Afflicted

“Away from that psycho out there,” Spencer explained patiently. “Then we need to figure out how to get home.” I really had no idea how he managed to put up with her so much. Spencer was so laid back that he was practically lying down and Demi was as high maintenance as they come. How they ever managed to work as a couple boggled my mind.

The girl turned another corner into a more open area where a row of dumpsters stood at the back of the stores. The space was empty though one corner was filled with a pile of possessions and some flat cardboard boxes, marking out it as a homeless person’s spot.

“I'm Kaitlyn,” I said as we finally stopped running. I expected to be out of breath after the sudden sprint through the streets but my heart rate had hardly even spiked. I wondered if the shock of the almost-attack had done strange things to my body.

“Rose,” she replied, offering her hand. A black tattoo of her namesake curled around her wrist and extended up her arm. The thorns stood out in contrast to the blossoming flowers. She wore ripped jeans and a short white vest which exposed her toned stomach. Dark makeup outlined her green eyes and her lips were painted a deep red. My mom would have taken one look at her and labelled her a ‘bad influence’. I smiled as I shook her hand.

“I don't suppose you've seen my friend Shilo have you? He's tall, dark skin and more tatts than I've got. He was wearing a red baseball cap but we got separated in all the madness…” she glanced around hopefully as if expecting someone to appear in our concealed spot.

“No, I'm sorry. You're the first person we've seen on the streets since we left the cinema. We don't know what's going on,” I replied. “What's happened?”

“I dunno, one minute we were sitting having a coffee and the next thing we knew, everything went to hell. Do you all know each other?” she asked as she looked around at my friends who were gathering behind us. Jason had positioned himself nearby and his cheeks were glowing even redder than usual in the presence of a new girl. I rolled my eyes at him internally, wondering when he'd stop finding members of the opposite sex so intimidating.

“Yeah, we go to high school together,” I explained. As much as I wanted to know more about her, I was really starting to worry about getting home. If the Wardens had already been there when I spoke to my dad then there was no way they'd wait long enough for me and Reese to get back now. Especially if I couldn't figure out a way for us to get a lift soon.

“Oh, I thought you were older than that. But I guess I'd take a gang of school kids over no one. So long as you're not cheerleaders,” she laughed.

I glanced at Lacey awkwardly and Rose raised an eyebrow as she laughed harder.

“No way? I'm hanging out with the cheer squad and a load of jocks?”

“Yeah actually.” I shrugged. I'd come across plenty of people who prejudged me for being a cheerleader and I didn't let it bother me anymore. If she spent any time with me then she'd get to know me as an individual and if she didn't then it hardly mattered what her opinion was anyway. I just didn't get why labels were so important to people when it came to first impressions. “What school are you at?”

“Me? I just finished college. But I was no cheerleader when I was at school.” She glanced at the rest of my friends with amusement and shrugged. “But I'd still rather stick with you guys than on my own if that's okay?”

“Of course it is - you did just rescue me from that guy…” I looked over my shoulder then back to Rose. “What was going on with him anyway?” I wanted to know if she knew anything we didn't. I had no idea if that guy really had been affected by the tainted water or if there was something else going on. Either way, adrenaline still zipped through my body, ready to respond to whatever the hell this day was going to throw at me next.

“They're all over the place, people are going nuts and I have no idea why. The news feed on my phone hasn't updated in two hours and when I tried dialling nine one one they just said the Monitor was dealing with the situation. But where are the cops?” Rose checked her cellphone while she spoke to me but shoved it back into her pocket when it didn't give her the answers she was looking for.

“We’re going to have to walk back,” Ryan said loudly behind me, calling everyone's attention to him. “No one's phones are working. I dunno what the hell is going on but we can't stay here and we can't think of any other way to get back. So it's time to hustle while we still have daylight.” Everyone seemed to take that as a cue to recheck their phones so I pulled mine out too. Still nothing. I wondered if the Anti-Pop terrorists had done something to the cell tower.

“Where are you heading?” Rose asked as my friends started to discuss routes home.

“We live just south of Harbour City,” I explained. “It takes half an hour on the bus so I have no idea how long it'll take to walk it.” I really doubted the Wardens would still be waiting for me and Reese to get back by the time we made it. If I couldn't get hold of Lincoln soon and they did initiate the evacuation process to shelter everyone within the city, we might have to wait our turn to get inside The Wall with everyone else.

Reese seemed to be thinking the same thing as he caught my gaze with a frown. I shrugged unhelpfully in response and tried my cellphone one last time.

There was still no service so I decided to text my parents instead. With a bit of luck the service would return while we were trying to get back and send the messages out for me even if I didn't notice it return. I sent my mom and dad the same message, explaining where we were and that we had to try and walk back. I just hoped they got it soon and could work out a way to come and get us.

I hesitated before typin

g a message to Linc too. But I thought of the way he'd saved me from the rain and bit my lip against a smile as I edited my message.

Sorry to ask but we’re kinda stuck in town. We’re going to have to walk back. Don't suppose you fancy rescuing us? X

A little rush of excitement tugged at my lips as I hit send and imagined him pulling up to rescue me in his black truck with the windows down and an indulgent smile on his face.

“What exactly did your dad tell you?” Lacey hissed, making me jump as the others all began to argue over the best way to get home. There was an argument for retracing the bus route along the streets and a counter argument for cutting through the Highborn Forest which would be a more direct route. I suppressed a shudder at the idea of the woods. That place had always given me the creeps.

“He didn't say anything specific I swear,” I replied. “And I'm guessing he had no idea how bad things were about to get or he'd have been on his way out to get us himself no matter what it meant for him. But Lace - I think we need to get back as quickly as we can. He wanted us to get inside the city and he said they were going to start the isolation trial early. But what if that's not possible now; what if this is an attack and we need to get to the city for shelter anyway?”

“You think they might evacuate us into the city for real?” Lacey asked, fear marking her features.

“I dunno but it doesn't look good. What if something really bad is going on?” I let the question sit there unanswered. We'd all seen the news reports. We knew what the terrorists were capable of if they could find a way around The Monitor. Poison gas. Bombs. Chemical attacks so severe that they could wipe out the whole county in a matter of weeks. The only way to survive something like that would be within the protection of the city walls.

Harbour City was one of many around the country and if the evacuation was ordered, we would have to get inside to shelter before the worst happened. If we couldn't get there in time, we wouldn't stand a chance.

“Then either way we need to get to Harbour City,” Rose said quietly.