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

He’s out of custody but it’s worse than we thought,” she said, but without explaining she pulled the rucksack from her back and handed it over to Alex. “We’ll need this. It’s a smaller camera.”

Without looking to the cases still resting where she’d left them at the front door of the hotel, Alex pulled on the rucksack whilst Jess peered over my shoulder, raising her brow.

“Where are they going?” Mandy asked.

Looking over my shoulder, my questions disappeared when I saw Cassie and Shadow striding off down the road with more energy than I’d seen even before she’d been bitten.

“We’re heading north,” I said. “It seems as good a route as any. We’ll follow the motorway and hope we can find the front line or whatever’s there.”

“What about the doctors and the children?” Alex said, looking to Jess and back to me again.

“Do you know where they are? I don’t. North is our best chance.” I looked around to Cassie, already with a long head start and when neither Jess or Alex gave an answer, I jogged to catch up.

“She’s feeling better then,” Alex said, arriving at my side with an eyebrow raised and head tilted.

“What is it?” I asked, but Alex just shook her head, looking to Jess coming alongside with Mandy shuffling a few paces behind.

Walking in the middle of the road, now clear of debris, the two lanes of the one-way street joined up with another double lane heading the opposite direction. With no cars in the way or parked along the side, to our right were half-height metal railings and to our left were small shops, still with their tall windows intact.

About to ask Alex once more, I looked up as she peered to the sky, listening with a rising dread to the faint buffeting we’d last heard just before arriving in the city.

“Cassie,” I called ahead in a stage whisper, despite knowing the helicopter crew wouldn’t be able to hear my call even if they hovered directly above us.

Cassie turned, her expression pinched and I raised my palm. She paused, then gave a shallow nod, cocking her head when she caught the sound of the helicopters.

“Perhaps they’d take you to her,” Mandy said.

I turned around, glaring her way. “Or they could shoot us where we stand,” I said as I turned back to look along the road.

We had no way of telling where the noise came from and so quickened our pace in our original direction.

To our left, a grassy bank rose from the road to a cluster of three-storey flats.

“This way,” Cassie said, changing course and climbing. Without complaint, we followed up the bank and down the other side as I scoured the sky between gaps in the buildings for the source of the rising bass.

In amongst the small development of flats, the monotonous thump of the rotors echoed, flashing across the brick in a disorienting amphitheatre of sound.

Cassie rushed to the wide front door of the first flat, but it didn’t give as she pushed. Alex jogged past her, trying the next, but found the same.

By now no one could deny the helicopters were close, so near I thought I could feel their downdraft.

Not diverting to try any door handles, I led the way out of the cul-de-sac, through the car park whilst sticking close to the buildings and twisting to peer to any hiding place, searching for what could leap out.

With the others following, I ran through a street lined with shops and run-down retail units either side, but when none of the doors gave way to our attempts, I continued rushing along the road empty of cars parked to the curb.

The pounding in the air remained ever present, but still searching high above the buildings, all I could make out were the rising columns of smoke everywhere I looked. As the road divided, I lurched down a side street, with Cassie and the others catching up before stopping and staring at the looming shape of an Apache gunship flashing across the air space ahead.

Out of view no sooner than it appeared, we could only hope those on board hadn’t seen us as they glanced between the buildings.

Picking up the pace when the sky became clear, we dived left to a narrow road between two tall concrete buildings. Relieved as everyone followed, I beckoned them further between the high concrete either side as I leaned to a handleless steel door whilst looking to where the space opened out and the sun shone on a private space empty of cars.

Dismissing the option of somehow getting through the bulky fire exit and into the building, I listened to the receding sound of the rotors, trying to decide if they were turning around.

“Is it coming back?” I said, staring wide at Cassie who wouldn’t turn my way. She’d already recovered from the rush and instead of replying, she edged out from the safety of the building’s shadow to look to the sky with the dog panting at her side.

Alex doubled over to catch her breath and Mandy looked at me red faced and with her hand to her chest. Jess appeared as if she’d just stepped from a cab.

Cassie walked past, looking to the air in the direction we’d arrived and when I thought she’d stepped too far from the cover, I rested my hand on her shoulder and went to draw her in, but she shrugged my hand away as if my touch was acid. Without catching my eye, she moved back to the opposite opening.

A cloud of guilt came over me as I reminded myself she’d almost died and was separated from her only living relative who she’d just found out wasn’t as safe as she’d thought. Maybe that was it; maybe she regretted letting me decide. Perhaps she thought she was in no