I knew she couldn’t do it even before she lowered the gun. I had no doubt she could kill. I’d seen her. But she couldn’t execute the man she loved, not even to stop him from becoming a monster.
Lucy turned, the gun hanging limply at her side, and walked toward the lodge. She reached the walkway, and I opened the door.
Without saying anything, she held the gun out to me. I took it as she passed.
Alex watched us from the couch. Lucy sat down beside him, and he slung his arm around her shoulder.
“I’ll be back in a couple of minutes,” I said and swung the door shut.
The shadow roiled within my body, and I felt a glimmer of excitement. I’d been handed an opportunity. All I had to do was find a way to take advantage of it. If Mike sensed my excitement, he didn’t show it. He just stood and waited for me.
“Not here,” I said as I drew near. “It’s too close. We’ll go into the forest. I don’t want them to see this.”
Mike nodded.
He didn’t speak as we made our way around the back of the lodge. I was grateful for the silence. The shadow surged through me, and I had to fight to keep it from overwhelming my senses. Trying to hold a conversation at the same time would have been all but impossible.
I don’t think I realized exactly where I was taking him until we reached the path to the workshop. I pushed aside the bushes and directed Mike into the forest.
We walked until we were out of sight of the lodge, then I tapped him on the shoulder. “Here should be fine.”
He turned to face me. In the shadow of the trees, his pale face almost glowed.
“Thank you,” he said.
Unsure of what to say, I fiddled with the gun, checking the safety twice and then testing the feel of the weapon in my hand as though I were assessing the weight of fruit in a market.
Mike moved a few feet away, and I raised the gun. The shadow came forward, and I felt a rush of adrenaline. My trigger finger twitched. The barrel hardly moved. I took a deep breath and swallowed. Cold tendrils ran down my back, and I shuddered. I took another breath.
“I’m sorry. Could you…?” I spun my finger in the air.
Mike nodded.
He turned his back to me, pulling up straight. I stepped forward and raised the gun until it was just a couple of inches away from the base of his skull. The world around me shrank, and the forest fell silent. It was just me and Mike.
“I’m sorry,” I said and slammed the butt of the gun into the back of his head.
In the movies, that’s enough to take a man down, but Mike just stumbled forward, yelling in surprise. I hit him again, putting all my weight into the blow. This time he fell, grunting as he fell to his knees. I hit him again, and he landed face-first in the dirt.
I raised the gun, ready to club him with it if he moved. He groaned a little then lay still. When I was sure he was out cold, I fired two shots off into the trees, sending birds scattering into the air. Then I slipped the gun back into my belt.
By the time Mike regained consciousness, I had him chained to the table in the workshop.
Chapter 35
Mike
I stood beside Mike as confusion, surprise, and then anger passed over his face. He tried to sit up, but the chains across his neck, waist, and legs held him in place. He struggled, trying to break free, but the restraints were more than a match for his fading strength.
He looked at me, his brow furrowed. “What the hell?”
His voice was dry and weak, and his skin had taken on a plastic sheen. A spiderweb of thin black veins blossomed out around his eyes.
When I didn’t reply, he started moving again. The chains rattled as he strained against them.
“If I were you,” I said, “I’d rest. Concentrate on fighting the infection. It might buy you some more time.”
He grunted. “I don’t want more time.”
“Suit yourself.”
The gun was resting on the table behind me, well out of Mike’s reach, but my knife was in my hand. I placed its tip on the end of my left index finger and raised it upright. I stared at it, letting it waver to and fro as though I was balancing it on my finger. The point was sharp, and I could feel it digging into my skin. A slight increase in pressure, and it would break the surface. I could picture it—a drop of red would bloom at the tip of my finger, and then the shadow would break free, bursting from my body in a column of darkness.
“Marcus, you don’t need to do this.”
His voice was still weak, but it was calm now. It was the polite, rational sound of a trained police officer trying to defuse a dangerous situation.
