After The World Ends: Find (Book 3): After The World Ends, #3

By Jamie Thornton

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jamie Thornton.

Dessa must find what she needs in a city filled with over a million infected souls.

Separated from her brother by vigilantes and military groups working under secret orders, Dessa and her friends search for her brother, and all of the children involved in Project Polus, to administer the zombie-blocker meds in time.

But when Dessa discovers the meds will soon stop working, she and her friends must travel with a military escort into the heart of a city to find a new, more powerful treatment in time to keep the children from turning.

Unfortunately, more than a million souls infected with the ravenous Lyssa virus stand in their way.

********

AFTER THE WORLD ENDS is a new series in the same bestselling universe as ZOMBIES ARE HUMAN. New characters. New adventures. A thrilling zombie apocalypse awaits.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Igneous Books
• Release date: Mar 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201040970

Book preview

FREE BOOK DOWNLOADS

Sign up for Jamie Thornton's Author Newsletter to download a book from each of her series, and exclusive bonus content, for free.

Find out more at the end of this book or visit: 

JamieThornton.com

After the World Ends 3

F I N D

Jamie Thornton

1

Dessa stared at a pile of rubble where a young man sat up, coughing.

Delmar.

Out of all the people Dessa and Tiana could have found—it had to be Delmar.

Smoke from the surrounding fires of former houses choked her breath. Her brother, her friends, the other children in Project Polus, they were all missing. For all she knew, they were buried somewhere in this rubble. Dead.

Delmar began brushing off his clothes, sending ash into the air. Ash coated Delmar’s combo cured skin too, making it look far more pale than his normal Hispanic mix. Delmar had been infected with the Lyssa virus more than a month ago, but the military had administered the borrelia bacterial antidote in time to keep him from turning. Though the combo cure had its own side effects—marking the skin and messing with memories.

Why you staring? Delmar demanded. I might not be your favorite person to see alive, but you could act a little less miserable to see me than that.

Dessa and Tiana exchanged a look. They knew each other well enough by now for a silent message to pass between them.

Delmar? They were stuck with Delmar?

Who else? Dessa said, the words hoarse in her throat. It took all her willpower to ask.

Who else, what? Delmar looked up. You guys have water? I feel like I swallowed a bunch of sand.

No, Tiana said. Dirt streaked her cheeks, and her clothes were torn and muddied, much like Dessa’s.

Dessa was pretty sure Tiana did have a bottle of water stashed in her backpack, but didn’t bring it up.

They had been traveling with Cole outside New Sacramento’s walls, coerced into a mission for Mayor Pierce. But then Cole revealed he had hidden away his father, a Faint—someone infected with the borrelia bacterium, but not the Lyssa virus. Alone, borrelia turned people into basically slow zombies. Except Faints didn’t try to kill you. They were just sick, trapped between hallucinations and coma-like sleep, going through the motions of life like from muscle memory. They could sort of take care of themselves with a little help.

Faints creeped Dessa out, but she guessed that wouldn’t have mattered to her if someone she loved was one. She had to respect Cole for what he was doing for his father.

The fire Dessa and Tiana had spotted on the horizon while trapped in the house with Cole and his father had sent the two girls racing back for New Sacramento. Cole had stayed behind to move his father out of harm’s way.

Mayor Pierce’s New Sacramento community, which Dessa had thought safe enough, at least until they could escape with the children to Sanctuary, was now devastated by fire and violence.

Gone.

Just tell us what happened, Dessa said, voice rising. Delmar, what happened?

It was the zombies, wasn’t it? Tiana wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, but it only moved the dirt around. The gates were overwhelmed. And things just fell apart from there.

Delmar squinted at Tiana. You really think you know everything, don’t you? You thought I was such an idiot for siding with Mayor Pierce back at the dam. But who’s right now?

Dessa felt as confused as Tiana looked.

Tiana shook her head, disgusted. There have to be more survivors. It can’t just be you.

