21. Emily

21

EMILY

N othing is going to plan, and I’m stressed.

Not that I’d even had an actual plan—more of a loose sequence of hopes. Get inside, hand Zoey the insulin, try to reason with Richard. I thought if he would allow the guys inside, then Griffin could get some medical help. But if Richard couldn’t see reason, then I’d leave, maybe for good. What I hadn’t counted on was the guys crashing into the colony, weapons drawn and nerves frayed. Of course, they wound up thrown into a cell for causing a “disturbance” and I’m left on my own to figure out a way to get all of us out of this mess. Zoey wanted to stay with me, my best partner in crime, but Richard sent her away to assist in the medical ward. I have a feeling it was nothing more than a ploy to separate us.

“You can’t do this. They’re good people. They only reacted because you were the one being a dick.” Zoey’s words startle me, and I look in the other direction to see her arguing with Richard.

My lips quirk into a smile. It shouldn’t surprise me she snuck out of the medical ward to help me out. I would have done the same for her .

“You’re supposed to be saving lives, not defending prisoners,” Richard argues.

“Can you at least listen instead of brushing off everyone who has an opinion opposite yours?”

Richard sighs. “Fine. Let’s go.” He motions for her to follow and they go out of sight. I’m torn between following them and staying put. The only reason I remain here is to make sure nothing bad happens to my guys. I don’t trust anyone else here.

Letting them get locked up was the best option in the moment, but I have a sinking feeling Richard has no intention of letting them go. I might need to figure out another way to get them out of here.

The rough brick wall presses into my back while I lean against it outside the jail with frustration boiling over. I’m watching the guard nearby, eyes flicking to the ring of keys hooked on his belt. My fingers itch with the need to grab them and break the guys out. I’m about to push forward with that awful idea when I hear the clamor of approaching footsteps. A group of teens, two boys and a girl, faces streaked with panic, bursts through the gate and head straight toward me. My body tenses. Something’s wrong.

The surrounding guards notice and move to intercept. “What is it?” the first one says, his voice gruff, trying to take charge of the situation.

Ignoring them, the girl veers off. She rushes toward me and throws her arms around my waist, and I wrap my arms around her in return. Her shoulders shake, every ounce of her fear spilling over into my arms. “What happened?” I pull back to look at her face. Her eyes are red-rimmed, her cheeks damp.

“We—” Her voice catches, and one boy steps forward, his voice strained.

“We went out to scavenge,” the boy starts, his voice choking up. “We thought, if Emily could survive out there, then maybe we could too. I know we’re not supposed to go out on our own, but we thought we could do it if we stuck together. We wanted to help since we’ve been so low on supplies, especially the medical stuff.”

My stomach twists when I see where this is going. “Who’s missing?”

The third teen, fighting back tears, chokes out, “Josh.”

The girl in my arms cries harder. He’s her older brother. They used to help me tend to the garden I’d gotten started here. They’re good kids, and my heart hurts for them. I can only imagine the worst.

“We thought it was safe,” the second boy says. “There haven’t been any rotters there during the last two times we were in the area.”

“Fools,” a guard scoffs, his tone dripping with disdain. I tighten my hold around the young girl. “Idiots. It’s never safe out there. Only a fool would think so. You’ve got no business running around out there, and now look where it’s gotten you. Your friend is dead.”

The girl’s sobs turn into wails, and I scold the guard. “Shut it, will you? You’re not helping anyone.”

The guard glares at me and steps closer. “Me? Since you got back, you’ve done nothing but cause trouble. Now you’re leading kids out to get killed?—”

The accusation hits me like a slap, and the tension coiling inside my chest explodes. I clench my fists, wanting to lash out, but a sound—almost like a low, dangerous growl—filters through the surrounding air. “I want to smack you,” the voice says.

The first boy, young with hollow eyes, swallows hard, his voice wavering. “He could still be alive. We…we got swarmed, and he didn’t make it out, but that doesn’t mean he’s dead. We came back for help. Please, you have to help him.”

“Tell me where you last saw him. I’ll go.” I don’t even hesitate. Whatever it takes, I’ll find him. If, by any chance, he’s still alive, then I’ll bring him back.

Richard appears beside me. I didn’t even notice him arrive. I expected him to argue against the idea, but then another voice speaks up, loud and clear.

“We’ll go with you,” Griffin shouts out from the window we’re standing by.

Richard’s lips curl into a grim smile. “A fantastic idea. You and your group have survived out there this long, after all. Who better suited to a task like this?”

I bite back the urge to flip him off. I’m sure he expects we won’t come back, but that doesn’t matter because we’re not sticking around this place any longer than we need to either way. Once we find Josh, I’ll say my goodbyes to Zoey, and then we’ll be on our way to anywhere but here.

“Great. Now let them out of that cell so we can go save a life,” I say.

