Chapter 30 #2
While being vigilant as we explored a street untouched by the pack until now, Paige and Trev made starry eyes at each other. I walked slightly behind them, very much the third wheel.
The street was heavily choked with weeds bursting from cracks in the asphalt, the front gardens of the houses severely overgrown. A fallen tree had destroyed a property at the end of the road, the roof and top floor caved in.
We explored house by house, taking out slowies, stepping over skeletons and rotting bodies.
Just another day in paradise.
We searched the seventh house on the street. I went upstairs, passing five dirty mirrors on the stairs, a dead rat at the top of them, maggots crawling over it.
Yuck.
I took the first bedroom, cautious in my approach. No zombies stirred or leaped out at me.
Phew.
Sat on a dusty dressing table were two perfume bottles. One a pretty standard design, the other an extraordinary reverse icicle shaped thing with a silver top. I picked it up, examining the frosty detail, especially enjoying the pearlescent shimmer on the surface of the glass.
It was full, the scent a delicate floral sweetness.
“He’ll love this,” I said to myself, slipping it into my backpack.
“He will.”
I spun on Paige, fingers on my axe handle. “What are you doing here?”
She leaned against the doorframe. “We’re on a run together, remember?”
“I thought you were covering downstairs.”
“I’m checking on you.”
“No need.”
She pushed herself off the doorframe, eyes scanning the room. “Sweetie, I like to check and worry. Sorry I made you jump.”
“You didn’t.”
“You don’t have to be cool with me.”
“I’m not.”
She chortled softly. “Miko will love that bottle.” She pointed at my backpack. “Especially since it’s his birthday.”
My mouth dropped.
She stopped her investigating, facing me. “He’s thirty today.”
“Today?”
Paige threw me a mischievous wink. “That’s the real reason I’m up here. It’s the perfect opportunity to tell you it’s his big day, and also about the surprise party we’re throwing him tonight.”
If the bed didn’t look so riddled with creepy crawlies, I’d be resting my shock upon it. “His birthday?”
“We are under strict instructions not to bother acknowledging it at all. We’re having a small celebration tonight because we can’t be ignoring it.
Nope. I found birthday cake flavored biscuits and Cate scavenged some party hats, so he’ll have to get over himself.
We’ve got to grab fun by the short and curlies. ”
His birthday. His actual birthday. “The what?”
“It’s an expression for balls.”
“Oh. I see. Like taking the bull by the horns?”
“Exactly.”
“When life gives you lemons—”
“Exactly,” she cut me off, laughing. “Glad you get the idea.”
“His birthday?” I couldn’t help my smile. “Thirty.” Making him four years older than me.
Paige picked up a glass duck ornament with emerald eyes from the bedside table. “Whatever he says, I think he’ll have a nice time. He deserves one.”
I nodded, thinking about the tragedy of his family as I opened a couple of drawers.
“He told you things, didn’t he?” Paige asked. “About his past.”
I removed a first aid kit from the drawer. “Yes.” I handed her the small green box.
“Thanks.” She took it. “I’m not prying, sweetie. I can just tell. But I do want to ask you something.”
“Okay.”
“Please don’t hurt him.”
It took me a moment to respond. “I wouldn’t.”
She put the glass duck in her satchel. “I haven’t seen him act so, how do I put this? Out of character, I suppose. He’s different. His body language, how he played games with us last night. Little things that make a big difference. It’s lovely to see.”
And it was lovely to hear. “I don’t know what will happen between us, but I would never set out to hurt him. He really is a good man behind the steely shell.”
“He is.”
Also an amazing fuck… I kept that to myself.
“Thank you, sweetie.”
“What’s the duck for?” I asked.
“Trev. Don’t tell him. I wanted to give him a gift. Is it crap? It’s crap, right?”
“No. I think it’s sweet.”
She glanced at the door. “Can I tell you something?”
“Sure.”
“We kissed last night.”
“Oh, wow,” I feigned surprise. “That’s wonderful.”
“You’re not shocked?”
“Honestly? No.”
“Why not?”
“The cutesy eye contact was a giveaway.”
