Page 90 of Ghosts of the Dead

I slip into unconsciousness, still listening to the music box play its final tune.

31

MARS

Caspian holds Autumn’s unconscious form while Jace kneels beside them, using the clean parts of his shirt to wipe the tears from Autumn’s face. While they take care of her, I walk back to the place it all happened and approach Summer’s body. She deserves better than being left pinned to a wall. Autumn will want to do right by her sister, and I’ll make sure she can.

I wrap one hand around the rod while bracing Summer’s body with the other. The metal slides out with a wet sound that makes my jaw clench. I lower her to the ground as gently as I can, and arrange her arms at her sides. The sight messes with my head. She looks so much like Autumn, I have to keep reminding myself she’s not.

I’m about to close her eyes when the sun breaks through the clouds and I catch a glint of metal three buildings over, poking out of a window on the third floor of an old hotel. The brief flash of reflected light that every sniper learns to avoid.

Amateur mistake. Or cocky. Either way, they’re dead.

I slip into the shadows without alerting the others. They need to stay with Autumn. This is my hunt now.

The building’s stairwell groans under my feet, threatening to collapse, but I’ve climbed worse. I wish I’d put my boots back on after sparring with Jace, but at least it makes it easier to move silently.

Every rotter I pass is already dead. This man unknowingly cleared the path for me. By the time I reach the third floor, I can hear him. The slight shift of his weight, the shuffle of his feet, and the barely audible breath. He thinks he’s alone.

I ghost up behind him and clamp my hand over his mouth before he registers my presence. His body goes rigid when I press my knife to his throat. My voice comes out as a deep grunt. “Drop the rifle.”

He complies, and the weapon clatters softly to the carpeted floor. I kick it away and spin him around, then slam him against the wall. He’s younger than I expected. Maybe mid-twenties, clean-shaven, and well-fed. Don’t see that around too often.

“You’re going to answer my questions, and if you lie, if you even think about screaming, I’ll show you a trick they don’t teach in basic training. Nod if you understand.”

He nods so fast it looks like his head might snap off.

I ease my hand off his mouth. “Why are you hunting her?”

His eyes dart out the window, but he can’t see Autumn at our camp from here. Right now she’s still by the fire, safe in Caspian’s arms while her sister lies on the ground, partially hidden from this angle. “It’s my job. Why? You want a cut?”

My knife presses harder against his throat and a single drop of red pools around the knife. “I’ll rip your throat out with my bare hands before you lay a hand on Autumn.”

“Wrong season,” he gasps. “We’re after Summer. She’s the one with the bounty.”

I freeze. My grip tightens on the knife without thinking. “What?”

“Summer,” he repeats, swallowing against my blade. “Subject 47-B. She escaped from the facility, and now there’s a reward for her return. Well, as long as she’s alive. She’s no good to them dead.”

“Start talking.” When he hesitates, I drive my knee into his solar plexus. He doubles over, gasping. I grab his hair and yank his head back.

“The facility,” he wheezes. “Research lab. They were working on a cure, or antidote, or something. They trade rare supplies and medication in exchange for survivors as test subjects. That’s how colonies stay fed out here. Type O-negative with some rare genetic marker. They gave her something, some sort of experimental serum.”

My blood runs cold. “What kind of serum?”

“I don’t know the science, but it was supposed to make her immune. Maybe even reverse early infection.” He coughs, and I let him catch his breath before forcing him to continue. “She escaped before they could finish running the full tests. They need her back to see if it worked. Orders are to bring her in alive, no exceptions. Million ration cards to whoever finds her.”

“Escaped, and ended up a rotter.”

“That’s impossible. The serum…”

“You want impossible? I’ll show you what impossible looks like.” I haul him to his feet and force-march him down the building with my knife at his kidney. He stumbles a few times, but I don’t slow. When we reach the street level, I press the knife in closer and shove him forward. “Walk.”

When we reach the area, I direct him to where Summer’s body still lies on the ground. The man stops dead in his tracks and the color drains from his face. “No. No, that can’t be. She was supposed to be immune. The serum…”

“Take a good look,” I snarl before spinning him around to face me. “That’s your escaped subject. That’s what yourso-called cure did. It didn’t save her, it only made her die alone and afraid, away from the only family she had left.”

He’s shaking now, and my grip on his arm is the only reason he’s still standing. “They said…they swore the trials showed…”

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