The Passing

Chapter Seventeen [updated]

Running is second nature.

Our feet pound against uneven earth as we dart through the dense forest. Lazarus runs ahead of me, still gripping my hand so tight I lose sensation in my fingers, just so I don't fall behind. Every muscle in my body is molten lava, burning for oxygen that will never be replenished, my lungs leadened and thick with saliva and mucus. Sweat coats my skin, the fever rendering itself relentless and merciless, and slowly my fingers start to slip. Bee pushes past me, shoving me into a tree as she uses the momentum to accelerate herself forward. One hand flies out to catch myself, yet my palm only scrapes the surface of the rough bark. My knee buckles, and I hit the ground hard, instantly slipping from Lazarus' grip. Someone barrels over me, stomping their foot into my back. I yelp out in pain like an injured wild animal, rolling into the tree to protect myself from being trampled again. However, now the others are ahead, and here I lay, in the wake of their great escape, awaiting the glistening teeth of the dead.

"Kimila!" Lazarus shouts over the cries and moans. He noticed. I just have to get up on my feet, then maybe I can pull myself along the trees until one of them spots me.

"Lazarus!" I exclaim, writhing on the ground in pain. The bite on my torso throbs, and with every pulse comes a gush. I don't have to look down to know that I'm bleeding out of the bandage again.

The ocean gets louder. With a gulp of air, I struggle to my hands and knees, pain exploding throughout my body. Every fiber of every muscle convulses, every movement feels like trudging through dense mud. Apparitions of the dead flash before my eyes, thousands of mouths feast on my flesh where no blood is drawn. The hallucinations are only gaining intensity. Hands wrap around my arms hoisting me up fast on my feet and my vision lags, everything in sight doubles. The world around me spins as my feet struggle to balance the ebbing weight of gravity, leaving me weightless and ponderous. Desperate to regain my body's composure, I reach out to steady myself on a tree, only to grab his arm. Tito steps forward, his back turned to me, and squats with arms extended back.

"Hop on," he says, steadying his breathing as he nods towards his back. As if sensing my hesitation, he looks back at me. "Hurry!" I snap into motion. Reluctantly climbing up, I hug my arms carefully around his neck before straddling his back. He straightens, looping his arms through my legs to keep me up before taking off again.

Branches smack at my arms and legs, tugging and pulling at fabric and skin. Tito barely even flinches as we dart past thorn bristles, and holds me tighter as he hops over small fallen trees or discarded branches. Burying my face into his shoulder, I take fistfuls of his shirt in my hands, terrified of falling down.

Tito slows. I lift my head to find the others, gathered in a cluster as we emerge from the trees to a road. Carefully he lets me down and we close the gap between us and them. Not a single person has yet to catch their breath— every chest rises and falls to the rigid rhythm of sheer panic. Savanna wavers in place, eyes closed with her head tilted back to the sky. Jane rubs her back whilst trying to regain her own strength. Bee paces circles around Avi and Nora, and as Tito and I approach, all heads turn in our direction.

Lazarus rushes to me, enveloping me in his arms. He nuzzles into my hair, holding me so close his heart beats against my chest. "I'm so sorry, I thought I had you."

I pull away, furrowing my brows at him. "It's okay. We're okay." I reassure him as he bows his head, pressing his forehead gently to mine. He nods, taking in this moment until someone else speaks.

"We need to keep moving if we want to stay ahead of them." Savanna advises, pushing hair out of her face. Jane nods beside her, looking to Lazarus and I.

"Which way do we even go?" Jane asks, gulping as she looks down the road. Savanna follows her gaze, and curses under her breath. Every head turns, following her gaze. Immediately my stomach drops. Two-hundred yards down the road, the horde trudges on, coming straight for us.