When we walk into the jail, I’m not surprised to see all three of my guys fixing Richard with a hostile stare over my shoulder. I’m sure they could break through the bars with their bare hands if they tried to, but I’m grateful they’re not causing any more trouble. The last thing I need is to risk losing this to the place that already took so much from me. We still have some things between us we need to work out, and this cell is way too cramped for that to happen.

Once the cell door opens, William is the first to burst free, and he scoops me into his arms, cradling my head against his chest. “It’s so good to hold you again,” he whispers.

I tighten my grip around his shoulders. “Don’t do stupid shit anymore. My attempt to break you guys out was so lame, I would have wound up trapped in there along with you.”

He chuckles into my hair. “What a cozy, cramped space it would have been. If we didn’t have a life to save, I would turn around and lock the four of us in there right now. ”

I give a playful smack to his shoulder, and he lets me go, but I can’t help the smile I have. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Let’s get a move on,” Richard says, making me roll my eyes and flipping him the bird behind his back. It’s a little satisfying, especially when Max chuckles at my antics.

The guards don’t hand back the guys’ weapons until we’re out at the gate, making it clear they don’t trust them and never will. Their message couldn’t be plainer. We don’t stick around for a second longer than necessary. As soon as we’re clear of the colony walls and any prying eyes, I come to a halt and turn to face Griffin.

“Lift your shirt,” I demand, crossing my arms.

He raises an eyebrow and flashes me a wry grin. “Why is everyone trying to undress me these days?”

“Griffin.”

He smirks, but he relents, pulling up his shirt to reveal the wound Zoey patched up. I move closer to examine the wound on his side and reach out to brush my fingers along the skin surrounding it. It feels warmer than it should, and the surrounding flesh is tinged with red. My gut tightens when I sense something’s wrong, and he must notice. “Zoey said it’s infected, but she took care of it, so I’ll be fine. Believe me, it looks a lot better than it did.”

“He tells the truth,” Max says. Looking out ahead, he shields his eyes from the sun by pressing his hand against his forehead. “He was a dead man walking a few hours ago. Now he’s…well, still a dead man walking, but not as gruesome.”

“Remind me to wring your neck later,” Griffin grumbles.

“How infected is it?” I ask, ignoring their back-and-forth.

Griffin laughs. Not a nervous laugh, but more sincere. “She didn’t get into details, but look. I promise I’m not turning into a rotter,” he says, a hint of softness in his voice. “I’m still here, Emily, and I’m far from done proving to you I’m not going anywhere. ”

“Griffin…” I start.

He clasps my hand, pulling it up beneath his shirt to rest against the warm bare skin of his chest, right over his heart. I can feel his heartbeat thrumming. It’s a healthy heartbeat. Human. Alive.

He laces our fingers together and I glance up. I could fall over from the intensity in his eyes. He tilts his head and whispers, “I mean it, princess. If you want to stay with your colony, then that’s where I’ll be, too. I’ll make them uncomfortable as long as it means staying by your side. But if you want to leave, then I’m following you. As far as you want to go. I’m not losing you again.”

My heart hammers faster. It throbs against my chest. His words sound sincere. Not only his words, but the look in his eyes. I want to forgive him, but the hurt is still there. Though, I think they’re realizing how much they hurt me now that they’ve experienced the colony for themselves. I think they’re beginning to understand why I couldn’t tell them about this place before.

“Let’s go save Josh first,” I say, my voice coming out rougher than I’d intended. I pull my hand back from his chest. It tingles with the loss of his warmth. “We can figure out everything else later.”

“Whatever you want, princess.”

The walk to the other town is short. It’s been a resource we’ve combed through repeatedly, never entirely clearing it due to the abundance of supplies and resources. There used to be talk of moving the colony here in the aftermath of Nathan, but it would have been more work than we were capable of at the time. Not only would we have had to rid it of all the rotters and the dead, rotting corpses, but we would have had to start completely over with starting gardens and other things. Most of the people couldn’t do that.

When we approach, the low, guttural moans grow louder. “Those kids were right,” William says, stopping in his tracks and tilting his head, straining to listen. “It sounds like a lot of rotters overtook the town. We’ll have to figure out a plan.”

“We’re wasting time standing here and listening,” I say, drawing a knife in each hand.

“Let’s see what exactly we’re dealing with first.” Griffin walks forward, careful not to make any sound. Max closes in behind me, gripping his morning star and pulling out a knife in his second hand. William swaps out one of his knives for a gun.

A wave of rotters has gathered around one building, their attention fixed, drawn to something—or someone—inside. Their rotting bodies pressed against the brick in sickening unity. “Who wants to bet the kid is in there?”

“No one’s betting on this, Max,” Griffin hisses out.

William halts, squinting toward the horde, his gaze narrowed in concentration. “There are way too many rotters here. We need a plan.”

