Chapter 19 · The Ash Ledger - Chapter 19: After Zero

The mark didn't burn. Rowan stared at his wrist. The countdown had hit zero three seconds ago. He was still breathing. So was Mara, braced against the support beam she'd caught before it flattened twelve people.

But the people weren't moving.

They stood frozen in the center of the basement shelter, eyes open, mouths slack. A few had their hands up like they were trying to block something only they could see. One woman knelt with her arms wrapped around a kid who wasn't there. An old man kept turning his head left, right, left, like he was watching someone circle him.

"Rowan." Mara's voice came low and tight. She hadn't let go of the beam yet. "What the hell is this?"

Rowan pushed through the crowd. They didn't react. He waved a hand in front of a middle-aged guy's face. Nothing. The guy's pupils were huge, and his breathing came too fast.

"They're still in it," Rowan said. "Whatever the countdown was feeding them."

Mara grunted and shoved the beam onto a pile of rubble. It hit with a crack that should've made everyone jump. Nobody moved.

Rowan scanned the room. There—in the corner, half-buried under a torn tarp.