Don’t Look Back

Scorched marks clung to the edges of the brick beneath my fingertips.

Black soot dusted my skin as I traced one of the darker patches, the powder crumbling beneath my touch. Someone had burned bodies here. Recently, judging by the smell still hanging between the abandoned buildings.

Burned flesh.

My stomach twisted.

I pulled my hand away and wiped it against my jeans, but the smell seemed to follow me. It coated the back of my throat, bitter and thick, until I had to breathe through my mouth.

I understood why people burned them.

Everyone did now.

You killed the dead, and then you burned what remained. It was the safest way to make sure they stayed dead.

That didn’t mean I had to like it.

“Violet.” Liam’s voice drifted from somewhere behind me. I ignored him, stepping around the corner of the vine-covered building.

“Violet, can you please slow down?” His footsteps scraped against the pavement as he hurried to catch up. “You’re getting too far ahead for me to keep you safe.”

“I don’t need you to—” I stopped.

Three walkers stood in the street ahead of me.

No.

Four.

One dragged itself from behind the rusted remains of a car, its left leg bent unnaturally beneath it. Torn fabric hung from its body, whatever color the shirt had once been lost beneath dried blood and dirt.

Its head turned. Milky eyes found mine. The others followed.

“Shit.”

I stepped backward. My shoulder collided with Liam’s chest.

“Liam?”

He didn’t answer.

A walker lunged.

Liam shoved me aside. His machete flashed past my face, the blade sinking into the walker’s skull with a sickening crack. Its body dropped.

“Run.” He yanked the blade free.

The other three were already moving toward us.

“Liam—”

“Violet, run.” Something in his voice made me turn.

And then I saw them.

At the far end of the street, beyond the abandoned cars and weeds splitting through the pavement, bodies filled the road.

Dozens.

No.

My stomach dropped.

There had to be more than a hundred.

Some stumbled. Others dragged broken limbs behind them. A few moved faster than the rest, pushing between the bodies ahead of them as if whatever remained inside their rotting skulls understood there was something living nearby.

Us.

The smell.

The noise.

Whatever had drawn them here didn’t matter anymore.

They’d found us.

Liam’s hand closed around mine. “We need to move.”

I didn’t argue.

We ran.

My shoes slapped against the pavement as Liam pulled me through the abandoned street. The city blurred around us—shattered windows, rusting cars, storefronts swallowed by vines.

Places I used to know. Places that didn’t feel real anymore. We cut through an alley.

“Left,” Liam said.

I followed.

A groan rose somewhere behind us.

Then another.

Then dozens.

My lungs already burned.

“We can’t slow down.” Liam glanced over his shoulder. “They don’t get tired.”

“I know.” I panted.

“They don’t stop.”

“I know, Liam.”

His fingers tightened around mine. We turned another corner. My foot caught against something on the pavement, and I stumbled.

Liam caught my arm. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Violet—”

“I’m fine. Go.”

We ran again.

The alley emptied onto another street, and Liam stopped so abruptly I nearly crashed into him.

“What?”

He stared toward the buildings ahead. “The school.”

For half a second, I thought I’d heard him wrong. “What?”

“We need to get to the school.”

Nope, I definitely heard him correctly. I stared at him. He couldn’t be serious.

“That’s five miles away.” I pointed out.

“I know.” Liam sighed.

“Five miles, Liam.”

“There’ll be food.”

“If anyone hasn’t already taken it.” I reminded him.

“Water.” Liam added.

I thought about it for a second, “Maybe.”

“Medical supplies.”

“Also maybe.”

His jaw tightened. “And maybe people.”

That shut me up. People. Actual living, breathing people.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen someone who wasn’t trying to eat me.

Liam glanced behind us. The groans were getting louder. “We can’t stay in the city forever.”

“I know that.” I followed his gaze.

“The school has fences. A cafeteria. The nurse’s office. If anyone had the same idea we did—” Liam started numbering off the benefits like they were guaranteed.

