After the Ending (50 page)

“Really?” I asked, surprised by her words…and by the way
she bypassed both of our empty spots.

“Yeah. I wonder if we can get the details out of him.”

She led me to a vacant bench that was so rickety I was
surprised it didn’t collapse when we sat down.
No wonder nobody’s sitting
here.
Chris and Harper shared the adjacent hay bale and were locked in
conversation.

“So you
do
agree with the H1N1/09 theory…that only
those who’d been infected with
that
virus had the antibodies to survive
this later version,” Chris stated.

“Well, not exactly,” Harper said, frowning. “I still
don’t think it all adds up.”

“So you disagree?”

He shrugged and took a sip of Scotch. “I’m really not
sure. Are you positive that those people on your base knew about the Virus and
everything before the initial outbreak?”

“The more I think about it,” Chris said, “the more sure I
am. I watched them prep the special yellow-banded uniforms
before
the
first infections were reported.”

“If you’re right…”

“I know. Surviving the Virus might be just the beginning.
If I
am
right, then somebody orchestrated this whole thing—all the
death, the insanity,
and
the Abilities. But why? And how?” Chris tore
her gaze from the handsome medic and studied the towering flames. “I hope I’m
wrong,” she said quietly.

Zoe and I exchanged worried glances, and I figured she’d
abandoned her mission to weasel info about Harper’s vision out of him.

The remainder of the evening passed too-quickly, filled
with developing friendships and decreasingly tentative conversations. I was
pleasantly surprised by how well our two groups blended together, finding
camaraderie in the shared experience of surviving in the Virus-ravaged world.

Late in the night, I stood alone before the fire, the
benches and hay bales abandoned. The others were all either acquiring another
beverage or relieving themselves of the ones they’d already consumed. I shed my
jacket, overwhelmed by the heat of the towering fire, and stared into the
hypnotizing dance of flames and air and embers.

Without a word, Jason came up behind me, almost touching
but not quite. “You look like some sort of fire spirit,” he whispered, his lips
mere inches from my ear. “Watching you like that…savage and glowing…damn, Red,
I want to bury myself inside you…right now.”

I leaned back into him, closing the miniscule distance
between our bodies, and was pleased by his obvious state of arousal.

“I set up our tent a little ways away from the barn…I
thought we’d need the privacy,” he said, slipping his arm around my middle.

“Really? I wonder why?” I asked, feigning confusion.

He grazed his lips along the side of my neck and
whispered, “You know why.”

Twisting in his hold so I could see his face, I said,
“I’m not sure…you may need to remind me.”

Jason’s answering grin was wolfish and hungry. He
immediately led me away from the fire and into the woods beyond the barn where
everyone else would be sleeping. As we hurried along, I could barely contain
the heady anticipation humming through me.

Wiggling into sweatpants was difficult considering that all
of my muscles—and possibly some of my bones—had recently been turned into
quivering gelatin.

“What are you doing?” I asked Jason as he sat up on top
of the sleeping bags and reached for his boxer briefs.

“Coming with you.”

“No. Don’t. I’m just peeing. I’ll be, like, a minute.”
Seeing the concern still creasing his brow, I added, “I’ll be fine, really. I’m
a big girl.”

“Anyone could be out there,” he said, but remained seated.
“At least wait until my Ability works again.”

“Oh,” I said, laughing and shaking my head. “I’m not
holding it just because you turn into a super null every time we have sex.” He
scowled, and I smiled.

As I unzipped the tent’s door, I assured him again, “I’ll
be fine.”

Zoe

Loosening my hair from its braid, I idly combed through it.
I couldn’t shake the heavy uncertainty I’d hoped to shed once I saw Dani. It
still tugged at me, gnawing on my consciousness.

The sound of the barn door sliding open and then shut was
followed by Jake’s footsteps. As he changed into sweats, his body alone was
enough to make me whimper. I crawled into the sleeping bags, devouring the
sight of him in the candlelight.

His brow furrowed slightly at my whimper. “You okay?” he
asked.

“Perfect,” I admitted as I wiggled further into the
sleeping bag, imagining the warm pressure of his body against mine. “Just
admiring the view.” Picking up on the husky tone of my voice, the corners of
his mouth pulled up in a smile. “There are definitely perks to getting into bed
first,” I added.

“Yeah? Like what, hogging the sleeping bags?” he teased.

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I was talking
about.”

Pulling the hem of his sweatshirt down, Jake crouched
down and appraised the space beside me.

“What’s wrong?” I lifted myself up, resting on my elbows.

Glancing at me, he said, “It’s interesting how someone
your size needs so much space.” He gestured between me and the stall’s wall a
couple feet from me. “And I only get this.” He looked down at the small space
to my right. “Between you hogging the bed and your scattered clothes all over
the place…I’m wondering if I should find somewhere else to sleep.”

“Sorry,” I said, scooting over a smidge.

As Jake crawled into the sleeping bags beside me, I
curled into his sheltering arms. My thoughts were shadowed by the night’s
festivities, and I expelled an exhausted sigh.
Why am I anxious? Dani and
Jason are here. They’re safe.
Although I’d been ecstatic only minutes
earlier, I still felt…wrong.

“What’s wrong?” Jake whispered.

“Nothing,” I lied. “Why do you ask?”

