“They’re still outnumbered by at least five to one.”
“But they’re holding their ground.”
The guards were clearly experienced. They held a tight ring around their captives and forced the diseased to come to them.
His fatigue driven by his thundering adrenaline, William filled his lungs, the air alive with the calls of battle. “So on the plus side, I’d say they didn’t hear the woman I just murdered.”
“I’d say that’s a safe bet. The question is if they don’t keep this up, when do we try to help them?”
“You think we should go down there?”
“You think they’ll get through this without our help?”
William’s second deep inhale did nothing to settle him. “If we help them, we will get captured.”
“But if we don’t, will they all die down there?”
“Max won’t. You think he’ll use his power?”
“His hands are tied,” Olga said. “It’s not like revealing his immunity will have any positive impact.”
Several of the guards fought as if they’d been born to take down the diseased. The poor light made it hard to tell, but judging by their thick frames and the ease with which they dispatched the things, they had to be protectors. But even for a gang of protectors, the odds were against them. “I think you’re right,” William said. “I can’t stand here and watch them die in the hope the gang will get them out of it. A life without Matilda isn’t worth living. We’re better captured and alive than over half of us dead.”
“I’ll go with whatever you decide,” Olga said.
“Really?”
“You sound surprised.”
“You’ve given me nothing but a hard time since we left Edin.”
“Oh, I still think you’re a prick, and I’ve not forgiven you for not telling me what Hugh did. It’s just there’s more important things to deal with right now.”
“Let’s do this, then.” Despite his words, William’s leaden body ignored his will.
Before he found the motivation to jump down from the wall, Olga grabbed his arm and pointed across the crater. “Wait.”
An army crested the other side of the hill. They’d come to the guards’ rescue. They yelled a war cry that drowned out the diseased. Their weapons held aloft, they charged into battle.
“Someone must have gone to get help,” Olga said.
“You think we should still go down and fight?”
“No! The only thing we’ll add is a couple of extra bodies to their prisoner count. We should hide and follow them again when they set off.”
“Where have they all come from?”
“I’ve got no idea, but I wouldn’t mind betting we’re going to find out soon enough.” Olga jumped down from the wall. “Come on.”
Chapter 7
Instead of desensitising to the shrill calls over time, William’s pulse spiked with every diseased’s scream. Each held the threat as the one that could break through to his friends. To Matilda. At least two hours had passed. It had been too dark, and their need to hide too urgent to find the perfect spot to wait. They’d opted for a large steel skeleton, the remains of the frame of what had once been a square building. They leaned against a small chunk of masonry. It had proven to be enough to hide them from sight as the night sky lightened with the start of a new day.
Dew clung to William’s clothes, and his bottom had turned numb from sitting on the steel. He clamped his jaw, his entire body tense, his skin taut with gooseflesh. William hugged himself, but the cold had possessed his skeleton. Thank god they’d come out of the other side of winter. Even just a few weeks ago he wouldn’t have lasted the night in his thin layer of clothes.
As another pack of diseased charged past to join the battle below, William’s legs twitched with the urge to jump down. Only three of them, he could take them and have the pick of their ragged garments. But better to feel the chill than risk his life. He peered over the wall again. “I think they’re finally slowing down.”
Mist hung amongst the ruins, snaking through the low ground as if searching for somewhere to hide from the rising sun’s burning rays. The battle continued, albeit at a sedate pace. The guards had clearly won. Close to one hundred strong, they now outnumbered the beasts at least three to one, but their attacks had grown clumsy, their steps lethargic. The fallen bodies of the vile creatures decorated the landscape. The daylight revealed the true extent of the massacre. William said, “Do you think they’ve lost many?”
“It doesn’t look like it. Not enough to matter. They’ve managed to keep Max, Artan, and Matilda safe.”
The three of them paler for the ordeal, but they were still alive. “It must be driving them nuts not being able to fight.”
A small snarling pack crested the hill close to William and Olga again. They appeared with much less frequency now. How long would it be before one of them looked up and saw them? It had been a good spot in the dark, but the new day had made it much less covert.
The blue fabric of William’s shirt had turned almost black where it had been soaked with his own blood. After he pulled his second nose plug out to examine it, he couldn’t help but notice Olga’s expression. “You still think it’s funny?”
“You had it coming.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t fight back. I would have—”
“Gotten yourself even more hurt. Don’t pretend it would have played out any differently.”
William pulled his trouser legs up. Angry grazes decorated the front of each shin, the wounds glistening in the sun. Scrapes ran around either side and his calves were red raw. Now he’d seen the extent of his injuries, it turned the low hum of pain into an angry, nerve-jangling buzz.
“Are you okay?” Olga said.
What did she think? But before William shot back, her eyes showed something they hadn’t for some time: genuine concern. “Yeah.” He nodded and let the tension slide from his frame. “I can’t believe how you moved through the city. It was like you had night vision. You were hard to keep up with.”
