He pulled the door open and stepped out, and we followed.
The night was a tornado of chaos. Beams of light cut through the darkness, giving us glimpses of the horror and pandemonium. A body, bloodied and torn apart lying motionless on the catwalk, a woman screaming as she held her arm, which was covered in blood, another woman, lying on her back, terrified eyes staring at nothing as a puddle formed beneath her, flowing from a bite on her neck. Lisa was beside her, trying to staunch the blood even though it was obvious it wouldn’t be stopped, while other people ran around, shouting orders and questions as they tried to figure out what had happened.
“Keep your eyes open,” Devon ordered as he led us forward, gun in one hand and a knife in the other.
Kiaya was a step behind him, looking ready to bolt toward Randall and the kids’ room at the other end of the catwalk.
Devon paused when he reached Lisa. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head, barely looking up as the woman beside her gasped for breath. “By the time I got out here, things were already crazy.”
“You seen Fred?” Devon had his gun up and ready and was searching the chaos. “He was supposed to have taken over for me out here.”
“No,” Lisa replied. “But it’s dark.”
Through the shouting, the moans and growls of the dead seemed to grow, making the hair on my arms stand up. The darkness made it impossible to see much, but occasionally the beam of someone’s flashlight shone into the parking lot, giving me a glimpse of how dense the horde had gotten. The stench was unbearable, thick and suffocating, but even worse were the scratches in the direction of the previously unclogged staircase.
Peering through the darkness, I squinted, trying to get a look at it. A beam of shaky light cut through blackness, briefly illuminating the stairs, and my stomach dropped.
“They’re coming up,” I said.
Devon and Lisa looked toward the stairs, but Kiaya grabbed my hand. “We have to go,” she hissed.
“Shit,” Devon said when he saw what I had.
Figures on the stairs, dozens of them climbing over one another as they tried to get up.
Lisa was on her feet in a second, her gun out and the injured woman—who was no longer moving—forgotten. “We have to do something.”
“We will,” Devon said then turned to us. “Go!”
I didn’t try to stop Kiaya when she pulled me forward, past Lisa and Devon. I wanted to stay with him but remembered the promise I’d made the night before. Plus, Kiaya was right. Randall and the kids needed us.
Two rooms separated us from theirs, and just as we were approaching one, a person staggered out. He was looking the other way, his back to us, but I recognized the thinning, gray hair.
“Charlie! Do you know what’s happen—”
He spun to face us, and my words died on my lips. His eyes were milky and his skin ghostly pale, and when he opened his mouth, he moaned. He reached for us, and Kiaya jumped back, letting out a scream as she lifted her gun. She pulled the trigger, and a bang echoed through the night, leaving a ringing behind in my ears. The shot was wide, though, missing him by a mile. He lunged again, not giving her a chance to shoot a second time, and she slammed the gun against his grasping hands, trying to hold him off.
“Rowan!” I heard Devon shout.
I didn’t look back, but instead ducked under Charlie’s arms so I could get behind him. My back throbbed, screaming in protest, but I ignored it. The man who had once been Charlie was determined to get at Kiaya, his focus so single minded he didn’t notice me until I’d grabbed his shirt and pulled him back. That was when he growled and spun, and the sudden movement whipped me to the side. His shirt slipped from my grasp, and I slammed into the railing, crying out from the pain. There was no chance to nurse my injuries, though, because in no time zombie Charlie was lunging toward me. I was shorter than he was, but I decided to use it to my advantage and ducked down, evading his grasp. When he was right over me, I half stood, thrusting my knife up as I did. The blade sank in right beneath his chin, and I shoved it harder, forcing it up. The sickening squish of it cutting into flesh made my stomach lurch, but he hadn’t stopped moving yet, so I pushed harder, crying out as I did. He was pulled away from me a second after he finally stopped moving, and the now motionless body crashed into Devon.
He stumbled back but released Charlie before they both fell, instantly spinning to face me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, gasping. “Yeah.”
