Safe Zone (Book 2): The Descent

by Suzanne Sussex

  I asked her about the threat of zebs, and about the safety of going outside and not checking people when they return. She explained that, for them, the illusion of living a normal life outweighs the risk of someone returning with a bite. Everyone is trained to fight from a young age to minimalise the risk, but there is an unwritten rule that all abide by. If you are bitten, you do not come back. You do not put the community in danger. They’ve not had an outbreak in over four years. She says this proudly, as though it’s a great accomplishment. I told her that we have not had an outbreak in Zone E in my entire lifetime. She asked me how many people get to go outside. I stayed quiet after that.

  A snort from Petunia brings me out of my daydream. Luca has secured her to the same tree as Robbie and comes to sit beside me. He winces as he sits. His body, not used to riding, is now punishing him for the relentless journey. Under normal circumstance I would poke fun at him, but not now. I just want to go home. Instead, I wordlessly hand him some bread and dried meat and watch as he eats.

  When he’s done, he shakes his top. He’s a messy eater and showers me in breadcrumbs. “Do you mind if we take a few minutes to rest?” he asks.

  I want to say; “No. We need to leave now. Get home. Warn them,” but instead I grit my teeth and say; “That’s fine.” He hasn’t had as long to rest as me and is clearly struggling.

  Luca shuffles over to me and drapes an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to him. I want to resist, but I can’t. As ever, his touch makes me melt. I lean my head onto his shoulder and close my eyes, pretending, just for a moment, that everything is fine.

  “It’s okay to be scared,” he says gently.

  “Do you trust her?”

  “Connie?” he asks,

  I nod, but I don’t speak. He pauses until eventually I pull away from his shoulder and look at him.

  “I want to, and I guess I have to. We both have to.”

  “Yeah,” I settle back into his shoulder. He’s right, we do. It wasn’t Connie’s suggestion for the others to stay behind. In fact, it was Johanna that first suggested it. She knew we could move faster without her and Sidney. Robert had quickly pointed out that only two people should go because we only had two horses. They were both right. But it didn’t make leaving them behind any easier.

  Luca places a single finger under my chin and lifts my face to meet his, “It will be okay,” he said, his voice confident and reassuring. I don’t reply. Instead, I stretch my neck, so that my face lifts and I meet his lips. He kisses me back, and the horrors of the world fade into the background.

  As we kiss, I hear Petunia snort. It’s as though we are in a bubble and the noise is coming from somewhere far away. Then she lets out a loud whinny. I pull back from Luca to stare at her. She is rearing up, her ears pinned to her neck and her forelegs pawing angrily at the ground.

  “What’s wrong with her?” I ask.

  “Probably jealous,” Luca laughs and then cups my chin to kiss me again. But then we hear a sound and we both freeze. Groaning, inhuman moans that pierce me like a knife.

  We turn towards the source of the noise.

  Zebs.

  Lots of zebs are heading our way.

  “Come on,” I jump to my feet and run to the horses. But Luca stays where he is. He has gone deathly white, and his eyes are like saucers. “Luca, come on,” I shout, but he ignores me. Then I remember that Luca has only seen zebs on their own, never in a horde like this. Yesterday we outnumbered every zeb we saw, today we are significantly outnumbered.

  I run back to him and pull his arm, but he is like a dead weight. “Luca,” I scream at him. My panic penetrates his mind, and he turns to look at me.

  “Zombies,” he says and dumbly points in the direction of the fast approaching beasts.

  “I know. Come on, we need to get out of here,” he lets me pull him to his feet, and I drag him over to Petunia, “Get on her,” I instruct.

  Luca does as he is told and mounts the horse, who is becoming more agitated by the second. He holds her reigns loosely and continues to stare at the approaching nightmare. If he doesn’t take control, she will bolt the second she is freed from the tree.

  A quick glance behind my shoulder tells me the decision is out of my hands. The nearest zeb is just inches away, and I don’t have time to do anything but turn and face it.

