump fast. Her right hand presses tight against her chest. She’s hurt. I can almost see the swelling from here, though the pain etched across her face gives it away first.
A rotter stumbles toward her from behind a charred dumpster. Its mouth hangs slack, skin peeling off in gray strips, black-stained teeth jagged and bared. Autumn fumbles at her pockets with her good hand, movements slow and clumsy, probably reaching for a weapon she doesn’t have.
She doesn’t see the threat advancing on her. She’s not ready. Time to be her guardian angel again.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5 (Reading here)
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120