Three locks between me and anyone who tried to force their way in here.
I gave silent thanks to the previous occupant and turned around, hoping I wouldn’t find them lurking inside. I didn't want to be stuck with their body until I could free myself, which at this rate might not be until tomorrow morning.
I crossed the wood floor and took in the compact studio apartment. There was a lowered wall bed set up with pillows and blankets along the righthand side, and a table beside it housing a collection of framed photos that I refused to torture myself with while I was already in a precarious state. The kitchen took up most of the left wall, with every cupboard hanging open as if people had been in here scavenging. A closed door farther along presumably led to the bathroom.
All I wanted to do was sit and catch my breath, but I needed to ensure there were no surprises first. I gripped my knife and approached the door, listening for the slightest sound. Shuffling, breathing, moaning. While my heart still pounded from my run, I readied myself and turned the handle, filled with apprehension as I pushed the door inward.
All I found was a bath with an overhead shower; a toilet, and a washer-dryer combo.
A relieved breath whooshed out of me.
I left the door open and stowed my knife in my belt, feeling the trembling set in now that my adrenaline was beginning to wane. One more task to complete before I could stop. I went over to the window and disengaged the lock, testing the frame to make sure it was still operational. The smooth glide confirmed I had an alternative exit if I needed one. I lowered and locked it again, feeling secure enough to remove my backpack and set the weight on the floor.
My legs were shaking, my body flooding with every emotion I'd shut down to stay in survival mode. I hurried to the bed before I collapsed, wondering if I was on the verge of a panic attack. If there was ever a time to feel overwhelmed and out of control, now would be it.
Lowering myself to the edge of the mattress, I grabbed a pillow and clutched it tight to my chest. I focused on deep breaths in and out, wishing I didn’t have to go through this alone. I’d never felt so isolated, so lost. I didn't have Haruto with his words of wisdom or Cruz with his strength and confidence. For the first time since the virus had obliterated the world we knew, I was completely, utterly alone, trapped in an apartment while a group of dangerous men tried to track me down.
My chin wobbled and my eyes burned with tears.
My throat hurt.
How long could I hide out and wait for Cruz to find me before it became obvious I'd need to take action and get out on my own? A day? Two days? I barely had enough water to see me through another twenty-four hours, and my food consisted of powdered milk, and... nope that was it. Fucking powdered milk.
I stared blankly out the window, feeling useless and helpless.
I pressed my face into the pillow and gave in to the tears.
Eleven
Cruz
After I yelled at Liv to run, I dived inside the nearest building—an office complex with six levels according to the directory on the foyer wall. I headed straight for the fire door and charged up the steps, bypassing one floor after another, keeping up the pace while my backpack thumped against my spine. I pushed myself until my lungs were ready to burst, my focus on redirecting the gang to give Liv some breathing space.
It didn’t take long for sounds from the floors below to echo through the building. The shouting and pounding footsteps told me at least a couple of them were on my tail, but I'd hoped for more. I’d only seen one car, which meant two or three of them must have gone after Liv. The thought motivated me to race up the steps even faster. I was too far ahead for any of those assholes to catch up to me, and none of them knew whether I’d hidden on one of the lower levels or kept moving higher. By the time they’d cleared each level and figured out my target had been the roof all along, I’d be gone.
I reached the top level and pushed through the door. After the darkness of the enclosed staircase, I squinted against the sun and stepped outside. There was no time to search for something heavy to barricade the door. Instead, I went straight over to the ledge and surveyed the streets below, hoping to see or hear something to indicate which direction Liv had headed. I'd been standing there for seconds at most when a man shouted, “Hey! She’s here!”
The adrenaline that had started to calm after my run came rushing back full force. My gaze shot to the location of the voice, and I memorised the layout of the area. Tension rippled through me and my jaw clenched. I’d told her yesterday that she looked like she was ready to take down a kingdom. The same feeling tore through me now, turning my blood hot and filling me with a simmering rage. Anyone who touched her was a fucking dead man.
I walked around the perimeter to check out the closest buildings. My attention locked on one south of where I stood that offered the best chance of landing a jump. Lower in height, rooftop aligned with rooftop, and only a couple of metres in between. With a run-up, I could make it, and if the door to the internal stairs was locked from the outside, the fire escape would get me down to street level.
My heart pounded hard, my limbs were pumped and ready. I ripped off my backpack and sent it across to the other roof with a two-handed lob. I followed it up with a test run, jogging toward the edge of the building, focusing on where I needed to land. When I went back to my starting point, I shook my arms at my sides, braced myself, and took off like a shot.
The second I reached the edge of the roof, I launched off my front foot and felt my body leaving solid ground. The wind flew through my hair and flapped my shirt. My stomach dipped with a falling sensation. I kept my gaze locked on the concrete rooftop opposite. No voices shouted out to let me know I’d been seen, and when I landed, I dropped into an immediate roll to save my ankles and knees.
The concrete bit into my elbows and shoulders. Scraping skin, bruising bone. When the momentum stopped, I wanted to take a minute to recover, but I didn’t have a minute—and neither did Liv.
I stood and made sure all of my body parts were working, then grabbed my backpack and shrugged it on again. The rooftop door was locked, so I jogged to the fire escape and scanned the street below. No dickheads from the gang. I should have been relieved to find out I had a clear run, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that they’d regrouped and shifted their entire focus to Liv. If all five of them were after her, I hoped more than ever that she could keep it together long enough to outrun them and find somewhere safe to hide.
I climbed over the ledge and half-stepped, half-dropped down the ladder, reaching the bottom in less than a minute. When my feet hit the ground, I took in my surroundings. Still nothing. No men, no corpses. I waited and trained my ears for any sign of their location or hers. The slightest sounds carried on the breeze these days, so it wouldn’t be difficult to pick up on noises even a block from here. All I heard was the caw of a crow and the distant moaning of corpses, until another one of those assholes shouted, “Stop!”
My body jolted, and I took off in the direction the voice had come from, keeping my steps quiet, my senses alert.
Liv would have been terrified by now, knowing they were tracking her while she dodged the dead and had the added pressure of figuring out where to run next.
I turned a corner, caught a glimpse of colour, and immediately pulled back. It took me a second to process the image, and when it registered that all I’d seen was a corpse, I leaned out again to check if it was on its own or the first of a bigger group. After confirming there were no others nearby, I took off again and left it alone. Liv was smart. She’d know to do the same with any corpses she came across.
I ran until I reached the next intersection, then stopped to take in the scene across the road. A dozen or so corpses were loitering at the base of a flight of stairs just inside the entrance to a shopping arcade. Liv wouldn’t have gone up there and left the equivalent of a neon sign indicating her location, so it must have been those clowns searching for her on the second level.
