Chapter 8
Using Powers for Evil
Olivia
Bean rears and strikes out with her front hooves, knocking me off balance from the sheer force of the hit. Several zombies go down, their heads bursting like watermelons as they smash into the ground. The stench of rot thickens until my eyes water and bile burns my throat.
With the zombies so close and my left arm useless, I drop my bow and turn to my knife. I hack and slash at anything that comes close, but the rain makes it almost impossible to see my targets. And no matter how many zombies I kill, they just keep coming.
Rotted hands claw at me, grabbing onto bits of clothing and digging into my flesh.
My body is a riot of agony as my heart slams into my chest and adrenaline surges through my veins.
Beneath me, Bean is a writhing beast, kicking and biting at anything that comes close to her, defending us both with fierce determination.
We’re surviving. Barely.
Until something slams into my side and knocks me off balance, just as Bean kicks out with her hind legs.
I tumble forward, hands so slick with blood and rain that my hold on the saddle slips and I keep falling.
Bean, sensing this, ends her buck and rears upward, attempting to catch me.
But all that ends up doing is unseating me further and, as her head comes up, mine goes down and we slam into each other.
Pain ricochets across my skull as stars burst across my vision, blinding me.
An awful ringing in my ears drowns out the moans and groans of the zombies, along with Bean’s snorts and cries.
I fight to clear my vision from the blinding white, but it’s like I’m swimming against the current.
Something hot and wet trickles down my face. Tears? Blood? I’m not sure.
The world tilts sickening to the left. I groan, barely able to keep the bile down as I blindly grapple for something to hold on to. But my arms are weak, and anything I grab slides through my slick fingers. The white light has gone from my vision, replaced with blackness that’s dragging me under.
In the distance, I hear shouting followed by the deep caws of a bird.
Bean snorts, her body moving beneath mine.
Somehow I’ve stayed on her back and she’s taking me somewhere, hopefully to safety.
The sound of the zombies lessens, their rotting hands gone from my body, and for a moment, I wonder if I’m dead.
Until agony pierces through my consciousness. It’s like white-hot needles stabbing into my skull as fire races across my body. Every part of me is nothing but pain.
Definitely not dead. Unless I’m in hell.
“Whoa, Bean. Easy girl,” a deep voice says, and the movement beneath me stops.
The world tilts again, this time aided by gentle hands on my waist, hoisting me up to cradle against something. The loud thumping of a heartbeat echoes in my ears, but I’m not sure if it’s mine or someone else’s. Another set of hands brush against my face, smearing the wetness across my cheeks.
“Ollie? Baby? Can you hear me?” A familiar voice reaches through the darkness, yanking me to the surface. It sends another bolt of agony through my skull.
I groan and turn my head away from the voice, needing the pain to stop. Those hands on my face don’t let me, forcing my head to stay still.
“Ollie, open your eyes.”
Open my eyes? Can’t the voice see that I’m trying to avoid more pain? I want to shake my head, but the hands stop me. Probably for the best, since I’m sure I’ll throw up.
“Princess,” another voice snaps, his voice like the crack of a whip. “Open your damn eyes.”
That voice seizes control of my eyelids, and without conscious thought, they flutter open.
Even though the sky is a dark, gloomy grey above me, it’s still almost blinding as agony pulses across my skull.
I whimper, wanting to shut my eyes again, but my body isn’t obeying me right now. It’s still obeying the voice.
A blurred face blocks the sky. “There you are.” It takes a moment for me to realise it’s Theo gazing down at me, his eyes tight with concern and his lips pressed into a hard line. “Can you tell me where you hurt, baby?”
I think it’d be easier to tell him where I don’t hurt.
“Everywhere.” It takes more effort than I like to croak out that one word. Whatever happened to me, it’s fucked me up bad.
Theo nods, the concern on his face deepening. “Alright, baby. I’m going to need to check you over, make sure you’re not bit and then look at that head of yours, okay?”
I make a small noise of assent, not having the energy to speak.
“Good girl.” He moves away, and the dark sky fills my vision, no longer hurting my eyes. “Let’s move to the treeline where there’s more cover from this rain. Rhys, I’m going to need your help with this. Do what you need to do to herd the cats.”
“I’ll be back in five,” Rhys says.
Arms tighten around my body, and I’m reminded that someone has been cradling me against their chest. I turn my head to see Alex staring down at me, his bright blue eyes shining with unshed tears and his jaw clenched so tight I’m worried he’ll crack a tooth.
