Resurgence: Green Fields book 5 (53 page)

The video ended with the frozen frame of the zombie looming right over me, not even cutting back to the blank screen.

“Oh, come on!” I chuffed, glaring at the screen in earnest. “That wasn’t even the best part yet!” But I could see why Taggard had made sure to cut the tape off right there. It was tantalizingly easy to jump to conclusions what had happened next—and as I caught Nate’s gaze once more, I could see that false knowledge sinking in right there, as he fought hard to compose his features. Just seeing that horror there made my blood boil, my barely suppressed anger bubbling right to the surface.

“Want to know what happened next?”

His pause was noticeable, and he sounded very careful as he responded. “Bree—“

“Actually you do,” I talked right over him, seething. “What that abominable fucker didn’t want you to see is that about two seconds later I managed to get one leg free, and that was all it took to kick all hell loose. Literally. I dislocated the zombie’s jaw, which made it decide to go for a target that wasn’t about to maim it, with all that less-infected flesh standing around. Taggard managed to get in a few blows but I bashed his head in. Or almost, which means he’s likely very much alive right now. I should have taken those few seconds to make sure, but I really needed to get out of there.” Taking a much-needed breath, I tried to rally my racing thoughts, but that was impossible. Just as breathing got increasingly harder. I was vaguely aware that I was starting to hyperventilate, the walls of the room suddenly closing in on me.

“I need some air,” I wheezed out before I whipped around and ran back into the corridor, scrambling up the ladder until all I could see around me was the open sky and the prairie. I staggered a few more steps away from the trap door before I bent over, about ready to puke up the trail mix that Nate had handed me in the car earlier. I managed to keep it down, but that wasn’t much of an improvement.

“We need to talk about this.”

I straightened but refused to turn around to face Nate, instead staring at the line of the horizon where the sun was about to set in the west.

“No, we don’t,” I tried to dissuade him again, but this time he wouldn’t let me.

“We do,” he insisted. “Look at me.” I shook my head, still not turning around, which made him reach for my arms and physically pull me around. I stiffened, jerking away when he tried to tighten his grip on me. But the move made me glare at him, so in the end he won. Not that I cared. His jaw was set and I could almost see the waves of frustration coming off him, the fact that all this was eating him up enough to dampen some of my ire, but absolutely inconsequential in the end—and that realization made me want to cry. Not break down and sob like before, but just weep for all that I’d lost.

“What the fuck did they do to you?” he asked, his tone low and gentle, but he was incapable of keeping a certain edge out of it.

“Nothing,” I replied, my own voice hoarse.

The look I got for that was absolutely insane. I kind of understood that. “What I just saw, on that video, wasn’t nothing, and that was only the very end of it. What happened? You know that you can tell me everything. You know that I won’t judge you. That you’re not responsible for anything that happened to you—“

“They did nothing!” I screamed, loud enough that in the distance a flock of birds took flight. “That’s exactly my point!”

I knew that he didn’t understand but finding the right words was so damn hard that I almost gave up. I realized that I must have been sounding like a raving lunatic, so I tried to explain, my voice shaky with emotion.

“That fucking asshole knew exactly how to get under my skin. You think they raped me? Beat me? They didn’t.” I paused for a moment. “Technically, they did beat me, but only when I put up a fight, and I dealt out a lot more than I got back. I spent days in there, scared out of my mind, without sleep, or food, and not nearly enough water. Sure, I did most of that to myself because I didn’t dare to even doze off, and I wouldn’t give them the chance to poison me with the food, which, I know, is insane because I did drink the water…”

Taking another calming breath, I tried again. “I’m not saying I regret that they didn’t rough me up and beat me to a bloody pulp, like they did with Gussy. But I think I could have dealt with that a lot better than what they actually did. He used the girl to force me into compliance. I held out my fucking arm for them when they drew blood, and then stabbed her with that same needle! Remember when you told me that I’d always play the hero? Well, I did. I tried to. He gave me an ultimatum, and I hurled myself at it. I would have done anything to keep them from raping her. I wouldn’t even have fought back if that meant they’d leave her alone. But that would have been the easy way out. Instead he turned my compliance into her murder weapon. I killed that girl. And they didn’t even rape me after they infected her, so that I could have had something to take my mind off of what I did. So I could feel sorry for myself, or just plain hurt and forget about the world. He left her right there, in the cell opposite mine. So she could thank me, for being pretty much the only person who ever gave a shit about her. All I could do for hours was listen to her cough as she got sick. I couldn’t even take her with me when I escaped. But it doesn’t matter now, does it? Because I got away and I’m still alive, while either way, she’s dead now. And that’s all my fault.”

Nate kept staring at me all through my rambling—my confession—not moving a muscle as he listened to every word I said. I could tell that more than once he was tempted to interrupt me, but he didn’t, probably realizing that it was hard enough to tell him all this as it was, without having to resume and gather my thoughts. I didn’t know what I had expected—not that he’d laugh at me; we were beyond that. No scorn, because if he didn’t do one thing it was judge people for the tremendous fallout they produced, as long as it wasn’t all coming from the most blatant stupidity possible. He also didn’t offer any empty words aiming to console me, because he must have realized that, right now, I was inconsolable.