The shadow reached into my mind, and I smiled. “Don’t waste your breath,” we said.
I took the knife away from my finger and, still smiling, leaned forward until my face was directly over his. My knife hand was resting on the edge of the table. I could see him watching it, trying to work out whether he could make some sort of move before I rammed the blade into his skull.
“I have to go,” I said. “I need to deal with Lucy and Alex.”
Mike’s eyes widened, and he shook his head, but I turned away before he spoke. I picked up the gun and weighed it in my hand as though I was debating what to do with it. Then I slipped it into my belt.
The chains rattled again as I walked away.
“Where are you going? Marcus, don’t just leave me here. For God’s sake. Please.”
Mike’s shouts grew louder and more urgent as I opened the door and walked out.
“You can’t do this. Please, Marcus!”
I stood outside the workshop for a moment, letting the shadow drink in his fear, his panic. Then I swung the door closed. I slipped the knife back into its sheath and walked toward the trail to the camp, Mike’s cries chasing me through the trees.
Chapter 36
Fire
Lucy was waiting for me at the back of the lodge. She had an armful of branches.
“Thank you,” she said. Her voice was flat, and when I looked in her eyes they were empty.
I nodded.
“I’ve started a signal fire,” she said.
“No, we can’t do that.”
“I already have.”
I stared at her for a moment then ran around the side of the lodge.
The fire pit was filled with wood and paper. The mound was already burning, orange-and-yellow flames flickering in the late afternoon light. A broad pillar of smoke rose up into the air. Lucy appeared beside me and threw the branches onto the fire. Smoke billowed from the pit, catching in my throat.
“But you were going to the ranger station.”
“Alex is too badly hurt. There’s no way he’d make it on foot, and we don’t have enough fuel to use the bike.”
I looked around us at the forest. “But the fire will bring people.”
“That’s the point, Marcus. We need help!”
“No!” I spun away and ran back to the lodge.
Alex was standing by the door, and I nearly knocked him over as I charged past. I grabbed a bucket from beneath the sink in the kitchen and filled it with water. As I hurried outside, the shadow berated me for my stupidity. I should kill them now, while Alex was injured and Lucy’s guard was down.
But I needed to put out the fire first. I tapped my knuckles against the side of my head. “Shut up!”
Alex watched me with fear in his eyes as I crossed the living room and went outside. I brushed past Lucy toward the fire. She grabbed the bucket’s handle. “No, Marcus.”
“We can’t have a fire,” I said, almost spitting each word.
I yanked the bucket, freeing it from Lucy’s grip. Water splashed across the ground. I threw the rest over the fire. The wood hissed and popped, but if anything the water just generated more smoke. I hurled the bucket across the camp in frustration.
I heard a rattle of metal. Two zombies stumbled out of the forest, near the trail that led back to the river. Fishing line from my perimeter was caught around their an
kles, and they dragged a cluster of tin cans behind them.
I pulled the knife from my belt and moved toward them. Anger and frustration roared through my system. The shadow joined in, but its cries were of delight. I’d barely made it three steps when there were two loud bangs and the zombies fell to the ground. Lucy was standing just behind me, a pistol in her hands.
I pressed my hands against my forehead and looked toward the tree line. In my mind, I could see them out there in the shadows—a hundred, a thousand zombies swarming from the forest to tear us apart.
Something touched my shoulder, and I spun, my knife flashing in the waning sun.
“Easy, Marcus.”
It was Lucy. Her left hand was held out, palm up, but I could see the gun in her right. It was ready if she needed it.
“It’s okay,” she said.
The fire had grown stronger, the flames flickering higher as they were fed by wood that had been drying in the summer heat for months. There’d be no putting it out now.
I clenched the knife. “Damn!”
“Shhh…” Lucy said.
I opened my mouth to respond, but she raised her hand. “Listen.”
At first, all I could make out was the crackling of the fire. Then I heard it.
