It all happened so fast. Disaster. Widespread panic.
A Pandemic.
It wasn't long before the Infected were everywhere.
When Hayley Brookes near-perfect life comes crashing down around her - due to a new, widespread, incurable strain of virus and she...
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No! I couldn't let him lay a finger on Lily!
"No! Please! I'll do whatever you want! Just please, don't touch her!" I cried out desperately. "She's just a girl!" I sobbed, holding back the tears that threatened to fall at the thought of them hurting her. I felt useless, completely and utterly helpless. There was nothing I could do. We were trapped and completely powerless to these awful people.
"That's more like it." He smiled wickedly at my frantic pleas, happy that he had broken me down. "But-" He leant forward, grabbing my face harshly in one of his burly hands, his other pressing his small knife into my cheek, with just enough pressure to draw blood. I gulped as I watched, wide-eyed in terror for him to continue. "If you try anything, and I mean anything, I won't hesitate to kill you both." He growled warningly into my ear, his tone deadly serious. I didn't doubt him for a moment.
Nodding fearfully I begged, "Please, just let me see her!"
I swallowed as he slowly took the knife away from my face, bringing it down to my bound hands and swiftly cutting the rope. I sighed a breath of relief as the rope dropped to the floor, finally allowing me to free my sore, aching wrists.
"Put her with 'em for now, Eli." He grunted out before turning to follow Dave outside, flanked by his other buddy who had been mostly silent which left me alone with the still-hooded figure. Further relief washed over me, if I had to choose one of them to be stuck alone with, it would be him. He did save my life, whether he cared or not didn't matter, I was grateful regardless.
"Thank you," I murmured, "for stopping him," I told him - 'Eli' - genuinely. His head snapped to mine as I drew his attention though he ignored my gratitude, instead walked up to me, grabbing my arm and yanking me up harshly. As he did, I finally got a glimpse of his face from under his dark hood, leaving me staring in surprise.
He was younger than his companions, I wouldn't guess more than four or five years older than me. His well-defined, chiselled features rested easily on his olive skin-tone, all except for his eyes. His startlingly bright, ash-grey eyes stood out distinctly from under his full, dark lashes. His unusual coloured iris' contrasted sharply with the deep, jet black locks of hair that had escaped from under his hood. The long strands fell over his forehead messily, just shy of falling into his eyes. His arched, yet masculine eyebrows were deeply furrowed, a few frown lines decorating his face as though he were often unhappy even though his cold, expressionless eyes gave nothing of his emotions away. I looked away quickly as he peered back at me. Either he didn't notice my staring, or he did and didn't feel the need to comment.
"Don't thank me yet." He finally replied, glancing down at me for less than what felt like a second, before dragging me away roughly, towards the back of the store. I stumbled at the sudden movement, held firmly up by his strong grip on my arm until I managed to regain my footing. "You've no idea what you've just gotten yourself into." He said, not even looking at me, his voice cold, detached from any emotion.