“You keep sighing.”

“Oh.” I hadn’t noticed. I rolled over, facing his
inquisitive, warm, brown eyes. They scoured my face. “I think I’m sort of in
shock, actually.”

The events of the evening replayed in my head. “It’s so
strange to have everyone here. I don’t know what to do with myself. It’s like
there’s nothing to worry about anymore, and I feel a sort of emptiness…or
something.” And that was exactly what it felt like—a hole I didn’t know how to
fill. I no longer had to fret about how and when I’d reach Dani and Jason. They
were finally with me.

Brushing a loose ribbon of hair from my eyes, Jake
stroked my cheek. Involuntarily, I thought of Dani and Jason together, and the
hole I felt immediately filled with concern.

“I don’t know what to do about my brother.”

“You mean him and Dani,” Jake said. When I nodded, his
eyes focused on me intently. “You don’t think they should be together?”

I grunted, my emotions a mix of excitement for Dani and
distrust in my brother, and rolled onto my back. “It’s not that. I’m just
worried about…you don’t understand. Cam just died, and my brother’s a
heartbreaker. He always has been. And Dani’s been in love with him her entire
life…” I paused, imagining her devastation when Jason eventually decided to
move on.

Will he break her heart?
I thought of how careful
he was with her, how taken he was by her mere presence, and I wondered if that was
even a possibility. “He seems to really care about her…at least he believes he
does, I know that much.” I just hoped his interest in my best friend wasn’t as
changeable as his mood always had been.

Jake’s thumb traveled to my face, grazing my bottom lip.
“Jason seems…serious enough. I don’t think he’ll hurt your friend if he really
cares about her.”

“You’re right,” I admitted. “He’s an ass, but I don’t
think he’d do that to her. She’s not just some random girl. She’s Dani.”

“You two talked a lot tonight,” Jake said idly as his
fingers trailed down my belly, eventually playing with the elastic waistband of
my sweatpants.

I smiled, remembering my conversation with Dani about
Jake and Harper. “Yeah,” I said, but my smile faded as I realized I’d forgotten
to ask Harper about his vision.

“Zoe,” Jake whispered, his lips suddenly hovering by my
ear. His suggestive tone caught my attention. “Stop trying to find something to
worry about. You’ve been waiting for this day since I met you.” He pulled back,
and his eyes latched onto my lips before moving slowly up to my eyes. “I think
we should celebrate.”

A smile splayed across my lips once more, and I shuddered
as his warm breath caressed my face.

“You’re so bad. Four people are, like, seven feet away,”
I admonished quietly, barely able to contain my anticipation.

“I don’t care anymore,” he growled, unbridled lust
emanating from him. His mouth lingered over mine, his eyes waiting for an
invitation to consume me in all possible ways. I giggled in consent, and he
pulled me closer with a determination I had no interest in protesting.

Leaning down, Jake gently brushed his lips against my
neck and then my jaw before capturing my mouth. A delicious heat swept through
me as he ventured lower, kissing the swells of my breasts that protruded from
the top of my scoop-neck shirt. Wrapping his leg around my thighs, he pulled me
under him. His hips rested over mine, and I could feel his arousal.

Desire throbbed between my legs as I liquefied beneath
him. I coveted the sheer weight of his body pressed against mine. “God, I want
you,” I moaned. My hands clenched around the hem of his sweatshirt, pulling at
his clothes impatiently.

Breathing raggedly, I heard a sharp cry shatter the
stillness of the night, interrupting the pounding of my heart.

“Shhh.” I grabbed Jake’s arms, waiting for my breathing
to slow. Fear washed over me as another scream pierced the quietness. I froze
in absolute terror.

That’s Dani’s
scream!

“Dani!” I yelled, pushing Jake away like he was nothing.
Jumping to my feet, I ran to the door. “Dammit!” I shouted as I struggled with
the latch. “Dani!”

Finally, I opened the latch and pulled the door open. I
barely heard Jake calling after me as my sock-covered feet carried me out into
the frigid darkness.

“DANI!”

Dani

Waking, I attempted to open my eyes and assess my
surroundings. A searing white light stabbed into my skull, and I snapped my
eyelids shut before the glare could make my pounding headache any worse.
What
the hell happened?

“She’s awake,” I heard an unfamiliar female voice say
softly.

A large, warm hand slipped into mine and squeezed.

I groaned. “Uh…Jason? Zo? What…?”

“Dani?”

At the deep, familiar tone, all thoughts of headaches and
bright lights momentarily subsided, and my eyes snapped open again. I turned my
head on the pillow and caught my breath when I saw the man sitting there…beside
my
bed…holding
my
hand.

“Um…am I dreaming?” I asked hoarsely.

Looking disheveled and wearing pale green scrubs, MG pressed
his lips together and shook his head. “No. And call me Gabe.”

WEBSITE:
www.theendingseries.com

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After The Ending

TWITTER:
@
TheEndingSeries

Into The Fire

BOOK TWO OF THE ENDING SERIES

FALL 2013

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Lindsey Fairleigh
is a former history teacher and
current experimental cook who lives in Napa with her supportive husband and
confused cats.

Lindsey Pogue
is a history addict, traveling fool,
and food lover who dreams of the day she can go horseback riding, write, and
read, all in a day’s work.