Baileigh Higgins
Aiden's Mark
Book 5 Death's Children
First published by Baileigh Higgins in 2018
Copyright © Baileigh Higgins, 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
First Edition
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
You're a survivor!
Sneak Preview
About the Author
Chapter 1
Aiden struggled against the hands of the strange boy who held him down in the backseat of his car. His head throbbed where Lolly had hit him, and he glared at her when she climbed in next to him. “Wait! We can’t leave yet. What about Dee?”
“Sit down, Aiden,” Eliza said from her seat behind the wheel. “Dee’s gone. She’s not here.”
“No, she has to be. I told her to wait.” Aiden continued to fight, but the combined efforts of the stranger and Lolly was enough to keep him pinned in place long enough for Eliza to start the engine and drive off.
“Dee!”
“Forget her, Aiden,” Eliza said with a sharp note in her voice. “She left you. Can’t you see that? She probably got scared and decided to make a run for it.”
“No, she’d never do that. She wouldn’t leave me,” Aiden insisted, sitting upright. He brushed Lolly and the other boy off with brisk impatience and leaned forward in his seat. “Turn around, Eliza.”
“No, it’s too dangerous.” She met his gaze in the rearview mirror with a mutinous glare, her mouth set in that stubborn line he knew so well from childhood.
“I said, turn around,” he shouted, his hands gripping the backrests of the front seats until his knuckles turned paper white.
Eliza appeared to soften and sighed. “Aiden, please. Be rational. Dee’s gone, and if we go back to look for her, you’ll put everyone in this car in danger. Do you really want to do that?”
Aiden pressed his lips together. She had him there, and she knew it. His twin knew precisely which buttons to push and was well aware that he’d never willingly endanger anyone. He was too noble for that.
“Come on, bro. Let’s just go back to my dorm for now. It’ll be safe there, and we can come up with a plan to find her. I’m sure she’s fine. In fact, why don’t you call her?”
“My battery’s dead,” he said as frustration filled him. Why did everything have to go wrong tonight? First, he forgot to charge his phone, then he invited Eliza and her stupid friend along, and now he’d lost Dee. Still, blood was blood, and he could never have abandoned his sister at that nightclub. The guilt alone would’ve killed him, not to mention his mum and dad when they found out.
“You can charge it at my dorm room. It’ll only take a few minutes, then you can call her,” Eliza replied in soothing tones.
Aiden forced himself through the gap between the two front seats and dropped into the passenger side with a grunt. “Fine, but the moment I hear from her, I’m taking the car and fetching her.” He threw Lolly and her unknown friend a nasty look. “And this time, no one will stop me.”
The strange boy raised his hands, and said, “No problem, trust me. I was just helping Lolly back there. It wasn’t safe, and you weren’t listening.”
“Whatever,” Aiden grumbled as he settled into his seat. The rest of the drive passed in silence as he ignored them all while brooding over Dee.
By the time they reached Eliza’s dorm room, he was frantic with worry. He plugged his phone into her charger and stared at the blank screen, willing it to come to life. Slow minutes passed. Finally, his cell beeped and switched on. He dialed Dee’s number, praying she’d answer. Beep, beep, beep. Nothing. All he got was the busy tone.
“Damn it,” he growled and jumped up to pace the tiny room.
The other boy with them had slipped away in the meantime, and Lolly had excused herself to go to the communal bathroom. That left Eliza and Aiden facing off against each other like two territorial cats.
Eliza eyed him with irritation. “Relax. I’m sure she’s fine.”
“How would you know?” he answered.
“Well there’s nothing you can do about it now,” she pointed out.
He ignored her and tried to call again.
And again.
And again.
Still nothing.
Eliza flopped down on the bed and switched the TV on. She flipped through the channels until she came to a news report detailing numerous outbreaks of violence just like the one they’d experienced at the night club. “Look at this.”
Aiden paused to listen as the news reporter warned people to stay indoors and fort up. “Those afflicted with the virus are extremely dangerous and can pass on the infection through contact with their saliva. If you’ve been bitten, please report to your nearest hospital for treatment.”
Horrific news footage of infected people attacking and eating each other followed. Aiden blanched at the ugly scenes, and even Eliza looked a little green around the gills. Finally, she switched the television off. “I can’t watch anymore.”
“Me neither,” he agreed.
“You know what this means, right?” she asked.
“What?”
“It’s the zombie apocalypse.”
Aiden snorted. “There’s no such thing.”
“Oh, yeah? Then what do you call those?” she said. “Some of those people shouldn’t even be alive, let alone running around and attacking others. You saw it. They were eating people!”
“So?”
“Think about it. It’s a virus that makes you go nuts, eat people, and not feel any pain. You can only be killed by destroying the brain, and it’s passed on through bites.” She waved her hands for emphasis. “That’s zombies!”
Aiden had to admit she was right. The signs were all there. “You’ve got a point.”
“Of course, I do,” she said with a smug smile. “I’m always right.”
“I have to find Dee. If it’s true, she’s in even more danger than I thought.”
