Alive Like Us Read online

  Grandmother. Sanna darted out into the open. “Hey!” she shouted, waving her arms. “Over here! I’m the one you want!”

  “What the hell—are you crazy?” Kai started towards her.

  “I can lead her away.” Sanna watched as the Alpha swooped around.

  “Wait, don’t—"

  Sanna spun and took off for the neighborhood. The Alpha dipped low, her wings flapping as she picked up speed. Sanna would have one chance to make this work, and it’d require every last one of her nerves. She gritted her teeth, tasting ashes, and stuck to the path ahead. She longed for an axe, a knife, anything.

  The Alpha was gaining on her. Sanna glanced over her shoulder and saw the monster’s jaw hinging. Rows of bloodstained teeth, sharp as needles, lined her blackened gums and her amber eyes glittered with malice. She stretched out her arms as the distance shrank between them, eager for a deadly embrace.

  Sanna surged forward, even faster, and at the last possible moment feinted to the left, diving under the Alpha’s wing.

  She rose, her heart racing and skidded onto the main street. Forty yards away, people were still picking through the rubble of the church, oblivious to the attack.

  “Behind you!” one of them shouted, pointing to the Alpha as Sanna sprinted by.

  She swerved. The Alpha’s claws raked across her shoulder, leaving a fiery trail of pain. Its wing slammed into the back of her head, sending her sprawling into the snow. The Alpha doubled back, ready for the killing blow. Sanna’s heels slid on hidden ice as she scrambled up, arms flailing.

  “Stay down!” Kai shouted from across the street.

  Sanna hit the ground. An arrow ripped a hole through the Alpha’s wing above her. The beast tilted to the side, the edge of her wounded wing catching the ground. She rolled, somersaulting through the snow and crashed into a building across the street.

  A siren blared in a series of short, terrifying blasts. Sanna looked back at the wall rising beyond the drab buildings. Ashen bodies crawled over the edge and joined the growing melee on the walkway. Panic sizzled along her nerves. The guard would be overwhelmed.

  They needed reinforcements.

  The Alpha staggered into view, her ragged wing starting to heal.

  “Cover me!” Sanna shouted to Kai as she scrambled up and took off down the street. The Alpha lunged after her, gaining ground despite the slew of arrows Kai fired after it. Sanna tucked her chin, increasing her speed until she thought her legs might fly off.

  The Lieutenant’s house appeared on the horizon like a giant, empty skull. She hurried up to the front and grasped the doorknob. Locked. She busted it open with a sharp kick and fell inside, shutting the door behind her. The Alpha slammed into it with enough force that her bones vibrated.

  Sanna braced herself against the door. With the lock destroyed, it wouldn’t stay shut on its own and Kai was probably still a mile away or out of arrows.

  The door rattled as the Alpha barreled into it. She’s going to break it down.

  Sanna scanned her surroundings, searching for a weapon. Light spilled into the cramped kitchen through a window above the sink. The wall of cupboards framing it hung open, their contents spilled across the shelves and countertop. A small table was overturned near the door. She kicked one of its legs free. Not exactly the most effective weapon, but a bat was better than nothing.

  The wood near her cheek cracked and bulged, and the Alpha’s gray hand shot through, sending splinters flying.

  Sanna crouched down, covering her head with her hands. Her gaze caught on the egg-shaped doorknob across the room. It was the door from her vision. The basement.

  It was her only chance.

  Sanna lunged for it, her snowy boots slipping across the linoleum. The back door burst open behind her. The Alpha surged in, but her wings caught on the frame, preventing her from entering. She snarled, trying to squeeze through, then gave up and reached in, her long arms grasping for Sanna as she crawled across the kitchen.

  The basement door creaked open as she neared it, as if beckoning her to enter. Behind her Alpha writhed and snarled, beating against the threshold with a manic intensity. Hairline fissures shot out from the corners of the doorframe. The Alpha would tear the whole house down to find her. She’d break through any barriers.

