Afflicted

I took a step back, then another, too afraid to tear my gaze from the darkness.

As I took a third step, the figure let out a shriek so filled with rage that my blood ran cold in my veins. A scream of fright escaped my lips as he lunged forward and hurtled towards me. One thought flashed through my brain ‘Holy shit don't let me die like this!’

Chapter Seventeen

Kaitlyn

A girl jumped in front of me as I let out another terrified scream and almost fell into the gutter. She had short cropped black hair, shaved up the righthand side but hanging to her chin on the left. For the briefest of seconds I was just glad that the man would reach her before me. Then my brain kicked into gear and I reached for her, hoping to drag her aside before he could make it to the end of the alley. If we could just get back to my friends he might back off. There were a lot of us and only a fool would take on a football team alone.

As the screaming man closed the distance bet

ween us, the girl raised her arm and sprayed something into his face.

He howled in pain and collapsed to the ground, clutching his eyes.

I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back as he rolled towards us, screaming a string of curses intermingled with threats of what he'd do to us when he could see again.

My mouth hung open as I gaped at the man writhing on the concrete. He clawed his face so hard that blood slid down his cheeks. He was wearing dark pants but his shirt was gone and groups of four gouges marked his back as if he'd been trying to scratch his own skin off.

“What the hell-“ I began, unsure what I was even going to ask.

“Thanks for the distraction,” the girl said as she shoved the can of pepper spray back in her pocket and caught my elbow, steering me away from the alley. “He’s been following me for the last two blocks.”

I opened my mouth to respond but couldn't seem to find the right words for the kind of crazy I'd just experienced.

“Kaitlyn?” Ryan called worriedly as he rushed towards us and looked over my shoulder at the screaming man.

“He attacked me. I think he's one of the people who the water turned psycho,” I explained shakily. Tears started to prick the backs of my eyes and I blinked furiously to clear them before they could fall. No way I was going to break down in the middle of the street with Demi looking on. She'd have enough ammo to use on me for the next month if I let that happen. Not to mention what Reese would start doing as his next impression.

I let Ryan wrap a protective arm around me as we jogged back towards the rest of my friends, leaving the shrieking man behind us. The girl stayed by my side, her face grim as her eyes darted about restlessly. She reminded me of that possum I'd saved with Linc. Split between the desire to trust us or run for it.

“Thank you,” I said belatedly, realising I'd let her save my life without so much as giving her a hello. Everything might be falling to shit around us but my mom would be ashamed of me if she knew I'd forgotten my manners like that.

“No problem,” she replied as she surveyed our group through green eyes rimmed with black eyeliner

“What were you thinking wandering off like that?” Lacey scolded as she pulled me into a hug. “We didn't know where you'd gone!”

“I was just trying to get some cell service,” I replied defensively as I pulled my cellphone from my pocket to check it once more.

They'd moved a little way along the street from the train station and the guard was nowhere in sight again. I guessed that meant Demi screaming at him had gotten us nowhere. I tried to contain my irritation with her as I glanced at my cellphone hopefully.

“No bars,” I cursed as my gaze trailed over the failed call to Linc. I should have used my momentary reception to send him a text instead of trying to call. He could have been on his way to help us already.

The girl turned back the way we had come with a worried frown darkening her features.

. “We should really get further away from that creep before he gets over the effect of the pepper spray,” she said anxiously, her hand jammed into her pocket where the little canister waited. I'd never seen anyone use pepper spray before apart from in the movies and I was quietly impressed. Whether she used me for bait or rescued me was still up for debate but either way I had to admit she was pretty badass.

“You're right,” Ryan answered before I could. “Guys!” he called, drawing everyone's attention. “Let’s hustle. Some wacko just tried to attack Kaitlyn. Let's get off the street while we work out what our next move should be.”

The others started to question him and me straight away but the girl with the dark hair caught my wrist before she could lose my attention.

“This way,” she instructed as she turned away from me.

She started running and I hurried to keep up, beckoning the others after us. I silently thanked my earlier self for picking sneakers that morning as I managed to keep pace easily. I'd always loved to run. Mom had wanted me to join the track team but the squad claimed me before I ever gave it much thought. I sometimes wondered how different my life would be if I'd made the other choice. I was sure I was fast enough for the team if I'd wanted it. But I just loved to cheer.

The girl skirted the train station and slipped between two parked cars before leading the way into an alley behind a row of shops.

“Where the hell are we going?” I heard Demi complain behind me. Not for the first time, I daydreamed about slapping her hard enough to knock the sour look from her face.