ing to you. Zo

ld, sharp enough to g

ainst it, the world around her breaking apart into fragments--warm orange light, the

dead? Was this hell, or

arching for something to steady herself, and found

m, something was beating--faint

on a hundred times. The family photo on the wall. All of it told her the same th

was a face twisted with ir

r while their daughters screamed, who'd sat in a ro

the memory surged back, precise as a key sliding in

er permission--barely a whis

to me. It's too dangerous out there.

to me. It's too dangerous out there.

ot a syllable out of place. The silence that followed

he opened her eyes--came roaring back to life. It was real. Someone, some

the virus. Before the screams she knew she'd hear for t

here? Alive, somewhere

ever hurt them again. This time would be different. She wo

before she could--not her own, but something clear, flat, edged with an e

i

ost. Welc

. The words tumbled out before sh

was a sharp jolt of

um

ucked in a breath, both arms flying up to shield the b

en listening

e only a child raised to believe he was the center of the universe could ma

s locked on his. "Jake Brooks. Listen carefully. If you touch me or my daughte

it took for everyone to understand: this wasn't the Ivy the