Frenzy (The Frenzy Series Book 1) (17 page)

“You
bit
me!”

“You entered the rotation. You knew you’d be bitten.” His eyes danced with laughter.

“You know what I mean. You didn’t numb me first.”

“Ah, yes. That was an oversight.”

“An oversight? Haven’t you ever bitten someone before?”

“Not in a controlled way, no,” he admitted, glancing away. “Look, I didn’t realize that our saliva contained numbing agents. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I didn’t know there was another way.”

“You act like you’re new to all of this.”

His eyes darkened. “I’d love to have another taste of you.”

“I just gave Roman my blood. It wouldn’t be wise to let you feed so soon. I might get weak.” My heart was beating out of control. I’d set the lantern on the dresser earlier, and my crossbow was leaning against the wall beside it. My hand felt for its grip as Tage stalked closer.

“Just a little taste wouldn’t hurt.” He noticed my hand inching along the wall and stepped up, snatching my wrists in his hands. “That’s not nice. You were planning to shoot me.”

“I was
planning
to defend myself.”

He slammed my hands against the wall above my head. “I’m hurt,” he feigned. “You know,” Tage said, running one finger down my cheek, jaw, and neck. “There are places I can bite you that no one else will ever see. No one will have to know about it.” His hard body pinned me to the wall. “I almost wish you were wearing your dress. Easier access.” His hand stroked my outer thigh.

“Saul will kill you,” I ground out.

“The little boy you run around with? I don’t think so.”

He began to unbutton my pants and a tear streaked down my face despite me. Squeezing my eyes shut, I debated screaming for Mary, but I knew there was no way she would be able to fight him. There was no way we could fight him together and win.

All at once, I fell to the floor in a shaking mess as a growl tore through the room. Roman had Tage pinned to the opposite wall by the neck, his feet dangling a foot off the floor. “What part of
Do not touch the humans
did you not understand?” Roman enunciated every word.

Tage just smiled, blood leaking from his lip. “I just wanted a taste.”

“She is
mine
now.” Roman lowered him to the floor. “Go home. If you ever touch anyone else, I’ll end you myself.”

Tage straightened his jacket. “Fine. ‘Night, ladies!” he called merrily, brushing by Mary, who stood in the doorway covering her mouth.

Roman composed himself and turned to help me up. I was bracing against the wall, halfway there. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I turned to button my pants and then brushed the errant strands of hair from my face. My fingers wouldn’t stop trembling. Tage would have bitten me, but there was no way he would have stopped at just a taste. He would have drained me. Ford would have lost both of his sisters in the span of a month.

“I’m sorry I was late. There’s trouble. We have to cut the trip short.”

“What sort of trouble?” Mary asked.

“There’s a nest of Infected nearby. They’re looking for something, probably us.”

“A nest?” I asked, gripping my crossbow tightly.

“Leave the lantern. It might buy us some time if they think we’re still in here. And to escape, we’ll need the darkness.” Roman led us out of the apartment, into the hallway and down the steps. “Quiet,” he warned as we crossed over the glass shards in the area labeled ‘Lobby’. My duffle wasn’t heavy at all. I should have taken everything and sorted it later. This supply run would be a bust, which meant someone else would have to be sent in. I never even knew there were “nests” of Infected, though I figured some were in the city. Most inside died from the virus, and the ones who did survive became shells of the people they used to be. Maybe they were clinging to the lives they once lived, to the places they remembered.

“We take the alleys,” Roman said, pointing to the dark void between two brick buildings that were at least four stories high. He led us into the darkness right as high-pitched shrieks came from the direction of the building we just left. My heart pumped faster and I got a new burst of energy. Mary did, too.

At every cross road, Roman would have us wait while he watched the area for movement. His hearing and vision seemed much sharper than our own, so we relied on him. I was waiting, glancing to the right, watching for motion when I saw a flash of long, golden hair.

She turned to face me and then waved me to her. “Mercedes?” I wasn’t even sure I’d said it out loud.

I started walking toward her and then broke into a sprint. “Mercedes?”

“Porschia, no! It’s a trap!”

“It’s my sister!”

I pumped my arms, running as fast as I could down the street. Roman was on my heels and Mary was on his. “Stop, Porschia!” she pled.

“I can’t!”

By the time I reached the intersection, there was nothing. Mercedes was gone. I spun around, arms out. “Where are you?”

“Shut up!” Roman hissed.

“Mercedes!” I screamed, ignoring him. “She’s still alive. She’s
here
.”

Roman grabbed my arm. “She is Infected! Get a hold of yourself! If she touches you, you’ll never see the Colony, Saul, your parents, or Mrs. Dillinger ever again. It’ll be over with. You – your life – will be over, Porschia. Is that what you want? To die?”

I shook my head and tears burst from my eyes. “I just want my sister back. I want my life back!”

“This isn’t the way,” he said, pulling me to his chest almost tenderly.

