In The End Box Set | Books 1-3 Stevens, GJ (story books to read TXT) 📖

Opening my eyes, my gaze fell on the red bloodless teeth marks embedded in the knuckle of my index finger.

She hadn’t stepped far and looked sideways to the sky. For a moment she turned her head until she found the low sun halfway around its journey.

I knew the words before they came out.

“We have to get back to the van,” she whispered.

I nodded.

“The cameras,” I said, whilst still tilting my head, but she raised her eyebrows, turned to the side, righting after a moment.

“Your medicine,” she said, her voice lowering. “We need to get it before night fall.”

She smiled, bunching her cheeks in my direction. I felt the need to be close to her. A need to feel her warmth, whilst hating myself for how easily she’d undone a year of repair within less than a day.

I stepped closer as she peered in the direction we’d been running before snapping her gaze back my way as I touched her forearm. She flinched away before I could explore her warmth. Her eyes flared wide and brow shot low, curling her features up in disgust as she moved backwards with a jolt.

Unsure at why she’d reacted so strongly, I watched with intent as her features quickly settled as if remembering how she was meant to act. She still couldn’t hide the shadow looming behind her eyes and I let the question that had been playing on my mind slip before I had a chance to call it back.

“Why did you call me?” I said with my stomach churning.

Before our last time together, before the time I drew a line, I had always been the one to reconcile. I had always been the one to bring us back together, but a year had passed since that day. It had been a year of self-control and of understanding that we couldn’t be together, knowing how it would turn out if I didn’t stay away.

Why after so long was I the one she picked the phone up to in her hour of need? Surely she must have understood we just weren’t right for each other, no matter how much it hurt?

Toni turned her head to the side, staring back as if she didn’t understand the question.

“Why did you call me? Why now?” I said, the strain pulling at my voice.

She shook her head and took a step back, alarm rising on her face.

“I wanted to be with you forever,” she said with a sadness in her eyes.

For a moment I stared on, numb, shaking my head, waiting breathless for her to say more and open up. Only when she looked back towards the field did I hear the panting snarl of the dogs again, pushing the rest of the questions to the side.

Together we turned as I backed away and stood transfixed to the Alsatian running across the field. Puffs of vapour poured from its mouth like a steam engine. Its eyes were wide, jaw hanging open. Its tooth-laden mouth gritted and fixed in our direction.

41

“We can’t outrun it,” Toni said, her voice calm as she stepped back from the tree. With her stare fixed forward, only glancing behind for a moment, her gaze never caught mine.

I watched the dog as its legs pumped hard, its shape getting bigger as each moment passed.

“Run,” she said, her voice raising with the weight of the gun towards the field, edging back to get the tree from her field of vision. “If we get split up, meet at the van,” she said, her voice sounding only half committed to the words.

I glanced away, looking out to the horizon filled with fields sprawling until they vanished. The countryside rolled up and down as I tried to fix my view, tried to imagine where I’d parked the van. We’d run further than I’d first thought and with only one crumbling building high on the horizon to fix on, I made my first slow steps in its direction.

“I’m not leaving you,” I shouted, stopping as her earlier words sunk in.

“Don’t be a fucking child,” she called over her shoulder. “I’m the one with the gun. You need to run.”

“What about you?” I said, exasperated.

“They’re trained to go after the hosts. I mean, the subjects. They’re part of the plan if it gets out of control.”

A numbness came over me as I realised the implications of her words. The dog had been trained to go after people like me. A host. Was I even a person anymore?

With the sound of the dog’s heaving breath, my teeth gritted tight and I planted my feet firm.

After a few moments of deep breath, I looked over my shoulder and saw Toni’s back. Turning, I watched her arms raise and stretch out. Her head twitched as she checked the view and repeated.

I took one final glance before the hedge lining the long field obscured the dog’s race towards us. At least I couldn’t see anything following behind the creature.

Only the rise in its pounding breath forewarned its sharp-toothed chase. I wanted to take control. I wanted so much to run, to outrun, leaving the creature alone; dragging Toni with me and overpowering her protests.

All I could manage was a slow pace backwards whilst shaking my head. I was a passenger.

Toni took small steps towards me, her stare facing forward, never leaving the direction of her outstretched arms.

Putting my hands to my face, the dog appeared, taking the corner wide with a speed much greater than I could have imagined. Toni let off a shot without delay.

The explosion shook through me. As did the next when it was clear the first had missed. The second, too.

The dog took a course neither of us had predicted as it continued to ignore