August Burning (Book 1): Outbreak by Tyler Lahey Page A

where?” Tessa’s voice had
no mockery in it.
    Jax looked at Liam with his eyebrows
raised.
    “Home? Are you crazy?”
    “How many of us have houses there?
Know the terrain? Where else would our families expect to find us?”
    Liam scoffed. “Here!”
    Jax continued, his mind working
effortlessly despite the feverish exhaustion that consumed them all. “If this
gets any worse, they’ll evacuate this entire area. And then we might never see
our families! Who knows how bad this is going to get.”
    “We don’t even know what it is , Jax,” Liam argued earnestly.
    Tessa cut him off. “There’s an
infection. Let’s stop pretending everything might be alright. The military blew
the fucking bridges into Manhattan. The Army sends wave after wave of soldiers
into that blackout zone and nothing ever comes back out. They wanted to trap
the people on that island. We have no way of knowing if it worked.”
    Jax felt a sudden appreciation for the
girl beside him. She was sharp and bold at the same time. Tessa didn’t seem
like the type of girl to shirk from choosing a daring course of action. He
found himself smiling at her, noticing again her dull eyes.
    Liam threw his head back in denial.
“We’re not doing anything until we know more. Now let me push the damn cart for
a bit.” He shouldered Jaxton out of the way, and pushed his brawny bulk into
the bar. Jaxton smirked, breathless, and slapped him on the shoulder.
    Jaxton heard Tessa chuckle. He eyed her
sideways, “We didn’t forget about you. You’re up next.” They rattled past a
city block dedicated to manicured green space: the campus quad. Tessa opened
her mouth to reply when a mannish yelp sounded from around the corner.
    Tessa shot forward, with Jaxton at her
heel. A stream of people was emerging from the dorms and classrooms around
them, heading in groups to the student center once more. Through the massive
glass walls, Jax could see an unruly crowd gathering in front of the TVs yet
again. “What is it now?” he muttered. “Let’s get back to the room!” He cried
back to Liam.

 
 
    Adira continued to unpack the bags,
working tirelessly. She ran over the mental checklist again. Had they missed
anything? The others would have gotten it if she had, she was sure. She dropped
several toothbrushes on the table, next to a pile of dental products. “Eight of
those,” she mumbled.
    She could hear the TV blaring in the
other room, and knew almost everyone was back from their tasks. Adira began to
feel her hands quaking as she moved. Her limbs felt weak and her mouth was dry.
She swallowed repetitively. As she moved, she started humming a broken tune,
but her voice kept cracking. Suddenly a bottle of painkillers flung from her
hands, striking the wall. She gripped the table hard, till she could feel her
nails bending and she wanted to scream and run.
    “You ok?” Troy was standing in the
doorway.
    Adira forced a smile and tried to
laugh. “Oh. I didn’t see you-well, yes. No I am ok…I just needed a minute I
think.”
    Troy drew closer to her. He smelled
like sweat and there were crumbs in his beard. But she felt safer.
    “Here, let me help you with that.” She
tried to resist, but he was already calmly seeing to another bag, working
slowly and making neat little piles. They worked in silence for a minute or so.
Sudden laughter spilled out of his lips, deep and genuine.
    “You bought six nail clippers?”
    Adira stuttered nervously. “Well I…I
mean…” She couldn’t help it. She joined his laughter until they were both
bright eyed with tears, appreciating the absurdity of the moment.
    “Now, what were you thinking about
when I came in?” He asked. It seemed like he was trying to speak softly and
gently, but it didn’t quite fit him.
    “I don’t know. I guess I’m losing my
element a bit, you know. I’m starting to feel lost at sea and useless. Like
this is becoming a man’s game and I’m getting left behind. I hate it.”
    They