Dessa’s panic grew. She itched to dive into the rubble and look for survivors, but didn’t know where to begin. Delmar, I swear to God. You need to tell us what happened or—

She raised a fist. In a fair fight with Delmar, she would lose. But she was pretty sure Tiana would jump in to help. Between the two of them, they could get in some good hits. He would deserve it. In the group home, Delmar had made Dessa miserable at every opportunity. He had planted weed in her backpack, which got her kicked out of the group home. He had a knack for turning people against each other. Egg had been one of his goons before this zombie apocalypse had changed things up.

She could land a solid punch. She was pretty sure it would feel pretty great to take out all her anger and fear and helplessness on Delmar.

It wasn’t stupid zombies. Delmar waved his hands at the surrounding piles of ash that had once been houses. Brick chimneys stuck up like dead trees. Bodies were scattered across lawns and the street. Use your eyes. You guys blind? Zombies didn’t do this. Nobody’s ripped apart.

Dessa blinked. What was Delmar saying?

He headed for one of the bodies in the street.

They reluctantly followed. She didn’t like getting close to dead people. It was just like hospitals. They always gave her the creeps. But she forced herself to scan the body of a middle-aged woman who had been carrying a stack of freshly cleaned clothes. Dessa’s mind cataloged the scene. An odd detached voice in her brain noticed the clothes were bloodstained. Likely no amount of laundering would fix them now.

All that effort gone to waste.

The woman showed the telltale marks on her skin that meant she’d been given the combo cure at some point. The same combo cure that Delmar, Amos, and Mayor Pierce had received to prevent them from turning into raging zombies.

Most people in New Sacramento had the combo cure. But not Dessa, Tiana, Egg, or Cole—yet. They each carried vials of the bacterial antidote, just in case they got infected with the Lyssa virus.

And not the kids either, because they were different.

The kids in Project Polus had all been infected with the Lyssa virus, but hadn’t turned. That was because of Ms. Winters’ special medicine. It was also why they needed to get the kids to Sanctuary as soon as possible—because the Aeulbutrin was losing effectiveness, no matter how much Ms. Winters increased the dosage.

People infected with the Lyssa virus turned into insatiable zombies, but somehow the borrelia bacteria held the virus in check. Ms. Winters had explained it many times, but Dessa still didn’t completely understand. All Dessa knew for sure was that Ms. Winters was a genius. Her work had kept Dessa’s brother from turning. But it also meant what had saved Amos, Delmar, and so many others wouldn’t work on any of the Project Polus children.

The borrelia bacterium inside the vial Dessa carried would save her in case of Lyssa virus infection, but would kill the children.

Oh, Tiana said, pointing.

Dessa tracked her finger to a wound on the woman’s body, but still wasn’t getting it.

Wait—

Expecting to see bite marks and ripped flesh, it took long seconds for Dessa to recognize—bullet holes.

While doing laundry, this woman had been murdered by someone capable of handling a gun.

V’s can’t do that, Dessa said. It was their name for the fast-moving zombies infected with the Lyssa virus. V for violent.

There’s no way it was V’s, Tiana agreed.

No shit, Einstein, Delmar said. It was soldiers. I bet I would’ve recognized their faces if they hadn’t been wearing gas masks.

Dessa stood there, feeling stunned at the thought. You’re not talking about General Alberta?

He had attempted to blow the Folsom dam weeks ago, in order to save her brother and the other kids from being overrun by a horde of V’s. General Alberta was one of the good guys.

"It was soldiers, Delmar said. And the only soldiers I know in the area belong to General Alberta."

Delmar looked so smug. So sure of himself. He had that cocky confidence that probably covered up some deep wound from childhood. At least that’s probably what her therapist would have said.

But what did that matter now? It didn’t make him any less of a jerk.

Tiana shook her head. It doesn’t make sense. General Alberta killed all these people? But why?

Dessa couldn’t hold still any longer. New Sacramento was smoking piles of rubble. Ash stung her eyes. Burning plastic, burning wood, burning who knows what, suffocated her. She had no more time for Delmar’s games.

Her brother was out there somewhere.

That small voice came back and suggested it was also possible her brother was buried somewhere in one of these piles of rubble.

And maybe Egg too.

And Amos.

She had to do something.

