The Fox, the Hound and the Virus

The Others

--

Chapter Sixteen

The Others

—

Will fell asleep after another restless evening.

His dreams took him back to his hometown. They hadn't been quite quick enough to leave. Cars flooded the roads, blocking access. They had already decided not to bother with vehicles. The night sky was lit up night after night as the cars caught alit. Frustration, rage and desperation drove the trapped population to attack anyone and anything. The local police were little more than terriers to stem the flood of rats leaving a sinking ship.

The army trucks arrived as Will and Zoe made it to the outer suburbs. They watched, confused and worried, as several trucks were stuffed full of shouting, terrified people. People scrambled in with little more than a small pack of clothes. Anyone who tried to bring anything larger was shoved back by the crowd. Everyone wanted to leave.

'They might give us lift,' Will murmured, staring at the truck with something like longing.

'Do you really think they transport those people somewhere safe?' Zoe said uneasily. 'They're not even performing temperature checks on them.'

'They're probably already infected,' Will said sadly as he watched several teenagers coughing into their sleeves.

'Which they already know, so again. Where are they taking those people and are you sure you want to go down and ask?' Zoe said softly.

Will felt a bit sick. 'No. No, I don't want to go down there.'

'Humans can't be trusted,' Zoe hissed. 'It's just you and me now, okay?'

Will nodded. 'Yeah. Okay.' They were distracted from their spying as a can rattled across the road out of a side alley. They turned, their hearts in their throats. Something was staring at them from out of the darkness. So far, the only infected they had seen were on the television and the few grainy videos that had found their way online. Any videos claiming to be about the infected had been taken down and the channels demonetised. The government didn't want the public to panic. Supposedly. The fear of the unknown only seemed to fuel the panic, not suppress it.

'Zoe?' Will whispered. She was frozen beside him. From the shadows, something was stirring, something lean and insane. In one moment, it was just the two of them and the next, there was someone running towards them.

Very, very fast.

—

Will woke with a scream.

It was then he realised he wasn't alone in the bed. The hound, in canine form, was tucked against him. Will's yell turned to a yelp. He rolled until he fell right off the edge of the bed to land in a heap on the floor. His hip struck the hardwood first, then his shoulder and finally his head. Will groaned in pain.

'Little fox.' Bran's deep voice somehow managed to sound concerned. Will rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. There were a lot of cobwebs up there.

'I'm fine. Why are you in my bed?' Will wheezed. He was just glad he didn't land flat on his back or he would be even more winded. The whole house really needed a clean. The dust on the floor was incredibly thick.

'Fox. Stressed.'

'You make me stressed,' Will grumbled as he sat up.

'Bad dreams,' the hound said in his deep, slow voice.

'Yes. I seem to be having a lot of those lately.'

'Foxes... don't live in pack...' the hound rumbled.