The low-pitched thumping of a helicopter’s rotors.
Chapter 37
Rescue
The chopper swept over the camp, the backwash sending smoke and dirt swirling into the air. It was gone in a matter of seconds. Lucy waved her arms over her head, shouting after it. I simply stood there, watching it circle around for another pass. With all the dust, smoke, and noise, it felt like the end of the world. At least for me.
The helicopter dipped its nose and flew toward the camp, slower this time. A machine gun was mounted in the aircraft’s open doorway, and I could see the gunner. He pointed down then tilted the weapon toward us. Lucy was still waving her arms above her head and shouting for help even though they’d obviously already seen us.
The lodge door was open, and Alex stood there with a huge grin plastered all over his face.
The helicopter dropped lower until its skids were almost brushing the tops of the trees. The gunner leveled the machine gun at us. I could see the belt of ammunition hanging beneath the weapon, swaying with the motion of the helicopter. It was almost hypnotic.
The whine of the helicopter’s engines shifted in pitch as it slowed and then stopped, hovering above the open area behind the lodge.
Lucy ran past me. “Let’s go!” Her voice was filled with excitement and relief.
I felt nothing but dread.
“Come on, Doc,” Alex said.
He was still using the ski poles as crutches, but it didn’t stop him from almost running along the walkway after Lucy.
The helicopter dropped out of sight.
Run, said the shadow, its voice so clear in my head it was as though it were standing beside me.
I almost did.
My feet took three steps toward the forest of their own accord. Only the thought of the workshop and the possibility that I’d lose the leather case stopped me. There was still a chance I could salvage the situation. If I could just deal with the helicopter.
I ran along the side of the lodge, grabbing another of the ski poles on the way. If I could somehow wedge it into the chopper’s engine…
I dropped the pole as soon as I reached the clearing.
Lucy and Alex were standing a few feet away, hands raised above their heads, faces tilted downward to shelter from the debris being blown about by the helicopter. Two soldiers had taken up position near the aircraft and were kneeling, automatic rifles trained on Lucy and Alex. A third soldier was walking toward them with a pistol in his hand.
One of the kneeling soldiers turned her weapon toward me. I stopped moving and raised my hands.
The man with the pistol got to within ten feet of Lucy and Alex and then stopped. “Place your weapons on the ground,” he shouted. His words were almost drowned out by the sound of the helicopter.
Lucy nodded and threw the gun away, well out of reach of all three of us. I removed my knife from my belt and did the same.
“My name is Captain Faraday.”
“I’m Lucy, this is Alex, and that’s Marcus.”
“Is there anyone else here?”
“No… not anymore.”
“Are you infected?”
“No.”
The captain tapped his forehead. “What about that?”
Lucy raised her hand to her head. Blood was smeared across her forehead, and her hands came away sticky. “It’s just a cut, an accident. Alex has a broken ankle, but we haven’t been bitten.”
“What about you?” Faraday said to me.
“I’m fine. One of us was bitten, but he’s been dealt with.”
The captain’s eyes narrowed. I swallowed, trying to relax my face into what I hoped was a natural, and honest, expression.
“Captain!” shouted one of the soldiers.
A zombie had stepped out of the forest, drawn by the noise of the helicopter. It was a woman. By the state of her clothing, she’d been wandering around the wilderness for weeks. The captain nodded, and the soldier fired once. The back of the zombie’s head exploded, and she collapsed to the ground. Behind her, three more zombies stepped into view.
“Zees on the right, sir.”
“Dammit,” said Captain Faraday. “Take them out.”
Three more shots, and three more zombies dropped to the ground.
“Come on!” said Faraday, waving to us. “Get in.”
Lucy and Alex ducked down and ran toward the helicopter.
