They rode downhill in silence, their horses at a gentle trot rather than canter or a full gallop. Dread coiled in Thom\u2019s belly as he stared at the half-finished walls and some of the burned-out shells of buildings. There had been people here, and they\u2019d been getting by since the end of everything.<\/p>\n
What happened to them?<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes for a brief moment and swallowed the bile that crept up in his throat again.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not supposed to be this way.<\/em><\/p>\n But it was.<\/p>\n A lonely bell clanged, as if worried by a wind off the lake. Thom shivered despite himself.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a ghost town.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not seeing any of those people you said you saw, Jay,\u201d Cameron said, shifting uneasily in his saddle. \u201cAre you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019m not sure they weren\u2019t ghosts,\u201d J.T. growled. \u201cAnd no, I\u2019m not entirely positive I saw them\u2014but I thought I did.\u201d<\/p>\n Thom glanced sidelong at his friend, trying to keep the frown from his face. He knew J.T. had seen something<\/em>, otherwise he wouldn\u2019t have mentioned it. But if he\u2019d seen ghosts instead of the living in the village…<\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t want to consider it, either.<\/em> Thom looked at Seamus. \u201cDo you see anything?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something moving there,\u201d Seamus said, his words quiet enough that the wind nearly stole them away. \u201cAround the edge of the building there, the second one in.\u201d<\/p>\n There weren\u2019t any gates to stop them from entering the protective circle of the silent village\u2019s walls. The wind whistled through the buildings that were left, looking worse up close than they had at a distance.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell burned this place?\u201d Thom murmured, reining in a few feet inside the wall.<\/p>\n \u201cNo idea,\u201d Cameron said, passing his reins to Thom before swinging down from his horse\u2019s back. \u201cNot sure if we\u2019re going to find any answers to that question, either.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomething\u2019s not right,\u201d J.T. said. \u201cCam, get back on your horse. Something\u2019s not right.\u201d<\/p>\n Click.<\/em><\/p>\n A flash left all four men blind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" They rode downhill in silence, their horses at a gentle trot rather than canter or a full gallop. Dread coiled in Thom\u2019s belly as he stared at the half-finished walls and some of the burned-out shells of buildings. There had … Continue reading