Alive Like Us

by Hallows, Quinn

  The footsteps stilled, then crunched closer. The man must’ve spotted Frankie and wondered what had him so excited. Metal clicked. He had a gun, too.

  Sanna squeezed the rock. She might heal fast, but doubted she’d recover from having her brains blown out. And then there was the kid. Flipping over, she tensed every muscle and waited until a pair of worn boots entered into view. Now.

  She hooked the man’s leg and drove her shoulder into his torso. He toppled over with a surprised gasp. The tree trunk behind her exploded as he squeezed off a shot. Without thinking she took his wrist and torqued his arm. The bone snapped and the man screamed, dropping the gun.

  His other fist slammed into her jaw, snapping her head to the side. She growled, animal rage rising within, and pinned down his wrist. His eyes widened. She saw her own fury reflected in them as she brought the rock down. His skull caved and his body went limp. Her nostrils flared at the alluring, metallic scent. She shook her head clear and scrambled off the body.

  “Twig?” she whispered, searching the ditch for the boy. “You can come out. It’s over.”

  He didn’t respond. Panic squeezed her heart. The gun had gone off. What if he was hit? There’s no blood. I don’t see any blood.

  “You killed him. With your bare hands. I’ll never be strong enough to do that.”

  Sanna jumped at the sound of Twig’s thin, grating voice. He was staring at the corpse. “Where’d you go?”

  “I hid. I don’t like guns,” he toed the bloodied rock. “They’re too dangerous. If you get hit in the head, it’s lights out forever.”

  “You’re right.” Sanna walked over to the dead man.

  “What are you going to do now?”

  “I’ll wear his clothes so I can sneak into the encampment without being noticed.” She grabbed the zipper beneath the man’s chin and pulled down.

  Twig dropped to knees and helped her wrestle the man’s limp arm free. “What if they figure out you’re not him?”

  “They won’t.”

  “But he’s taller. Their guns could kill you—”

  “I’ll be fine.” Sanna pulled on the dead man’s jumpsuit and zipped it closed. It sagged around her hips and middle. “Go back to the cave and wait.”

  “No way. I’m coming with you.”

  “It’s too dangerous—”

  “You won’t know where they hid him, I do.”

  “I can follow his scent. Turns out I have a pretty good sense of smell.”

  Twig smirked. “Clearly you haven’t been there. The whole place stinks. It’s overpowering.”

  If the kid wanted to risk his life, fine. She didn’t have time to argue. “Once you’ve pointed out where he is, you’ll hide, okay?”

  “Of course,” Twig led the way, his hands stuffed into the pocket of his sweatshirt and a small smile hidden by the folds of his scarf.

  THEY WERE CUTTING IT close. Twig had said the ceremony began at sundown, and already the sun was hovering over the horizon, painting the sky in blood and fire. An icy breeze whipped Sanna’s hair across her face. She was grateful for the extra layer of insulation provided by the fatigues, even if they did stink of sweat and rot.

  At last the dense trees gave way to a small clearing where metal trailers formed a circle. They were larger and heavier than the ones that trundled into Erling once the snow melted, stuffed to the brim with trinkets, tools, and wonders from all over the country. She counted at least ten, each decked in a different array of metal spikes and glass shards. Inside the great circle, an enormous bonfire burned. A few people lingered around it; their shoulders slumped.

  “This place seems deserted,” Sanna whispered to Twig. “I thought Cerise was supposed to be powerful.”

  Twig lifted a shoulder. “People have been disappearing, and those that don’t turn into Infected. Your friend is over there,” he pointed to a rusty trailer on the other side of the clearing, partially hidden by snow-covered pines.

  Frankie whined, pressing his furry head into Sanna’s leg. She studied the forest around them. Night had nearly fallen, casting the world in a twilight haze.

  “Okay. You two stay here. I’ll go get him.”

  “H-hey,” a man slurred as he staggered between the trailers. “What are you doing out here? Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for the ceremony?”

  Sanna yanked the mask over her face and grabbed Twig by the upper arm. “I caught another one.”

