by Ryan Casey
Imagine his high-pitched little scream.
He smacked the side of his head, tried to banish his stepdad’s voice. But when he looked back at Spud, he didn’t see the strong kid anymore. He saw a chance. A chance for a release. A chance to freshen his mind all over again, then move on to the next murder, the next potential protégé…
He moved closer. Lifted his machete.
Spud raised his knife in his shaky hand.
“I’ll kill them. The next—the next people we see. I’ll kill all of them. To prove I’m strong.”
Kane shook his head. “Spud, you won’t kill a damned fly.”
And then he kicked Spud’s legs from beneath him.
He stood over Spud. He looked down at his pitiful body lying there, not begging, but just staring back up at Kane and waiting.
“I’ll kill them,” Spud said.
Kane wanted to lower his machete. He wanted Spud to prove himself. But the next group seemed far away. Even further away when the instant release of a kill was so, so close.
“I’ll show you what I can do. I’ll show you I can kill again. That I’m strong like you said.”
Kane saw the strong Spud. The unusual Spud, older than his years, that he’d seen when they very first met. A strength. An inner darkness. A potential.
And then he saw the victim. The slab of meat. The release of a kill.
KILL THE FUCK KILL HIM KILL HIM.
He took in a deep breath.
Swallowed a lump in his throat.
“I am sorry for this, Spud. I am really sorry.”
He swung his machete down towards Spud’s skull.
But before it made contact, he heard something. Saw something to his left.
Voices.
Movement.
People.
He crouched down. Put a hand on Spud’s back. Together, they lay there and watched in silence as the group walked past.
A man.
A woman.
A young girl with one arm and nasty scars all over her face.
And… shit. Was that a baby?
Kane felt a spark of life inside. He felt like he’d been handed down these people from God like they were a gift. A sign that Spud should survive. A sign that he really had found his protégé after all.
“Kill the next group?” Kane asked.
He looked at Spud. Saw Spud glaring at the passing people, wide-eyed. “But they’ve got a—”
“The next group,” Kane said. He pressed the machete into Spud’s back.
Spud lowered his head. Sighed. “The next group.”
Kane smiled. Felt relaxation fill his body as the voices in his mind drifted away. “Good. Then let’s get started.”
CHAPTER TWO
Two days of solid walking and finally Kesha had started crying.
“Do we actually have any idea where we’re heading?” Jordanna asked. She was walking ahead of Riley, Chloë, and Kesha, but Riley could tell she was struggling. She looked gaunt. Her footing was haphazard. They were lost in the woods again. They had to accept that. Had to face up to it.
They were lost in the world, too, with no idea where they belonged anymore, what lay ahead of them.
There was only one thing Riley cared about now. Finding somewhere safe where he could look out for Baby Kesha and the others he loved.
Somewhere far, far away from other people.
“As long as we keep moving, we’ll find somewhere.”
“And you really believe that?” Jordanna snapped.
“We always have in the past. We will again.”
Jordanna shook her head. “It’s the ‘again’ that pisses me off.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t push me.”
“No, seriously,” Riley said, the fatigue of walking so long finally getting to him. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
Jordanna stopped, then. She squared up to Riley. Chloë kept on walking, Kesha in her arm.
“There’s a reason we’ve had to start again so many times. There’s a damned good reason.”
“Then say it.”
She took a moment. Her eyes shot across Riley’s face, the love they’d felt for one another replaced by hate. A frustrated hate that this world brings—a world that grinds down all relationships, all hope. “It’s your fault.”
“What?”
“It’s your fault we’re out here. It’s your fault we haven’t found anywhere safe.”
“The people back at the multi-storey car park. They were dangerous—”
“Because you fucking killed their people!”
Jordanna’s voice echoed around the woods. In Chloë’s arm, Kesha kept on crying.
Riley felt like he’d taken a punch to the gut. Like he was being knocked down a peg. And the worst thing about all this? He couldn’t argue with Jordanna. He couldn’t argue one bit.
“If you hadn’t killed their people for no fucking reason when they’d walked past our cabin, then they wouldn’t’ve felt the need to attack us. If you hadn’t done that, then we wouldn’t have… we wouldn’t have…”
Jordanna turned away. Shook her head.
Riley knew what Jordanna was trying to say and what she was so guilty about. They’d burned the multi-storey car park. They’d left everyone in there. Left them to die. All so they didn’t come after them. All so they could draw a line under that awful fucking chapter of their lives and move on at last.
“I am sorry,” Riley said. “I only thought I was protecting—”
“I don’t need protecting, Riley. Remember, you left me behind in Preston.”
“Not this again.”
“You left me, and I survived. Me. Alone. And then when you lost your shit in the MLZ after Mr Fletch stabbed you, I was the one who pulled that community back together. The one who picked up the pieces.”
“It’s just hard,” Riley said.
“What’s hard?”
Riley felt like the words were spilling out of his mouth now. Words he’d tried to keep compressed inside as he stood there in the middle of the trees. “Trusting people. In this world. Not just because so many of them end up bad. But because… but because they end up dead, too. Because when you trust someone, you have more to lose. And I’m not sure I can lose anything else. Anyone else.”
