The Future Without Hope by Nazarea Andrews Read Free Book Online Page B

lips.
    Of
course she didn’t forget. Claire didn’t survive this long by making stupid
decisions. “What happened?” I ask, climbing the stairs to stand next to her.
    “If
I help you, will you stop killing?” she asks.
    I
go blank, and let my gaze drift away. “I’m not controlling this, Claire. The
killing will end when Ren is back where she belongs.”
    “What
if she did leave?” Claire asks, softly.
    I
give her a dark glare, and she nods. “I agree. That girl wouldn’t have left you
unless she had a dead body to prove her brother’s death.”
    She
wouldn’t have left then. I wouldn’t have let her.
    “Come
inside, Finn. Let me help you, if I can.”
    I
give her a long look, but she’s not explaining shit and I’m desperate enough
that I’ll take whatever scraps I can find. And if it doesn’t fall the way I want,
I can walk back out. There is nothing stopping me from that.
    A
brief thought crosses my mind, that she could have Kenny’s men in there—but if
I can’t trust Claire, there is no one left that I can trust, and that is too
depressing to consider, so I follow her into the little house.
    Orwell
is in the living room, along with two older men I don’t know, and a girl young
enough that she didn’t see the change, or life before the Walls.
    I
go still in the doorway, and Claire pokes me with one bony finger, pushing me
to one side as she enters behind me. “You can walk into the damn room,
O’Malley..”
    I
flick a look at her—I trust Claire. But these other people—I don’t know them,
and I don’t have any reason to trust them.
    “They
can help you,” she says, softly. “Listen to them.”
    I
look at her, and then I step into the little room and take the single
free-standing chair. Claire pats my arm as she moves past me, settling next to
the dark-haired girl with wide, brown eyes. She sees me watching her, and her
gaze drops, almost scared.
    My
lips twist. Little Haven mouse. She’d never survive outside the Walls. I let my
gaze travel the other three, focusing on the two I don’t know. “Who are you?” I
ask, tugging my katana around so it isn’t stabbing into me. Claire makes a
snort, and I flick a look at her. I’m past civility.
    “Luke
Holts. I served as Andrew’s chief of staff during the turn,” one of them says.
I narrow my eyes. I remember him and Kelsey’s father and mine huddled around
maps, blacked out by the infected. Holts had been influential in getting the
Havens in working order. He saved lives, by hiding us behind walls. But he kept
the supply trains running in and out of the East for years—even after the
initial evac orders ran, and civilians were safe.
    He
saved lives then, too.
    I
swing my gaze to the other man, a wiry man with gray hair, teeth too white and
unnatural in his smooth face. He smiles, wide and smooth. A fucking politician.
“Sonny Kamen.”
    “You
ran against Kenny in the election,” I say, cutting him off.
    “I
did. And I fought in the East, in Detroit and then Chicago.” I sit up a little
straighter, my interest piqued. I don’t know everyone who fought in the
East—there were far too many to keep track of everyone, but I know those
battles and I know we barely survived them.
    “Why
did you lose the election?” I ask, softly.
    “Because
he didn’t have my support,” the girl says, her voice softly musical. I shift to
stare at her. She’s leaning forward, her dark hair spilling around her
shoulders, and I reassess quickly—she might look like a baby of the apocalypse,
but this girl has more going on than I first saw.
    “Who
are you?” I ask, quietly.
    A
tiny smile turns her lips. “Holly. I’m the acolyte that Omar planted here to
keep him aware of what happens in the Haven. I’m the one who controls our Order
here—because with just a few words, I inform his opinion.”
    “Why?”
I ask and something sparks in her eyes. Respect. I’m asking the right
questions.
    “Because
he kept me alive. When my parents were