Chloe

I'm thankful the buildings are low and close enough for me to hop across the roofs or dismount to reach the floor. Brody sneaks up and snaps one of the necks while Drew goes in for a slit throat. I catch one between the eyes with my arrow, and the last is finished by Brody, then he makes his way round to the front of the building Bill took residence in.

Firing an arrow through the ajar window, the sudden panic alerts me that I've nailed my target, and I'm going to assume Drew's playing his role perfectly when they come out in three . . . two . . . one—

The fire exit slams open, and Bill's the first out. His flabby arms swing back and forth as he huffs and pants for dear breath, face jiggling with each motion, cheeks flushed from exertion or yelling. Soon after, Drew's in toe, and I'm hot on their trail as Brody catches up and matches my stride.

He's faster than he looks.

Readying my arrow, calculating the distance and the angle, I fire. It glides through the air with an elegant arch before ploughing straight through thick skin covering the back of his lower shin. His footfalls stagger as he faceplants the cracked flooring inside the building he had in mind, bellows of curses echoing in the distance.

"Fuck!" he screams, the sack of shit trying to crawl back from our approaching forms, but Brody's swift in shoving him against what looks like to be the reception desk of an old orthodontist.

"Shit, what do you want! I haven't got money anymore you hooligans, I-I can give you a cure! Yes, we all want a cure, don't we?" His bloodshot eyes land on me as I sling the bow over my shoulder. "Apart from you, you shot me you worthless bitch," he sneers.

Brody sends a swift fist to the side of his face, a mark already forming.

"We know there isn't a cure, and you know why we're here," I state, giving him a sneer of my own as Drew swaps places with Brody so Brody's by my side.

"It's that shit clinic, am I right?" he asks in the same tone, lips pulling back in disgust again. "I knew working for that company was the worst decision the minute I stepped foot there."

"That will be correct, you want to tell us what you know?"

The rusty cogs can practically be seen turning in his head, the way his beady eyes flicker over us signals he's trying to figure out a way to screw us over the second he gets his chance.

"How about we strike a deal, hm? A little game."

My brow instinctively hitches. "I don't think so."

He chokes out a laugh, attempting to prop himself up. "My freedom for your protection. I think that's a good offer considering the world we live in," he muses, whipping at the moisture gathering on his upper lip, the other hand clutching his maimed limb. "The guarantee for who will only go down the more I ask—you have three chances, I'm that lenient."

"I don't think so, now why don't you begin with the cover up."

"Two chances."

All of a sudden, a thundering noise rings in my ears, and then everything turns in slow motion. Brody's face scrunches up in pain as he staggers backward and hits one of the counters on impact before crumpling to the floor. Tears well up as I skid to his side, blood steadily smeared from the furniture to the floor. Cradling him to me, unmoving as my heart hammers heavily in my chest, the tears blurring my vision as my mind races, only consumed about Brody lying unconscious in my hold. No matter how hard I try, my fingers won't stop shaking, and for once since I lost my friends and family, fear has consumed me once more.

"Please, don't d-do this to me, not you. I can't lose you too," I sob, shaking his shoulders. "You're trying to scare me, s-stop it, Brody. It isn't funny."

He doesn't move, and sorrow fills me when I thump his chest and there's still nothing. It's hard to breathe, the shallow breaths becoming dry and scratching as my throat turns hoarse. The distant noise of Drew pummelling Bill to a pulp slowly slips away as I'm consumed by grief.

"Brody, wake up! You can't leave me; I love you too damn much!" I cry, hitting his chest with the palm of my hand.

"I told you, girl—"

All I can see is red, the urge to kill brimming over the edge as my eyes snap onto Bill, and his throat bobs, eyes panicky while blood dribbles from the corner of his mouth. My body flies at him, my fists raining down on him, splitting his brow, busting one of his teeth, and the already forming black eye is going to be worse when I'm through with him. If it weren't for drew hauling me off, I wouldn't have stopped.

"You fucking talk, or so help me, I will set any infected I can get my hands on, on you!" I scream, gripping my bat fiercely.

"I'd like to see you try."

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Bill squeals as I hold the maimed Rotter arm's length from him.

"Tell me what I want to fucking know!" I snarl, and he whimpers, clutching his injured leg.

"His name's Levi! He's the one you want; I was just looking out for the company!" He yells. "Shit, what do you want from me?"

"You told the paper—the police, that my brother was a mad man. How he relentlessly hurt the workers with no remorse. The fact you tried to hide the corrupt medicals is one thing, but blaming it on an innocent man . . ."

"I didn't know what else to do! Yes, I exaggerated on some of the minor details, but I was practically stating what I saw at the time, and I thought things would be swept under the rug if they had their culprit!"

The conversation goes over my head as my eyes remain on Brody. My sweet, goofy, brave Brody.

How could I let this happen?

No. He would tell me this isn't my fault . . . But I told him to do this.

"Look, I did what I could with the shit I had. I paid for my crimes, and what's it to you two anyway?"

The sound of drew shuffling is muffled, then he spits, "Deric was my brother, the only family I had left in this shitty world, and because of your selfish desire for money, the lack of a backbone to hire the right staff, he's dead, and on top of that, the world is suffering."

"Shit happens in the business world kid; people get trod on unless they want to be on top. I was on top, and I was going to stay like that after Barren was thrown out the door." He starts to cackle away to himself. "Then Levi wants his five minutes of fame and ends up destroying the world. Speaking of Barren, did you see him on your travels?"

"Yes, he pointed me right in your direction, and if you want a fighting chance, I suggest you tell us where Levi is hiding."

I inch the Rotter closer.

