Chapter 2
Done With This Shit
Rhys
Ieye the former captives as they filter in from the various buildings around the camp, all of them overloaded with supplies.
They’re weaker than I expected, making what is going to be a tough journey home even deadlier due to how slow they are.
Half of them are struggling beneath the weight of the supplies they’ve gathered, practically hobbling over to us.
There’s zero chance of us outrunning the Scourge, meaning I need to come up with a plan.
One that won’t get us killed.
I grimace. “This is fucked,” I grumble to Alex as he moves to my side after helping a few of the group repack the supplies to make them easier to carry.
Alex glances around and sighs. “It’ll be fine. We’ll make it work,” he says, ever the optimist.
Not that I can fault him for it. After everything he’s been through, it’s a miracle he’s as happy as he is... most of the time. Sometimes he can be a right surly bastard—much like myself—although those times are few and far between.
I pat him on the shoulder, a silent thanks for his support before stepping away from him. Time to get this shitshow on the road before the Scourge cart turns up.
However, before I can open my mouth, there’s a feminine squeal before Jerri, my ex-wife, careens towards me while shouting my name. She rushes straight past Theo and Alex, who both glare at her, to throw herself at me with more enthusiasm than I’ve ever seen her show.
“I’m so glad you came here to save me,” she says far too loudly into my shoulder as she clings to me tighter.
My skin itches, and I grimace while wondering what the hell I did to deserve this.
“Why, Jerri, I think that’s the most excited I’ve ever seen you greet Rhys,” Theo says with caustic amusement.
Alex snorts. “No kidding. I’m pretty sure the last thing she said to him before she got grabbed was something along the lines of him being an incompetent bastard who shouldn’t be in charge of anything while you slapped at his chest like an annoying mosquito.
” He shoots me an apologetic look at my pained expression of being reminded of that encounter.
Even though I agree with both of them, I say nothing and instead untangle Jerri’s limbs from around me. She doesn’t notice because her attention has shifted to my two best friends.
And she’s not happy. Then again, when is she ever?
“Well, maybe if he actually listened to me once in a while, I wouldn’t have to say things like that,” she says with a sniff. “Besides, my relationship with Rhys is none of your business. I’m not some disgusting whore you three share, so keep your noses out of it.”
Theo’s eyes darken and Alex’s jaw tightens as they both glare at her with naked hatred. Theo opens his mouth, and I just know it’s going to lead to a massive blowout between the three of them. Something we don’t have time for, even if a small, petty part of myself wishes we did.
“Alright, that’s enough,” I bark, stepping between them and cutting off their view of one another. “We don’t have time for whatever argument you’re working up to. We have to move before that Scourge cart gets here.”
Theo grinds his teeth as he glares at Jerri with murder in his eyes, his usually relaxed and charming facade gone.
Alex looks like he ate something sour as he continues to glower towards my ex-wife.
And Jerri? Well, she’s a mixture of pissed off and smug; an expression she’s honed to perfection over the years.
Just standing in the middle of them is enough to raise my blood pressure.
Fucking hell. What did I do to deserve this?
“Is everything okay over here?” Ollie asks, joining this fucked-up party. Her face is closed off, but I can see from the way her eyes flick from Jerri to me that she’s curious. Beside her is her brother, Tobias, his similar green eyes brimming with amusement and curiosity.
I bite back a groan of frustration. I don’t want Ollie to have anything to do with Jerri and her toxic vitriol. “Everything’s fine,” I grind out as I shoot Theo and Alex a silent look to behave. There’s no point doing the same with Jerri; she always does what she wants, regardless of everyone else.
God, I can’t wait to get back to Haven.
Stay calm, I remind myself as I turn to the rest of the group. “Is everyone here?”
There are a few nods and murmurs from the group, but no one calls out, so I take that as a yes.
“Alright. I want everyone to stay together and to stay quiet. If you see any infected, call it out, and if you feel you can take care of them, do so. But know that if you get bitten, you will be put down.” I meet as many people’s eyes as possible as I speak that last part.
Last thing we need are idiots thinking they’re fucking Rambo wandering off and getting bit.
A few people blanch, but most nod in agreement.
I continue. “If we meet gang members, you run and find cover. No heroics.” I direct that toward Ollie, who rolls her eyes. “You stay in cover until either me, Theo, or Alex—” I point to each of us “—say otherwise. Understood?”
Everyone nods.
“Good. Let’s get the fuck out of this shithole.
” I push my way through the crowd and towards the road that leads to the front gate.
It’s littered with dead bodies and gore; the sight nauseating in the weak morning sun, but there’s nothing to be done about it.
The corpses can remain there as a grisly message to the Scourge; fuck with Haven and this is what happens.
I’d like to think that it’ll make them think twice about coming after us, but I’m not that stupid or na?ve. We’ve probably barely made a dent in their numbers, so all this’ll do is piss them off. But hopefully, we’ll be long gone by the time they find it.
Although judging from the long, slow line of people stretching out behind me, I have little confidence in that.
Fuck.
“We’re going to be sitting ducks out there,” Ollie says next to me, having caught up with her dog, horse and magpie beside her.
I double-take, realising that unlike before, she’s not riding Bean.
It’s a little strange seeing her walking beside me.
The cut on her cheek has stopped bleeding, leaving a red smear across the side of her face and neck.
Theo will need to look at that once I’ve found a safe place for us to spend the night.
“I know,” I say grimly as I turn my focus back to the road just as we exit the camp and head into the housing estate.
