All Chapters of The Last Howl: Chapter 41 - Chapter 43

The silence following the radio's click was heavier than the stone walls of the Keep.No one moved. No one spoke. The automated voice had ceased, but its words remained suspended in the room like suffocating smoke.No safe zones. No evacuation points.I looked around at the small gathering in the dim light of the study. Vanya sat crumpled on the wooden stool, her hands pressed tightly over her face as silent, violent sobs rocked her shoulders. Beside her, Kenny stood completely still, his hands frozen near the dials of the black receiver. The color had drained so completely from his cheeks that he looked like one of the ghosts we had spent the night escaping.Even the recruits, the ones who had spent months boasting about their combat readiness in the academy courtyards, seem

The sharp, tearing screech of industrial canvas tape echoed through the small cottage, breaking the heavy silence.We had spent the last two hours tearing through every closet, shed, and storage bin on the property. What we found wasn't military-grade armor, but it was the best we could do to survive the teeth of the infected. I pulled a thick, oversized wool sweater over my head, followed by a heavy canvas hunting jacket that swallowed my frame. Over baggy denim trousers, I started wrapping the thick gray tape in tight, overlapping layers.I bound my forearms from wrist to elbow, creating a stiff, impenetrable bracer of tape and fabric. I did the same to my shins, my thighs, and my neck. It restricted my movement, making my limbs feel stiff and robotic, but as I ran my fingers over the rigid layers, a small sense of psychological comfort settled into my chest. Human teeth, even corrupted, rot