Page 3 of Demon Shock

A whole town…empty. How? Why?

I glanced at the house on my right, debating whether to go inside. Nothing looked off about it, yet I feared what I’d find.

With a pitiful groan of defeat, I turned into the driveway and parked the truck. The silence when I got out this time was more noticeable without the wind. The crunch of snow under my boots seemed louder.

I knocked on the door and waited for an answer—a whisper of noise, anything to indicate someone was there. Hearing nothing, I tried the knob. It turned freely, and the door opened with a crackle of ice breaking free around the jamb. Proof it’d been a long while since it’d been opened.

My breath fogged inside as I called out a tentative hello. Lit by the overcast dimness from outside, the words spray painted on the wall had an extra level of eeriness.

We waited as long as we could. We’re sorry. Go to Phil’s. We won’t evacuate without you. Be safe. Don’t trust anyone. See you soon. Love, Mom and Dad.

I stared at the words. Evacuate?

My thoughts drifted back over the last few months. While at the cabin, I hadn’t seen or heard anything. Not buried in the woods like I’d been.

Pivoting on my heel, I returned to my truck and started home with one question ringing in my mind:What in the hell had happened?

CHAPTER TWO

GYRIK

“How does it look?”Will asked.

Crouched low, I studied the group waiting at the snow-covered crossroads below. After days of broadcasting on the shortwave radio, a man had finally responded that his group was running low on supplies.

Since humans didn’t trust one another—too many would hurt their own kind for supplies, no matter how meager—we’d arrived at the meetup place he’d designated early enough to observe the group for a time.

“One near the car is moving like he’s anxious. The others are calmer. I don’t see any weapons.” I paused as a car door opened, and a person wearing a dress emerged.

“What?” Will asked. “You just did that blink thing you do when you’re confused.”

“I…” I didn’t know what to say. My brothers and I had lived thousands of years without understanding what a female was because we’d had none of our own. However, since coming to the surface and discovering human females, we saw and appreciated their uniqueness. Each one had their own version of beauty. But the one warming her hands below was…

“We’re leaving in two seconds if you don’t say something,” Will said.

“Do males wear women’s clothing?” I asked, finally tearing my gaze from the group to look at Will.

We’d been together for weeks, searching the northern Midwest for survivors. So I was used to Will and how he grinned at me when he found my lack of knowledge entertaining. It didn’t bother me. I knew I still had much to learn.

He grinned at me now. “Some men did before the world went to shit. Not sure how many still would now. The world outside of our sanctuaries seems even meaner than it was. Why are you asking?”

“I think a male is wearing a dress to pretend he is female. He looks pretty, but…not?”

Will laughed and clapped my back.

“This sounds like another trap. Let’s head down and see if they’ll trade information for food. No getting shot, okay?”

We crept backward until we could stand without being noticed by the group below, and I stayed near the trees while Will jogged back toward the vehicles parked along the side of the snow-covered road.

He grabbed the radio as he closed his door, and I listened to him tell Zach and Bram to stay where they were. Bram gave me a thumbs-up from his vehicle as Will started the engine and left to head toward the meetup site.

Watching the group in the valley below, I tried not to feel the disappointment and hopelessness that wanted to consume me. We’d been looking for survivors for weeks, and although we’d made contact with several groups like the one today, we hadn’t found a single female.

Were the only surviving females in Tolerance and Tenacity? I hoped not. I’d already spoken to those females more than once, and none of them had any interest in me.

I rubbed the ache in my chest and reminded myself of the maps Bram had shown me. The North American continent was vast. It would take us years to search it and even more to explore the other continents.

Patience,I reminded myself.You will find the perfect female eventually.

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