She didn’t know if he meant becoming a killer or getting killed himself, but either way she wasn’t sure she disagreed.
And that bothered her more than anything.
“You know, I actually feel sorry for you,” she said. “To have no hope. No compassion. It must be so lonely.”
“Not nearly as lonely as you’ll feel,” he said, leveling his cold stare on her. “You’re going to lose everyone you love, one way or another, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. See, you think I’m the tragic character here—a doomed man about to be executed—but really, I’m coming up roses. I’ll be gone. I won’t have to sit around and watch more people make stupid mistakes and get themselves killed.”
Something in his tone made Caitlin think he wasn’t just angry at her, or the group, but at someone else.
His sister, she thought, who he lost before making it to an Ark.
“You’re the tragedy, Caitlin. The sooner you accept that, the easier life will be for you.”
The frayed threads she couldn’t leave untied suddenly disappeared.
Caitlin got everything she needed.
Standing up, she cast one last glance at him before calling for Sister Agnes, telling her she could come back.
“What, no proper goodbye?” Seth asked, sneering.
“Goodbye Seth,” she said, hand on the door handle. “If there’s any real justice left in the world, you’ll die slow tomorrow.”
Chapter Fifteen
Everyone was awake before dawn, milling around the main cooking fire in silence.
Not a single person ate.
Waiting on an execution wasn’t exactly appetizing.
Holding her hands out to warm them, Caitlin stared into the flames, replaying the conversation she’d had with Seth over and over.
Standing up, Nathaniel murmured, “I’m going to go tell Sister Agnes it’s time.”
Booker nodded and turned to Desi. “C’mon, let’s getcha inside.”
“I’m not that cold.”
He paused, squatting down so he’d be eye to eye with her.
“Des, what’s about to happen… it ain’t for kids. Ain’t for anybody really, but we gotta take care of it.” He held her gaze. “I know you’re smart, and you’re brave, but there’s no reason you should see this, okay? Y’already carry too much on your mind. I ain’t gonna let ya add this too, alright?”
Desi swallowed, jerking her chin in a ‘yes.’
“Take the book Nicole’s havin’ ya read and stay in the trailer ‘til I come getcha.”
“Okay, dad.” Desi faltered, eyes widening. “Uh, Booker,” she corrected quickly.
Smiling softly, Booker gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. “Okay.”
Caitlin watched as Desi collected the physics book Nicole had found for her and hurried off to the far side of the trailer park.
She’d just rounded the corner of one of the mobile homes when Nathaniel shouted for Scott.
“What the…” Scott muttered, jumping up and following the direction of the yelling.
“Scott! Scott, come quick!”
The rock churning in Caitlin’s stomach doubled in size.
Rushing behind him, she and Booker followed, sprinting for the trailer door.
“Jesus, what happened?” Scott asked as soon as he was inside.
As she pushed her way inside, Caitlin could make out Sister Agnes’ profile as she lay on the floor, her scarf yanked down, exposing her greying hair.
“I found her like this,” Nathaniel said, kneeling on the other side of her. “Is she…”
Checking her pulse, Scott waited a moment before saying, “She’s alive.”
“Will she be okay?”
It was then Caitlin could see the red marks at Sister Agnes’ neck. She’d been strangled.
“Nate, where’s Seth?” Booker asked.
Glancing up, Nathaniel shook his head. “I don’t know, he was gone when I came in.”
“I think this was recent,” Scott said, assessing her injuries. “The bruises are still forming.”
“Which means he couldn’t have gotten far,” Booker said. “Y’all stay here, take care of her. We’ll spread out and track him down.”
As soon as they were outside again, Caitlin grabbed his arm.
“Jack, we have to check on Desi. If Seth was out here…”
She didn’t need to finish her sentence. Booker was already bolting for their trailer, calling Desi’s name.
No answer.
“Desi?!” Caitlin cried. “Desi!”
Throwing open the trailer door, Booker jumped in. “Des, where you at?”
Still nothing.
Standing in the doorway, Caitlin frantically looked around for signs as to where she could have gone.
Near the line of poorly landscaped hedges that lined the back end of the park, she spotted the physics book Desi had taken with her, carelessly flung into the dirt.
“Jack!” She screamed, running over.
With Booker right behind her, she bent to pick up the book, clutching it tightly with numb fingers.
“He took her,” she gasped. “Seth took her, I know he did.”
You’re going to lose everyone you love, one way or another, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.
“There’s plenty of snow on the ground, they’ll leave a trail,” Booker said. “I’mma get my rifle and tell the others. Stay here.”
Caitlin told herself to wait, that Booker would be right back.
She tried.
But her feet had other plans.
Pushing through the shrubs, she scanned the ground, looking for shoe prints.
Nothing but pure white and dry grass.
Panic stormed in her chest, squeezing the air from her lungs and tunneling her vision.
Not Desi… Not after everything…
Turning in a circle, she searched for anything—any clue as to which direction they went.
Several yards away to the north, heading towards the main road, were two sets of footprints.
No. One set of footprints, one set of drag marks.
The closer Caitlin got, the easier she could make out the details.
