by Ryan Casey
Chapter Thirty-One
It all happened so fast.
Iqrah saw the Society guard with the red stripe painted across his chest pull the trigger.
And then she felt a surge of energy bolt through her.
And then he froze.
He stopped. Stood totally still in his tracks.
His rifle lowered.
The rifles of the four guards either side of him lowered too.
They stood there. Eyes glazing over. Confusion covering their faces. Like they didn’t get what was happening. Like they didn’t understand.
And Iqrah felt tuned in to something, too.
Something familiar. But something that had previously felt so... distant. Something she thought she’d lost.
She felt more in touch with it right now than she had in a long time.
She looked at the man, the talker. Stared him in the eye. And she felt a deep anger within. First for what he’d done to Bruno, who she clutched in her arms. And then for what he’d said. Luring her in with talk of her parents. And then betraying her trust. Stabbing her in the back.
She felt that anger, that rage, burning within her.
And she tensed her fists.
The man’s eyes bulged.
His face went purple.
Thick dark blood pooled down his chin, covered his face, smeared his already red Society black with even more red.
She stared into his eyes and watched the guards beside him start to shake, too.
Saw them quiver as they tried to hold on to their rifles.
Saw their faces turn purple. Saw the blood vessels in their eyes bulge to bursting point.
She stood there and watched and felt attuned with that anger inside.
“This is for Bruno,” she said.
She tightened her left fist.
The heads of the guards on the left burst like fireworks.
Then the ones on the right.
The only one left standing was the talker.
She looked deep into his eyes. Tensed her jaw. Held her breath.
“And this is for Kirsty,” she said.
She tightened both fists.
Blood sprayed from the man’s nostrils, mouth, ears.
His face went black.
And then he burst like a cherry.
Blood and brains splattered against the walls.
And suddenly, in this dark alleyway, Iqrah felt totally at peace, and totally alone.
A weightlessness came over her.
The strength seeped from her body.
She fell to her knees, and as much as she tried to hold on to Bruno, as much as she tried to cling to him, he fell from her arms.
He yelped as he fell. Tried to stand, but limped around, unable to move as well as he used to. Sat down and stared at her with those big puppy eyes like he didn’t want to walk. Wagged his tail, but in a way that was desperate for some kind of help, some kind of relief. At least his bleeding leg didn’t look as bad.
“It’s okay,” she said, feeling herself drifting, slipping away. “Don’t worry, pup. It’s okay. I’m here.”
She crawled along the alleyway. Reached Bruno’s side. She tried to pick him up, tried to lift him. But it was no use. She was too weak before she’d had to tap into her abilities, and she knew it.
But she had to get out of this alleyway. She had to get away from here. She had to find somewhere safe to shelter, at least for now, at least until she could get back on the road again.
She thought of Noah. She wished he were here. She wished he could help.
She shuffled along the alleyway when she heard movement up ahead.
She lifted her head.
Heart racing.
Shadows.
Shadows moving towards the alleyway entrance.
Scuttling.
The hairs on her arms stood on end.
“No,” she whispered. “Please, no. Not now. Not...”
At the end of the alleyway, three infected appeared.
They stood there. Stared at her. Faces smeared with blood. One of them looked like he’d had half his scalp torn away, gnawed at.
They froze for a moment. Studied her. Tried to figure out if she was really there.
“Please,” she said.
And then they bolted down the alleyway towards her.
She closed her eyes.
Held on to Bruno.
She didn’t have the strength. She didn’t have the energy. She didn’t have anything left in her.
If she had to use her abilities again... if she had to tap into the virus again... she wasn’t sure she’d come out the other side.
But what else could she do?
She kept her eyes squeezed tight shut. Listened to the footsteps powering towards her. Knowing she had to do this. She had to focus. She had to take a risk.
She heard the footsteps and the snarls just inches from her, and she fell into that void.
She heard screeching in her head.
Her vision flashed with reds and whites and blues.
Her body was on fire.
And inside, she heard herself screaming.
She sank further and further and further into that anger.
She couldn’t get away from it.
She couldn’t fight it.
She couldn’t resist it.
She just had to keep on sinking.
Keep on falling.
Keep on...
A bang inside.
Darkness.
And then a warm squelchy sensation against her face.
She heard wind overhead. Smelled stale blood in the breeze. By her side, she could hear Bruno panting.
She sat up. Her head aching. Something must’ve happened. She must’ve stopped them then passed out in an instant. She must’ve...
She opened her eyes.
That’s when the dread hit her.
“No,” she said. “No, no, no. Not now. Please, not now.”
But there was nothing she could say that helped.
Iqrah’s eyes were open, but she could not see.
She was blind.
And she was alone.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“You might wanna sit down for this, buddy. If you’ve got your heart set on this place, and you really dunno what’s goin’ on out here, you’re in for a bit of a shocker.”
