Page 9 of When the Living Fall

William whistles low behind me, and Max mutters something about Debbie, but I don’t break my stare from the man. Emily was here. I need to know what happened to her. If he did something…

“Where’s Emily?” I demand, getting to my feet.

The man swipes his wrinkled hand across his face to dry his eyes. “I don’t know any Emily. My wife is the one who needs help.”

Max lets out a low chuckle. “Buddy, you’re the one who needs help, and none of us are qualified to give it.”

“Max, shut it,” I snap at him, then turn back to the man. “Look, I don’t care what twisted arrangement you’ve got going on here.” The rotter in the bed groans, its chains rattling as it struggles against them. At least the fool had enough sense to restrain her. I’m surprised she hasn’t bitten him yet. “All I want to know is if you’ve seen a woman. Mid-twenties, brown hair, dog by her side.”

He glances at the bed, the barest flicker of annoyancecrossing his face. “A woman came through earlier, had a dog with her. She planned to stay the night, but Mae gave her a scare when all she wanted was a midnight snack. Instead, she ran away and nearly set my cabin on fire.” He sneers at the memory. “Your girl seemed fine. She has that protective dog with her.” He grumbles out the last part.

“Emily, that’s Emily.” William shoves me aside. I catch myself when I stumble and then watch him while he runs out of the room. I’m too surprised by his departure to think of following him.

He’s always been the most rational one, never acting on blind instinct like this. But right now, his hair is a mess, and his eyes are wild and desperate. The man has snapped. It’s as though every cell in his body has been altered. He wants to find her as badly as I do.

Emily, what have you done to us?

7

EMILY

By the time I notice my stomach growling, it’s already raining. Fat, heavy drops patter around us, transforming the forest floor into a slippery surface. Buddy’s steps slow alongside mine. We won’t make it much farther without food and water. I could push it on my own, but I’ll be damned if I push Buddy like that.

Ahead, a large tree stretches wide, its branches thick, creating a natural canopy against the rain. When I head for it, I catch movement from the corner of my eye. A rotter, clawing its way across the ground. I veer right and jam my knife into its skull with a firm twist until its body goes limp, then I hurry with Buddy toward the tree and settle beneath the overarching branches.

I slide down against the rough trunk, letting out a sound of anguished exhaustion. Buddy sniffs me with concern, pressing his wet nose against my palm, and I scratch behind his ear. “I’m okay, boy. Just needed a breather. Let’s rest for a moment.”

Setting my pack on the ground in front of me, I dig through it, producing two bottles of water and a couple of snacks. Buddy’s nose is already in my pack, sniffing eagerlyand making me laugh. He paws at the beef jerky packet before pulling it out with his teeth.

“Here, let me help you with that,” I laugh, taking the package from him and opening it. I lay a few pieces in front of him, which he devours in seconds, his tail thumping against the damp ground. It’s not a feast, but it’s something. Not quite the stash I wish I’d grabbed before leaving, but we’ll make it work. We’ve survived worse since the dead rose. A minor complication with the living won’t stop us now.

“We’ll figure it out, Buddy.” I wrap an arm around his neck and bury my face in his dirty, damp fur, pressing a kiss to his head.

Buddy tilts his head and nudges against me in his own version of a hug. He’s the sweetest boy. I pull back, pressing a kiss to his head, then take a much-needed drink of water, downing half the bottle before forcing myself to stop. Guess I needed this break more than I realized.

I place the water bottle on the ground away from me so it can catch some of the rain and lean back against the tree. The splintered bark digs into my shoulders, but to my exhausted body, it’s as good as a pillow. My eyes grow heavy, letting the rain’s steady rhythm wash away the tension in my muscles. It’s been a long journey. Not only tonight, but every step leading up to now. Ever since I promised Zoey the next time she saw me, it would be with a bag full of meds for her.

My eyes drift closed, and before I know it, the darkness pulls me under.

My town is before me as I walk up the road with the bag full of insulin. I push myself forward. I’m so close. Smoke rises on the horizon, thick and dark, curling into the sky while flames devour rooftops. Shouts and cries pierce the air, the sounds of my town in chaos. Every step I take seems to drag me farther away, the asphalt beneath my feet stretching into oblivion.

This isn’t happening again. It can’t be. It’s my worst fear: another invasion that I’ve somehow caused. I sprint forward, trying to close the distance as the flames leap higher, a crimson hell swallowing the life I’d fought to protect?—

Buddy jerks out of my grip, wrenching me from the nightmare. A moan filters in through the rain-filled air. I’m on my feet in a flash, tossing my meager belongings into my bag and flinging it onto my back before brandishing a knife, my senses blaring. Only the rain and Buddy’s low growls break the silence as he stands rigid in front of me, hackles raised. I look around for the threat.

A rotter stumbles out from around a bush, a small branch catching on its ratted old shirt. Its cloudy eyes remain fixed on us while it reaches its broken fingers out, trying to grasp us through the air. I lower my knife and watch it struggle with pity.

It’s sad what this does to people. In an instant, they transform from normal people with normal apocalyptic lives into the most dangerous creatures on Earth, felled by something as small as a twig.

Buddy lunges, teeth flashing through the air before sinking into the rotted flesh and tearing at it with his claws. His growl is a fierce rumble as he tears into it. I’m about to leap forward to help, but something slams into me from behind, shoving me to the ground.

The world tilts, a ringing filling my ears as the wet ground rushes up to meet my face. Icy rain pelts my skin through openings in the treetop canopy, and pebbles bite into my cheek as a rotter’s weight presses down on my back, pinning me in place.

I struggle, trying to shift my weight, but it traps my arm between us. Its teeth snap dangerously close. The rotten stench of decay fills my nose. I twist, fighting to free my hand, every muscle straining as I feel the rotter’s breath onmy neck. Bile rises in my throat at the stench. If its teeth don’t kill me, its breath surely will.

Images of Griffin, Max, and William flash in my mind. The way they looked at me, their eyes cold and filled with doubt, swallowing Nathan’s lies whole. Nathan ruining our lives yet again with a smirk, telling them twisted truths they gulp down like candy.

Fury surges through me, tightening every muscle in my body. I buck beneath the rotter and almost fling it off me, but it holds on. Then, with a scream, raw and unrestrained, I roll over, driving my knife down through its skull, my mouth wide open, my scream catching the raindrops.

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