“Hey, this is Viola. Leave a message.”
“Viola, it’s Marina. Can you answer your damn phone? I’m on my way over,” I hurried the message and hung up, grabbing my car keys. My sister had always been useless at answering her phone and today was no less infuriating than usual, she was probably busy with Hallie and Esther though. I could imagine how many questions the 9 year old was asking. At least the 3 year old would be clueless. I dug around my kitchen cupboards, grabbing a few supplies. You could never be too careful. I thrust it all haphazardly into my backpack, then dashed out to my car and impatiently started it. As the engine roared into life, the radio did also.
“-are urging people not to attempt to make contact with the infected. Symptoms include unpredictable behaviour, increased aggression and loss of coordination. Some reports say that the infected are biting-”
I switched it off, abruptly. That’s enough of that. I’m trying to gather my courage, not banish it forever. I tried calling Viola again, but there was no answer, so I put the car into drive and set off towards her house in Odessa.

I’d not prepared for the total chaos along the way. I knew that people would be panicking - it doesn’t take much to set off mass hysteria after all – but in just the week or so that I’d been holed up hoping for everything to blow over, they had completely lost their minds. People were brawling in the streets, shops were being looted, cars had been abandoned all over the roads. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, it was like civilisation had gone out of the window overnight. I was so distracted by it all, that I only looked up at the last second as someone leapt in front of my car. I slammed the breaks on in panic, but it was too late. The sickening thump resounded around the car. Oh my god, I just hit someone. Wasting no time, I rushed out of the car to help them. As I rounded the bonnet though, something about their appearance made me stop. It was a young man, dishevelled looking. His skin was unhealthily pale, his eyes were bloodshot and his face was covered in claw-like scratches. I took a little step forwards, reluctant to get too close. His eyes rolled a little as he tried to sit up, eventually meeting mine. He cracked his jaw a couple of times before attempting to stand, never breaking eye contact. I was paralysed with fear, snapped out of it only when my car jumped into reverse.

“Hey!” I called out, but whoever had taken advantage of the distraction wasn’t waiting around for me to reclaim my property. They also had no qualms about finishing off the man I’d just injured as they sped around me and drove straight over him with a nauseating crunch. I jumped backwards, letting out a yelp. What the hell was happening? My phone buzzed in my pocket, jolting me back into reality. I took in my chaotic surroundings and realised that I didn’t have time to check who was calling. I had to get out of here, fast.

“If you want your kid to live, you do what we say.”
I instantly stopped my thrashing and listened intently. They had Hallie, and she was alive. Or so they said. The hands pulled me up to my feet and turned me on the spot.
“Walk,” the voice commanded. I did as they said and let them guide me.
“Where’s the girl?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm. I didn’t want them to know I was fucking terrified. They didn’t answer, instead they stopped me abruptly. I heard something scrape across the floor and suddenly I was pulled backwards into a chair. Ropes were tightened around me, securing me into place. Fuck, I knew I should have ran. I strained my ears for Hallie, praying that she was still alive, but I could hear nothing. Once he’d finished knotting the ropes, the man’s footsteps walked away briskly. The door closed behind him and I heard him descend the stairs, calling out to someone. There’s more than one of them. That’s even worse. There was laughter, some playful bickering. I tried to distinguish between the different voices and count how many of them there were. Definitely at least 3. I struggled against the ropes, desperate to free myself. Three men could do a lot of damage and I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through that. I definitely didn’t want Hallie to, I’d fought for so long to keep her safe. It couldn’t end here, like this. I started rocking the chair from side to side, not sure what end result I was hoping for but maybe if I tipped it, I could get somewhere.

“Will you stop that?” came an irate voice from the corner of the room. It startled me, he’d been so quiet that I didn’t realise he was there, but of course they left someone watching me. What an idiot I was to even entertain the idea that I’d have been left by myself to potentially escape. Footsteps approached me and then the sack that had been obscuring my vision was suddenly lifted. The voice belonged to a lanky guy who stood awkwardly before me, one eyebrow arched. Judging by his features, he must have been a similar age to me. He had tousled jet-black hair, icy blue eyes and colourful arms; and when he spoke, there was a hint of a lisp.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll sit still and keep your mouth shut,” he warned me, making me bristle a little. Who did he think he was? He headed back over to his corner, where he sat on a wooden chair beside a rifle. Like he needed any type of gun to overpower me. I was a weed in comparison to his stature and physique. My eyes were drawn to his fingers. There was something in his hands that he was expertly twiddling, but I couldn’t quite see what. It looked like a piece of jewellery or something. I was past worrying about niceties at this point - I was tied to a fricking chair after all - so I stared openly at him, trying to judge his character. Every now and then his eyes flicked up from the thing in his hands, making sure I hadn’t moved, before flicking back down to his lap. On his fifth check of me, he sighed exasperatedly.
“Do you always stare at people this bad?” he asked, clearly irritated.
“Is she ok? The girl I was with?” I countered, ignoring his question, my voice betraying my fear. Hallie was all I was worried about. I knew it, he knew it and I knew they’d use it to play with me.
“Well, she’s alive,” he smirked, knowing his answer would ruffle my feathers. He wasn’t wrong. It rubbed me up completely the wrong way, but instead of arguing, I went back to being mute. There was a clattering in the distance, followed by a discussion in hurried tones. The lanky guy looked in my direction, letting a smile play across his lips.
“Oh boy,” he said, like he relished the thought, “Shadows is back.”

