Page 126 of Monsters within Men
“How did you get the zip tie off?”
“A broken bottle.” He sounded miserable. “I tried to cut myself on it. Managed to nick my wrist a bit. But the blood… Turns out I can’t even kill myself properly.”
Frankie sighed. “Jesus, what is up with this Romeo and Juliet shit today? Get the fuck down here.”
“No!” Vitt snapped. “Don’t be stupid, Frankie.”
“She’s right. You need to leave, or even better, shoot me so this can be over with.”
Frankie dragged them both a few feet from the tree, lowering her voice. “Vitt, there’s no way he wouldn’t have turned by now.”
“People have turned far later than three hours.”
“In an extremely small handful of cases, yes, but each of those started showing symptoms within the usual thirty minutes. He had enough co-ordination to free himself on glass and climb a tree for fuck’s sake.”
Noah fell to the ground, taking deep breaths to steady his beating heart. This was almost worse than finding him dead, because there was no way he was about to get this lucky. Not when the world took every opportunity to shit on him.
“I’m going up there to look at him,” he said.
“Like hell you are,” spat Vitt, but he was already on his feet, gritting his teeth against the pain as he staggered towards the tree. Vitt tried to pull him back, but he pushed her away.
“Be careful,” Frankie might have said, but he wasn’t paying attention to them now. It was taking every ounce of his energy to manoeuvrer his frozen fingers on the icy branches.
“Don’t!” called down Zeke.
He ignored him too, using the biceps he’d trained for over twelve years and his one good leg to find purchase on icy bough after icy bough until Zeke’s murky shape became clear, nestled in the nook of two sturdy branches, his head between his knees.
Noah shuffled over to him, legs dangling over a large limb, a handful of feet away now.
“Zeke,” he said. “Look at me.”
Zeke didn’t move.
“If you don’t lift your head up, I’ll come closer. Let me see you and I’ll stay here.”
Zeke heaved a sigh, unburying his head to meet Noah’s gaze.
Noah wasn’t usually a liar, but this wasn’t a usual situation.
At the sight of his broken, scared expression, Noah pulled off his helmet, let himself slide all the way down into Zeke’s shivering body, and scooped him up into his arms as best the tree would allow. Zeke shook as he wrapped his own arms around Noah, pressing his face into his neck.
“I love you,” Noah whispered. “I love you, I love you, I love you so damned much. Sorry I didn’t say it before.”
Zeke’s body melted into his and hands entangled themselves in Noah’s hair as Noah cupped his face, pulling him up to see his eyes.
“I love you too,” Zeke replied. “That’s why you need to go now.”
“Let me see your neck.”
Zeke pulled back, and he angled the torchlight towards him. Noah’s stomach sank. His hands trembled, shaking the light. Because as much as he’d wanted to be mistaken, there was no denying the line of angry teeth marks clearly adorning Zeke’s neck. Bloody, swollen indents that stretched out for ten centimetres below his ear. He ran his gloved fingers over the thick ridges, brushing away the dusting of dried blood.
“How did you even get away from them?”
“Two of the other dogs found us. They took them down, but then ran off.”
Noah swallowed. He pressed their foreheads together, and took Zeke’s frigid hand, raised it to his lips and kissed it.
“Noah…”
