While We Fall (The Eva Series #2)

Chapter Twenty-One

Fear washed over me like a heavy wave and the shock of seeing his face again knocked the air out right of my lungs.
“Hello, Eva.” He smirked, an evil glint in his eyes.
I held my breath, hoping to see Wyatt and Ben get out of the jeep, but I could tell there was no-one else in there.
“Where are they?” I yelled as I stormed towards him.
“Who?” He teased as he casually walked straight passed me, twirling the car keys in his hand.
“You know damn well who! Where’s Wyatt and Ben?”
“Oh, them.” He paused. “They didn’t make it.”
I stood there, frozen in terror as the reality of what he said sunk in to my bones. Tears filled my eyes as my heart began to shatter into a thousand pieces.
“What did you do?” I roared, chasing after him.
He didn’t say anything.

I stepped in front of him, not letting him pass.
“I saw the holes you cut in the fence.”
“Good for you.” He said, looking down at me.
“Why are you like this, Elliot? What happened to you to make you so cruel?” I tried to stop myself from crying, but I couldn’t. I let my tears fall onto my cheeks as I looked into the cold eyes of Wyatt’s brother, Wyatt’s killer.
“Wake up, Eva.” He said as he moved his face inches away from mine. “I may be cruel, but I’m the one who’s still standing. The time for heroics and humanity is gone. Those things are weaknesses now. Only the ones who are willing to do whatever it takes to survive will rule this new world. When will you learn that?”
He grabbed me by the shoulders and threw me down onto the driveway before storming towards the house.

As I sat there on the ground, I realised that something about his words felt true, and I hated it. I thought back to everything we’d been through over the past week. All the people who had lied, cheated and stolen from us because we were trying to be good people, trying to help. Every time we tried to be good, to do the right thing, it almost got us killed.
Not anymore.
“Elliot!” I yelled. I jumped to my feet and ran after him, knowing I couldn’t let him in the house, but I was too far away to stop him.
He opened the front door and turned to me, a chilling grin smeared on his face as he slowly closed it, locking it from the inside.
I jumped up the steps and pounded my fists against the door, with Dixon by my side barking angrily.

I ran across the porch to the other side of the house, hoping the sliding door was unlocked, but he had already turned the key before I reached it.
“Eva?” I heard Jo call from inside. I watched in horror as she appeared from the hallway to see Elliot in the kitchen, searching wildly for something in a drawer.
He turned around, smiling menacingly as he held up a rope.
Before either of us could scream, he was on her, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her onto a chair by the dining table. She struggled against him, but it was no use. She was tied to the chair within seconds, with Elliot standing over her.
“Leave her alone!” I ordered, smacking on the glass.

He turned and walked straight up to the other side of the door, staring deep into my eyes.
“You’re acting like I’m the bad guy here, Eva.” He said through the glass. “You’re the ones who came into my house, ate my food and took advantage of my hospitality. You’re the ones who tried to kick me out of my own home and dump me in the middle of zombieville. You’re the bad guys here, not me. I’ve got to protect myself.”
“You’re insane!” I screamed.
Furiously, he slammed his hands on the window, causing me to jump back in fright. Seeing my fear, he started to laugh before walking back towards the kitchen.
“Boy, am I famished!” He called, looking right at me. “All that murdering made me quite hungry. I think I’ll make myself some breakfast. You girls want anything?” He laughed again, louder this time to make sure I could hear him.
I looked at Jo, tears falling down her cheeks as she shook in fear. I had to save her. We had to get out of here.

“Dixon, stay with Jo.” I said before running down the porch to Elliot’s bedroom window. I remembered the dozens of weapons he had lying in his wardrobe, if I could just get in there, I could fight him. I tried to pry his window open, with no luck.
I jumped over the porch railing, scanning the ground for a rock big enough to smash the glass. He would hear it, but if I made it to his wardrobe in time to grab hold of a gun before he came running, I just might be able to take him down.
I saw a large rock under the bushes behind the water tank, so I squeezed my way between it and the house to reach it. As I moved the bushes aside with my arms, I realised it wasn’t a bush at all, it was just broken tree branches – and they were hiding something.
A door.

“The bunker!” I whispered to myself. All the weapons I needed would be inside there. I threw the branches out of the way and tried to open the door, but it was locked. I noticed a keypad on the wall next to it, and realised it required a security code to open – a word.
I thought back to everything I knew about Elliot, trying to figure out what his code could be.
Nervously, I pressed the buttons on the keypad. Z-O-M-B-I-E.
The light flashed red, meaning it was the wrong code.
I tried again. P-A-R-A-D-I-S-E.
The light flashed red again, and I knew I had only one more chance to get it right before an alarm went off.
I stood still, trying to think of what the code could be.
After a moment, it hit me like a bolt of lightening. Apocalypse.
“Of course!”
A-P-O-C-A-L-Y-P-S-E.
After I punched Elliot’s favourite word into the keypad, I held my breath as I waited. Relief washed over me as the light on the keypad turned green.

“Yes!” I said as the door popped open.

I stepped inside, quietly closing the door behind me.

Darkness enveloped me, and I began tracing my hands along the walls to find a light switch.

I jumped when I heard a man’s voice coming from inside the bunker.

I froze in fear, terrified that I just locked myself in a dark, concrete bunker with Elliot.