"I don't know where he is! Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you after you shot me in the leg. That snivelling bastard is probably hiding somewhere far away from the mess he caused."

That's not a bad idea, but the question is where would that be?

My eyes linger on Brody, and that rage consumes me, Bill's ramblings about the tainted substance was cordyceps, and other than whatever the report mentioned, he hasn't got a clue, and that pisses me off even more.

Snatching the gun from Drew, I swing it round and fire it at the Rotter, its brains splattering across his shoes and the flooring before the body drops, spurting blood on impact. Turning the weapon onto Bill, dragging back the hammer, I aim straight for his head, tears and snot dripping down his features.

"Hey, wait! I told you everything I know!"

"Lies!" I shake my head. "You killed him, and to be frank, I think your debt is owed, don't you?" I seethe.

"Chloe, not yet—"

I point the gun at Drew who tries to make a move for me, and tears stream down my face.

"Drew, he killed Brody. He can't live . . ."

"Don't do this, you will achieve nothing from it."

I scoff. "Says the one who was going to pull the trigger anyway."

He sighs. "That's because I'm too far gone, you're not."

Gritting my teeth, I aim it at Bill once more, and then warm radiates over my shoulder. Spinning around, ready to shoot anyone who dares get in the way, the tears continue to flow, but faster.

"Brody!"

He smiles and pulls me into his chest with a crushing grip, but I don't care because he's alive and here with me. I bet my grip is near his anyway.

"I'm not going anywhere, darling."

I'm not sure how long I cried into his chest, but he silently held me as I let all the anguish out, and then the relieved tears flow.

"I thought he killed you, I—"

"I heard you sweetheart, and that's what kept me round."

Pulling away, I inspect him. "But the blood . . ."

"Yeah, the impact sent me off balance and I smacked my head on the counter, it's going to need a patch job at some point, but I'll live. And . . ." He lifts his shirt, revealing a black vest with a bulled stuck in the material, the small chip clattering to the floor when he brushes it. "Stole this bad boy from one of the bodies, just in case things happened to go south. I was about to grab you one when you signalled the Rabid."

That's why he was adjusting his shirt.

He tilts my chin up, murmuring, "Please Chloe, don't let this consume you, never become like them."

Gritting my teeth, right and wrong tugs at my brain. This asshole tried to hide it all, tried to make money from it, he should be punished. Glancing at him with all the hate I can muster, even through it I can see that we've done enough, and the message has been clearly sent to him.

"You got lucky this time, next time—"

Heavy footsteps rushing our way alerts us, and I'm fast to pull the trigger as a body rams into my shoulder. My gun fires, and it collapses inches from Bill. Before we know it, glass is shattering all around us, staggering fingers plough their way toward us, and it doesn't take us long to grab Bill and make haste for the closest exit. Drew drags him and Brody's the first out of the window, hauling me out, then Drew, and Bill follows. As he climbs to his feet, he's face down in the dirt, nails digging into the ground as he screams, blood pooling around his mouth.

We yank on his arms, but the pull is too great, and we slip. Bill is sucked into the horde, their teeth gnawing and emitting groans, fingers grabbing and pulling at whatever they can get a hold of, and that's all we need to kick up dust and high tail it out of there. The three of us made sure we were far enough away before slowing down and collapsing on the floor for a handful of minutes to catch our breath, and the first thing I do is fling myself into Brody's arms.

"He's gone."

"I know love, we did what we could," he hushes.

My target has been completed, yet, in the end it wasn't how I wanted it to end. If I hadn't been corrupted by my rage, then I could've seen clearer, acted professionally, and none of this would've happened.

"Now, it's just this Levi, right?"

I didn't realise I was hesitating at first before I mutter a quick yes, and Brody notices, but gives me a soft squeeze instead of questioning it, showing support.

"Honestly, I thought I lost you," I mumble in the crook of his neck when Drew climbs to his feet and more than likely heads off to scout the area to give us some time alone.

"I'm sorry, my Pocahontas, and I swear that no matter what happens, we will make it through. When this is over, I'm building a raft, and we can travel until there's a deserted island with nothing but us to inhabit it," he states.

"That sounds good to me, handsome."

His eyes widen when I lean back, and it's adorable.

"You called me handsome! Damn, I wish I had a recorder. Say it again," he begs like a puppy for his favourite treat.

"My handsome Brody," I whisper beside his ear.

"Mm, I like that. We are definitely going to be doing this more often, and when we're alone, I'm going to make up for worrying you so much," he rasps, kissing my jaw.

"Yeah, you have a lot of making up to do," I chastise playfully, and he grins down at me.

"That can easily be done."

Grinning with as much joy as he has, my eyes flicker in the direction Drew vanished in. "Come on, before we lose him."

When the two of us unite with Drew, the first thing he does is chuckle like he's seen something funny.

"I still can't believe you're alive. Are you two always like this?"

Brody shrugs with a boyish grin. "You'd be surprised with what we've pulled off. So, where are we heading?"

Embarrassed, I finally meet Drew's eyes and say, "I'm sorry for pointing the gun at you . . ."

"No sweat, I understand."

Smiling, my attention goes back to the previous question. "Somewhere far from all this, a place where he may be able to hide from the infected. Any ideas?"

Brody furrows his brows in deep thought, then his eyes widen while Drew remains in thinking mode.

"The beach. When the virus broke out, I heard people were going there because of a ship collecting survivors, if that's true, I doubt they would come back after all this time—unless there's some sort of benefit for them."

That's a good point, so good that it makes perfect sense. Depending how long he's been hauled up there for, he may have a base, one the infected may struggle to reach—at least temporarily, then I'd do whatever I could to get out of dodge.

Clapping my hands together, I say, "We have our heading boys, let's go."