Because she didn’t have a choice in what she was becoming. I did.
“You wanna wait this one out, UK? Maybe slip into one of these RVs and wait for your boy here?” Barrett winked, and fury and embarrassment burned through my veins so quickly that I started towards him, ready to sink my axe into him right then without a second thought.
Nolan caught me by the waist and pulled me back as Barrett chuckled to himself.
“Perhaps not? Well, maybe you can use that ill-advised rage against me and direct it towards whatever the fuck is in here with us, huh?” He winked and looked over at Elias, sufficiently pleased that he’d pissed me off. “I’ll take point, you go ‘round.” He glanced back at Nolan. “You either calm your woman down and take her with you, or lock her in one of these things. I don’t trust her loose out here with a gun.”
“Trust!” I hissed. “You don’t know the first thing about trust!”
“I know more than you’ll ever understand. And your anger as it is, well, let’s just say my trust runs thin when it comes to you, UK.”
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to calm down. This was getting us nowhere and it really wouldn’t matter by tomorrow. Nolan and I would be going our separate ways and I’d never have to see Barrett or Sam ever again.
“I hate you,” I said.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” He smirked.
“But we all need each other right now.”
“Do we?” he asked with a shrug. “Not sure I need you, darlin’.”
“Then stay away from me and we’ll get along just fine,” I replied, tying not to rise to his bait.
“I like to keep my enemies close,” Barrett drolled. “Nolan, you and Sam to the left, Rose is with me, and Elias you’re a lone soldier on this.”
“Fine by me,” Elias said, already taking off.
“Rose stays with me,” Nolan gritted.
Barrett tutted and wagged a finger in the air between us all. “As I said, I like to keep my enemies close. You look after my girl and I’ll look after yours. Ain’t budging on this, so get on board or things are going to get real ugly.”
Nolan started forwards but I pressed a hand to his chest to stop him. He wasn’t in any fit state to fight Barrett at the moment. There was no doubt in my mind who the victor would be if it came to blows, and Barrett would have no qualms about putting me and Nolan down if it came to it.
“It’s fine,” I soothed Nolan. “Let’s just get this done with so we can rest for the night. We’re leaving in the morning anyway.” I reached up and pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning back to Barrett. “Let’s go.”
“Atta girl,” Barrett chuckled before gesturing for me to follow him. As we reached the corner of the RV we were crouched behind, he turned back to look at Nolan. “You look after that woman of mine. Anything happens to her and I’ll put this little thing of yours down like a dog.”
I glared up at Barrett. “You’re despicable.”
“Compliments, compliments.” He winked and took off, gesturing for me to follow him.
I took one long look back at Nolan, seeing how tense his muscles were, how the veins in his neck stood out as he tried to restrain himself. And then my gaze slid to Sam and the equally furious expression on her face as she stared after Barrett.
“Rose.” She said my name and I pursed my lips, not ready for whatever she was about to say. “I’m sorry,” she said.
But we both knew that sorry wasn’t enough.
Not after everything that had passed between us.
Sorry would never be enough. Not now, not ever.
Chapter Nine.
Sam
I watched Rose walk away with Barrett and I could barely hold back the monster. It didn’t like seeing our friend at the mercy of the asshole who’d done everything he could to keep us apart. And it seemed like he’d succeeded. Rose could barely look at me. She didn’t want to talk to me. I needed to make her understand that I’d done everything for her, sacrificed everything to keep her and Nolan safe.
I took a step forward involuntarily, eyes burning holes into Barrett’s back.
A tentative but firm grip reached out to stop me. Glancing down, I saw blood-crusted fingers curled around my upper arm. I turned around slowly, heart already pumping the rush of my inner demon through my veins. I felt like the Hulk. Don’t anger me. You won’t like me when I’m angry.
“Sam, the quicker we clear this place and make it safe, the sooner we’re not separated.” Nolan’s swollen face was serious, his gaze searching mine. “You’re losing control, and there’s no fucking time for that.”
I swallowed, the pink of my vision making his face look like the girl in that movie where they win golden tickets to go into a secret candy factory and then she eats bubble gum that tastes like a dinner, from appetizer to dessert. And she starts to change color and blow up and look wildly disproportionate while strange little men sing a sarcastically morbid song. Only she turned mostly purple in the movie, and Nolan was many shades, with his purple-brown bruises and maroon wounds tattooed across every inch of him.
Again, I looked back to where Barrett had taken Rose.
I took another step, even as I tried to control myself and listen to Nolan.
“Goddammit, Sam. Do you care about her at all? Is it that you can’t stand to see your man walking away with another woman?” Nolan’s words sliced at my back. My own personal Ms. Hyde roared back to life, shocking even me with its intensity.
I whirled around, snarling at Nolan. “How dare you,” I growled. “Barrett knew you and Rose were in the Sins’ camp. He knew, and he kept it from me. When I found out, I bargained everything to keep you safe. Everything.”
Nolan gave me a look that made it clear that he didn’t believe me one bit.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night, Sam. Let’s just get this over with.” He turned in the direction Barrett had ordered us to clear, his body slumped, his walking stunted, but clearly determined.
