“Cole.” I answer before the first ring ends, moving to the corner farthest from the others.
“Julien.” His voice sounds strained, distance and static making it waver. “You alive?”
“For now. Where the fuck are you?”
“Home. Barely made it. Streets are a goddamn slaughterhouse. Was on my way to your shit show of a wedding, no offense, when everything went to hell.”
“What happened out there?”
Cole exhales, the sound rough through the speaker. “Middle of downtown, people just started attacking each other. Not fighting. Fucking feeding. Like animals. Police tried to contain it, but… it spread too fast.”
“Same here. Right in the middle of the ceremony.”
“So you didn’t even get to the ‘I do’ part before the world ended? That’s some timing.”
Despite everything, I snort. “Cameron called it off before that. Then all hell broke loose.”
“Your brother grew some balls? Good for him.” A crash sounds in the background. “Shit, hold on.”
I wait, knuckles white around the phone. Cameron watches me, questioning. I shake my head.
Cole’s back, breathing hard. “Sorry. Just—Doesn’t matter.” His voice drops lower. “Julien, these things—they’re like zombies. Moving corpses. Infecteds. Walking dead. Take your pick. Straight out of the fucking movies. I had to take down five to get home. Including a cop and stole his fucking gun. Bullet to the head stops them, but nothing else even slows them down.”
“Fuck.” I scrub a hand over my face, stubble scratching my palm. “How’s Arianna?”
“Holding up. Better than me, actually. But whatever this is, it’s not just here. It’s everywhere.”
I glance around the room. Everyone’s watching me now, trying to piece together my half of the conversation.
“What about rescue? Military?” I ask. If it hit the cities first, maybe the outskirts and our position still can be saved?
Cole laughs, a harsh sound with no humor. “Military’s too busy containing the cities. National Guard’s mobilizing, but… It’s bad. Really bad. They’re saying stay put, but I’m not sure. As soon as this is calming down, we move. Somewhere isolated. Cottage?”
“Yeah. That’s where I was thinking.”
“Good. That’s your best—” Static cuts through his words, the connection faltering. “Don’t?—”
“Cole? Fuck.”
“Breaking up. Get to—away—supplies—” More static. “—if we?—”
The call drops. Signal gone.
“Shit.” I try redialing, but it goes straight to voicemail. Fifteen percent battery drops to fourteen.
Cameron peels off the wall, crossing to me. “What did he say?”
I pull him closer, voice low. “It’s worse than we thought. Widespread. Military’s containing, not rescuing. We need to get to the cottage. We can’t stay holed up in this room. Not enough space, not enough supplies.”
“So we need to clear more of the church? Find food?”
I nod. “Enough to last a few days while we figure out our next move.”
“What about them?” His eyes drift toward Dakota and her family.
“They come with us.”
“All of them? Even Nicklas? After everything he did?”