  The man rucked up his ski mask and blinked, his eyes glassy. Dark veins scrawled up his neck. His gaze shifted from Sanna to the kid. “Well, aren’t you lucky.”

  “Yeah.” The gun in her pocket felt heavy. She might be out of bullets, but she could still clobber the man if he got any closer.

  “Whelp,” the man’s gaze drifted to the canopy. He smiled again, as if hearing some secret message. The back of Sanna’s neck prickled. “Nature calls.”

  He shuffled towards her, his hands pawing at the front of his trousers. Sanna ducked out of the way as he passed by, the stench of liquor strong enough to make her eyes water. “Wait...” he paused, glancing over his shoulder. “Why do you sound like a girl?”

  Sanna threw Twig to the side and slammed the butt of her pistol into the man’s skull with as much force as she could muster. He crumbled into a groaning heap. She grabbed his ankles and dragged him behind the bushes, her heart racing.

  Branches snapped. Leaves rustled. The scent of the Infected wafted around her, along with a wave of clicks and groans.

  She tensed, scanning the trees. There were a lot of them—more than she could count. Where’d they come from?

  “They’re hungry,” Twig’s chilly hand curled around her own. “Let’s go.”

  “Right.” Sanna pushed the thought away. She slipped through the trailers just as they began to pour out from the shadows, heading for the man she’d struck.

  She gripped the useless gun tight. “Looks like you’re safest with me. If anyone stops us, act like you’ve been captured, okay?”

  “Fine.”

  Torches were lit next to each trailer, creating a pool of flickering light. She dragged Twig along the edge of them, praying they’d go unnoticed.

  Another masked man stepped into view. Sanna flung Twig in front of her, pressing the gun to his temple. Twig thrashed and kicked. He was quite strong for such a little thing.

  “Ah! You got one. Good.” The man braced his hands on his hips, eyeing Frankie. “Looks like his dog is following you. Want me to take care of it?”

  “Naw. That’s okay.” Sanna hustled past him. “I’ll deal with it later.”

  “I wouldn’t mind.” The man called after her. “It looks tasty.”

  Sanna shuddered. Everyone she’d met so far had been dead-eyed and drunk, numb to the evil that permeated this place. They finally reached the trailer at the far end, and she sniffed the air. Evergreen and soap. Kai’s scent. And something else, too ...

  Blood. A ton of it.

  Fear struck her low in the gut. What if he was wounded? What if they’d already taken him?

  “Wait here,” she told Twig. She climbed the metal steps and pushed the door open, slipping inside. It was dark as pitch.

  Sparks flashed. A crack rang out and a force knocked her backward. She hit the metal wall behind her, fire ripping through her chest. She touched the wound, her mind drowning in alarm and panic. It was warm. Sticky.

  She’d been shot. Again.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Cerise’s soldier fell back against the wall and slid down. He wasn’t dead. Yet.

  Kai stalked towards him; gun still gripped in his hand. A numbing coldness had leached into his bloodstream. He felt empty, as if the last few hours had hollowed out what was left of him. He was nothing. A husk filled with an aching sadness. Sanna. I’m so sorry.

  The man groaned. Kai would kill him too. He would kill as many as he could before they cut him down. Sanna would have done the same, for no other reason than they preyed on the weak and the
innocent.

  The man ripped off his black ski mask. A cascade of silvery white hair tumbled over her face.

  He froze. His stomach clenched. That hair...

  No. It couldn’t be. Jake—that creature— had said she was dead.

  “Who are you?” he demanded.

  Her face lifted, partially visible through the skein of hair. “Is this how you treat everyone who rescues you?”

  Sanna.

  The gun dropped to the floor with a heavy thunk. It felt like a lifetime since he said those very words. He raced towards her, tripping over the bodies of the soldiers he’d killed. The soldiers Cerise had sent to prepare him for sacrifice.

  “Oh god,” he knelt in front of her. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  Her lips quirked into a pained smile. “I didn’t think you’d be armed. I should have...known better. We need to go. Now.” She pulled her feet under her, rising partway and sagged.

