Devour: Death & Decay Book 1 (17 page)

Day 3
10:21 pm

After the conversation died out, Liv was still too restless to sleep. There had to be something she could do. Something that could help them. She needed to do something, anything, to put her mind at ease.

Liv deposited the messenger bag gently on the floor next to the couch. She had packed it hastily as they had escaped from the burning house.

The contents towards the top of the bag were a jumbled mess. She had simply shoved them in and forced the bag closed. Carefully, she removed the items from the pack, placing them on the floor.

Liv reached into the satchel and pulled out the square, black bulk of the handheld radio. Her heart fell. The time to contact Office Ward had come and gone. The thought of contacting him hadn’t even crossed her mind.

Liv wondered how the officer and his small group had fared that day. If they had been able to escape. If they were even still alive.

With a sigh, she set the radio aside. She could try tomorrow.

Next to the handheld radio sat the small, hand-cranked emergency radio.

“Hey, guys,” Liv whispered excitedly as she pulled it out and began to work the crank.

Jen and Corey turned towards her.

“I forgot I found this.” She flipped on the power switch and was greeted with static.

“Won’t it wake her?” Jen nodded to Elli.

“No.” Liv shook her head. “Not if we keep the volume low. She slept in the room with Colin and me before this. We liked to watch something mind-numbing before bed and that never bothered her.”

Jen knelt down next to Liv and motioned for Corey to join them. Liv twisted the dial along the FM channels, searching for a voice. For a split second, the static broke and then resumed. Carefully, Liv turned the knob slowly backward.

“…give up hope, folks.” Liv shuddered as the first few words echoed out of the device. “My time is almost up but that doesn’t mean there isn’t hope for you. Hunker down. Stay quiet. Stay safe. You can get through this.” The male voice was shaky. “I think I have time for one more round of news and then I’ll go off the air. Things are going to get nasty here in a few minutes and nobody needs to hear that.” Liv, Corey, and Jen exchanged nervous glances before returning their attention to the small radio.

“As I’ve said before, I cannot verify any of the information I am about to say. I’ll try to get the most reputable and updated news I can, but no promises.” There was a pause and Liv thought she could hear the faint clack of a keyboard.

“The CDC’s webpage advises all citizens to stay indoors, close the blinds, lock your doors, and stay as quiet as possible. Do not attempt to aid anyone who seems ill or wounded. If a family member comes into contact with any infected person, quarantine them immediately. Do not—repeat, do
not
—attempt to aid them under any circumstance. Finally, drink only bottled water, as they cannot guarantee that the water tables haven’t been contaminated.” The voice let out a heavy sigh. A loud thud resonated in the background, making Liv jump.

“Uh, gotta make this quick.” Liv gnawed on her lip. Why hadn’t they left yet? Why was this person still in the station if they were in danger?

He can’t leave.

“Reports of outbreaks have come in from New York, L.A., Denver, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia…”

“Oh god!” Jen’s hands flew to cover her mouth. “How has it spread so far?” Neither Corey nor Liv answered.

“Nashville, and pretty much everywhere else around the United States. All air traffic across the globe was grounded roughly eight hours ago. However, since then reports of isolated infections have come out of Sydney, Beijing, and Paris.” Another heavy sigh. “Honestly, people, the reports are pretty grim. The National Guard has been activated across all fifty states and any active-duty troops stationed in the country have been deployed to try to contain the spread, but…I’ll let you decide for yourself how you think this is all going to end.”

Another loud thud resonated in the background. When the newsman returned a moment later, his voice was quick and panicky. “Here are some quick survival skills. Aim for the head and damage the brain. Nothing else will kill them. Treat all bodily fluids as infectious. Blood and saliva. I haven’t found out if a scratch can transmit the infection, but just err on the side of caution and don’t try to find out. Cover up as much as you can.”

Several more thuds echoed in the background. “God damn it!” His breathing was heavy. “I’m going off the air. Good luck, folks. Anna, Mom, Dad, I love you. I hope—” A loud crash overtook his words and the radio waves filled with howls and snarls. And screaming. The man’s shrill screams filled the air. Jen clapped her hands over her ears in a futile attempt to block out the noise. From the couch, Elli sprung awake and began to wail. The noise suddenly cut out, leaving behind dead air.

Liv dropped the radio and scooped Elli up in shaking arms.

Day 3
11:03 pm

None of them had been able to fall asleep. Jen sat curled up in the reclining chair staring into space. The tears on her cheeks had dried, but her eyes were still glassy and wet. Corey had paced around the living room like a caged lion. Liv still held Elli on the couch, her fingers trailing across Elli’s soft skin and hair.

