Afflicted

“Is that… are the stores down the street burning?” he asked.

“These stores are all connected aren't they?” I whispered. If I was right we weren't going to have a choice about leaving this place.

“That fire could be coming right for us,” Ryan agreed.

“Someone needs to go out there and check,” Reese spoke from behind us, making me jump. The last I'd seen, he had been looking after Jason in the staffroom.

“It's not safe,” I said quickly, knowing that wouldn't matter if the fire really was coming for us.

“We have to know,” Reese moved towards the door and I hurried after him.

“Ryan, make sure everyone's awake and ready to leave if we have to,” I said as I wrapped my fingers around the knife which was still in my pocket.

“You can't go out there,” he said, grabbing my elbow to stop me from following my brother.

“Why not?” I demanded. “I'm not letting Reese go alone and we need to know what's happening out there.”

“Then I'm coming too,” Ryan said. “To protect you.”

“I don't need protecting. You're no more capable of dealing with any of this than I am. You need to stay here and help get the others ready. If we have to go soon, Jason and Demi probably won't be able to run. You and the other guys are gunna have to figure out how to help them. I'll be back before you know it.” I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and pulled out of his grip.

Reese gave me a stiff nod as he pushed the door open and we headed out into the night.

The thick, acrid stench of smoke assaulted us as soon as the door opened and I blinked against the stinging in my eyes. It barely seemed worth checking on the fire but we had to be sure it was heading our way before forcing Demi and Jason to move.

The temperature had dropped with the setting sun and I pushed my hands deep into my pockets as we started jogging towards the orange light. Reese didn't speak and I was glad he'd chosen to leave the silence alone. Who knew what could be out there listening for the sound of approaching prey.

We jogged half a block down the street before the heat hit us. A large truck had overturned, blocking the sidewalk and we had to move into the street to pass it. As we rounded the end of the cab the flames were revealed, eating their way through the remains of a hardware store.

I stumbled back again as the blaze half blinded me and squinted to try and make out the details.

“It's crossing to the next store.” Reese pointed and I nodded as I spotted the flames licking their way along the roof of the hairdressers.

“So it's coming for us,” I sighed. “We have to move on.”

“Looks like it,” Reese agreed.

A huge crash of breaking glass sounded as something collapsed within the burning building and we backed away.

“Come on then.” I turned to leave but Reese caught my shoulder.

“Wait.” He pointed towards the righthand side of the store where a wheelchair was laying on its side beside the body of a man who looked like he'd been thrown from it. “For Jason.” Reese ducked low and ran towards the flames before I could stop him.

I took a few steps to follow but the heat billowed around me and I stumbled back again, covering my eyes as they burned.

Reese grabbed the wheelchair and dragged it away from the store, staying low to the ground. I reached for his arm and pulled him back behind the shelter of the overturned truck.

He turned the wheelchair upright and quickly inspected it. The leather back was stained with soot but it seemed sound otherwise. Without another word, we sprinted back towards the cafe, Reese pushing the empty wheelchair ahead of us.

Lacey was waiting for us at the door and she held it wide as we rushed inside. My heart pounded wildly but it had nothing to do with the run. The whole time we'd been out there I hadn't been able to shake the feeling that we were being watched. Even though we hadn't seen another living soul, I still felt better to be behind a locked door again. I wondered if there really had been anyone watching us or if I was just slowly coming unhinged.

“Do we have to leave?” Lacey asked.

“Yes,” Reese replied as he ushered her away from the door. “We need to get out of here as quickly as we can. There's no sign of those wolves out there now so they're probably long gone.”

The two of them disappeared in

to the staff room, leaving me alone in the coffee shop with the wheelchair and Eric’s body.