“You did good,” I said. “Four more, and we’re out of here.”
We separated and came at them from different angles. Ellie shadowed her dad on the left. Laura took care of the centre, and Sadie and I circled to the right.
The five of us had them surrounded, while Willow watched from behind the safety of the fence.
“I’m going in.” Laura raised her maul and made a beeline for the activewear woman, but the first swing landed too shallow and glanced off her shoulder. She wound up for another try, the second hit missing its mark entirely. As she overbalanced, Laura swore and steadied herself, and my heart about pounded straight through my chest.
Owen stepped in and tried to take over, but she warned him off with a shake of her head. “I’ve got it.”
It took another attempt to land a strike hard enough to take the infected woman down. When she hit the ground, Ellie swooped in and finished the job with her mace.
“Nice work, you two,” Owen said, his worried gaze meshing with mine.
There was no time to waste. A stench drifted on the air, and one of the two hospital patients targeted me. He tripped over his own feet and fell into a stumbling run, reaching me faster than expected.
With his gnarled fingers outstretched and mouth open in preparation, my stomach dipped, and I saw how quickly it could go wrong.
“Shit.” As I stepped back and dodged his grasp, Sadie pulled out a move I hadn’t seen yet, turning her body sideways and delivering a kick to the man’s midsection.
“Where the hell did that come from?” I asked.
While he staggered and struggled to regain his balance, I swung my sword and accidentally took off the top of his head. Blood and brain matter sprayed into the air, splattering the road as another body thumped to the ground.
“Tae Bo videos during lockdown.” Sadie threw me a quick smile, the corners of her mouth still tight with concern. “I didn’t think the moves would actually work in the real world.”
Two down.
My tension eased more with each death. The queasiness didn’t hit as hard this time around either, but it was still there, lurking in the background ready to humble me.
Owen squared his shoulders and went after the other patient, dropping him with a single strike through his forehead. Whether it was a lucky hit or impressive aim, it did the job. I swallowed and looked away as the body joined the others on the road.
With the motorbike guy the last man standing, Laura dived in for the kill, gripping her maul with two steady hands. Hungry for an accurate hit, she didn’t miss this time. When he collapsed in a heap, Ellie the destroyer came in for one last swing of her mace. Potentially unnecessary, but it paid to be thorough.
Then… nothing. No movement or sound other than our laboured breaths.
My heartbeat rang in my ears, and I loosened my death grip on the sword.
“Everyone good?” Owen asked, panting.
“Not good,” Laura said, “but not bad either.”
“Well, I’m not angry at you for going all gung-ho,” he said, “but not happy either.”
She flashed him a grin and yanked him close, planting a loud kiss on his cheek. “I love you.”
“You’re a natural,” I said to Sadie as she pushed strands of hair from her eyes.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” she said with a shaky smile, “but thanks.”
Ellie released a dramatic breath, holding her mace in both hands. “We did it.”
The five of us stood there for a moment, absorbing the quiet and the violence. The overpowering smell.
For the first time, we were still, and I took in everyone’s faces—Owen and Laura, Ellie and Sadie—and it hit me how lucky we were to have one another.
I wiped the blade of my sword on the nearest infected and turned toward the court, where Willow gripped the mesh and waited for us, safe and sound. “Okay there, Wills?”
She nodded, watching us a beat longer before she pushed off the fence and headed for the gate.
