The Weight of the World

Chapter 24: Or Get Busy Dying

Another day, another patrol. We'd, once again, found nothing of note, beyond a mouldy carrot that looked a bit like a knob.

My gut was riddled with the tight, shooting pangs of hunger, and my hands were shaking. It wasn't too cold, but I'd have given anything in that moment to curl up beside a fire with a stiff drink.

"Winter is fucking miserable," Joe muttered, wiping his face.

"Yes," Connor said.

I ducked behind a low wall, dragging the others down with me.

"Christ, what are you doing?"

"Look!" I pointed to the junction we were heading towards.

In the middle of the road, four people beat down a group of zombies. They wore bits and pieces of police uniform and brandished batons. Blood went up in an arc, but a zombie fell on one of them.

Even from where I was standing, the squelch of tearing flesh made my empty stomach churn.

"Bloody hell," Joe muttered.

"Don't feel sorry for them," I said, feeling my pocket for my knife. It was there. I clutched it with white knuckles. "They're the bastards who threatened us."

"Never," Joe said. "How can you tell from here?"

A tall woman, with a blonde ponytail, rushed forward, caving in the zombie's face with a brick.

"I recognise her. I recognise the voices. I recognise the clothes." I turned to him with a serious face. "I told you this would happen. Didn't I?"

"Issy, slow down," Connor said.

"Yeah, what are you on about?"

"When I told them to stay away, I knew they wouldn't. They led the zombies to the school, and now they've tracked us down. They'll find the hotel, and then it's over."

"You are losing it," Joe said. "Christ, Issy, they're killing zombies. Not like they're attacking us."

My nostrils flared, and I tried not to hit him.

"It's a nice coincidence the zombies are right on our front door." I edged closer to the wall, peering out. "We have to deal with them. We have to get them first."

"Are you daft?" Joe laughed. "We're kids, not hitmen."

"If you won't help, I'll do it alone." I ran a thumb over my knife. "I won't stand by and let people I care about be hurt."

I stepped out from behind the wall. Into the full force of the wind and the rain, blowing sideways, blowing down the road into my face. It was like walking against all the force and pressure of the world, weighted against me. As if nature itself were pushing me aside, telling me No.

I was close. Within spitting distance of the first raider. A tall man, with broad shoulders and tight muscles in his neck. Tight muscles that tore and rippled like stringy sweets when I plunged my knife into his throat. Blood, hot as hell, rushed over my fingers and down my arm. He screamed and gurgled, dropping to his knees with a noise like falling out of bed,

Sick of all the racket, I pulled out the knife with a squelch and rammed it back in again. Another jet of blood, ever so slightly colder. I wrenched the blade out sideways, taking gouts of blood and the whole front of his neck with it

The tallest of the raiders, the main girl, screamed.

Joe and Connor were by my side, swinging with bats at the raiders. I stepped over the still-warm body and started slashing with my knife. I mostly hit air, or came away after only giving them a nick.