Eliza rolled her eyes. “Forget about Dee. She couldn’t even be bothered to wait for you. Some girlfriend.”
“Shut up, sis.” Aiden paced around as he tried to formulate a plan. Just when he was about to leave and look for Dee, his phone rang. It was her.
“Dee? Is that you?” he answered. He spent the next few minutes reassuring himself she was okay. After warning her about the zombies, he told her to wait for him outside. “I’m coming to fetch you. Just wait for me. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
He pocketed his phone with a feeling of intense relief. At least, she was safe for the time being. He turned to look at Eliza who lounged on the bed as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “I’m leaving.”
“To fetch your precious Dee?” she asked with a smirk. “Waste of time if you ask me. She’d be better off as a zombie.”
His simmering anger burst to the forefront with such force it took even him by surprise. “I didn’t ask you, Eliza. In fact, Dee’s right. You are a cold-hearted bitch.”
“Well excuse me, Mr. High and Mighty. I’m just looking out for you. You’re my brother, and that girl’s not good enough for you.”
“Nobody is ever good enough for you, Eliza,” he answered.
She shrugged a la
zy shoulder. “That’s because we’re better than the rest, Aiden.”
“You really believe that?” he asked.
“You should too.” Eliza got off the bed and laid a hand on his arm. “Forget Dee. She’s gone, but I’m still here. In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a zombie apocalypse going on out there.”
“That’s exactly why I need to find her. It’s dangerous out there.”
“What about me?” she asked, her eyes narrowing. “I’m your flesh and blood, your family. You should be looking after me, not her.”
“You’ll be safe enough in here until I get back, Eliza. Or you can come with me. Your choice,” he said with firm resolve.
“What we should be doing is going home, Aiden. Not running around after your trailer trash girlfriend.” Eliza stamped her foot. “It’s either me or her. Decide.”
Aiden stared at her as if he didn’t recognize her. Or maybe he was seeing the real her for the first time in his life. “Lock the door, and wait here. I’ll come back for you as soon as I’ve found Dee. We can go home after that.”
She sputtered, shocked surprise crossing her features. “You’re choosing her over me? Your twin sister?”
“Right now, she means more to me than you ever will,” he answered with cold indifference. Turning his back, he walked toward the door and turned the handle.
“Suit yourself, asshole!” Eliza said with venomous tones. “Don’t come crying back to me when your precious girlfriend tries to eat you.”
“Whatever, Eliza.”
“I’m telling Mom and Dad too.”
He rolled his eyes at the childish threat and opened the door, only to freeze at the sight of Lolly swaying in front of him in the hall. “Lolly?”
Lolly’s dead eyes fixed on his, and her lips peeled back in a snarl. She opened her mouth and pounced, her clawed hands grabbing him by the shoulders. Her nails dug into his flesh as she pulled him closer.
With a cry, he backed away and tried to fend her off. She was incredibly strong and attacked with vicious intensity. Her teeth clipped the air in front of his face as they wrestled, going round and round in circles.
Eliza screamed and backed into the corner furthest away from them. She held a pillow in front of her as a shield, her face pale and frightened.
Aiden swung Lolly around and smashed her into the wall, but nearly lost his footing when he stepped on a high-heeled shoe. He fell against the cupboard with Lolly less than an arms-breadth away and called to Eliza. “Help me.”
Eliza shook her head and sidled toward the exit, pausing only to snatch up his car keys and her jacket. “You’re on your own, brother.”
“What?” Shock flooded his veins, and his grip on Lolly’s twisting body loosened for a brief second.
Like a snake, she slithered from his grasp and struck like a cobra. Her teeth sank into the nearest piece of naked flesh she could reach: his face.
Her jaws snapped shut and raw agony exploded through his head and almost brought him to his knees. She reared back with a chunk of meat in her mouth, and the exposed nerve endings in his cheek shivered with fiery pain.
Eliza turned to run. “Eliza, help me! Please!”
She never looked back, her retreating back the last he saw of her. With a roar of anger, he clubbed Lolly in the head and tossed her to the ground. With one foot on her chest, he cast around for a weapon, even as she screeched her rage and clawed at his leg.
His eyes landed on Eliza’s closed laptop, and he snatched it up. With all his might, he crashed the edge into Lolly’s face, using it to batter her skull into an unrecognizable mush until she stopped moving.
Aiden dropped the laptop and backed away. His entire body shook with a mixture of shock, horror, and betrayal. He raised one hand to his wounded cheek, and hot blood streamed over his fingers. Despair crashed over him as he realized the sickening truth. He was infected.
Chapter 2
With his body moving on autopilot, Aiden examined Lolly’s body. A bite mark on the back of her shoulder revealed the source of her infection. She must have gotten it at the club.
He sighed and sat back on his heels. A quick glance at his watch showed him that just over two hours had passed since they’d fled the club. Two hours. That’s how long it took for Lolly to turn. Is that how long I’ve got too?
