Sadie fell asleep on the couch last night while we were in the middle of a conversation about our families. I never got the chance to kiss her again, but knowing we’d be leaving together shifted something inside me, and suddenly the waiting felt like part of the journey.
Shouting came from a house on our right, and her humour faded. I glanced in that direction, the hair on the back of my neck rising.
Willow stopped, but Laura grabbed her wrist and tugged her along. “Ignore it,” she said. “We can’t take on other people’s troubles right now.”
As the yelling turned to screaming, I steeled my spine and kept moving. Maybe we’d get to a point that we could jump in and help strangers, but it was too soon, and we’d only risk losing some of our own.
The six of us fell silent and walked for a couple more minutes, until Sadie pointed at the tennis club up on the left.
The main court was surrounded by a tall chain-link fence with a gate on the right, swinging in the breeze. The clubhouse was quiet, the car park empty.
Movement inside the fence line caught my attention—a man in striped pyjamas following a woman wearing navy scrubs. Both were soaked in blood, and the man dragged his foot in an exaggerated limp.
“Dad, look.” Ellie clasped Owen’s shoulder as we moved from the road to the footpath.
Our first infected out in the wild. My breath stalled as we bunched together and studied them. I still hadn’t accepted what I was seeing—that a couple of dead, bloody figures could just exist like this, with no destination and no goals other than tearing people apart. They shuffled along, bumping into the fence every few steps, and I couldn’t tell if they were lacking in coordination or trying to get out.
When the woman staggered straight past the open gate, I had my answer.
“Who’s up first?” Sadie asked.
“It’s probably your turn now,” Laura said.
“Right.” Sadie took another look at the infected, her shoulders pulling back in preparation. “I guess I should have expected that.”
“Better to do it now while you have backup.” I repositioned my grip on the sword. Since she wasn’t back to full strength yet, I’d keep watch as if both our lives depended on it.
“I’ll come with you.” Owen jerked his head toward the tennis courts. “Ellie, you too.”
He must have already had this chat with Laura because she didn’t utter a word of complaint. “Make sure you don’t lose sight of her,” she said.
“Always.” He gave her a reassuring smile, his expression sharpening as he readied himself for the next step.
“Remember what we talked about,” I said. “Keep clear of their teeth and watch one another’s backs.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not taking any chances.” Sadie switched the axe to her other hand. The wind blew strands of hair across her face, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Why don’t you lure them over here while we go through the gate and sneak up behind them?”
Already pushing down her fears and talking strategy.
The infected were still near the longer stretch of side fence, the one in scrubs lifting her head as if she’d sniffed our scent. When her mouth opened to let out a wet gurgle, my stomach tensed. “Here we go.”
I dragged my sword against the chain link, the metallic rattle drawing their attention.
When the infected woman was about halfway across the court, Sadie, Owen, and Ellie ran off along the front fence, rounding the corner and reaching the gate. Steps quiet, voices low. It was like watching my heart wander off, waiting to be trampled.
Laura gave Willow a brief side hug. “Stay close, remember?”
“I know,” she said. “It’s not like I want to run off on my own.” She trailed her hammer across the chain-link, eyes locked on the dead. If she was scared, I couldn’t tell.
“Incoming.” My fingers flexed on the hilt of my sword.
The woman’s toe scraped the acrylic surface of the court, another lonely moan drifting on the wind as the man followed.
Six steps away.
Her cloudy eyes found Willow, and she extended a hand, fingers curling around nothing.
Two steps.