The throbbing cut on my back said differently, but I kept that to myself.
Devon gave a tense nod, his head barely moving. “Get to the kids. Now! There are more climbing the stairs.”
Kiaya moved, grabbing me, and we took off.
She banged her hand against the door the second we reached it, and it was immediately pulled open. Mike stood in front of us, a small knife grasped in his hand, while behind him Lexi and Randall huddled in a corner, holding on to one another.
Kiaya rushed inside, urging Mike to move, and I followed, pulling the door shut behind me.
The boy’s eyes were huge as he looked between us. “Are there more zombies?”
“We don’t know yet,” I lied.
Kiaya had already moved to the other side of the room, and seeing her, Lexi rushed forward. She threw herself against Kiaya, sobbing, but I couldn’t understand a word the little girl said.
Mike looked at them, then to me. “She misses our mom.”
“I know,” I said. “You’re doing a good job, though.”
The kid only nodded.
The bang of gunshots penetrated the door, and I moved to the window, hoping to get an idea of what was happening, and Mike followed. The dark night was a blur of barely discernable movement, but a beam of light was just visible near the other end of the catwalk. From where we stood, we could see nothing, though. No people, and no zombies. We were totally in the dark about what was happening as gunshot after gunshot rang through the night.
After a few minutes, I looked toward Mike. The kid was standing beside me, his wide eyes focused on the ground just outside the window. I followed his gaze and found myself staring into the lifeless eyes of a woman whose name I didn’t know.
I looked away.
Behind me, Kiaya was whispering to Lexi—telling her a story, it sounded like—and Randall was with them, listening in rapt attention. Mike and I stayed at the window, looking out in silence. The sun was struggling to make an appearance, lending more light to the scene. The gunshots became fewer and more spread apart, finally stopping altogether and telling me the chaos had finally settled. I stayed where I was, waiting, but Devon didn’t come to the room. I couldn’t see him from here, but I could see other bodies. Four of them, including Charlie and Fred, his roommate. Before I’d seen them, I’d pieced together what had happened. Fred had shirked his duties and returned to his room, where Charlie turned and attacked him. Then he’d somehow managed to either get out of his room or was let out by someone who went to check on them. Then he attacked more people.
Eventually, the sound of a very heated discussion penetrated the closed door. I pressed my face closer to the window, hoping to see what was going on, but whoever it was, they were too far away.
“I’m going out so I can see what’s happening,” I said, not looking away from the window.
“Devon said to stay here,” Kiaya responded.
“It’s safe.” I turned to face her. “I’ll be right back.”
She nodded but said nothing, and I returned the gesture before heading out.
Thanks to the rising sun, the remnants of the carnage were clearly visible. Blood spatter on the wall and catwalk, as well as bodies that had been ripped apart. I looked toward the other staircase as I started walking, not the least bit surprised to see that it was now as crowded with bodies as the first one.
Miller was a fool, and the sooner we got out of here, the better.
I avoided looking directly at the bo
dies as I passed them, keeping my focus on the people gathered at the other end of the catwalk—right beside the now impassible steps. Now that I was outside, I could tell Devon was involved in the argument. The others were Miller and another man whose name I didn’t know.
“You’re blaming this on me?” Miller spit out. “Fuck you. I was keeping these people safe before you showed up. Don’t act like you’re some kind of savior.”
“Safe?” Devon replied. “Bullshit. I saw the results of your so-called safety precautions. And where the hell were you tonight? After what happened earlier, you should have had people on watch. Hell, you should have been one! We’re just damn lucky Charlie didn’t do more damage and that we managed to stop the zombies before they got up here. Can you imagine how many people would have died if they had?”
“They’re uncoordinated and slow.” Miller rolled his eyes. “We can take them. Or at least I can.”
The corporal shot Devon a condescending look.
