And outside, Noah heard the fingernails of the infected clawing at the sides of the van. Eager to get inside.
Iqrah lying there, totally still. Blood trickling from beneath her blindfold.
Kirsty not looking much better.
The infected guard staggered to his feet. And this time, he managed to keep his balance. All his focus was on Noah. He stared at him, blood-laced saliva trickling down his chin. It was as if there was nobody in here but Noah. Which he was kind of relieved about. If he’d looked at Iqrah once, he would’ve spiralled into protectiveness.
At least the attention was off Iqrah, for however long.
At least it was on him.
At least...
More footsteps.
A door at the front of the van opening.
And then, two guards stepped through.
At first, Noah felt a glimmer of hope. He might not like the Society guards, but right now, he needed all the help he could get. And he was important at the end of the day. So too was Iqrah.
So they’d protect them both in their own twisted ways.
But when Noah looked closer at these Society guards, his heart sank.
Blood ran down their faces.
One of them had his teeth through his own tongue.
Their expressions were blank, and their faces were pale.
They were infected.
They staggered into the back of the van. And as much as the first guy paid all his attention to Noah, the other two were different. They looked around the van. Looked at Bruno, who kicked back, growled.
Looked at Kirsty, who slept, clearly heavily drugged.
And then worst of all, looked right at Iqrah.
Noah froze.
Urgency and adrenaline took over.
He squeezed his eyes shut as that infected guard made for Iqrah and fell right into that void.
But then he felt it.
A hand grabbing his arm.
Tightening its grip around him.
Sour breath covering his face.
The infected.
Closing in.
Getting closer and closer and...
No.
The infected’s hand loosened.
Noah opened his eyes.
The infected guard stood there. Narrowed his eyes. Confused. Like he heard him. Like he understood him.
Noah’s head ached. He could feel warm blood covering his lips. Felt like he was doing some real damage to himself.
But he had to.
No.
The infected guard backed away, then. He took a few steps, right to the middle of the van.
And that’s when Noah noticed something else.
The other infected.
They turned around. Looked over.
All stared at Noah.
Like they were waiting for something.
His heart raced. He tried to keep his cool. Tried to stay in this place he was in right now. Didn’t want to let it slip through his fingers. Didn’t want to let it go.
He focused on his breathing. And he tried to formulate a plan. Tried to figure out what to do next, for the best.
He looked at the first of the guards, the one who’d come in here before the others and interacted with him. And he didn’t have to say anything. He just thought about the keys for his cuffs. Thought about him coming over here. Handing them to him. Just like he’d controlled that infected who held Baby Edward over that cliff, all that time ago.
The infected struggled at first. His body shook like he was holding back, resisting.
And then he reached into his pocket.
Stepped forward.
Keys in hand.
That’s it. Just a little further this way. Just...
The keys dropped from the infected’s hand.
The infected guard twisted his head. Snarled.
And Noah felt his loose grip on that control slip away.
But the keys.
They were within reach.
He dragged them back with his foot.
Snatched at them with his hand.
Twisted around, contorted his wrist as the infected broke free of their stupor, as their interest in him and Iqrah renewed and—
Noah turned the key.
The cuffs fell away.
The infected flew at him.
He swung his loose fist right into the infected’s face and knocked him down to the floor.
He straddled on top of him them. Scrambled around for something he could use as a weapon, anything he could use as a weapon.
All the while staying aware of the other two infected.
How close they were to Iqrah.
How close they were to Bruno.
And, goddamnit, how close they were to this Kirsty woman.
He felt the infected writhing around underneath him. Felt blood splattering all over his face as he struggled and shook.
And just when he thought his luck was out, he found it.
A knife.
Right in its back pocket.
He yanked it out.
Pressed his arm against the side of the infected guard’s head.
Then he buried it in its temple.
The infected guard writhed around a few seconds. Shook.
And then he went still.
Noah looked up.
The two infected were so close to Iqrah.
He stood. Scrambled over to them.
Leapt at them.
Buried the knife into the neck of one, multiple times.
Then dragged him to one side and stabbed the next in the temple, repeatedly.
Blood everywhere.
The smell of metal and rust filling the air.
The infected dropped to the floor of the van.
Outside, Noah still heard the scraping, the scratching, the snarling.
He rushed over to Iqrah. “Iqrah?”
Took off her blindfold.
Wiped her greasy hair from her bloodied face.
“Iqrah?” he said, breaking her free of her cuffs from the keychain. “It’s okay. I’ve got you now. I’ve got you.”
She mumbled. Twisted, just a little.
She was okay. Better to let her rest now. Better to let her sleep.
He moved on to Bruno. Ruffled his fur and unlocked him from the leash. And then Kirsty, who just about opened her eyes and yawned when Noah released her.
“Shit,” she said. “What the hell happened in here?”
Noah tightened his jaw. “Nice of you to wake up right on time. Talk about fucking timing.”
He walked over to the front of the van. They’d tackled the Society guards in here, no matter how long-winded as it might’ve been, no matter how lucky they might’ve been.
Now they had to focus on the next step.
Getting the hell out of this van.
Getting...
He stepped into the front of the van when he saw them.
“Shit,” Kirsty said. “Holy fucking shit.”
There was no need to add a thing.
Not
