fire and pulled my hair into a ponytail to get the chill off my neck. I leaned back against the tree and felt my eyes growing heavy. Even a full night of sleep did not mean a restful one on the cold, uneven ground.
As I nodded off against the warmth emanating from the fire, I heard the crack of a branch a few yards off. I sat up straight. Then I heard it again. Leaves crunched nearby, and I held my breath as the sounds got closer. I could definitely discern footsteps.
Paralyzed, I considered my options. I didn’t dare run; the footsteps were too close. I would never escape undetected. Moving with absolute care, I pulled my pack onto my shoulder, abandoning my drying clothes. Slowly, deliberately, I crawled on my hands and knees away from the fire toward a cluster of large maple trees.
Trying to move in silence, I listened intently for the sound of voices. I heard none.
Instead, the sound of low, gravelly breaths caught my ear. It was a throaty, wet intake of air that sounded like a death rattle. I recognized the sound instantly, and the icy feeling of dread laced through my chest.
Concealed by the maple tree, I peered through the darkness for a look at the intruder. Intruders. There were three of them.
There was no mistaking the look of their pale, sunken faces and dead-looking eyes. Carriers. The expressions they wore betrayed a vacancy of emotion. The light was out, and no one was home.
These carriers appeared to be recently infected — only a few months along, by the looks of it. They did not have the revolting, oozing sores or the rabid slobbering mouths like the ones on TV. These monsters were merely feverish, disoriented, and weak — still very human in their appearance, but without a doubt beginning their horrific transformation.
I watched as one approached my fire, breath shallow in my throat. He was just yards away, and I could see the dark hollows of his eyes. I was much too close. If I could stay out of sight, it was possible they would keep moving. But I knew once they saw my fire and clothes, they would be on the lookout for me.
During my desperate train of thought, I had lost sight of one of the carriers. The two I could see had noticed the fire. One was ambling over to where I had left my things, examining my wet clothes. I immediately wished I’d had more clothes to lay out so they would think they were outnumbered. Now they knew I was traveling alone.
To my left, I heard it again: the deep-throated raspy breathing that made my heartbeat throb in my ears. I heard the crunch of leaves behind me too late to move or scream. My breath caught in my chest as a pair of cold arms grabbed me around the shoulders.
I heard a chilling scream echo through the trees and realized it belonged to me. The carrier didn’t bother to clasp a hand around my mouth to muffle my scream. It didn’t matter. There was no one to hear me, no one to care.
I felt a shock to the back of my head — almost like a sudden blow of heat — and my vision went black.
CHAPTER SIX
Somewhere far away, I could hear the crackling of a fire. At least it seemed far away. I was much too cold and damp to feel the warmth. And everything seemed so very, very distant.
I awoke slowly, fighting the splitting sensation in the back of my head to gain consciousness. I opened my eyes and peeled my face away from where it rested against rough tree bark, squinting in the bright light. I was slumped on the ground against a large tree, although I had no recollection of moving there.
What was wrong with my head? The back felt cold, and my hair was matted to my skull with . . . blood?
I tried to feel it, but my arms wouldn’t move. They were wrapped uncomfortably around the trunk of the tree behind me, and my wrists were bound together with two loops of hard plastic that I could not see. They cut into my skin painfully.
The panic broke like a dam in my chest and rushed through my entire body. What was going on?
My
As I nodded off against the warmth emanating from the fire, I heard the crack of a branch a few yards off. I sat up straight. Then I heard it again. Leaves crunched nearby, and I held my breath as the sounds got closer. I could definitely discern footsteps.
Paralyzed, I considered my options. I didn’t dare run; the footsteps were too close. I would never escape undetected. Moving with absolute care, I pulled my pack onto my shoulder, abandoning my drying clothes. Slowly, deliberately, I crawled on my hands and knees away from the fire toward a cluster of large maple trees.
Trying to move in silence, I listened intently for the sound of voices. I heard none.
Instead, the sound of low, gravelly breaths caught my ear. It was a throaty, wet intake of air that sounded like a death rattle. I recognized the sound instantly, and the icy feeling of dread laced through my chest.
Concealed by the maple tree, I peered through the darkness for a look at the intruder. Intruders. There were three of them.
There was no mistaking the look of their pale, sunken faces and dead-looking eyes. Carriers. The expressions they wore betrayed a vacancy of emotion. The light was out, and no one was home.
These carriers appeared to be recently infected — only a few months along, by the looks of it. They did not have the revolting, oozing sores or the rabid slobbering mouths like the ones on TV. These monsters were merely feverish, disoriented, and weak — still very human in their appearance, but without a doubt beginning their horrific transformation.
I watched as one approached my fire, breath shallow in my throat. He was just yards away, and I could see the dark hollows of his eyes. I was much too close. If I could stay out of sight, it was possible they would keep moving. But I knew once they saw my fire and clothes, they would be on the lookout for me.
During my desperate train of thought, I had lost sight of one of the carriers. The two I could see had noticed the fire. One was ambling over to where I had left my things, examining my wet clothes. I immediately wished I’d had more clothes to lay out so they would think they were outnumbered. Now they knew I was traveling alone.
To my left, I heard it again: the deep-throated raspy breathing that made my heartbeat throb in my ears. I heard the crunch of leaves behind me too late to move or scream. My breath caught in my chest as a pair of cold arms grabbed me around the shoulders.
I heard a chilling scream echo through the trees and realized it belonged to me. The carrier didn’t bother to clasp a hand around my mouth to muffle my scream. It didn’t matter. There was no one to hear me, no one to care.
I felt a shock to the back of my head — almost like a sudden blow of heat — and my vision went black.
CHAPTER SIX
Somewhere far away, I could hear the crackling of a fire. At least it seemed far away. I was much too cold and damp to feel the warmth. And everything seemed so very, very distant.
I awoke slowly, fighting the splitting sensation in the back of my head to gain consciousness. I opened my eyes and peeled my face away from where it rested against rough tree bark, squinting in the bright light. I was slumped on the ground against a large tree, although I had no recollection of moving there.
What was wrong with my head? The back felt cold, and my hair was matted to my skull with . . . blood?
I tried to feel it, but my arms wouldn’t move. They were wrapped uncomfortably around the trunk of the tree behind me, and my wrists were bound together with two loops of hard plastic that I could not see. They cut into my skin painfully.
The panic broke like a dam in my chest and rushed through my entire body. What was going on?
My
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