My clothes cling to me, and I feel the cool night air all the way in my bones. I need to get out of here and find Avery, I need to move before I become so cold, I want nothing more than to curl up and sleep. I creep along the embankment, and even though it appears that the sun is beginning to rise as a dusky light filters in, it’s still too dark for me to know where the hell I am. I listen out to see if I can hear anything that might point me in the right direction, and a soft clicking makes me choke back a sob.
I freeze.
Am I hearing things? I thought I heard Luke, and I was wrong about that.
The sound gets closer, louder, and I turn slowly.
Nope, I am not going crazy.
Through the trees, a silhouette watches me for a few minutes before shuffling its way towards me. There’s no limp, or low guttural growl, just that fucking clicking. Click. Click. Click. As it gets nearer, I realize that the zombie is making that noise. It’s clicking its tongue. How? Either way, I don’t intend to stick around and find out.
I run, but my clothes are heavy and everything aches, so it’s more like a speed walk. The creature behind picks up speed, but it still isn’t running, just moving slightly faster towards me.
“Anna!” a voice I don’t recognise calls out, and I think that I’ve lost the plot. I’m delirious. I must be.
The monster pauses and tilts its head.
No. I’m not crazy. It heard the voice too.
“Over here!” I shout, my voice scratchy and my throat raw as I give it my all.
“Anna?” the voice calls again, but it seems to be further away, and my heart plummets into my stomach. Wrong way, you’re going the wrong way, I think as I stumble over a fallen branch.
“Help!” I cry again, as I keep trying to manoeuvre between the trees.
The zombie lets out a screech, and it sounds pissed as it keeps coming after me. I can hear the river again, and I make that my focal point, reminding myself to just keep moving with every laboured step. My foot catches on something, a dip in the ground, I think, as I fall to my knees. My hands land in something warm and slippery, causing me to skid forward. Now I’m coated in the stuff, and it feels sticky. It’s not mud. There are soft, squidgy bits stuck to me that remind me of that horrible bath jelly I bought Luke one year for Christmas, and I hesitate to touch them because I know what they are. I’d recognise the metallic tang surrounding me anywhere. I’m coated in Kaleb’s blood, amongst other fleshy bits. I gag as I try to push myself up from where I’m now sprawled, but it’s like some morbid comedy sketch, where I can’t seem to get a grip and I keep slipping. I can see the shadow of the creature getting closer, it doesn’t seem to be in a rush to catch me, and that scares me even more. It’s like it knows that there’s no escape for me. It does the howling screech again and stretches out its hands. They’re covered in dried blood, as is most of its face. There’s something unsettling me about this zombie. It’s like Avery said, it's not like the others. It watches me carefully as it moves closer. It looks around us, like it’s working out what its options are as it advances and whether I’ll be able to escape. It clicks. And I can see its fat, half-rotten tongue as it does.
I crawl over towards a tree and use that to pull myself up, I turn and am met face-to-face with the creature. Its milky eyes bore into mine as it moves in closer, our noses almost touching, and I can’t stop trembling. I can smell blood everywhere. It’s on the zombie. It’s on me. I can still see bits of flesh lodged between its teeth.
It doesn’t seem as decomposed as I would have expected for something that had been dead from the start of the outbreak, given what Avery had told me about Kaleb’s agreement with Redemption. It’s almost like a wax work, its skin has a strange sheen to it as it seems to examine me. The creature in front of me used to be a man, it was tall and broad, with clumps of dark hair. Its clothing was ragged and torn so much that I couldn’t tell you what it used to be.
It clicks again, the noise making me flinch as its tongue flops about in its mouth, and then it widens its jaw, looking like it's going to bite my face off as it tilts its head again. I try to shrink away, but there’s nowhere to go, the bark of the tree scratches my skin as I push myself up against it as much as I can. It’s almost like it’s thinking, when everything I know about zombies says that they’re mindless creatures who hunt and devour. That’s all there is to it. The virus that the government concocted turned them into brain-dead cannibals with no thought process and unable to feel, that’s what made them so dangerous. They didn’t care. They just kept chasing their prey.