“Alex,” I mumble, wanting to comfort him, but I don’t have the energy to move.
His face softens. “Sweetheart, you scared me. I thought you were dead.” He sucks in a sharp breath, and his eyes grow haunted.
I hate it, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I just pat his arm weakly.
“Bring her over here, Alex, and keep her awake,” Theo calls from somewhere behind me.
“Come on, let’s get you sorted.” Alex adjusts his grip on me before striding off.
The movement jars me, causing me to hiss as the pounding in my head gets stronger. Alex apologises, the guilt clear in his voice, but he doesn’t stop. Bare branches and towering trees quickly obscure the sky above me.
Theo’s face appears, his expression drawn as he frowns down at me. “Still awake, baby?” he asks, brushing his fingers against my cheek.
“Yeah,” I croak before scrunching my face at the pulse of pain at my temples.
“Alright. We’re going to have to move you around a little so we can make sure you’re not bitten. I won’t lie, it’s going to suck, but the quicker we are, the sooner I can give you something for the pain.”
Painkillers sound so good right now. I’m pretty sure that’s the only thing keeping me awake right now. “Do it,” I grit out.
Theo nods grimly before barking out orders to Alex and Rhys.
I screw my eyes shut and brace myself. It sucks just as badly as he said it would.
Every time one of them moves me in a certain way, it sends a fresh bout of pain rushing through my body.
It takes everything in me not to scream or sink into the blissful darkness that teases the edge of my consciousness.
I’m not sure how long it takes before the three of them breathe out sighs and I’m righted in Alex’s arms.
“Okay, baby, that part is over. Now I’ll give you some painkillers so I can take a better look at your head.”
I don’t bother answering, mostly because I’m pretty sure if I open my mouth, all that will come out is curses and screams. There’s shuffling beside me before my sleeve is rolled up and something pricks my arm.
In the grand scheme of everything, the pain from the needle barely registers beneath the torrent of agony battering my body.
It still makes my stomach lurch because no matter how out of it I am, needles still aren’t my friend.
Little by little, the pain ebbs away as hands poke and prod my aching head. Something cold and wet swipes across my face, causing me to make a noise of complaint as I try and fail to push it away.
“Behave, princess,” Rhys orders in that voice that seems to bypass my brain and take control of my body.
I still with a huff. “But it’s cold,” I whine, pouting.
Theo chuckles quietly. “I know, Ollie, but I need to clean you up so I can take a better look.”
The cold, wet thing returns, and I make another noise, but my stupid body is still obeying Rhys so all I can do is take it. It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t feel so weird and had fewer clothes. Although I’m not supposed to want that but I can’t remember why.
My pout deepens. “I don’t like your stupid power. You only use it for evil.”
There’s another chuckle, but I’m finding it difficult to concentrate enough to know who it’s from.
“What power, sweetheart?” a voice asks, amused.
“He has that voice that makes me do whatever he wants. I don’t like it.” I frown. “Or I shouldn’t like it. It’s a sex thing and I don’t feel sexy right now.”
There’s choking and more laughter.
“Oh, Ollie. You’re going to regret saying that.”
“If she remembers.”
I feel like I’m floating on a cloud. It’s warm and fluffy, like a soft blanket but ten times better. I want to curl up in it and forget about the world outside and the stupid zombies.
“I’m glad you think I’m so comfortable, sweetheart,” someone says with a soft chuckle.
“How much did you give her?” another asks.
“Half the dose I gave you when you got shot. I think this is a combination of the head injury and the meds.” That voice sounds sad, and I don’t like that.
“No sad,” I tell them seriously.
“How bad is her head injury?” That voice sounds worried, and I don’t like that either.
We should be happy. And comfortable. So comfy…
“It looks worse than it is. I think Ollie is just reacting to the meds more than you did. When these wear off, I’ll give her something else.”
The voices speak again, but the words trickle from my mind like water, so I stop trying to make sense of it all. I just let myself float there, peaceful and happy. It’s temporary, I know that, but for now I enjoy it.
Future Ollie can deal with the pain.
Raised voices rouse me from sleep.
I groan as I blink open my eyes to find Alex sitting next to me, a thunderous expression on his face as he glares at something I can’t see. Harlow is on my other side, lying with her head resting on her front paws. She whines and shuffles closer to press her cold, wet nose against my hand.