BOOK ONE
She had her whole life planned.
What she didn't plan for was the zombie apocalypse.
Eighteen-year-old Arryn Lycaster just graduated high school. With aspirations of becoming a veterinarian, she's ready to take the next step forward in lif...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The metal groaned under the weight of the Rabids attempting to force their way in the store. Still, the gate held.
Savannah brushed her hands together, glaring at Arryn's appearance. Dried Rabid blood coated her shirt and pants.
"Now we're even," Savannah said, nodding at Arryn.
Arms enveloped Arryn, squeezing what little air remained out of her lungs. Her breaths escaped in short gasps as the arms wrapped tighter around her.
"I thought you were dead!" Austin released his grip on her, meeting her eyes. His chocolate irises appeared weighted with worry.
"I-I almost w-was," she stuttered. Shock still raced through her veins as all the recent events ate away at her conscience . Duke and Kris had died gruesome deaths, and she couldn't have done anything to stop it.
"Where are Kris and Duke?" Darius asked the question she was dreading. Gone was the friendly man who rescued and fed them. His soft eyes had hardened, cutting daggers into Arryn. Bloodied knuckles sat by his waist clenched into a tight fist.
"I-I tried to save them. There was just too many of those things. Kris saved me, and I... I wasn't able to help." Saying the words out loud made everything real.
"You let those rotters in, didn't you? I saved your bloody arses and this is how you repay us? You open the gates and let the demons in! Why?" he snarled, stepping towards Arryn aggressively.
"Chill Darius," Dante intervened, moving in front of Arryn as a type of shield. "Arryn just said she barely made it here alive. Why would she let them in and then wait around for them to eat her? We pulled her from the fire a minute ago."
Snarls filled the heated silence.
"Well someone let them in."
Arryn looked over the members of her group, her eyes falling on Savannah. She had been with the group for the shortest amount of time, and she was the only one, besides Mateo, who didn't have ties with the group before the apocalypse. Could she be the guilty party, or was Arryn's resentful prejudice blinding the truth?
"I am sorry about your friends. I know how it feels to lose those close to you. Blaming others is the easiest route to take. The Rabids probably broke down the door. We all heard that loud crash," Dante reasoned.
Arryn's mouth worked faster than her brain. "Someone opened the door and broke the crank. The crash you heard was Duke's spike trap hitting the wall."
Looks of shock stared back of her. Were some of their looks those of guilt? Arryn had a hard time discerning the truth anymore.
Darius' face turned a bright red as a fire sparked behind his green eyes, without warning, he grabbed a hold of Dante's shirt, pushing him against the metal shutters. The Rabids went wild at the proximity of food. The zombies pressed their fingers and faces into the metal, pushing hard enough to slice flesh.