As our lips are practically touching, my whole body locks, and I know this is it. There’s no escaping this. I was going to receive the kiss of death, seconds before I became dessert for an undead thing.
I squeeze my eyes shut, because I don’t want to watch my end.
I’ve seen all I need to.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Donovan
Alex had called out her name, and she responded, but now we couldn’t find her. Where the fuck was Anna? I refused to lose her again, not when I was so close. We’d run from screeching and strange clicking, and it didn’t seem to have followed us. Once we were sure of that, Alex, Mia, and I made the decision to look for Anna while Fischer kept Luke safe closer to the motorway. We couldn’t risk his life if it was going to turn into a shit show.
Alex signals to me to stop, and I do. Mia motions over to our left, and the sound of running water tells me we’re near a river. Maybe she couldn’t hear us over the water? Maybe she was dead? No. I can’t think like that. We were so close.
We all stand, listening. Praying to hear something, anything. And we do. It’s that damn clicking. It comes from the same direction as the water, and I know in my gut that Anna is where that noise is. We edge forward slowly, trying not to disturb the forestry around us too much. A snapping twig could mean the difference between life and death right now.
Mia is the one who catches my attention this time, and when I look over to where she’s pointing, I see it. Anna is pressed up against a massive willow tree, her hands raised as if she could hold off the creature in front of her. Her body is plastered with blood and mud. It’s everywhere, on her clothes, her hands, her hair is sticking to her face because of it, and I hope that none of it is hers. For a moment, I pause. I didn't remember her being this beautiful. Her blonde hair is tied back, but thick strands have fallen down, where she’s obviously struggled through bushes and trees to escape, and despite the blood and mud, she’s still all I can see. I feel my anger rise just as Alex grabs my wrist and holds me in place. The zombie hasn’t noticed us yet as it steps towards Anna, as if it was eyeing her up. It’s the source of the clicking, and the noise makes my jaw tick. Why isn’t it attacking her? Why is it just watching?
She tries to move further back, but it only leans in closer. We creep forward, and as we do, I can see that its mouth is almost on hers. What the fuck was happening? This isn't normal zombie behaviour...this is new. It was like the creature down in the tunnels and new wasn’t a good thing. New was bad. Very bad.
Anna closes her eyes tightly, as if she’s accepted whatever is about to happen, and that’s when I hit boiling point. I can’t just stand here and watch. Mia examines my face carefully and nods, she understands what I’m thinking and how I’m feeling, even if I don’t fully understand it myself. Drawing back her bow at the same time as I grab my knife and approach, Anna still hasn’t opened her eyes, so she has no clue how close help is. The clicking and the river masks our footsteps, allowing me to get right up behind it. I brace myself, and make sure I’m ready for what I’m about to do next. Knife in my right hand, I get ready to move, and at that exact moment, Anna opens her eyes and stares straight into mine as I ram my knife into the creature’s skull. The monster stumbles backwards into me, but I shove it aside, it's still not dead yet. I grab Anna by the hand, and we run as Mia finishes off the zombie with her bow. When we look behind us, it’s fallen to its knees, an arrow shaf
t protruding from its eye socket. Two more pierce in its chest, and yet, it still slumps on its knees for a few moments before going completely still.
“Fuck,” Alex curses, kicking the rotting carcass so that it topples over finally.
Crossing her arms, Mia looks over at the fallen body with disdain. “That took longer than it should have.”
“It wasn’t a normal zombie,” Anna whispers, her hand still firmly in mine. “It’s different.”
“Yeah, we guessed that. But what’s making them like this?” Alex hisses. He stands and grabs a cloth from his bag, dipping it into the river before coming back and handing it to Anna.
“We need to get back to Fischer and Luke,” I say as she lets go of my hand.
Anna brightens as she looks up at me. “Luke’s here? I’m not crazy?”
She looks tired, but there was something about her. The yellow flecks in her green eyes make me think about the dawn, as it filtered in through the foliage, like it was now. The blood smeared across her face had begun to flake, and she winces when she uses the wet rag Alex gave her to wipe it away.
