Apocalyptic Love - The island

Chapter Eight - Science

The remainder of my hope was crumbled in my hand.

It must have happened when Jason pinned me to the ground, the walkie was crushed, the wires splitting from the back. This was the only way to find Carter, my uncle and Sarah.

"What do we do now Katie?" Hayley was sat on the small shop counter swinging her legs.

We took camp in a convenience store over night as we waited out the remainder of the herd, it wasn't as big as the one that crumbled our home and few were left in charcoal, which made me think our haven was now ashes.

"I don't know Hay" I admitted, if we carried on we could be walking further from them, but if we stayed we risked being overrun "What do you think we should do".

The little girl pressed her fingers to her chin, her actions making me laugh slightly "Carter will be looking for us. We can't go too far" For her age the girl was smart, I guess that came with navigating this world.

"Should we take a look around the town, see if we can find any signs of them?" Hayley nodded jumping down from the perch and pulling her small knife out. I couldn't be more thankful that I'd spent the last few weeks teaching her how to use it.

We started in the smaller shops; we didn't venture inside but we made sure to check around each building. This was the closest town to home and if anyone got out, this would be the best place to hold up. The walk was fuelling my mind with the worst thoughts each time we came back empty handed, I thought about everyone who made a home with us. Sandra, I told myself I would protect them for Andrew, their daughter Amara.

My uncle and Sarah, my heart hurt thinking about their unborn baby, if anything happened to them it would kill Matt.

Did Carter save Ben?.

It was all too much; my mind was on overdrive that I hadn't even noticed the figures slowly creeping up on us.

"Lower the weapons" A voice interrupted behind us.

Hayley was still at my side, looking at me with wide eyes. I pulled her closer to me, turning slowly until I took in the two people, one was a man, light brown hair and daring brown eyes. The other a girl, short blonde hair with the matching blue eyes, they looked around the same age as me, but they looked worse for wear. Their clothes were torn and covered in gore; their hair greasily slicked back to their skulls.

"We don't want no trouble" I held my knife in the air, my other arm holding my girl to my side "We were just passing through".

The man pulled a pistol from his belt, aiming it directly at my head and Hayley started to cry "You aren't going anywhere" he waved his gun "Drop the knife".

"Why so you can kill us? What's the point, gun beats knife dumbass".

This time his aim moved lower, the barrel aimed towards Hayley and my anger sparked "Fine. Drop the knife or I shoot the kid".

I gave the man one last glare before dropping my knife at his feet "Pointing a gun at a kid. You are a sick bastard".

The blonde woman came up behind me holding another gun to the back of my head "You think we are bad, wait till you meet the boss" he nodded to his companion as a scorching pain inched across the back of my head, white dots bouncing across my vision until I collapsed against the sidewalk.

The darkness wasn't as bad as I thought, I saw him. The dark shaggy hair sweeping across his pale forehead, bright caramel eyes that I'd stared into each night. Carter was alive, I could almost reach out to touch him, but the moment my fingers grazed his skin the light broke through and I was awake again.

The golden light was blinding, the harshness making me squint.

"Good morning again" The man's voice was harsh, an eagerness beneath the roughness of his voice "Sorry about the welcome, I trained them better than that".

When my eyes finally adjusted to the light I was in some sort of homemade lab, the walls were a rough rock, the only light from an electric lamp in the corner of the room. There were shelves stocked with vials of deep red liquid, papers scattered across the walls of chemical terms, a set up of instruments laid across a table.

The man was sat in a wooden chair, his greying hair spiking at the top while the sides were gelled back. Circular glasses rested on the crook of his nose covering his eyes, his thin lips turned up in a slight smile, while his bushy brows were tilted up.

"Where is she?" My throat felt like sandpaper as I fought against the restraints, weaving my fingers against the rope wrapping my hands behind my back.

"The child" The strange man nodded "Is she yours?".

"Yes" I spat, glaring at him "Where the fuck is she?".

The man looked taken back by my language, merely pushing his glasses back against his nose as he walked over to the shelves. "She is safe, my guards are watching her" his fingers wrapped around one of the vials on the shelve "Do you know what this is?".

"Honestly Bill Nye, I couldn't give a fuck".

He laughed walking over to the table and placing the vial in the holder above a flame "That's a good one, the name is Neil. It's blood. I've been collecting it from each person to pass through, I believe someone out there holds the cure to this awful plague in their bloodstream".

I watched him carefully as my fingers worked against the rope, the man was crazed, there was no doubt about it.

"Good for you. Hope you find it. Can I go now" Neil walked back to the shelve grabbing a needle and syringe, and my stomach dropped.

"I'm sorry but I need to do this, I won't take too much. Don't worry" He inched closer.