Camryn Cruise is not human. But she doesn’t know what she is. Not yet.
The world is falling apart and her only escape is Camp Silverlake where she frequently stayed as a child. But Camryn’s summers weren’t filled with crafting and swimming, they were spent learning combat skills and how to protect herself from the outside world.
Now she must return to Camp Silverlake to learn the truth, about who she is and she’ll discover the secret hidden within her blood. A secret that could save them all.
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MY REVIEW
*4 STARS*
*I was given a copy in exchange for my honest review.*
Well that ended far too quickly! Runaway is a short novella, coming in at only about 30 pages, but it is jam-packed with action. From the very beginning it grabbed my attention.
I rubbed my neck for the third time since I sat down in the wooden chair. I thumbed through the
pages again, still not focused on the words. I felt a presence, like someone was watching me, but when I
looked behind me I didn’t see anyone.
Camryn is an only child from an upper-middle class family. She lives a normal life where her biggest concern is finding the perfect dress for homecoming...that is until her parents tell her something that is going to forever change her life.
There's a virus, Tilerrea, spreading rapidly and there is no cure. Her parents, who are scientists, had been working for years with the government to find a cure but had failed. They tell her that she is "special" and that she needs to pack up and, with her best friend, Kiley, travel to Camp Silverlake, a place she spent her summers at until she turned fourteen.
Camryn's parent's bugged me. They were infuriatingly vague.
-Hey there's this virus and it's killing off the population, but of course you havne't heard anything about it because the government kept it very hush, hush. But now it's spreading like crazy so you have to GO. GO NOW. No, we aren't coming with you. Because we're not. JUST GO.
-We won't tell you what the symptoms or how to identify the infected, but you have to kill them. Oh, and they could be infected for up to six hours before they show symptoms. Good luck with that! Kthxbai!
-You're sooper speshul but we won't tell you why. There's just NO TIME. We wasted it all while we were waiting on Kiley and her parents to get here. YOU MUST GO. This may be the last time we ever see you, but you've had enough information for tonight.
UM WHAT? You're never going to see your daughter again but you're going to send her off without all the information?
Okay, so after that riveting conversation, the girls head towards Camp Silverlake in Virginia. This is where the story starts to really come together and get goooooooood. I'm not sure when it happened, but Camryn tells Kiley that The Sick (I guess that's their official name?) have black eyes and their skin is falling off.
Sounds like zombies! Hell yes!
After a couple of hours the road starts to get cluttered with abandoned cars, some were even left running. They have to slow down to weave around the cars and come upon a group of "ten or so" Sick people surrounding another car and person, and Camryn puts the car into park.
WTF?! How can you say you have watched "all the zombie movies" and think that it is okay to stop your vehicle when you come upon a freaking horde of them?
Of course The Sick see the car and descend upon it, banging on the the hood and windows, climbing on top of it. Camryn ends up mowing a few of them down with the SUV to get away. It amazed me how quickly she changed her mind about killing The Sick. She was horrified when her parents told her she would have to get her hands messy to protect herself and Kiley.
"Camryn, you just killed those people." Kiley was trembling, looking back at the lifeless bodies.
I nodded, "I know. And there's a chance I'm going to have to kill a lot more. Kiley, you have to understand that those aren't people anymore. They're dying. Their brains are mush. There's very little humanity left in them."
Well, at least now she finally gets it.
About a mile or two away from Camp Silverlake they encounter an even bigger horde of Sick than before, close to 100. While Kiley hides in the woods Camryn turns the headlights on and puts the car in reverse to hopefully draw The Sick in the opposite direction than where they are headed. Camryn knows she's going to have to kill some of The Sick to give Kiley a chance to get a head start.
"I was a murderer. And I was about to find out that I was a damn good one at that."
The story ends shortly after that. They do make it to Camp Silverlake but I won't divulge anymore details than that. We end with finding out why Camryn is special.
I really enjoyed this story but wish that it was longer!! I need part 2! Please Ms. Courntey!
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