“Meli, look at me.” I brush hair from her face, searching her eyes. “Are you hurt?”
She shakes her head, but her gaze drifts past me, unfocused. “They took—He?—”
“I know. I’m so sorry.”
The church doors bang open. Julien and Cameron rush toward us, machete and firepoker raised, faces tight with fury and fear.
Julien reaches us first, hands hovering over Amelia’s shoulders before gently turning her face, examining the thin red line on her throat. “Did they?—”
She shakes her head again. “No. Just… scared me.”
His shoulders drop an inch. Then his eyes lock on mine, a storm brewing behind them. “And you?”
“Fine,” I say automatically.
The hand at his side clenches into a fist. “Why did you volunteer?”
Cameron wraps Sienna in a crushing embrace, burying his face in her hair. “I thought—Fuck?—”
“I’m okay.” She clutches him just as tightly. “I’m okay.”
“What was I supposed to do?” I step back from Amelia, arms crossing over my chest. “Let them take her? That knife was on her throat!”
Julien moves into my space, close enough that I can see the gold flecks in his dark eyes. “You could’ve let me handle it.”
“They took everything.” The reverend drops to his knees in the gravel. “Oh God, we’re going to die here.”
“Shut up,” Julien says. “We’re not dead yet.”
“They didn’t want you.” I stomp my feet. “It was clear he was a misogynistic asshole wanting his power trip. So I gave it to him.”
“Julien.” Amelia leans on him, pointing to the gate. “Look.”
Groans rise from the street. Three zombies shuffle toward the open gate, their movements quickening at the sight of fresh meat. Behind them, more dark figures appear on the horizon.
“Fuck.” Julien guides Amelia to sit on the ground. “You stay here.”
Cameron releases Sienna. “I’ll help Julien. You get back inside.”
“What about the car?” I ask.
“No time.” Sienna, against Cameron’s instructions, moves to close the gate. “We use another car to block it from the inside.”
“Come on.” Julien claps my shoulder, then points to a car close to the gate. “We take that one.”
Sienna fumbles with the chain, threading it through the bars with shaking hands while Cameron holds the gate closed. The padlock clicks shut, and they jump back as a zombie throws itself against the metal, fingers clawing through the gaps.
Julien and I stop at an old dusty coupe.
“This one.” Julien circles the vehicle to peer through the window. “Older model. No alarm system.”
I grab the door handle and tug. Locked. “Shit.”
Julien signals to Cameron, who jogs over with Sienna close behind. “Give me that.” He takes the firepoker from Cameron’s grip, weighing it in his hand. “Everyone, back up.”
He measures his swing, his shoulders bunching beneath his jacket, muscles flexing as he drives the firepoker into the driver’s side window. Glass explodes inward, raining across the seat in a shower of crystal shards.
The sound makes me flinch, eyes darting toward the gate where more dead faces crowd against the bars.
