Part 31 (1/2)
”You know what your problem is?”
”Enlighten me, please. You're going to anyway, so you might as well.”
”You're too caught up in the past.”
”Oh, am I, now?”
”Yes. You're so caught up in whatever s.h.i.+t happened to you that you're not looking around at the present. And it's going to get you killed.”
Ricky smiled. ”Is that s-”
He heard the groan right behind him.
He felt a flicker of fear, just for a moment.
But that flicker was extinguished seconds later as the woman rammed her axe through the head of the zombie that, up until a millisecond ago, Ricky hadn't even realised was there.
She pulled the axe out of its head. Then she wiped the blood onto Ricky's coat.
”Hey. This is my favourite coat.”
She looked up at him, smarmy smile on her face. ”That's what I was telling you. About being so focused on the past that you don't see the present. Now come on. It's just up ahead.”
They walked further. Ricky didn't know where this woman was taking him, in truth. She claimed it was a shelter she'd found, and one which would be good enough to support themselves for a short while, at least until the ma.s.sive wave of zombies had definitely moved on.
At least they were out of sight now. They seemed more focused on Mattius' camp, for whatever reason. Ricky's old home.
”We're here,” the woman said.
Ricky squinted. He could see trees, he could see gra.s.s, but he couldn't see a cabin. ”Where...”
The woman stomped. As she did, Ricky heard the sound of solid metal echoing. She pointed down.
When Ricky looked down, he saw a hatch.
”You've no idea how much the Lost nerd inside me is freaking out right now,” he said.
The woman smiled again, then held out a hand, gesturing him to continue. ”After you.”
Ricky looked down at the hatch roof. He lifted it, and then went to descend the ladder.
It was only at the last moment he saw the man down below poke a gun up towards him and pull the trigger.
Chapter Four.
Cody opened his eyes.
It was bright. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know how long he'd been here. But he was totally at ease with his situation, in a weird kind of way.
He felt like he was just waking up from a long sleep, where all of the nightmares he'd imagined didn't happen.
He lifted his head off the pillow he was lying on. His neck was stiff, and it didn't feel like he'd moved it in a long time. In fact, his entire body was stiff. Kind of like a brand new toy that had yet to be played with, or some new leather boots, the leather still not yet broken into.
He couldn't deny he liked the way he felt. He might be hungry, but he sure was fresher than he'd felt in a long time.
But... wait. Had it been a long time? Or had he just dreamed everything after all?
His heart started to race. He thought about the undead. He thought about all the people he'd seen bitten. And more than anything, he thought about his wife and daughter. If it'd all been a dream, then they would still be out there. They wouldn't be dead. They wouldn't- He heard a door opening, and he realised right then that his hopes of everything being a dream were sadly misplaced.
The man standing at the door, smiling, was familiar. He couldn't properly place him, but he knew that he knew him. He'd spent time with him. A long time with him.
”Cody?” the man said. ”d.a.m.n, I didn't expect you to be back with us for a long time. How's the shoulder?”
Cody looked at his shoulder and saw it was bandaged up. He remembered the pain he'd felt then, as he'd taken a bullet to it. And then he remembered something else. Being bitten back when Gav had left him to die in that creepy old building.
But he was alive.
He was still here.
”How...”
The man-who Cody remembered now as Michael-sat on the edge of his bed. ”You've been out cold a long time. We didn't think you were ever gonna come round. But you're awake now, and that's the main thing. It says a lot about your strength, for sure.”
”My wife. My-my daughter.”
”Still not with us,” Michael said. He put a hand on Cody's other shoulder. ”I'm sorry.”
Cody lowered his head then. He felt the grief returning. His family were still gone. His hopes of any of the things he'd witnessed being false were scuppered. This was life, and he was still being forced to live it. ”I was infected,” he said. ”How am I still here?”
He looked up then, and he saw Michael smile. And it was then that he remembered everything else. Michael's promise to take Cody and his group to an extraction point. The chaos they'd faced on the road together. Cody finally, finally getting Michael to the place he'd wanted to go... and then Michael reuniting with his family. Cody could vaguely remember a military presence unlike any he'd seen since the fall. Part of that filled him with hope. Part of it filled him with fear.
”You're still here because you're strong, partly. But also because...”
Michael stopped, then. He looked around at the door, like he was checking if anyone else was listening.
Then he turned back to look at Cody and he smiled. ”I think you should see what we can do for you. In your own time.”
Cody didn't need any more prompting to get out of this bed.
He staggered to his feet. Pins and needles spread right up his legs. But he didn't care. He was just glad to be here. Glad to be alive. Glad that his faith in humanity had been reinforced.
”Whoa, there,” Michael said, steadying Cody as the pair of them walked towards the door. ”You know, I can get you a wheelchair if-”