“Kate,” Ethan said, the tendons in his neck popped out. “Don’t.”
“Keep everyone safe.” She took another step toward the door. “We’ll be back soon. You can probably see us out the front window.”
The muscles in Ethan’s shoulders tightened and brought them closer to his ears. “Let me go with you.”
Kate shook her head. When she turned the lock on the back door, she half-expected Ethan to charge across the room and physically stop her from leaving the building.
“Will has my back, don’t you Will?” Kate said without blinking.
“I do,” Will said.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Ethan said slapping his palm to his forehead. “If anything happens to her—”
“It won’t,” Will said shaking his head.
Kate opened the door and pulled Will out before Ethan could do or say anything to stop them. She saw worry fill his eyes as she closed the door block her from his view.
“That was intense,” Will said following Kate around the house. “Maybe I should go back and ask for his knife.”
Kate shot him a quick look but kept moving. She could already feel Ethan’s eyes peering at her through the window.
“I think I’m growing on him,” Will said as he stepped up to Kate’s side, working to keep up to her quick pace.
“Maybe like a plantar wart,” Kate said with a straight face.
Will chuckled. “Exactly like that. Sticks around no matter how badly you want to get rid of it. I’m almost positive that is exactly how Ethan would describe me.”
Rain continued to fall down on them as Kate looked between the houses they walked by. Perhaps the weather was keeping The Unholy at bay, or maybe they’d just moved on after they’d turned everyone in the town.
It hadn’t taken long for Kate’s and Will’s clothing to become soaked. The fabric clung to her making her skin itch, but she ignored it as she marched up the stairs to Lincoln’s house and knocked on the door.
Kate jerked when the door was yanked open. Lincoln glared at them and groaned.
“What?” he growled.
“Sorry to bother you again,” Kate said forcing a smile. “But I was wondering if maybe it would be all right if we could take a small ration of your food and water. My people are very hungry after the long journey.”
Lincoln held up his palm and Kate snapped her mouth closed. His eyes darted over Kate’s shoulder at Will who was wiping the beaded-up rain off of his forehead.
“I can’t do that,” Lincoln said, taking a step back to close the door.
Before she thought about what she was doing, Kate placed her foot in front of the door, stopping it from closing. Lincoln’s eyes widened.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t need much,” Kate said. She leaned in closer and couldn’t help but notice all the eyes inside of the building looking at her.
“I have my own people to worry about,” Lincoln muttered, as he glanced over his shoulder and placed his hand on the side of Kate’s arm. His fingers dug into her as he guided her onto the front porch and closed the door behind him. He looked into her eyes and then out at the falling rain. “I wish I could help you.”
“You can,” Kate said. “But you don’t want to.”
Lincoln covered his mouth with his hand as he scratched his beard. He shook his head slowly. “Look, I don’t know—”
“I know. I get it. But,” Kate said lowering her voice, “you do know there is more—”
“Kate,” Will said sharply.
Kate jerked her head to look in Will’s direction. He stared at her without blinking.
“We should get back,” Will said holding out his hand. “It’s really coming down.”
Kate stared into his eyes. She instantly realized that Will didn’t want her telling Lincoln about the storage facility.
When she turned back to Lincoln his eyes were narrowed. “Know there is more where?”
“Oh, everywhere,” Kate said swallowing. She offered Lincoln a nonchalant shrug. “Probably hidden in various buildings throughout the town.”
“We cleared out the buildings weeks ago,” Lincoln said pulling his shoulders back. He took a step closer to Kate, stepping inside her personal space. He lowered his voice. “Did I make a mistake letting you stay here?”
Kate drew in a long breath and forced herself to smile. “No, of course not. I’m sure you understand what I’m trying to do. If you were in my shoes, you’d do the same thing.”
Lincoln’s expression loosened. He let out a heavy sigh.
“I would,” he said. “Which is why you must understand why I have to tell you no. What we have is just too limited. We don’t have months and months of supplies left. I don’t know how Jet was getting everything, but now that he’s one of those things… well, all we have is what’s here.”
Kate nodded and even though she was tempted to tell Lincoln about the storage facility, she didn’t.
“I understand,” Kate said stepping off the porch and into the rain. “Really sorry I bothered you.”
Lincoln nodded and stood there with his hand on the doorknob watching them as they walked away.
“I should have told him,” Kate said.
“If you did, you’d risk losing it all,” Will said keeping his eyes forward. “Who says he would have shared any of what’s in your storage facility with us?”
“There is so much there. Not to mention someone would have to show him where it was,” Kate said.
Will shook his head. “It was too big of a risk. We don’t know anything about what these people will do to protect what they think is theirs.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Kate said as she let out a heavy sigh. “Now we have to get that key, and I’m not sure how we can do that when the door to Jet’s office is locked with an unknown amount of Unholy inside.”
“But since the door is locked, that means there is a good chance the key is still inside,” Will said raising a brow.
“I don’t know the first thing about picking locks, do you?” Kate asked. “It wasn’t like one of your hobbies was it?”