Heading for a different pile of rubble, Dessa stepped into the middle of it, catching her balance. Ivan! Egg! Amos! Her voice raised in volume and terror at each name. Holding back had locked down emotions, but now panic flooded her veins at full throttle.

Tiana stepped up next to her and called out more names.

Ms. Winters. Claire. The twins—Angela and Angelina. The cousins—Boraj and Ratha. Sierra. Yasmine. Zachary. Nine special kids. It was a big list. All the people they cared about. All the people they had vowed to keep safe.

Your precious Project Polus isn’t here, Delmar said.

That made Dessa and Tiana stop. They turned as one to face Delmar. He held all the cards. He had the information they needed, and he didn’t care one way or the other how afraid Tiana and Dessa were.

Dessa hated Delmar more in that moment than she thought possible. What does that mean?

I mean, Delmar said, looking off at the horizon. I saw the kids get out. That stupid taco truck is hard to miss. There were a bunch of people crammed inside. Pretty short ones too, which I’m assuming are all the kids that you guys brought in as freeloaders to this place. Did Amos get out? I don’t know. But since he never left those kids unprotected, I’m going to say yes.

And Egg? Tiana prompted.

At his name, Delmar actually showed an emotion that was something other than mockery. It didn’t make Dessa feel any better to see that Delmar could be sad. It wasn’t a good sign.

Delmar’s eyes skimmed the rubble around Dessa and Tiana. He was with me. A hardness entered his tone, like he was using anger to shut out any other type of feeling. But I lost him in the chaos of General Alberta and his soldiers murdering everybody.

Tiana cried out as if punched in the stomach.

Dessa’s world spun. She scanned the rubble again with new eyes, searching the mangled metal and wood.

Egg was no longer Delmar’s goon. He had become their friend. He was kind and thoughtful and always trying to make them laugh. Egg looked out for them and the kids. He was obsessed with footwear and made sure they all had the best sneakers West of the Mississippi for outrunning the V’s. He had gone on his own to try to steal the medicine the kids needed to keep from turning V—and gotten caught by Mayor Pierce for his efforts.

He couldn’t be gone.

Tiana. Dessa didn’t even need to look up to confirm Tiana had heard.

It felt like they had done this a million times over. It was the most natural thing in the world to stand back-to-back, divvying up the rubble in their own version of a grid search.

They had done it on the roof of the elementary school when the V’s chased them out of the library. They had done it again while searching for supplies at Ivan’s foster parents. Again at a convenience store. And again and again, any time they needed to make a place safe.

Like a dance, they moved into separate but symmetrical search patterns. Each taking half, they went over the space with eyes and ears and nose.

Dessa stepped over a blackened metal stool. The guts of the couch still smoldered and she stepped around it, holding her nose against the plastic fumes that made her eyes water. Tiana took the same careful steps on her side.

Delmar stood there like a fool.

Or maybe thought he was some sort of manager over them. He had never deserved Egg’s friendship. Why had Egg wanted to hang out with him again? He could still be alive, with Amos and the kids, if he had just left Delmar alone.

She stepped around the brick remnants of the chimney and over a waist-high bookcase that had tumbled. Its books were fuel transformed into white ash that fluttered like moths when she stepped nearby. A wall had collapsed, the largest wood beams blackened but intact. Drywall crumbled over it all. She moved on, but something stopped her.

Had she heard a meow?

She stepped back and peered into the dark crevices the beams formed. She listened hard. There it was again. The unmistakable and irritated cry of a cat. But more than that—

Was that a shoe?

She crouched and attempted to move aside a 2 x 4 with menacing nails sticking out like a modern take on a medieval weapon.

Nothing moved.

She reached out a hand and rubbed away some of the ash.

Yellow and red—a brightly colored sneaker. Unmoving.

It’s his shoe! Tiana, it’s Egg!

2

Like an apocalyptic game of pickup sticks, Dessa analyzed the way the metal, lumber, plaster, and cement all twisted together. She fell to her knees, the rubble digging into her skin.

Tiana raced over, grabbing for a chunk of cement.

