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but she was walking away, as if she’d spotted something.
    Liam watched as she bent down and picked up something he couldn’t see, as her back was to him.
    What’s she got?
    Chloe turned sharply, glaring at him. In her hands, she held his gun.
    She threw it to the ground and raised her crossbow, taking aim at him as she marched at him.
    “You fucker! Jammed? You didn’t have any ammo!”
    Liam raised his sword, though it wouldn’t do shit if she fired the crossbow at him. She marched at him and told him to drop the sword.
    “No way!” he said, holding it tight in his hands.
    “Drop it or I’ll put a bolt between your eyes!”
    Liam’s eyes met hers. She wasn’t fucking around.
    He dropped the sword as instructed.
    She lowered the crossbow, then moved toward him, screaming, “You lied to us! You cost me two players, you bastard!”
    She swung before he could stop her, hitting him hard in the head with the butt of her crossbow.
    Liam fell to the ground as his head felt like it was exploding.
    Liam managed to laugh, using a bulletproof tone that had diffused more situations in his life than he could count.
    It wasn’t working today.
    Chloe was on him, angry. She pointed her crossbow first at Liam’s heart, and then raised her aim to his forehead. Liam, still lying on the ground, didn’t have a play. He didn’t dare move. He didn’t dare laugh again.
    He had to reason with her and hope his charms would get him through one more snag.
    “Listen Chloe,” he said, palms open, eyes pleading, “I’m still an asset. Let me help you. You don’t have to do this.”
    Chloe twisted her voice into the tune of mockery, so tight it sounded almost evil: “Listen Chloe, I’m still an asset. Let me help you. You don’t have to do this.”
    She took another step toward Liam and said, “Sorry, but I don’t need you any more. Now you’re only in the way,” then pulled the trigger.

CHAPTER 22 — Ana Lovecraft
    A na stared in horror at the battle erupting before her.
    Liam and his new teammates were outnumbered, and the creatures had already claimed two, a skinny guy and the huge, giant guy.
    Ana moved closer to them during the battle but didn’t get too close, afraid the players might view her as a threat rather than a potential ally.
    When the last of the zombies was dead, the blonde girl turned on Liam and screamed.
    Oh shit!
    “You lied to us! You cost me two players, you bastard!”
    Liam was on the ground, trying to weasel his way out of the jam, as Ana had seen him do plenty of times before.
    The girl was angry, though, and Ana had only seconds to intervene.
    The girl stepped toward Liam, her face red with fury. She aimed her crossbow, moving from Liam’s heart to his forehead. Liam held his ground.
    Ana raced was only a few feet away.
    “Listen Chloe, I’m still an asset,” Liam said. “Let me help you. You don’t have to do this.”
    “Listen Chloe, I’m still an asset. Let me help you. You don’t have to do this,” she repeated, her voice cruel. She took another step, then said, “Sorry, but I don’t need you any more. Now you’re only in the way.”
    The blonde girl pulled the trigger as Ana plunged her sword through the girl’s back. The bolt flew by Liam, barely missing his forehead but coming close enough to leave a line of gushing blood.
    The girl crashed to the ground, bleeding out as the life went from her wide-open eyes.
    Liam slowly rose, wobbling in the snow, clearly woozy.
    “Are you OK?” Ana said, scared.
    “My head…” Liam stuttered. “It’s pounding like — ”
    He didn’t finish his sentence before he fell back down. Ana kneeled down to help him, lightly slapping his face until he finally began blinking his eyes. As he did, they widened in horror.
    Ana heard the horrible groaning sound coming from behind her. She looked up to see the giant rising, oblivious to the open wounds and blood pouring from his torn neck. His eyes were white, and his mouth was open and groaning.
    He growled as he began walking toward them.
    Oh God!
    And farther away, the tattooed guy was slowly rising, letting out a scream that sounded like death being born.
    As Ana turned to look for her sword, she saw it, blade sticking out of the blonde girl, who was standing beside her, mouth chomping for flesh.

CHAPTER 23 — Liam Harrow
    L iam blinked, almost believing the abominations lumbering toward Ana and him might be a side effect of Chloe’s hitting him in the head.
    No way this is