The day getting lighter with every passing minute, the sun stretching warmth through his cold body, William squinted as his sore eyes adjusted. The battle below them, although still active, had ground to a near halt. “I did wonder …”
“Huh?” Olga said.
“How they fought so well. I mean, the guards were seriously outnumbered for most of that battle. But look, there’s Crush down there. And Warrior over there. And in the gang who arrived a few hours ago—”
“Magma.”
“Yeah.” William scoffed. “I’m not surprised Ranger isn’t here though.”
“Daddy’s probably told him to stay at home so he doesn’t do something stupid and get himself and everyone else killed.”
William gasped.
“What?” Olga said.
“Remember we told you about the kids we left on the roof in national service?”
“Yeah, you saw one of them earlier, right?”
“Well, there’s another one down there. See to the left of Matilda and the others, the short boy with black hair and skin as dark as mine?”
It took Olga a few seconds. “Oh yeah, I see him.”
“When we were in the national service area, he saw us moving on and could have alerted the diseased, but he let us pass.”
“You think we have an ally there?”
“Maybe.”
The final diseased’s scream ended, the woman who killed it slumping when her victim fell. The girl who’d revealed Hugh as the one who caused the fall of the city walked over to Matilda.
William’s stomach clenched.
Her face no more than an inch or two from Matilda’s, the girl turned puce and she shook as if about to burst. “Just for fraternising with Hugh, you’ll be punished. If he’s dead like you say he is, someone else will pay the price for his mistakes. We’re taking you straight to Ranger.”
William squirmed where he sat.
“I heard he’s sweet
on you,” the girl went on.
The gallop of William’s pulse throbbed through his skull with a deep bass boom. The urge for violence flooded his system, winding his back and shoulders tight before it ran down his arms and he balled his fists. When Olga touched him, he flinched. A second later, he pulled a deep breath in through his nose and nodded, as much to himself as to her. “I’ll keep my cool. I’ve done it all night, so I’ll do it now. I’ll store this for later. When I get hold of Ranger, I’m going to let it all out on him.”
“You’re sure you can keep a lid on it until then?”
“Yep.”
“Good. We’ll make him pay when we get to him. If we wait up here much longer, the diseased will see us.”
“If we go into that crater, they’ll see us.”
“We can move around the outside. Track them from up here in the safety of the ruins. What do you think?”
“I’m not sure any of our options are good.” William led the way, dropping to the ground, sweeping bricks and rocks away with his feet so Olga had a good landing spot.
Soundless as she touched down, she said, “You want me to lead?”
“Yeah. Hopefully I’ll stand a better chance of keeping up in daylight.”
“I think it’s more about stealth than speed now. We need to remain hidden, and as long as we keep them in sight, we’ll be fine.”
Right on her tail, William followed Olga through the ruins. They darted across open spaces, dodging rocks and jumping fallen walls before loitering in the shadows of ruined buildings, making slower progress but maintaining a line of sight to Magma’s gang.
William moved to the edge of the crater again. His quickened heart rate shortened his breaths. The gang were mobilising slowly while still dealing with the diseased latecomers. For now, Matilda and the others might have had their hands tied, but they were still okay. His anxiety threatening to choke him out, he said, “They’re alive and unharmed. They’re alive and unharmed.” If anything happened to Matilda … “They’re alive and unharmed.”
As they continued their mazy path through the ruins, the hairs on the back of William’s neck stood on end. Tuned into every sound, his eyes wide and alert, they stung from lack of sleep. It had been difficult between him and Olga, but seeing as he couldn’t have Matilda or Artan, there were few other people he’d choose to have at his side right now. They’d get through this, and they’d get their friends away from Ranger and the others. They just needed to be patient.
Chapter 8
The ruins around the edge of the crater provided William with enough cover to walk close to the large bowl in the landscape without being seen. When the back end of the army vanished from sight, he moved nearer to the edge. Particles of brick dust and debris peppered his face, the strong wind fresh against his cheeks.
The bodies of diseased were strewn across the battlefield as if they’d been dropped from the clouds. They lay over rocks, were wedged between the ruined buildings, and a good proportion of them had missing limbs, heads, and had even been cut in half. When the wind picked up, the stench caught in William’s throat. While pressing the back of his hand to his nose, he said, “I think this area of the city is about as clear as it’ll get. There must be at least three hundred fallen diseased down there.”
When Olga came to his side, she heaved before stepping away. “My god, it stinks.”
William followed Olga, returning to the ruins away from the crater’s edge. “I know we still have to keep our wits,” he said, “but I wonder how far away the next diseased is? I think we’re more likely to bump into one of Magma’s army than we are one of those things. They’ve probably cleared a five-mile radius with how many they’ve taken down.”
The wind pulled Olga’s hair back, sending it streaming behind her. She squinted against the onslaught. Now they’d picked up their pace and the day had warmed, sweat coated William’s body. The strong breeze offered little relief, and the cuts on his legs throbbed with an angry buzz.
