As the silent seconds ticked by, I found myself staring at the lumpy shape covered with black sacks. Something about it didn't seem real. Like my brain couldn't link my friend with the body abandoned at the back of the coffee shop.
“We stay close no matter what,” Spencer said as he pushed through the staffroom door. “Everyone needs to keep their weapons ready and their eyes open at all times.”
“If we stick together we’ll be fine,” Ryan agreed.
The others nodded their agreement as they huddled together and approached me by the door. Reese helped Jason into the wheelchair and his friend smiled at him weakly. I noticed everyone holding knives which I presumed they'd found in the kitchen.
Lacey hung several paper bags from the wheelchair handles and Spencer headed into the bathroom to retrieve Demi.
I ran my thumb over the novelty handle on my steak knife which was still jammed into the pocket of my leather jacket. The blade had pierced the pocket lining and now sat somewhere between the lining of my jacket but the handle remained within reach.
“Kaitlyn?” Rose asked as she approached me. I gave her a weak smile and tried to stop my mind from spinning long enough to focus on what she had to say. She tucked her short black hair behind her ear as she checked that no one was listening in. “Is it… has it calmed down out there?”
“I dunno,” I replied, unable to shake that feeling that I'd been watched whilst outside. “It seems like it but… maybe everything has just moved away from that fire? Or maybe we got lucky as we were only out there for a few minutes? Or maybe the crazed animals have headed back to the forest and the police or army or whoever are just around the corner waiting to save us-“
“Hey if we’re hoping for a best case scenario, I'd go with this whole thing being some kind of screwed up nightmare,” Rose interrupted as I began to ramble. “We’ll just wake up warm in our beds any second, thinking how glad we are that none of this has really happened.”
“I don't think I could have dreamt up half of the crazy shit we've dealt with in the last few hours,” I admitted. “My imagination just isn't that impressive.”
“Well if it comes down to this being reality then we just have to face it. No point worrying about what's already happened. Or what could happen next. The only thing we can control is the moment we are occupying. So I say we decide to be survivors and head out there with the full knowledge that before we know it we’ll be living in one of those fancy apartments in the city.” Rose gave me a fierce smile and I almost believed it except that it didn't quite reach her eyes.
“Here's to getting out of this nightmare then,” I agreed as I turned back towards the door.
“Everyone ready?” Spencer asked. He had Demi in his arms, her arm draped around his shoulders while her head leant against his chest. She looked sickly pale and her skin seemed a little clammy but her piercing blue eyes glanced around brightly.
“Let’s just get the hell out of here,” Chloe said as she elbowed the door open and pulled Tara out behind her.
I took a deep breath as everyone else filed out. Our group was down to fourteen and I didn't want it to get any smaller. I wished that Carter hadn't led most of the football team back towards the cinema. We'd been safer when there were more of us, but I couldn't think about that now. They were gone and our group was still large enough to cast an intimidating shadow. I just had to hope it would be enough.
I set my jaw and finally stepped out into the smokey evening air. We were exposed again and one way or another we had to get home. I just hoped we’d all make it.
Chapter Twenty Five
Kaitlyn
We kept up a fast pace as we jogged down the street between the abandoned vehicles and away from the raging fire.
Tara whimpered slightly as she ran but she didn't slow down. She just kept a hold of Chloe’s hand and put one foot in front of the other.
I started to count my steps as we ran, first aiming for one hundred then two hundred and so on. Keeping my mind occupied as I continued to scour the shadows for any signs that we might come under attack again.
Just before we reached the highway, we came across the cause of the blocked roads. A huge fuel tanker had overturned, blocking all four lanes of traffic and steadily spilling its load onto the street.
I pressed my sleeve over my nose as the fumes engulfed us and hurried up onto the verge to clamber around the obstruction. We had to wait so that Reese and Ryan could help Jason to clamber around and Lacey pulled the empty wheelchair up behind them.
I took the opportunity to catch my breath and gratefully accepted a bottle of water as Lacey started handing out supplies from the bags on the wheelchair.
Spencer looked exhausted from carrying Demi so far. She may have been small but it still must have been insanely difficult for him to carry her whilst keeping up our jogging pace. Shilo offered to take a turn carrying her and though Demi protested at first, she gave in when Spencer told her he'd end up getting the two of them left behind if they couldn't keep up.
Obviously deciding being carried by Shilo was preferable to becoming wolf chow, Demi ungraciously accepted.
Beyond the overturned fuel truck, the highway was eerily clear. We set a quick pace, Reese still pushing Jason in the wheelchair while the rest of us formed a tight circle around them.
“Half a mile more then we should head into the forest. It should be a straight shot from there to home,” Spencer called as we ran.
We must have been running for nearly an hour but I wasn't even beginning to tire. I'd never run for so long without needing a breather. I didn't know if it was adrenaline or fear but whatever it was that kept me going, I wasn't going to stop any time soon.
“There's the trail,” Ryan called pointing across the highway.