Only The Dead Don't Die | Book 4 | Finding Home Popovich, A.D. (any book recommendations txt) 📖

child. “The airplane is looking for hordes. They don’t know we’re here. But the bad ones do.”

“Alrighty then”—Dean took over—“we should reconnoiter the border wall and then hash out our escape plans.”

Dean was always ready to prioritize when things went wonky. He unfolded the faded, torn map for the gazillionth time. “Say, Justin, did you get a good look at the Forbidden Zone’s border wall?”

Justin swallowed hard. They weren’t going to like this. “Operation RayGun—” It came out more foreboding than he intended.

“Knock it off.” Dean’s narrowing eyes warned. “Time to get down to business.” He laid the map on the table, smoothing out the creases.

“Guys, I’m serious. Wanna know the real reason smugglers don’t loot the Forbidden Zone?” Everyone turned to him. “The Zhetto side of the Forbidden Zone’s perimeter is armed with military tanks. Like one every few hundred feet.”

“As in manned tanks?” Luther balked with an elongated neckroll.

“And you’re just now telling us?” Dean’s face started to go purple.

“I know. I know,” Justin blurted before Dean went supernova on him. “I thought they would have moved them with the horde outbreak and all.” Now that he had seen a preview of coming attractions—a wonderful future, there had to be a way out of Last State.

Dean’s glare softened.

Time to tell them the rest. “The tanks are remotely operated.” But that wasn’t the scary part. “Uh, they’re upgraded with this ingenious non-lethal direct energy weapon used for riot control.”

Dean’s scathing glare returned.

During Justin’s Think Tank gig with Last State, one of his training modules had been analyzing livestream feed of an actual breach. “No one lasts more than like three seconds. It makes you feel like your skin’s on fire.”

“Ew!” Ella shrieked from the kitchen sink. “How can that not be lethal?”

Dean nodded in recognition. “Heard ’bout those. Kyle served in Afghanistan. He said our military weaponized microwave-like gizmos and mounted them to tanks.”

“Exactly,” Justin said. “It shoots out invisible waves. Great for riot control and perimeter defense.”

The bus went quiet. The only sound was Ella kneading a ball of dough on the counter next to the sink. Was she actually making the pizza, now? Then again, cooking calmed her.

“I don’t suppose this weapon works on the dead-heads,” Dean muttered under his breath.

“I wish,” Justin muttered back. “It just sorta slows them down.”

“You should have told us.” Ella’s eyes went dark—with fear?

Then it came to him. “Duh, the tanks face toward Zhetto, not us.”

Luther’s eyes widened in acknowledgment. “So, we bust through the fence with the bus.” Luther fist-bumped him from across the table.

“Right.” Dean rubbed his chin. “We just need to find the right spot.”

“Like a blind spot. Since”—Justin grimaced—“the energy blasts through windows.”

Suddenly, all eyes scanned the windows on the bus.

“What if—we cover the rear of the bus with metal? And we drive the bus full-throttle through the wall like a bat out of hell,” Dean bellowed in uncharacteristic excitement.

“We have to leave. Now!” Twila demanded.

“Or we won’t make it,” Scarlett added bluntly, eyeing Mindy, who finally joined them.

“Mindy, what’s your input?” Dean asked.

“Whatever you decide. Sorry, you think I’m a loser,” Mindy seemed to say directly to Justin. “All I can do is meditate. More like, visualize a protective shield around us.”

More like saving her own ass. And Starla’s, Justin wanted to say. Twila flashed him a dirty look.

“And you’re doing a mighty fine job.” Dean was such a softy when it came to the girls.

“I think . . .” Scarlett paused. “I’m getting fragments of information. Like scenes from the cutting-room floor. When I piece them all together . . .”

Ella inched toward them with the ball of dough in her hands.

“People—everywhere. Running! Escaping to the outer Zones,” Scarlett announced like a tense war correspondent live at the scene.

Twila screamed from her bunk. A shrilly scream that would not stop. Scarlett rushed to her.

Mindy croaked, “The dark energy found us. My shield isn’t strong enough.” Tears rolled down her flushed face.

“The hell we can’t!” Luther thundered.

A nanosecond later, the bus lurched. The squabbling-squawking of birds sent barbs of terror up and down Justin’s spine.

“Shut the dern windows!” Dean yelled.

It was gonna get super hot. Super quick. A harrowing crackle made Justin freeze. He turned around slowly, eye to eye with Ella. And he wished he hadn’t. The horror oozing from her totally crushed him.

“Guys!” Justin pointed to the broken glass three windows down.

Dean made it there first. “Need something to cover the window—”

“Catch!” Ella yelled.

To Justin’s amazement, instead of freezing up, Ella frisbeed the round pizza pan.

Dean didn’t hesitate; he caught it like an ultimate frisbee pro.

Luther was there with the toolbox. “The cordless drill should still have some juice left.” He had reinforced his bedframe earlier after he had broken it.

The window screen ripped as the birds pecked away at the cracked glass. Dean thrust the round pan against the window. “Justin, hold the pan. Luther, I could use some of those screws right ’bout now.”

Justin squeezed in beside Dean and held the pan firmly against the window.

“There’s some screws in here somewhere.” Luther dumped the top tray onto the floor. “Yeah, baby!” He held up a handful of screws like he had just won the lottery.

Dean drilled away. But another crackle pierced through the ruckus.

“Over here!” Scarlett warned. “Ella, is there another pan!”

“We don’t have enough pans—” Twila’s monotone voice freaked him out even more.

Justin’s eardrums popped. It was like he actually felt the air pressure change, followed by a double sonic boom. All the windows exploded at the same time. “Guys, we have to get out here. Like now!”

As Justin darted to the driver’s seat, the horrific scene played out in slo-mo: Scarlett running for Twila, Dean shielding