“They could be there,” I admitted, trying to be more optimistic.

He nodded. Hope flickered somewhere in my chest. Small. Dangerous. But there.

Then I looked at Liam properly.

Sweat dampened the hair around his forehead. His chest rose and fell too quickly, and despite the determination on his face, exhaustion had settled beneath his eyes.

I probably looked worse. “We’re not making it five miles.”

“We can.” Liam shook his head.

“No.” I sighed.

“Vi—”

“It’s going to be dark soon.” I gestured towards the sky.

His mouth closed. I hated the way his expression changed. Only slightly.

Anyone else probably wouldn’t have noticed.

I did.

I’d known Liam too long.

“You can’t see well enough at night,” I said quietly.

“I can see.” Liam started his protest.

“You know what I mean.”

His gaze dropped. Neither of us spoke. Liam could manage dim light. Moonlight. A flashlight. A fire. But once darkness swallowed everything?

His vision became nearly useless.

And five miles might as well have been fifty if we couldn’t see what was waiting for us.

“You’re right,” he finally said.

I blinked. “That’s it?”

“What?”

“You’re admitting I’m right?”

“Don’t make me take it back.”

Despite everything, a laugh escaped me.

Liam smiled.

For half a second, the dead city disappeared.

He was just Liam.

My best friend.

The idiot who used to climb onto my balcony instead of using the front door.

Then another groan echoed through the street.

Reality came crashing back.

“We need somewhere for tonight,” I said.

Liam scanned the buildings.

Most of the windows were shattered. Several doors hung open, leaving dark interiors exposed.

I spotted one farther down. “There.”

A narrow brick building stood wedged between two larger ones. Its front window had been boarded over, but the door was slightly open.

Liam stared at it. “Could be walkers inside.”

“Could be walkers out here.” I waved my arms around us in a circular motion.

“Excellent point.”

We hurried toward it. Liam raised his machete as I reached for the door.

“Behind me.” His voice held a protective edge.

“I can handle myself.” I flashed him a roll of my eyes.

“I know.”

I looked at him. “Then why am I behind you?”

“Because if something eats me, you get a head start.”

I stared at him.

He grinned.

“You’re an ass.” I elbowed him in the side.

“You’ve mentioned that.”

He pushed the door open. Darkness swallowed the beam from my flashlight. Dust floated through the narrow column of light as I swept it across the room.

An overturned desk. Papers scattered across the floor. Two chairs. Nothing moved.

Liam stepped inside.

I followed, closing the door behind us. “Clear?”

“Not yet.” He held a hand up, warning me to stay still.

We checked every corner. One small bathroom. A storage closet.

No back exit.

No walkers.

No people.

Nothing.

For the first time all day, my shoulders loosened. “We’re safe.”

“For now,” Liam said.

I shoved one of the chairs beneath the doorknob.

He watched me.

“What?” I turned to meet his eyes.

“Nothing.” A small smirk hinted at his lips.

“You’re staring.”

“I was going to do that.”

“Well, I did it first.” I teased.

“Congratulations.” Liam's voice held nothing but sarcasm.

I dropped into the remaining chair. My legs immediately reminded me how much running we’d done.

“Tomorrow,” Liam said, sitting on the floor across from me, “we head for the school.”

“Tomorrow.”

“If we’re lucky, somebody’s there.”

“And if they’re not?”

His expression softened. “Then we’ll figure something else out.”

I leaned my head against the wall. That had become our answer for everything.

We’ll figure it out.

Where do we go?

We’ll figure it out.

What do we eat?

We’ll figure it out.

How do we survive tomorrow?

We’ll figure it out.

Somehow, we always had.

My eyes drifted closed.

For a moment, another room replaced this one.

My bedroom.

My mother’s voice carrying through the door. “How can you keep acting like this won’t affect us?”

