Page 5 of When the Living Fall

Nathan’s betrayal broke me, but this—this is worse. My hatred for my brother is almost nonexistent compared to this. Rage knots in my chest.

My fingers rake through my hair, tugging on the long strands. I don’t even feel the pain in my scalp that’s supposed to cause.

She left. But we forced her to.

She’s gone. Because we doubted her.

She’s missing. Because we trusted a lying, betraying scumbag over the ferocious sweetness of her. Emily. Pet.

She left.

But I wish I went with her.

Instead, I’m left abandoned in the dark.

Like last time.

Like last time.

Like last time.

The crunch of fallen leaves. The scraping shuffle of feet across the dirt. The strained gurgle of a rotter. I spin around, swinging Debbie with everything I’ve got in my blind rage.

The rotter flies backward, crashing onto the hard ground. I don’t stop. I keep smashing its head, again and again, until the head turns to mush, and I almost wish it was my own.

Breathing, I drop to my knees, the weight of it all finally crashing down. Images flood my mind—every mistake, every failure replayed in rapid-fire flashes. A hollow cry rips from my throat, raw and aching, filling the muted darkness around me.

I can’t keep doing this, fighting against the chaos in my head. I need answers. The only way to get those is to find her. I need her to calm the storm.

5

EMILY

Buddy and I dart through the trees, his paws pounding beside me as we dodge the rotters scattered through the woods. There are too many of them to risk slowing down, so we keep running, weaving through the brush, my heart racing as we press forward. I stumble over an upraised root, crashing into the dirt, my palm slamming against a rock when I land, and I let out a cry of pain.

It’s fine, though. I’m fine. We’re going to be fine.

A rotter lunges for me, its mouth open. Rolling over onto my back, I plunge my knife into its skull, freezing its face forever into a grimace. Shoving the body aside, I feel Buddy’s teeth latch onto my jacket and tug until I scramble to my feet. We keep moving, sprinting, dodging, hoping we’re heading in the right direction.

I don’t know how long we can keep this up for. I could eventually climb a tree and wait it out, but Buddy can’t. We need to find somewhere safe to rest, and soon.

At least Buddy looks like he can keep going for ages. All I have to do is keep up with him. No problem.

Up ahead, a small structure breaks through the line oftrees—a cabin concealed in the overgrowth. “Woah, boy. Over here.”

I turn off our path and make a beeline for the little cabin in the woods. Relief floods through me when I find the door unlocked. Maybe luck is on our side tonight after all.

The door creaks when I ease it open, and we slip inside, shutting it softly behind us. For once, silence greets me. No moaning, no groaning of the dead. Nothing pushing against the door trying to get to us. Pressing my back against the door, I finally let myself breathe. It’s been nonstop since I left the guys in the dust, and now, for the first time, I can rest.

My body aches, and my calves are on fire. My palm hurts from slamming it against a rock, and I’m pretty sure I have shards of glass in my skin. These are things I’ll have to wait to worry about until we reach the colony.

With my back still against the door, I slide to the floor, pulling Buddy close and burying my face in his fur. The solid feel of the ground beneath me, even this old concrete floor, is fantastic. I forgot how amazing the simple act of sitting could be. A concrete floor has never felt so soft.

Leaning back, I let my eyes drift closed. Outside, the night settles back into muted silence, save for the faint crackle of a nearby fire. It’s dead quiet. I chuckle at the thought. Dead quiet. I think we’ve lost the rotters. We can stay here for the last few hours of the night, rest up, and start fresh in the morning.

“Get some sleep, Buddy,” I murmur, reaching down to ruffle his ears. “We’ve got a long day ahead of us.” My voice slurs when my head drops downward and I can’t keep my eyes open, exhaustion seeping into every bone. “Only need a few minutes…”

I’m drifting off to sleep when Buddy tenses beside me and a voice cuts through the silence. “You’re alive.”

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