cheek. Alice turned and looked at me.
She opened her mouth to say something, but then we heard a cry from outside.
“Hear that?”
I said.
Someone
screamed. It was faint, as if the wind carried it away into the night. I stood
up and knocked the glass cover of the coffee table with my knees. Lou steadied
it.
“That’s
Sana,” I said.
My blood
pumped and my heart pounded. I rushed to the door. Lou followed me, but Alice
went upstairs to check on Ben. Melissa and Justin stood at the doorway.
Outside, the
wind hit me like a slap and the cold reddened my cheeks. I shivered and felt
the hairs on my arms curl up. I looked across the garden for Sana and her son.
When I saw them, an even bigger chill spread through me.
They were at
the end of the garden. Sana’s son was on the floor. Two infected knelt by him
and tore at him with their teeth. Agonised gurgles bubbled from his mouth, and
terror was cut into his face. Sana stood beside him. She didn’t scream or
shout. She grabbed one of the infected and tugged the collar of its shirt. The
infected looked like it weighed a few hundred pounds and no matter how much
Sana strained, she couldn’t get it away from her son.
“Ohmygod”
said Melissa, and then her cheeks bulged. She bent over. She heaved, and liquid
splattered the ground.
I pulled out
both my knives and ran over to the end of the garden. I lined up my first knife
and pierced the infected's brain. It hissed as though it were a punctured tire.
The second infected looked at me, its mouth full of flesh. It blinked. I swung
the second knife and lodged it in its temple. The infected fell onto its back and
its black eyes stared at the sky.
Sana fell to
the floor and hit the back of her head on the shed. She didn’t even seem to
notice it. The colour drained from her face and made her look sick. She stared
at her boy. His arms were torn apart, his flesh marked by teeth imprints like a
nibbled block of cheese. Dark blood trickled from his veins and seeped into the
grass. His eyes were shut. I grabbed his wrist and pressed my thumb into it,
but I couldn’t feel a pulse.
With the
amount of bite-marks on him, there had to have been at least a dozen points of
infection. That meant the transformation process would be quick, and we only
had a couple of minutes to act. I looked at Sana.
“You know
what I have to do?” I said, more a statement than a question.
She didn’t
say anything.
It was a
moment where I knew that my actions in the following minutes would imprint
themselves on my brain forever. I looked at the dead boy, his blood trickling
into the mud, red smears across his face. It was moments like that that drained
a little bit of you away, but I had to do it.
I pulled my
knife out of the first infected’s skull. I wiped the blade on my jeans,
staining them with brain fluid. I held the boy’s chin and lined up my knife. I
took one last look at Sana. Nothing registered on her cold face. I took a deep
breath. I plunged my knife into the boy’s temple, felt it cut through the
tissue and stab into his brain.
For a few
seconds I let the adrenaline swish around my body. My hands shook, and a chill
spread across my back. I stood up and turned to Sana. I offered out my hand. At
first she reached out and took it, and I felt how freezing her fingers were.
Then she drew back. Her eyes moved into focus, the fire in them burned.
“You killed
him,” she said.
I looked
down at the ground. I had to let her have this. She’d just lost her boy.
Sana got to
her feet. She stared at me, her shoulders straight and her face as hard as
stone. “I’ll kill you for this,” she said.
When I
looked into her eyes, I could tell she meant it.
5
We had to
keep moving. They were the only words I thought about these days, and I said
them so much that I even started to annoy myself. Walking was all we had done
since leaving the farmhouse in
She opened her mouth to say something, but then we heard a cry from outside.
“Hear that?”
I said.
Someone
screamed. It was faint, as if the wind carried it away into the night. I stood
up and knocked the glass cover of the coffee table with my knees. Lou steadied
it.
“That’s
Sana,” I said.
My blood
pumped and my heart pounded. I rushed to the door. Lou followed me, but Alice
went upstairs to check on Ben. Melissa and Justin stood at the doorway.
Outside, the
wind hit me like a slap and the cold reddened my cheeks. I shivered and felt
the hairs on my arms curl up. I looked across the garden for Sana and her son.
When I saw them, an even bigger chill spread through me.
They were at
the end of the garden. Sana’s son was on the floor. Two infected knelt by him
and tore at him with their teeth. Agonised gurgles bubbled from his mouth, and
terror was cut into his face. Sana stood beside him. She didn’t scream or
shout. She grabbed one of the infected and tugged the collar of its shirt. The
infected looked like it weighed a few hundred pounds and no matter how much
Sana strained, she couldn’t get it away from her son.
“Ohmygod”
said Melissa, and then her cheeks bulged. She bent over. She heaved, and liquid
splattered the ground.
I pulled out
both my knives and ran over to the end of the garden. I lined up my first knife
and pierced the infected's brain. It hissed as though it were a punctured tire.
The second infected looked at me, its mouth full of flesh. It blinked. I swung
the second knife and lodged it in its temple. The infected fell onto its back and
its black eyes stared at the sky.
Sana fell to
the floor and hit the back of her head on the shed. She didn’t even seem to
notice it. The colour drained from her face and made her look sick. She stared
at her boy. His arms were torn apart, his flesh marked by teeth imprints like a
nibbled block of cheese. Dark blood trickled from his veins and seeped into the
grass. His eyes were shut. I grabbed his wrist and pressed my thumb into it,
but I couldn’t feel a pulse.
With the
amount of bite-marks on him, there had to have been at least a dozen points of
infection. That meant the transformation process would be quick, and we only
had a couple of minutes to act. I looked at Sana.
“You know
what I have to do?” I said, more a statement than a question.
She didn’t
say anything.
It was a
moment where I knew that my actions in the following minutes would imprint
themselves on my brain forever. I looked at the dead boy, his blood trickling
into the mud, red smears across his face. It was moments like that that drained
a little bit of you away, but I had to do it.
I pulled my
knife out of the first infected’s skull. I wiped the blade on my jeans,
staining them with brain fluid. I held the boy’s chin and lined up my knife. I
took one last look at Sana. Nothing registered on her cold face. I took a deep
breath. I plunged my knife into the boy’s temple, felt it cut through the
tissue and stab into his brain.
For a few
seconds I let the adrenaline swish around my body. My hands shook, and a chill
spread across my back. I stood up and turned to Sana. I offered out my hand. At
first she reached out and took it, and I felt how freezing her fingers were.
Then she drew back. Her eyes moved into focus, the fire in them burned.
“You killed
him,” she said.
I looked
down at the ground. I had to let her have this. She’d just lost her boy.
Sana got to
her feet. She stared at me, her shoulders straight and her face as hard as
stone. “I’ll kill you for this,” she said.
When I
looked into her eyes, I could tell she meant it.
5
We had to
keep moving. They were the only words I thought about these days, and I said
them so much that I even started to annoy myself. Walking was all we had done
since leaving the farmhouse in
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