Sakir

A chilling scream cuts through the tightrope stretched between the infected and I
me. The female seems to be snapped out of her trance, and she lunges at me.

I jab at her with my stick, and luckily, it sinks into the soft skin of her shoulder. I twist the weapon, and she screeches in pain. The sound rivals the scream behind me with ferocious volume and glass-splintering pitch.

While I push forwards, away from the screams behind me, I dig through my memory for everything I know about the infected. They weren't a common sight inside Compound 2, and I never worked near the wall. I remember the shrill sound of the alarm and the stupid drills where we would run and hide in the bunkers. Yet, I've never seen one in real life. Just pictures.

I could recognize one anywhere, though, from the pale skin littered with purple veins to the decomposing eyes and festering open wounds. No living thing looks so horrific.

The infected are basically invincible. You can't kill something that's already dead. Stabbing her won't put her down; it will just tick her off. I either need to burn her alive or shoot her through the head. Neither of those are a valid option at this moment.

"Sakir!"

I jump at the sound of Mya screaming for me.

The infected wraps her hands around my stick and jerks it out of my hands while I'm distracted. She then rips it out of her shoulder and throws it back at me. I jump back, and it lands at my feet with a splash in a pile of blood.

What is Mya screaming about?

Does she know I'm down here? Is she trying to distract the infected? Because it's not helping. I can see the anger flashing through the woman's eyes. If anything, it's just making her madder.

Then, I remember something that drives me back towards Mya and her screaming.

The infected travel in pairs.

She's fighting one off, too. Judging by the desperation in her voice, she's losing bad.

The woman lunges at me again, and I dodge to the left. My shoes slip in a pile of blood, and I fall onto my side. She descends upon me, going right for the throat. I plant my hands into her face, but my fingers sink into the open wounds of her face.

Pushing her away proves pointless, because the skin just gives in more and more until I feel the cold of her cheekbone against my fingertips.

Her worn down teeth press into my neck and send my mind into overdrive. They can't break through my skin, but they can bruise me up pretty badly.

I feel with one hand for something to fight her off with and push at her face with the other. My feet thrash under us, slipping on the wet ground. I come in contact with a rock and wrap my hand around it. The smooth surface is harder to grip than I hope, but I clench it tight in my palm.

I slam the rock into her skull over and over until she backs away from me. Her blood washes over me and blends with the motley assortment of fluids of the ground. She roars in pain, clutching her head as I rise to my feet.

I have to get back to Mya.

She needs me.

I glance back at the tunnel I came through and begin to edge backwards towards it. Turning my back on the woman wouldn't be smart. I reach down and pick up my stick as I walk, listening to the woman wheeze from where she has slinked into the shadows.

Did I really just scare an infected into hiding?

A flutter of pride crosses through my chest. I knew I was big, but scary? The thought never crossed my mind. I turn on my heel and begin to plan how to climb out of the tunnel. The drop that deposited me in this hole isn't deep, but it requires me to pull myself out.

I grip the edge with my hands and begin to lift myself out when the infected dives at me. I can't see her, but I hear her breathing, feel her teeth rip through my gray shirt, smell her rotten skin. My hands dig into the soft dirt above my head, but the extra weight of the woman backpacked on me pulls me down.

A string of obscenities slips out of my mouth as I cling to the ledge. If I let go, there's no defending myself. She would be on my back while I was helpless on my stomach. I need to get out and keep going.

Yet, I feel her clawing through my skin. Her nails break it, and thick liquid runs down my skin. Fire spreads through my back muscles. They tense up.

Mya needs me.

I have to get back to her.

The pain is nothing compared to sitting on the metal table in Julien's lab. I've faced worse than this. I can do this.

I have to do this.

Gritting my teeth, I pull myself and the infected up and out of the hole.

"Duck!"

I jerk my head up at the voice.

A short silhouette looms in front of me, illuminated by the moonlight behind it. The shape has its hands lifted and points what looks like a gun in my direction.

Did Mya's screaming attract the kidnappers? Have we been found?

Regardless, I do as I'm told, dropping to the ground as the person shoots, blowing the infected off my back with a clean shot through her chest. I cover my head as the person rushes forward, steps over me, and fires one more shot down into the hole.

The infected lets out one last moan and then falls silent.

I risk looking behind me, and a smile spreads itself over my face.

"It's about time you got here," I mutter as Jaelyn turns around. Her blonde hair catches the moonlight and reflects it back at me. Sweat coats her face, and she doesn't return my smile.