“Nichole, there hasn’t been a single sighting here.” My father's voice sounded so sure of itself.

“You’ve seen the news!”

“And panicking isn’t going to help!”

I’d sat against my bedroom door, listening to my parents argue about something that still felt impossible.

People getting sick. People attacking each other. Bodies getting back up. Everyone had a different explanation.

A virus.

A terrorist attack.

Drugs.

Mass hysteria.

Then came the tapping against my window.

I’d jumped.

Liam stood on the balcony.

Of course he did.

I yanked the window open. “What are you doing here?”

“Have you heard?” Liam asked.

“Heard what?”

He climbed inside and went straight for the radio sitting on my dresser.

“Liam?”

“Just—”

Static filled the room. He twisted the dial. A voice broke through.

“—confirmed incidents in downtown New York. Residents are being urged to remain inside their homes and secure all doors and windows. Do not approach anyone displaying signs of aggression or—”

The signal crackled.

My stomach dropped.

Liam sat on the edge of my bed. “It’s spreading.”

“What do we do?”

He looked at me. For perhaps the first time in my life, Liam didn’t have an answer.

“Pray?”

A scratching sound ripped me from the memory. My eyes opened. Liam was already standing. Machete in hand.

I froze.

Scratch.

Scratch.

Scratch.

Something was outside the door.

Liam lifted one finger to his lips.

I reached slowly for my knife.

A groan came through the wood.

Walker.

My heart hammered.

The chair beneath the doorknob trembled as something pushed weakly against the other side.

Liam moved between me and the door.

I glared at the back of his head.

He knew I hated when he did that.

This wasn’t exactly the moment to argue.

The scratching continued.

Then stopped.

Neither of us moved.

Seconds passed.

A minute.

Nothing.

Liam slowly lowered the machete.

“Think it’s gone?” I asked, shifting behind him.

“Maybe.”

“Comforting.” I exhaled.

Darkness had completely swallowed the room now. The only light came from my flashlight, its beam growing weaker by the hour.

I looked at Liam. “We need to sleep.”

“You sleep.” Liam protested.

“You need it too.” I protested back.

“I’ll keep watch.”

“And then tomorrow you’ll be exhausted.”

Liam shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”

“You’re already exhausted.” I pointed out.

“So are you.”

I folded my arms. He stared at me. I’d known him long enough to know exactly how this ended.

“Shifts,” I said.

His mouth twitched. “Fine.”

“I’ll take first.”

“Violet—”

“You fought more today.”

“That doesn’t mean—”

“And you almost tripped over a trash can twenty minutes ago.” I cut Liam off.

“It was dark.”

“Exactly.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine. Wake me in two hours.”

“Three.” I protested.

“Two.” Liam's lips slipped into a thin line.

“Two and a half.” I was determined to win.

“Deal.” He slid down the wall beside me.

Within minutes, his breathing slowed. I smiled despite myself. The entire world had fallen apart. My parents were gone. My brother was gone.

Everyone I’d ever loved was either dead, missing, or walking around somewhere with milky eyes and rotting skin.

Everyone except Liam.

I pulled my knees against my chest and watched the door. Tomorrow we’d reach the school. Maybe there would be people. Maybe food.

Maybe walls strong enough to let us sleep without listening for scratching. Maybe we’d finally find something other than death.

My flashlight flickered. I tapped it against my palm. The beam steadied.

Then something scraped against the other side of the door. I straightened. Another scratch.

Slow this time. Deliberate.

My fingers closed around my knife. A low sound came through the wood.

I held my breath.

It wasn’t a groan.

It wasn’t the mindless rasp I’d heard from walkers hundreds of times.

This was lower.

Rough.

Almost shaped around something.

A syllable.

Maybe two.

I leaned closer despite every instinct telling me not to.

The sound came again.

My blood turned cold.

For one impossible second, I could have sworn whatever stood on the other side of that door was trying to speak.