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“I don’t know,” Asher said, not unkindly. His answer, however, didn’t placate Elena. She stormed over to him, tiny hands curled into tinier fists. Before I could react, she pounded said fists against Asher’s chest.

“Cut that shit out!” I snapped, an almost incandescent fury burning through me at seeing Elena hurt Asher. Or, at least, attempting to hurt. I was almost positive Asher’s chest was made of steel. “If we want out of this alive, we have to work together and that means no petty fights amongst ourselves.”

I glanced at each individual face as I spoke to emphasize my point.

Besides the guys, Elena, and Bikini, I didn’t recognize anyone else in the room with us. There was a cluster of girls that I assumed were with Elena, and a young man wearing a white, lifeguard shirt. An older couple held onto each other in the far corner, away from everybody else, and another man stood stoutly besides Declan, eyes scanning the room intensely. I felt momentarily relieved that there were no children with us.

I wouldn’t be able to handle that pressure.

“Okay,” I said, once I’d gathered everyone’s attention. “Here’s what we know. Shannon and another guy-”

“Dave,” the man supplied. I nodded gratefully.

“Yes, Shannon and Dave are not themselves.”

“They’re fucking zombies!” Bikini cried.

“We don’t know that,” Tam said. “It could be a new drug in circulation or a simple virus that, somehow, is messing with their brain.”

“We have to kill them,” the man said, crossing his arms over his chest. From the black leather he wore, I guessed he was a part of the resort’s security.

“We can’t kill them, Brad!” Asher sounded aghast at the prospect.

“Those...thingsaren’t Shannon and Dave anymore. For all we know, Hannah and Liam could be like them now. We don’t know what the hell we’re dealing with,” the man, Brad apparently, insisted.

“There must be another way.”

“How long do you think it will be until someone comes for us?” I asked no one in particular.

“Knowing Sarge, there’s already a group digging us out,” Elena huffed. I blinked at the name.

The mysterious Sarge. Who was he, and how would he be able to gather the manpower to save us?

Instead of asking all that, I nodded seriously.

“Maybe we should just wait it out.”

Brad’s hands clenched by his sides.

“For how long? We have no food in here and only one fucking water bottle! It might take them days to get us out, if not weeks! I vote we kill those bastards outside and grab our water supply!”

“Those bastards,” snapped Asher, his voice sharper than I had ever heard before, “are our friends. You heard them speak. Some cognitive function remained in their minds. I believe that they can be saved.”

Brad stepped forward until he was nose-to-nose with Asher.

“We’re saving murderers now, boy?” he asked. He pointed an accusatory finger in Asher’s face, but Asher swatted it away.

“Don’t fucking act like you’re so much better than me. What you’re suggesting is murder. Would you kill someone if they were high on weed and acting crazy?”

“This is different, and you know it!”

“Enough!” My voice broke through their fight like the crack of a whip. Both men turned towards me, eyes flashing. “You two fighting isn’t going to help anything.”

Brad’s expression turned almost thoughtful as he considered me.

“Why don’t we use the bitch as bait? Allow the Ragers to munch on her while we grab the water and food we collected.”

His proclamation was met with a chorus of threats. The boys immediately stood in front of me, a protective wall of muscle.