There were heavy footfalls on the stairs. My skin prickled with terror. I didn’t know who Shadows was, but I had a feeling that I really didn’t want to meet him. Flashes of the past two years flickered through my mind. All the running, scavenging, fighting and hiding. All the fear, the anxiety and the snatches of laughter that we managed between the tears. All of it was coming down to this. I didn’t want to think about how my life was about to end. I gave up entirely on attempting to appear strong and confident; the gravity of my situation was pulling me down and I let the tears spill down my face. I squeezed my eyes shut, making a pact with myself to never open them again. I didn’t want to know how it was going to happen. The rhythmic steps got louder as they approached my prison, each one urging my heart to beat a little faster. Eventually they were in the room with me, stood before me. I could feel his presence in front of me, looming, but still I kept my eyes closed. He waited patiently, not making a move. I tried to call his bluff, but after a couple of minutes my curiosity got the best of me. Making sure to keep them fixed down, I let my eyes flicker open. I focused on his laced shoes, but his hands were rested at his sides in my peripherals. I could see tendrils of tattoos coming down his wrists from his arms. It drew my eyes upwards to them. I was halfway up his body now, already having broken my pact with myself to not look, so I figured I might as well go all the way and look my killer in the eye.

I’ll admit I was caught off guard. He had the most hypnotic hazel eyes, faintly lined with creases that only added to the overall attractiveness of them. Hey, he may have nice eyes, but don’t forget he’s about to torture and/or murder you, I reminded myself. I swallowed as I took in his emotionless face. His features were strong but not harsh, and his hair was buzzed short. His muscular body was evident even through his tee.
“Where’s the girl that was with me?” I blurted out, now completely incapable of hiding my fear. “Please don’t hurt her. You can do anything to me if you just let her go.”
He held up a hand to silence me, his facial expression still stony.
“Who are you?” he asked. There was such an authority to his voice that I found myself answering his question without a fight.
“My name is Marina,” I whispered, petrified at this point.
“Who are you with, Marina?” his second question rang out, still stern.
“My niece.”
“No, I mean which group are you with?” he asked, exasperated by my apparent stupidity.
“I’m not with a group,” I replied, earnestly. He turned away, cracking his neck, and raised his hand high before slamming his fist down onto a table beside him.
“I said what fucking group are you part of?” he spat, turning back to me with fiery eyes.
“None, I swear!” I squeaked back at him, scared out of my wits. “We’re travelling alone.”
“Travelling alone,” he scoffed, looking me in the eye, obviously assessing my trustworthiness.
“We started out in Texas with my sister and her other daughter but now it’s just us. We’re trying to get to the Washington safety checkpoint,” I blabbered, completely giving away any secrets we had. His angry expression made me add with a whimper, “Please don’t hurt us.”
He bent over, resting his hands on his knees. His face was inches from mine and his mouth twisted into a horrible smile.
“There is no checkpoint,” he replied, coldly. “Did you really think there would be?”
I didn’t know how to answer that. Deep down, of course I had known there was a chance it didn’t exist. It was all rumours to begin with anyway, but if there were any semblance of normality anywhere in the world, it would surely have shown itself in some form by now. A helicopter, a radio broadcast, something would have come up, right? But to admit that there was no checkpoint was to admit that there was no hope of a normal life ever again. We had a goal right now whilst we were headed for it, something to aim for and keep us going.
“We’ve been there. It was overrun with biters. No one’s saving you,” Shadows sneered, a cruel sharpness to his voice. I looked away, pressing my lips together tightly. He knew that he was getting to me, mocking me for having entertained childish fantasies of army checkpoints and safe houses.
“Speaking of the infected,” he began again, as he straightened himself back up to full height. “Do you have any bites? Any scratches?” he questioned, looking me up and down. I shook my head and looked away. I was done here. He’d broken me in less than a minute and I had no intention letting him pulverise the pieces of my dignity that were lying pathetically on the floor. He cocked his head to one side, his expression softening a little. I wasn't sure if that was worse. He almost looked pitying now. He leaned forward, coming close to my face again to speak, but this time his voice was ridden with guilt. “I’m sorry, but I can’t risk letting you go,” he said, softly. I snapped my head up and shot him a look of confusion and pleading, but he ignored it and pulled the sack back down over my head. Two pairs of footsteps exited the room and I was left alone with only my humiliation to keep my company.

Notes