“Son of a bitch,” Buck, who was standing beside Devon, muttered. “You’re a cocky son of a bitch, which is why we’re in this position in the first place. We tried telling you we needed to be cautious, but you just wouldn’t listen. Now look what happened! Charlie was bitten and turned. You’re a damn fool.”
Obviously drawn out by the argument, a door opened behind them, and Hank stuck his head out, drawing everyone’s attention. Miller’s face was red by then, and at the sight of the kid, it got even redder.
“This is his fault.” He pointed at Hank. “He obviously lied about being bitten.”
“I can’t believe this guy,” Devon muttered, shaking his head.
Hank’s eyes got wide, and he lifted his hands as if trying to ward off another verbal attack. “I didn’t lie. It was a zombie.”
“Right.” Miller didn’t look at him this time.
Devon’s gaze flitted toward me when I walked up, and he let out a deep breath, shaking his head again in frustration.
For a moment, no one said anything. Most of the survivors staying here were missing—probably cowering in their rooms—but those gathered around looked like they didn’t know what to do. The commotion, both from the attack and from the argument, had riled up the dead, and they were moaning and reaching up as if trying to grab one of us. I looked down, scanning the parking lot and counting. Over twenty still moving around, and those were just the ones I could see. We were drawing too many our way. It was already going to be difficult to get out of here, and with each zombie that stumbled into the parking lot, the risk grew.
I turned back to the group. “We need to take this inside. You’re making too much noise.”
“What’s the point?” Devon grumbled. “It’s not like he’s going to listen. And it doesn’t matter, either. We’re out of here today.”
“I want to come with you,” Lisa said from out of nowhere.
All eyes turned on her.
“This place isn’t safe. I’ve known it for a while, but leaving meant traveling alone, which was just too risky. Now that I have someone to watch my back, I want to get out of here.”
Buck was nodding as she talked, his mouth turned down in the corners. There was genuine grief in his eyes, and not just over the loss of Charlie, because I knew what he was about to say and what it meant.
“Me, too.” The older man sighed as he looked out over the parking lot, his gaze sweeping over Shamrock. “I’ve lived in this town my whole life, and I hate the thought of leaving, but Lisa is right. It isn’t safe. Not anymore.”
Devon nodded and patted him on the arm. “We’ll have to find another car, but we’re happy to have you.” His gaze moved to Lisa. “Both of you.”
“I have a car.” Lisa pointed to the parking lot. “The white SUV. It will fit five people comfortably and still have room for supplies.”
“Okay, then,” Devon replied, then looked toward the others. “Anyone else?”
Miller snorted. “No, thanks. Traveling across a zombie-infested country is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Devon ignored him and looked over everyone else standing around, his gaze stopping on each person for a moment. No one spoke up, no one said they were going to join us, and while it made Devon shake his head in disgust, he didn’t try and talk them into going. I didn’t blame him. These people were anchors, which was the last thing we needed out on the road.
“All right, then,” he said when no one else had responded. “We’ll get a plan together and hit the road later today. The sooner the better.”
“Where are you going?” a small voice asked.
We all turned to find Mike standing on the catwalk only four feet away from us.
Devon studied the kid for a moment before moving toward him. He crouched so they were eye level, but like before didn’t talk down to him. “Ohio. It’s where Rowan is from.”
Mike nodded as he thought about it, his dark, serious eyes moving to the parking lot before refocusing on Devon. “I want to go. Me, Randall, and Lexi, I mean.”
“You can’t be serious,” Miller snapped.
Devon lifted his hand but didn’t look away from Mike. “This doesn’t concern you.” He paused, really studying Mike before saying, “It won’t be easy, and it might be scary, and I don’t know what we’re going to find when we get there. Are you sure you want to go?”
Mike gave a firm nod. “Lexi likes Kiaya. Plus, this place isn’t safe.” His eyes flitted to the left, looking down at the zombies. “They’re going to get up here eventually.”
“Okay, then,” Devon said, patting Mike on the shoulder, drawing the kid’s attention back to him. “I’ll talk to Randall about it.”
