He’s been with me through everything; from the car accident to the funeral to me realising I can’t have kids, to my shitty ex leaving me at the altar last year and all the way through the apocalypse. While he’s infuriatingly overprotective, he’s looked out for me for over ten years.
Now it’s time I repay the favour.
After riding through severalfields and a copse of trees, I’m finally trotting down the country lane that leads to Andy’s. I still can’t see anything different in what’s supposed to be a new world.
For starters, the potholes are there, the overgrown hedges are still the same, and so is the quiet stillness of rural Britain. None of that has changed. Some houses I pass are a little worse for wear and the fields are covered in grass and bushes instead of being prepared for the upcoming growing season. But those are the only tells that something has changed in the world.
Well, that and the random shuffling zombie I pass that’s caught in an overgrown hedge. It moans and snarls as it struggles against the thick branches of the bush, keeping it captive. I study it for a moment and then sigh, relieved to see that it’s not my brother, before moving on.
Thankfully, it doesn’t even notice me as I ride past it, no doubt thanks to the combined scent of Bean and Harlow masking my own. We found out pretty quickly the zombies aren’t interested in animals, only humans. That I’ve encountered one of those things from beyond the safety of my home is enough to have my chest tightening with fear. I’m not sure how I’m going to cope when I’m confronted by one that isn’t trapped, but that’s an issue for future Ollie.
I ride up the lane for another twenty minutes before I see the first sign of Andy’s place. It’s a cottage—similar to mine—only with a thatched roof and painted a soft pink that reminds me of the sunset, just as Tobias described it. Behind it is a large, corrugated iron shed that houses the goats and, judging from the soft clucking, some chickens, too.
I slow Bean to a walk and glance around. There’s been no sign of Tobias. It’s like he’s vanished into thin air, which only makes my anxiety worse.
Could he have been bitten and turned into one of those things? Bile burns my throat and my stomach roils at the thought. Fuck, I hope not, because there’s no way I’m going to stomach putting him down if I see him like that. But I also told Lauren I’d bring him home.
Another future Ollie problem.
As I ride closer, it becomes apparent that not all is well at Andy’s farm. Blood and gore is smeared across the soft pink exterior of the cottage, with some parts of the paint gouged with bullet holes and knife marks. The windows are a patchwork of broken glass and wooden boards, and the door hangs perilously by one hinge. A car lies on its side with one tire missing and broken glass litters the front driveway, both from the car and the cottage windows.
What the fuck?
My guts knot with dread and horror as I take in the scene. There’s far too much blood on the ground for comfort, with some of it in pools like a body lay there bleeding out. Oh God, is this why Tobias never made it back? Is one of those puddles of blood his?
I swallow hard as metallic tasting saliva coats my mouth and I struggle against the urge to throw up. My chest tightens and I can feel my panic rising as my breath grows quick and shallow. Beside Bean, Harlow whines. Her nose nudges my boot, and then she emits a low, menacing growl.
I try to see what she’s growling at, but Bean veers violently to the side and then kicks out with her hind feet. I yell out as I drop my bow and try to grab the front of my saddle, but it’s not enough and I fall. Luckily, I taught myself how to land safely from a horse, and muscle memory kicks in as I tuck my body and roll onto the grassy verge at the side of the road.
Sprawled on the grass and dazed, I struggle to get my breathing under control as Bean snorts and Harlow continues to growl. Even Ketchup is making a racket, squawking as she flies in circles above us.
What the hell is going on?
And then I hear it. A low, animalistic moaning that has the hair on my body standing on end and terror skating down my spine.
Oh fuck. Guess I’m future Ollie now.
That thought barely filters through my horror-stricken brain before the zombie is on me. I scream as the walking corpse collapses on top of me with its shining alien eyes and open maw filled with yellowed teeth and blackened gums. It claws at me, blunt nails digging into the skin of my arms as it tries to drag me closer to its mouth. The stench of rotting flesh is overwhelming as I lay there frozen, panic squeezing my lungs and spots appearing in my vision.
Maybe Toby was right. Maybe I’m not cut out for life out here.
Harlow snarls and lunges at the zombie, but the creature easily deflects her and sends her careening across the road. Harlow yelps as she lands somewhere from my view, but the sharp, pain-filled sound is enough to rouse me from my terror.
I kick out at the zombie and almost puke as my foot meets soft, squishy flesh and brittle bone that snaps beneath my boot. Something thick, cold and wet splashes against my thigh and stomach and seeps through the fabric of my clothes. The stench thickens to the point my eyes water and my nose burns.
The zombie doesn’t stop. It continues to claw at me while moaning and snapping its teeth at me. It catches my left arm with one bony hand and grips it tightly as it brings my wrist to its mouth.
No!
I blindly reach into my quiver, grab an arrow, and slam the steel tip into the side of the zombie’s head. The arrow meets the creature’s skull as it slides through rotted flesh and stops. The zombie doesn’t notice the arrow burrowed in its fucking skull and continues to pull my arm closer as I struggle against its iron grip.
Fuck, no. Irefuseto die like this.
With a cry, I yank the arrow back and then, with as much force as I can muster, slam it back into the side of the creature’s head. This time, the pointed tip cracks through its skull and slides easily into its brain. The alien gleam fades from the creature’s eyes and all fight leaves it as it collapses on top of me, dead.Trulydead.
I lie there for a moment, stunned.
My animals have stopped their various noises and the only sound is the blood pounding in my ears and my panting breaths. And then I laugh.Hysterically. Because that’s the only response I seem to have about the fucked up situation I’ve found myself in. Well, it’s that or have a complete emotional breakdown…
