Page 1 of All Your Days
Prologue - Eli
The Year 2091
“Oi! Kid! Whaddya doin’up there?”
The voice cuts through the silence, making me jump. Worse, it makes the burning hot metal beneath me jump, too. Usually, I’d argue about being called a kid—after all, thirteen ishardlya kid—but I have bigger things to deal with right now.
Like not dying.
“Stay back!” I yell down to the intruder, not able to help the tremor in my voice. It makes me sound like the kid I was just accused of being. It makes me sound weak.Scared. But the truth is, Iamscared. Terrified, actually.
All I wanted to do was climb to the top of the old lookout tower to see if the merchies were nearly here. And maybe take a leak from the top. But the rusted ladder finally gave in—something we’ve all been warned about—sending me plummeting to the pile of discarded junk at the tower's base.
I got lucky I wasn’t far up before I fell. But I landed in a net of chicken wire and scrap metal—I think there is even an old car or two under here. It’s all caught on my clothes like a bunch of tiny hands keeping me trapped. I’ve tried to get myself free, butall I’ve managed to do is rattle the pile of rubbish and get myself torn up on the spokes.
Even worse, my crash landing pissed off the things living in the pile.
Like the snake.
Most snakes, even thereallydeadly ones like this taipan, won’t go after you unless you really piss them off. This snake is infected, or really,reallypissed. The only thing saving my skin is that the snake is caught, too. Caught on theotherside of the pile, that is.
And thank God for that. I just wish it were further away. It’s a big one, fully grown I reckon, a good couple of metres, but most of it’s trapped in the pile, meaning it can’t close the couple extra metres to get me. It’s not moving like any snake I’ve seen before, wiggling in weird jerking movements. The thing keeps lunging at me like it’s gonna take a big chunk outta me. It doesn’t even care that it’s trapped in the wire and its skin is getting shredded into little bits.
My breathing is fast, too fast to think. I try—really try—to get a hold of myself and the fear screaming in my head, so I can figure out a way to get off the pile, but I can’t seem to get my brain or my body to work.
Moby is going to kill me, I think, swallowing down a yelp when the snake pulls itself back and lunges once again. Blood trickles from where the metal sticks into the smooth brown scales of the snake's belly, making my guts turn.
The sun is roasting my skin while the metal is burning my arse through my pants. Tears run down my cheeks, but I don’t bother to wipe them away. There is no way I am taking my eyes off that snake.
There’s another loud creak of rusted metal. The pile moves again and this time, I can’t swallow my fear. I scream. Loud. Because the pile keeps moving. The idiot down on the groundisn't down there anymore. Their climb disrupts the pile, rocking it violently. The dings and crashes of metal falling make my heart thump harder and I’m sure that it’s gonna be the end of me.
The snake knows I’m done for, too, but it still wants a piece of me. It pulls and pulls against the metal pinning it down, desperate to come and get me.
Is it closer?It definitely seems closer. Pain means nothing to the infected, not when they are completely taken over with the virus like the snake obviously is. It damages their brain, drives them mad with bloodlust and violence, the need to feed on flesh.
As if snakes aren’t fucked enough.
With one final lunge, the snake gets itself free. The force sends it flying across the scrap heap. Straight forme.
There isn’t even time to scream. I just screw my eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable sting of the bite.
But the bite never comes.
Strong fingers latch onto my shoulder, and suddenly, I’m the one flying.
Falling.
Again.
The wind rushes painfully out of my body when I land. My crash fall may be padded, but it doesn’t stop the rattling in my brain.
I blink against the cloud of red dirt that puffs up around me—aroundus—and try to think.
I was just upthereand now I’m downhere.
“Get the fuck off me! You’re crushing my nads!”
A hand shoves at my side, winding me again. I scramble off the body, rushing to my feet, even though my entire body is killing me. It’s going to be one hell of an embarrassing trip to medical to get the scratches covering my body looked at. Fucking great.
