Chapter 36
Jordan
I’m running as fast as I can without tripping, trying to race after the bear.
The shot must have come from Kate.
The beast and I are both panicking. We’ll never make it to her in time. I was out of my depth, taking on a bear on my own. We were locked in a dance—it would move for me, I’d dart out of the way, both of us wanting to tear and maim the other.
It was stupid of me to have Kate run. I wasn’t thinking straight. One look at our opponent and all I could think about was her getting to safety.
But she called the bear right over to her.
My feet slip as I hit a patch of ice, but I recover quickly, pushing myself forward. I don’t think I’ll survive if anything happens to her.
The beast whines at the thought. I’m full-on sprinting now, dodging trees, leaping over fallen branches—
A flicker of strawberry blonde hair catches my attention, and my heart sputters. I charge ahead, ready to tear the bear and any threat apart—
Kate stands in front of the bear, its carcass at her back.
Her eyes find mine, and the look of pure relief on her scratched-up face has a whimper escaping me before I rush her, wrapping her in my arms and lifting her off the ground.
I squeeze her to me, arms constricting around her.
I’m never letting her go. Her scent hugs me back and panic recedes.
“Jordan,” she gasps in my ear. “Can’t—breathe—”
I loosen my hold and place her feet on the ground. Pulling back, I inspect her, seeing shallow cuts across her freckled face. My hands cradle her cheeks before I press my lips to her frozen ones. She kisses me back ferociously, meeting my need with her own.
After the beast settles, finally accepting that she’s alive and relatively uninjured, I break the kiss.
“Sending me away was incredibly stupid of you,” she scolds, a bit breathless.
I huff out a laugh. “Apparently,” I agree, looking over my shoulder at the bear for a moment. “Nice job.”
She smiles, her red cheeks bright with dried blood, but it drops quickly. “I fell while trying to get back to you. I’m all turned around now.”
“We can follow my tracks, but the snow may cover them.” I wince. “Let’s try.”
I was right; most of the tracks left behind were wiped out with the snow and wind. We decide to trudge ahead, hoping it’s the right direction.
Kate is on my back, her arms wrapped around my neck as I take us further, the incline getting steeper the further we go. If we can get high enough, maybe I can see where we need to go.
The wind picks up, cutting through my body and keeping me from hearing any potential predators. Another bear attack may kill me.
Kate is quiet behind me, but her frozen fingers press into my face every now and again. Whether in an attempt to warm them, or to let me know she’s okay, I’m not sure.
As we keep going, the trees begin to thin out, showing different caves pressed into the rock. My heart seizes. I doubt the infected would want to take any of these caves, as they’re too far from a reliable food source, but I tread carefully.
I avoid as many cave entrances as possible as we keep going. I’m about to shout to Kate that we may need to stay in one overnight, even if that’s the last thing I want to do, when something odd catches my eye.
One of the caves has large wooden spikes facing outward, various dead creatures skewered on them.
“What the fuck,” I whisper.
I pivot, fear striking through me when my eyes land on a man with his rifle pointed right at us. He’s covered in various furs and a wolf skull over his face.
“Don’t move,” he shouts.
“Fuck,” I curse. “The wind, I couldn’t hear.”
“Come with me,” he commands, jerking his weapon. “And don’t even think about reaching for a weapon.”
“We mean you no harm,” Kate shouts over the wind. “We’re just passing through. No need for this to get ugly.”
He doesn’t seem convinced. “Go,” he demands, jerking his chin forward. “Get moving.”
The idea of putting my back to him nearly makes me bleat in panic, but we do it.
“Keep your hands where I can see them,” he shouts.
I don’t even hear his footsteps in the snow before something pushes me forward and Kate gives a startled yelp. He just shoved her with his gun.
“Watch it,” I snarl, but Kate’s hand lifts to my cheek in warning.
As we walk forward to the armed cave, I wrack my brain for how to get out of this. I can’t outrun a bullet.
“What do you want with us?” Kate yells.
“We need another,” he shouts back.
My mind tries to make sense of his meaning. Another what?
