Afflicted

“Yeah I know. But I saw it with my own eyes. It was here and it was hungry.” Rose shuddered and the memory of the woman's bloody body flashed through my mind. I clasped my neck where her wound had been and imagined being hunted by a giant cougar. No wonder the place was deserted but that still didn't explain where the authorities were unless they were trying to track the creature down. If they weren't, it could still be somewhere nearby.

“And then, once it had moved on and people started emerging from hiding places a woman just went psycho and started attacking this old man. While me and Shilo were trying to help him, another guy attacked us too. We had to run for it and Shilo stayed back to hold him off me. He told me to run. I haven't been able to find him since.” Though her gaze never wavered, I could hear the raw emotion trying to break through in Rose’s voice. She was really worried about her friend.

“People just started attacking each other?” Ryan asked as he looked around more waril

y. “Do you think there's still contaminated water about?”

“I dunno. All I know is I ran further and faster than I even thought possible to get away from them. When I decided to start looking for Shilo again, I found you guys instead.” Rose’s eyes were restless, darting from shadow to shadow constantly. I couldn't decide if she was on the lookout for her friend or in case of attack. Either way it put me on edge and I could feel my muscles tightening in response. I wondered what I'd do if one of the crazy people attacked me.

“Where did you last see your friend?” I asked, hoping we might be able to help her find him.

“Down here,” she replied, pointing ahead of us.

We started heading down a long hill lined with houses. A strange noise sounded in the distance and I looked around, trying to locate it.

“What is that?” Bryony asked, cupping her ear as she concentrated.

I stilled as the wind changed direction and the sound was suddenly amplified. There was no mistaking it now. Somewhere at the bottom of the hill, people were screaming.

Chapter Eighteen

Lincoln

Cold hands closed around my wrist, jolting me awake. I snatched my arm back, blinking against the bright light blaring from the single bulb above my head. I wondered vaguely what had happened to the lampshade and added it to my mental list of things to fix.

Diane didn't take the hint and leant forward to brush my hair back with her fingertips.

“I didn't mean to wake you baby,” she muttered as I pushed myself upright and out of her reach. I was too old to need my momma anymore and she'd never been there when I had. It was too late for her to start acting like she cared now.

I rotated my shoulders, trying to loosen them after another night spent on the too-small couch.

Diane pursed her lips, a small frown tugging at her eyebrows. “I kept your room ready for when you came home,” she said softly. “You should be sleeping in a proper bed.”

“That hasn't been my room for six years,” I replied irritably. “I've got a real home now.”

She reached out tentatively for the chain around my neck, running it through her fingers until my dog tags were in her grasp. She eyed them with a mixture of emotions that I couldn't place then let them fall back onto my bare chest.

An awkward silence fell over us for several minutes until I pushed myself up onto my feet.

“Breakfast?” I offered as I headed to the kitchen.

She didn't answer but trailed after me, taking a seat at the breakfast bar while I set the kettle boiling with some bottled water. I could feel her eyes on me, studying me as I worked and fought to ignore it. She'd been doing it a lot since I came back and I could only guess that she was drinking in all the changes in me. There were plenty of them and just as many weren't visible.

“Where did you get that scar?” she asked quietly.

I glanced up to find her pointing at the white line which ran across my left side, lining a rib.

“Knife attack while I was posted on a security detail. It was an assassination attempt not meant for me.”

She gasped and pressed a hand to her mouth. I forced myself not to roll my eyes. She'd seen my father attack me more than once so I didn't know why the idea of someone else doing it would bother her so much.

“It was just a flesh wound; my rib stopped it and the blade glanced off.” I trailed a finger along the scar from front to back, illustrating how the knife had struck me. It might not have been particularly serious but it had still hurt like a bitch.

I turned my back on her wide eyes and busied myself with making the food. My gaze fell on the view out of the window and I stopped what I was doing as I caught sight of the lawn.

“What the hell?” I muttered as I leant closer to the glass to get a better look. I'd only cut it yesterday morning but the grass looked like it hadn't seen a mower for a month. After the jungle of the day before, I wondered if I just hadn't cut it short enough but it wasn't just longer; it was green too. When I'd left it, the lawn was a dirty yellow colour from the lack of sunlight getting through to the lower level.

I abandoned my breakfast prep and headed out the back, unbolting the door as I went.