Page 49

Kelly runs back into the closet and brings out a hammer with a butcher knife duct-taped to the hammer’s handle, with a makeshift sleeve made of silver duct tape. Tyler grins as big as his face as soon as Kelly hands him the weapon.

“Holy shit, babe! Thank you,” Tyler says.

“Now give that axe to someone else who needs it.” Tyler goes to give the axe to one of the people nearby, but Kelly stops him. “There is one more thing I think I need to tell you,” she says, now with a more nervous look. I can’t help but inch a little closer to eavesdrop on what she is going to say.

“Can it wait until later? Logan is about to break the door down,” Tyler asks.

“No. I need to tell you now in case we don't make it,” she answers.

“Don't say that,” Tyler says, pulling her close. “We are going to make it.”

“I'm pregnant,” Kelly says.

Tyler stands there, silent. The banging on the door gets louder.

“Babe, did you hear me? I think⁠—”

“I hear you. I'm trying to process what you just said,” Tyler answers, cutting her off. “It's okay. We will figure it out. I love you.” Then he kisses her.

I want to run over and give my brother a hug and tell him congratulations, but then I think about what it means if Kelly is pregnant, and my heart starts racing—this is not good news. This is a death sentence for that baby. There is no way a baby is going to survive on this ship. We are barely surviving. I feel a tear forming in my eye at the thought. I wipe my eyes and see Tyler staring at me. He doesn’t move, just stares. The sound of banging pulls me from my thoughts, and I turn away from Tyler’s gaze.

“Theo, open this fucking door, or I will break it down and kill you myself.” I run up to the medical center's entrance. Tyler, Julie, and Kelly stand beside me, and an entire army is behind us, ready to fight. I smile at Tyler, holding up my axe, and he turns to Kelly.

“Shit is about to get crazy,” he says. Kelly smiles, gripping her weapon.

“I’m ready,” she says.

“Undo the barricade,” I shout.

The door opens, and Logan and his group surround the entrance, staring directly back at us. Everyone falls silent as Logan and I stare at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. I don’t want to wait; I break the silence.

“I’m going to kill you, Logan.”

All at once, both groups start shouting and running past Logan and me, their weapons raised, and the battle begins.

26

THEO

Within seconds, Logan disappears into the crowd and I lose sight of him. Desperately, I look around the room to find him. Then I’m shoved from behind, and I feel a sharp pain as a knife slices the side of my arm. Blood pours out. Quickly, I realize that not only is Logan trying to attack me, but so is the rest of his group.

I scan the room and notice that everyone in Logan's group has blood streaked across their faces. I shift my attention and see Tyler running past me. I reach out and grab him.

“All of Logan's people have blood on their faces. Tell all the others so we don’t attack our own people.” Tyler looks around the room, then he gives me a thumbs-up.

Mary stands off to the back of the room near the closet, behind a table leaned up against the closet door, holding a knife. I also see that one of Logan's people has spotted her and is about to attack, but she jumps from one side of the table to the other and stabs at her attacker. I quickly run over and make eye contact with Mary. Her knife isn't doing much to protect her against the long spear coming at her. It’s obvious that she is becoming exhausted from the constant jumping back and forth. The bloody face doesn't realize I'm behind him. I lift my axe above my head and swing. The axe lands directly in the attacker's skull and splits it in half. Blood splatters across Mary's face. The body falls to the ground and I quickly pull off my shirt and toss it to Mary.

“Clean the blood off your face,” I demand. “Logan's group is all marked with blood across their faces. Anyone with red across their face is a target.”

Off to the side of the room, a group is battling. As I glance over, I catch sight of one of my people being stabbed in the eye with a broken bottle, then stumbling backward. I hear a scream from somewhere else—I recognize it immediately as Julie’s. I quickly turn, searching for her. When I find her, I watch as my wife takes a butcher knife and jabs it into her attacker’s face repeatedly. My eyes go wide watching her. Then, I watch as another bloody face runs up to her.

“Julie, watch out!” I scream. She looks up just in time to see the man rushing at her with a broken bottle. She quickly jumps out of the way as he rushes past. Julie swings in a quick motion, slicing the man's Achilles tendon. Instantly, he drops to the ground, grabbing at his ankle. Julie leaps on top of him and drives the knife directly into his throat. Blood sprays out, and his body goes limp.

A woman runs up to me with a small knife in her hand. I step aside and swing my axe just as she gets close enough. My axe lands in her throat. She grabs at her neck as blood gushes out. I watch as she opens her mouth to speak. No words come out, only gurgles. I turn to see another person charging at me. I throw my axe and it lands in the man's chest. He stumbles backward to the ground. I run over and grab my axe. Then, as he is lying on the floor screaming, he gets trampled by countless people. Tyler and Kelly come into view, and I watch them fighting their own battle with a group of bloody faces.

Tyler slams his hammer down on a bloody face's collarbone. There is a loud crack, and the bloody face drops to the ground, screaming in pain. Before his attacker can react, Tyler spins his hammer and uses the blade to slit the man's throat. I can't help but smile at my brother being such a badass, protecting and fighting off everyone trying to kill us.

I turn to fight off more of Logan's group and stop when I hear Kelly scream. I turn back to see her against the wall. A man backs away from having her pinned against the wall. I gasp when I see the man pull a knife out, and crimson blooms under her shirt. Tyler screams, his face red and full of fury. He ambushes the man from behind, pulling him to the ground. Quickly, the man twists his body, putting his back flat against the cold hardwood floor. Tyler leaps on top of him like a maniac, screaming so loud that saliva spews from his mouth.