“Guys!” Corey’s whisper was low and harsh. “Something is happening outside.” Corey stood at the front window, peering through the blinds. He was restless, like the rest of them, and acting as lookout gave him something to do.

At Corey’s urgent whisper, Liv heart instantly began to thrum wildly. She gently disentangled herself from Elli on the couch and moved to stand with Corey and Jen at the window.

“What’s happening?”

Corey shook his head slowly. “I don’t know. It’s just strange.”

“Strange? I think this whole scenario is strange,” Liv muttered as she stretched out her aching muscles.

“Just take a look outside. You’ll see it.” Corey stepped back so Liv could peer through the blinds.

Her eyes didn’t need to adjust to the darkness outside. They had turned off the small lamp after they had finished talking. The black and gray shapes outside the window were illuminated by moon and starlight.

The stars, however, were brilliant. Tiny crystals that dotted the sky. Millions more than she had ever seen were able to shine now that the lights across the city had gone out. The Milky Way was a faint, glittering ribbon across the black sky.

Liv tore her gaze away from the star and looked back at the street. Ferals stood in the street, their only motion a gentle swaying. There weren’t many of them, only a handful or so. She had never seen them stand so still. One close to the house gently sank down to its knees before falling face first to the pavement.

A quick flash of movement caught her attention, and a gasp of surprise escaped her lips. One of them was still moving. It would rapidly burst forward roughly a dozen feet, pause, and then burst forward again.

During the next burst, the figure dodged around a small cluster of three ferals and crossed the street. For a moment, it crouched next to the car in the driveway of their house. Then Liv suddenly realized why this thing bothered her.

“That’s a person!” Liv exclaimed, struggling to keep her volume low. “What are they doing?”

Corey shook his head. “More importantly, how are they doing it?”

Liv parted the blinds and looked out the window again. The darkened figure was gone, having disappeared into the shadows somewhere. None of the ferals followed him. They still stood motionless in the street, gently swaying.

Her eyes darted back and forth as she looked for the illusion—the mirrors that had allowed him to walk no more than three feet from the ferals without them noticing.

“They’re sleeping,” Jen whispered. “The ferals are sleeping, just like the rest of us.”

“Sleeping?” It made sense that if the ferals were alive they would need sleep, but Liv was having trouble reconciling that the vicious killing machines would stop for anything.

“How did we not know this before?” Liv asked.

“We were scared out of our minds.” Corey stepped back from the window. “Those things made our nightmares come to life. No one wanted to see what they might do at night.” He twitched excitedly. “But it turns out the darkness is our best friend.”

“There has to be some trick to it. It can’t be that simple.” Jen’s thoughts mirrored Liv’s own.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Corey took a step towards the door.

“No.” Jen blocked his path. “No, no, no. It’s too dangerous.”

“Are you kidding? Based on what we’ve just seen, this might be the least dangerous thing we have done in the last three days!” He gripped her shoulders excitedly. “If this works, we might be able to reach Slag Stead without having to deal with them. We could just waltz across the city to safety! It means we could find everyone else without having to take so much risk.”

“What if they wake up?” Corey stopped. Clearly he hadn’t thought about this. “If they sleep like we do, then they might wake up like we do. Perhaps for no reason at all. How often have you just woken up, even slightly, in the middle of the night? If that happens and they come after us, we’ll be stuck out there in the dark.”

“I think we at least have to test it,” Liv finally said. “If it can help us move more quickly and safely, we have to see how we can use it to our advantage.”

Jen gave Liv a horrified look. “You really want to go out there in the dark with them?”

“Do I want to? No, but if it is actually safer, then we have to at least try it. We could try right now. There aren’t many of them around. We’ve got shelter right here. One of us could run around in the street, see if they can move among the ferals without them noticing. The other two can stand on the porch, ready to jump into action if anything happens.”

Jen looked helplessly between Corey and Liv.

“We don’t have to be afraid.” Corey pulled Jen into a big hug. “Together we can do this.”

Finally, reluctantly, Jen nodded. “Ok, I’ll test it out. You two can save me if I get my ass in trouble.”

Liv nodded. “Let’s do this. Quickly and quietly.”

It only took them a few minutes to gather a few weapons, and Liv offered the heavy policeman’s flashlight to Corey. He took it and they all stepped silently outside.

“Remember,” Liv said, barely whispering, “if things start to go wrong, we need to react fast. We need to take care of the ones here before they can call others in.”

Jen and Corey nodded.

“Alright, here goes nothing.” Corey stepped off the porch.

After a few hesitant steps, he was out in the open. Jen took hold of Liv’s hand and Liv squeezed it reassuringly. Any one of the ferals in the neighborhood could see him now. One was already facing him, but the monster didn’t move.

