Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 117246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
A lord and lady lay unmoving on the ground beneath him, crimson rivers pouring from beneath each piece of armor. A pool of death formed at the base of the Rock, and I cringed. The Madness turned even the most docile of citizens into gleeful killers.
The boy stilled, sniffed the air, and swung his eyes to me. His lids narrowed while his lips curved up, and I had to fight back a tide of vomit. Fear was their favorite meal, and I’d just become his next appetizer.
He zoomed my way at a pace I could barely track. My lungs ossified, and I lost the ability to breathe. To move.
Shiloh yanked me against his side, pressing us both against the people who huddled behind us.
The maddened paused where the light of day met the unnatural pritis glow, a mere inch from my face. Shaking, I pressed deeper into Shiloh’s chest.
“Love Soal, destroy Cured,” the boy hissed at me. “You are Cured.”
A hot tear rolled down my cheek.
“Hey, hey. Concentrate on me, Arden.” Shiloh cupped my jaw and lifted my head without breaching the dividing line, seizing my gaze. His tender, unafraid expression made the situation slightly less terrifying. “I’m here, and I won’t let anything happen to you. Okay? Since we’re not budging from this spot, there’s nothing the maddened can do to hurt us, which means there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Y-yeah. Okay,” I rasped. His words made sense. And yet the infected was right there.
“My turn to balance the scale and share something about myself.” Shiloh brushed the pads of his thumbs over my cheekbones, so gentle. “Anytime I was scared as a little boy, my mom told me to hold on to her and together we would squeeze lemonade out of lemons.”
“Did you?” I’d longed to taste a lemon for years. And a strawberry. A peach. An apple. Most of all a fig. Fruit only the incredibly wealthy could afford, and then only in limited quantities. “Make lemonade, I mean.” Whatever that was.
A bemused light flickered in his eyes. “I’m not actually sure. But it always helped me feel better. So you just hold on to me, and together we’ll make lemonade.”
The maddened continued to prowl before us, agitated and desperate to get his hands on me but unwilling to penetrate the light.
“Yeah, okay,” I repeated, a bit calmer. My breathing slowed until Shiloh’s sandalwood scent registered. I inhaled slowly, rational thought returning. I’d come across many of the infected throughout my life. Witnessed horrific deeds and savage attacks. But I’d survived every encounter. I would survive again.
The maddened spotted a woman and her child at the other end of the street, the pair trying to sneak to a light stand. With an inhuman growl, he flew over, tackling both. Laughing, he pummeled the mother with his fists.
“Look at Soal. Look! You are Cured.” He dragged her by the hair and lifted her face to the Rock. The most sickening sounds spewed from his mouth before he licked her face and purred, “Love Soal.”
Shiloh didn’t hesitate. He released me and bounded over. A new flood of fear engulfed my being as he ripped the mom free from her crazed captor and tossed the teen onto the road.
A moving vehicle slammed into the infected. He rolled over the ground but quickly jumped to his feet. Despite a plethora of broken bones, he walked, jogged, then sprinted toward the unconscious, bleeding woman the medic now guarded with his life. The two males crashed together, and a ferocious battle ensued.
Though I quaked, I couldn’t tear my gaze away. Shiloh held his own, but he was no match for someone unfazed by any wound. Soon, my new friend would be overpowered. He was already slowing, his strength dwindling. He needed help or a weapon, but for the good of all, only those in the military were allowed to carry guns and blades.
Realization slapped me harder than before. I, the girl who didn’t like handling a knife in the kitchen, was to be one of those soldiers.
I whimpered for a thousand different reasons.
An echoing whimper came from the woman’s daughter. Oh, dear goodness. The little girl struggled to her feet while moving forward, intending to reach her loved one, no matter the consequences. No, no, no. I couldn’t let her succeed. She would put herself and Shiloh in worse danger.
Before my brain comprehended what I intended, I followed Shiloh’s path, grabbed the girl, and hustled her toward the light. She fought me, and I stumbled, almost losing my hold on her.
The infected noticed us and forgot the medic. “Love Soal, destroy Cured.”
A surge of adrenaline quickened my pace. Almost there . . .
The maddened raced over and swiped out his arm. His fingers snagged in my hair, pulling me back. I began to fall but—