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

time following behind the first woman, her chest rendered wide, ribs pulled clean of flesh with a blanket of thick, clotted blood covering her face.

I looked to the first Toni, pulling her intestines behind her; snatched a look straight back to her double with the white of her ribs bared.

I knew only one could be Toni, despite what my eyes were screaming at me. I knew even when I saw her for the third time, her clothes a perfect match. At least what remained. At least what I thought the colours would be underneath the blood and dirt.

I saw her head on every other body. Saw her smile on mouths hanging slack.

Looking between each, I stared at the face of a soldier. The face of a man dressed in military fatigues, a rifle hanging loose around his front. He wasn’t her.

I would have calmed. Should have calmed. Should have taken a deep breath and centred myself, but Alex had taken my pause to reach for the gun and she’d raised up and pointed it out to the crowd.

Blinking, her motion slow, all I could do was observe. All I could do was seek her line of sight and follow where she pointed.

With alarm, I saw she pointed her aim straight at Toni.

“No,” I screamed, regretting the volume as the world came back in focus. I grabbed both hands around her upper arm and yanked. The gun went off and I screamed again. “No.”

I moved but didn’t grab the gun. With a twitch to the crowd I saw the shot must have missed. Each of the creatures still moved forward as I pulled Alex’s arm hard. Letting go with one hand fixed tight, Alex followed as I dragged her along.

A few paces from the low fence I took faith that she’d follow and let go, jumping as high as I could and pulling my legs around the side, barely stumbling as I landed. I kept running, racing through the garden, chasing down the house; eyes fixed on the bright green back door, only looking back as I pushed the handle down and it held under my weight.

Alex had followed. Relief raised the corners of my mouth until my focus fell at her back to the creature stumbling forwards over the short fence.

The resemblance still held as they floundered to their feet the other side, our side, already making their slow but dogged journey in our direction.

Alex’s hand grabbed at mine, pushing the gun into my grip, her other at my back, drawing me away from their route, pushing me in front and down the side of the house and the second short fence.

Numb to the climb, numb to the cautious raise of my leg, I stepped over the chain-link while Alex held it low.

I didn’t look on to where I’d landed. Didn’t pay attention to the other side while Alex climbed. My gaze fixed on my thigh, exposed by the long rip up the side of my skirt, rising to the waistband. I tried to think back to when it happened, knowing Toni would be cross. If she had lived long enough.

“Jess,” Alex said, grabbing me by the shoulders, shaking.

I looked up and saw her concern. She shook my shoulder for a second time. I watched her face, but didn’t realise I’d been anything but wide awake.

I turned, grabbing her wrist despite her running parallel to my side and not needing my encouragement. My gaze ran across the view, jumping every few steps to launch over the bloodied mess of bodies littering the once sleepy village street.

I’d seen the tee junction. I’d seen the steeple of the church, but couldn’t quite see the white of the van. I’d seen the street thick with the creatures, but hadn’t connected that they’d give us no safe route.

The pull of Alex’s wrist guided me away from the junction as I stared out to the road littered with the smoking remains of Land Rovers and trucks and black sticky piles of charred remains with steam rising.

She’d turned us around. She’d had no choice, could find no alternative. All but one house on each side of the once quiet street had their doors open and I could see movement inside. We had nowhere to go but back the way we’d come.

We ran, repeating the journey in reverse. We slowed when we saw the creatures which had followed from outside of the village climbing up from the grass as they pulled from their fall on our side of the second, short chain-link fence.

I looked to the sky for a miracle. I looked down to the blood-soaked ground at my feet as we slowed to a stop. I looked to Alex and her eyes twitching to every point in view, then peered to the gun.

I didn't know how many bullets remained. I hoped we had enough to make sure we could choose our own ending.

68

I’d let go of Alex’s wrist but still felt her body twisting as she searched for a way out. While I tried to slow my breath, I felt her warm grip tight in my hand. My hand followed her pull, my body too and feet soon after, if only to stop me falling face first to the tarmac.

She’d taken control. She had me completely. I gave no resistance as she dragged me toward the row of houses. My feet barely kept up as we headed to the opposite side of the street to where we’d arrived, heading to the false hope of the closed doors, behind which we didn’t know what survived.

To our right, the metal fence rang with the scratch of fingers, hands slapping, shoulders barging as teeth snapped open and closed. Metal pulled its grip against the wooden posts, sending them rocking, swaying with each wave of effort.

Arriving at another house, Alex’s hand