Flesh 01 (27 page)

Ali wedged her foot into the space and reached for the moon. She was stuck stretched between the window and the forklift. Mike, the tenacious bastard, yanked on her boot, stil sitting atop the machine.

Mike moaned, a noise that wound down to a death rattle. It sounded like someone had squeezed the air out of him, accordion-style.

The poor guy was probably frustrated over watching his meal get away. Another infected stumbled around the corner, drawn by fuck knew what instinct.

God help her. Panic reduced her to an implausible leap of faith.

Ali pushed off with her toes, dislodging Mike’s claw, and put her weight on the leg stuck akimbo in the window. She clutched at the gutter and dragged her sorry self up. Her arms felt like fire, no, like lead. It took forever. Her ribs scraped on the gutter and her fingers tingled, thick and numb.

She didn’t fall a story to the street below and become a broken-boned meal for the horde. Fucking up wasn’t an option because she was getting home. Yes, she was.

The aluminum roof blistered her hands and cheek. It was a piss poor welcome to safety.

Ali rolled onto her back, folding her arms over her body, trying to keep her exposed limbs off the scorching metal. The hot pain through her t-shirt was the final insult.

She lay there and cried from relief and horror both as the sunset faded and the infected gathered below.

“What do you mean she’s missing?”

Santa blanched, held up his chubby mitts in a placating gesture. “Now then, son, calm down. She’s a smart girl.”

“I. Want. Facts.” Finn clamped his teeth shut, his stomach ready to spill. People milled about amongst the pick-ups piled high with the day’s takings. He ignored the audience and the pounding of footsteps behind him. “Explain to me how she was the only one who got left behind.”

“What’s going on?” Dan demanded, landing a heavy hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Finn?”

“They lost her. They fucking lost her.”

The big man’s mouth opened then closed. “What? Andy said she took the first truck back.”

“No. Where is she, Dan?”

“Finn, I swear, I thought she was already home. I was going to give her a serve for leaving without me.”

Erin stepped forward. “Andy came back in one of the other trucks. We don’t know where he is now. He told me the same thing.”

“You left her there.” Finn grabbed Dan’s arm, ignoring the tremble in his fingers. “How the fuck could you leave her there, Dan?”

“I … I thought …”

“You were supposed to watch her!” Finn raised his fist. Dan didn’t even flinch. Just stood there, patiently waiting to take what was coming. He didn’t even say anything. Just looked completely gutted. Soul destroyed. His gaze vacant and the color gone from his face.

Finn knew how he felt.

“We need to go get her,” Finn said, letting his fist drop. He couldn’t do it.

“I’m in,” Erin said. No hesitation.

“Calm down, people.” Santa’s bushy brows clumped. “It’s nearly dark. You cannot—”

“Like hell I can’t,” Finn snarled. Dan’s fingers dug into his shoulders, holding him back. “She is not staying out there alone. Move that truck now!”

“Son …” Santa started up again.

Finn literally felt himself snap, heard the noise like a crack in his skull. He lunged at the prick.

“Finn! Shit.” Dan’s arm grabbed around Finn’s waist, dragged him back. “Calm down. This is not helping. You wanna hit someone, hit me.”

Finn snarled, pissed off beyond belief. But he let Dan pull him back.

“It’s nearly dark,” Dan said. “We can’t do a damn thing by going back out there now but get her into more trouble.”

“Explain,” Finn demanded, his heart racing.

“Ali knows how to hide. She’s real y good at it,” said Daniel. “We go out there now, we’ll put her in danger. She’ll try to come to us.”

“I want her back.”

“I know.” Dan’s arms wrapped around him. The man was the only thing stopping him from hitting the ground. “I know. And I’m so fucking sorry, but we’ve gotta be smart about it.”

His mind raced, and his heart sank, so far down it was through the ground. The thought of leaving her out there was abhorrent.

“Fucking hell,” muttered Finn.

Dan nodded in perfect understanding, eyes glassy. “Yeah.”

It was oddly peaceful on the roof. There was nothing to be done until dawn and infected didn’t climb. They lacked the coordination, the muscle strength, who knew. She was safe for now and resolved to take it easy.