“We don’t have time to strategize.” I grow impatient. That poor kid is in there, alone and scared. “Let’s start taking them out one at a time. Or someone can make a distraction and draw them away. I don’t care what we do, but it needs to be quick.”

Before we can decide on a course of action, Max is already moving. He slips into the shadows and then, with hands cupped around his mouth, hollers as loud as he can. He’s obnoxious, really. My heart soars for him. I also fear for his life, because the rotters turn and stagger after him. Max keeps taunting them, his voice mocking, daring them to come closer as though they can understand the words he says. But it’s still going to be too much for him .

“He’s going to need backup.” I step forward to help, but Griffin’s hand clamps down on my arm.

“No. I’ll go. You focus on finding the kid. William, stick with her.” He doesn’t give us a chance to argue before charging in Max’s direction and cutting down any rotter that veers too close.

“Let’s move.” William motions for me to follow. We skirt around the edge of the horde, slipping past stragglers and ducking into cover whenever we hear footsteps shuffling too close. For a moment, it feels like we might make it without noticed—until a rotter falls from the shadows, slamming into me and pinning me to the ground. My face smacks into the dirt and my ears ring. A long, excruciating minute passes before I comprehend what’s happening.

The world spins. I struggle beneath the rotter, but it’s too heavy, the decaying weight keeping me trapped. I can’t flip myself over to fight it, and I can’t kill it from this position. Panic swirls, my knives useless under my pinned arms while I squirm, desperate to break free. It’s no use.

The weight vanishes, and I scramble up to see William above me, shoving the rotter off. He stabs the rotter, and then aims his gun in my direction and pulls the trigger. The bullet soars past me, and another rotter drops. The loud crack of the gunshot echoes through the wide-open area, drawing more of them straight for us. He backs away. “I’ll draw away the stragglers. You get to the kid.”

Then he’s gone.

I make for the building we were heading for and burst through the door. I slice my way through two more rotters and run through the building.

The air inside is thick with dust and rot. I cough and try not to vomit. Sometimes, when there are dozens of rotters, the stench is barely noticeable. Other times, it hits me like a freight train.

I rush through the building until I see scratch marks on a closed door. When I get near, I can almost make out a faint whimper coming from behind. I move closer.

“Josh?” I call softly, pressing my ear against the door, but the only response is stilled silence when the whimpers stop. I jiggle the handle, but it’s locked and won’t budge. “Josh, it’s Emily. Can you open up?”

Still nothing.

“Josh? Josh, I’m coming in.” Scenarios fly through my mind that maybe he’s hurt. Or worse; bitten.

I shove the tip of my knife into the keyhole, working it until the lock clicks open. I breathe a sigh of relief and push open the door before stepping into the darkened room. My eyes adjust to the dim light that filters through a tiny window at the far end.

There, huddle in the corner beneath the window with his knees drawn to his chest, is Josh. I could almost collapse with relief. I jog across the room and drop to my knees in front of him.

“Josh. Talk to me. Are you hurt?” I look him over, but I don’t notice any bite marks at first glance. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any.

His face lifts, pale and frightened, but he lifts his hand with a wincing smile. “I…I think I sprained my wrist trying to get away. I can’t fight them off.”

A smile breaks across my face. A sprained wrist, now that I can deal with. That’s a minor miracle compared to what I’d feared. “You’re going to be fine, Josh. I’m here to get you out. Come. Let’s go home.”

He blinks up at me, eyes widening with surprise. “Emily? Didn’t you leave?”

“I did, and now I’m back. Well, for a little while at least. But I found what I needed, and now I’m here to get you.”

“You’re really good at finding things,” he says.

I can’t help the small laugh that comes out. “Well, that’s a compliment I’ll take. But first, let’s get out of here before the rotters come back.”

Josh looks past me and glances around the room at the open door I came through. “Where did they all go?”

“My friends drew them away, but that won’t last. There are too many of them, and we need to hurry.”

We almost make it to the front door when the air outside pulses with the unmistakable sound of chaos. The normal sound of rotters shuffling away changes into something else. Something larger. Something more.

Things crash, stuff breaks, and shrieks rise.

There are too many of them. They’re everywhere.

Outside, the once silent street has devolved into a battlefield. I need to help, but I need to keep Josh safe, too. Remembering our escape from the dreg hideout, I search along the outside of the building and have to hold in a relieved cry when I spot the ladder. I usher him toward it. “Climb this, and I’ll come back for you.”

“You’re leaving me?”

“Not for long. Remember my friends who came with me to help you?” When he nods, I continue. “Well, now I need to help them.”

I shift my body to keep him from seeing the scene in front of us. He’s going to see it anyway when he gets onto the roof, but at least by then he’ll be out of danger, even if my guys and I don’t make it out.