Chapter Two
Wade
The chain around my neck is heavy, making every movement harder than it should be.
I’m slow and sluggish, partially because these assholes refuse to give me the water and food I need to keep going and partially because I’m tied down.
I’m on my last leg. We all know it. It’s only a matter of time before these stupid games become too much.
Then everything will blissfully, finally, be over.
I open my eyes and see a guy staring at me. I’m used to it. Everyone stares at me. I’m a werewolf tied up for everyone’s entertainment, of course they watch me.
This is different.
His eyes are different.
I keep myself on the ground but turn my head slightly to get a better look.
He’s been here for a few days but he never gets into the gambling or celebrations that occur when nighttime falls over our camp.
Everyone gathers around, cheering about whether or not tonight will be the night the zombies become too much for me.
They wonder if this bite will finally be the bite to take.
They pass canned goods and toilet paper and other supplies back and forth.
This new guy never does that. He sits atop the hill and watches but there’s more of a calculation to his gaze.
When no one is looking, I see the way his lips curl in disgust. A long time ago, I gave up the concept of hoping for someone to come save me.
As much as I wish I had the strength for that now, I just don’t.
That doesn’t stop me from wondering why he’s stayed if he hates these people as much as I do. Maybe he wants to see how things will end.
There are a few people milling around but no one pays the new guy any mind. He stares at me, long and hard before pulling out a piece of paper, holding it up for me to see. If I wasn’t a werewolf, there’d be no way for me to make out the words but with my enhanced sight, I can see every word.
Save your strength. Tonight’s the night. Be ready. We’re running north.
I blink at him and he takes that as my signal that I’ve read the note. He tucks it away before anyone can see what’s just happened before turning around and heading in the opposite direction. I watch his back as he goes until he finally disappears past where I can see.
Turning onto my back, I stare up at the sky above me. My chest gives a small twinge, something I used to feel before I was captured. I don’t let myself hope, but it happens nonetheless. Just maybe, this guy is the real deal. Maybe not all of humanity is lost.
Or maybe he’s fucking around with me, leading me into some bullshit trap that Saul has thought up. I run north and then the hunters chase me into the woods.
It might be a trap but fuck it. Running and fighting the hunters of this group sounds a hell of a lot better than staying where I am. At least then I’d go down with a proper fight.
One of my ‘handlers’ kicks me in the side. I grunt before rolling over onto my hands and knees, looking up at him with narrowed eyes. If I didn’t have this fucking silver chain around my neck, things would be different. I would eat them all alive, literally.
“Look alive, puppy. The sun is starting to set and you know what that means.”
I growl, deep and low, the sound coming from my chest.
“Oh, don’t give me that. I found myself a deer and if you perform well, I’ll get you a steak.”
He’s lying. He tries this from time to time, buttering me up when he’s placed a bet. Fuck him. Fuck them all.
“That new guy seems interesting,” my other handler says.
I never learned their names. I’m sure if I thought about it long enough, I would remember but I don’t want to remember.
They’ve dehumanized me and this is my way of fighting back.
They don’t get to have space inside my head.
“He’s already doing security sweeps of the camp. ”
“Really? Saul doesn’t usually let people do that so soon.”
“Apparently Saul trusts him. He’s got dogtags, maybe he’s military or something.”
“I don’t care as long as he knows his place and doesn’t require us to pull his dead weight around.”
Everyone tries to funnel the zombies towards me so that I can fight them until the sun comes out.
The first time I gave up and let a zombie bite me, I thought everything would finally be over.
The universe has a sick sense of humor because after excruciating pain and a fever hot enough to burn people when they checked on me, I came out the other side totally fine.
I woke up with a scar on my arm but that’s it, the rest of me was back to normal.
Now, my body is covered in bites and scratches. Every time, these assholes nurse me back to health. I’m their only form of entertainment and they’ll never let anything bad actually happen to me. It’s maddening, a cycle I can’t seem to break on my own.
I smell the blood immediately thanks to my werewolf senses.
I pretend not to notice, not wanting to tip off the people around me.
I have no idea who’s bleeding, only that someone is.
They’re circling the camp, leaving blood behind as they go.
Soon enough, the zombies are going to smell it as well.
Their blood lust is going to take over and they’ll attack the camp. They’re going to go full-on berserk.
Once I put the pieces together, I realize what’s going on. Hope, that had long ago died, revives itself inside of my chest. That new guy is covering the camp with his blood. That’s his plan. He’s going to use the zombies as a distraction to free me.
I get off the ground, standing up and preparing myself. Now I get why he told me to save my strength. With the silver around my neck, I’ll never be at full strength but I have enough juice to fight my handlers. If I can survive wave after wave of zombies, I will survive these two.
They start a fire. This is their routine. They try to get this area of the camp well lit. This is where the majority of the noise comes from. This is where they try to bring the zombies. Tonight, that will only lead the zombies to the blood, playing right into the new guy’s hand.
I smell smoke. It’s coming from the very back of the camp, the corner that’s furthest away from me. No one else has noticed but I can smell it even with a campfire right next to me.
My heart is racing inside of my chest. Adrenaline starts to course through me, my muscles practically shaking with anticipation. It’s only a matter of time. One way or another, I will be free of this place. I don’t care what it takes.
People are coming to the area. The sun goes down, the zombies get faster, and people start to place their bets, that’s how nights usually go. Tonight will be different. I can smell it in the air, I can feel it in my chest. Tonight is the night.
The crowd grows bigger and bigger. The smell of smoke is thick, yet no one other than me seems to notice, the fire in front of us masking everything else.
Already I can see a handful of zombies stumbling in our direction.
They come from all sides. These people have become too complacent to even realize they’re in danger.
