“Someone give me their phone,” Patrick said. “I left mine in my bag.”
Noah made a face like he didn’t want to give his up.
“Here,” I said, suppressing a laugh as I passed my phone to Noah. “Use mine.”
“Thanks.” Noah opened the maps app and typed in the address Grayson had written on the map. He handed the phone to Patrick, who stuck it in the cup holder.
“Well, we went way too far down this road.” Patrick slowed and made a U-turn.
“Sorry,” Noah said. “I got distrac—”
The ground exploded in front of us.
“Holy shit!” Patrick swerved the SUV, narrowly missing the scrab that had just sprung up out of the earth.
Another one smashed up from the ground. It was massive, one of the biggest scrabs I’d ever seen. At least seven feet tall.
Two more ran at my window.
“Just hit them!” Priya yelled.
“I think that will do more damage to us than the scrab.” Patrick hit the gas hard. The car lurched forward.
“Another one!” Edan yelled, pointing to where a crack was starting to appear on the road. A scrab sprang up and roared.
Patrick turned the wheel so quickly the vehicle spun out of control. I gripped the back of the seat in front of me as we swung in almost a full circle and veered off the road. The SUV bounced and jerked as we soared into the short, bushy green crops on the side of the road.
Something smashed into my side of the car, and I yelped as we bounced again. A scrab roared at the window as it slammed its body against my door.
“Go, go!” Laila yelled.
To my right, a scrab galloped at us on all fours, teeth bared. It hit the side with a crunch of metal and glass. The car slowed. Thump thump thump.
“I think they got the tires!” Patrick grimaced. The car continued to slow.
“We’re going to have to get out,” Edan said. I grabbed my pack and pulled out my baton, popping the top off to reveal the blade.
Patrick swerved around the scrabs, and we bounced forward a few yards.
“Ready?” he asked. I saw the fear in his eyes as he glanced in the rearview mirror.
I looked over my shoulder. Scrabs came for us from all directions. There were six of them that I could see.
“Ready,” Priya said.
The car screeched to a stop. I pushed the door open and dove out, nearly losing my balance as I tried to keep a grip on my baton.
A scrab galloped straight toward me. Its mouth was open, fangs bared and spit flying as it ran.
I swung as it approached, my injured arm screaming in protest. Missed. I ducked as it swiped its claws, pressing one hand to the ground as I slashed my blade across its belly. It screamed and lurched backward. I’d made a really deep cut—best I’d ever done—and blood poured out of the wound. It hit the ground with a thud.
I turned to find two more dead scrabs on the ground. Patrick and Archer fought another one together. Laila and Priya each were fending off one. Laila’s hit the ground, dead. Edan was a few yards away, swinging his blade at a scrab. He kept stepping back as it came closer, putting more space between him and us.
Two more scrabs galloped toward him. Edan paused for half a second before bolting.
I took off, pumping my arms as I ran as fast as I could. One of the scrabs caught up with Edan, and he whirled around, swinging his machete. Another dove at him from the side, and he barely managed to dodge its claws as he swung his weapon at them.
“Hey!” I yelled as the third scrab closed in. It snarled as it spotted me. It gave up on Edan and headed for me.
I skidded to a stop. The scrab snarled as it looked down at me. Its black eyes focused on the blade in my hand. I swung it.
With my other hand, I grabbed the machete sticking out of my pack. The scrab batted my baton away. It leaned down, fangs bared.
I sliced my machete across its neck. Blood splattered across my clothes.
Thud. I spun around to find Edan. One scrab was dead, the other injured, blood dripping from its neck. Edan swung his machete, trying to finish it off.
It swiped away the weapon. Edan froze for a moment, reaching for something in his pack. Another knife, maybe. There was nothing.
He took off, the scrab chasing him. It was slower than usual, dragging its right leg as it ran. I bolted after them.
I yelled at the scrab, but it kept pursuing Edan. We ran until my lungs started to burn—I was flat-out sprinting—and the scrab began gaining on Edan. We burst through a patch of trees. I cast a frantic glance over my shoulder, but I’d lost sight of everyone else.
We ran straight into a patch of houses, and my stomach clenched as I waited for the screams of the occupants. But as we got closer, I realized they were all long abandoned, the windows smashed, doors swinging open. One small home was missing part of its walls in the front and back of the house, like something had smashed straight through it.
Edan darted inside that one. Probably looking for a weapon. It was what I would have done, since it was becoming clear he couldn’t outrun the scrab.
It crashed into the house. I pushed myself as hard as I could, running until I thought my lungs might burst. I skidded into the house.
Edan had a frying pan, and I watched as he slammed it into the scrab’s face. It stumbled back, disoriented. Edan hit it again. I darted around an old rickety table, blade pointed at it.
A second whack on the head just made it mad. It stalked forward, opening its mouth like it was trying to roar. Only a squeak came out. Edan must have sliced its vocal cords.
Edan tried to