Corey inched out across the grass, slowly approaching the cluster of three ferals in front of the house. When none of the ferals sprang to life, his steps quickened. In seconds, he was in the street circling the ferals like a shark. They continued their gentle swaying, unaware of his presence.

As he turned to them, the smile plastered across his face was so big it could be seen even through the shadows cast across his face. He excitedly punched a fist in the air.

“We can do it!” Jen finally caught the excitement. Though her voice was low, her hands trembled as she gripped Liv’s arm.

“We can do it,” Liv whispered back as a smile spread across her face.

Corey leveled the flashlight and started fidgeting with it.

“No,” whispered Liv. The bright halogen light flared on and the feral directly in its path twitched to life. Liv broke free from Jen’s grip and bolted across the yard. Corey lunged towards the first feral, the knife in his hand burying itself in the feral’s eye. As the creature went limp, it fell against another in the small cluster of ferals. Corey was scrambling to keep ahead of the human dominoes.

As Liv brought her mallet down on the head of a feral, she saw Jen, just a few steps behind her, doing the same.

A screech echoed through the night. Liv whipped around just as Corey smashed his ax into the final feral’s head in the small group before him. A faint chorus of cries returned the call.

“Inside. Now!” The three turned and sprinted to the door, throwing it open and slamming it closed behind them. Jen, Liv, and Corey huffed as they leaned against the door.

“Do we leave or do we stay?” Jen whispered frantically. Elli hadn’t stirred when the door slammed closed. It was amazing what things the child would sleep through, and it was just as amazing what little things could wake her from a dead sleep.

They looked nervously between each other. “None of the ones that saw us are alive anymore,” Liv panted. “The cry will draw more in, but I don’t think they will know where we are.” Her muscles ached and she struggled just to stay on her feet. “I don’t know about you two, but I am entirely spent. I think we should stay the night and wait for whatever crowd that drifts here to disperse tomorrow. If we stay quiet, then we should be OK.”

Jen moved to the window to peek outside. “Maybe they won’t be able to get here. They don’t have a direction to follow. Just the one call.”

Corey nodded. “I won’t be able to sleep for a while.” Of the three of them, he looked the most energetic, the adrenaline high overriding his tired muscles. “I can watch and see what happens. I’ll wake everyone if things start to look bad.”

They all nodded and the room was quiet.

“It works.” The words were quiet and Liv turned back to Corey.

“Excuse me.” Jen’s voice was a venomous hiss. “What world are you living it? Because I’m pretty sure we just nearly got our throats ripped out so you could run circles around the ferals. God only knows what we’re going to wake up to tomorrow!”

Corey shook his head. “They are sleeping, though!” Corey’s voice was full of poorly contained excitement. “The only reason they woke up was because I turned on the flashlight. Without that, they probably would have stayed asleep.”

“Thank you for that, by the way!” Jen snapped. “What were you thinking?”

Corey shrugged. “We had to test it just in case we needed a flashlight while we were out. Better to test it here, with a safe house close by, than when we would need it and not know what to do.”

“Well, you could have warned us!”

Corey grabbed Jen’s wrist and quickly but gently pulled her into a hug. For a moment, Jen went rigid before relaxing into him. “Don’t be so stupid,” she whispered.

After a moment, they separated. Exhaustion was starting to creep in across Corey’s face. Liv herself was sure that at any moment she would simply fall over and be unable to get back up.

“Why don’t we get some rest?” Corey said. “In the morning, we’ll figure out how this new development affects our plan of attack.

Liv nodded wearily and shed her outermost layer of clothes. Careful not to disturb Elli, she collapsed onto the couch, gently wiggling in next to the child. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.

He haunted her dreams. Teeth gnashing just inches from her face with long ropes of bloody saliva dripping down onto her cheek. His skin was pale and pasty underneath layers of grime and blood. His left eye was milky and sightless.

Her hand was slick with blood as she held onto his neck. Her arms were getting tired. He had been strong before, but now he was unstoppable. Liv hadn’t had much upper-arm strength to begin with, and what little she had was now nearly depleted.

His change had been violent. His body was riddled with wounds. Large, ragged chunks of flesh had been ripped from their place. His clothing was in tatters.

She couldn’t hold him off any longer.

“Colin!” Her voice was a strangled cry. “Please, don’t!”

She knew it didn’t matter. It wasn’t him anymore. He wasn’t the person she had loved. The person who had loved her. To him, she was a hunk of flesh. Something to infect. A host.

“I love you.” Her arms gave out and he lunged in toward her neck.