Feeding Frenzy

Chapter 33

Evey stayed away from Ford as they walked down the road. Gomez lingered behind the group. Evey looked over at him every few minutes. He did not have any weapons, but she did not trust him. Josie and Joey complained about walking, but Evey refused to carry them. Her feet ached and were blistered from the days and days of walking.

She caught Ford glancing behind him at her every few minutes. They would make eye contact, Ford would scowl, and he would look away.

What was he thinking?

Evey could not understand him.

He had gone from being one of the most infuriating and stubborn men she had ever met to being so open and vulnerable. Her mind wandered back to Ford confessing the truth about his past to her in the dark. She would touch her lips when they would tingle from remembering their kisses. He would start so gently, and their kisses would grow more intense. She had never been kissed like that before. She recalled how Gomez flashed his light and ruined their moment.

A loud screech brought Evey back to reality. Her heart pounded as she looked around. They were on the overpass of a highway. Cars were crashed into each other or had dead bodies in them that were missing flesh. There was no road for them to run to. They could not get far in a car as the other cars were jamming the path.

A second screech, twice as loud, rang through the air. Evey grabbed Josie and Joey's hands and pulled them behind her body. Gomez swore when he reached for his gun and remembered that he was not allowed weapons. Ford and Johnson both had their guns up and ready to fight. Evey took a deep breath so that her hand would not tremble when she pulled the gun out of the holster on her thigh.

The sun was bright and hot. Evey squinted to try and see in the blinding light.

An Infected woman was running toward them, bumping into the cars. She was foaming at the mouth as blood was running from her eyes. Blood coated the front of her dress. How many people had she killed?

Evey remembered the stance Ford had taught her. She focused on her breathing as she aimed for the woman's head. Her finger wavered over the trigger.

"Evey, don't," Johnson said. "If we shoot, it will attract more."

Evey nodded. If they had learned anything from the helicopter incident, they were sensitive to sound. A hoard of Infected could quickly swarm them if they started shooting.

Ford put his gun away and pulled out his knife. He walked past the group and toward the woman that was charging forward. Evey grabbed Ford's arm, but he shook it off before looking back and glaring.

Ford walked toward the woman while she ran toward the group. Her hands were stretched out. Her manicured nails were sharp. She chomped at the air as she growled. Ford showed no emotion as he walked toward the Infected woman. He grabbed her shoulder and forced the blade under her chin and into her skull in one swift motion. He ripped the knife free, and she crumpled on the road. He wiped the blade on his pants to clean the blood.

Evey's muscles relaxed for a moment before another sound came from the distance. A series of screeches and screams filled the air. The sound did not stop and only grew louder as the Infected grew closer.

How many were there? Evey could not distinguish how many different sounds were in the cacophony of noise. Ford grabbed her elbow and yanked her back.

"Run," he said. "Now."

Evey looked behind her to see the rest of the group was running. Josie and Joey were trailing behind because the others assumed Evey and Ford were running too. Evey rushed over to the twins. She picked up Josie, who wrapped her arms around Evey's neck with Chester in her hand. Ford swooped down and picked Joey up.

Evey glanced over her shoulder to see a wall of Infected in the distance. They were crawling over the cars. They were outnumbered, especially with only three of them being armed.

"Go!" Ford shouted.

Evey tightened her grip on Josie as she sprinted forward. Her shoulders ached from the weight of the backpack and Josie's. Her lungs were burning, and she cursed herself for not staying in better shape before this all happened.

Ford did not run as fast as he could because he did not want to leave Evey behind. The Infected were closing in. If they kept running, they could outrun the Infected and hide. They did not have time to stop.

They ran around the crashed cars. Evey did not have time to look behind her when a screech rang through her ears. The shriek shocked Josie, and she dropped Chester. The teddy bear fell to the pavement. Josie screamed, and Evey assumed it was from watching the ravenous Infected chase them. They continued to sprint away.

"Chester!" Josie screamed.

Shit, Evey thought.

She stopped running and was panting for breath. She turned to see Chester lying on the highway beside a crashed car. Ford stopped when he saw that Evey was no longer beside him. His eyes fell on the bear.

"Evey, no," he said. "We have to go."

The Infected were now only a few hundred meters away. Every second was valuable. They already wasted time stopping. She could not go for the teddy bear.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Evey said.

She tightened her grip on Josie as she reassumed running. Josie screamed and thrashed in Evey's hold. Evey moved her hand to hold the back of Josie's head and held it to her chest. Josie tried to push away from her. Evey's arms and legs ached as she struggled to run forward.

Running became easier when they reached the decline of the overpass. The rest of the group was ahead of them. Johnson was leading them to take an off-ramp so that they could find a place to hide. Evey saw how much further they had to run and swore. Her muscles were on fire, and she felt like her body would give out.

There was no other option. They had to keep moving.

Ford stayed behind with Evey. Her lungs burned as she tried to get air. She dared to look behind her at the Infected. To her surprise, the crowd had thinned. Did they also grow tired?

"Keep going!" Ford shouted at Evey.

She nodded. They made it to the off-ramp and followed Johnson and the others as they fled into an empty coffee shop. He stayed by the open door and waited for Evey and Ford. The rest of the crew had gotten low and hid underneath the windows.

A terrible metallic taste filled Evey's mouth. She was going to pass out at any moment. When she entered the coffee shop, she placed Josie on the floor before collapsing. She laid on the floor with her hand on her pounding heart. She struggled to try and get her breath as all her muscles felt like they were on fire.

The shrieking and screeching were gone, but now all Evey could hear was sobbing. Josie was crying over her lost bear. Ford set Joey down and had him crouch next to Fiona. Josie rushed toward the door, but Ford snatched her and picked her up. She kicked her legs out and cried.

"I want Chester!" she screamed.

"He's gone," Ford said. "Be quiet."

Evey wanted to curse out Ford for being so heartless to Josie, but she could not move. She could not speak as she was still gasping for air. She wiped the sweat off her skin and let her hand rest on her forehead. When she opened her eyes, Ford was crouched next to her with his hand out.

"Let's go," he said. "We need to hide."

Evey's hand shook as she took Ford's. Her knees wobbled as she attempted to stand. Ford wrapped his arm around her waist to stop her from crumpling. Looking at Ford, she saw he had a hint of a smile. Gomez scowled as he watched them.

Ford helped Evey join the group of people hiding under the window. The screeching was faint in the distance. Josie crawled over to Evey, and Evey held her in her arms. Josie cried into Evey's shirt as they waited for the shrieking to disappear.