Noah stared into Shel’s eyes as they stood there in the middle of the road. Late afternoon. Silent, but for the wind whistling down the streets. It gave Noah a sense that something could be coming. Something dangerous. There was always the threat of something dangerous lurking around the corner.
But right now, that threat felt even more pronounced than ever.
And that threat felt like it was going to come from Shel’s words rather than anywhere else.
Words he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear.
“What’re you trying to say?” Noah said.
Shel raised her eyebrows. “Still standing? Not sure that’s wise.”
“Just get on with it, okay? I need to know what I’m dealing with here.” Even though deep down, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear. Because he’d allowed himself to hope. He’d allowed himself to do the hardest thing—to believe.
And that belief was dangerous.
It was belief he’d guarded himself against all this time because of where it’d got him in the past.
And he sensed his core beliefs were about to be shaken, all over again.
“That place you’re heading,” Shel said. “Morecambe. You’ve probably figured by now it ain’t no good.”
“What do you know about it?”
Shel sighed. “You see... these people I told you about. The Reds. They’re old Society dudes who’ve gone rogue. They’ve got their own goals. Their own agenda. Their own ideas of how society should be run. Oh. And their base? Morecambe.”
Noah shook his head. “But Kirsty...”
“Ahh. Some girl lie to you? Sounds about right. They do it all the time. Take someone c
lose to a person. Frame ’em into luring people back there. And then they get ’em to work for ’em. Test on ’em. Doesn’t matter whether they’re special like you or not: their goal is creating some kind of vaccine, making some kind of discovery that’ll leave the balance of power with them. Not the rest of the Society. They’ve got their own agenda.”
Noah’s stomach sank. He couldn’t believe it. Kirsty. She’d told him Iqrah’s parents were there. Told him they were heading somewhere safe.
And he’d trusted her.
He’d believed her.
A sadness welled inside. A sense of betrayal. Because this was another person he’d dared to let himself get close to...
He needed to learn his lesson about trusting people. About having faith in people.
“Iqrah,” he said. “If she’s...”
“If she’s headed there,” Shel said, “then jeez. She ain’t gonna stand much of a chance, my buddy. Seriously. They’re ruthless. I’d rather end up in Renault’s slavery than with them. Hell, I’d rather the bog-standard Society crooks got a hold of me than end up with them. I’ll end it before they get their hands on me; you’d better believe me.”
Noah’s cheeks flushed. This really wasn’t what he wanted to hear right now. But he needed to face up to reality. Needed to face up to the truth.
Needed to face up to his worst fears.
He took a deep breath.
And then he walked around Shel, up the road.
“Hey,” Shel said.
Noah stopped. Looked back. “What?”
Shel frowned. “Where the hell you think you’re going?”
“You know where I have to go.”
Shel’s eyes widened. “Did you not just hear what I told you, man? It’s a death trap.”
“Death trap or not... someone I care about is in danger. I can’t leave her to walk right into that trap. I’d die before I let that happen.”
Shel shook her head. “What—what about me?”
“What about you?”
“Well, you said you had like, some plan for me? Some purpose for me?”
“Oh,” he said. “You’re interested in what I have to offer now?”
Shel rubbed the back of her head and sighed. “Look. I know we got off on the wrong foot. But you don’t seem all that bad a guy, Noah. I’m worried what’ll happen to you if you go wandering in there. Especially if you really are as special as you seem to be. These Reds... They’re vicious. They’ve got plans. Real nasty plans. I worry for the whole damned lot of us if they get their hands on you.”
“Then what do you propose?”
Shel frowned. “Huh?”
“You got a better idea?”
She opened her mouth. Then she closed it. Her eyes widened like an idea had sparked in her mind. “Actually, I do. But it’s kinda mad.”
Noah narrowed his eyes. “Tell me more.”
She sighed. “It involves meeting Renault.”
Noah shook his head. “That psycho? No chance.”
“Renault ain’t a good guy. But he hates the Reds as much as the rest of us. Took a lot of his people. If we could get Renault on board... we could have some numbers. Make a real go at attacking ’em, or whatever. I think it’s mad, but it might just be the only way. Unless you have a better idea.”
Noah rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t like it. But what other option did they have?
“One problem,” Shel said.
“Course there is.”
“Renault doesn’t have nearly enough folks. Or enough weapons. So unless you’ve got some hidden secret friends who can help, it’ll be dead in the dirt.”
Noah went to shake his head.
Then a thought sparked in his mind.
“You said we need numbers?” he said.
Shel nodded. “Yup.”
“And weapons?”
“Uh-huh. Why? You got someone in mind?”
Noah looked over his shoulder, back down the long, harrowing road.
And despite all the horror, despite all the terror, a smile crossed his face.
“I think I know exactly who can help us.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Iqrah sat in the middle of the alleyway and kept on trying to convince herself she could see again.
But the more she squinted, the more she tried to see, the more she was met with darkness.