He stood there and stared at the forest floor for a moment. He felt exposed. Like he’d put everything on the table. And after admitting those truths, he felt like he was looking into a mirror. He realised he had to start trusting people. Because not trusting anyone was holding him back, and not only getting him into bad situations, but the people he cared about, too.
Jordanna put a hand on Riley’s arm. When he lifted his head, he saw her half-smiling at him.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “And neither is Chloë or Kesha. Because we trust each other. All of us. We’re here for each other. And no matter what, we’re not going to leave you. No matter how fucking stupid I think you are at times.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Don’t. Please.”
Riley nodded.
“We push on. Together. But you have to see the damage you’re doing to yourself. You have to see the damage you’re doing to the world around you. And you have to see it before… before it leaves you more alone than you’ve ever been in your entire life. Not trusting people is a domino effect, Riley. Once you start toppling the dominos, you just don’t know where it’s going to end. Only that it’ll end badly.”
Riley looked into Jordanna’s deep brown eyes. He looked at her like it was for the first time, and he felt himself falling in love with her all over again.
“We’ve got this,” Riley said.
Jordanna smiled. “Yes we have.”
“I know somewhere.”
Chloë’s voice caught Riley by surprise. And judging by the way Jordanna spun around, her too. “What?” she asked.
Chloë stood still. Kesha had gone quiet as she rocked
her methodically in her arm. She stared ahead, through the trees, into the distance. “I know a place. A place where we might be able to go to.”
Riley and Jordanna looked at one another, then back at Chloë.
“What kind of a place?” Riley asked.
“There’s people there. Bad news for you.”
“Okay. Don’t you start—”
“A group who helped me when I… well, when I was on my own. A group of women. More bad news for you.”
“So is there any good news here or are you just here to share the bad stuff?”
Chloë kept on staring into the distance. Staring into the trees and into the grass. “It’s a long way away. And it’ll take a while. But the good news is they’ll look after Kesha. They’ll keep her safe.”
“Why didn’t you just stay with them when you first met them?”
Chloë lowered her head, like she was lost in thought. “I wasn’t ready. Neither of us were.”
The group stood in the woods together in silence. Eventually, it was Jordanna who broke the quiet.
“How far away’s far?”
“Two or three days walk if we’re lucky.”
“Three days,” Riley said, shaking his head. “I’m not sure—”
“We’re in,” Jordanna said.
Riley looked at her. She smiled back at him.
“Like I said,” she said. “We’re together. Aren’t we?”
Riley sighed. “I guess it’s the best choice we have. If you really think it’s right.”
Chloë was completely still. Still staring up ahead, into the nothingness.
“So are you gonna lead the way or what?” Riley asked.
More stillness and silence from Chloë.
“Chloë?” Jordanna asked. “What is it?”
Chloë snapped out of her trance. She turned away, then looked up at Riley and Jordanna. “I thought I saw someone watching us. But maybe not. Let’s go.”
Riley felt the hairs on his arms stand on end as he looked at the trees, looked at the fallen leaves, looked at the long grass.
As much as he didn’t want to believe Chloë, he felt it too.
He felt the eyes watching him.
“Riley?” Jordanna said.
She held out her hand.
Riley took a look back at the woods. Then he held on to Jordanna’s hand, and he walked.
“WHAT DO WE DO NOW?” Spud asked.
Kane smiled as he stared at the group of four turning away and walking back through the woods. He felt like a predator pursuing its prey, getting ready to pounce.
Then when the group was far enough into the distance, he stood, and Spud stood beside him.
“We have some fun with our new friends,” Kane said. “We make them trust us. And then we kill them.”
CHAPTER THREE
Two days on the road and Jordanna never shook the feeling that someone was following them.
It was evening, and the group was exhausted. They’d found water and scraps of food on their way. They’d killed more zombies than Jordanna could remember. And that was just in the daytime. The night was hard, sure, but the most terrifying stage was that transition to darkness from light. That knowledge that if they didn’t find somewhere safe soon, they’d be stuck out in the darkness for the night.
And there was nothing more terrifying than that.
They were on a motorway now, just outside Chester. As much as they tried to avoid the major roads, this particular stretch seemed like the most direct route to the group of women Chloë claimed she’d encountered. Obviously, Jordanna was worried about these women. Not worried in the same crazy-ass way that Riley was, not paranoid, but worried in general. Worried that they wouldn’t find them. Worried that Chloë might’ve just got their location wrong. Worried that something might happen to one or all of them before they got there.
But most of all, she was worried about that unwavering feeling that there was something—or someone—behind them, watching their every step.
She looked over her shoulder at the abandoned cars, at the smashed glass twinkling in the setting sun. Overhead, more cloud, which promised another night of torrential rain. Just the thought of night unsettled her, which was why she wanted to get to this place of safety Chloë mentioned sooner rather than later.
