Part 29 (1/2)

”Hey, hey,” the man-Cameron or Calvin-said. ”You want to leave that for a while. It took us hours of work to get the bullet shrapnel out of it and st.i.tch it up. Unfortunately you... your eye didn't make it. I'm sorry. And there's still risk of infection. But you're here. You're still here.”

She didn't know how to take that news. Mixed emotions, really. It was shock, more than anything. ”How... how long have...”

”Six days,” he said. ”You've been awake, on and off, but I don't think you'll have much memory. That's something else. Your memory. It might be affected for a while. A kind of reaction to the trauma. The brain's a wonderful thing. Finds these amazing ways of protecting us from some of the hard c.r.a.p we've been through.”

”The others,” she said. ”The-the rest of the people here. Are they...”

Cameron or Calvin looked down then, visibly gulping. ”Not many of us left.”

”And my-”

”None of your people left. I'm sorry.”

She felt her stomach turn, then. She'd been with her people since the very start. The thought that she was going to be made to restart all over again churned her up inside.

”We don't know for sure who's dead and who isn't, except the ones whose bodies are out there. Or the ones who turned, you know? Some might've fled. s.h.i.+t, the wise ones probably did. But I'm sorry. This is just... this is just how it is now. At least you're still here. At least we both are.”

She closed her eyes-or eye-and felt the burning pain spread through her body. Even though she'd been asleep for so long, she still felt tired. Totally exhausted.

Cameron or Calvin walked over to her. He put a hand on her shoulder. ”You rest up,” he said. ”Take your time. We're not moving anywhere. This is what we're left with now.”

He walked out of the room and left her alone again.

Alone with her thoughts.

Alone with her loss.

She reached for the necklace on her neck, out of habit more than anything.

When she found it wasn't there, she cried.

Chapter One.

Riley stared at the swarm of undead powering its way inside Mattius' camp and he knew their day was probably numbered.

The afternoon sun was getting low, further illuminating this oncoming crowd. As far as Riley could see, there was a wave of creatures. He knew the safest thing was probably to batten down the hatches and hold down this hotel right now, taking shelter inside. But that wasn't as easy done as it was said.

Because behind, Riley could smell the burning, and he could feel the heat from the fire growing more intense.

”Right now would be a good time for any grand ideas anyone might have,” Melissa said.

Riley listened to the deafening groans of the creatures as they swarmed towards the camp, a whole sea of them. And something made him wonder. He remembered what happened when Tamara-bless her-had been pregnant. The kindness the Orions had shown to her, all because she was pregnant.

Then he remembered something Chlo said to him a long, long time ago.

How the Orions had let Kesha live.

What if there was something in Kesha's bloodstream-the cure, or whatever it was-that was drawing the creatures to their position like the holy grail?

What if Kesha really was the key to everything?

He turned around then, taking a deep lungful of air. He knew he wouldn't get many chances to do that, not now the smoke was thickening. He looked back at the door, at the flames wrapped around it. There was no going through there, not now. That opportunity was gone.

”Check the bathroom,” Riley said, pointing over to the right. ”Check every single window. There has to be another way out.”

He saw the uncertainty on Amy, Melissa and Carly's faces. He saw they doubted his judgement, just like they'd doubted him back at Amy's camp when he'd been gunning for revenge against Mattius.

Things had changed.

This was about getting out of here with everyone's life intact.

This was about saving Kesha.

He pointed to the bathroom. ”Everyone. In the bathroom. Now!”

He saw the three of them head over to the bathroom and he found himself looking back again. He saw himself looking at those creatures, moving in waves.

A whole army of them. He wondered how long they'd taken to grow so large. He wondered how many of them there really were, and where they'd all come from.

One thing was for sure. They didn't have the strength or the means to fight them.

They just had to make sure they didn't die.

”I think there might be a way here.”

When Riley heard Carly's voice, he immediately joined them in the bathroom. It was cramped, and the smoke was thickening in the room. It'd be a matter of minutes before the entire room was engulfed.

He looked back and he saw Kesha's cot, the flames inching closer to it.

”I'll get you back,” he said. ”I promise.”

Then he closed the bathroom door.

Carly was standing on the toilet. She was struggling to wrench open a window. Beyond the window, there was nothing but darkness.

”Must be one of those creepy areas between rooms,” Melissa said. ”There should be staircases. Emergency exit kind of things.”

”Yeah, well there better be stairs,” Carly said, ”or we've got a long way to drop.”

Riley tried to climb onto the toilet for a better look. He could feel the bathroom getting warmer, some of the smoke sneaking under the door in spite of the towels Amy had placed there. ”Need a hand?” he asked Carly.

”I've got it.”