She grinned, the blushing in her cheeks highlighting her freckles. “I really like him.”
“I’m happy for you.”
She came closer. “Have you kissed Miko?”
“I—”
“I can smell him on you. Sorry, that sounds so creepy. But I can.”
There was no point in playing coy. “Yes. We’ve kissed.”
Paige let out a tiny squeal, shaking her hands. “I’m so happy.”
Trev’s heavy steps sounded on the stairs.
“Love is in the air,” Paige added.
Love? I wasn’t sure things were at that point yet. Not after a few days. But then the new world changed the rules.
What were the rules anyway? Where was the decree of time and love to obey?
I scratched at my palm, continuing my search of the room.
Trev appeared in the doorway. “Hi, you two.”
“Hi,” Paige answered.
I gave him a wave, opening a wardrobe door.
A body tumbled out, sending me to the floor. I thrashed, kicking and scrambling out from under the bones and fabric.
Paige hoisted me to my feet.
“Stars!” I hissed, patting myself down frantically.
“You’re okay, mate,” Trev said. “It’s just a skeleton.”
I scratched at my hair, prickly with irritation from the fright.
“Poor person.” Paige crouched to have a look. “Been in there a long time.”
Done with the panic, I forced myself to calm down. The body was all bone and rotten rags, no flesh in sight, a massive hole in its skull.
“A zombie corpse?” I wondered, clearing my throat.
Why did it have to jump out on me like that?
“Possibly,” Paige said. “Ended and shoved in here for some reason.”
Trev moved around the room, searching the bed.
“I supposed it’s a good plan to be sure it won’t get back up and come after you,” I replied. “Despite the hole in the head.”
The body disturbed the dust in the room, particles tickling my nose. I let out a triple sneeze, Paige blessing each one.
“Look at this,” Trev said, holding up what looked to be a diary. “Found it under the mattress.”
I sneezed two more times while he opened the purple book.
He thumbed through the pages, stopping about eight turns in. “Whoa.”
“What is it?” Paige asked, going to stand by his side.
“That was no zombie.”
I stood by his other side, his violet finger on a paragraph written in messy scrawl.
My darling,
My heart breaks for you and us. For everything we had, for everything you destroyed. There was no choice left for me.
I’m sorry.
See you in the deepest part of hell.
We can burn together.
All my love,
Mary Xxxx
Trev closed the diary. “That’ll teach me for being nosy.”
A shudder rolled through me. “I wonder where Mary is.”
“That’s our cue to leave this house,” Paige said. “Come on.”
Zombies weren’t the only monsters in this world. They came in all shapes and sizes, each with their own motivations and darkness. Before and after the apocalypse.
I’d seen people do some terrible things in the first days of Dawn. Murder, looting, acts of extreme cruelty against their fellow people—things I’d had to avoid to save my own skin.
We left the house carefully, continuing our search through the rest of the houses, not discussing Mary and the dead body. We found tins of beans, baby carrots, a bounty of pasta and rice in one house, and an unopened bottle of brandy.
“Nice.” Trev slipped the bottle into his bag.
After a couple of hours, we’d gathered enough, making the decision to head back to Haven.
A man cut off our route, covered in blood.
“Shifter,” Paige said. “Wolf.”
“Please!” the man cried, stumbling over a dead body. “Please help me!”
Paige drew her machete. “Stay back.”
The man slowed, coming to a panting stop. His clothes were shredded and covered in blood, a bleeding wound on his head. “Please… Please help me.”
“Should we—”
Paige cut Trev off with a sharp, “No. He might belong to Lance.”
“Please…” The man went to his knees. “No one will help me.”
Crap. Him being in bad shape called to my helping instincts. However, Paige was right. What if this was one of Lance’s games?
“Who are you?” she demanded.
The man wept. “I… Please…”
“Who are you,” Paige reiterated.
“Clive.”
“What are you doing here?”
Clive wiped at his bloody forehead with the back of his hand. “Trying to get help.” He sniffled. “I’m hurt. I fell trying to… Oh, God.”
“Trying to what?”
“Save my girlfriend.” He broke down, covering his face with his hands. “She’s gone. She’s gone. She’s gone.”
