Katherin Hassan-Clarke and Esther Quinn, young lovers living on the coast of Riga, Latvia, face the terrifying realisation that their home is no longer safe when a deadly zombie pathogen ravages Eastern Europe. Fleeing their home before they are for...
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Katherin wove through the fog. Hair clung to the nape of her neck. It was unbearably hot.
Katherin was becoming dizzy. She wasn't supposed to be running, not without medication. Her blood sugar would be dropping rapidly.
No one would be able to help her if she fainted.
She'd be left alone for the zombies to tear her apart.
"Katherin!"
A hand latched onto Katherin's arm. She was tugged through a doorway into a lobby. The group stood at the entrance. Grim expressions shrouded their faces. There were grazes over Esther's arm, but she was otherwise fine.
No one was missing. That was a small miracle, at least. Katherin didn't know how Jaxx managed to keep them all running in the same direction. She was grateful.
They'd found somewhere to bunker down. It looked like an apartment, one of the expensive ones near the docks.
Most of the people in the area had abandoned the town by boat when the lockdown was initiated. Katherin didn't blame them. If they had a method of escape, it would be wise to use it.
The bottom level was an open lobby. A marble staircase curved around the elevator and disappeared to the next floor. Staff entrances and locker rooms were around the back. There was a staff entrance around the back, and another door to the gardens, but that was it. They'd have to board up the bottom level. Then they'd be safe. If there weren't any zombies upstairs, that was.
"Where's Rebeka?" Morgana asked softly. Her thick hair was tied back into a messy bun. She seemed to be coping well for someone who had just been abandoned by her long-term boyfriend. They were supposed to be moving in together next month.
Katherin shuddered. Images of Rebeka being torn about clouded her vision. Bile churned in her stomach. She forced herself to stay standing.
"She's dead. I couldn't stop it."
Choked sobs echoed through the group. Jaxx clenched his jaw, balling his hands into tight fists. Raven lent in Jaxx's shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck. Esther stood frozen.
She wanted comfort from her girlfriend but knew something was wrong. Bile. Katherin pushed the feeling down. She had lied. She could have gone after Rebeka and pulled her away from her brother before it was too late. Everything was her fault. The grief of her friends was a weight almost too heavy to bear. She shouldn't have told them. Not this way.
Bare it so others don't have to. Katherin thought to herself firmly.
This wouldn't happen again. Especially not when it affected Esther. The group would survive this if someone absorbed the damage. Katherin wouldn't let the others fall to pieces. It was her duty. She'd lived through worse. The others hadn't.
Katherin climbed the stairs of the apartment, pursued by Morgana in the darkness. She'd offered that they scout out the building, just to check that it was safe.
