No Dawn without Darkness by Dayna Lorentz

Author:Dayna Lorentz [Lorentz, Dayna]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-05-22T04:00:00+00:00

S

H

A

Y

ON THE WAY TO HOMEMART

Baxter’s is more than halfway to the HomeMart. I head for the nearest escalator, and am blinded by a headlamp.

“No trespassing!” a voice shouts.

“Hello, Shay.” Mike’s voice.

Mike was terrifying when he was on my side. I push off the railing and make for the movie theaters. A third voice yells out—Ryan’s? No, he escaped through the service halls.

The headlamper follows me into the theaters—I’m not sure if it’s Mike or the other one, but I’m also not sure it matters.

My book fire in Baxter’s glints off the glass display cases of the refreshment stand, meaning it’s more than just a book fire now. I can taste the smoke all the way over here. I have to get down a floor.

“Where’re you hiding, little girl?”

It’s not Mike—that’s a relief. The headlamp sweeps the lobby. Damn, those things are handy. For a moment, I contemplate fighting the guy for it—I could hide, jump out at him as he passes—but it’s too big a risk. If I lose, we all lose, for sure the headlamper would burn the notebook before reading it. I slink into deeper shadow, away from the main part of the mall—I think. I end up at another door, another hall. The dark has me all turned around.

Far up ahead, there’s a flashlight. The light is dim, like the batteries are almost gone, but any light is better than the no light I have.

The light is beside a dead girl, whose arms cling to another dead girl, who—hold the phone, has a freaking oxygen mask? Where did she—who cares? I tug the strap holding the mask to the girl’s face.

“Get off her!”

The first girl throws herself at me, knocking me over, and lands on my chest.

“Don’t touch her!” she screams, grabbing my arms.

“I’m not!” I scream back, though why I think logic will hold sway is beyond me.

“She’s going to be fine! She has to be fine.”

Her tears drip onto my cheek. “I’m so sorry,” I say.

The girl dissolves into loud sobs. She’s going to get us killed.

“Please calm down.”

“We should have gone straight to the HomeMart.” Her voice sounds wrung out. “We should have tried for a way onto the roof.”

“There’s no way out,” I say. “And the HomeMart shut out my ten-year-old sister. They would not have let you in, especially if your friend was sick.”

Her bloodshot eyes finally register my presence. “I know you,” she says, and climbs off me. “You’re Marco’s girlfriend.”

A laugh escapes my lips, though she is clearly not making a joke. “I am not Marco’s girlfriend.”

“I saw you hug him in the cafeteria, the courtyard,” she says. “My friend. She liked him. Before he became a complete asshole.”

“He was my friend,” I say. “I haven’t seen him in days. Please, just let me go. I won’t touch your friend.”

She snickers. “You have someplace you have to be?”

“I have a notebook,” I begin. Maybe I sell her on my cause, maybe I get out of this without a fight. “It belonged to the guy who ran the med center.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.