He needed to find that place.
He needed to tap into it.
He needed—
Kelly.
Edward.
Thinking he had them.
Seeing the infected stop just metres before them.
Feeling relief. Feeling joy.
Then seeing the infected fly into them.
Leaving Kelly for dead.
Killing Edward.
He gritted his teeth as those footsteps got closer. His heart racing so fast now, he was convinced he was in the throes of a panic attack.
Sweat pouring down his face.
Breathing rapid.
Come on. Come on, Noah. You can do this. You’ve got this. You’ve…
And then it happened.
A sudden weightlessness, right through his body.
A taste of blood right across his lips.
He opened his eyes, and he saw nothing but red.
He tightened his grip on Iqrah’s hand. No sounds, just muffled noises, incomprehensible.
And a sense of the infected closing in.
Getting nearer.
He felt his heart racing, and he knew he had to help them.
He knew he could convert them.
He knew he could save them.
He—
A whack against his chest.
His head smacked against the road. His vision filled with light.
He tightened his eyes shut. Looked up and around.
Infected piling on top of him.
On top of Iqrah.
But not attacking.
Just clawing at him. Clawing at them both.
Bruno standing his ground, kicking back, barking and nipping at as many of them as he could.
He felt crushing dead weight against his chest. When he tried to inhale, it just made exhaling even more difficult. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. His head spun. His eyes bulged. Why wasn’t it working? What was happening? What the fuck was happening?
He looked over at Iqrah. Saw her frozen there, turning blue as she lay under a mass of infected of her own.
He saw Bruno, cornered, cowering.
He saw them all, and he felt anger.
Not again.
Not again…
He closed his eyes. Clenched his fist. Tightened his jaw.
And then he felt it.
A wave of energy inside him.
An energy he didn’t understand.
Like he was connected with the infected on some other level.
Like he was tapped into what they had.
He felt that energy, and then he felt his pain, his fear, his desire to survive, to help Iqrah, to save Bruno…
And then he leaned in towards that energy and disappeared into the void.
First, a bang, somewhere inside his skull.
Then an intense bolt of pain, right down the back of his neck.
And then, as he lay weak and breathless on the promenade of Blackpool, Noah saw nothing but darkness surround him, swallow him up, and…
Chapter Eight
Noah opened his eyes.
A blinding pain split through his skull. Burning light, so strong. A thick taste of blood at the back of his throat. His body shaking. His chest tight. His head banging, aching more than ever.
He didn’t know where he was. Didn’t know what’d happened. Some vague memory of standing his ground, resisting the infected, trying to tap into that place within to…
Shit.
It came back in a flash.
Blackpool promenade.
The trams filled with bodies.
The infected racing towards him and Iqrah.
Standing their ground and…
He didn’t remember what’d happened. Only that he’d been knocked to the ground. So too had Iqrah. A mass of infected bodies pressing them both down, crushing the breath from his lungs.
And then a flash.
A pop.
Then, darkness.
He opened his eyes again, tried to squint through the blinding light, make sense of his surroundings. The first thought that came to his head was Iqrah and Bruno. They were in danger. He needed to get to them. Needed to make sure they were okay. Needed to—
A wet tongue against his face.
Hot breath.
He looked around, his neck aching, and saw Bruno staring down at him, wagging his tail.
Noah squinted, his eyes still not quite adjusting to his surroundings. He dragged himself upright. “Hello, lad,” he said. “What’s… what’s happened here?”
He looked around, then. The bodies of the infected lay on the promenade before him. He was covered in blood and innards. Looked like their skulls and torsos had exploded with whatever he’d done.
He looked around at them, a ghastly smell of rot filling his nostrils. The rain that’d fallen so heavily earlier had stopped, nothing more than a trickle now. The grey clouds were parting, warm sunlight beaming through.
He looked around and saw Iqrah lying back against the promenade.
Her eyes were open but rolled back into her skull.
Blood covered her face.
She looked like she was clenching her jaw, holding it tight. Like she was having some kind of seizure.
“Shit,” Noah said.
He clambered to his shaky feet and walked over to Iqrah. Kneeled by her side. Put his hand under her head, gently. “Iqrah?” he said.
She was totally still. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot. Actually looked like a few blood vessels had burst.
And as he lay there, holding on to this girl he’d sworn to protect, he saw flashes of the past again. Flashes of sitting by Edward’s side as he lay there on the road. Blood covering his face. Chest torn open. Ribcage on display.
Every time he remembered that moment, he had a physical reaction. A sickness deep inside like a punch in the gut. The moment he’d sworn never to bond with anyone again. Never connect with anyone again. Because it was never worth the hurt of losing them.
But now, sitting here, Iqrah leaning on his arm, he felt that pain again.
He’d allowed himself to get close.
He’d allowed himself to connect.
He’d allowed himself to—
Iqrah coughed blood.
Her eyes rolled back into place.
She stared up at Noah, looked around, clearly frightened, clearly confused.
“Where am I?” she said.
“It’s okay, Iqrah. It’s okay.”
“I can’t—Why’s it dark? Why’s it dark?”
“It’s okay, Iqrah,” Noah said, holding her closer. “I’ve got you. We’re okay. I’ve got you.”
“I can’t see,” Iqrah said. “Why can’t I see?”
He moved Iqrah away, just slightly. And he noticed something. A greyness to her eyes. A lack of focus as they darted around, tried to investigate their surroundings.
And as much as he didn’t want to scare Iqrah… he knew something was amiss here.
“You can’t see?” Noah asked.
Iqrah’s bottom lip shook. Her teeth chattered. “There was the infected. Then the bang. And now… It’s all black, Noah. It’s all black, and I
