Eventually, Micah excused them and they left Janie and Kenny to look after Sam, Claire and Brian and headed for Alex’s building. Sam ran after them, catching up with them at the door and throwing his arms around Alex, giving him a long hug before moving to Micah.
“Thank you,” he said, stepping back and wiping at his eyes. “I won’t ever be able to thank you enough. You saved me.”
For the first time since he’d got home, Alex felt a genuine smile creep onto his face. “Sam, I can honestly say that meeting you was one of the best things that happened in the last week. You have a strength and courage that many people don’t. You’re a hero, Sam. Don’t ever forget it.”
Sam looked like he might burst into tears. He wiped his eyes again, smiling, then turned and ran back to where Claire was talking to Janie and Kenny. Alex watched as Claire slipped her hand into Sam’s.
“Are you really alright?” Leon said when they reached their floor and Patrice had taken the girls indoors and Micah had gone into Alex’s flat.
Alex sighed. “No. I just need to rest.” He glanced towards the open door of his flat. “We both do. We found Micah’s sister. She was turned.”
“Oh, man. I’m sorry. Take as much time as you need. We have everything under control here.”
“Thanks, Lee.”
Alex found Micah right where he expected him to be, sitting on the sofa, his eyes closed.
He opened them as Alex walked in. “You hungry?”
“No. I’m just going to go to bed. But take whatever you want. Janie said the power has been on sporadically, so the bacon in the freezer might still be edible.” He headed towards his bedroom, turning back at the door. “You don’t have to stay, you know. You can go home.”
A half smile curved Micah’s lips. “I know.”
28
The door opened. Alex didn’t move.
He stayed right where he’d been for the last... how long? He didn’t know. Hours, days, weeks, whatever. It didn’t matter.
Sometimes he slept.
Sometimes he dreamed.
Of her.
And he mourned.
Had he been in love with Hannah? He didn’t think so. They’d barely known each other, had spent hardly any time together. And yet here he was, feeling as though he had hit a granite wall and he couldn’t do anything but lie, dazed, unable to move forward. Whether that meant love, he didn’t have the emotional strength to think about. Maybe it was the exhaustion of over two weeks of running, fighting and killing. Maybe he was simply mourning for a life cut short, for a woman who made a difference to those around her. Made a difference to him.
But what he did know was that his feelings would have deepened if they’d had more time. And he couldn’t escape the thought that she might have been the one he would have wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
So he mourned, not for what they’d had, but for what could have been. For all the what ifs and the maybes. For a future they would never have together. Because he’d failed her.
Footsteps crossed the room. A chair was dragged across the tiled floor and into his field of vision. He ignored it, continuing to stare at the wall across from his bed.
Micah sat in the chair, but Alex didn’t look at him.
He didn’t know if Micah had been there the whole time since they got back and he went straight to bed. Each time he went to the bathroom or to get some water from the kitchen, Micah was there. Not saying anything, just there, on the sofa or in the kitchen.
Sometimes he would hear Micah speaking, when Tracey Dent called to give an update on the situation at Omnav.
Thanks to the eaters trapped in the compound, they hadn’t been able to get to the armoury in the building. However, the surviving guards still inside had managed to get the eaters out and seal the area around the devastation that used to be the labs. Days later, Boot returned. He didn’t come alone. The soldiers were forced to move further from the compound as thousands of eaters descended on Omnav, led by Boot’s helicopter. What he’d been doing and what his plans were, no-one knew, but Dent and her unit continued their surveillance.
There were times when Alex wished Micah would go, leave him to grieve alone. But he didn’t, and Alex didn’t ask him to. Alex didn’t say anything.
He just lay in bed and tried to stop thinking.
“Tracey called,” Micah said.
Alex didn’t respond, didn’t move his eyes from the wall.
“I know how hard this is for you,” Micah went on. “I’ve been there. I am there. But we need you.”
Alex closed his eyes. “No-one needs me. When people rely on me, they die.” They were the first words he’d spoken in days. His voice sounded rough.
“That’s not true. And we need you now. I need you.”
Alex let out a long sigh. “What did she say?”
There was a long silence before Micah answered.
“Boot has left the Omnav headquarters. He’s coming for us.”
Alex lay still for a long minute, staring at the wall. Finally, he sat up.
“Good,” he said. “Because I’m going to kill him.”
To be continued...
COMING EARLY 2016
Twenty-Five Percent Book 3
VENGEANCE
Don’t miss it! Sign up for my newsletter HERE to receive occasional emails about new releases, special offers and exclusive stuff AND receive Twenty-Five Percent: Turned, the story of how Alex was infected and became a Survivor, absolutely free.
FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you for reading Mutation and liking it enough to read Downfall as well! I hope you are enjoying Alex and Micah’s continuing story.
Buried in our dark, isolated writing caves, authors love feedback from the outside world (if only to reassure us it’s still out there and hasn’t been destroyed in a global pandemic/zombie apocalypse/alien invasion while we’ve been typing away, oblivious) so please consider leaving a review HERE, even if it’s just one or two lines. It also helps other people to find my books. I will be ridiculously grateful when you do.
If you’d like to contact me with feedback, questions, or just to say hello, go to my website at neryswheatley.com. You can also hang out with me on FACEBOOK.
Alex and Micah will be back in Twenty-Five Percent Book 3: Vengeance.
And remember, use extreme care when lighting matches around eaters. They’re flammable.
. . .
www.neryswheatley.com
Table of Contents
BEFORE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Twenty-Five Percent (Book 2): Downfall Page 28
