Free The Horde Without End (The World Without End) by Nazarea Andrews Page A

other in the small room.
    “Have a plan. You won’t be able to save them all, but you might save a few and you’ll have a better chance at getting out alive if you have a plan. Don’t count on the gates—those will lock down as soon as the Horde gets close. Have another way out. Don’t go to the Hatch—those will be death traps.”
    “Is that how you got out? When Hellspawn fell?”
    Finn’s lips thin, but he nods reluctantly. “Yeah. It is.”
    Ansliey frowns, clearly unhappy, but he nods.
    And that quickly, we’re done. We’re ready to leave. Except...
    “Dustin,” I say softly. Both men turn to look at me, and I see the tension in Finn’s face tighten, just a little. He doesn’t like me asking about Dustin. Not even this little bit.
    Well, fuck Finn and what he likes.
    Ansliey’s lips tip into a slight smile, and he pulls out a thin silver chain. A tiny vial swings from it, and tears cloud my eyes. I take a deep breath, determined to get through this meeting without breaking down like a little girl on her first day of school.
    “I thought he seemed important to you. I can’t give you everything—Haven procedures when we have a mutating virus.”
    I nod, and he hands me the thin chain. The little vial swirls and clouds with gray dust—not much at all, but so much more than I expected. “Thank you,” I whisper, hugging him suddenly.
    Ansliey goes stiff and startled, and then he relaxes into my embrace, patting my shoulder softly. “I’ll see him buried, girl.”
    I nod and pull back, wiping my eyes quickly. I loop the thin chain over my head and let the cold vial settle against my skin, the ash inside swirling and slowly coming to rest.
    It’s a tiny memento, but it is more than I expected. It will be enough, because it has to be. I step away from the Warden, and Finn clears his throat. Tosses me my pack. And that fast, we’re done—ready to leave once again.
     

Chapter 24. Destinations and Clues
    We’re in the ZTNK, pulling the truck behind us. I’m not sure if that’s because Finn wants the versatility of an extra vehicle, or if he’s too stubborn to leave it behind in a Haven we will likely never return to.
    I move around the back of the RV, getting our bags stowed and changing out of the corset and into a loose practice shirt. A bag of weapons gets tossed between the driver and passenger seat and I grab two bottles of water from the RV’s fridge before dropping into my seat and cross one leg under me, handing Finn a bottle of water silently before I flip open the book in my lap.
    “What is that?”
    It’s a thin book I found in the barracks last night, when I couldn’t sleep and slipped out.
    I’m still a little surprised I was able to get past Finn without waking him. Or maybe it’s just that he didn’t care that I was leaving.
    “Oral history of the Change.”
    He glances at it, and I hold it up. The title is very self-explanatory, but I elaborate anyway. “People who were in the Battle for the East, and who survived that first few years—these are some of their stories.”
    “Everyone has a story,” he says dismissively.
    I pin him with a hard stare. “Everyone does, but not everyone wants to talk about it. Unless you’d like to talk to me about the Thrasher? Because I can put this down, if so.”
    His gaze darts to mine, furious, and I smirk. “That’s what I thought, O’Malley.”
    I turn back to my book. I don’t really want to talk to Finn any more than he wants to talk to me, and I definitely don’t want to remember the feel of his leg between mine, his mouth on me.
    He opens his mouth, and for a moment, I think he’ll talk. That he’ll tell me one damn thing without me having to beg for it or fight it out on my own. Instead, he makes a face and focuses on the road. I stare at the page, the words blurring as my temper rises, and reach for the vial hanging between my breasts. I clench it, hard, and fight to even my temper. Flip to the next page and try to read