We walk past the spikes, my eyes refusing to look anywhere but the entrance.
I need to be prepared to fight our way out of here without being shot.
As we step past the threshold, we’re greeted by a handful of people, blocking us from entering any further.
They’re in similar attire to the man behind us—furs protecting their bodies from the cold; long, stringy hair and animal skulls swallowing their heads.
“What have you brought us, Jeremiah?” one asks.
“A replacement,” he replies. They step back from the cave entrance and Jeremiah demands, “Move.”
Kate and I walk forward, one eye on the new people, as we step into the cave. My breath catches.
A group of twelve people are staring at us. A small fire roars in the middle of the space, with the people dispersed throughout. They have blood-stained fingers and eye us with disdain.
Holy shit. The rumors are true. An actual cult.
Kate gasps, as shocked as I am.
I feel movement at my back, keeping us caged in.
“Fellow believers,” he crows from behind us, making me cringe. “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. We lost our way to salvation, but as the Lord intended, He has provided another.”
A dozen sets of eyes burrow into me.
“As we know, only those who are truly saved can enter the gates of Heaven.” He comes into view, his voice booming against the rock. “We have a new one to test our faith.”
“This one doesn’t look right,” one comments.
Another adds, “It isn’t attacking us like it’s supposed to. Is it like Helena?”
“What’s going on?” Kate demands. “What do you need with Jor—with her?”
Jeremiah turns from his peers and looks to me. “This virus is a plague brought by God to punish mankind. Only those who can withstand this plight can be saved.”
“And how do you figure that?” I sneer.
His eyes go a bit wild as he says, “A volunteer is to be bitten by an infected, to see if they succumb to the world’s evil.”
“Let me guess: they all do.”
He closes his eyes for a moment, saying, “It is the way God intended.” His wild eyes open and land on Kate. “We will have this new infected bite you, to prove if you are worthy of eternal paradise.”
My mind short-circuits. “What?”
“He brought you here, to us,” he explains as if there’s any logic to follow. “To make sure you are worthy, the infected will bite you.”
Blood rushes in my ears and my vision starts to tunnel. What the fuck is happening?
“Drop her,” the man demands.
No, the beast rages. Kate’s arms around me tighten. I bare my teeth at him and he raises the rifle to my head.
“Don’t be stupid now.”
“It’s okay,” Kate whispers, sliding from my back. As soon as she’s no longer touching me, two women rush forward and grab her.
“Hey!” I shout, ready to rip their larynxes out until I hear the click of the rifle’s safety.
My eyes swing to Jeremiah, who gives me a sadistic smile. “It’s time to restrain you.” At that, more men surround me, guns out.
I hiss as one jabs me in the back. “Fuck off.”
He doesn’t seem fazed. “This way,” he orders before I feel another sharp jab in my back. I follow him, my senses heightened while fighting the urge to push past everyone so I can see Kate.
I’m led to one of the cave walls away from everyone else.
It isn’t until we get closer that I see a large metal chain embedded into the stone with a matching collar, stained with blood.
The beast snarls as I back up, only to end up with the barrel of the gun against my spine.
“Our Lord provided us with the tools to contain one of you,” Jeremiah explains, his voice cold, clinical, but a hint of sick pleasure swirls in his eyes.
“There’s no fucking way I’m letting you—” I’m roughly grabbed from all angles, my arms pulled behind my back before my legs are kicked from under me and I fall to my knees. Another hand grabs a fistful of hair and yanks my head back, forcing me to watch Jeremiah pick up the collar.
“Usually we’d just shoot you in the legs to stop an attack on us,” he explains, his fingers caressing the collar like a lover, “but you’re different.
It seems we don’t have to.” The beast rises up and I go to rip my arms free as I hear, “You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your little friend, would you? ”
I freeze, my mind clouding with images of them hurting Kate to punish me. I want to rip them limb from limb, but Kate will be dead before I’m even finished with them.
He must see the defeat on my face, because Jeremiah moves closer, the collar laughing at me as he closes it around my throat.