Feeding Frenzy

Chapter 43

 Evey squinted but did not help her see better in the pitch-black. The growling and screeching of the Infected grew distant. They had managed to escape them. She could only hear her and Ford's footsteps in the tunnel. Why had he taken her off to the side? Johnson had told the group to go straight.

Ford's hand was on her waist. His fingers were curled tight into her hip. She stepped to the side, but he yanked her back, causing her to crash into his body. That was much rougher than he normally was when they were together. His hand fumbled across hers until he pulled the flashlight out of her grip.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a harsh whisper.

Ford did not say anything, but he chuckled. She raised a brow as it did not sound like Ford. There was a bright beam of light. She covered her eyes as she tried to adjust to the brightness.

She could not see who was behind the flashlight. Her heart pounded at the thought that it might not even be Ford.

Her suspicions came true when the person tilted the light to shine under their chin. A gasp caught in her throat when she saw that it was Gomez. The dark shadows across his face made him look ominous and eerie. She shook her head as she took a step back.

Where was the rest of the group? Did any of them notice that she was missing?

Why did Gomez drag her away from the rest of the civilians? Evey swallowed past the lump forming in her throat when she thought about her fate.

He was going to kill her.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw nothing but darkness. Ahead of her, Gomez was blocking her path. How many Infected were around them? How close were they to those infected by Thyestean?

Gomez clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he watched her terrified expression. Her jaw hung open, and her eyes darted around the dark tunnel. She reached for the knife strapped to her thigh and pulled it from the sheath. She took a deep breath and fought with her hands to stop them from shaking.

"That's cute, Evey," he said. "Put the knife down."

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked.

Gomez chuckled. He turned the light back onto Evey. She could no longer see his body. Was he pulling out a weapon? Was he preparing to attack her? She shifted her weight from foot to foot as she tightened her grip on the handle.

"You're a liability," Gomez said.

He was not whispering like Evey. Instead, he spoke, and his voice echoed through the tunnel. How far away was the rest of the group? Could they hear him? Worse, could the Infected hear? The faint sound of screeching answered her question.

"You've been fucking half of the team," he said. "You keep spreading your legs, and you'll get knocked up. Not only do you come up with stupid plans, but you're going to bring a baby into this fucked up world?"

"You're insane," she said.

"No," he said. "I am right, and you know it. You pretended to look after those kids to make yourself seem like an angel. Look how well you accomplished that. That little girl is dead because of you."

The mention of Josie felt like a stab to the heart. Her sweet face filled Evey's mind, and tears pricked the back of her eyes. She took a sharp breath, refusing to cry in front of Gomez.

"I'm doing the group a favour," he said. "You need to die."

"Fuck you," Evey said.

The light came closer to Evey. Her heart pounded, knowing he was going to attack. He was at an advantage, he could see her, but she could not see him. She had to get the light out of his hands, but how would she do that without being attacked?

Evey ran forward. She took a step to the side as she reached for the flashlight. Gomez's arm came into the light, and a knife was in his hand. She tried to pull away, but he sliced across her arm. A fiery pain ran up her arm, and she screamed. In an attempt to keep quiet, she gritted her teeth. Warm blood dripped onto her legs.

Gomez chuckled, and he lunged forward. Evey ducked, and she kicked her leg out. She was unsure where she hit him, but her foot connected with his body. He howled in pain. The flashlight dropped from his hands and rolled on the ground. She could now see Gomez, and he was holding onto his shin. The shrieks from the Infected grew louder.

The blade was still in Gomez's hand. She had to get the weapon away from him. He was larger than her and trained in fighting. Her only advantage would be the only one having a weapon. There was just one question: how does she get it away from him?

Gomez swung his arm down. Evey shuffled back. The blade narrowly missed her abdomen. She grabbed his wrist and tried to twist it at an awkward angle in an attempt for him to drop the knife. He ripped his arm free and swung again. Evey tensed as she ducked to try and avoid the attack. The blade buried into the back of Evey's shoulder. An explosion of pain caused her vision to go black. She thought the flashlight had died for a moment, but when she stopped screaming, the light returned.

Evey's cries of pain attracted the Infected. There was splashing in the puddles on the tracks. The shrieking and screeching grew louder. Evey was breathing heavily to stop another scream from ripping through her throat. She tried to push herself up, but moving her arm was difficult. An intense and horrific pain started at the top of her arm and ran down her back. How was she going to get back onto her feet?

Gomez laughed as he crouched next to Evey's body. Her eyes scanned the small space that was illuminated by the light. Her knife was on the ground next to her. It was within reach, but she could not grab it with Gomez watching. He would stab her again before she could attack again.

"Poor little Evey," Gomez said. "You're going to be eaten alive."

The Infected's screams grew louder. It was a shrieking chorus, and Evey knew that a hoard of them was coming. She would either be killed by Gomez or the Infected. Which one was worse?

"If you just kept your mouth shut, this would have never happened," he said. "You came up with these dumb ideas and tried to save everyone. You killed us all."

Evey flinched when a high-pitched scream rang through the tunnel. They would be here any moment.

"Remember, you did this to yourself," Gomez said. He laughed as he stood. "I hope you enjoy hell."

He turned and walked toward the flashlight. Sucking in a deep breath, Evey pushed herself forward to grab her knife. Crying out in pain, she swung her arm with the knife. She sliced through the back of Gomez's ankles, severing his tendons.

Gomez let out a sound that Evey had never heard before. The scream caused her bones to shake and nausea to fill her stomach. He collapsed to the ground. Rolling from side to side, he tried grabbing his ankles. Blood was pooling underneath him.

"You fucking bitch!" he screamed.

Sweat was building on Evey's temple as she used her good arm to push herself onto her feet. She stepped around Gomez and grabbed the flashlight. Shining the light down onto him, he hissed at the brightness. Evey could not stop a smile from growing across her lips.

"I'll see you in hell one day," she said.

There were three high-pitched screams. Evey turned and shone the light down the tunnel. A group of Infected pushed past each other as they ran toward them.

Gomez attempted to stand but screamed as he put weight on his severed tendons. Collapsing back onto the tracks, he rolled onto his stomach and attempted to crawl away. A string of curses left his mouth.

Evey turned off the light and ran straight down the tunnel. Despite not knowing where or what she was running into, she could not risk attracting any of the Infected. She needed to find Ford and the rest of the group.

Gomez's screams bounced off the wall as he was ripped to pieces by the Infected.