Renee dragged herself up and placed her palm against the windowpane. The bloody scene in front of her wasn’t any different from anything she’d seen in the past, but it still left her heartbroken. People ran and screamed, trying to escape them. Some shot and took the slower ones down, the shamblers. Humans dressed in military fatigues fared better, seeming to have gotten away and moved out of her vision. Most humans died horrible and bloody deaths, their limbs torn off as they were surrounded by the hungry horde.

No escape. Even Renee knew her time was up. She got away because they’d assumed she was already dead and had moved on to the still-live prey. They preferred meat with a heartbeat. Eventually, once they ate their way through a city, they’d go back and scrape the bones clean until there wasn’t anything left of the living.

Renee had fallen and hit her head on a concrete curb just outside the hotel she was hiding in. She only managed to make her way two floors up because dizziness was overtaking her sense of direction and ability to balance. Her fingers gripped the windowsill of the window in the room she was hiding in while her palm, flat on the glass, kept her from swaying. Something tickled the side of her face, but she ignored it, unable to look away from the death in front of her.

Maybe it was better she couldn’t hear the screams, gunfire, or explosions. Her cochlear implants had been acting up for weeks, and the hit to her head against the concrete seemed to have taken what little hearing she had left. She’d lost the hearing in her right ear when the transmitter and speech processor had been ripped off in a narrow escape from one of the undead. The left external processor needed new batteries. 

It was one of the only reasons Renee thought maybe going into a city was necessary. Now she was back in the silence that filled her early years, only this time, it was a relief. Never could she have guessed she’d want to be deaf, but at least this way the last sounds she heard wouldn’t be the screams of terror that haunted her days and nights. 

Renee shivered. Most places had no power, and it was only fall, so she shouldn’t have been as cold as she was. It was just after nightfall. She closed her eyes even though it was stupid to close them, leaving herself open to attacks, but what did it matter anymore? 

The city was overrun. All of her family and friends were long dead. Any new alliances she’d made - gone. After fighting so hard over the last seven years, she was alone, again. The last of her food was depleted days ago. Out of water. No reason to try anymore. Humanity had lost. 

For months, she and some other people she’d met chased a dream of reaching Nantucket. Supposedly it was a safe haven, and it was the only reason they’d been foolish enough to enter Baltimore. They wanted to go around the city. All cities were dangerous because there were always undead around, but they’d been desperate. They didn’t have enough supplies to make it if they went around the large city, going straight through was their last hope. 

Her small group had joined up with a scrappy militant group Renee didn’t trust along with an insane posse of scavengers. All scavengers seemed to have a death wish, at least in Renee’s opinion. Who else would venture into cities for supplies regularly? As soon as they stepped foot in Baltimore, Renee knew they’d made a colossal mistake. It was too barren, too quiet. She swore she even felt the undead watching her. It didn’t make sense - zombies didn’t watch anything; they didn’t plan. They came in waves and devoured everything until only piles of bones remained. 

The image of the tall, menacing zombie filled her mind. Renee had seen him in the shadows just after she got to the heart of the city. At first, she hadn’t realized he was undead because the dim light obscured his features. Even after, when everyone was running for their lives and she’d seen him again, he didn’t look quite dead. He was too clean, too fresh looking - almost human. If it wasn’t for his deathly pallor and the way the other zombies hurried away from him like they were making room for him she might have mistaken him for a human survivor. 

Renee put her forehead against the glass and gripped the windowpane tighter. Nausea threatened to make her throw up what little fluid she still had left in her body. The hair on the back of her neck stood. She bit her lip. They were here. Only a matter of seconds until it was over. She might not hear them, but she could sense the zombie’s approach. She refused to open her eyes.

I’m a coward. I should face my death, or at least fight back. She squeezed her eyes tighter. A light touch on her back made her stiffen and tremble. It was a hand, a chilly hand. It slid up her neck and gently squeezed. Renee froze. It wasn’t a zombie. Confused, she opened her eyes and looked at the reflection in the window.

Chapter 1

Renee yawned as she stood on top of a crushed car and leaned against the utility pole the car was wrapped around. She was not thrilled with her new group, but what choice did she have? Humans that traveled alone were an easy target for zombies and humans alike. The undead would eat her, and the humans… well, it largely depended on who found her. But she’d learned early on what happened to people traveling alone who were unable to defend themselves. 

She shivered from the memories of witnessing people die. The world was a harsh, horrific, never-ending cycle of death. Renee sighed and pushed her long, brown ponytail behind her. Had to stay focused. Her only job tonight was to stay awake and watch for threats. Mark said she wasn’t useful for anything else. Mark was a tool.

Iris told Renee she slept better when Renee was on watch because Renee caught things others didn’t. Renee scrunched up her face. She understood they weren’t friends, but she wanted them to be, she wanted someone to like her. 

I like you Renny, her brother said beside her.

Renee stiffened and wouldn’t allow herself to look in his direction. If she did, he’d fade away, and she was feeling pretty lonely, again. 

I think you have to, Liam. You’re my brother, she replied in her mind because she knew he’d hear her since that’s where he lived. 

Untrue. A lot of brothers, especially ones like me, who are a lot older, don’t like their little sisters. But they’re jerks and I’m the best, he laughed because that’s what she always told him, but he never believed it. 

You are, but I can’t get distracted. I have to make sure nothing sneaks up on us. We’re too close to the city now, and if I make one more mistake, Mark said I was out. How was I supposed to know he was going to let those scavengers join us? Renee grumbled and scanned the area again. 

Even if you didn’t, you probably shouldn’t have charged into camp screaming that you were being attacked. His tone was gentle, but his words still stung. 

Well, any other time, that’s what it would have meant! She snapped and frowned. Typically, if you were already in a group and another gang of similar size approached, it rarely meant they wanted to team up. It meant they wanted your stuff. Some groups were willing to trade or help each other, but many would fight to get what they wanted. 

She took a deep breath and peered into the darkness. Tuning everything out, returning herself to the childhood state when she leaned on her abilities to perceive things with her senses of sight, touch, taste, and smell, to tell her if something was wrong. There was a chill in the air that left her skin feeling damp. The light breeze carried an odd mixture of scents to her nostrils. Pavement, decaying foliage, mold, people that needed to bathe, a musty fragrance she couldn’t place, and a trace of something fresh that reminded her of sunshine.

Citrus? She blinked and squinted her eyes when she saw what appeared to be glowing stars in the sky, only they were too close to the ground. Renee leaned closer and tried to keep her heart rate down. There were so many, small glowing orbs that her mind couldn’t register the sight. Fear lanced through her and made her limbs lock into place. 

She’d heard stories over the years talking about the zombies once they started to group together. She suspected the stories were nonsense. It was said right before the undead attacked, people on watch would sometimes peer into the darkness and witness a sea of lights too close to the ground to be stars. It was almost beautiful in an eerie sort of way. Just the idea of a glittering mass of stars made her think of her books. Only in those stories, it wouldn’t be a sign of danger.