Desi was fighting him, kicking and pulling, digging her heels into the slick frozen ground.
That’s it, Des, she thought, running as fast as she could, following the trail. Keep fighting.
There wasn’t much nearby that would make for a decent hiding place, except for an old farm and an abandoned grain silo. They’d scouted that area when they first made it to the trailer park, looking for supplies or a possibly better equipped place to live.
The farm had once had cattle, and that had attracted a considerable herd of Geeks who now were trapped in the huge barn and surrounding pasture by the rest of the fence they didn’t know how to navigate.
Caitlin wanted to believe Seth would take Desi to the top of the silo or hide with her close by.
But that wouldn’t teach her a lesson. It wouldn’t make an impact.
And sure enough, the trail they left for her wove around the silo and across the field, continuing north.
Straight towards the overrun barn.
* * * * * * *
Caitlin could hear them over the hungry groans of the Geeks shuffling closer.
“Let me go,” Desi grunted through gritted teeth.
“Shut up,” Seth snapped. “You want to end up down there with the rotters? Then stay quiet.”
From the way the herd of undead had changed directions, closing in around the front of the barn, she knew they hadn’t jumped the fence, which meant they had climbed up the ladder to the hayloft.
Glancing over her shoulder, Caitlin saw tiny figures moving across the plain, heading for them.
Booker and a few others—Nicole and Nathaniel probably.
She couldn’t wait. Not when images of Seth dangling Desi over a starved herd of Geeks kept flashing in her mind.
As quietly as possible, Caitlin pulled herself up th
e ladder, ducking into the open loft. Straw rustled under her feet, barely audible over the snarls and groans of the creatures crowding into the barn.
Seth still knew the moment she was inside.
“You must’ve been a runner,” he said, voice cool and tinged with delight. “Before all this, I bet you got up early and ran every morning. Am I right?”
Caitlin scowled into the dim light, spotting him at the other side of the platform.
“Actually, the only exercise I got was running for my train,” she said. “But I adapted quickly.”
“Clearly.”
Seth shifted in the dark, keeping Desi in front of him as a human shield.
“Let her go, Seth,” Caitlin urged. “It can be just you and me up here, and we’ll talk.”
Sucking air between his teeth, he shook his head. “I don’t think so. See, I need her. And I think you know why.”
She’d been right.
He was going to prove another point.
“But if she’s gone, then we can be alone,” Caitlin said, hoping he’d fall for it once more. “Just like you wanted.”
“Don’t patronize me,” he said tersely. “You think I’m that easily manipulated? After everything?”
“I think you led me here for a reason,” she said, taking a few slow steps closer. “And I don’t think it was just to hurt me by making me watch Desi die.”
Wriggling in his grasp, Desi tried to pull away from Seth, but he yanked her back by the hair. Desi yelped and the Geeks beneath them responded with desperate, guttural noises, reaching up with rotten hands.
Seth grinned with dead eyes. “Consider it a two-for-one special.”
Just then, the loft shuddered as Geeks pressed against the support beams. Caitlin swayed, terror rushing through her as she glanced down.
“Oh yeah, I should have mentioned…” Seth craned his neck to stare at the herd below. “This isn’t the most stable structure. Termites and wood rot plus about a hundred hungry rotters equals a hell of a good time.”
Desi’s fearful eyes met Caitlin’s, and she tried yet again to pull herself free.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Seth hissed, tightening his grip. “I’ll shove you over the side before you even blink.”
“It’s okay, Desi,” Caitlin said, taking a measured stride forward. “I know it’s scary, and I know you want to get away, but sometimes we have to wait.”
Seth’s gaze narrowed on her.
Caitlin continued. “Sometimes it’s better to be patient.”
“What are you babbling?” Seth asked, furrowing his brow.
She ignored his question.
“’Cause when we take a breath, we get perspective, right?”
Desi watched her and nodded slowly.
“What is this, some final parting wisdom?” Seth sneered.
Caitlin took another step, ignoring the way the loft moved under her.
“And that helps us see things a little clearer.” She held Desi’s stare. “Like when to yield… And when to fight.”
The Geeks groaned loudly, and the support beams made a worrisome crack as they pushed against it.
It was all Desi needed.
With Seth momentarily distracted, she brought the heel of her foot down on his instep with a hellish stomp. As he cried out in pain, Desi elbowed him in the ribs and slammed the back of her head into his face, clipping his chin as she wasn’t tall enough to hit his nose.
It didn’t matter though. It worked, and Seth let go of her as he stumbled.
“Run, Desi!” Caitlin screamed.
Ushering Desi out of the loft opening and onto the first rung of the ladder, the platform shuddered again and something yanked Caitlin off her feet by her hair. Landing on her back with a solid thud, she lost her breath.
Seth was on top of her in an instant, hands wrapped around her throat.
“Are you happy now?” He snarled, spit flying past his lips. “Is this what you wanted?”
Caitlin’s feet scrabbled against the wooden planks and straw, unable to gain traction as Seth strangled her.
