Life After Death (#1)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Max and Lizzie followed Mona's directions, never looking back to see if they were being pursued. They ran in silence; only the slapping of their shoes on the cold, damp ground filled the night with sound. As they rounded the corner to the car park at the front of the centre, they immediately beelined for the sole car, parked in front of the main doors.

"Nearly there, kid," Max whispered encouragingly, noticing that Lizzie was finally feeling the stress and strain of the last few days.

Max placed his hand gently on her back and ushered her forward with him, still jogging towards the car.

"Get in! Put your belt on!" Max ordered, ripping open the passenger side door for Lizzie.

She clambered in, throwing her bag onto the back seat, but keeping her knife close. They had made it to the car, but somehow, it still didn't feel safe. They weren't out of the woods yet. Max ran full circle round the car, using the end of his bat to smash out the lights as quietly as he could. The last thing they wanted was to draw attention to themselves. Max jumped into the driver's seat, chucking his bag over his shoulder with a hollow thud.

"Time to get out of this shithole, kid," he said urgently, but Lizzie could still hear the nerves in his voice.

"Too right!" Lizzie agreed. "No driving like a fucking granny, okay!?" she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Max put the car into gear. Placing one hand on the wheel, he used the other to flip the middle finger at Lizzie. She laughed and sat back in her seat, somehow more relaxed after the altercation.

Max pulled out of the car park. Despite Lizzie's jibe he took it slowly and quietly. He didn't want to wake any of the Brotherhood up with engine noise; he would wait until he was a little way down the road before really putting his foot down.

"Max..." Lizzie began, before stumbling and losing her words.

"What's up?" Max asked, not taking his eyes of the road and the mirrors, still paranoid this was all an elaborate trap.

"If I ever, you know, get infected...don't let me end up like them. Just end it please," Lizzie pleaded.

"Look, kid-" Max started to argue.

"Max! Promise me, please," Lizzie begged, with a whimper.

Max nodded to her. He couldn't verbalise what he had just agreed to do; it didn't bear thinking about. He wouldn't ever let it come to that anyway. The one purpose he had now was to keep Lizzie safe.

"Let's hope to God we're both immune they, ay kid?" he finally said with a smile.

"How many people out there are like them, do you think?" Lizzie asked, glossing over Max's joke. "The madness in their eyes; you could see the humanity seeping out bit by bit. The hunger, the anger; I'd never really thought about people changing in that way, I've only ever seen people die from the disease or turn straight away from a bite. What we saw back there was so much worse," she continued, spilling out her fears onto Max.

"I know kid, but the more we know about this shitty disease, the better we can avoid becoming one of them," Max suggested.

It was the best argument he could come up with.

After all, as depressing as this was to him, Lizzie would have to live in this world for her entire life. At least he had been out and lived before the disease struck; she was still so young. This world was the only one she would ever know.

"We just need to be more careful from now on; keep the sleeves of your jacket pulled down, we'll pick up some gloves from somewhere. The last thing we want is to be infected from a little scratch," Max said, racing through the gears and upping the speed as he did so.