Free Nightfall by Ellen Connor Page A

the woman, but nobody deserved to go out like that.
    â€œJenna, take them,” Mason said. “Go now.” He lit a match at the edge of the clearing and touched off the stream of gasoline.
    The blond woman led the way into the woods, but Tru wasn’t sure if she was tough enough for the job. Just before he rounded a bend, an explosion cut the air and pushed a mild heat against his back. Edna screamed in agony, then went silent.
    Tru swallowed hard. Now he was the one who’d be sick.
    â€œTru!” Jenna called. “Get your ass in gear, you’re falling behind.”
    â€œFine. Coming.”
    They hustled on for another ten minutes. Tru couldn’t force Edna out of his head. We could all end up like that. Dog food. Or pulled apart from the inside if we get bit. His thoughts looped on how they’d used Edna. A sick, twisted, practical plan. One only Mason could have come up with. Tru didn’t know if he admired or feared him. Maybe a little of both.
    â€œStop it,” the big dude growled eventually. “I know what you’re thinking, all of you. But she was out of time and she saved our lives.”
    The coach only muttered, “You’re a son of a bitch,” in reply.
    He might give Mason shit, but Bob lacked the skills to lead. Tru didn’t doubt the big dude would put him down like one of those demon dogs if the coach tried anything.
    Mason shrugged. “If you don’t like it, find another party. I don’t remember inviting you anyway.”
    Tru stifled a quiet laugh. During the rare moments she wasn’t high, his mom had always said he’d end up dead in a ditch. She was sweet that way. But if a crappy home life didn’t turn you into a murderous sociopath, it laid great groundwork for surviving the end of the world.
    The silence was creepy as hell. Mason made it clear they shouldn’t yap all the way, but Tru had forgotten what it was like out here. No animals. No insects. Just the sound of their breathing and their feet rasping over dead wood and fallen leaves. He wanted to cover up that unnatural quiet, pretend it wasn’t real.
    He walked on, listening to Angela inhale and exhale as if in meditation. Maybe it kept her calm. Calm was good. And for all his bulk, Bob seemed to be doing okay, even as he carried the kid. Good thing they hadn’t been stuck with the decrepit math teacher instead.
    Despite the cold, sweat formed on his palms. How long had they been walking? Three miles was the target, but he had no way of telling the time or marking miles. Branches slapped his face as they passed through the trees. There was no path. Out here, he felt so exposed. Anything could eat him. At least I’d make a bony fucking snack.
    And winding up fast food seemed better than the alternative—better than going out in monster form, like Edna.
    Mason held up a hand, signaling them to stop just before a clearing. “We’re coming up on the worst part of this trek,” he said, rechecking his weapon. He sounded tenser than Tru had heard before. Nervous? No way. “I’d hoped to avoid it. But with the gear we’re carrying, we wouldn’t be able to pick our way across rougher terrain.”
    Raw cemetery stench wafted in on the still air, carrying the scent of open graves and putrid flesh. Angela rubbed her nose. “What is it? What’s in there?”
    â€œTru, up on point with me,” Mason snapped. “Jenna, you’re rearguard. I want the girl in the middle.” At last he turned to the redhead, his grim face fixed with resolve. “It’s a pit.”

TEN
    Mason crept to the left along the edge of the clearing, focusing on steady, even movements.
    On a long list of situations he never wanted to be in again, this one ranked at the top. His gut told him to hightail it. This ragtag cluster of walking meat had no hold on him. He could double back in the span of two heartbeats, grab Jenna from the end of