When fighting with his wrists didn’t help, she swiped up, clawing across his face. Blood stained under her fingernails as she dug and scratched, going for any soft tissue she could reach. Her middle finger caught the side of his left eye, and a fine mist of red rained down as she tore at sensitive skin.
“You fucking bitch,” he hollered, trying to steer his face away from her hands.
Without air in her lungs to fuel her, Caitlin was running out of steam, but she refused to stop. She jammed her thumbs into his Adam’s apple, she pushed until he was choking.
Just as she felt his grip loosen, the platform shuddered under them again, and then the bottom fell out with a deafening crash.
One side of the hayloft collapsed, tossing them to the earth like a broken seesaw.
Splintered wood and straw cascaded down on top of them and Caitlin waited for her body to be torn to shreds by hungry Geeks.
Coughing, she rolled to her side and finally understood as she looked around.
They’d landed in an empty horse stall, enclosed on all sides.
Pushing onto his hands and knees, Seth began to laugh.
“What kind of sick joke…” He chuckled hoarsely.
Caitlin got to her feet as soon as she could stand and tried to keep her head from swimming as she assessed an exit strategy.
The stall door was rickety and wouldn’t hold for very long as the Geeks pushed against it.
She could try to climb back up the broken platform, but it would take some time, which she might not have if undead hands were grabbing at her ankles.
With her throat burning and eyes watering, she refused to give up her fight.
“I told you how,” Seth said from behind her.
Caitlin whirled, confusion and panic clouding her thoughts.
“What?”
Blood creased under his eyes as he smirked. “I told you how I did everything. But you asked why.”
“Go to hell, Seth,” she spat. “I don’t care—”
“Then why did you ask in the first place?” He took a step forward, ignoring the herd doing its best to break down the stall. “I think it’s ‘cause you knew.”
Caitlin swallowed roughly, pain making it hard to breathe.
“Knew what?”
He tilted his head, assessing her. “Knew it was all for you.”
Her stomach roiled from the adrenaline and realization.
“You saw things just like I did,” Seth continued. “You saw weaknesses and risks. But you always kept leaving.”
Caitlin frowned, but didn’t say anything as she turned to try to climb back up the platform.
Seth caught her by the arm and hauled her back, pushing her against the stall door.
The only thing between them and the Geeks eager to make them a meal.
“Just like you’re trying to do now,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You were always leaving, Caitlin. Always taking off on a supply run, or a scouting trip. And I knew if I could just get you to stay, just get you alone, I could make you see how similar we are. How perfect we’d be.”
“You barely knew me,” she said, keeping her legs away from any gap in the boards.
“I’m a good judge of character,” Seth said with a grin. “I knew when I saw you refusing to sit with the group that you saw them just like I did—like helpless animals surrounded by wolves.”
The wood panels began to crack and splinter behind her and Caitlin listened to the groans and gnashing of decaying teeth so close to her shoulder.
“I was helpless too,” she managed to say, attempting to stay calm. “You saved my life that day in the courtyard. You could have let me die, but you didn’t.”
Seth’s cold derision shifted into something as close to affection as possible.
“Anyone but you,” he said, leaning in. “Otherwise what was the point?”
With Geeks at her back and Seth stepping closer, Caitlin s
tarted to tremble as she lost sight of a way out.
“You know, I kind of think this is poetic,” he murmured, staring down at her. “Now not only will I never have you, but no one else will either.”
Lifting a dirty hand, he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and stroked her cheek with his index finger.
Poetic her ass.
Caitlin refused to die as the plotline to a southern gothic murder ballad.
Joints are weakest, Booker’s voice echoed in her head. If ya have to, aim for the wrist or the elbow. Knocks ‘em off line and gives y’the chance to disarm ‘em.
Seth’s weapons were his hands.
So she decided to rid him of them.
As he went to cup her jaw, Caitlin grabbed his fingers and bent them back, twisting around to snap his wrist.
Shouting in pain, Seth didn’t have time to react as she yanked him with all her might into the jagged crevice in the door, slamming his arm through it and into the waiting mouths of starved Geeks.
He screamed as they chewed his bones clean like piranhas.
Caitlin’s own forearm was wedged in between his body and the door, and as she pulled herself free, sharp pain lanced up to her elbow.
Ducking away from Seth, she gave him one last shove from behind, aiding the Geeks as they hauled him through the rapidly disintegrating wood.
Seth howled in agony as the herd tore him apart, eviscerating him while he still had a pulse.
She’d gotten her wish.
Seth died slow.
Turning, Caitlin bolted for the platform, scrambling up the incline with all the strength left in her body.
As she got to the top, she had to lever her weight to pull herself the rest of the way up, and her forearm ached so much she cursed in pain.
Glancing down, she saw a trickle of blood seeping from the oval wound obscured by her coat sleeve, staining the pale skin of her inner wrist.
Hoisting herself onto the level side of the platform, Caitlin rolled onto her side, desperate to catch her breath.
Sitting up, she tugged the fabric away and stared down at the mess near the hinge of her elbow.
She blinked.
And then blinked again.
A single set of ragged teeth marks were visible through the welling blood.
Bloody Sunset Page 17