Chest still rumbling with anger, I followed him quickly, until I surpassed him and took the lead. “You can barely walk, let alone fight. I won’t let Rose lose you because you’re too stubborn to realize you’re weak as hell.” My voice was still fierce.
“I’m completely—”
“Don’t you dare say you’re fine, Nolan. If it wasn’t the fucking apocalypse, you’d be in a hospital right now. So put your ego away and let me protect you.” I didn’t wait for him to respond, moving faster and confidently gripping the gun Barrett had given me—though I didn’t need it.
What were bullets next to my beast?
Lately, she was always just below the surface, ready and willing to attack.
All I had to do was let her out, turn the knob, crack the door open, and let the monster do the rest. It was strange how the feeling of strength and rage and bloodlust were becoming integral parts of myself, as much as the memories of my father and my unshakeable love of dance.
But now, a waltz was a wonder of crimson wetness.
A grand battement was a battle stance, beating out at would-be attackers.
Pirouettes ended in pain. So much pain.
And I loved the change.
Loved the beauty becoming a bitterness.
Loved the way my body now moved with an endgame purpose. Not just artistic release or entertainment. Survival. Survival of the fittest.
So, was it so bad that I was beginning to love the beast? To embrace her. To need her.
If Rose abandoned me, she’d be all I had left. Barrett wasn’t someone I could trust anymore. I couldn’t stay with him. Hell, I’d sooner eat him than stay with him. Nolan would obviously be with Rose, and I didn’t know Elias.
Yes, it would be just me and my monster.
That was my new ride or die.
As I thought, my brain a jumble, my gaze roved the environment, looking for any signs of movement, any hints of danger. It was eerily quiet though, and I thought that Nolan and I had lucked ou
t. Barrett had sent us down the path of least resistance.
We snaked between RVs, and Nolan reached out and pulled the door handle of each one. Most were locked up, save for a couple. He left those doors cracked, so we’d know which were accessible later.
I was about to turn around and suggest we go back and find the others, that nothing seemed to be out of sorts in the RV storage lot, but then I heard…a sound that made my mouth drool and my stomach grumble.
It was a gnashing of teeth against bone. My acute transformed hearing picked it up instantly.
Like when you’re eating ribs, and you push your teeth down against the pale cooked bone. You slide your bite between the two surfaces—one hard, one soft and gamey—separating the meat. And then that action is followed by a damp, squelching chewing. The meat strings out, bits of flavor watering your mouth.
It wasn’t the gross, uncontrolled slurping and smacking of the undead.
This was pointed, deliberate. Whoever was eating was enjoying their meal immensely.
The dead eat mindlessly, driven by deep-seated desire.
I put an arm up, stopping Nolan behind me.
He moved close to my back, trying to peer around me, but there was nothing to see yet.
“What is it? Zombies?” He spoke low, balancing the gun in his hands and feeling the weight of it. Preparing himself for action.
Shaking my head, I took a tentative step forward. I felt so hungry, overwhelmingly so.
“I don’t think so. This doesn’t sound…like them eating. It sounds…human.” I took another step forward.
“I can’t hear a fucking thing,” Nolan protested, trying to move around me.
“Stay the hell back, Nolan. I already told you, I’m not letting Rose lose you.” I slammed a hand into his chest, rocking his damaged body backwards, and my beast made sure to give him an extra shove back too.
“I’ve been in worse shape,” he growled, moving to stand his ground beside me.
“And I’m basically a killing machine, okay? So hate me if you want. Rose can hate me too. But until we go our separate ways, I’m going to do what I can to keep you breathing.” I turned towards him, gun shaking in my hands as the beast boiled my blood.
Nolan must have seen the monster.
His gaze narrowed, our eyes locked.
The world was washed pink. A darker shade than usual.
Like a blood moon shone above us instead of the hot Nevada sun.
“Look, Nolan,” I sighed, trying to control myself despite anger raging through me. “I don’t know what I did, except try to save your asses. But let me put it this way. You’re a military guy, right? All orders and war and weapons?”
He straightened his posture, as though the reminder that he was once a soldier had shot through him like a drill sergeant’s shouting in basic training, and he winced from the pain of it. “Yeah,” he finally said, biting through the agony of his brokenness.
“Then think of me as your weapon,” I shrugged like what I was saying wasn’t hurting me badly. “Use me to stay alive. I can be expendable. A machine to make sure you and Rose get the hell out of this mess. Because once…” I swallowed, my voice dying out, because it was hard to say the words. “Once,” I continued again, words cracking, “you guys leave together, then I’ve got nothing and no one. I don’t care if I’m alive.”
“You’ll have Barrett,” Nolan rebuked. Saying the other man’s name was obviously like poison on his tongue. “That’s what you wanted, right? Who needs friends when you’ve got a criminal drug lord to fuck?” It didn’t sound like Nolan talking, more so the anger he held inside. Anger at Barrett, at the Sins, anger that he’d been beaten so badly and that Rose had been in harm’s way. Actually, he sounded a little like Rose, I realized.
And that made me smile, even though it wasn’t the time for smiling. She’d have someone who understood her. Who loved her. Who would protect her.
