Chapter 5
Kate
My stomach growls, demanding food I don’t have. The sun has set, throwing the room into near darkness.
Patrols are only for a night, but I know I packed some food away.
My captor hasn’t been back up here to check on me. I’m incredibly perplexed by what’s happening, about why she knocked me from my horse and is keeping me here.
I tug on my restraints for what feels like the millionth time, but it’s no use—I’m stuck.
Though I’ve never heard or encountered an infected that likes to play with its food this way, that’s the only logical explanation for what’s happening.
I turn my head to look out the sole window as my stomach whines again. The moon is full tonight and I have an unobstructed view of her from here. At least, if I’m going to die, I get to see something beautiful.
“I have food.”
My heart nearly leaps from my chest. “God dammit!” I snarl, shifting at the sound of her voice. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
I can barely make her out in the darkness, but I hear fine. “Sorry.” She doesn’t sound the least bit apologetic. “I made food for you.”
I blink. “Food?”
“Yes.” Her voice now comes from right next to me, startling me again before I hear something being placed on the nightstand. “Rabbit.”
Even though I’m starving, my stomach roils at the idea of having a dead, most likely infected, rabbit right next to me. “No thanks.”
The bed dips by my hip. “It’s cooked.”
That makes me pause. “It is?” Infected don’t cook. They eat meat raw.
“Yes.”
“I didn’t hear anything downstairs.” Or smell anything.
“The bedroom is the furthest from the kitchen.”
My brain is trying to make sense of everything. “Um. It’s not…you didn’t—”
When an infected bites another living thing, blood pools from its gums, desperate to mingle and spread. Once her teeth sink into someone, the victim is guaranteed to turn.
“I didn’t bite it, if that’s what you’re asking. No signs of infection. I simply snared it and prepared it for you. Now.” I feel fingers on my cheek. “I will not untie you to eat. I will feed you.”
I snort. “Pass.”
“Do it, Kate.”
Hearing my name on her tongue feels foreign and a shiver rolls down my spine. “How do you know my name?”
“It’s on the inside of your backpack. Stop interrupting.” Something warm presses against my lips as the scent of meat reaches my nostrils.
I salivate but twist my head away. “I want to do it myself.”
“No,” she snarls.
“At least turn on a flashlight,” I argue.
“You know we can’t do that.”
“Just—” I sigh, feeling like I’m in a losing battle. “If I eat, will you untie me?”
Silence. Then, “Probably not.”
It was worth a shot. “What about if you tell me what you plan to do with me?”
The meat is unceremoniously shoved into my mouth, making me sputter. I go to spit it out, but she claps a hand over my lips, forcing it to stay closed.
“Just eat the fucking food.” Her breath skates over my face.
Panic has me chewing the meat, but eventually, my hunger wins out. I swallow it, letting it slide down my esophagus and refusing to feel like I’m making a mistake. If I’m going to escape, I’ll need my strength.
Slowly, she feeds me piece after piece until I feel completely satiated.
I mull over how to get away from her. I’ll need her to untie me—I can’t break free on my own. Maybe I’ll attract more bees with honey than vinegar, as the old saying goes.
“Thank you,” I offer after the pieces of meat stop.
She doesn’t say anything.
Silence envelopes us, and my anxiety demands I fill it. “Please, let me go. I’m from zone five—”
Her low grumble causes fear to wind around my throat like barbed wire.
The bed creaks as she shifts forward, her breath fanning over my face as she nears. I press my lips together, too scared to even breathe. She sniffs a few times, the growling sound getting louder. Something wet drops on my forehead and I stiffen.
Is—is this…saliva?
I stay completely still, not even blinking, afraid that any movement will have her lunging for me. Then something warm and moist glides across my forehead and I can’t stop the cringe.
Did she lick my forehead?
A low rumble from her chest sounds almost content, confusing me even more. Being licked by an infected is, by far, one of the strangest things I’ve yet to experience.
Luckily for me, I feel her pull back, but she doesn’t leave. I can feel the intensity of her eyes on me as I hear her nearly purring beside me.