  Taking Dad’s knife from the holster, I stab it forcibly in the eye. It drops instantly. If I hadn’t let go of the knife as it fell it would have taken me down with it. I reach down to yank the knife from its eye socket. It takes all my willpower not to toss it away from me. The eyeball has come away with the knife. It’s disgusting but strangely fascinating.

  The entire blob is black, not the slight off-white tinged with red, that you would expect to see in an eyeball. How do these things even see?

  “Sammie!” Luca shouts, and I look up sharply. Another zeb is just a few feet away. I haven’t got time to wipe the knife on something to free the eye. Instead, I prepare for the next one to lunge at me. Putting my weight on my left foot, I step forward with my right and stab out. This time I catch it in the temple. I use enough force to penetrate the skull, but this time I yank my arm back quickly, so the zeb’s dead weight doesn’t pull me down with it.

  The momentum of pulling the knife away so quickly dislodges the eyeball from the blade, and it goes spinning over my head, landing with a small thud somewhere behind me. Three more zebs are approaching. They will all reach me at the same time. The horses clearly sense the danger, as in unison they both rise up on their hind legs. I duck out of the way. Getting knocked out by a horse's heavy hoof is not on my to-do list for today.

  Petunia knocks over two of the zebs. She hasn’t killed them, but they are struggling to get up. It buys me time to take the other one out. Then a simple stab to the temple of the two fallen and all three are done.

  The next group are far enough away for me to free the horses and get on our way.

  Turning to the tree, I see Petunia. She looks calmer, as though satisfied that she has helped. Both horses have their ears pinned back to their necks, still alert, but they no longer pulling at their tethers. The problem is that Petunia no longer has anyone on her back and I can’t see Luca. I run around the tree and see him flat on his back on the ground. He looks up at me and despite everything I want to laugh. His eyes are wide with shock, but he doesn’t look hurt. Holding my hand out to him, he takes it, and I pull him to his feet.

  “Are you okay?”

  He tentatively stretches, as though checking for injury, “Yeah, I think so, the undergrowth broke my fall.”

  I check back at the encroaching group of zebs, but once again we don’t have time to get away before they are on us. I turn back to Luca, “We’ve got another ten or so zebs heading our way. I can take a few out with arrows but only three or four. We’ll need to fight the rest. Do you think you can manage that?”

  Despite his evident fear and lack of training, to his credit, he grins broadly, “Yeah, bring ‘em on.”

  I take an arrow, nock it and aim at the nearest zeb, “Remember what we showed you yesterday. Go for their heads. Nothing else will kill them,” I say without looking at him.

  He tuts loudly, “I know …” Then he gets distracted as my first arrow lands in the centre of a zeb’s forehead, “Good shot.”

  I don’t reply, focusing instead on taking the next shot. There is no way I’m going to admit that I was aiming at a different zeb. This time, I make adjustment for the wind and loose the arrow. Another direct hit, this one actually at the zeb I was aiming for.

  Luca lets out a low whistle, “You’ve got to show me how to do that.”

  The next zeb also falls at the impact. This one with an arrow embedded just millimetres from its left eye. I was aiming at its forehead, but that’s a detail that Luca doesn’t need to know. It feels good to be showing him that I have some skills.

  The rest of the zebs are too close to continue with the bow and arrows, so I toss them behind
me and draw my knife, I wince at the feel of the handle, sticky from the blood of the zebs I have killed.

  A glance over to Luca, tells me he is ready, standing in a boxer pose but with a knife instead of a glove. There are seven zebs left.

  Luca has no experience and until a few minutes ago seemed to be in shock. Our odds aren’t good.

  Then out of nowhere, Luca lets out a shout that sounds almost primitive and dashes up to a zeb closest to him. I swear that time stands still and Luca is moving in slow motion. The only sound I can hear is my heart trying to hammer its way out of my chest.