It was hard to block out all the moaning going on downstairs. At least she was out in the open air, not caught in a dust-ridden attic.

And she was safe enough for the night. There were two positives.

She counted stars to pass the time and keep her mind off her bladder, tested her memory for song lyrics. Hoping she didn’t hear any vehicles, hoping they wouldn’t try to come out at night, hoping they were safe.

The lights of Blackstone shone like a beacon in the darkness. No wonder they were attracting zombies to the wal s. It seemed a long way away. Then, another light came to life near the settlement. That was odd. She squinted, peering out into the dark.

One lone light outside of town. It was there, then gone. Poof! Like she had imagined it. No one went beyond the town wal s at night.

Better not be Finn or Dan out there, trying to get to her. God, she hoped it wasn’t them. Please.

There’d been a lot of angry words lately between all three of them. When she got back she’d fix that. Whatever was brewing between Dan and Finn would be dealt with. She loved them both too much to lose them. The pissy silences between her and Finn needed addressing, too.

She swallowed, trying to conjure up some moisture in her mouth. No water bottle; it was downstairs somewhere. What a mess.

But she was stil alive and breathing, still uninfected and still getting home. She watched the light and ran the opening lines to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” through her head. Over and over. Her memory for lyrics was shit.

A menacing growl shut down the disco. Snapping and snarling rose up out of the dark. Scratching and scraping. Her skin prickled.

She wanted to huddle against the cooling tin roof.

The moaning escalated to counteract the competition. The zombies sounded agitated, afraid.

She lay like the dead, staring into the heavens, her focus entirely on what played out below. The noises reached new heights and the battle began. The sound of breaking bones and tearing flesh came to her, noises unique and horrible, indelible.

Something was enjoying the infected she had drawn. Safe to say Mike was done. Poor Mike. Poor everyone.

There were several somethings sniffing the air, followed by whining and howling. Dogs. What would the infection do to dogs? More importantly, dogs couldn’t climb buildings, no matter what their diet entailed. She was safe for now.

Ever so quietly, she rolled onto her belly, crawled to the side of the building and peered over the edge, not daring to breathe.

Several sets of gleaming red eyes stared back at her from below.

Finn squinted into the rising sun, bracing himself against the side of the tray as they drove out of Blackstone.

For a moment he had a funny sensation, racing past the remains of the town. The hairs on the back of his neck vaulted. It felt a lot like someone had him in their crosshairs.

He scanned the lines of dul weatherboard houses and overgrown gardens, but there were no signs of life. Nothing.

He shook it off, got back to the gnawing anxiety over Al.

Dan sat beside him, face lined with guilt. That wasn’t right. They both loved her, and both did their best. There’d been a lot of tension lately, but that was the truth of it. No one had been expecting an attack from within. Blackstone had seemed a haven up until now. The big guy’s face showed the strain of the past twelve hours, dark stubble lining his jaw and heavy shadows beneath his eyes. Finn knew the feeling.

Patience was non-existent, and frustration rode him hard.

Dan caught him looking and gave a tight nod. “Not far now.”

He nodded back, hoped it was reassuring.

Two of the other men sat further down the bed of the truck with guns in their laps, gazing at anything but him and Dan. No doubt skeptical they would find her in one piece. Idiots. She would be fine.

Dan sighed, staring off into the red dust clouds trailing behind them. “Andy’s a dead man.”

They’d spent the night searching for the little prick. He had been the one who told Dan that Ali had left in the first truck. He had also been the one who came across Lindsay’s body. What would have happened if they found him? He didn’t know. And there was the line in the sand. The moral quandary Finn could see himself stepping over. But he gave the same answer he had all night. “No. We can’t go there.”

“Sure we can.” Muscles jumped in the big guy’s jaw. “I have no problem with having his blood on my hands.”

All too believable.

Andy’s disappearance left a lot of unanswered questions. Unfortunately, he could hide, even in a small space like Blackstone.

