Feeding Frenzy

Chapter 31

 The house was quiet while Gomez paced around the living room. He had pushed chairs and a coffee table out of the way so that he did not bump into any furniture. He was running his fingers through his hair as he was seething. He had not come this far only to come this far. It was Evey's idiotic plan to go to Toronto. Gomez knew that they were marching to their death.

The fear that they would not even make it to the city was heavy on his mind. Harrington was in Ford's house, transforming into one of those creatures. Gomez saw the way Harrington broke out into a sweat and was moaning on the bed. He was going to eat the whole group.

He refused to die because of Harrington. Gomez knew what he had to do. He had to kill him. Evey pretended to stand in his way, but he knew it was all an act. There was no way that she could harm him. She was terrible at killing people with Thyestean. Gomez did not understand why Ford would waste his time teaching her how to use a gun. He could not comprehend the hold that Evey had over Ford. He had never seen that man be anything but stubborn.

In Gomez's mind, Ford posed a bigger risk than Evey. She would whine to him about Gomez, and he would murder him himself. Gomez had to do it in a way that did not look like a murder. He couldn't leave marks. They would think that he succumbed to his injuries. Gomez had no medical background, but he knew that Evey did a rough job on Harrington's arm.

It had to be tonight. He could not risk waiting and watching Harrington turn into a flesh-hungry monster.

Gomez peered out his window and over to Ford's house. There was a dim glow of a flickering candle coming from the living room. It was now pitch black.

Perfect, he thought.

Evey and Ford had gone to sleep. He doubted that Evey would have made Ford sleep on the couch. He was sure that they were in bed together. He always knew that Evey was a slut.

Gomez chewed on his lip. Roger and Connar were asleep upstairs. They would have no idea he was gone. No one would know. It was his turn in a couple of minutes to be on watch.

He stepped out onto the porch. He squinted to see Johnson sitting on the steps leading to his house. Gomez flashed his flashlight three times to tell Johnson to go inside. He held tight onto the banister as he watched Johnson enter the house.

He watched as a beam of light shone through the windows as Johnson settled himself. Gomez checked his watch every ten seconds after the light went out. He waited five minutes before heading to Ford's house.

Gomez let out a deep breath before opening the front door. He stepped in and left the door open a crack so that it would not click shut. He kicked his boots off so that his steps were quieter. He had a grip on the cold flashlight, but he could not draw attention to himself. He squinted as he made his way through the dark house. He took the steps two at a time to minimize the amount of creaking.

A faint glow was going from the room at the end of the hall. It was where Harrington was sleeping. Gomez recalled Evey lighting a candle after pathetically attempting to comfort him.

Gomez walked by the first room. The door was ajar, and he peered in. It was dark, but the moonlight provided enough glow for him to see Ford and Evey in bed together. To his surprise, they were both clothed. Ford did have his arms wrapped around Evey's waist.

He continued to walk toward Harrington. He held onto his breath, unsure if Harrington had already transformed. His hand hovered over his gun. He would face Evey's wrath as long as it meant that he survived.

Gomez nudged the door open wider with his toe. Harrington's eyes were closed, and his breathing was shallow. The blood was soaking through the white gauze of his stump. Gomez took a few steps toward the feet. The floor creaked under his feet. Harrington's eyes fluttered open. He furrowed his brows when he looked at Gomez. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.

"What do you want?" Harrington groaned.

"I just want to visit my buddy," Gomez said.

Harrington scoffed before letting his heavy eyes crash together.

"I would have a bullet in my skull if it were up to you," he said.

Gomez smiled. If Johnson had let him shoot Harrington, he would have gone more peacefully.

"We have to keep the group safe," Gomez said. "At all costs."

Harrington let out a slight chuckle. Gomez took one final step toward the bed He looked at the pillow and knew what to do.

"This is for the group," Gomez said.

Harrington's eyes flew open when Gomez ripped the pillow out from behind his head. Before Harrington could scream, Gomez smothered him and forced all his weight down on the pillow. Harrington flailed as much as he could. He kicked his legs and tried to punch Gomez, who dodged his attacks. He could barely move what was remaining of his amputated arm.

Gomez muttered a curse as his arms ached. Harrington was putting up more of a fight than anticipated. His screams were muffled, and Gomez prayed that the walls were not thin. He did not need Ford and Evey rushing into the room.

Gomez hissed in pain when Harrington clawed at his arm. Blood bubbled to the surface of Gomez's skin. His hand dropped as he attempted to take his last breaths.

Harrington's body went limp. Gomez kept the pillow over his face for another minute before moving. He lifted the pillow to see Harrington's lips were outlined blue. Gomez reached down and checked for a pulse.

Nothing.

He grinned as he placed the pillow behind Harrington's head. It was as if he had passed away in his sleep.

Gomez snuck out of the room. He peered into the other bedroom to see Evey and Ford had switched positions. Her head was now on his chest, and their legs were tangled together. Gomez shook his head as he walked away.

How long would it take for any of them to notice that Harrington was dead?