Twenty-Seven #2
We backed up enough to avoid the splatter, and a beat later, Sadie brought her axe down on the woman’s shoulder—off target, but still a solid hit. It cut straight through to the bone, and I waited for her to wretch or shrink back from what she’d done, but there was no time for her to feel anything.
She yanked the bit free, spraying droplets of blood as she moved into a defensive stance.
The infected woman staggered and turned.
“Get ready,” Owen said, his jaw tight. “Don’t take your eyes off it for a second.”
My stomach tensed, my eye flicking to Sadie. The breeze flipped her ponytail out behind her, and she hung back, nodding at Ellie.
“I’ve got it.” Without a moment's hesitation, Ellie swung her mace and took out the woman’s knee. I flinched at the sickening crunch, then her leg crumpled, and she hit the court hard enough for her head to bounce off the surface.
“Yes,“ Willow said beside me. “She got it.”
“Not yet,” I said.
A human wouldn’t survive a head knock that severe, but it wasn’t enough. The decaying woman tried rising to her elbow, her eyes set on Ellie. These fucking things were relentless.
Breathing hard, Sadie stood over the body and lifted the axe, grunting as she brought the weapon down on the woman’s skull.
The body collapsed on the ground and went still.
Owen was already rounding up the man in pyjamas when shuffling registered behind me. My fingers flexed on the sword handle, and I spun around, my eyes locking on four of the dead heading our way.
Shit.
We’d made too much noise.
“Theo!” The fear in Sadie’s voice spurred me into action.
A check on the others confirmed Owen had just ended pyjama guy.
With both infected down and a secure fence surrounding the tennis court, it was the safest place for Willow to be. “Run to the gate,” I said. “Get inside and lock it.”
Willow looked from me to her mother, then her gaze slid to the infected closing in on us. Her eyes widened. “Mum.”
“Now.” Laura gave her a gentle shove. “Go.”
Needing no further encouragement, Willow shot off down the front fence line, slipping on the gravel as she rounded the corner. Once she was safe inside the court, I faced the latest threat with Laura.
The sun had almost risen now, blanketing the street in burnt orange and red.
The frontrunner was a woman in head-to-toe activewear, with a young guy in motorbike gear minus the helmet bringing up the rear. In between were two male hospital patients, still dressed in gowns, bare feet drenched with blood.
My stomach twisted at the sight. “You’re sticking around,” I said to Laura, more statement than question.
“Yep.” She lifted her maul. “I don’t mind admitting I’m shit scared, but we all need the practice.”
“Wait for us!” Sadie yelled.
Footsteps thudded from behind me, but I kept my eyes directed straight ahead. A knot formed as I mentally prepped for the fight. We still had enough time to run before the dead reached us, but Laura was right. We needed the experience.
Ellie joined us first, with Sadie and Owen right behind her, their faces flushed from the cold and exertion.
“Five of us, four of them,” Owen said. “We can do this."
Laura positioned herself on the other side of Ellie, checking the tennis court again to make sure Willow had stayed put.
Sadie moved in beside me, her shoulder brushing mine.
“How did that feel?” I asked as we tracked their progress.
“Better than I thought it would.” She stared at the dead, her gaze jumping from one to the other.
“I looked into that woman’s eyes before I took the head strike,” she said.
“They’re gone—these people are really gone.
” Damp hair had stuck to her temples, and her chest heaved.
“As soon as I realised that, it was easier. It feels like mercy now, not murder.”
“You did good,” I said. “Four more, and we’re out of here.”
We separated and came at them from different angles. Ellie shadowed her dad on the left. Laura took care of the centre, and Sadie and I circled to the right.
The five of us had them surrounded, while Willow watched from behind the safety of the fence.
“I’m going in.” Laura raised her maul and made a beeline for the activewear woman, but the first swing landed too shallow and glanced off her shoulder.
She wound up for another try, the second hit missing its mark entirely.
As she overbalanced, Laura swore and steadied herself, and my heart about pounded straight through my chest.
Owen stepped in and tried to take over, but she warned him off with a shake of her head. “I’ve got it.”
It took another attempt to land a strike hard enough to take the infected woman down. When she hit the ground, Ellie swooped in and finished the job with her mace.
“Nice work, you two,” Owen said, his worried gaze meshing with mine.
There was no time to waste. A stench drifted on the air, and one of the two hospital patients targeted me. He tripped over his own feet and fell into a stumbling run, reaching me faster than expected.
With his gnarled fingers outstretched and mouth open in preparation, my stomach dipped, and I saw how quickly it could go wrong.
“Shit.” As I stepped back and dodged his grasp, Sadie pulled out a move I hadn’t seen yet, turning her body sideways and delivering a kick to the man’s midsection.
“Where the hell did that come from?” I asked.
While he staggered and struggled to regain his balance, I swung my sword and accidentally took off the top of his head. Blood and brain matter sprayed into the air, splattering the road as another body thumped to the ground.
“Tae Bo videos during lockdown.” Sadie threw me a quick smile, the corners of her mouth still tight with concern. “I didn’t think the moves would actually work in the real world.”
Two down.
My tension eased more with each death. The queasiness didn’t hit as hard this time around either, but it was still there, lurking in the background ready to humble me.
Owen squared his shoulders and went after the other patient, dropping him with a single strike through his forehead. Whether it was a lucky hit or impressive aim, it did the job. I swallowed and looked away as the body joined the others on the road.
With the motorbike guy the last man standing, Laura dived in for the kill, gripping her maul with two steady hands.
Hungry for an accurate hit, she didn’t miss this time.
When he collapsed in a heap, Ellie the destroyer came in for one last swing of her mace.
Potentially unnecessary, but it paid to be thorough.
Then… nothing. No movement or sound other than our laboured breaths.
My heartbeat rang in my ears, and I loosened my death grip on the sword.
“Everyone good?” Owen asked, panting.
“Not good,” Laura said, “but not bad either.”
“Well, I’m not angry at you for going all gung-ho,” he said, “but not happy either.”
She flashed him a grin and yanked him close, planting a loud kiss on his cheek. “I love you.”
“You’re a natural,” I said to Sadie as she pushed strands of hair from her eyes.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” she said with a shaky smile, “but thanks.”
Ellie released a dramatic breath, holding her mace in both hands. “We did it.”
The five of us stood there for a moment, absorbing the quiet and the violence. The overpowering smell.
For the first time, we were still, and I took in everyone’s faces—Owen and Laura, Ellie and Sadie—and it hit me how lucky we were to have one another.
I wiped the blade of my sword on the nearest infected and turned toward the court, where Willow gripped the mesh and waited for us, safe and sound. “Okay there, Wills?”
She nodded, watching us a beat longer before she pushed off the fence and headed for the gate.
Tomorrow, we’d all part ways, never to see one another again.
Tonight, I intended to make the most of every second we had together.