Free The Break Free Trilogy (Book 3): Through The Frozen Dawn by E.M. Fitch

in roaming bodies. She nodded without speaking and got into the jeep with Andrew. Kaylee's stomach plunged, the pull of the road that led to her sister and Jack nearly irresistible. But there was no way to follow it now. There was no way she could stay where she was. She climbed into the passenger seat just as Michael started the engine.
    The ride was bumpy, but fast. Which was good. Kaylee doubted Andrew would be able to take much more. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his grimace was constant. Twice she caught him trying to look behind. Anna had told him quietly that Bill was missing. The muscles in his jaw jumped and his teeth mashed together, a different kind of pain ripping through him.
    There was nothing they could do for Bill one way or another now.
    After only a few miles, Kaylee saw signs of people. A hazy smoke rose into the sky, the smell of roasting meat drifting on the breeze. Saliva flooded her mouth and her stomach churned. In the sudden rush, she felt lightheaded and dizzy, aware for the first time in a long time that she hadn't eaten since she left her sister and Jack.
    She wondered if they had food, wherever they were. Did they escape the wave of infected bodies? Were they running, even now? Was Bill? The guilt at leaving them behind ate at her, twisting her stomach in ways that even the smell of food couldn't overcome. She glanced at Andrew but he wouldn't meet her eye.
    They passed sentinels, men standing guard on the top of broken down buses. They nodded over their shotguns as the jeeps drove past.
    The Squatters, because that's who these men undeniably were, camped in a circle of vehicles. It reminded Kaylee of the stories of wagon trains that her teachers used to tell them, trying to explain the origin of the old saying "Circle the wagons!" Only these wagons were motorhomes and school buses, dozens of them, outfitted with sheet metal and machine guns. They parked close together, a complete circle with no room between vehicles. The jeeps stopped nearby, men filing out. They waited in a line until a ladder was lowered. One by one they climbed to the hood of a bus, hopping down into the circle and disappearing from view.
    Kaylee's first thought was that there was no way Andrew would be able to get through. Someone would have to haul him up the ladder and over. It would hurt. But within moments, an engine roared to life and the circle was moving, an opening appearing between the vehicles big enough for four men to carry Andrew through.
    Inside the circle was a ragged bunch of people, some older than Bill, most closer to Anna's age. There was two that looked young enough to have been in high school when the world had collapsed. They regarded Andrew and the girls with frank curiosity, the rest held cautious, guarded expressions.
    All these people, Kaylee couldn't help but think, and only a few days journey from The Mill. They could have all been housed, pushed out the fences, cleared out a little bit of humanity into the stark wildness the world had become. But it was all gone now, washed down the river by a lunatic with a bomb. Stupidity, it seemed, would never die out.
    Michael introduced them to the group. Several men pulled him to the side and Kaylee could hear them asking if there were any bite marks, any reason to search them. Michael waved them off, explained that they had already checked. From the gaze that traveled down the length of her, Kaylee thought at least one of the men wanted to check again. It made her skin crawl, feeling his hostile eyes on her. She ignored it. Andrew was still the priority.
    They dragged an old mattress out from one of the buses, placed it by the large cook fire they had going in the center of the circle. Kaylee could see the slow turn of what smelled like venison over the open flame. She bit her cheek and turned away, willing her eyes to focus on Andrew.
    "You must be starving." A woman slowly approached them. She had soft brown hair, a little wild around her oval face,