“The bathroom,” Nicklas says. “Or the kitchen.”
“Not the kitchen,” Sienna says. “I was just there.”
“Amelia?” I turn to her sister. “Where did she go?”
“I—” Amelia’s face pales. “I think she said she needed to check something.”
For fuck’s sake, how can nobody know where she is?
NINE
DAKOTA
The spiral staircase to the bell tower creaks under my weight, each step echoing as cold air whistles through the cracks in the stone, raising goosebumps on my arms. The air smells cleaner here, less like blood and rot and more like old wood and forgotten spaces.
I heard voices.
Not groans.
Human voices.
Different. Distant but clear. Coming from outside.
When I was in the bathroom earlier, I could have sworn I heard something that wasn’t Cameron’s or Julian’s, but the downstairs windows revealed nothing.
The wooden steps groan louder as I reach the landing. It’s a small octagonal room with arched openings on all sides and a railing in the middle surrounding a massive bronze bell suspended from wooden beams, the rope hanging limp in the center, its purpose forgotten in this new world where ringing bells would only invite death.
My steps slow as I approach one of the arches.
The world beyond the church spreads out in all directions. The barn down the street. Abandoned cars everywhere. The gate that Julien and Cameron secured yesterday stands closed, and the car still blocks it from the outside.
From up here, it almost looks normal. Almost. Until you notice the stillness. The absence of movement except for the occasional shambling figure in the distance.
I try the opposite arch facing the graveyard and garden of the church. But no movement. No people. Did I imagine it?
I inch closer to the edge, bracing one hand against the rough stone wall. Maybe around the corner of the building? I scan the ground below. Nothing unusual.
But I heard voices. I know I did.
Silence.
Nothing.
I lean out further, trying to see the back of the church property. Maybe there are survivors. Maybe we’re not alone in this nightmare.
The ground seems to tilt beneath me. Suddenly, I’m aware of the height and the dizzying drop that would shatter every bone in my body. My stomach lurches. I haven’t been afraid of heights since I was a child, but the emptiness below…
How easy it would be to?—
Strong arms clamp around my waist, yanking me backward. I gasp as I’m swept against a hard chest, my feet leaving the ground momentarily before we’re sent crashing down together. But instead of the fatal plummet I expect, I hit the floor with a thud, my body cushioned by a solid frame.
For a second, we just breathe, chests heaving in unison.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Julien’s voice vibrates through his chest against my back, his legs splayed with me between them.
“Looking outside.” I try to break away. “Let go.”
“Looking? That’s what you call it?”