I sensed rather than heard the zombie behind me and turned as he made a grab for my head. His movements were slow and clumsy. I sidestepped the attack and pushed him to the ground. There were two more zombies just behind him. My knife had fallen too far out of reach for me to get it. I backed away toward the lodge and Lucy’s pistol.
More gunfire crackled around me, but the number of zombies was increasing. Lucy and Alex had reached the helicopter, and the soldiers were backing toward the door too. Captain Faraday waved at me to hurry up.
A female zombie shuffled into sight around the end of the helicopter. Captain Faraday fired at it. The shot hit her in the shoulder, making her stagger backward into the rear rotor blades. They ripped the back of her head off, splattering blood and bone across the side of the chopper before she fell forward into the grass.
The two soldiers climbed on board the helicopter and took up seats opposite Lucy and Alex. Faraday waved at me again as the whine of the helicopter’s engine increased in pitch.
I’d reached Lucy’s gun, and I bent down and picked it up. Another zombie appeared in front of me. I aimed the gun and fired. The weapon bucked in my hand, and the shot went wide. I fired again, this time hitting the ground at the zombie’s feet. I moved toward the lodge, away from the helicopter. Alex was shouting at me, his words drowned out by the roar of the engine.
Something grabbed my arm. I twisted, bringing the gun up and firing as the zombie launched himself at me. The bullet tore through his shoulder, barely slowing him down. I screamed as his teeth clamped down on my arm. Panicking, I slammed the heel of my hand against his forehead and pushed.
My fingers slipped on rotten skin, but the pressure on my arm eased. I pulled away, rammed the pistol against his temple, and fired. The zombie’s head exploded, blood spattering my face.
I clutched my arm and let out a cry of frustration. Faraday was on the helicopter now. He slowly shook his head at me then called back into the cockpit. The chopper wavered slightly then lifted off the ground.
Alex leaned from behind Faraday. He was shouting at the captain and pointing at me. Faraday shook his head. When Alex looked at me, there was despair written across his face. I slowly raised the gun and gave him a casual salute. He returned the gesture.
Another zombie stumbled into sight. I backed toward the lodge door, praying it was unlo
cked. Still clutching my arm, I fumbled with the handle for a few panicked seconds. Then there was a click, and the door swung open. I fell backward into the dining room, kicking the door shut behind me.
I leaned against the wall and sank to the floor. Outside, the sound of the helicopter grew louder. There was gunfire and the rapid chatter of the machine gun. Then the firing stopped, and the helicopter’s engine faded away, leaving me in silence.
I looked down at my arm. The sleeve of my jacket was covered in blood and bile where the zombie had clamped itself on to me. I took a deep breath and slid the sleeve up, exposing my arm.
I smiled.
The bite hadn’t made it through my jacket.
Chapter 38
Alone Again
I slept like the proverbial baby that night. Everything was so quiet, just the soft moaning of the zombies outside to lull me to sleep. Despite their presence, I felt perfectly safe. The lodge was well built, and they showed no signs of trying to get in. Maybe they thought I was dead, just as Lucy and the others did.
When I woke the next morning, I remembered the zombie’s jaws clamping down on my arm, and a sudden burst of terror hit me. I hurriedly pulled up my sleeve. There was a large, oval bruise where the zombie had bitten me, but he’d failed to break the skin. It wasn’t an experience I wanted to repeat, but I’d been lucky—both not getting bitten and having the opportunity to get rid of Lucy and Alex.
The farewell salute had been a nice touch, but maybe I should have fired a shot as soon as I got into the lodge—just to reinforce the impression that I’d taken my own life.
Looking through my bedroom window, I could see the bodies of fifteen or so zombies scattered around the grass. Another zombie, this one still walking, stood at the edge of the forest, staring blankly into the distance. Two more knelt by one of their fallen comrades.
I checked my gun. It still had three rounds in it, but there were probably more somewhere in the lodge. The shadow ran its fingers down my spine, and I shuddered. It whispered to me—Mike. In the excitement, I’d forgotten about him.
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