“Paige,” Trev said. “We—”
“Where did you come from?” Paige demanded.
Clive removed his hands from his face. “What?”
“Where did you come from?”
“Why… Why are you doing this to me?”
“Are you from Lance’s pack?”
Blood dripped from the man’s rather bushy brows. “Lance? As in Lance Forest?”
“The very same. Are you with him?”
“He’s back in London?” He sounded genuinely perplexed to me, though I harbored zero interrogation skills.
“Are you with him?” Paige repeated.
“Oh, God. Please just help me.”
“I can’t trust you enough yet.”
“Look at the state of me!” he bellowed.
A crash over to the left responded to his voice. His head turned, his pale skin taking on ashy hues. “No.” He struggled to get to his feet as a chorus of running steps thundered from the perpendicular street.
Then the hissing started.
Speedies.
“Help me!” Clive cried.
I went to help, drawing my axe. Paige held up a hand in warning.
“Please!” Clive screamed. “Please fucking help me!”
“Paige!” Trev tried, ready to charge.
“He’s a fox in the henhouse,” she responded.
“I thought he was a wolf,” I said.
Paige growled, the speedies almost upon us. “Get ready to run.”
“But they’ll kill him.”
“Please!” Clive wailed. “Please help me!”
The terror on his face curdled my insides.
“Paige, I can’t stand this,” Trev said. “Let’s just—”
“Fucking wankers!” the shifter screamed, struggling to his feet. “I’ll rip out your insides and piss in your skulls.” He cackled, wobbly. “Thanks for the heads up about Lance. I’ll be seeing you again soon.” He spat in our direction as the first speedie barreled toward him.
Clive howled again, trying to run. He tripped, falling onto his hands and knees. Sent a tirade of abuse into the sky, at us, unable to get up in time.
The zombie landed on him, crushing him to the ground. Bared its teeth and sunk them into his face, tearing his cheek away. Seconds later, the other speedies landed on him in a flurry of teeth and clawing. Ironically, ripping his insides out, blood and innards flying everywhere.
I closed myself off to his screams as Paige ordered us to run. After two years, the sounds of death were a part of life just as the ever-present stench of it.
Moving quickly and quietly, we escaped any attack, avoiding zombies all the way back to the tower, where we took a brief pause at the gates.
Trev bent over, gathering his breath, muttering, “Bollocks.”
I had a bit of a stitch in my left side I stretched out. “How did you know he was a… What was he?”
“A threat?” Paige said, scanning the area around Haven.
“Yes.”
“I saw it in his face. I’m good at reading faces.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry, there’s no fibbing in your faces.”
“I wasn’t worried,” I replied, feeling guilty for absolutely nothing.
Why did that happen sometimes?
Ugh.
“Nice skill to have,” Trev said.
But what if she’d been wrong?
“It’s helped over the years.” She opened the first gate.
Deciding not to ask about her success rate and open a can of spiders, I followed them back into the tower, handing over my share of supplies.
“We did pretty good,” Paige said, patting me on the back. “Are you okay, sweetie?”
“I’m fine.”
“Then go and take some time out.” She winked.
What if you’d been wrong?
“A lovely idea,” I said, turning my head.
“Wait.”
Great. She’d seen a tic in my face.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “And I just knew he was wrong.”
I looked at her.
“But I have been wrong in the past,” she added. “We all…” She sighed. “We all make mistakes. This time wasn’t one of them.”
I sagged. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, sweetie. I get why you’d ask yourself that question.”
“Can you really see it in my face?”
“Yep. You’re asking what if I’d been wrong. I see it in your forehead.”
Trev glanced at me from his organizing of some tins. “Shit.”
Paige smiled softly. “I only see these things when I need to look, so don’t worry. And you have every right to question me. Anytime. I’m not easily offended.”
“Good to know,” Trev said.
I nodded. “Thank you for seeing Clive’s menace.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine what he would’ve done to us. His energy was rotten to the core. At least we know Lance isn’t messing with us yet.”
I didn’t like the yet part.
“But let’s not think about him,” she added. “I think we need some tea.”