"We didn't know where you were," she says, glancing behind me. I follow her line of sight to Isaac standing behind me, orange earplugs like beacons in the faint light. He smiles at me before hurrying over and helping me up off the ground. Every movement sends spasms of pain down my raw back.

"How did you figure it out?" I ask, leaning on Isaac. He's as tall as I am.

"Your dad," Jay says. "When he got a message from Julien, he knew you would be at her lab. We were on our way there."

"And you just stumbled across this specific cave in the middle of the woods? Even you're not that sma-"

My voice falls silent as another scream cuts through the cave.

Isaac goes white and looks towards the white orb of light that is the cave opening.

Mya.

I push him away and take off at a sprint towards the scream.

Two shapes sit on the grass outside, bathed in white moonlight. One of them has her black hair pulled back away from her face and is muttering incoherent words to the other. Her whispers slip away on the wind howling through the mouth of the cave. The other smaller shape is curled up into a trembling ball, clutching her ankle.

"Please, be still," the larger shape says in a voice that steals my breath and makes my hands shake.

Athena.

"Sakir!"

I jump, again, and my name slams me back into reality.

Now is not the time to throw myself at Athena. I hurry over and drop to my knees beside Mya's shaking body. I don't even look up at my best friend as I cup Mya's face in my hands, forcing her to look at me.

"I'm right here," I say, firmly. "I got you."

Mya's eyes go wide at the sight of me, and then, they settle weakly into a half-closed state. Her chin trembles as she lets go of her ankle and wraps her bloody hands around my wrists.

"Where did you go?" she whispers.

Athena moves down to attend to Mya's mutilated ankle, and I try not to look at it.

"There was another one," I tell Mya. "I thought it was Ashford's hunters."

"Curiosity killed the cat," she mumbles, and I smack her cheeks gently to keep her awake.

"Yes, but both infected are dead. You're safe."

Mya shakes her head and clenches her eyes closed.

"Packs," she says as she takes a deep breath. Her small body trembles with pain.

"Packs?"

"They travel in packs."

"I know, but Jay killed the other one."

"Not pairs, Sakir," Mya says through gritted teeth.

Realization settles over me. She's right. There has to be more than two.

Athena grabs my shoulder, and I look up from Mya.

"Give me your shirt," Athena snaps. I nod, let go of Mya's face, and strip the ripped and torn t-shirt off. Athena snatches it out of my hand and wraps it around Mya's ankle.

"It needs to be properly cleaned and stitched up," she says, but I stare at the gray in her eyes and the way her nose crinkles at the mention of stitching. "Which I can do, if you three can watch my back. Is the rest of the cave secure?"

One side of my mouth tilts up into a smirk.

I had forgotten how serious she gets in emergencies.

"Yes," Isaac says behind me. "Jay and I checked. It's empty."

"Good," Athena replies, stepping away from Mya's now still body. She must either be in shock or has decided it's okay with me here. Either way, I feel sick. "Saki, carry her into the cave. Be careful, though. Don't jostle her around."

I nod and watch her stand up. The backpack on her back tugs at her shoulders, but she carries it with pride and authority. As I roll Mya into my arms, Athena slams the bag down, ruffling through the medical supplies. She billows a clean white sheet out and spreads it over the filthy ground.

I lay Mya on the sheet as Athena begins to lay her medical supplies out. She glances up at me, takes a deep breath, and opens her mouth to say something to me. I shake my head, and she tilts hers in confusion.

"We can talk later. Just take care of her," I whisper, leaning across Mya to rest my forehead against Athena's. "She saved my life."

"Thank God," Athena whispers. I chuckle and pull away just enough to plant a kiss between her eyes.

"Do your job, and I'll do mine."

"What exactly is your job? Getting into trouble?"

"No. Right now, my job is protecting her. I'm all she has."

Athena swallows and nods, turning away from me to work on Mya. She slips a white pill into the girl's mouth, tilting her head up so that she can swallow it.

Pain medication.

"Sakir, you might want to see this," Jaelyn calls from the cave entrance. With a sigh, I leave the two girls to stand beside Isaac in the moonlight.

"What is it?" I ask, peering into the darkness.

Isaac slips a gun into my hands before popping his ear buds in once again. His hands tremble, but his grip is firm.

"We're surrounded," Jay says in one breath, and I realize the trees bending in the wind aren't trees at all. The howl isn't the wind either.

At least twenty infected stand around the mouth of the cave, yellow eyes trained on the five of us.

"How much ammo do we have?" I ask, cocking the heavy gun.

"Not enough," Jay answers.

"Then we better not waste any."

I lift the gun up to my shoulder, train it on the nearest infected, and squeeze the trigger.