Page 23 (1/2)

"I’ "Your blood healed e and cacti, the city getting closer I keep ht to keep up with me, but a part of , if only for a moment

"Don’t hold back onahead

I shtless as I leave hi, breath free But then I hear so stop

"What’s the matter?" Aiden says as he collides into er tohim My eyes scan the rocks, which we left a ways back, but other than that there’s no place to hide

"I thought I heard--"

Thump, thuing my knife out ofout his knife out too We glance at the hills, the rocks, the brush, the sky But the thuan I turn to Aiden "It’s gone"

"What is?" He lifts an eyebrow inquisitively "The heart beat?"

My lips do a double-take "You heard it too?"

"No…" he says, his voice deciding "But you’ve told me about it"

"No I haven’t I’ve never told anyone about it"

"You’ve told one person," he says, pointing at his chest "You just can’t re to question why I can’t re about hione, so why is hefrom all of them

"Well, whatever it was--heartbeat or not--it’s gone" I start walking, but keep my ears on alert "Do you think it could be Dos, distracted "Maybe, I don’t know, though Most, including Doo near the city"

"Because of the vampires? Or because it’s so close to The Colony?"

"Both"

He remains distracted for the rest of the walk, eyebrows constantly furrowed, as if so I can tap into is he’s afraid I ain

Behind us, the land is relatively exposed, giving a clear view that no one seeers of what could be following us isbelow it all, the city is a dangerous place

"Please tell me you have an idea of where Xander is," I say

He shakes his head, eyes locked on the wreckage road in front of us "But I told you I’m an excellent tracker"

"Okay, excellent tracker," I eyeball the s, "Where do we start?"

His eyes skis, the curves of the streets, and he points to our left "This way"

Stepping foot onto the city grounds feels like I’ a Bellator, I kno things work If I had been out on a raid, and stu the a rule questioner and all, but I know other Bellators ht have I think if it ca paths with theet away But Aiden, I’m not so sure

Fires crackle fro out smoke and ash into the streets and sky The air is deadly silent, but it will all change once night arrives

"How can he just live out here?" I whisper "All by hi?"

"Because he hides," he says simply "Just like we all do"

Asphalt crumbles under my boots "I wonder how it all came to be You kno everyone ended up down there and the vamps out here? I ht or stop it"

"You want to knowbetween two cars

Ifroht, and I’m mesmerized

"I think everyone ended up in The Colony because people were afraid," he continues, not noticing I’ve stopped "I think it all terrified the to turn over their freedo object frohers were part of the virus, then how did they end up with control over The Colony"

Aiden stares at the shiny thing in my hand "What is that?"

"I don’t know," I say, holding it up, watching it spin and sparkle "But it’s so shiny and … not dark" Our eyes move to the sky, dark with smoke and ash "I wonder if it’s what the sun looked like," I o to put the sparkly necklace back and catch sight of a pile of bones on the seat--hu that" I set the necklace down on top of them

"I think I would have rather died than been infected" Aiden stares over my shoulders at the bones

"Me too"

We continue on with our journey, passing by building after building with no sign of life

"Maybe I should start checking inside theest after a while

He considers this, eyes locked on a large triangular building stacked of fractured glass "It seeerous You know that’s where they hide out during the day"