His jaw shut with a snap as his head hit the floor. Bright fireworks exploded behind his eyes and metal clanging filled his ears.
Just like yesterday, the edges of his vision faded. Distantly, he had a thought that if he fell unconscious here, that would be the end of him. At least he wouldn’t be awake when the type reached him. What would they do with his body? Would Frankie, at least, be sad? What about the others? Likely they’d be relieved. He shuffled onto his side and saw legs scurrying by him. So many legs, like an enormous centipede…
“What are you doing?” a voice roared in his ear. Someone pulled him roughly to his feet and shook him like a rag doll.Noah.
He collapsed against him, gesturing to his bleeding head. Blood poured down his neck, the sensation of it enough to cause waves of nausea to bubble up inside him. Noah’s crazed eyes darted down Zeke’s body, assessing him. After a moment’s hesitation, he bent down and threw Zeke’s arms around his neck. “Hold on,” he said, sliding Zeke’s legs off the ground with an effortless sweep of his arm.
Zeke squeezed his arms together around Noah’s neck. He felt the vibrations of Noah’s heavy footsteps as he sprinted down the road.
“I’m probably getting blood all over you,” he said, mortified, even in the state he was.
“It’s okay, we’re almost there. Do you think you can walk now?”
Wriggling in response, Zeke jumped down and let Noah guide him the rest of the way towards the dormitory building.
“Why is he covered in blood?” the guard at the door shouted, raising his gun to block the way.
“He’s fine, he’s just banged his head. Let us through,” Noah demanded, pushing the guard’s gun up and Zeke underneath.
The guard grabbed Zeke and inspected his head. Then he rolled up Zeke’s sleeves, running his hands over the flesh to check for wounds. Eventually satisfied, he nodded. “It’s lockdown. You know what to do.”
He half-walked, half-crawled up the many flights of stairs between the entrance and their dorm room. Eventually, Noah slipped his arm through his, supporting him in the final few steps. Noah’s body warmth gently eased the residual panic racing through Zeke.
“Are you okay? You’re shaking like a leaf,” Noah said, abruptly halting them and lifting Zeke’s chin up with gentle fingers. He met Noah’s gaze, and his eyes were aglow with sincere concern.
Zeke nodded. “It’s just the adrenaline flood. I’ll be okay in a second. Where are the others?”
“Hopefully in here. I left them when I noticed you weren’t with us.”
It felt like a sensible time to thank Noah, but Zeke couldn’t quite form the words. Noah had left everyone else to run back to save him. He’d run backtowardsthe newly mutated type, risking his life. For him. Any last shred of resentment Zeke felt towards Noah faded away, replaced with awe and admiration.
Noah opened the door to the men’s dormitory and ushered Zeke inside. Squad E crowded the dark room with far more bodies than it usually held. Outside of the window, red lights flashed in time with the lockdown alarm, casting them all in crimson shadows.
“Is everyone here? Girls, why aren’t you in your room?” said Noah, scanning the room.
Zeke collapsed on his bed, and Frankie gravitated towards him.
“We were worried about you two. We’ll head down in a minute,” said Vitt.
Frankie found a towel and pressed it to his scalp, rubbing small circles on his back. “What happened Noah? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. The type didn’t get anywhere near him. But we need to get him to the hospital.”
“If it’s just a head bump, I doubt they’ll want to deal with that right now,” said Habib, sliding a first-aid kit from a tall shelf. “I’ll patch him up.”
“I’m okay,” Zeke groaned. He squeezed his eyes shut, knowing the second he saw his own blood, it would be game over. “Just give me a second.”
“What happened?” Frankie demanded, shaking him with some force, and Zeke opened his eyes to see Noah guiding Frankie away from him.
“Someone pushed me over. Then I got kicked a few times. Then I hit my head. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” repeated Frankie. “Christ. Thank God you’re alive.”
Habib pulled Zeke from this lower bunk bed, dragging him to the floor and twisting him onto his front. He tipped icy water onto the throbbing patch of skull at the back of his head, causing Zeke to suck in a breath.
“Ouch!”
“Stay still, I’m trying to clean it. Meredith, pass me the alcohol. Noah, hold his legs down so he doesn’t kick me.” Habib was enjoying this far too much.