What I hadn’t expected was that he’d just step up to me, embrace me, ignoring whether I tensed up or not, and hold me, like a silent pillar that I could both lean on and glean any emotional support and strength from that I wanted—but that’s exactly what he did. I stood there, stiff as a stick, for several seconds before I allowed myself to relax against him. I didn’t cry, because all the tears I was going to spill had already run down my cheeks. I didn’t ask for his absolution because we both knew that he couldn’t give me that. He was simply there for me—and that was exactly what I needed.

The sun had set by the time I pulled away from him, my body still shaking slightly with emotion, but my mind starting to clear up.

“What are we going to do now?” I asked, low enough that my voice didn’t carry over to where the rest of our crew stood loitering between the cars, desperately trying to give us some privacy. “This here, this is a bust. We haven’t found a single scrap of paper. No leads, no maps, no anything. The only connection that we have are the idiots guarding the settlement, but I doubt any of them even know any names, let alone who else is connected to this.” I paused, thinking. “Ethan, from the Aurora lab, was here, too, but it was obvious that he wasn’t working with them anymore. Said he got a promotion. I guarantee you, if we get anywhere close to Aurora, they’ll be waiting for us. They’ll kill us. Except for that, we have nothing.”

Nate considered my words for a second, the fact that he wasn’t protesting my assessment not exactly comforting. Frustrated, I let out my breath in a harsh sigh, staring up into the darkening sky. A falling star streaked overhead, almost making me laugh. Yeah, not even that would grant me my wish.

“Maybe there’s another option,” Nate said. When I glanced at him, I saw him still staring up into the sky where that small meteor—or more likely, failing satellite—had found its end in the earth’s atmosphere.
 

“The satellites,” I muttered, realizing what must have crossed his mind just then. “Didn’t they tell us at the Silo that they’re constantly recording every feed that they manage to get?”

Nate nodded, the hint of a smile appearing on his face, if a grim one. “They did. Cleaning out a complex this large takes time. And people.”

“And vehicles,” I jumped ahead. “Vehicles that need to come here, stop to be loaded, and then they leave.”

“Traceable for days, if you can check the recordings,” he agreed. “We have the coordinates, and we have the approximate timeframe. And except for us coming up from the south to reach Halsey from the strategic point in the east, no larger convoy has likely crossed this part of the country. They may be gone for days, too long for us to catch up to them immediately, but they won’t be able to just up and disappear without leaving us the exact route that they took.”

I knew that there was still the possibility that we were grasping at straws—but it was a lot more than we’d had just moments ago. It certainly was enough for me to cling to, and that was all that I needed right now.

Turning around to face our group, I couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope ignite deep inside my chest. “Get ready,” I called out to them. “We’re going to hunt us some assholes!”

To be concluded in Green Fields #6 - Unity

(Coming Fall 2016)

Acknowledgement

As much as I love reading these end-of-book notes, it can be tantalizingly hard to write them. Promise, the last book in the series will have a more extensive one. ‘Resurgence’ has been a wild ride for me, and I hope the same is true for you, dear reader. So much has happened, and now I need to gather up all the many plot strings and tie them up within the space of a single book. No pressure, right?

It means the world to me that there are so many of you out there, reading my books, loving my characters. If you have a moment to spare, why not drop me a line to let me know what your favorite moments were so far, and what you’re still yearning to see? Or just chat for a bit. If you want to help and support me (or any other Indie author out there) please spread the word about my books, and if you’re so inclined, leave an honest review.
 

As always, I have my share of people to thank. Foremost, the guy in my life, who never complains when I end up looking more like a zombie than human at wrapping up a book. Again. This is a thing now. You better get used to this!

Also my editor and cover designer, because they make this madness look downright professional. Tanya and Susan, for helping me pick out the last remaining flaws. But most of all, all the great people who love my books and let me know via email, facebook, and all the other ways they manage to track me down. Thank you for hanging in with me. I hope you’re chomping at the bit for the last book in the series!

About the Author
 

Adrienne Lecter has a background in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, loves ranting at inaccuracies in movies, and spends increasingly more time at the shooting range. She lives with the man and two cats of her life in Vienna, Austria and is working on the next books in the Green Fields series.

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Books published

Green Fields

#1: Incubation

#2: Outbreak

#3: Escalation

#4: Extinction

#5: Resurgence

#6: Unity (Fall 2016)

Thank you!

Hey, you! Yes, you, who just spent a helluva lot of time reading this book! You just made my day! Thanks!

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If you enjoyed reading the book and have a moment to spare, I would really appreciate a short, honest review on the site you purchased it from. Reviews make a huge difference in helping new readers find the series. Seriously, they do. Wanna make a difference? Now you know how you can!

Or if you’d like to drop me a note, or chat a bit, feel free to email me or hit me up on social media. I’ll try to respond as quickly as possible!
 

Email:
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