Days of Decay

Chapter Four

Their laughter halted immediately.

Dread spilled into Asha's heart, and she suddenly felt sick. She glanced to Kit but he was already staring at the door, his hand reaching for his axe. Who could it be? There was no way in hell a Hunter would use such politeness, they'd just knock down the door and attack. Which meant it must be another human or a 'Pure' like the Hunters called them. But then what if it was a Hunter trying to trick them? Either way, someone had found them, they'd found their home.

"Kit!" Asha urged, keeping her voice below a whisper.

He looked to her and she shook her head hard. He shook his back like he was dismissing her. She frowned and let her eyes roam to the door.

Three more heavy knocks came.

She had forgotten about the icy coldness that had seeped through her clothes and into her flesh, the only thing she could feel was anxiety and it was making her chest hurt.

"Let us in!" It was a man and he sounded desperate. "Please, we know you're in there, we saw you go in," he said.

Us, we? There was more than one of them. Asha blinked, unmoving from her position on the floor. She then slowly reached for her knives and held them against her sides as she shuffled as quietly as she could towards Kit.

"Look," another voice came through, his voice thick with a South London accent. He took a calmer approach. "We can help you."

Help us? She felt Kit's hand go to her side and she looked at him in distress. They were trapped. There was nothing they could do except get up and face whoever was out there. They would break their way in sooner or later; the wood was rotten and barely held itself together anyhow. But this was their home, this was their safe place. It was all ruined now, tainted.

"Come on, Max, let's leave them be for now," a kind, female voice said.

Familiarity shot through Asha like a bullet.

"Did she just say Max?" She breathed out quietly.

Kit looked confused for a moment before piecing it together. They were the rest of the dead group, the luckier half. The man at the door was who the woman was calling to and that's why the man didn't answer her. She was calling for backup; but they never came. They weren't Hunters, they were like them. They were survivors. 

"We need to find the others!" The first man's voice came again. He sounded younger and less gruff than who she guessed was Max, the second voice.

Asha couldn't let them head back out there, not with Hunters nearby, and not with the likely possibility of finding their friend's heads on the road. She couldn't let that happen. And she wasn't about to let rare survivors get themselves killed, not a chance.

Shuffling footsteps began making their way down the hill. With a sharp intake of air, she quickly hauled herself to her feet, dropped her knives and raced for the door. Kit tried to grab at her ankles to stop her, but she already had a hand on the lock. She pulled it off with a grunt and thrust the door open, its hinges squeaking loudly in the cold air.

"Wait!" She cried, clocking the four people with their backs to her.

They weren't wearing anything over their heads; they were exposed to the sun which meant they were like them; they were safe. She felt relief wash over her, and yet sadness filled her faster than she could bear. All four turned quickly on their heels to face her.

Time to bear the bad news.

"Your friends," she began before taking a deep breath and sighing. "They're dead. I'm sorry."