“What?” Nolan asked, confused by my response to his accusation.
“You sound like Rose.” I reached forward, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’m glad she has you, Nolan. If I can’t be with her, then I know you’ll keep her safe.”
With that, I turned around and started stalking slowly forward, toward the sound of chewing, toward whatever threat awaited.
And Nolan, for his part, gave me wide berth. He let me take the lead, to be the defense between himself and death. He’d taken my words to heart, maybe. Or maybe more than that, he’d realized his pride wasn’t worth dying over. It certainly wasn’t worth leaving Rose behind for. Especially considering Rose was with the enemy right now.
With Barrett who, as every second passed, became closer and closer to dying at my hands. I hated him. I hated that I’d given him my body, and my trust. And I hated, more than anything, that I still felt a thrill of attraction when he was nearby.
Gnash.
Chew.
Swallow.
The scrape of teeth against bone.
“God, that’s good,” a voice moaned out, like they were eating something orgasmic.
“Can you hear it?” I whispered to Nolan, the sounds so loud I almost wanted to clamp my hands over my ears.
“I hear it now,” he said back, voice pitched quietly.
“Not zombies.” I shook my head, confirming what I’d suspected.
“If they’re human?” he asked, eyes flicking down to my gun, though I was sure he was more worried about my monster taking over and killing someone innocent.
“I’m not going to kill them if they’re not a threat, Nolan,” I bit out angrily. “Just wait here,” I ordered again, wondering if he’d actually listen. The soldier inside him didn’t give way easily. I could only hope that his desire to stay alive for Rose was stronger than his need to be a hero.
I moved forward, crouching down as I rounded a large black and gold RV. Smoke billowed from a nearby fire, a rotisserie-style spit rod propped over the flames. A filthy hand worked the handle, slowly turning the meat over and over to cook it evenly. The person was crouched down, ragged clothes brushing against the gravel. The meat was charred, nearly black, and flaking. The smell was…like blackened beef and fatty pork with garlic. It made me drool, a line of spittle sneaking from between my lips to soak into the collar of my shirt.
Another person—short, messy hair and broad shoulders slumped over—was sitting on a small stool nearby, fingers crooked around a thick length of meat. I could only see one end, a pale bone poking from inside the cooked flesh. A cow’s leg? An elk? Nevada…maybe it was a coyote? No, too big for that. Too big for an elk. Thick, and meaty.
I watched as the eater shifted the meat in his hands. Turning it around.
To reveal the other side of it.
To reveal the hand, and the finger bones from which he’d been gnawing off the cooked human flesh. He’d worked the length of human remains until a skeletal hand had nearly appeared, right down to the wrist.
Cannibals.
Fucking cannibals.
“That almost done?” the arm-eater muttered over at the cook.
“In a minute,” the chef grumbled, reaching for the spit and peeling away a chunk of flame-kissed flesh. He shifted a little more, bringing the meat on the rotisserie into full view. A long, wide foot crowned the end of the cooking length of flesh. I gasped, slamming a hand over my mouth to quiet the sound.
“They should be back by now,” the arm-eater mumbled.
“Hunting’s hard,” the cook retorted. “Not as many living people for the picking.”
“Should be back by now anyways,” the arm-eater argued.
So there were more of them out there…somewhere.
I moved away, working slowly back to Nolan.
“What is it?” he asked me quickly the second I was back into view.
“Well, it’s not zombies.” I swallowed. Even my beast was startled into calmness.
Of all the things we’d faced, of all the shit we’d experienced so far since the plane nearly crashi
ng, people eating people…hadn’t been something on my list of end-of-the-world expectations.
“What the hell is it then, Sam?” Nolan began walking the way I’d come, as if he would just see for himself instead of waiting for my answer.
Again, I stuck out an arm to stop him.
“Nolan, they’re people.”
“Alive?” he asked, looking relieved.
“They’re eating…other people.”
Nolan, despite the bruises across his face, went pale.
“So…should I kill them?” My monster trilled happily inside at the thought of fresh food, and I had to force my heartbeat to relax.
“But they’re alive. They’re people,” Nolan protested.
“They’re goddamn cannibals, Nolan.”
Maybe I’d crossed a line already, a line I couldn’t retreat back over, but cannibals deserved to die even more than the zombies.
The undead didn’t have control over themselves. They’d been attacked, died, and then they’d turned into mindless killing machines. They didn’t kill on purpose.
But these people did.
They were choosing to slaughter their fellow humans, choosing to eat them.
And they should die for that.
A red, red world closed in around me.
The monster inside began to sing.
And my body wanted to dance.
Dance, maim…and feast.
Episode 4 coming November 26th
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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54895405-red-eye
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Claire C. Riley is a USA Today and international bestselling author.
She’s a genre-jumping book nerd who likes to write about psycho stalkers, anti-heroes, and the end of the bloody world! She loves to write character-driven stories with strong female leads. She lives in the United Kingdom with her husband, three daughters, and ridiculously naughty rescue beagle, Dogface.
Red Eye | Season 3 | Episode 3 Page 7