“Thanks,” Mike said.
Devon smiled before standing, turning to face the rest of us. “Now we just have to figure out how we’re going to get out of here.”
19
“You can’t do this by yourself,” I insisted.
“Well, you’re not going.” Devon didn’t look up from where he stood, digging through his belongings. “It would be nice if I had some long sleeve stuff,” he mumbled to himself.
He was wearing jeans, but his arms were terrifyingly exposed. Images from the night before flitted through my mind, filling me with dread. Charlie’s milky eyes as he opened his mouth, ready to take a bite out of Kiaya. The woman sitting on the ground, holding her arm as she screamed. The other woman gasping for breath as she bled out.
The bite on Hank’s arm.
Hank was okay, and he’d been bitten. I tried to cling to that knowledge as Devon zipped his bag. It wasn’t easy after what had happened the night before because, thanks to Charlie, we now knew that wasn’t always the case. Only we had no idea what the odds were.
Miller’s sneer when he’d accused Hank of lying popped into my head, as well as the condescending look he’d given Devon. He was a self-important prick, which was the only reason he was still wearing that uniform. Because it gave him some kind of status in this new world that he never could have achieved before.
The uniform! Why hadn’t I thought of it before? It had long sleeves and thick material. There was no way teeth could rip through it. At least I didn’t think so. Either way, it would give Devon a better chance of getting out of this thing unscathed. Assuming I could get Miller to loan it to us. True, it would have been better if he went himself, but there was no way in hell that would happen. He was too much of a coward. If only he understood that what Devon was about to do would benefit whoever stayed at the motel as well as give us a chance to get away. But it was hopeless. The man was a selfish ass.
Still, that didn’t mean I couldn’t talk him into loaning Devon the shirt. I’d gotten him to give us antibiotics, hadn’t I? A friendly smile and a bat of my eyelashes. It wasn’t like I didn’t know how to get what I wanted. Hell, I’d done it my whole life, and not just with my parents either. A pretty face could do wonders when it came to guys, which I knew from experience, and I could be very persuasive when I needed to be.
&nbs
p; I dashed for the door, calling over my shoulder, “I’ll be right back. Don’t you dare leave before then.”
“Where are you going?” Devon called after me.
I ignored him and ducked outside.
The early morning sun was bright and the day already warm, magnifying the stench of death. As usual, the catwalk was deserted. Not that it was a surprise. The people who’d been too shell-shocked to come out before the two altercations with the dead definitely wouldn’t want to be out here now that the stairs were clogged with bodies and the parking lot teeming with zombies. With the sun beating down on them, baking their rotting flesh and filling the air with the putrid stench, it was tough to really blame them. Not impossible, though. They were scared; I got it. I was terrified as well. But hiding in the motel wasn’t the answer. Even worse, sooner or later it would get them killed.
I hurried down the catwalk to Miller’s room, trying unsuccessfully to avoid looking down as I did. The dead were impossible to ignore. Their stench and moans were a constant reminder of just how much things had changed over the last few days. Even worse, it was a reminder of what I might face when I finally did make it home.
I knocked when I reached Miller’s door, and only a few seconds later it was pulled open. His eyebrows jumped in surprise when he saw me standing there, and a smile spread across his face that felt out of place, considering everything that had happened.
“Rowan,” he said, pronouncing my name slowly, like he was trying to caress it.
I had to hold back a shudder of revulsion.
“Devon is going to head out soon. He wants to create a distraction on the other side of town that will lead the dead away from the motel.”
“Smart,” Miller said almost begrudgingly, crossing his arms, “assuming it works.”
“There’s only one way to know for sure,” I replied, not trying to hide my annoyance even if I had come here intending to butter him up. “The problem is, he doesn’t have any long sleeve shirts. It puts him at greater risk. I was wondering if he could borrow your uniform shirt.”
Far Series (Book 1): Far From Home Page 25