Dessa put out a hand to stop her. Wait! You take that piece and the whole pile collapses, crushing him.

Tiana froze with hands outstretched. Dessa. We have to get him out. What do we do?

Dessa scanned the pile one more time, and then closed her eyes. The whole thing was unstable. Sharp edges and nails and crushing weight. She imagined taking out first one piece, then another, and pictured how that would affect what was left.

Something clicked. She thought she saw a path. Get Delmar. We need his help.

Tiana dragged him over, all three of them staring at that unmoving basketball shoe.

Dessa’s hands tingled as she pointed out a piece of wood, the twisted metal grate, and a different chunk of concrete. We move those three pieces together. At the same time. Straight out from the pile.

Delmar got into position without argument. On Dessa’s count they pulled the pieces. The pile groaned, shifting. Dust clouded the air. But nothing collapsed.

Letting out a breath of relief, Dessa crouched and reexamined the pile. Pointing out three more pieces, she repeated the count.

Dessa bit her lip. A large cabinet pinned Egg at the waist and covered the upper half of his body. We do this last piece together. We have to flip it over.

Egg, Tiana said, worry thick in her voice.

Dessa and Tiana each took a corner. Delmar grunted as he took the middle position.

One. Two. Three! They lifted the cabinet with a screech, flipping it off.

In the opened depression, Egg lay with eyes closed, covered in dust so thick Dessa was surprised she had caught the color on his shoe at all. Wrapped around his neck lay an exasperated, now howling, Tigg.

Tiana dropped to her knees and carefully unwrapped the cat from around Egg’s neck. Tigg!

Dessa crouched and placed her ear on Egg’s chest. All her fingers and toes tingled. Dessa didn’t know what they would do if—

And then she felt it. A fluttering heartbeat.

Tiana bent over Egg’s face, her cheek facing his nose and mouth, Tigg held tight to her chest. I feel it. He’s breathing.

Come on, Egg, Delmar said, voice loud. Stop messing around. Sit up.

Dessa sat back on her heels and looked for any sign Egg had responded.

Nothing.

Tiana, help me check him for wounds. Maybe he’s bleeding from somewhere.

Tiana crouched on the opposite side of Egg, tucking Tigg into her armpit. Starting from his shoes, they worked their way up each leg, then each hip, then the chest to his shoulders, finding no obvious sign of injury.

Two pretty girls feeling me up? Egg’s voice scratched at each word. He blinked his eyes open but didn’t move. Did I die and go to heaven?

Dessa laughed at the shock of his voice and then burst into tears.

Leave it to you to turn a heartfelt reunion into a pickup line, Tiana said wryly, wiping at her eyes, unable to hold back the joy.

Egg lifted himself onto his elbows. If only you weren’t ace, Tiana. It’s a super shame.

"Even if I weren’t ace, don’t even think I would be interested in you like that." Tiana reached into her backpack and unzipped the big pocket, digging out a bottle of water and a small plate. She spilled some of the water onto the plate and set it and Tigg on a cement block. Tigg immediately lapped at it, meowing.

Handing the rest of the bottle to Egg, Tiana said, Now shut up and drink this.

Hey, I thought you said you didn’t have any water, Delmar said. I’m thirsty too, you know.

Tiana shook her head, making ash fly into the air. "Didn’t have any water for you. Egg and Tigg are different."

Egg showed off a big smile with white teeth that shined out of his dusty face. "You hear that, Delmar? I’m different. I’m special. I’m cool. I’m—"

An idiot who almost got us killed. That stony look returned to Delmar’s face. "I told you those soldiers were coming for us and you had to show them where we were."

Egg’s smile stayed on his face, but wilted. Yeah. That was dumb of me.

Dessa sat back on her haunches, trying to take it all in. They were really soldiers?

Egg nodded.

General Alberta? It was hard for Dessa to believe. Not after everything that had happened.

I don’t know. Maybe? Egg shook his head. They were just soldiers. All covered up. I couldn’t recognize any of them before they started shooting and burning everything down.

The low, enraged growl that seemed the signature call of someone infected with the Lyssa virus floated through the air.

Delmar held out