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

have to believe. To do that I have to transmit the pictures from the equipment in the van. It has its own satellite transmitter. It has to come from me or it will get intercepted by the firewalls or who knows, maybe the government will get it first.”

Alex didn’t reply straight away, other than to nod, but she spoke when it seemed as if a thought occurred to her from nowhere.

“Why’s this down to you?”

“It’s what I do,” I replied, the words a reflex.

“What I mean is, if this is so bad, why aren’t the special forces down here kicking their asses?”

I thought for a moment and peered up to the sky. I thought of the Home Secretary’s expression as I mentioned the headline before I’d started this journey. I focused on the pinprick stars I often stared at to make sure I remembered how minuscule my part in the universe is.

“My thoughts exactly,” I said. “And that’s what else we’ll do.”

“Huh?”

“We'll find out why the rest of the country is letting this happen.”

“How?”

“I’m not sure yet,” I replied, my words slow. “But I’ve got a feeling if I stick a gun in my mother-in-law’s face, we’ll know a lot more.”

65

“Mother-in-law?”

“I don’t know why I said that. I didn’t mean mother-in-law. I meant something else. She’s the mother of my…” I stopped, the words confused in my head.

Toni hadn’t been my girlfriend for longer than two weeks at a time and only way back when we didn’t know what happened when we spent long periods together. Long before we ruined the dream.

A fear flashed that I’d already begun to romanticise what we had. Had I already forgotten she’d handed me over to the woman who’d plunged a needle in me, then infected me with a bite? Handed me over to the woman who’d locked me in a cage to see what happened.

I remembered the woman’s words. It was your idea.

I had to find out what she’d meant. I had to find out what it all meant. I had to find out if it was Toni who’d orchestrated what had happened. I had to know; if she had this all planned then why was her face so beaten and bruised? Why was she locked up in that place?

So much didn’t make sense.

Breath caught in my mouth as I rambled inside my head. Images of Toni’s body stumbling back flashed through my mind. Her hand at her stomach so clear in my head. Maybe now I would never know her side of the story. Never know if she was the one who pulled me to her so I could be part of their experiment.

“Are you okay?” Alex said, one hand reaching for my arm, the other in the small of my back as I bent. With her touch I pulled upright, shaking off her grip.

“I tripped, calm down,” I snapped and she pulled away.

She didn’t speak and I was glad for the quiet. I needed space to concentrate on pushing away the thoughts as we walked.

As time went on, my mind went over the same questions and I needed her to talk now. What had Toni’s first look meant when I caught her gaze as she sat in the orange jump-suit? Why did the sniper help us? What was this all about?

I needed Alex’s voice to fill the void left by my feelings pushed down inside. I needed her words as a weight to keep them from rising.

“It’s getting light,” I said, my voice low, not turning to see if she’d been watching the first glow of orange on the horizon.

“Yes.”

“Sorry I was short,” I said. “I’ve got a lot to deal with, you know. It’s no excuse, but…”

She quickened her pace to catch up.

“It’s fine. As long as you don’t try to shoot me again,” she said.

Dread washed over me at the thought of what I’d done, but with surprise I heard the smile in her voice and saw the curl of her lips as I turned. Still too dark to make out the detail, I could see no blame in her features. She didn’t look like she’d retaliate with a verbal attack at any moment.

I looked ahead, revelling in the relief, but could see nothing on the horizon as we climbed. The rising light highlighted the clean line of the hilltop. There was still a long way to go.

“So you want to talk now?” she said; her words seemed genuine enough. I couldn’t sense any accusation.

I nodded.

“Do you feel better now you know I’m not a man?” said with a smile in her voice.

I couldn’t look at her, the embarrassment forcing my mouth closed.

“It’s okay. I get it a lot. I don’t exactly help myself.”

I turned towards her to see her grin and I got the feeling she loved wrong-footing everyone when they first met.

“My parents were set on bringing me up gender neutral. I had transformers and dolls. Now I just can’t bring myself to wear a dress.”

“I’m sorry I just assumed. You don’t have to explain,” I said turning to her as I walked.

She nodded and gave a shallow raise of her eyebrows.

“But you do,” she added, jogging past me and turning to me as she walked backwards. “What’s all this about? What do you know?”

Of course she wanted to talk about the one thing I’d had enough of.

“What do you mean?”

“You said something about what’s going on, the dead reanimating. I’ve seen for myself, but I need to know more. And from the beginning.”

I got it. I would be the same. I was the same.

“It’s patchy, but I’ll do my best,” I said and turned to see her nodding out of the corner of my eye. “From what I