They’re so focused on me and their stupid betting game that they haven’t noticed that zombies are coming from every direction instead of where they try to funnel them.
They’re going to hit the camp before these assholes realize they’re under attack.
Chaos. The new guy is causing chaos and using that as a way to hide in plain sight. Everyone will be so freaked out by the zombies they won’t even think to check on me. By the time they do, hopefully I’ll already be gone.
“Do you hear that?”
I stay completely still, waiting.
“What’s all that commotion?”
“What’s going on?”
“Someone go check it out!”
People start to scatter until I’m left with only my two handlers.
I can hear people starting to run about, starting to shout.
Along with the people inside the camp, I can also hear zombies.
Their steps start to pick up speed, no doubt as they get the scent of blood in their nose.
The bloodlust will start to take over and they’ll become uncontrollable. They’ll tear this entire place apart.
One of my handlers grabs my collar, holding me tight. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but don’t you fucking dare do something stupid, puppy.”
Before I can react, a dagger comes flying over my head. I hear it whistle through the air and a moment later, there’s a wet squelch as it finds its mark. My handler goes down, a dagger sticking out of his eye.
“What the hell?”
My other handler gets the same exact treatment. If circumstances were different, I think I would find this guy’s competence incredibly sexy. Instead, all I can think about is getting this stupid collar off my throat.
I grab my handler, rummaging through his pockets until I find a key.
I bring it to my throat but my hands are shaking and the angle is all wrong.
I’m so close to escaping yet, I can’t seem to get myself free.
Frustration rises up inside of me until a pitiful murmur escapes me, sounding like a kicked dog.
“Hey,” the new guy says, kneeling down between the two bodies. He pulls out his daggers, sliding them back into his thigh holster. Then he turns his eyes towards me. “Let me unlock you.”
I want to fight him but instead, I hand over the key and look up, giving him access to my collar. Everything inside of me is screaming at me not to trust this guy. I shouldn’t be showing him my throat. I shouldn’t be submitting. But what else can I really do?
There’s a rag wrapped around his palm from where he cut himself, leaving his blood all over the camp.
The moment my collar is popped open and tossed onto the ground, I’m overwhelmed with something I haven’t felt in a long time; relief.
I feel like I can breathe for the first time since I was captured. I am free.
I stare at the man in front of me, blinking slowly. He saved me. He actually saved me. We might not be out of the clear yet, but I’m no longer chained. Already I can feel my strength returning. They will never chain me again.
“You can understand me, right?” I nod my head.
“Good. We’re gonna use this clusterfuck to our advantage.
I put blood on every part of the camp except over here.
We should have a clear shot to the tree line.
I saw they had guns but I’m hoping with everything else going on, they won’t waste the ammo on us. ”
“They might,” I say, my voice coming out hoarse and scratchy. Gods, it’s been so long since I’ve had to speak.
“That’s a chance we have to take. Come on,” he says, reaching over and taking my wrist. I pull my hand away, more out of instinct than anything else. Thankfully, the guy doesn’t seem to mind.
Someone comes barreling towards us but before they can make it, a zombie reaches from between the tents, tripping the guy and lunging onto him. The zombie takes a bite out of the guy’s shoulder. As we move, all I hear is his screams.
We run through camp, fighting as we go. I cry out as pain lances up from my ankle. I throw off a zombie that’s attached itself. I stop in order to stomp down on its head, shattering its skull before I move on. This guy, the one who saved me, and I are never far away from each other.
We make it to the outskirts of the camp quickly, my savior taking out a zombie and another guy along the way. Part of me is angry that he’s getting all the human kills but the bigger part of me is thankful to just follow behind. My strength might be coming back but I’m still so goddamn tired.
Everything is a blur. I follow this guy’s lead until we pause at the very last tent.
“This is it. We need to make a break for it. Head for the tree line and get something between you and the camp as soon as possible.”
“Why does it sound like we’re departing separately?”
“Because we are. Let me cover you.”
“No,” I say, my voice hard. “Come with me.”
He shakes his head but I growl, the sound coming from my chest. He looks up in surprise. His eyes dart between my own for too long before he finally agrees.
“Fine. We’ll go together. You ready?”
“Yes.”
The guy turns around, like he’s waiting for something. That’s when an explosion occurs on the other side of the camp. There’s more groaning zombies, more screaming, more fire. He gives me a small smile before turning away and running towards the forest.
We make our break. It’s been too long since I was allowed to run like this. My animalistic side rejoices at finally being free to stretch my legs. My lungs ache but in a way that feels so fucking good. We run as fast as we can.
Just as we’re about to make it into the trees, a bang sounds. Fire lights up my right thigh. I hit the ground, tripping over myself and rolling into the forest.
“Fuck,” I gasp out, my breath stolen from the pain. I look down, finding my thigh bleeding heavily. I look out and see Saul holding a rifle. That fucking asshole. Just as I’m about to look away, a zombie tackles him from behind.
Seems like poetic justice. Or something. I don’t fucking know, all I know right now is pain. That bullet was silver and it’ll take my body twice as long to heal itself.
“Come on,” my savior says, pulling me deeper into the safety of the woods. “We need to keep going.”
“Can’t,” I manage to get out. “Shot. Silver. Bleeding.”
“You’ll be fine,” he says hurriedly. He grabs something from his backpack, using it to tie around my thigh. “It looks like it went right though. You don’t have silver inside you. You’ll be okay. You’ve survived worse.”
He’s right, but this is so much blood. My head grows light. The adrenaline is fading, leaving behind a tiredness I can’t seem to fight.
“Keep going,” I tell him breathlessly. “I’ll be fine.”
“Like hell,” he says. I’m pretty sure he somehow hefts me onto his back, but I can’t be sure because a moment later, I pass out.