Cursing silently, Ruby forced herself to stay calm, holding her breath even as her lungs screamed for air. She sprinted toward the barn, refusing to let him die from his own stupidity.Inside, the heat blistered, smoke thick and suffocating. Ash clung to her skin, gritty and relentless.
Squinting through the haze, she searched desperately. He was gone.
The rafters creaked ominously above her. Ruby bolted outside. The barn groaned, wood splintering like bones snapping underfoot, before the entire structure caved in, flames roaring to claim it. She prayed the other outsider had found a way out. Black spots dotted her vision, and she could feel the dangerous heaviness settling into her limbs. Though she could live without breathing, she couldn’t see or move without oxygen. If she pushed herself too far, she’d fall into a comatose state. But inhaling the stimulant-laden air was just as dangerous. If she gave in, the man, and maybe even the entire town, would be in danger.
Staggering forward, Ruby fought against the weight pulling her down. Her steps faltered, and as she slipped, strong hands wrapped around her waist, lifting her up and dragging her backward.
“Why bother trying to hide it?” He dropped her unceremoniously to the ground in front of the barn, coughing as he stepped back.
“Trying to save your life,” she bit out, unable to resist the retort. But in speaking, she involuntarily inhaled through her nose.
She gasped, pupils dilating as the phlogiston coursed through her system like a shot of pure adrenaline. She ground her teeth and her mind raced, unable to focus on anything except the overwhelming sensations flooding her body. Every nerve ignited, her tendons twitching and senses flaring, desperate to sustain the rush.
The man smirked, watching her transformation. “There she is,” he drawled, satisfaction curling his lips.
The pressure in her chest built, expanding through every part of her until she howled in pain. Her skin buzzed with unreleased energy, and she couldn’t hold it back any longer. She launched herself at him, ready to tear him apart, ready to feed the fire with his body, craving more, so much more, not caring who he was or what she’d become.
But as her hand gripped his arm, a flash of red hair streaked through her mind. A voice—familiar, pleading—called to her, begging her to help, to stop the fire. She couldn’t grasp it, couldn’t pull herself away from the need. It screamed as it blistered, begged as she consumed.
The farmer staggered to his feet behind the stranger. A glint of silver caught her eye. Instinct took over, and she dove for it. Her body moved before her mind did, the pitchfork spinning from her hand like an arrow loosed from a bow. It found its mark, embedding itself with a sickening thud into the chest of her original target. He crumpled to the ground, the pitchfork buried deep in his chest.
Ruby turned back to the outsider, hunger blazing, her mind swirling with the need to prolong the high. He tensed, his hand flying to the gun on his belt, panic written across his face.
Red hair caught in orange flames.
The memory broke through. With a choked gasp, Ruby dropped to her knees and vomited on his shoes.
CHAPTER THREE
THE MAN HOVEREDover her, analyzing her as she crouched on her hands and knees, her back arched like a cornered cat. She spat out bile, the bitter taste pooling in the corners of her mouth before she could force it free.
“I had to be sure.”
“Go fuck yourself,” she choked out, willing him to leave her alone and focusing instead on calming the nausea roiling in her stomach. When the worst of it passed, she rolled onto her back, breathing heavily through her nose. Her throat burned, and her mouth tasted like acid. She desperately craved a toothbrush, but for now, she’d settle for wiping the dried bile from her face with the back of her hand.
She reached toward her mouth, but the man slapped her arm back down to the ground.
“That’s unsanitary,” he remarked as she glared up at him, “stay put.”
Without waiting for a response, he jogged toward the back of the property. Ruby didn’t bother watching him go. The stars were bright tonight, only slightly dimmed by the fire smoldering nearby. It had been months since the last time they were visible to her. Most of her targets lived in crowded residential areas where fires were easily blamed on faulty wiring or unattended candles. This was a nice change of pace.
“Cute property,” she rasped, ignoring the rawness of her throat.
“Thanks,” the farmer wheezed from somewhere on the ground to her left. He hadn’t gotten up from taking a pitchfork to the chest. “It was my father-in-law’s place. Asked me to tend to the land when he got sick. My wife and I moved back after he passed.”
He barked out a cough and Ruby turned toward him, her cheek pressing into the dirt. Trembling fingers clutched at the wooden handle of the pitchfork, but he made no attempt to pull it out. “I was a shit farmer. Killed everything. Hated the animals. Especially the chickens. Was gonna sell the place to some guy I found online. Didn’t know he’d turn me into this.”
“Did you get his name?” the other man asked. Ruby hadn’t heard him return from his sprint, but he kneeled beside her, opening a pack of wet wipes and passing one over. She dabbed at her mouth while the failed farmer thought.
“Eddie, I think,” he eventually replied through tears, “My wife and I… we fought, toward the end. I messed around where I shouldn’t have. The neighbor girl found me, and her momma came running out. Eddie must’ve heard the commotion and came over. I don’t—I don’t remember what happened after that, but when I woke up… she was on fire.”
Ruby sat up. “Your wife?”
“No, my neighbor, Cindy.” His voice cracked. “We were childhood sweethearts. Broke up when I left for college. By the time I came back to visit, she was married and pregnant. Guy was a deadbeat, died in a bar fight a couple years later, but by then, I was married too. Then Eddie… he turned me into this, and he killed my Cindy.”
Tears traced along the man’s face in purple streaks, each convulsion shaking the handle of the pitchfork. “But I…I killed my wife. I couldn’t stop myself. I was so hungry, so tired. Before he left, Eddie told me I had to burn people to live. That I wasnow a zombie, like him. Only he used a different word. I don’t remember. I didn’t believe him until I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“Did Eddie say anything else?” Ruby pressed.