“But we don’t exactly have much choice. None of us could leave these people alone to defend themselves, not when some of them are struggling to walk.
I was planning to leave them with the Lodge but that’s no longer an option after what happened with your ex. ”
Anger stirs in my chest at the reminder of that piece of shit. It’s a shame Ollie killed him because I’d love nothing more than to cut off his dick and make him choke to death on it.
Ollie clenches her jaw and tightens her hold on the reins. “Do you think Mark knew about the deal Ethan made with the Scourge?”
I blow out a breath and force myself to relax. “I don’t know, and I don’t think it matters. As the leader of the settlement, Ethan’s actions reflect on him whether or not he condoned it. Plus, you remember your time there; did it feel safe to you?”
She shakes her head.
“Exactly. Which means we’re somehow going to have to evade the Scourge all the way to Haven while at this pace.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
Ollie glances over her shoulder and sighs. “I guess I’ll see if anyone’s desperate enough to ride Bean.”
I nod. “Good idea.” She goes to turn away, but I stop her. “Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about asking Alex what happened between you two and the guards at the main gate. Or that cut on your cheek, princess.” I shoot her a stern look.
She juts her chin out and glares. There’s a stubborn shine to her green eyes that simultaneously hardens my cock and annoys the fuck out of me.
I arch an eyebrow. “Arguing won’t stop me. We will be talking about it.”
Understanding that I’m not backing down, she huffs. “Fine,” she mutters as she turns away from me.
I can’t help but smirk as I watch as she leads her animal menagerie towards the back of the long line, where the people struggling the most are located. While I’ll never admit it, her fire is one of my favourite things about her. When she’s not using it to get herself killed.
It takes nearly an hour for us to walk the two miles back to the small corner shop we’d been staying in—far too long—and any good mood I had has soured.
There’s no doubt in my mind that unless I come up with something, we’re going to get caught. Each minute settles like a lead weight on my shoulders and tangles my guts into knots. My grip tightens on my rifle as I scan the area, half-expecting the Scourge to jump out at us. But they don’t.
And then shouts erupt from behind me, followed by high-pitched squeals. I whirl around, rifle poised and ready to fire as I scan the area for enemies.
Only to find a single shuffling infected.
It’s so rotted that it’s moving at a snail’s pace, and yet Jerri and a few others are screaming and losing their minds like it’s a tiger chasing them down.
Some others in the group are also freaked out, stumbling backwards in their haste to get away, but at least have the common sense to not scream their heads off.
Everyone else just looks exasperated; including Tobias, who stalks over to the infected and stabs it in the head with brutal efficiency.
The infected drops like a sack of shit to the pavement, and everyone visibly relaxes.
“Well, I’m glad no one overreacted,” Theo says with biting sarcasm as several people glare at Jerri and the others who screamed.
Alex snorts in amusement beside him.
A few have the decency to appear chastised, but others, including Jerri, glare back at everyone, with no ounce of embarrassment or shame. At least they’ve stopped screaming now.
“What happened to staying quiet?” I demand as I stride over to the group.
Jerri turns to me with a huff and crosses her bony arms over her chest. “It just came out of nowhere! I can’t help my reaction to something like that.”
A few of the others, including an older-looking guy, all murmur their agreement.
Theo rolls his eyes. “I’ve seen slugs move faster than that zombie. No one was in danger from it. In fact, the biggest risk was everyone’s eardrums bleeding from your screams.”
Her face turns bright red, and she snarls as she turns to face him.
Her hands clench into small fists and her entire body tenses, ready to fight.
Some people, when they’re scared or ashamed, will freeze up or run away.
Jerri? She gets mean. Well, meaner than usual.
As she sucks in a breath, I just know that whatever is about to come out of her mouth will only make shit worse.
“Enough!” I snap before she can speak. “In case none of you have realised, we’re currently running for our lives.
So if you could keep your mouths shut, that would be great.
I don’t care if you’re shitting yourself because you’re so scared, you don’t fucking scream.
Unless you want to alert the entire Scourge gang to where we are. ”
The words burst from my lips, filled with anger and frustration.
Shit like this doesn’t usually affect me—my training as an SAS soldier saw to that.
But I’m operating on little sleep, my arm and shoulder are throbbing with agony, a headache is slamming against my skull between my eyes, and I’m being ridden hard by doubts and fear.
And none of this is helping.
Silence fills the air.
Everyone stares at me, some with shock, while my two best friends have the decency to at least appear apologetic. Ollie is gazing at me like she’s seeing me for the first time, while her brother just looks shell-shocked. The only person who isn’t surprised is Jerri.
No, she’s glaring at me like somehow all of this is my fault. Like I’m the one who started the apocalypse and kidnapped her. Maybe in her twisted mind it is, just like everything else in her life.
I rake a hand through my hair and bite back a groan.
I can’t wait to get back to Haven and be done with this shit.
“Get your shit together and move. No more fucking screaming. I don’t care if you’re dying, you don’t scream or shout or yell or whatever loud-ass noise you can make.
” I level everyone—but especially Jerri—with a hard look before turning around and striding off.
If these people don’t start taking this seriously, they’re in for a rude awakening.
A few people murmur behind me, and I even hear Jerri huff and mutter about how mean I’m being to her and singling her out. As if I give that much of a shit about her. The moment we’re back at Haven, I’m going to dedicate my life to avoiding her ass.
Fucking hell. While I knew this journey home was going to be rough, I didn’t expect it to be quite this shit.