She didn’t fall a story to the street below and become a broken-boned meal for the horde. Fucking up wasn’t an option because she was getting home. Yes, she was.
The aluminum roof blistered her hands and cheek. It was a piss poor welcome to safety.
Ali rolled onto her back, folding her arms over her body, trying to keep her exposed limbs off the scorching metal. The hot pain through her t-shirt was the final insult.
She lay there and cried from relief and horror both as the sunset faded and the infected gathered below.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“What do you mean she’s missing?”
Santa blanched, held up his chubby mitts in a placating gesture. “Now then, son, calm down. She’s a smart girl.”
“I. Want. Facts.” Finn clamped his teeth shut, his stomach ready to spill. People milled about amongst the pick-ups piled high with the day’s takings. He ignored the audience and the pounding of footsteps behind him. “Explain to me how she was the only one who got left behind.”
“What’s going on?” Dan demanded, landing a heavy hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Finn?”
“They lost her. They fucking lost her.”
The big man’s mouth opened then closed. “What? Andy said she took the first truck back.”
“No. Where is she, Dan?”
“Finn, I swear, I thought she was already home. I was going to give her a serve for leaving without me.”
Erin stepped forward. “Andy came back in one of the other trucks. We don’t know where he is now. He told me the same thing.”
“You left her there.” Finn grabbed Dan’s arm, ignoring the tremble in his fingers. “How the fuck could you leave her there, Dan?”
“I … I thought …”
“You were supposed to watch her!” Finn raised his fist. Dan didn’t even flinch. Just stood there, patiently waiting to take what was coming. He didn’t even say anything. Just looked completely gutted. Soul destroyed. His gaze vacant and the color gone from his face.
Finn knew how he felt.
“We need to go get her,” Finn said, letting his fist drop. He couldn’t do it.
“I’m in,” Erin said. No hesitation.
“Calm down, people.” Santa’s bushy brows clumped. “It’s nearly dark. You cannot—”
“Like hell I can’t,” Finn snarled. Dan’s fingers dug into his shoulders, holding him back. “She is not staying out there alone. Move that truck now!”
“Son …” Santa started up again.
Finn literally felt himself snap, heard the noise like a crack in his skull. He lunged at the prick.
“Finn! Shit.” Dan’s arm grabbed around Finn’s waist, dragged him back. “Calm down. This is not helping. You wanna hit someone, hit me.”
Finn snarled, pissed off beyond belief. But he let Dan pull him back.
“It’s nearly dark,” Dan said. “We can’t do a damn thing by going back out there now but get her into more trouble.”
“Explain,” Finn demanded, his heart racing.
“Ali knows how to hide. She’s real y good at it,” said Daniel. “We go out there now, we’ll put her in danger. She’ll try to come to us.”
“I want her back.”
“I know.” Dan’s arms wrapped around him. The man was the only thing stopping him from hitting the ground. “I know. And I’m so fucking sorry, but we’ve gotta be smart about it.”
His mind raced, and his heart sank, so far down it was through the ground. The thought of leaving her out there was abhorrent.
“Fucking hell,” muttered Finn.
Dan nodded in perfect understanding, eyes glassy. “Yeah.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
It was oddly peaceful on the roof. There was nothing to be done until dawn and infected didn’t climb. They lacked the coordination, the muscle strength, who knew. She was safe for now and resolved to take it easy.
It was hard to block out all the moaning going on downstairs. At least she was out in the open air, not caught in a dust-ridden attic.
And she was safe enough for the night. There were two positives.
She counted stars to pass the time and keep her mind off her bladder, tested her memory for song lyrics. Hoping she didn’t hear any vehicles, hoping they wouldn’t try to come out at night, hoping they were safe.
The lights of Blackstone shone like a beacon in the darkness. No wonder they were attracting zombies to the wal s. It seemed a long way away. Then, another light came to life near the settlement. That was odd. She squinted, peering out into the dark.
One lone light outside of town. It was there, then gone. Poof! Like she had imagined it. No one went beyond the town wal s at night.
Better not be Finn or Dan out there, trying to get to her. God, she hoped it wasn’t them. Please.
There’d been a lot of angry words lately between all three of them. When she got back she’d fix that. Whatever was brewing between Dan and Finn would be dealt with. She loved them both too much to lose them. The pissy silences between her and Finn needed addressing, too.
