Chapter 1

ANGELA’S POV

The rough, yellow rope bit hard into my wrists. I stood flat against the cold metal streetlamp, watching Tony wrap the heavy line around my waist. The street was completely empty, filled only with the sound of our breathing and the dry wind blowing trash across the broken road.

"Ouch, Tony. That's a bit rough, don't you think?" I said, leaning my head back against the pole. I tried to flash him a teasing smile, putting on my best bad-girl voice to mask the sudden knot of worry in my stomach. "If you wanted to tie me up, you really just had to ask. You didn't need an audience. You know I'm open-minded."

Tony didn’t smile. He didn’t even look at my face. He just yanked the rope tight.

"Sorry, sweetheart. No games today," he said, his voice flat and cold.

"Oh, come on," I purred, shifting my hips just a little, trying to loosen the tight grip of the nylon. "You've been looking at me all week. Now you've got me right where you want me. Isn't this fun? You want me to beg, big guy?"

"I don't want you to do anything but stay right here," Tony said. He tied a thick knot over my stomach, pulling it so tight it squeezed the breath right out of my lungs.

"Tony, seriously, that hurts," I said. My teasing tone dropped. The joke was over. I looked over his shoulder at the rest of our group standing a few feet away. "Okay, guys, you proved your point. I talked back at the meeting. I'm sorry. Now untie me. We have to keep moving."

Nobody moved.

Tony stepped back, wiping his dirty hands on his jeans. "We are moving. You aren't."

I let out a nervous laugh. "What? Very funny. Stop messing around."

"We took a vote, Angela," Tony said. He looked me dead in the eyes now, and the total blankness in his stare made my blood run cold. "Drawing the herd east is the only way for the rest of us to reach the checkpoint. If they hear you, they'll come here. And we can slip by on the west side."

"A vote? You voted to use me as bait?" I yelled, my voice cracking. "Tony, no! You can't do this!"

"It's the only way," he said. He turned his back to me and started walking down the empty street. He didn't even look back.

"Tony! Come back here!" I screamed, pulling against the ropes. They burned my skin, but they didn't give a single inch. "You coward! You son of a bitch!"

I looked frantically at the others. Lena was standing right there, staring at the ground.

"Lena!" I cried out. Tears burned my eyes. "Lena, honey, please! Look at me!"

She didn't look up. Her hands were shaking, but she kept her eyes glued to the dirty pavement.

"I carried you, Lena!" I screamed at her, my heart breaking into a million pieces. "When your leg was hurt, I put you on my back! I gave you my food! I fed you when we had nothing! Tell him to stop! Please!"

Lena said absolutely nothing. She turned around and walked away, following Tony's path.

"Lena!" I sobbed.

I looked at Mia. She was the last one left. She held her backpack tight against her chest. She took a step away, and then she paused. She turned her head and glanced back at me. For a split second, I saw guilt in her eyes.

"Mia, cut me loose. Please. I won't tell them. Just drop a knife. Anything!" I begged.

Mia swallowed hard, shook her head, and ran after the others. She disappeared around the corner.

"No! No, no, no!" I yelled.

I was alone. The street was totally silent. The terror hit me like a truck. My chest heaved up and down as I struggled to breathe. The cold wind blew against my face, drying the hot tears on my cheeks.

"This isn't happening," I whispered to myself. "They are coming back. It's just a joke. It's just a sick test."

I waited for five minutes. Nothing.

"Tony!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing off the empty brick buildings. "I get it! I'm sorry! Come back!"

I started thrashing against the pole. The metal dug into my spine. My wrists were bleeding now, the skin scraped raw by the yellow rope.

"Tony, please! I'll make a deal with you!" I yelled to the empty street, praying he was hiding just around the corner. "I'll take less food! I won't eat for three days! I promise!"

Silence.

"I'll scout alone! You want someone to clear the buildings? I'll do it! I'll do all the dirty work! Just don't leave me tied up! Please!"

My voice was giving out. My throat felt like sandpaper. I was bargaining with ghosts. Nobody was coming back. They really left me. They traded my life for theirs. The betrayal burned worse than the ropes cutting into my hands.

Then, I heard it.

A slow, dragging sound.

Scrape. Shuffle. Scrape.

I stopped breathing. I froze, pressing my head hard against the metal pole.

From an alleyway across the street, a figure stumbled out into the sunlight. It was a man, or at least it used to be. He was wearing a bright orange and yellow construction vest. Half of his face was missing, exposing dark red muscle and bone. His dead, milky eyes looked around wildly.

He heard me screaming.

"No," I whispered. My whole body started to shake.

The zombie turned its head. It caught my scent. The wind was blowing right from me to him. He let out a wet, gurgling hiss and started dragging his feet toward me.

"Stay away!" I yelled, pulling wildly at the ropes. "Help! Somebody help me!"

My noise did exactly what Tony wanted. It was part of his plan.

From down the block, more figures stepped out of the shadows. Two. Then five. Then a dozen. They poured out of the broken storefronts and dark alleys. The herd. They all heard me. They all smelled me.

"No, please, God, no!" I screamed, kicking my bound feet at the air.

The construction worker zombie reached me first. I kicked him hard in the knee. He fell down, but he grabbed my jeans with his bloody hands.

"Get off me!" I yelled, kicking his face.

But there were too many. Three more pushed him aside. Cold, dead hands grabbed my arms, my waist, my hair. The smell of rotten meat and old blood filled my nose, making me gag. I fought with everything I had. I twisted, I turned, I kicked, but I was tied to the pole. I couldn't move away.

A woman with missing hair leaned in. I tried to pull away, but she sank her dirty, jagged teeth right into my right shoulder.

"Ahhhh!" I shrieked. The pain was like hot fire exploding under my skin. It tore right through my muscle.

Within moments, the whole horde overwhelmed me. They piled on top of me, tearing and pulling.

My vision started to blur. The pain was so loud, so bright, that suddenly my brain just shut it off. Everything went quiet in my head. The screaming faded away into a soft buzzing sound.

In my final seconds, as the sky turned dark above me, my mind drifted far away.

I didn't think about Tony or the zombies. I thought about a bright, sunny morning years ago. Long before the world ended.

I was standing in a rich family's living room. I worked for them, cleaning their huge house. There was a thick envelope of cash sitting on the kitchen counter. Nobody was home. I remembered staring at it, my heart beating fast. I almost took it. I almost stole that money and ran away to start a brand new life.

If I had left then, would things be different? Would I have met better people? Would I have found a family who actually valued me? Someone who loved me?

Instead, I stayed. I always stayed. I always played by the rules and helped other people. And this was my reward.

I closed my eyes as the darkness finally took me.

I died on a nameless street, tied to a pole, having never been anyone's main character. I was only someone who was useful, until I wasn't.