Part 6 (1/2)

But in the moonlight peeking through the window, Riley knew Bob wasn't really here.

His intestines had been cut out of his body and left in a b.l.o.o.d.y sack on his lap. One of his eyes had been punctured. It looked like his throat had been cut, but Riley couldn't be too certain.

The hairs on Riley's arms stood on end. He took a step back. He had to leave this place. He had to get out. He had to- Then he felt something press against his back and felt the breathing on the back of his neck.

His body went cold. Cold with the realisation of who it was, and of what'd happened.

”He was delicious,” Kane said. ”But he was just the starter. And now it's time for my main course.”

Riley swung around, trying to struggle free of Kane.

But Kane smacked him over the head with something heavy.

Riley fell to the floor.

Darkness closed in.

Chapter Seven.

”You have to get your revenge, Riley...”

Riley heard the voice. Jordanna's, Chlo's, even Anna's, he wasn't certain. But this time, he didn't linger in unconsciousness. He didn't stay submerged in the blackness that had surrounded him last time.

This time, he opened his eyes.

It was still dark, sure. But not the kind of darkness he saw in his dreams. It looked like sunrise was approaching, the sky turning that weird shade of blue that Riley had seen one too many times since the fall of the world-and he saw it enough times before the dead walked, in all truth. He was outside, in the woods. He was sitting upright against a tree. His head ached, and he could taste blood on his lips. He tried to move his hands, but they were in cuffs.

What had happened?

What had...

He saw the silhouette in the corner of his eye.

It was walking towards him. No; hobbling towards him. He heard the groan. Smelled the stench of death.

He struggled against the cuffs. Tried to break free.

He had to get out of them.

He had to get out of this situation.

He had to- He remembered it, then.

Finding Bob's body, brutalised and mutilated.

Then hearing Kane's voice.

And then a smack over his head, now... this.

He drifted back to the present moment. He felt the creature's hand dig right into his shoulder. Its nails were sharp, as were its bones.

It gripped down and groaned as it leaned in to take a bite- Then Riley felt blood splatter across his face.

Someone had pressed a knife through the creature's skull.

When the creature fell to the ground, the person behind it grabbed that knife and pulled it away. Riley realised then that it was his knife.

”Does a decent job. Not my preferred murder weapon, though. Oh. Rise and s.h.i.+ne, by the way. Fancy some porridge?”

Riley leaned back against the tree. Kane stood over him, holding on to Riley's knife. In a sense, Riley always expected it to come to this, somehow. He wasn't sure how this moment was going to be reached. He didn't know how it was all going to play out or how the chess pieces were going to fall just in the right place to create the circ.u.mstances where this chance showdown became possible.

But here it was.

And here Riley was, cuffs around his hands, Kane standing over him like so many people had stood over Kane.

”How's it feel now the boot's on the other foot?” Kane asked. ”It must be hard.”

”Kane, stop this bulls.h.i.+t.”

”See, this is what I don't like about your att.i.tude. You're so cavalier about what I want. What I desire.”

”Because you're a f.u.c.king nut.”

Kane laughed. ”You know, you've seen what I can do. You've seen what I'm capable of. And still you don't take me seriously.”

”You had an opportunity to kill me,” Riley said. ”Back when you found me at the camp. You had an opportunity, but I told you to go after Kesha and make sure she was safe.”

”That was before you decided to slice away half of my hand.”

”You deserved it.”

”I probably did.”

The pair of them were quiet for a few seconds. Kane was still. Riley didn't have any desire to know Kane, not really. He had no longing to understand him.

But there was curiosity. How he'd ended up this way. What drove him to do the things he did.

”You know, while you had me as your prisoner, I thought about this moment a lot of times. It always played out in different ways, but it always ended in the exact same way.”

”Let me guess. Me being butchered.”

Kane smiled. ”Something like that. Sometimes you flee. Sometimes you struggle. Sometimes you take it like a man. But it always ends in the same, inevitable way. But of course, there's something I have to do first, before I kill you. I have to stay true to my word of taking everything from you. And you know what that means. Who that means.”