This Is Not The End.

Chapter 30

"So you're saying that you don't know why some come out in the day?" I frowned, letting Cara rest her legs on mine as she sat on Beck to join in.

"Usually it's something to do with how dead they are, so to speak," he said, "But you'd never find a Runner or a Skinner out in the day,"

"They'd melt?"

"That's putting it nicely," he grimaced. "We saw one once, didn't we?"

Cara shuddered, "It was disgusting,"

From the other side of the tower, Sam sat bolt upright and snapped his book shut, "They're close!"

Gently moving Cara to the floor, Beck shot up and held out his hand for me to take. There was no way I could be as excited as he was at the thought of this sort of training.

"Three or thirteen, Sammy? We're gonna need some warning,"

Sam shut his eyes again, "I don't want any fucking clouds... I need numbers, for crying out loud!"

"Language!"

"Not now, Beck!" he concentrated for a moment, before breathing out a relieved sigh, "Three,"

"Perfect," he let out a laugh and retrieved his bag of meat, holding it out for me to take which I declined. "This is for training, remember?"

"To hell if I'm touching it,"

"Buzzkill," he pulled a face and reached into the bag, pulling out a leftover chunk of steak. He tossed it over the wall, and we listened to it hit the ground. "This should be fun,"

He emptied half the contents of the bag onto the ground below us and I hoped that my father had given him permission to have his training session, as I would not be the one to clear it up at the end.

As soon as he put the bag down, I could hear the screeches. Gently, Cara took my hand and stood in solidarity next to me.

"We're up here, and they're down there," she promised me, "And we've got guards in case anything goes wrong,"

I squeezed her hand to thank her, taking a breath to steady myself. I'd frozen them twice now; I could do it again. This time, maybe, I'd be able to do a little more damage.

"No life or death situations, remember?" Beck nudged my shoulder with his. I nodded.

"There better not be," I raised an eyebrow and he smirked.

"I pinkie promised, crossed my heart and hoped to fly,"

I rolled my eyes, "Let's get this over with,"

Beck stepped forward silently and his face lit up like a Christmas tree. He beckoned me towards him, and we looked over the edge of the wall as staggering thing waited at the treeline. It didn't look like a human, not anymore. Its head was a minefield of growths and bloody patches, hair had long since fallen out, and its skin shone like a silvery food tray, complete with the marks and scratches littered along its body. In the glint of the moonlight, I got a peek at its eyes, but all I saw was red.

"A Lurker?" I whispered my guess. Beck grinned.

"You're getting it,"

I watched as it waited beneath the safety of the trees.

"Is it gonna come out?"

He nodded, "They're blind, remember? It's making sure we're not waiting for it,"

I took that as a polite 'shut up Skye, you're scaring it away', and waited patiently as it decided on its plan. After a little while of it groaning and screeching, scratching itself with razor fingernails, it stumbled from the protection of the leaves and sniffed its way to where the meat waited for it.

"I'm gonna guide you through this, okay?" he whispered to me as it started gnawing on the remnants of food. I nodded so he could see. "Okay, you scared?" at the shake of my head he smirked, "Thank God,"

"You better say something other than 'just say stop!' this time," I murmured.

"Okay, uh, you've gotta find something to tie yourself to it," he said smoothly, "Link your emotions,"

"Link my emotions?"

"Do it!"

I kept my gaze on it, refusing to break my stare as it tore bits of meat off the bones and forced it down its throat, snarling when it didn't fulfil its purpose. If I were it, I'd be mad. This is what had become of a person, a human being with a life and maybe a family. This monster was all that was left. The Push had ravaged its mind and its body, but the person inside had probably been ignored by its country because they weren't as important as others with the disease. Governments watched as its population died and came back, all because they'd done nothing.

Yeah, I wouldn't just be mad, I'd be fuming.

"You got it?" Beck's voice sounded hollow in my mind, but I felt myself nod a yes. "Okay, I'm gonna put my glasses on you now, okay?" I felt them sit on my nose as he tucked the arms over my ears. "Open your eyes,"

When I did, I wasn't quite me anymore, I could feel it, but my vision was black, and my movements slurred.

"You're not gonna like this bit," he said, "Listen to me very carefully, this is how you kill it,"

I couldn't speak to him, but I listened to what he said. I could feel myself inside the Infected. I could feel its pain, its hunger, its anger, but most of all I could feel its bloodlust. It wasn't like any of it was radiating onto me, but I understood how it felt, and why I had to kill it.

"Keep your eyes shut," he said carefully, making sure I was listening, "And tell it to stop,"

In my body, I took a breath, but I wasn't me, not right then. I felt myself take control, relaxing into it, and squeezed my eyes shut. This was the right thing, the only thing, the kind thing. It was a killer, a monster, and I was going to help a hell of a lot of people with my next move.

"Stop."

Like whiplash, I was thrown back into myself and blinked my eyes open, faced with nothingness. Panic rose in my chest as I grasped the idea that it hadn't worked, but I felt Beck's hand on my shoulder and Cara's laced in with my fingers and I knew I was me.

"It's okay, it's just the glasses," he promised, taking them away. My vision sorted itself out and I stepped back, shivering. "You did it," he smiled reassuringly, "It's gonna get easier, I promise,"

My teeth chattered and I rubbed my icy hands together, "How do you do it so easily?" I managed, pulling my arms across my chest to warm myself up.

"Practice," he said, taking off his own jacket and putting it around my shoulders, "You did that one like a pro. You've got this, okay?"

I could've been the ice in my blood, but I refused to meet his gaze as I felt myself blush.

"We'll get you warm, and then we'll have another go, yeah?"

I nodded, "In, in a minute, though..."

Cara went to find a blanket they'd brought, and Beck grinned. "Yeah, in a minute,"

As horrifying as it was, I couldn't help but be proud. A week ago, I had nothing, and now I'd used my power properly for the first time. I'd done it, and I'd keep doing it because I knew it saved a lot more lives. That would be what kept me going. With a bit more practice, it would come easy, and besides, I had a pretty good teacher to help.