“Are you hurt?” I ask gently, placing my free hand under her chin to examine her face carefully. She shakes her head, breaking our contact. She’s still a stranger, I remind myself, even if she doesn’t feel like one.
“I’m not sure on the crazy part, but yeah. The kid refuses to leave Donovan’s side.” Mia laughs from behind us as she pulls out her arrows and wipes them down.
Anna throws her arms around my neck as she buries her face against my skin. “Thank you for keeping him safe,” she whispers, and I can feel her lips moving against the sensitive flesh there. It’s been two years since anyone has been this close to me. Elise...there had been no one since Elise. I wrap my own arms around her waist as if it was natural, as if we’d known each other our whole lives rather than two brief meetings spread apart by more than a month.
Alex coughs, and it breaks into whatever moment we’re having as Anna steps back and refuses to meet my eye. I shoot him a look, and he just shrugs with a grin as Mia punches his arm lightly and murmurs, “Twat.”
Anna takes a deep breath, as if she’s preparing herself. “Right, where’s my son?”
“Mum!” Luke shouts when he sees us, running up and throwing himself at his mother. I barely get a second glance as he sticks to her like a limpet.
Fischer gives me a nod that says ‘Glad you’re not dead yet’ as she approaches us with a woman who appears to have a baby clutched in her arms.
“Avery!” Anna says as she pulls the young woman into a hug with her and Luke. The baby lets out a small squeak but quickly settles back to sleep after Avery makes some comforting noises.
“I thought she might be with you,” Fischer offers as she smiles at Anna. Did she feel like she knew her too?
Anna returns the smile, and it lights up her whole face. I look away. Why was I acting like a damn teenager? I wasn’t a thirteen-year-old with a crush for Christ’s sake, I was a grown man. Was it the build-up? The fact that I’d spent weeks thinking about this woman? That her child hadn’t stopped talking about her? Whatever it was, I needed to calm down and get some perspective.
Alex radios into Litchfield, where we learn that Galen and the others were picked up by Kelp, who’d actually decided to pull his finger out of his arse and send some army trucks. I feel relieved knowing that everyone made it back in one piece, but we still had to make our way back too. Galen agrees after some persuasion from Mia to meet us halfway with a vehicle, if we can get there by sunset tomorrow. Alex loves a challenge, and Galen should know better than that by now. We’ll be there, with bells on.
We walked for most of the day, but we needed to rest. No one had slept the night before in the woods, and it was beginning to show as we started to drag our feet, getting slower with every passing hour. We had to avoid the motorway, as the occasional noise of an engine would pass us, reminding us that the game of Hide and Seek wasn’t over yet. Invictus and Sammy were still out there, but that needed to be a problem for another day.
We find an abandoned water mill further up the river, and that’s where we set up for a few hours. It had been empty since before the outbreak, given the way the roof had giant holes in it, it was empty of any furniture, and the windows were all smashed, but we just needed somewhere to camp out for a little while.
Alex and I build a small fire, big enough to heat the backroom we’re in, but not so big that it draws attention. Anna covers the window with some fabric she’s found, making it that little bit safer. It’s not going to make a huge difference, but every little helps these days, especially now there’s a baby in our group. Luckily, Abigail’s cry isn’t very loud, more like a mewling noise, and she seems to find Anna and Avery soothing, so they settle her quickly. But that wasn’t going to last long, and we’d have to feed her more than the porridge Mia had brought with her in her backpack soon. The porridge was like wallpaper paste, but it was better than nothing, and thanks to the fire, at least it was warm.
We start settling down to get some sleep, Alex and Mia taking the first watch by the doorway as Avery curls up in the corner with the baby. Fischer is to my left, and Anna is opposite me, across the fire.
“What’s up, kiddo, you don’t want to sleep next to me today?” I tease as Luke hesitates about where to put his bag down for the night.
He looks guilty, and I chuckle. “Go be with your mum.”
Smiling, he says, “I’ll stay with you next time.”