Total blackness surrounded her. Last time, when she’d lost her sight, she soon started to see a little light forming right in the centre of her vision. Not clear, hard to pinpoint, but definitely there.
But right now, it felt like she’d had a blindfold tightened around her head in the middle of the night. Jet black darkness. Not even that pinkish colour that’s always present when your eyes are closed. It was as if she’d never even had any eyesight at all, the sensory loss was that significant.
A cool breeze brushed against her. She had no idea what time it was, no idea how long had passed. Every time something rustled in the distance, or Bruno shuffled around and whimpered with his sore, wounded paw, she twitched around. Stared in the direction of any noise, even though she couldn’t see what was coming. The taste of blood covered her mouth. She was shivery, cold.
And she didn’t want to act pathetic. She didn’t want to lay down and admit defeat.
But what could she do?
She was without her sight. The worst had happened. She was lost in the middle of No Man’s Land. Bruno was injured and needed help.
As much as she wanted to get to Morecambe, to get to her parents… she knew her only option right now was to find somewhere safe. Somewhere to lay low. Somewhere to hide.
But how the hell was she supposed to find somewhere to hide when she couldn’t see?
She reached out, tried to find Bruno with her fingers. She could hear him panting in front of her; hear him whimpering.
She just wanted him close. She just wanted to feel his warm fur.
Because she knew damn well that Bruno was doomed out here, with a wound like that.
He needed it seeing to, properly. They might’ve bandaged it up for now, but Kirsty said it needed stitching up.
And if it didn’t get stitched up, she’d be alone, and she’d have failed Noah.
“No,” she said.
A sudden defiance surged through her. A determination not to sit down. Not to hide. Not to mope. Because if she did that, she’d starve. She’d die of thirst. Or the infected would come for her, or those weird Society people with the red marks on their bodies, and they would take her or kill her.
No.
She had to get up. She had to at least try following the road. Kirsty said they were on the last stretch. That it was just a walk down the main road for a few miles, and then they’d be there.
And Iqrah knew there was a strong chance she’d run into someone along the way. That she’d run into trouble.
But fuck it, as Noah would say.
There was a chance someone would run into her if she stayed here. Or that she’d die, and Bruno would die, and as she was clutching her stomach with hunger and gasping with thirst, the only thought in her mind would be that she’d had a chance to attempt to get away, had a chance to try, and instead she’d just sat there and accepted her fate.
That wasn’t the girl her mum and dad raised.
That wasn’t the “little fighter” Dad told her she was.
She pushed herself to her feet. Her head spun, and she felt a little wobbly, a little lightheaded.
“Come on, Bruno. I… I’m sorry, lad. You’re gonna have to walk. But we’ll go slow. We’ll go really slow for you. For both of us.”
She fumbled to reach him again, tried to find him for support—even if it was just moral support above anything.
Her hand landed on his fur. She ruffled around, tried to figure out which part of him it was when she felt his tongue lick her hand.
She smiled. Felt tears stinging her broken eyes. “That’s it. We’ll be okay. We’ll be fine.”
&nbs
p; She didn’t want to stop him licking her, didn’t want to stop patting his head.
But then she looked around again. Off into the ever-present darkness.
She had to orient herself. She had to get her bearings.
She reached for the brick wall on the left. Tried to feel for it, tried to figure out which way round she was, where she was facing. She could feel a breeze up ahead, so figured that was the way to the road.
But she wanted to be certain. She didn’t want to waste a bit of energy. Not now.
Her hands landed on the wall at the side of her. She pressed her fingers against the cold brick, and then she started to move along it.
The further she got along, the steadier her walking got; she pulled one hand away. And she started to feel an optimism. Started to feel a confidence. She could hear really well. She just had to get to the main road. And if she heard anyone nearby, she just had to hide.
That’s when she felt something against her thigh, and she tumbled over.
She fell face flat on the ground. Landed in something damp and mushy.
As she fumbled around at it, it didn’t take Iqrah long to realise it was one of the bodies of the guards.
She jolted back. Pulled the sharp, broken skull from between her fingers. Shivered. Heart racing. It wasn’t going to be as easy as she wanted it to be. It wasn’t going to be straightforward.
But she had to keep it together.
She had to try.
She steadied herself on the wall again. Reached out for Bruno, felt his tongue against her sore hand again, right beside her.
“Good boy,” she said. “We’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna get out of here. We’re gonna get to Morecambe, and you’re gonna meet my mum and dad. Okay? We’re gonna make this.”
She felt him licking her hand some more.
Then she moved her hand away again, as much as she didn’t want to.
She looked ahead into the darkness.
Moved along the wall.
Kept on moving, keeping her footsteps steadier, until the wall gave way.
She stood there. At the end of the alleyway. The breeze stronger now. Rustling in the street. The sound of birds overhead.
She’d made it to the end of the alleyway.
Now it was just a case of making it along the road.
Making it to Morecambe.