Will shook his head. “I was a nurse, remember. My hobby was writing, but something tells me that Ethan can get inside.”
“What makes you think that?” Kate asked.
Will shrugged. “He could probably just break it down.”
“He’s not going to let us even try,” Kate said as they approached the brick building. Ethan was staring out of the window at them.
“We’ll just have to convince him,” Will said.
“Have you met Ethan?” Kate asked narrowing an eye at Will.
Will placed his hand on Kate’s arm and spun her toward him. Kate could feel Ethan’s eyes on them through the glass.
“How far is the storage facility?” Will asked.
“Not exactly sure from here,” Kate said. “When we went there from the other town it took several hours six?”
“So, we get the key, and then when we leave here in the morning, that’s where we go,” Will said.
Kate looked over Will’s shoulder and saw Ethan’s anxious expression through the window. He jerked his thumb toward the door.
“Getting the key is still a problem,” Kate said.
“Maybe we don’t go inside the house and find out. Maybe we go without asking Ethan for his permission,” Will said daring her with his raised eyebrows.
Kate swallowed so hard it squeezed her throat. She couldn’t believe it, but she was actually considering it.
“We don’t have a way inside. And who knows what’s waiting in there,” Kate said, placing her finger over her lips. “I’ve been inside though… it is a small space.”
“Maybe we can get in through a window.” A smile slowly grew on Will’s face. “What’s it going to be? Better decide before the caveman walks out here and drags you inside by your hair.”
Kate’s eyes met Will’s impossibly blue eyes, and she let out a sharp breath. “Okay.”
“Yeah?”
>
“Let’s go before I change my mind,” Kate said turning so she wouldn’t be tempted to look at Ethan.
They’d only taken half a step before Ethan was pounding on the window. Each boom shook her stomach, but she didn’t turn back.
She could hear the door open, but still, she didn’t look.
“Kate!” Ethan shouted.
“We’ll be right back,” she shouted, hoping they weren’t being so loud that they’d draw Lincoln’s attention.
“God dammit, Kate!” Ethan shouted before he slammed the door.
Kate thought for sure he was going to come up behind them and drag them both back inside. But he didn’t.
“He knows where we’re going. He won’t leave them unprotected, at least not unless he has to,” Will said, and Kate turned to him sharply.
“You’ve given this option thought?”
“Not a lot, just after Lincoln told us no.”
Kate lowered her gaze for a moment. “He’ll probably never talk to me again.”
“Ha! He’d do anything for you.”
“What makes you say that?”
Will shrugged. “I have eyes. Ethan wears his heart is on his sleeve. At least when it comes to you.”
“Well, he’ll definitely hate you more,” Kate said with a half-grin.
“Can he hate me more than he already does?”
“Definitely. I think he was warming up to you since finding out you weren’t a crazy serial killer.”
Will chuckled. “Warming up, huh? Yeah, I don’t think so.”
The smiles on their faces quickly vanished when they stopped in front of Jet’s building. Kate’s heart started to pound.
Will jerked his head to the side of the building. “Let’s try the windows.”
They walked around the corner of the building. Kate pulled her knife out of the sheath as her eyes darted around the overgrown yard.
Will stepped forward and tried the first window at the side of the house. Kate almost felt relieved when it didn’t budge.
They made their way around the house, Will tried the windows while Kate watched his back. There was only one more window to check, but they weren’t going to need it. The second to last window squeaked slightly as it moved a quarter of an inch upward.
Will looked over his shoulder and into Kate’s eyes before turning back and slowly sliding the window up as far as it would go. A gust of wind blew the curtains around making them dance like faded, ghostly objects.
Will stood on his tiptoes. His fingertips white as he pulled himself higher to look into the window.
Gray arms with spidery black veins stretched out of the window tangling with the curtains. Kate gasped when the hand grabbed onto Will’s shirt.
Chapter 5
Kate stepped forward with her blade in hand, but Will twisted his body and had already broken free. His eyes were wide, but when he looked up at Kate, a smile spread across his face.
“That was close,” Will said.
Kate shook her head and apprehensively approached the window. She kept her position far out of reach from anything that might be inside.
“Did you see how many were in there?” Kate asked, her voice low.
“No,” Will said between breaths. “At least one.”
“No kidding,” Kate said bobbing her head to the side to see around the curtain.
Arms stretched out swiping in her direction but missing her by several feet. Kate took a step closer.
“What are you doing?” Will asked.
Kate ignored him and took another step when The Unholy reached out, she grabbed its underarm and yanked it as hard as she could. The creature moved out of the window far enough that Kate was able to ram the blade into the side of its head.
She stepped back as The Unholy flopped forward at the waist hanging halfway out of the window. The black gunk oozed out of the wound and dripped down onto the ground.
“Is that Jet?” Will asked.
“No,” Kate said with a quick breath.
“Are there any others in there?”
Kate stood on her tiptoes trying to look inside even though the curtains worked hard to block her view. “Just him I think. Help me get this thing out of the way.”
They grabbed the waist of The Unholy’s pants and jerked it out, letting it fall to the ground.
