The Extinction Trials(68)

“Parrish. He hit me with a rock. It’s like he didn’t remember me.”

“Who is Parrish?” Maya asked.

Owen sat up. “You don’t remember?”

Maya shook her head.

“You told me you met him in the hospital. You knew him.”

A new sort of fear ran through Maya. Whoever Parrish was, she had forgotten him. Not only that, but she had remembered him a few days ago—clearly, she had told Owen that she knew him.

She was losing more of her past.

“It’s getting worse, isn’t it?” Owen said.

“Let’s focus on you right now.”

Owen got to his feet. “I’m fine. But they got away with half of our food.”

Alister, Will, and Blair arrived then, with the other duffel bag, the blankets, and the rest of the camp.

“We need to move,” Alister hissed.

Owen pointed at him. “You destroyed the radio.”

“Keep your voice down.”

“Who cares? They know we’re out here. They’re starving. They’re just hungry.”

“In my book, starving people are dangerous,” Alister said. “That radio would have just drawn attention to us—just like standing here talking is. We need to move right now. They’ll be hunting us now.”

Cara turned to Will. “Can you repair the radio?”

“No.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure? Even with any of the equipment you have?”

He looked at her curiously. “I’m certain. It’s broken. Besides, Alister is right. We can’t remain here, and I can’t fix it as we walk—even if I had the parts. We must go, and quickly.”





They trekked through the woods with reckless abandon, trudging over roots and branches and hills and through shrubs and thickets. There was no sign of animals large or small. No sign of civilization.

No one said a word. But Maya felt that they were all thinking the same thing: it was a race now—to safety, to a shelter they could defend.

The attack in the woods had changed everything.

Maya kept telling herself that they would reach The Colony by sundown, that if they hurried, they could make it, and that there would be everything they needed there: safety, food, and a cure for the virus that was taking more of her memories with each step.

She felt time running out—and her past slipping away. It was a gut-wrenching feeling.

The memory she clung to most was of that night on the boat with Owen, when they had thrown caution to the wind and let themselves be together.

They stopped just long enough to take a meal for lunch. They didn’t talk. Each one of them scanned the forest as they ate the ARC rations, searching for any signs of trouble. Around them, it was quiet, unnaturally quiet, Maya thought. The more she saw of this world, the less she liked it.

Their pace slowed in the afternoon. Everyone was tired. And stressed. But they trudged ahead, putting one foot after the other.

Will seemed the freshest of the entire group, and he decided to scout ahead. Soon, Maya spotted him stopped at the top of the next hill. The daylight was brighter beyond the trees there, as if they were coming upon a clearing.

When Maya reached the hilltop where Will was waiting, she realized they had a problem. In the valley below lay the ruins of a vast city. Buildings and skyscrapers lay in crumbled gray heaps of glass and concrete. It was like an expanse of destruction, the piles of ruins serving as tombstones for the fallen city. Grass and trees and blue-green lichens had begun to grow over the carcass, nature slowly reclaiming what was originally its own.

“Is The Colony located in the city?” Owen asked.

“No,” Will responded. “It’s beyond. Directly beyond.”

“We should go around,” Owen said, grimacing as he stared at the city.

“It will take time,” Will said.

“We don’t have time,” Alister said.

“I agree,” Will said quietly. “If we go through, we can make it before sundown. If we hurry.”

No one said a word. It was clear to Maya—and apparently the others—that they might not survive a night out here. They either risked their lives crossing the ruined city or risked it sleeping in the dark of the woods. The group, it was silently decided, would take their chances on their feet, marching through the city, hoping to reach The Colony before nightfall.

With that, they descended the hill toward the ruined city.





Chapter Fifty-Four





The road into the city had long since been overgrown by shrubs and trees. The abandoned cars were the only clue that the road was there.

The six of them marched past the column of vehicles that was four wide, their doors open, the insides filled with dirt and grime and mildew.

Owen couldn’t help peering inside the vehicles as they passed, as if staring at a still parade, searching for any clues as to what the ruined city might hold.

Up ahead, he heard no sounds from the city except the occasional crumbling of concrete and glass falling to the ground. It was as if the ruins were alive, shedding tears as the time slipped by.

At the edge of the city were crumpled houses. The roofs were caved in. The windows were shattered. Doors stood open. Trees surrounded them like a group of towering beings watching, willing the homes to disappear into the ground for good.