“Jessica Gomez tapped into something interested and primal with her Flash series. Evolved reaches that high bar set by the first two books.” — Jay Wilburn
Excerpt from Evolved: Flash series book 3
by Jessica Gomez
“Lillie!” I scream, as the Infected push the boulder back into place, sealing me away from my heart. Pausing for a moment to glance at Mason, checking on Azami, before I ready myself for a fight.
“Go!” Mason hollers, his eyes wild with panic, holding my crying daughter in his arms.
I waste no time running out the entrance, James hot on my heals. The snow’s coming down in blankets, visibility only a handful of feet in front of me. Frantically searching our surroundings for their trail, I shout her name, James echoing my call. Silence is all that greats us. They’ve practically vanished. Her emotions are only glitches on my internal radar, not enough for me to decipher which direction to search.
“Over here!” James demands my attention.
Rushing to his side, I see the trail they’ve left behind. Foot prints, along with a large drag line. We follow the fast diminishing path to the best of our ability, but the weather is making it impossible. The snow begins to run with red. I slow down a moment to inspect, needing to confirm my suspicions.
Blood.
Rage consumes me as I charge forward. After a few more yards her marks disappear, replaced with footprints. With their speed and the condition, she’s undoubtedly in, he must have picked her up. The snow is filling up my life line and her emotions are growing fainter. My heart plummets to my stomach, as dread crawls through my veins.
I’m losing her.
Luke barrels through the snow, taking the lead. Hope surges through me, knowing he’s the best in our group. No more than fifty yards later, he slows to a stop, searching the ground. His breathing is fast, like the rest of us. He’s searching for a hint, anything that’ll lead us to her. Watching his face, I know before he looks at me that he’s lost her. The snow’s coming down too thick, covering any sign of their escape.
When Luke finally meets my eyes, regret swimming in their depths, I already know. A crushing weight slams into my chest, knocking the air from my lungs. When I’m able to breathe again, I open my arms wide, and scream to the heavens.
“Lillie!”
I drop to my knees in the snow, shortly after, my hands plant themselves in front of me. The cold barely registers as it sinks into my palms, numbing them like the rest of me.
A sob echoes behind me, bringing me back to my senses. Climbing to my feet, I turn to meet James’s glistening eyes.
“She’s gone.” He manages, before breaking down completely.
“We’re not giving up.” I growl, moving ahead.
“Ian…” Luke steps in front of me, blocking my pursuit. “We don’t have their tracks and you’re not dressed for this kind of search.” He points to my lack of coat or warm clothes.
None of that matters. Lillie’s out there with the same clothing. I push past Luke and continue anyway. James’s teeth start to chatter, alerting me to the fact we’re in below freezing temperatures. Their tracks vanished over an hour ago and I’m blindly searching our surrounding woods.
“Ian?” Luke starts, softly. “Ian, I know you don’t want to stop, neither do we, but we’re not prepared for a search like this. James is only in a t-shirt.”
His statement stops me in my tracks. I’ve been concentrating so much on my own emotions, that I didn’t take into consideration James and his underdress. “Take him back.” I order.
“No.” James states, but his shivering jaw chops the single word.
“There’s no choice in this. Take him back.” I say, again.
“What about you?” Luke asks.
“I’ll be fine. I’m not giving up until I find her.”
“You’re not dressed any better.” Luke points out.
Turning back to them, I pin him with a stare that holds no room for argument. “I’m not going back. I can’t leave her out here alone. Jeff has her, Luke. You remember Jeff, right? What he tried to do the last time he had his filthy hands on her!” My emotions are becoming a living thing. A monster tearing from my skin. “Now, take him back!” I turn and face the dark open forest.
James pauses in front of me, tears freezing on his lashes midfall. “Don’t freeze out here. We still need you. Azami needs you. This isn’t your fault… and it’s not your fault if you can’t bring her home.”
My heart slams in my chest listening to his words. He knows as much as I do that my search is pointless. Their trail is cold, buried beneath several inches of snow. If I find her, it’ll happen on blind luck. They’re twice as fast and probably miles ahead of me already.
I swallow the lump in my throat and whisper, “I have to try.”
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