Anger at Eliza’s betrayal filled him once more. It ran through his veins and colored every memory he had of her, of them as twins, in hues of black rage. He couldn’t believe she’d be so selfish as to abandon him when he needed her most. That she cared so little for him, her own brother. In a single moment, his trust in family, in the bonds of blood, was broken.
“Why did you do it, Elli?” he whispered, using the nickname he’d called her as children. “Why?”
A knock on the door tore him from his brooding thoughts, and he jumped to his feet. “Yes?”
“Hello? What’s going on in here? I heard screaming.” A girl wearing glasses with thick plastic rims entered the room. She stumbled to a halt when she spotted Lolly’s brutalized corpse and gasped. “What…what have you done? Who are you?”
“No, wait. It’s not what you think.” Before Aiden could explain, she backtracked and fled the room. He followed her outside and into the hall. “Wait!”
She ignored his calls and disappeared around a corner, her ponytail the last he saw of her. Aiden hesitated, glancing up and down. The corridor was dim and empty. It was a Friday night, after all, and most of the students were out partying or visiting their boyfriends. Except for a few like the girl who’d stayed in, studying or watching movies in the shared common room, perhaps.
He started after the girl, his footstep sounding hollow on the carpeted floors. His breathing was ragged, and sharp pains radiated from the bite mark on his cheek. The direction he was going in led to the shared living and dining area that abutted the communal kitchen.
As he got closer, the excited buzz of voices reached his ears. One was shrill and loud, the others only slightly less so. He entered the room and paused to take in the scene.
The girl with the glasses was gesticulating wildly as she shared her story with the other three girls who occupied the space. Their faces were incredulous as she explained what she’d seen. “I’m telling you guys it’s true. There’s a killer in Eliza’s bedroom. He murdered her!”
“That’s impossible. We just saw her go out,” one said in reply.
“That’s right. She ran out of here like she’d seen a ghost,” another agreed.
“Maybe she did,” the bespectacled girl answered. “Maybe she was running from the killer. He was standing over a body. I know what I saw.”
One of the girls snorted. “Maybe we’re lucky, and he killed Lolly. God, I can’t stand her; she’s such a bitch.”
“Be serious,” the girl with the glasses replied. “We’re talking murder here.”
Aiden cleared his throat, and four sets of wide eyes turned his way. He became acutely aware of the blood streaming down his face. More of the stuff was spattered on his clothes and hands, most of it belonging to Lolly, some to him. He realized he presented a frightening image. Still, he had to try to convince them of the truth. “I didn’t murder Lolly. Okay, sure, I killed her, but she attacked me first.”
Collective gasps rose from the knot of young women. The nearest one reached for her phone as they all backed away. “I’m calling the police.”
Aiden shook his head. “It won’t help. They’re not answering.”
“What do you mean? They always answer,” she replied, her fingers already flying over the keys.
“Haven’t any of you watched the news yet?” he asked.
Numb shakes of their heads followed.
“Well, you should. We’ve got a zombie outbreak on our hands.”
“That’s just stupid,” the girl wearing spectacles replied. “There’s no such thing.”
“There is tonight,” he replied. A wave of dizziness passed over him, and he swayed. With one hand
steadying himself on the doorjamb, he turned back the way he came. “Look, you can believe me or not. Your choice, but I’m getting out of here as soon as I patch up my face.”
“Wait! You can’t go back there. You have to wait for the police,” she said.
Aiden sighed and looked at her. “Listen….what’s your name?”
“Nicky,” she replied after a moment’s hesitation.
“Look, Nicky. I don’t have time to waste. I’ve just been attacked by a zombie and probably infected with the virus. Somewhere out there’s my sister Eliza who abandoned me to my death, and my girlfriend Dee who needs my help. Call the police if you want, but I’m leaving as soon as possible.”
“But…” Nicky’s mouth hung open as he turned away. Her stunned expression would have been comical on any other day.
“Oh, and if I were you lot, I’d lock the doors and find somewhere safe to hole up. The zombies are coming whether you believe in them or not.”
“But…” Nicky repeated.
“Turn on the damn TV, and see for yourself,” he called over his shoulder, too tired to argue further. They’d either get it or not.
He retraced his steps and entered Eliza’s room with a sense of trepidation. Lolly’s unmoving body mocked him with silent reproach, and he quickly looked away from her mangled face.
Rummaging through Eliza’s cupboard, he emerged with an oversized t-shirt and a first-aid kit. He made his way to the communal bathroom and shoved open the door without caring who might be inside. He was beyond numb at this point.
Aiden examined his wound in the mirror. Lolly had taken a good-sized chunk from his cheek, and the flesh gaped open. Already, it was hot to the touch and swollen. He wet a wad of gauze and washed the blood off. Afterward, he squeezed a dollop of disinfectant cream into the hole and pulled the edges together with tape. A plaster covered the entire area, and he looked almost normal again. “But I’m not normal, am I? Not anymore. I’m infected, and soon I’ll become one of them.”
A shudder traveled up his spine at the thought of becoming a zombie. A walking corpse intent on only one thing. Feeding.
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