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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The path to the park was steep and difficult to pursue. Rocks had been overturned, scuff marks evident in the fertile soil as if someone had been struggling.
Morgana tried to ignore the small footprints in the dirt. She didn't want to think about a child being present in the dangerous outside world, nor did she want to consider the child being a killer.
The park was illuminated dimly with solar lights, casting distorted shadows over the abandoned play equipment. A swing set creaked eerily, swinging in the soft breeze as if a child had been playing there moments before.
Morgana shivered. She pulled her jacket closer, hoping that Katherin's trail led them elsewhere. The park gave her the creeps.
"Wait. Is that blood?" Gwynth spoke softly, her voice laced with uncertainty.
Morgana followed her gaze.
There was a tree at the edge of the park. It was smeared with blood, which was slowly pooling on the dirt. Morgana realised in horror that it was still fresh.
Were they too late?
Gwynth clutched at her stomach, dry retching into a nearby bush.
Morgana stood frozen. She'd already lost Ttod and Rebeka. It was too much to consider the possibility of Katherin's death.
Jaxx sprang into action, running towards the tree. He fumbled in the bushes around the tree, searching for clues. There were a few footprints amongst the dirt, but Jaxx couldn't distinguish who it belonged to.
Then, Jaxx found something. A screwdriver.
He pulled it from the bushes, grimacing at the light revealed chunks of human flesh. Katherin's flesh. Jaxx couldn't mistake it. The edges of Katherin's tattoo could be seen.
Jaxx swallowed the lump in his throat. This was his fault.
"They stabbed her. I don't think they killed her, though. Her body would still be here," Jaxx murmured, trying to calm his two friends.
Gwynth paled; the skin around her mouth turning white. Jaxx's statement didn't put her at ease. In fact, it made things worse. Katherin was being tortured.
"We need to hurry then," Morgana spoke up suddenly. "She's in danger. We have to find her!"
Jaxx didn't argue.
The group followed the footprints to a nearby neighbourhood. Quaint houses stood in small clusters, surrounded by lavish expanses of land. It would have been a rich neighbourhood, before the lockdown.
Morgana had wanted to live in one of these neighbourhoods. She'd been saving her money, hoping that Ttod would change his mind about living beside the sea and move in with her instead.
"The path ends here," Jaxx murmured. He looked out towards the houses, suddenly overwhelmed by the scale of the search.
"We need to split up," Gwynth said with conviction.