  Kai caught her, his heart breaking. He guided her back down. She was still bleeding. “Why aren’t you healing?”

  “I don’t know.” Her eyes screwed shut.

  “I’ll carry you.” He took hold of her wrist. His own shoulder wound still throbbed, but he’d walk through an ocean of glass if it meant getting her out of here.

  “We gotta be fast.” She batted him away and tried to rise again. “The Infected...are coming,” she gasped, pain twisting her face.

  “Careful.” Kai surged forward, gripping her arm. He felt helpless, as if his hands were still bound behind him. He wasn’t a doctor and he couldn’t undo the terrible thing he had done

  “I can’t...breathe.” She whispered, slumping down. Blood darkened the front of her fatigues. Kai had never seen so much of it.

  He grabbed a torch off the floor and lit it, leaning closer. A small, red wound burrowed into her flesh, just below her collarbone. A gray mass shone dully within. “The bullet still in you.”

  “Get it out. Hurry.”

  Kai slipped Jake’s dagger from his belt and heated it over the flame, his hand trembling. “This is going to hurt like hell. Maybe you should bite something—”

  “Do it,” Sanna ordered, her eyes flashing gold in the gloom. “Now.”

  Kai jerked into action, his stomach a bundle of nerves. He tore the fabric of her clothes, making the hole bigger, then sucked in a deep breath and pressed the tip of the blade into the wound.

  She gritted her teeth, her face blanching.

  Kai widened the wound first, then plunged the knife deeper. She writhed.

  “Hold still.” He pried the bullet free. The metal lump banged against the floor and rolled into the shadows. “It’s done.”

  Sanna slumped forward, her head resting on his shoulder. Kai pushed her upright. “Are you okay?”

  Her eyes flicked open and narrowed with a dark, predatory gleam. Her face seemed leaner than before; her skin stretched tight over her bones. Were her teeth growing longer?

  She snarled, scuttling into the far shadows of the trailer.

  Kai lunged for the door, every instinct screaming at him to run. Footsteps padded closer. The hair on the back of his neck raised. He whirled around, waving the torch. A pale figure ducked away, disappearing into the dark.

  “Sanna?”

  Tension thickened the air, nearly suffocating him.

  “Kai?” she whispered; her voice hoarse. “What happened?”

  “Step into the light.”

  She slid into the amber pool, shading her eyes with her hand. For a split second, dark capillaries covered her face like scribbles of ink, then faded.

  “I got the bullet out,” he lowered the dagger. “I think you reacted to the pain.”

  “I guess, I...” Sanna buried her hand in her hair, looking down. “I don’t remember. I must’ve blacked out.”

  “It’s okay. You’re not bleeding anymore, so that’s good.”

  Boom! The door slammed shut, making them both jump. Kai raced towards it, but the lock slid just as he jerked the handle. He growled, ramming his fist into the metal.

  “Sanna? Are you in there?” A young boy asked on the other side.

  “The door’s locked, Twig,” Sanna answered. “Did you see who had the key?”

  “N-no. I was h-hiding. The Infected are everywhere. They’re gonna—"

  Silence.

  “Twig?” Sanna stared at the door. Screams and war cries, peppered with gunshots, rose outside the trailer. “Twig!”

  She shoved Kai away and grabbed the handle, bracing her foot on the wall. “Sanna, stop,” Kai reached for her. “You’ll hurt—"

  “Stay back.” She shot him a feral glare, freezing him in his tracks.

  She yanked at the door, the tendons in her neck bulging like pipes. A loud pop made Kai jump as something shifted in her elbow, creating a sharp unnatural angle.

  “Your arm—”

  “I’m fine,” she bit out.

  “But—” Even you must have limits. “Let me help, at least.”

  She didn’t answer, so he placed his hand over hers and together they pulled until the muscles in Kai’s good arm throbbed.

  The door bent, its hinges twisting. The sudden weight would have squashed him if Sanna hadn’t caught it and propped the steel slab against the wall as if it were made of plywood.

