Page 88

I glance beyond his shoulder. The creatures have rounded the car now and they’re heading straight for us. I grab Levi to help him, but to my horror, he pauses, straddling the fence.

“What are you doing?” I say.

“The diary.”

“What the fuck?”

“The diary and the picture. They’re back in the car.”

“Leave them,” I snap. One of the creatures is a few feet away now, the bones of his skull gleaming coldly through the holes in his flesh. He teeters—one step forwards, one back—in an odd jittery dance. Maybe the stake in its chest has destabilised it. “For fuck’s sake, leave them. Levi,” I hiss. “Come on.”

The creature’s head comes up, and it sniffs. It sounds even more disgusting up close.

Levi is watching him intently, his head cocked. “We need the diary and the picture,” he repeats. Then, before I can stop him, he drops back down on the other side of the fence.

“Levi—”

He puts his finger to his mouth, shushing me.

The creature is swaying in that jittery dance again. Levi crouches and picks up a stone. And it’s then I realise—they’re attracted to blood and noise, but they can’t see us.

Levi hurls the stone at one of the signposts and it hits with a loud crack. The creature near us raises its head and then it’s gone, lurching towards the noise and moving a little bit too quickly for my liking.

Stay there, Levi mouths before turning to the car.

I look for the other creatures and spot them. They’re on the ground licking up the blood I vomited. As if sensing my gaze, one of them gets back to its feet.

Swallowing a groan of disgust, I reach down, grab another rock, and throw it as hard as I can. Unfortunately, that’s not far and it hits one of the creatures on the head. It abandons its disgusting task with a sound of rage.

Levi turns an incredulous face towards me. “What sort of throw was that?” he hisses.

“Oh, I’m so sorry I wasn’t in the first eleven. What a disappointment I must be as a husband.”

Levi ignores me and runs for the car. He climbs into the driver’s seat, and I hold my breath as he scrounges around the console, the dash, the floor. He looks up and silently shouts, “Where are they?”

The creatures have taken notice and they move quickly toward the car, like spiders skittering across the road.

“The floor!” I shout, hoping to distract them and direct Levi. “On the floor on my side.” Then I cry out, “Shit, the door!” as a creature makes a lunge for Levi’s legs.

Quick as a flash, he pulls them in and slams the door, but the window is still open and the creature sticks his hand in, trying to grab him.

“No!” I shout. I grab another rock and throw it. It lands several feet away from the car, and two of the creatures turn and shamble towards it. Unfortunately, it’s not the one trying to grab my husband. I blink as that one suddenly recoils with a gurgle that sounds like pain.

“What was that?” I shout, abandoning the attempt to be quiet.

“The amulet,” Levi calls. “It’s red hot. I don’t think they can touch me.”

“Let’s not pin your fucking survival on a vague guess.” The creature is gearing up for another attempt. I hurdle the fence and grab a stick lying in the grass. Racing towards the creature, I whirl it in the air and bring it down on its skull. There’s a horrible cracking noise and the creature falls to the ground. Well, its body falls. Its arm stays gripping the car door, the fingers wiggling.

“Levi, get out now,” I yell. “Right now, you utter fuckwit.”

“Got it,” he shouts. He pops up in the seat, and I see him stuffing the diary and picture into his leather satchel. “Over the fence. I’m right behind you.”

The creatures are nearly on me, and I waste no time running for the fence. Something grabs at my shoe. I kick out frantically, grunting when I hear bones crunch. When I make it to the fence, I whirl to check on Levi.

He’s out of the car and running. The creature I kicked makes a swipe at him, and Levi stumbles. I yell out, hoping to divert it, and Levi runs. When he reaches me, I clutch at him frantically. “Did it get you?”

“No. Move!” We climb the fence and I follow him into the trees where we pause on the edge of a narrow path.