  The zeb lunges and I’m sure it’s going to catch Luca, but at the last minute, he ducks out of reach, then pivots in a full circle. Using the momentum gained from the spin to drive his knife into its temple. The zeb drops the second Luca yanks the blade from its head. I expect him to turn around and grin, but the look on his face is one of pure determination. He skips over to the next zeb. My fighting style is methodical and practised. Luca’s is something different altogether, messy and uncoordinated, yet fast and aggressive.

  A loud groan right next to my head catches my attention, and I turn from watching Luca focus on the zeb that now has hold of my arm. It’s female and judging by the clean clothes and lack of decomposition on her face, I’d say she is relatively recently deceased.

  Her dark brown, long frizzy hair, whips across her cheeks as we struggle, some of it lands in my mouth, and I spit it out in disgust. I kick her hard in her knees, and she loses her balance and falls to the floor. But she doesn’t let me go and pulls me down with her. I don’t know if it’s her lust for my juicy flesh, or if it’s because she has only recently turned, but she is strong. Stronger than me. I’m using all my strength just to keep her from chomping down on me.

  Then out of nowhere a knife flies through the air and embeds itself in the side of her head. Her body instantly goes limp, and her grip on me releases. I quickly jump to my feet, ready to face the next threat. But there is none. Just Luca, smiling broadly. Around him lie the corpses of six zebs. He casually saunters over to the body of the frizzy-haired zeb and tugs his knife loose from her skull.

  I stare at him in astonishment, “What … how?”

  He pecks me on the cheek, then walks over to the horses, “You didn’t think I worked for eight years in the armoury without knowing how to play with knives, did you?” he calls out over his shoulder, leaving me shaking my head in wonder and suddenly feeling a whole lot safer.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The doctor cowered as bottles, trays and anything that wasn’t stuck down were thrown around the room. He was bleeding heavily from his nose, and it was plain to anyone who cared to look that it was broken.

  But there was no one who cared to look, because the only other person in the room was raging like a mad animal. Brian picked up the chair which was currently acting as a shield for the doctor. With a scream of fury, he threw it at the window. The glass smashed, sending shards raining out onto the pavement three floors below. The chair stuck in the window frame, which only served to enrage Brian further. He kicked out at it, and the impact sent it flying out of the room and landing with a thud below.

  With the room in tatters and nothing else to smash, Brian stopped and stared at the doctor. Coward. The older man was visibly trembling. His face was ashen, and tears were forming in his eyes. Brian held out his hand to help the quivering man back to his feet. He smirked as the doctor recoiled as though he was about to get hit.

  Brian withdrew his hand and smiled coldly, “Explain to me again.”

  “It’s water,” the doctor replied, his voice was wobbling in fear.

  “Water?”

  “Yes, H20, and judging by the purity, I’d say it is rainwater,” the doctor waffled.

  Brian raised his eyebrows, “Rainwater?”

  “Yes,” the doctor nodded enthusiastically, as though this news pleased Brian, “Since the initial outbreak, the quality of rain …”

  “What good is rainwater to me?” Brian asked. He kept his tone flat. holding his anger at bay, and relishing the obvious discomfort of the older man on his knees in front of him.

  “Well, purified it can be used for drinking, untreated for agriculture …”

  Brian landed a sharp kick to the doctor’s stomach, “Enough,” he shouted. The doctor screamed in a combination of pain and terror. Brian considered the escape of his prisoners, the abysmal progress of the training, and now this. Thoughts whirred through his mind, and a red mist descended.

  “Water.” Kick.

  “Fucking water.” Kick.

  “Those two bitches tricked me.” Kick.

  “Lied to me” Kick.

  “Zone E is out to destroy me.” Kick

  “They will pay for this.” Kick.

  The veil of anger lifted as the screams from the doctor tapered off. Brian looked down in disgust at the unconscious man on the floor. Blood pooled on the ground from the lacerations, coating his body, and ugly welts were already forming on his exposed flesh.

  “Gary,” Brian shouted.

  Almost immediately the door was flung open, and Gary stepped into the room. He glanced briefly at the doctor’s still form on the floor, then up at Brian.