Especially since they were newcomers, and Andy was the hometown boy. If he had crossed the wall then the chances of locating him were none. The last thing Al needed was Dan going out into the wilderness, guns blazing. They needed to stick together, all three of them. That would be the new rule, if he had to cuff himself to her to make it happen.

“She’s alive.” Finn had to be over the century mark on churning out the statement. Those words were as hollow as they had been each and every time.

Another nod from the man.

In between searching for Andy and worrying about Al, Finn had done a lot of thinking. Not just about the jealousy between them all lately, but also about Lindsay’s death. Turning over everything he had seen since arriving in town. Second guessing everything because nothing made sense, at least not to him.

“There were extra marks on Lindsay’s neck. Might have been fingerprints. But I’m no expert. I have no proof.” Finn rubbed his hand over the stubble on his jaw. “Why would someone want to kil her?”

Dan stared back at him. “Why would someone want to set up our girl?”

“I don’t know. But quit saying it was your fault.”

Dan said nothing.

Miles and miles of bushland passed them by.

Eventually, a neat line of houses surrounded by hip-high grass and weeds announced the beginning of another town. Erin dropped the speed to negotiate the typical assortment of cars and debris.

Everything was still. The town permanently asleep, already neglected. It wouldn’t be long till it verged on ruin.

She did not end here. She could not be dead.

Houses gave way to a line of shops. Lots of busted glass and dark patches on cement walkways. It was the same story everywhere, death and destruction.

And suddenly he was tired and cold. He realized if she was dead, then he wasn’t certain he wanted to live. He wouldn’t leave Dan on his own, but stil . Fear of commitment had nothing on this. She had ruined him for anyone else. Her prickles and quirks were as potent as her soft touches and tender ways.

She could get all fired up, but he could talk her down, get her under him, get inside her.

“Pony up,” murmured the big man.

There were no signs of a fresh kill nearby; the street was clear. The pick-up pulled up outside a typical country hardware store. The building had probably stood for eighty-odd years. They jumped down off the truck to the clicks of weapons being loaded. The others mil ed about, waiting on him and Dan to make the first move. And Dan did move.

Straight up the sidewalk, long legs striding into the cavern of the store. Finn followed, his blood thick with fear. The place looked wel -raided, rubbish strewn about.

“We’ll head downstairs.” One of the other two guys produced a flashlight and off they went.

Where was she?

“Yel ing isn’t smart,” Santa rumbled. Far too close.

He gave the guy the evil eye but it was true, he wanted to let loose, bring the hick town down around their ears, shouting her name.

Erin headed toward the back door and the street. Santa fel in behind her without further comment.

“I’m going to check out back,” said Finn.

“Yep.” Dan turned on his heel, stalked out the front door.

A noise on the roof had Finn's eyes and ears up. It was a scraping sound, followed by the creak of wooden beams. It wasn’t just the normal stretch and strain of an old building. Something was up there.

“Dan!”

Finn bolted for the side exit, throwing the door open so hard it slammed back against the interior wall. Who cared about noise now?

“Al?” He searched the skyline and the gutter framing the building. “Al, you there?”

The door slammed open once more and Dan joined him on the strip of weeds. “Where? Where is she?”

“Heard something on the roof.”

“The roof?” The big man grinned like someone had flicked all his best switches at once. “She loves roofs and attics. How do we get up there?”

Dan hoofed it down the side of the building with Finn following tight. He nearly ran into the man’s back when he suddenly halted.

“No, no, no.”

Blood and gore splattered the rear parking lot. It was far too familiar a scene. Flies lay thick on the ground. The place stank.

Finn’s words petered out as they both stood and stared. Something nastier replaced the fear and worry that had dogged him through the night. “What do we do if she’s been bitten?”

Daniel gave him a glacial look, his face like a stranger’s. “Then we’re too late. She would have already … she’d have … you know, if she could.”

Finn nodded, the warmth of the morning sun leaching straight out of him. Because yes, she would have killed herself rather than turn.

The building beside him made the same creaking, groaning noise. There she was, climbing down in slow motion. One foot was wedged into a broken window while the other gamely searched out the platform provided by the forklift below.

His lungs swel ed in his chest like his ribs couldn’t hold them. She was alive.