Page 36 of Faith Among Monsters

Wilkes nods toward a door, barely sparing me a glance. “We’ve got survivors gathered in there. But we’ve gotta watch these doors, injured and dead are coming back faster than we can put them down.”

A door creaks open down the hall, and I spin, raising my gun. But it’s Faith who fires first.

Her shot is spot-on, the zombie crumpling to the ground with a wet thud.

I stare at her for half a second longer than I should, the adrenaline coursing through me making it impossible to tear my eyes away. She doesn’t hesitate. Doesn’t flinch.

I step closer, lowering my gun. “How many?”

“Nine,” Wilkes answers, his tone clipped. “They say no bites. Haven’t had time to check ‘em myself.”

“You alone?” he adds, his eyes narrowing.

“No survivors,” I say flatly, wiping blood off my hand onto my jeans.

“Doc?” Wilkes asks.

“Did this,” I reply, my voice like steel.

The look Wilkes gives me says he understands. He doesn’t argue. There’s no point. Not now.

Another groan echoes down the hallway, but it’s faint, coming from farther away. For the moment, we have a sliver of calm, and I use it.

“Here’s what we’re doing,” I start, my tone sharp and clear. “Who’s on solitary tonight? Anyone on the low-security blocks?”

Wilkes glances at the door where the survivors are gathered, then back at me. “Trip’s still in solitary,” he says.

Of course he is. Trip practicallylivesin solitary. He probably pisses off the guards on purpose just to avoid dealing with the rest of us.

“Zachs is watching solitary,” Wilkes continues. “No one else is on the block.”

“Good.”

As I speak, I step closer to Faith. My hand finds her shoulder, the need to touch her outweighing anything else. I don’t even think about it. I just need to feel her alive, warm, unhurt.

Her eyes meet mine, and for a second, the chaos around us doesn’t exist. The way she looks at me could melt steel. Relief pours out of her, unguarded and raw, and I know exactly how she feels.

I grip her shoulder tighter, steadying both of us.

“Take this group to solitary,” I tell Wilkes, my voice snapping back into command mode. “It’s the most secure spot we’ve got. Grab anyone else you see on the way.”

“Right,” Wilkes says, already moving to check the hallway.

“You seen Grip?” I ask.

Wilkes shakes his head. “Haven’t seen him.”

“Give me the block keys,” I say.

Wilkes pulls his key ring and slides the block key off, tossing it to me. “What are you doing there?”

“That’ll be our base,” I say firmly. “I’ll put her in there. Once you drop them off, have Zachs lock everyone in. Then you meet me back at the block, and we’ll go from there.”

“Go from there,” Wilkes echoes, his lips pulling into a grim line. He knows what that means. Weapons, rounding up survivors, and putting down everything, zombiesandassholes, that moves.

Faith hasn’t said a word, but I feel her watching me. When I look at her again, her lips part like she wants to say something, but she holds it back.

“It’s going to be fine,” I say, my voice low but steady. It’s a lie. Nothing about this is fine. But I’ll kill everyone on this island before I let anything happen to her.

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