She swallowed, trying to conjure up some moisture in her mouth. No water bottle; it was downstairs somewhere. What a mess.
But she was stil alive and breathing, still uninfected and still getting home. She watched the light and ran the opening lines to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” through her head. Over and over. Her memory for lyrics was shit.
A menacing growl shut down the disco. Snapping and snarling rose up out of the dark. Scratching and scraping. Her skin prickled.
She wanted to huddle against the cooling tin roof.
The moaning escalated to counteract the competition. The zombies sounded agitated, afraid.
She lay like the dead, staring into the heavens, her focus entirely on what played out below. The noises reached new heights and the battle began. The sound of breaking bones and tearing flesh came to her, noises unique and horrible, indelible.
Something was enjoying the infected she had drawn. Safe to say Mike was done. Poor Mike. Poor everyone.
There were several somethings sniffing the air, followed by whining and howling. Dogs. What would the infection do to dogs? More importantly, dogs couldn’t climb buildings, no matter what their diet entailed. She was safe for now.
Ever so quietly, she rolled onto her belly, crawled to the side of the building and peered over the edge, not daring to breathe.
Several sets of gleaming red eyes stared back at her from below.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Finn squinted into the rising sun, bracing himself against the side of the tray as they drove out of Blackstone.
For a moment he had a funny sensation, racing past the remains of the town. The hairs on the back of his neck vaulted. It felt a lot like someone had him in their crosshairs.
He scanned the lines of dul weatherboard houses and overgrown gardens, but there were no signs of life. Nothing.
He shook it off, got back to the gnawing anxiety over Al.
Dan sat beside him, face lined with guilt. That wasn’t right. They both loved her, and both did their best. There’d been a lot of tension lately, but that was the truth of it. No one had been expecting an attack from within. Blackstone had seemed a haven up until now. The big guy’s face showed the strain of the past twelve hours, dark stubble lining his jaw and heavy shadows beneath his eyes. Finn knew the feeling.
Patience was non-existent, and frustration rode him hard.
Dan caught him looking and gave a tight nod. “Not far now.”
He nodded back, hoped it was reassuring.
Two of the other men sat further down the bed of the truck with guns in their laps, gazing at anything but him and Dan. No doubt skeptical they would find her in one piece. Idiots. She would be fine.
Dan sighed, staring off into the red dust clouds trailing behind them. “Andy’s a dead man.”
They’d spent the night searching for the little prick. He had been the one who told Dan that Ali had left in the first truck. He had also been the one who came across Lindsay’s body. What would have happened if they found him? He didn’t know. And there was the line in the sand. The moral quandary Finn could see himself stepping over. But he gave the same answer he had all night. “No. We can’t go there.”
“Sure we can.” Muscles jumped in the big guy’s jaw. “I have no problem with having his blood on my hands.”
All too believable.
Andy’s disappearance left a lot of unanswered questions. Unfortunately, he could hide, even in a small space like Blackstone.
Especially since they were newcomers, and Andy was the hometown boy. If he had crossed the wall then the chances of locating him were none. The last thing Al needed was Dan going out into the wilderness, guns blazing. They needed to stick together, all three of them. That would be the new rule, if he had to cuff himself to her to make it happen.
“She’s alive.” Finn had to be over the century mark on churning out the statement. Those words were as hollow as they had been each and every time.
Another nod from the man.
In between searching for Andy and worrying about Al, Finn had done a lot of thinking. Not just about the jealousy between them all lately, but also about Lindsay’s death. Turning over everything he had seen since arriving in town. Second guessing everything because nothing made sense, at least not to him.
“There were extra marks on Lindsay’s neck. Might have been fingerprints. But I’m no expert. I have no proof.” Finn rubbed his hand over the stubble on his jaw. “Why would someone want to kil her?”
Dan stared back at him. “Why would someone want to set up our girl?”
“I don’t know. But quit saying it was your fault.”
Dan said nothing.
Miles and miles of bushland passed them by.
Eventually, a neat line of houses surrounded by hip-high grass and weeds announced the beginning of another town. Erin dropped the speed to negotiate the typical assortment of cars and debris.
Everything was still. The town permanently asleep, already neglected. It wouldn’t be long till it verged on ruin.