“We can move closer if you want us to?” Anna suggests, and as much as I want to say yes, it would be a strange request. I shake my head and lean back against the wall, watching her wrap her arms around Luke and stroke his hair as he drifts asleep. I should have realised that the dynamic would change now that Anna was back, for some reason I just thought she would slot into what Luke and I had been doing for the last few weeks. I guess life isn’t that simple, it wasn’t like I was looking for a ready-made family. I wasn’t looking for anything. But seeing them, I couldn’t shake the feeling like I was missing out.
An easy silence falls over the room until it’s time to switch places with Alex and Mia. Fischer nudges my boot, and I get up and stretch as quietly as I can, the fire has all but died out by now, and we take up our place just outside the door, our backs against the wall.
“So, shared custody of the kid, huh?” Fischer whispers, observant as always.
I shrug, not sure how to respond to her intense look. It’s like she’s trying to read my mind as she watches my face for some sort of tell-tale sign.
“Isn’t it funny, the last woman you rescued was glued to your hip but the one you’ve been waiting for is keeping her distance,” her voice was low and steady, but I can hear the amusement in her words.
Lily was yet another problem I was leaving for another day. Unfortunately, that day was dawning, and I was going to have to face it in a matter of hours, when we returned to Litchfield. How would Anna take it? Would she even care that her friend was practically throwing herself at me? No, of course she wouldn’t. I wasn’t anyone to her.
“Hilarious,” I mumble, ignoring the knowing look she was giving me.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Anna
My sleep is broken, filled with dreams of zombie mouths, rivers of blood, and Donovan. When I opened my eyes back in the woods and he’d been there, I thought I was hallucinating. I thought I was conjuring a handsome man with dark hair, dark eyes, and a dimple to distract from the fact that I was going to die, sucking face with a zombie. I grabbed on to him and held him like he was my lifeline when he told me Luke was with him. He’d protected my son. I knew he would. With my face against his skin, I’d whispered my thanks, finding comfort in the way we were connected, even if it was only for a moment. I felt safe. When he’d held me back, it was like something in my chest restricted, a cough brought me back to my senses with a thud. I was making a tit of myself, throwing myself at a stranger with kind eyes. I tried
to keep my distance after that, but it was hard, especially seeing how at ease Luke was with him. I woke to darkness the last time, and just watched him through the doorway, talking quietly with Fischer for a little while. He was guarded, shutting himself off except for whenever he would look at Luke. I wanted to know him, and not just because he was cute or because he’d protected my child. There was a sadness that I wanted to soothe, and I couldn’t explain why. I drifted back to sleep, the low huskiness of his voice relaxing me as I slipped back into my nightmares.
We make it to the checkpoint, where we meet up with some people Alex and Donovan know. Fischer introduces us to a man named Galen, and then we clamber into a truck, and within an hour, we’re back at Litchfield. The whole day was a blur, I mean, I was so used to having to walk everywhere that I’d forgotten how quick being in a vehicle could be. We enter the base not long after dark, when I had expected it to take us at least another day. A few people come out to greet us as we get checked over. Avery refuses to leave Abigail’s side as she’s taken to the medical bay to be looked over. Alex and Mia are being debriefed by a man who introduced himself as Lieutenant Kelp. I don’t like him for some reason, the way he looks at me as if I am a burden makes my skin crawl. Luke hasn’t let go of my hand the entire journey, and I’m glad because now I’m in unfamiliar territory, and I don’t know where we fit in.
“Donovan!” I hear a familiar voice shout seconds before Lily throws herself at Donovan, wrapping herself around him like some kind of sticky noodle. I know that he rescued her, Luke had filled me in, but I hadn’t realised that they’d become close. A weird sort of jealousy I have no right feeling settles in my chest, and as Luke shows me to his sleeping quarters, I watch Donovan trying to slip out of Lily’s grip. I smirk a little as he struggles as if she’s grown extra limbs like some sort of octopus. He shoots me an apologetic smile, and I hold my hand up as if to say, ‘It’s nothing to do with me, you carry on.’ I see his shoulders drop as he sighs and tries once again to step away from her. Luke calls me, and I use him as an excuse to leave, after all, it was nothing to me who Donovan had a relationship with.
The Survival Games (Book 2): Hide & Seek Page 15