“Uh, guys,” Mary interrupted. “We’re in trouble.”

“Arm your crossbow,” Roman told me, his dark eyes colliding with mine. I pulled away from him, my fingers finding their target, and nodded to him.

“Mary, stay with Porschia,” he ordered.

Looking around, his eyes ticked by, stopping here and there on something we couldn’t see. But the shrieks and shuffling could be heard through the sound of blood whooshing through our ears, through the sound of our erratic breaths and frantic pulses.

“I’m so angry with you, Porschia. We better make it out of this alive!” Mary hissed scathingly.

“I’m sorry.” It was all I could say and it wasn’t enough. Even if we made it out of this mess, it wouldn’t be nearly enough.

Roman was tearing something he’d pulled from his inner jacket pocket. A bright red flame burst from a stick in his hand, burning hot and fast. He threw it on the ground nearby and it gave us light. It gave us the ability to see them. I almost wished it hadn’t.

Mercedes was standing with a guy who looked to be about her age. His hair was gone and his flesh was gray, but Mercedes looked unchanged. Her hair was still beautiful and bright. Her skin was still tan and perfect. She looked like she’d just left the house, with the exception of her clothing. She was wearing tight jeans and a bulky, green sweater. The pair was grinning at us, just like Saul described. It was creepy as hell.

This wasn’t my sister. My sister would never hurt me.

I raised my crossbow and took aim. “Wait,” Roman said.

More shrieks came from behind us and then from either side. “Son of a bitch,” Roman cursed. “They’re surrounding us.”

“What do they want?” Mary was glued to my side. She had no weapon other than the butcher knife she pulled from her bag.

“They’re hungry,” Roman answered.

“Are you kidding me?” Mary shrilled, sounding like one of them.

“No, and they’re coming. We have to make a path and run like hell.”

“How do we do it? Make a path?”

“Take some of them out and run like the Devil is on your heels...because he will be.” Roman raked his eyes over the encroaching throng. Young, old, children. Some with no hair, some with strands, some with full heads. Some with sagging skin, some mottled and rotting. The smell of decay and rot permeated the air.

It wasn’t this place; it was them. It was Mercedes, because she was one of them. She might be trying to survive, but so was I.

“If we cut out the strongest among them, the others won’t catch us,” Roman plotted.

I nodded.

“That means—”

“I know what it means. Fine.”

“On three.”

I aimed for my sister. If I could hit her, Roman would at least let her live. If he got a hold of her, he’d kill her. And this time, it truly would be the end of Mercedes.

“One.”

“Two,” he paused.

“Three.”

I squeezed the trigger and somehow the arrow found its target, striking Mercedes in her side. It wasn’t a deathblow by any means, but it would stop her in her tracks. She shrieked uncontrollably, shaking hands clasping the skin around the arrow. She looked at me incredulously. “You were trying to eat me, Mercedes!” I screamed as we ran for it. Roman was running toward the man beside her, his body beginning to blur with speed. The man shifted at the last minute and took Mercedes with him, avoiding the blow from Roman, but we made a hole, one large enough to slip out of. And we
did
run like the Devil was on our heels. Their shrieks, though a ways back, followed us all the way to the wall. Roman sent us over first and then stayed on top. “I’ll watch. They’re riled up. I wouldn’t want them to try something stupid.”

“What is their problem?”

“Just because they’re different doesn’t mean they don’t have the same problem you and I do. They’re starving.”

Mary scowled at me and then crossed my parents’ yard, leaving me to stare at the shells of the three rusting cars in the back yard.

Mercedes. Ford. Porsche.

Neglected. Starved. Forgotten.

I stayed there, sinking to the ground beneath a crabapple tree, my back against the familiar curve of its bark. I finally stopped shivering, letting the adrenaline pumping through me wear off. The rest of the hunt wouldn’t be over. I didn’t want to wake Mrs. Dillinger, and if I fell asleep, no one would be able to wake me. So I sat there, watching the house the way Roman was watching the Infested on the other side of the wall.

Leaning my head back, I watched clouds streak across the bright moonlight and the stars peek from between it all when they had the chance. It was beautiful and peaceful in a world full of chaos and danger.

The back door creaked open and two steps came from the boards of the back porch. What was Father doing out at this time of night?

When the door closed, more footsteps sounded and Ford’s lanky figure stepped into the back yard. I stayed still, watching him as he crossed the yard, heading toward the tree line. The only thing behind the small thicket of trees was the flood wall. What was he doing?

I kept my steps light. When he crossed through the saplings and grabbed the metal rungs of the ladder, I finally spoke. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He jumped back like the rung was white-hot. “Porschia?” he asked in a high pitch.

“Don’t ‘Porschia’ me! What are you doing near the wall?”

“I heard something.”

“You
heard
something?”

He nodded. “Something was screaming over there, and I knew you guys went to the city tonight. I was coming to help you.” Guilt furrowed his brow. “I’m sorry. I just thought I could help if you were...”