  The stairs descended into a dark abyss. Sanna started down and shut the door behind her. With serpent-like speed, a cold, clammy hand shot out from beneath the stairs and gripped her ankle. She gasped, kicking free. Her balance wavered and she half-tumbled, half rolled down, landing in a pool of congealed blood.

  She groaned, sitting up. The room reeked with a thick, putrid stench—a mix of wet limestone, death, and decay—and a wave of nausea washed over her. Her sight adjusted. A red smear led to the far corner of the room where the Lieutenant sat like a lifeless doll, his torso a gruesome cavity.

  Sanna scanned the rest of the basement. It was built of piled stone, creating a damp, subterranean space. Stacks of moldering boxes and junk surrounded her, stuff that had probably been left untouched since the First Night. She followed a narrow path that wound through the piles of forgotten things, around heaps of rusted tools, stacks of papers, brittle with age, a tangled mountain of chairs. A moldering one-eyed teddy bear stared out from its sodden cardboard tomb. She followed the rotten stench around a leaning tower of plastic crates and froze.

  A stage two sat with her small body pressed against the wall, her knobby knees drawn under her chin and her black-veined arms wrapped around her bare, bent legs. Her plaid nightgown was little more than filthy rags. She looked almost sad. Alone.

  This must be the monster Ruthie was so afraid of. Her own daughter.

  The girl’s dark tongue snaked out of her lips and tasted the air. She leaned forward, shifting to her hands and knees. A low growl rumbled in her throat, far deeper than any little girl should make. She lunged, her bony fingers seizing Sanna’s wrist.

  The basement faded to darkness as another vision descended.

  Now Sanna was laying on a strange bed, staring up at a ruffled canopy with hot, dry eyes. Her body was a heavy, blazing furnace. Even breathing was a raspy challenge. Beads of sweat rolled across her forehead, dampening her hair and gluing her nightgown to her skin.

  Two shadowy figures, one tall and broad-shouldered and the other short and thin approached her bed, their voices hushed.

  “Here it is,” The taller one—Raj—held out a vial. “From New Hope. A good strain.” The shorter man reached for it, eager, but Raj jerked it higher. “Are you sure you want this, Lieutenant?”

  “They’ve got the fever. They’ll be dead in a few hours if I don’t. At least, this way, they’ll stay with me until we find a cure.”

  “And our agreement?”

  “Yes, yes. You can take what you want from Erling’s tithe. Just so long as you supply the food they need—but no purebloods."

  “Uncleans only,” Raj agreed, lowering the vial.

  The Lieutenant snatched it from Raj’s hands and popped the cork with his thumb. He splashed some liquid into a glass and pressed it to Sanna’s mouth. “Here you go, Gretchen. This will make you and mommy feel all better.”

  The liquid sloshed into her mouth, salty and bitter. It burned down her swollen throat. Her stomach twisted. She grimaced, her facial muscles twitching as the infection took root inside her.

  Sanna’s skin prickled as the vision faded.

  She whipped around, dodging an Infected’s swipe. She ducked as the little stage two spat at the larger stage one—who shrieked as venom tunneled through her cheekbone and staggered into a pile of boxes, before vanishing into the shadows.

  “Gretchen, I know who you are,” Sanna backed away, her voice hoarse. “I saw what they did to you.”

  Gretchen rose onto her hands and knees, flinging her head up like a cobra. She was out of venom. For now. The scabs covering her eyes gave her face a skeletal appearance and thorny growths had started to poke through her nightgown’s ruffled collar
. Whatever strain the Lieutenant had given her was potent.

  “I bet you’re hungry,” Sanna continued, eyeing the iron chain around Gretchen’s mottled neck. “Your greedy friend made sure you didn’t get any of the Lieutenant.”

  Gretchen sprang forward; fangs bared. Sanna smacked her away with the makeshift bat. Gretchen snarled, black blood dripping from her mouth.

  A force plowed into Sanna, knocking her to the ground. The rough cement bit into her cheek as the stage one’s warm, fetid breath washed over her. It sniffed her hair, globs of saliva falling onto Sanna’s neck.