“Still have your pen?” Kate asked raising a brow.
Will looked at her and held up the pen. He clicked it and flashed her a half-smirk.
“Give me a boost,” Kate said placing her hands in the window frame.
Will grabbed Kate around the waist and pulled her away from the window. He spun her around, their faces inches apart.
“Are you crazy?” Will asked. “Jet’s still in there, you can’t just put your hands up there!”
Kate drew in a deep breath as her eyes moved from Will’s intense eyes down to his lips. She swallowed hard and placed her hands on his chest as she pushed herself away.
“I saw inside. The door was closed.” Kate sucked in a breath, and he loosened his grip. “It’s empty.”
“Oh,” Will said, looking off to the side. “Guess I panicked.”
Kate nodded and stepped back up to the window. “Boost.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Will grabbed Kate around the waist and helped her into the window.
Kate looked around what had once been a bedroom. The pictures that hung on the walls were all lopsided, and the black stained blankets mostly pulled off the bed. Everything scattered all over the place.
There were two bloody handprints on the door. It looked as though someone, probably The Unholy they’d thrown out the window, had tried to escape before it had turned.
Kate looked over her shoulder as Will pulled himself into the window. He was up to his armpits when his eyes connected with Kate’s.
“A little help?” Will said.
Kate couldn’t stop the smile from curling the ends of her lips. She grabbed his underarms and pulled, but he hadn’t needed much assistance.
“All right,” Will said brushing off the front of his shirt. “Let us never speak of that again.”
Kate spun in a circle looking around the room. It was such a disaster that if the key was inside, she knew they’d never find it. She had to hope that it would be inside the main room, but even if it were, that didn’t mean it would be easy to find.
“Stay back,” Kate said before she pressed her ear to the door. She didn’t hear anything, but she knew at least The Unholy version of Jet was inside the room.
“What’s your plan?” Will asked.
Kate shook her head. “I don’t have one.”
“What if the whole room is filled with them?” Will asked glancing at the pen in his hand.
“I’ll close the door.”
Will’s head bobbed up and down quickly, and Kate turned back to the door. Her hand turned the knob, and as quietly as she could, she pulled the door open a crack.
Kate’s eye darted around the room looking as far as the small opening allowed. She didn’t see anything. Not even The Unholy version of Jet.
She closed the door and crossed her arms as she turned to Will. “I know he’s in there, but I don’t see anything. The room appears to be empty.”
“Are you telling me he’s hiding?” Will asked.
“I don’t think so. He’s just not standing where I can see him.” Kate blew out a heavy breath. “I’m going out there.”
Will opened his mouth but closed it and nodded. He widened his stance as Kate soundlessly opened the door.
She stepped out into the room, her eyes moving around as she took in her surroundings. The room was different, but still quite familiar. Jet had changed the layout after he’d taken over, but it was in complete shambles.
It was almost as if Kate could imagine Jet as he turned into one of The Unholy. He must have tossed furniture, tore things off of the wall, and threw them across the room. The desk in the corner of the room, seemed to mostly be untouched, except fo
r everything that had been on top of it, was now strewn across the floor.
Kate took a step further into the room, she could hear the rain tapping against the window. The floorboards under her next step creaked, and she froze. Her heart pounded faster as she listened for movement on the other side of the wall.
She inched closer taking a quick glance at the desk to her right. Kate looked over her shoulder at Will who was still standing in the bedroom doorway. His eyes were wide as he watched her tiptoe across the floor.
The fingertips of Kate’s left hand brushed against the textured wall. She listened for movement, but all she could hear was her own heartbeat.
Kate swallowed a gasp when someone touched her shoulder. She turned expecting to see Will standing there, but it wasn’t his blue eyes staring back into hers. The eyes she was looking into were gray with big, round black pupils. She was face-to-face with one of The Unholy.
The creature opened its mouth as it quickly lurched for her shoulder, but it stopped abruptly and pulled back. Kate saw Will pull his hand back, and his pen sticking out of The Unholy’s ear. It seemed frozen in place, but it didn’t fall to the ground.
Kate took her blade and plunged it between its eyes. The black goo leaked out of the wound after Kate pulled her knife out and kicked The Unholy to the ground.
It hit the floor with a heavy thud.
“That was close,” Kate whispered. “Where did it come from?”
“It was behind the desk,” Will said staring at the pen sticking out of The Unholy’s head. “Is that one Jet?”
Kate looked down at the creature and shook her head. But the noise must have alerted him because when she turned, The Unholy version of Jet stepped around the corner and practically hissed in Kate’s face.
“This one is,” Kate said as Jet charge forward. Kate tried to dodge, but he managed to grab onto her shoulders. Her feet tangled together and both Kate and The Unholy crashed down to the ground on top of the one they’d just eradicated.
“My knife!” Kate said struggling to keep her arms stiff as she held The Unholy away from her. She was using all of her strength to keep it away so it couldn’t bite her.
“Where is it?” Will asked, his voice coated with urgency.
Falling Darkness Series - A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller - Books 1-3 Page 36