“Mad Max.”
William waited for a second, but when Olga offered him nothing more, he said, “Huh?”
“That’s what they called him. His brothers. Five boys in one house. Imagine that. Five boys and a dad. His poor mum. Anyway, all five of them shared the same room because there weren’t any three-bedroom places for them to move into.”
“You’d think in construction they’d be able to build more space.”
“You’d think. Apparently their room was just mattresses on the floor, and they kept all their clothes in the hallway.” Olga screwed up her face. “I bet it stank! Being the youngest turned Max into a lunatic. Egged on by his older brothers, they’d pressure him into doing the craziest shit.” She smiled. “Have you seen the scar on the inside of his right arm?”
“I don’t look at him that closely.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that I don’t look at him like you do.”
“A simple no would have sufficed.”
William smiled. “No.”
“They dared him to dive through their neighbours’ window.” She laughed. “He was too young to know they were having sex.”
“And I’m guessing his brothers were more than aware?”
“Yep. Not only did he tear a gash in his arm, because, well … um … glass! But he landed in the middle of their hot moment. All four of his brothers got a hiding for that one.”
As Olga’s smile faded, William said, “We’ll get them away from those people.”
“I know. And we’ll punish Magma and his twisted gang for even trying to screw with us in the first place.”
“So what about you?” William said.
“What about me?”
“Well, you’ve told me about Max, what about you? Your family. What was it like before your sisters died?”
“We’re bonding now?”
“You started this.”
Olga hopped onto a large chunk of fallen wall. She turned a half circle, froze like a startled animal, and dropped into a crouch.
William’s heart kicked when she slipped back down to the ground and drew her sword as she charged into the closest building.
William followed.
The place must have once been a house. It had debris scattered everywhere, but the walls still stood and the ceiling remained intact. They’d stepped into a large room. There were two smaller ones in front of them, a corridor between them. Olga took the small room on the left, William the one on the right. They were both at least ten feet from the open doorway. A grip on his sword, much like Olga, he peered around the wall and waited.
The scuff of movement outside. Someone kicked a brick and someone coughed. Olga pulled deeper into the shadows of her room. The darkness hid everything but the whites of her eyes and the glint of her blade.
“Hang on a minute!” A man’s voice, it snapped through William, sending his back rigid. They were close.
Footsteps descended on their hiding spot.
William pulled back into the small room.
Someone burst into their building and William lifted his sword.
But they didn’t come any farther in. A second later, the man groaned, his piss hitting the ground. William leaned around the corner. The man stood over six feet tall and had broad shoulders. He had a thick brown beard and lank greasy hair. His jaw hung loose like he’d drunk too much scrumpy.
The man then farted and William pulled back into hiding. In any other situation, he would have laughed. But the moment felt too personal. He was an intruder into this man’s privacy.
Olga stepped from her hiding spot, her sword raised.
William shook his head. No! She’d give them away. But if he told her to stop, he’d give them away. And would it be best to end him now? To fight those outside before they found them? No. They didn’t need to blow their cover. He flapped a hand in Olga’s direction.
If she noticed, she ignored him.
He did it a second time.
Sti
ll nothing.
She stepped into the corridor between them and widened her stance.
The man continued pissing, still oblivious to his imminent end.
William finally got Olga’s attention. He pointed back to where she’d come from and mouthed get back!
She frowned.
A more vigorous pointing into the small room. Now!
Olga shook her head.
A battle of wills would only end one way. He’d never met anyone with more fire in their belly. So instead, William pushed his hands together in prayer. The man passed wind again, his piss coming out faster before trickling off.
Olga’s shoulders sagged and she retreated into her hiding place.
His breathing quick, William leaned against the rough brick wall and closed his eyes.
As the man left the building, a female voice snorted a laugh. “Took your time, didn’t ya? What were you doing in there? Making love to yourself?”
“Yeah, while thinking about you.”
“Dream on.”
“I was. In it, you had a bag over your head and I took you from behind. Even then I could only just get it up.”
“You’re a dick!”
The laughter moved off with the group.
They’d only spent a few extra minutes in the shadows of the ruined building, but when he stepped outside, the change in light still dazzled William, blind spots flashing through his vision.
“Good call,” Olga said. “In there, I mean. We would have had a fight we didn’t need to have if you’d have let me attack that man.” She smiled. “Although it would have stopped him farting.”
William shook his head. “Damn pig.”
The wind called a haunting melody through the ruins, filling the silence between them before Olga said, “It was good.”
“What was good?”
“Life. Before my sisters died, I mean. I had two big sisters. They were only a few years older than me, and because they were twins, I worried I’d never feel as close to them as they were to one another. But they always included me in everything they did. I never told them my fears, but it was like they knew. They were always kind, always happy.” A glaze covered her eyes and she looked away. “Sorry.”
Beyond These Walls (Book 5): After Edin Page 4