  Sanna envisioned that dagger-filled mouth inching closer, ready to taste her flesh.

  No. She wasn’t done. Not yet.

  Power surged through Sanna’s veins. She rammed her elbow into the stage one’s ribs, knocking her off. Sanna recovered and pounced, wrapping her hands around the stage one’s throat and squeezing for what felt like eons. Finally, the creature went limp, the rage in her eyes snuffed out. A low whine escaped from her throat.

  I think I did it. Maybe the Infected were like all other animals who fought for dominance.

  She released the stage one and stood up, recognizing the faded floral dress. Ruthie. The Lieutenant’s wife.

  Gretchen’s chain rattled, betraying her movements. Sanna spun around and rammed the bat into her gaping mouth like a horse bit while Ruthie scrabbled back to her own corner.

  Sanna drove Gretchen hard into the cinderblock wall. The monster twisted and thrashed like a demon trying to escape, but Sanna leaned into the bat, holding firm. Venom sizzled around the glossy wood, landing in steaming pools at their feet.

  Gretchen’s claws raked across Sanna’s sleeves, shredding them to ribbons. Soon, she’d make it to her flesh and Sanna didn’t know how long she could bear the agony.

  “Give up,” she urged, forcing the bat deeper into Gretchen’s mouth. “Give up and I’ll let you go.”

  Gretchen’s snarls softened into mewling yips, and her frantic scrabbling slowed to languid swipes before stopping altogether.

  She bowed her head, her pale, spidery limbs falling limp. A faint whine emanated from her throat. She seemed a lot smaller when she wasn’t trying to rip off Sanna’s face, but like a rattlesnake, that meant her venom was even more deadly.

  Sanna touched her bony shoulder. Drive out the horde, Gretchen.

  She stepped away and swung the bat high above her head, slamming it down on the pipe before she lost the courage. The brittle iron shattered with a deafening bang, freeing the stage two.

  Muffled cries of the villagers filtered through the stone walls, followed by the roar of the Alpha.

  Gretchen bared her teeth, answering with one of her own.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  The Alpha was near. Sanna sensed her the same way animals sensed a threatening storm on the horizon. Terror had sharpened every one of her senses to a lethal point as she bolted up the stairs and across the kitchen.

  She threw open the door, panting, half-expecting the Alpha to be salivating on the other side. Instead, she saw only chaos. Men and women ran through the streets, hounded by Infected. Children sobbed on stoops, begging to be let in.

  A few soldiers were being pinned by stage twos, their armor melting beneath a barrage of venom. Smoke stained the amber sunset. Erling must be on fire again, only this time, there was no one to douse the flames.

  More Infected sprinted down the street like living marionettes. This is the voice’s doing. Sanna could feel its hatred beating down on her like a merciless sun. Every scream cut short; every desperate cry around her only served to make him stronger.

  She headed for the main gate, hoping to stem the tide at its source. The casualties became more prevalent the closer she got; familiar faces writhing in pools of their own blood, clutching grisly wounds. She rounded the corner, following the cacophony of battle—groans and screams and the clang of metal—and halted.

  It was worse than she thought. The massive gate was open halfway with bodies dangling from its intricate pulleys like gruesome ornaments. Her mother and a few others were near the levers, struggling to wrench them closed while the Infected poured in unchecked.

  She spotted Kai among a group of soldiers hunkered behind an overturned wagon. The quiver at his hip was empty, and he held daggers in his hands. A massive hunchback on all fours was drawing closer, a furless blend between man and bear. Sanna had never seen one up close before and judging by the terrified looks of the men pinned behind the wagon, neither had they.

  The Alpha’s shadow made a beeline for Kai.

  Sanna ran towards him, all thoughts emptying from her mind save one. Protect. Protect. Protect.

  The Alpha dove, ready for the kill.

