Page 63
Story: Ghosts of the Dead
“Look for anything with the same markings as the scrap material,” Jace says. He’s taken the lead today. “Labels, paperwork, anything. Doesn’t even have to look like the scrap or that jacket. Anything mentioning a bunker, G.L., or, hell, just anything that looks like it could be something.”
Caspian scrunches his nose when he looks around, mutters something about water damage, and heads toward the back of the pharmacy. His boots leave prints in the thick dust, and I frown when I notice the state the interior is in. There must have been a burst pipe long enough ago that it finally dried out, but there’s some clear damage.
Mars finds a few packs of gauze and what might be antibiotics. His gaze shifts to my shin that’s still covered with a bandage, and I realize with a start that this isn’t only about following a vague lead. It’s also about patching me up.
Before I can call them out on their little plan, there’s a soft creak behind the far counter that doesn’t belong to any of us. I raise my blade.
Luna, who’s been padding quietly alongside me, freezes. Her ears prick forward, and a low, rumbling growl builds in her throat.
A cautious voice drifts over. “Summer?”
I freeze. My heart stutters, then races double-time.
Luna’s growl intensifies as a young woman steps into view from the back hallway with her hands raised. She’s maybe my age, an inch or two shorter, with fiery red hair tucked under a hood and almond-shaped eyes that track me with unsettling familiarity.
Jace shifts into high alert, his hand moving to the pistol on his hip. Luna positions herself in front of me with her hackles raised and teeth bared.
“You know Summer?” I choke out. My fingers absently graze along my Gemini tattoo. “Do you know where she is?”
The woman frowns, her eyebrows drawing together. “Wait. No. Not Summer.” She steps closer and tilts her head to really get a good look at me. Recognition dawns in her green eyes. “You’re her sister, aren’t you? She said she had a sister.”
Jace shifts closer to me, his body angling slightly to put himself between me and her. My grip tightens around my blade. “Who are you?” I ask.
Her expression softens, but Jace’s body remains as rigid as ever. I feel Mars and Caspian moving into position around us, forming a protective triangle with me at its center.
“My name’s Lucy. I knew Summer, though briefly.” Her gaze drops to my exposed wrist where my Gemini tattoo is on full display. “Guess that confirms it. You really are her sister. You look so much like her.”
“What do you mean, you knew Summer? How?” My voice cracks with desperate hope. I don’t recall Summer ever mentioning anyone named Lucy.
She hesitates, glancing between the three men surrounding me.
“How?” Mars repeats for me, his voice dangerously soft. His chest presses to my back, one hand settling at my hip. Protective, possessive.
Lucy shakes her head. “I was with her only a short time. I didn’t know what happened to her, but my brothers might. They hear things. They know a lot about what goes on.”
“Your brothers?” Mars’s hand tightens on my hip. “Who are they?”
“They help people,” she says. Her eyes dart toward the exits. “Survivors. They help survivors get to safer places. They might’ve picked up on something about your sister.”
“What kind of safer places?” Jace cuts in, his voice hard with suspicion. “And why would they know anything about Summer specifically?”
Lucy’s eyes narrow. “Because they keep tabs on everyone who passes through. And someone with purple hair is bound to get on someone’s radar.”
Jace takes a half-step forward. “How do these brothers of yours ‘help’ survivors?”
“I can’t say for sure, but I’ve seen it myself. They’ve found dozens of struggling people and gotten them to safety.”
“Where exactly are they?” Jace presses on.
“I can take you to them.”
“No,” Jace snaps. “Not happening. We’re not going anywhere blind.”
“I didn’t say now,” Lucy huffs. “I said they might help. That’s all.”
“We don’t trust people whomighthelp,” Caspian says from my other side. His platinum hair frame his face where his pale blue eyes practically glow with menace. He’s still in his pale gray t-shirt that stretches across his toned torso. “Especially not ones who sneak around and know too much about others without giving any information about themself.”
I glance around at them all. At the coiled tension in my guys and the way Lucy’s eyes keep darting toward the exits. She shrugs. “Suit yourselves.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- 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 (Reading here)
- 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