Page 181 of Kingdoms of Night

We had a significant army upstairs that was likely in the process of protecting the grounds.

And shooting everything that moves,I thought, my mood plummeting.

The brain-eating amoeba had mutated into a disease that made humans mindless flesh-eaters. And I’d spent the better part of the last five years trying to find a solution.

While humans just… killed each other.

That was their solution—to battle what they didn’t understand and remove the wounded rather than help them.

Jonas glanced down at me as he called for the elevator, his gaze assessing.

I didn’t remark on his penchant for staring this time.

I just focused on the slatted doors as they opened, and stepped inside, resigned to the fate that awaited us above ground.

Jonas stood in front of me, blocking my view and taking on a protective position as we began to ascend. He dropped my bag to the floor and pulled out a gun, his stance telling me he was focused on whatever he heard above.

I didn’t allow myself to listen.

I’d been living with screams for too long.

Sobs. Unfathomable sounds.Death.

I shivered, the urge to wrap my arms around myself hitting me hard. But I knew better than to give in to the sensation of desolation.

Crying didn’t solve the situation.

Nothing did, I thought sourly.Nothing works. Nothing fixes this. The humans let it mutate beyond repair.

I hated blaming them, but I couldn’t help it. The mortal politicians were the ones who had turned the outbreak into a political debate rather than a public health discussion.

They hadn’t listened to the researchers or the physicians in charge. They’d only attempted to speak from their sides of the political playing field.

And the whole world had paid for their ignorance.

A wave of balmy air hit me as the doors opened, the Georgia heat overwhelming and unwelcome. We were about ninety miles northeast of Atlanta, having taken refuge in an underground facility very few knew about near the border with North Carolina.

But from the sounds echoing outside, it was clear that a horde of Infected had come in from the city and found us here in the hills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Gunshots reverberated through the air, making me wince.

Shouts followed.

I closed my eyes and stole a deep breath.There’s nothing you can do to save them right now. Just survive and keep searching.It was a mantra I often repeated to—

A heavy hand landed on my lower back, yanking me back into the present.

“Follow me,” Jonas said, his lips suddenly against my ear as he escorted me out of the elevator.

He’d retrieved my bag, tucked away his gun, and had me against his side in an instant.

Or maybe I’d frozen when the doors had opened.

I really wasn’t sure, but my legs were moving now as he guided me toward the waiting jets.

Screeches and gunfire followed, the collective noise making me weak. I hated what this world had become. Hated that I couldn’t fix it. Hated that my genetics allowed me to survive while so many innocentsdied.

It wasn’t until I peered up a set of metal stairs that I remembered I had wanted to find Kieran’s plane. But it was too late.

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