Afflicted

“All citizens are to return to their homes!” a male voice boomed over the tannoy. “There is to be no more entrance to the city at this time.”

The crowd went mad, screaming and booing as they tried to force their way forward, demanding entrance to the sanctuary they'd been promised.

“All citizens are to return to their homes!” the voice repeated. “Disobedience will not be tolerated!”

“Faster,” I urged as I elbowed people out of our way. I kept Katy’s hand firmly in mine, refusing to let her go until we were safe.

“You will not be warned again!” the voice said and the crowd roared its disapproval.

An inhuman shriek sounded over the noise of the crowd and I stilled for half a second. On the far side of the crowd, people started screaming.

I pulled Katy on faster, my heart starting to pound adrenaline through my veins as I could feel the tension rising.

The press of bodies was suffocating but I could just make out the edge of the crowd ahead of us. We were nearly there. Just a little further-

Gunshots rang out above all the other noise. Screams followed and the crowd which had been surging forward turned like a tide, desperate to flee instead.

We ran with them, ignoring the things that caught under our feet and trying to pretend that it wasn't other people.

The gunfire blasted again and again and the screaming upped in pitch as pure panic took over. The inhuman shrieking sounded louder than all of it as more and more voices took up the call.

I lost sense of anything around me and could only focus on two things: putting one foot in front of another and Katy’s hand clamped in mine.

I wouldn't let her go. No matter what happened, I wouldn't let her go.

A woman slammed into me, blocking my way as I tried to carry on. She shrieked, her bloodshot eyes glaring as she launched herself at me. I didn't hesitate and fired a shot into her leg, sending her falling to the ground with a scream.

Katy yelped in surprise but I didn't let the interruption slow us and dragged her on again. We had to get away before the place was either overrun with the afflicted or we were cut down by the drones.

The crowd screamed, bullets flew and we ran faster than we'd ever run before.

I didn't know what danger waited for us but I did know that so long as we were together we could face it. So I put one foot in front of the other and silently vowed to find a way out of this for all of us.

Chapter Thirty Four

Kaitlyn

The world around me narrowed to the point where Lincoln’s hand grasped mine. So long as he had hold of me I knew I wouldn't fall. I knew I could keep running. And I knew my heart was still beating.

The panicked screams of the crowd wound around me, tightening my own chest with the weight of their fear. Gunshots rang out again and again, so often that I stopped flinching from them. The screams of the contaminated people were worse. They seemed to come from everywhere and in the crush of bodies it was impossible to tell when one of them might suddenly be upon us.

I held onto Lacey too, my fingers biting into her skin as Lincoln forced me onwards.

A drone swept overhead, its glistening black paintwork glimmering in the sunlight as it twisted through the sky, raining death down on anyone unlucky enough to get caught in its sight.

Someone slammed into me, almost knocking me from my feet and smacking my arm so hard that Lacey was wrenched from my grip.

“Lacey!” I screamed as bodies piled into the space between us.

I tried to twist back, searching for her in the sea of faces but Lincoln dragged me away.

“Wait-“ I tried to pull him back but he didn't even slow, forcing me on as my feet stumbled.

We made it out of the station and the crowd poured away down the hill ahead of us, screaming as the drones and afflicted raced after them in pursuit. Bullets flew, mowing down lines of people as they ran. Contaminated and unaffected alike, they didn't seem to care. There was so much blood that the concrete beneath my feet was stained red.

I started to run after everyone else but Lincoln pulled me to the left, towards a brick wall which was at least a foot taller than me.

“What are you doing?” I yelled as another drone roared across the sky behind us.