The Future Without Hope by Nazarea Andrews

dead and no one gave a damn, Omar took
me and made sure I was safe. When he joined the Order after Columbus, he rose
quickly through the ranks. And then he asked me to be an acolyte. He had a
dozen of us, and he scattered us around the country, so he could keep a finger
on the pulse of the people, even when he was locked in the Stronghold.”
    Conniving
old bastard. “He knows what’s happening here?” I ask, and she nods. Licks her
lips, and fear darts into her gaze for a moment.
    “He’s
coming here,” she says.
    I
nod, shoving down the familiar anger. Kenny will be pissed, having us both in
his Haven again.
    The
president would just have to learn how to deal with the little disappointments
in life.
    “So
why are we here?” I ask.
    “If
you want the Order to help you—even through the back channels that Omar can
offer, you have to stop killing,” the girl says. I lift an eyebrow, and her
expression goes fierce. “I won’t control them if you continue to slaughter us.
The killing of the Order stops. Now.”
    “Do
you have her?” I ask, and she sits back.
    “We
don’t know. There are theories, but we can’t know—not for sure. Not yet.”
    I
look at Sonny. He’s the one who interjected, and I want to reach across the
room and shake him. “Then what the fuck am I doing here?” I snarl.
    “Listening
for once,” Claire snaps and the girl gives a soft snicker that makes me want to
pull my gun.
    I
force myself to sit back, and Orwell speaks up. “Every few months—Stiles has a
personal truck delivery. It’s not cleared through the Walkers. It almost cost
him the presidency, because I couldn’t justify the danger of exposing the Haven
to god knows what to make him happy. I was overridden by the Order. But it
happens. I think he smuggled her out of the haven in one of those delivery
trucks.”
    My
heart drops. Because if she isn’t in 1, she could be anywhere. Chasing Collin,
even knowing the clues he would leave, was hard enough. I had no hope of
finding Nurrin—she had no idea what to leave to help me. And even though I knew
it was a strong possibility, hearing it spelled out so certainly—it guts me.
    “Where
would he take her?”
    Holly
tilts her head. “Omar is reaching out. We aren’t as blind as you think—and
being taken away from 1 isn’t a death sentence.”
    “She’s
with the Order,” I snarl. For Nurrin, that is a death sentence. Claire makes a
noise in the back of her throat, and I shift, realize I’m clutching my gun. Her
gun. When the fuck did I draw?
    Holly
studies me, and I meet her piercing stare coldly. “You look at the Order and
see the killing. The sacrifice and vice clubs.” She says.
    I
hesitate. Something in her voice slows me. Amusement and a hint of pity. “If
all we were was a cult that thrived on the chaos, we wouldn’t have grown every
year since the change. We have. We went from one insane man feeding babies to
the horde to an Order that touches every haven in the nation and controls the
presidency. We are about so much more than a few vices and killing.” I think
she means it to be comforting. But it’s not. It’s terrifying. Holly stands.
“Will you stop killing?” she asks, and I hesitate.
    “Yes,”
I say, “but when you find who has her—I will kill whoever hurt her.”
    She
stares for a long moment, and then nods. “Gentlemen.”
    We
all watch silently as she exits the room, and then Holts releases a breath. I
glance at him, and he offers up a tired smile. “She’s useful—probably more than
I want to think about. But the girl is creepy as fuck.”
    Sonny
laughs next to him, and I assess them. “If Holly can find Nurrin, why are you
here?”
    “There’s
a horde on the move,” Orwell says heavily. “Our far scouts have see it moving
this way.”
    “How
far out are they scouting?” I ask, shifting.
    “Twenty
miles. The horde isn’t closing on 1, not yet. But it won’t take much for them
to shift direction, and if they do…” He