  “Yes, boss?”

  “Take him to the hospital,” Brian pointed at the doctor, “Then when you’re back, come straight to see me. We have an invasion to plan.” Without waiting for a response, he stalked past Gary back to his office.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Fat blobs of rain began to fall from the heavens as they approached the outer gate of Zone E. Over the last few miles, Luca had seen the transformation in Sammie, the tension falling from her shoulders. The look of deep concentration that had been her permanent facial feature since they left the compound was now replaced by the occasional smile.

  The guards at the outer gate greeted Sammie warmly as they checked her back in. But when they enquired about Annie’s whereabouts, Sammie just shook her head sadly. No words were needed.

  Once they had been checked for bites, Luca asked where he should check in his weapons. The guards looked at him in confusion.

  “It works a bit differently in Zone G,” Sammie explained to them.

  Dropping the horses off at the stables, Sammie led the way to the council offices. Luca tried not to stare at the stark contrast between his home and this place. It was so clean here. People seemed to walk with a sense of purpose, of belonging. Despite the steady rain and the dark clouds, the place seemed brighter and fresher than home.

  “We’re here,” Sammie announces at the foot of a set of concrete steps leading up to an imposing, yet dreary building.

  “This is your town hall?”

  Sammie shrugged, “It’s where Sally works, and the zone meets, so yeah, I guess.”

  “It’s um …” Luca struggled to find the right words, “grey,” he finally finished.

  Sammie paused halfway up the steps and looked up at the building as though seeing it for the first time. She frowned, “I guess compared to what you’re used to, it is a little plain.”

  “No,” Luca tried to backtrack on his comments, sensing that Sammie might be offended, “I just mean, the rest of your zone just feels so clean and bright, but this building just is a little dull in comparison.”

  Sammie smiled reassuringly, “Let’s just go inside and meet my aunt,” she held out her hand for him to hold and he took it gratefully, unsure of whether she was seeking comfort or offering him reassurance.

  She led him through the main doors, and they stepped into a massive hall, “This is where we hold the zone meetings,” she whispered.

  “You can get all of you in here?” Luca asked, looking around in surprise.

  “No, generally only representatives of each of the neighbourhoods come along. We all take turns to come and share any news with our areas."

  They made their way across the vast chamber, their footsteps echoing in the silence. Sammie pointed out the various offi
ces used by the different department heads. Her face darkened as they passed one room. No difference in appearance to any of the others, but Luca guessed it was the S&T office.

  Every door was closed but one. As they neared the open door, a conversation could be heard between two women.

  Sammie’s face lit up, “That’s Lex, my other aunt … well, she’s sort of my aunt.”

  Luca knew that Sammie considered the leader of the zone to be her aunt. But she hadn’t mentioned another “sort of” aunt. Compared to his family that consisted of just Luca and Robert, Sammie's seemed large. Maybe typical of this zone, which on first impressions all seemed like one big community.

  Luca didn’t have chance to question her, as Sammie was already knocking on the door frame.

  Peering over Sammie’s shoulder, Luca could see two women sitting at a small table. They both turned and smiled broadly when they heard the knock.

  “Sammie,” the red-headed woman exclaimed, as she leapt to her feet and embraced Sammie, planting a kiss on her cheek. Spotting Luca, she released Sammie and nodded, holding a hand out for him to shake. “And I presume you must be the doctor?”

  Luca shook her hand and his head at the same time. He opened his mouth to correct her, but the red-headed woman carried on excitedly, “We’ve got a room all set up for you. I mean, obviously when you’ve settled in, but I guess you’re as excited as we are and keen to get started. I hope you don’t mind but I’ve already taken a little look at the paperwork, and my findings are quite intriguing,” Smiling broadly, she released his hand, then paused and looked at him quizzically, “I must say, Doctor, I did expect you to be a little, um … older?”

  “Lex,” Sammie interjected, “this isn’t the doctor, this is Luca. Luca, this is Lex.”