Free Break Free The Night (Book 1) by E.M. Fitch Page A

warm.
     
                  “ Was everyone in a frenzy last night ? ”
     
                  He rolled his eyes and offered a weak laugh, leaning back against the rail and crossing his arms .“ It was ridiculous! Here you come, getting carried in by some guy w e’ ve never seen. Emm a’ s rambling in your wake. H e’ s insisting i t’s‘ just a scratc h’ and yo u’ re barely moving. Anna was caught between glee and professional mode. She was tending to you and barking orders to Emma and then boasting and gloating over the fact that she was right to my dad . ”
     
                  Kaylee laughed at the scene Andrew presented, mostly because she somehow knew this was exactly what had happened .“ How was my dad ? ”
     
                  Andre w’ s gaze faltered just a bit .“ He was not as excited as Anna was. Actually, I think he was jus t… terrified . ”
     
                  Kaylee bit her lip and looked to the rooftop. Ever since her mother had been infected, both girls had been treated as porcelain dolls: precious, breakable. They were barely allowed out of the building and even then only to enclosed courtyards and secured fields and only at night when the chance of encountering an infected was the least. Last night would have been the first injury either of the girls sustained and Kaylee could only guess at the level of fear that must have pierced her father.
     
                  “ Anna reassured him ,” Andrew said hesitantly ,“ said yo u’ d be fine. He wanted to stay with you all nigh t —”
     
                  “ Right next to you, I’ m sure ,” Kaylee interrupted, grinning slightly. Andrew blushed but nodded.
     
                  “ Yeah, but Anna kicked us out, said we were overreacting ,” he mumbled. Kaylee felt the strain of the shift in her relationship with Andrew fill the space between them. In times past she would have joked that he needed to get over her, nudge him and wink and try to tease his blush deeper, something that was never that hard to do. But now she felt frozen, unsure how to tread in the light of these new days.
     
                  “ Wha t’ s Quinton like ?” she asked in a jumbled rush after a few tense moments, wanting to break through the uncomfortable haze that had settled. Andrew perked up immediately.
     
                  “ H e’ s pretty cool ,” he offered with a shrug .“ Grizzly and sort of rough but in a safe kind of way . ”
     
                  Kaylee knew exactly what Andrew meant. He must be someone yo u’ d be able to rely on in a fight and these days that translated to being safe.
     
                  Andrew suddenly barked out a laugh .“ I went out to look for him," he said, "Jack set off a flare on the roof and said Quinton would know to follow it so I was waiting for him on the road. Well, he wears really dark clothes, kind of blends in with the night. The guy appeared out of nowhere, I could n’ t see him coming and he scared the life out of me. I jumped and yelped like a girl ! ”
     
                  Kaylee stuck her tongue out at him at the jab to her gender but he just grinned.
     
                  “ But seriously, this guy knows what h e’ s doing.I think he must have been military back in the day. You have to se e — ” Andrew broke off as he peered over the side of the roof to the pavement .“ Actually, wait, come here . ”
     
                  Kaylee joined him at the railing and followed his pointing arm. It was n’ t hard to see what he was pointing at. When your landscape does n’ t change in two years expect for the occasional kicked over trashcan and broken window, any new object is bound to catch your eye.
     
                  A large dark object the shape of a Hummer was parked outside their building. Kaylee could n’ t be sure