All Chapters of Secrets in the Dark : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Scorched marks clung to the edges of the brick beneath my fingertips.Black soot dusted my skin as I traced one of the darker patches, the powder crumbling beneath my touch. Someone had burned bodies here. Recently, judging by the smell still hanging between the abandoned buildings.Burned flesh.My stomach twisted.I pulled my hand away and wiped it against my jeans, but the smell seemed to follow me. It coated the back of my throat, bitter and thick, until I had to breathe through my mouth.I understood why people burned them.Everyone did now.You killed the dead, and then you burned what remained. It was the safest way to make sure they stayed dead.That didn’t mean I had to like it.“Violet.” Liam’s voice drifted from somewhere behind me. I ignored him, stepping around the corner of the vine-covered building.“Violet, can you please slow down?” His footsteps scraped against the pavement as he hurried to catch up. “You’re getting too far ahead for me to keep you safe.”“I don’t ne

The city looked different in daylight. Not better. Just easier to see. Which might have made it worse.We moved through streets that had once been clogged with traffic. Cars sat abandoned at strange angles, doors hanging open, belongings scattered across seats and pavement.A child’s backpack lay beneath the tire of an SUV. I tried not to look at it.Grass had begun pushing through cracks in the road. Vines crawled across buildings. Without thousands of people constantly cutting everything back, nature had wasted no time reclaiming what we’d built.Liam walked a few feet ahead of me, machete hanging loosely at his side. “Do you think the school will actually have food?” I asked.“Yes,” Liam answered as if he had already been there.“You sound very confident.” I glared at him with a smirk.“It had a cafeteria.” He smirked back, as if the cafeteria still served a daily lunch.“It had a cafeteria before the world ended.” I clarified.“Canned vegetables don’t disappear because civilizati

The stranger stopped a few feet away. Up close, he looked around our age. Maybe slightly older. His gaze moved from me to Liam.“Backpacks off.”I blinked. “What?”“Backpacks. Ground,” the man ordered.Liam stepped slightly in front of me. “We’re not giving you our supplies.”The stranger’s eyebrow lifted. “Didn’t ask for your supplies.”“Then why—”“I need to know whether you’re carrying anything that’s going to get someone killed.” The man cut Liam off.Liam’s jaw tightened. The stranger stared back. Neither moved. Great.We’d been inside thirty seconds and Liam was already having a silent argument with someone. I pulled off my backpack.“Vi,” Liam said, folding his arms over his chest.“He saved my life.” I shrugged.“That doesn’t mean we hand him everything we own.”“He said he’s checking it.”The stranger looked at Liam. “She always this difficult?”I stared at him. “Excuse me?”A faint grin tugged at his mouth. Liam didn’t look amused.“Don’t.” I frowned.The grin disappeared. I

The classroom we’d been given had six mattresses on the floor. Only two were occupied. An older woman slept beneath a blanket near the windows. A teenage boy sat on another mattress reading a battered paperback. Reading. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen someone reading a book. Crimson pointed toward two empty mattresses. “Those are yours.”I dropped my backpack. The mattress looked like heaven.“We can actually sleep here?” I could feel the excitement already beginning to build from within me.“If you want.”“No shifts?”“Guards rotate.”Liam stared at him. “You trust strangers to watch while you sleep?”Crimson leaned against the doorway. “No.”“Then why—”“I trust my mother.”Something about the way he said it ended the conversation. Liam nodded.Crimson pushed away from the door. “Dinner’s in an hour.”“What are we eating?” I asked.“No idea.” Crimson shrugged.“I could help.” I insisted.Liam’s head snapp

Dinner was canned stew. I had never been so happy to see canned stew in my life. People crowded around cafeteria tables, eating from mismatched bowls and cups. Some talked quietly. Others barely spoke.Liam sat across from me.Crimson dropped into the seat beside him with his own bowl. “Good news.”I looked up. “We have cookies?”“No.” Crimson frowned.“Then I don’t care.”“The kid got one.”I stared at him. “You lied.”“I said we might have cookies.”“You had cookies.”“Had.”“You gave him the last one?”Crimson took a bite of stew. “Maybe.”I smiled.He pointed his spoon at me. “Don’t make it weird.”“I didn’t say anything.”“Your face did.”Liam looked between us. “Apparently Violet’s face has become a serious problem today.”“Thank you,” Crimson said.“You’re both annoying.” I frowned, crossing my arms.“See?” Liam looked at Crimson. “This is what I deal with.”Crimson nodded sympathetically. “Must be difficult.”“I hope you choke,” I grumbled.“Violent too.” Liam smirked.I kicke