Page 83

“Four,” he replies in a low voice.

Okay, not so bad, I think. We can handle four Biters, even if we are starving and dehydrated and covered in slick and cum.

“Shit,” he curses. “Make that seven.”

Seven is way worse. “Do you think they know we’re here?” I ask. Ferris doesn’t even get a chance to respond before there’s snarling, scratching, and banging coming from the other side of the camper.

“Yeah,” he growls. “I’d say they do.”

I get up from the bed and begin dressing in the clothes that we cleaned in the creek days ago. I peek out the other window of the bedroom and feel the blood freeze in my veins when I see no less than four more Biters on the other side. Two of them are currently trying to tear the camper open with their claws.

Ferris quickly dresses, hands me my axe, and then arms himself. “We need to pack everything,” he says, striding into the main space of the camper.

We work quickly to re-pack our backpacks and ensure that all of our food and water is safe. “I don’t want to be trapped in here if they manage to break in,” Ferris says. “We need to get out of here and into the wilderness where there’s more room to fight and better opportunities to run.”

My body shivers, but I know he’s right. We’d be like the canned fish we’ve been eating if they manage to break into this metal camper. “Okay,” I agree. “What are we going to do with our bags?”

Ferris reaches around the small dining table and lifts one of the bench cushions, revealing a large storage space. “This is accessible from the outside, so let’s put everything in here, and then we can circle back to get our packs when it’s safe.”

With everything stowed away, I release my axe from its holster, and Ferris stands in front of the door, gun at the ready. “Okay, here we go.”

I nod, and he kicks the door open, running out and firing bullets.

The Biters on this side of the camper charge toward the noise of the door slamming into the exterior wall. Ferris immediately kills two in rapid fire, leaving five more to go. I jump from the door, forgoing the metal stairs, and use my momentum and height to lob the head off one Biter. Its black blood sprays across my torso in a horrid arc, but I manage to jump over its body on my descent.

My landing sucks, and I have to crumple to one knee to prevent falling, but then I’m up and looking for the next target. An ear-splitting screech sounds from the backside of the camper, eliciting an answering screech in the distance. The group from the other side of the camper charges around, hemming us in between the growing number of Biters.

My axe never stops moving as I swing it around, trying to make contact as claws reach out and try to grab and shred. A short distance away, Ferris abandons his gun to use his machete, and we work together to try and hack away at the horde. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to matter how hard we work or how many heads we detach. By the time I’m covered in black, noxious blood, more Biters are replacing the ones I’ve killed, and worse, they seem to be pushing me back against the metal exterior of the camper.

“Raine!” Ferris yells.

“I’m okay!” But I’m not. I’m scared and for once, I don’t know an easy way out of this. They just keep coming no matter how many I take down.

Anguished and desperate, I crank my head back, stare into the sunset sky, and do my best imitation of a wolf’s howl. Louder, I howl twice more, feeling foolish, but not knowing what else to do.

I dodge an especially vicious swipe, just barely avoiding the Biter’s claws, and dance further away from the camper. I don’t stop moving and with every breath I swing my axe, but I am exhausted from the rut.

I feel in my bones that I’ve only got one really good swing left in me, so I take a deep breath, wind my axe back, and swing it with all my might at the neck of the Biter currently trying to eat me for dinner. The blade slices right through, sending its cursed head into the dirt, but the impact of the swing reverberates up my arms so painfully that I drop my axe and fall forward into the thick, fetid blood spurting from the corpse.

“Raine!” Ferris yells from somewhere too far away. “Baby, get up!”

I push myself up, stumble forward a little, and grab my axe, but I don’t have the power to lift it. Ferris is being swarmed. His shirt is shredded on one shoulder, and his gun has been lost to the horde. Our eyes connect across the expanse, and reality sets in. If we don’t run, we’re dead.

I brace myself, ready to try and outrun the horde, and I see Ferris trying to hack a path through the group attacking him, but he’s trapped, unable to escape. “Go!” he yells, asking me to leave without him. I open my mouth to tell him what I think of that dumb fucking idea, but I’m stunned silent as Dair’s massive wolf breaks through the trees.

He begins tearing through the Biters, trying to get to Ferris, and just being in his presence is enough to revitalize my efforts. Alpha is here. I manage to lift my axe and take down another monster while Dair tries to free Ferris from the horde.

Gods, even with Dair here, we’re massively outnumbered. He slays Biters while Ferris continues to guard himself, and all I feel is helpless desperation. I need my alphas whole and safe.

Dair’s wolf finally punches through the group to stand beside Ferris, but every Biter he kills to get there is quickly replaced with another. A few have noticed me standing near the treeline and scuttle over with gaping mouths ready to infect.

Tears flow from my eyes. How did everything go to shit so fast? “Raine!” Ferris yells again. “Run! Get away!”

My eyes don’t leave the approaching Biters. I widen my stance and force myself to raise my axe. “No!” I yell back.

I count down to impact.

Five. The Biters snarl and shred the ground as they run toward me.