  The cacophony of noise outside spilled into the trailer, rebounding off the curved metal walls. Cerise’s army must be growing weaker now, if the muted, desperate cries were any indication. A few trailers had caught fire in the melee, basking the camp in lurid red light. A human silhouette sprinted past them, only to be taken down by something on all-fours.

  “Here.” Kai passed her a hatchet he’d taken from a man he’d killed. “Are you ready to face him?”

  “I think so—” Her face scrunched. She doubled over. “He’s back...he’s in my head again.”

  Dread iced his veins. The last time she heard it, it had immobilized her. He couldn’t take on a whole horde himself. “We could make a run for it. Get to Iris. Maybe she could—”

  “No.” Sanna shook her head. “We’d never make it. I need you to find Twig and go.”

  “Who do you think I am?” Kai asked, insulted she would even suggest it.

  Sanna opened her mouth then closed it. Her gaze swept up to his and softened. “I can’t keep running from this. I have to face him. I have to end it.”

  “Then we’ll end it together. You can’t get rid of me that easy, Larson.”

  She gripped his shoulders and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was so soft and sweet that their world of blood and horror faded—

  “Sssssanna,” a sing-song voice called from outside and sent a shudder down Kai’s spine. “Come out come out wherever you are.”

  “Is that him?” Kai searched her face.

  Sanna bit her lip and nodded.

  “Then let’s go get him.”

  A smile flickered across her face, one that made her blue eyes luminous. They gathered their weapons quickly and shared a final, brief kiss before facing the monster that awaited them.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Sanna hugged the tree-line, careful to stay hidden in the flickering shadows while the world around her burned. Bodies littered the inner campground, with Infected swarming over them like jackals. At least a dozen soldiers were still fighting, clumped together at the far end of camp in a final stand against the horde.

  The air felt thick with energy. Something powerful was walking among the chaos, searching.

  She had to get Kai out of here before it found her.

  He was following close behind, his expression stoic. Grim, as if he didn’t expect to survive the hour, much less till morning. His fear seemed strange to her. Foreign.

  I should be afraid too. The old Sanna would have been—the one who’d lost Nico. Her old friends would be terrified.

  She knew the odds were stacked against them, but the promise of a fight—the blood and sweat and the sweet singing of her muscles—was almost
exciting. She blinked, shaking her head clear. Kai was right to be afraid. Their chance of escape was as thin as the crescent moon hanging above them.

  A stage one staggered out from the tree-line; his ashen face smeared with fresh blood. His clothes hung off his emaciated frame in ragged streamers. He turned drunkenly towards her, his lips peeling from his copper-flecked teeth.

  Sanna closed the distance between them in a single heartbeat, cleaving the Infected skull with her hatchet. The Infected collapsed; his skeletal body splayed wide.

  She planted a boot on his chest and wrenched the weapon free.

  “God,” Kai said, panting as he caught up. “You’re even faster than you were before.”

  Sanna sniffed the air, catching a whiff of dog. “Frankie’s over there, in that one—I think.” She pointed to the trailer with the tallest spikes.

  “That’s Cerise’s.”

  She led the way. Around them the Infected were huddled into groups, digging into fresh kills. It was almost as if they were forming...packs. One stage two was tugging a fallen soldier deeper into the forest, only to have two others grab the dead man’s legs. A contest of gnashing teeth and bloodcurdling growls ensued.

  “We need to get out of here before dinner is over,” Kai whispered.

  The stage two gave up and started tearing into the man’s neck, while the others went after his legs.

  “They’re almost like us, aren’t they?” Sanna said. “Fighting over resources. Trying to survive.”

  “Don’t let any official hear you say that. Humanizing the Infected is a capital offense,” Kai warned. “When we get to the trailer, you grab the kid and I’ll grab my pack and Frankie. Then we run for it.”

  Sanna knew in her heart it wouldn’t be that easy. The voice wasn’t going to let both of them escape. She felt his presence everywhere. Why hadn’t he attacked her yet? Was he waiting for something?

  They reached Cerise’s trailer and tried the handle. Locked. There was no other way in, except for the hatch on the roof. Kai caught Sanna’s gaze and cupped his hands, ready to help.