When she turned around, she saw Chloë standing right in front of her, staring at her.
“Shit,” Jordanna said, catching her breath. “You made me jump. Where’s…”
Jordanna’s stomach settled almost instantly after it’d sunk. Up ahead, she saw Riley walking in front. He was rocking Kesha in his arms, smiling.
“It’s good to see him like that,” Jordanna said, as she walked alongside Chloë.
Chloë didn’t say anything in return.
As they walked past more abandoned cars, Jordanna found herself realising just how little Chloë spoke since they’d been reunited. She’d never been a kid of many words, but she was quieter than ever now.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Chloë nodded.
“It’s good to have you back. I know I’ve told you that already. And I wish… I wish things were different. Like they were back at the MLZ—”
“Things weren’t good at the MLZ. Not really.”
Jordanna wanted to argue with Chloë. But then she thought of the memories that Chloë must have of that place. Arriving, and getting those scars etched into her face by that psychopath Cameron. And then being picked on by other kids. Causing the place to fall, getting close to Tiffany, watching Tiffany die. Then returning to that place only for Mr Fletch to rip it apart. Yeah, she didn’t have the fondest of memories from her time there.
“You seem calmer. Since you got back with us. More… more grown up.”
“I am.”
The pair of them walked now, too slowly for Jordanna’s comfort, as the night grew closer.
“Do you ever think about talking?”
Chloë shrugged. “There’s not lots to say. I found my dad. Saved him. Led him somewhere. Then things went wrong and I found you.”
“I’m sorry. About your dad.”
Chloë glanced up at Jordanna. For the first time in a long time, Jordanna swore she saw tears glimmering in Chloë’s eyes. “Thanks.”
“I know it’s probably no consolation but… well, it’s good to see you with Kesha. Because, and sorry to say this, but I could never imagine the MLZ Chloë nursing a little baby.”
Chloë giggled a little. “Good job I didn’t. Wouldn’t’ve been very good at it.”
This time, when she glanced up at Jordanna, she was smiling.
“This place,” Jordanna said. “This place we’re going to. You said when you were last there, you weren’t ready. To settle down there. Why was that?”
Chloë’s face turned. She stared at the cracked road again as they walked past the cars, many of which were filled with blood and bodies that had already been dealt with. “I wasn’t ready to let other people in. But now I know I have to.”
She looked at Riley when she said this. And when Jordanna looked at Riley, she saw him rocking Kesha, settling her down as they walked together.
“You can come back,” Chloë said. “From the bad things. But it never stops hurting. It never goes away.”
Jordanna put a hand on Chloë’s back. She felt for this kid—no, this young woman because that’s what this world had forced her to be. It’d taken away her innocence. Taken away her childhood. Forced her to grow up. And once you grew up, you could never grow down.
“When I tell you I’m never leaving your side again—even if it kills me—I mean it. Okay? I really mean it, Chloë.”
Chloë stopped. She looked right up at Jordanna, as the light got dimmer and dimmer. “Me neither,” she said.
The pair of them stood there and smiled at one another, felt that connection brewing between one another. Jordanna held Chloë’s hand, and Chloë held it back.
“I’m sorry about your baby,” Chloë said.
Jordanna felt a black hole inside as the memories came flashing back. “It’s—it’s—”
“It’s never okay,” Chloë said. “But you’ve got us now. You’ve got me. You’ve got Kesha. And like you say. I’m not leaving your side. Even if it kills me.”
Jordanna wanted to put her arms around Chloë and tell her she was sorry if she ever drove her away. How she was sorry if she ever tried to mother her too much, but it was only because she cared.
She wanted to, but she didn’t.
Because when she looked over her shoulder this time, she realised there was something watching.
A row of infected.
A mixture of them. Some with the old decomposed look. Others with the fleshy heads, teeth stretched all over them.
“We’d better—”
“Keep still,” Riley said. “Very still.”
When Jordanna turned to look where Riley was looking, she saw exactly why.
There were more of those infected up ahead.
More of them, to the left, to the right.
All of them standing still.
Watching.
Surrounding them.
CHAPTER FOUR
Cody felt the splitting sensation tearing through his skull and he wasn’t sure whether to be happy that he was still alive.
It was dark all around him. He could hear the wind somewhere close, surging against the building he’d been stranded inside. He tried to open his eyes, but they were so, so sore. He couldn’t smell a thing through his blocked, broken nose, but he could taste blood trickling down the back of his throat, clotting up in a nasty blob. His hands were still tied up. He tried to move, tried to pull away from the metal pipe he’d been attached to, but he just didn’t have the strength in him.
He remembered Gav knocking him down. Telling him to stay away.
And part of Cody wanted to stay away. A part of him didn’t want to leave this place and follow Gav. He knew for a fact he was mad to even try it—he was broken, bruised, completely screwed.
But Steve was with Gav. And he didn’t trust Gav with Steve. Not after the threats Gav had made to Steve’s family.
Steve had put his faith in Cody’s people. They had to show that faith in return.
And they couldn’t do it if Gav was leading them.