  “Get down!” Sanna shouted as Ruthie raced ahead in an ashen blur, leaping over the wagon and tackling the Alpha. The pair tumbled across the ice-glazed road, flesh thudding against flesh. Snapping. Growling. Gretchen streaked by, loping on all fours. She pounced on the Alpha, biting her neck while Ruthie burrowed into her stomach. The Alpha screeched, tearing Gretchen off and throwing her into Ruthie. She flapped her wings, launching herself out of the onslaught’s reach. Up ahead, the main gate finally began to lower.

  Sanna passed a dead soldier and wrenched an axe from his hands. She jumped on the overturned wagon, her boots drumming a hollow rhythm as she raced across its length and launched into the horde. Her two Infected flanked her, their teeth and claws tearing a wide swath of blood and gore.

  Sanna hacked her way through the endless waves of flesh, visions of her father and the countless dead flashing in her mind with each deadly swing.

  “The gate is stuck!” Someone shouted.

  A jumble of wooden crates was stuck beneath it, along with a lifeless body. Countless Infected wriggled through the opening, adding to the horde.

  Sanna finished the bloated stage one in front of her and sprinted for the gate. Her Infected followed like well-trained dogs, blocking the swipes and snapping jaws as she passed. She slid to a stop, kicking the crates free, then grabbed the body by its clothes and tried to push it clear. Its head rolled to the side.

  Simon. Had he come out of hiding when the horde breached the wall? Her concentration slipped and the Infected who’d been defending her from the others stilled.

  Stay focused. She shook the thought away and rolled Simon’s body underneath the gate. His hands clamped onto her wrists and jerked her forward. She fell onto her belly, the gate’s sharp, gleaming edge inches from her shoulders.

  The gate groaned, inching down.

  Sanna panicked, trying to rip her arms free, but he held firm with impossible strength.

  “Stop the gate! Stop it!” Voices shouted, blending into a dull roar.

  Simon peered through the shrinking crack. Dark veins crawled across his jaw and left cheek, centering around a silver eye that glowed with malice.

  Gretchen, small but lethal, slipped through the opening and barreled into him. He kept hold of Sanna’s wrists, and the force dragged her further under the gate. Sanna crawled through the mud, desperate to clear the sharp edge.

  She wasn’t going to make it.

  Agony burned through the base of her spine as weight bore down, crushing bone and muscle. A low, keening moan ripped from her throat, something between animal and human as she clawed the earth, desperate to escape the grinding, unstoppable force.

  “Get out of there!” Her grandmother shouted from the wall. “Move!”

  I can’t. I don’t have—Sanna looked down, expecting her torso to end in a bloody stump. Her legs were still there, despite the wrenching agony she’d felt moments before. What?

  Movement inched to her left. Ruthie was dragging her severed body through the snow, leaving behind a grisly trail of blood and glossy gray organs.

  She’d been cut in half by the gate, not Sanna, though Sanna had felt it. Even now, she was numb below the waist.

  Gretchen ripped off Simon’s head like a broken doll. More Infecte
d closed in, locking her in a dozen separate battles as she struggled to keep them at bay.

  Sanna pushed herself into seated position and scooted towards the wall, her legs still useless. One assailant bit Gretchen’s shoulder, and Sanna cried out as she felt the invisible fangs pierce her own flesh. Why is this happening? Why do I feel everything that they do?

  A male stage one slipped by Gretchen and leapt towards Sanna, landing on his stomach. He scrabbled for her ankles. Sanna crawled through the snow, frantic, her lower body dragging behind her. Gretchen seized the male and flung him to the side. The male landed on all fours, recovering, and pounced, tackling her to the ground. He bit into Gretchen’s arm, and Sanna gritted her teeth against the agony.

  Gretchen landed a double kick to the male’s stomach, throwing him off. He charged again, but this time she feinted to the right, then jumped onto his back. She gripped his head and jerked, snapping his neck. He fell to his knees, then onto his side. She scuttled away on all-fours and snarled at the encroaching throng of Infected.

  They backed off, uncertain. She’s...protecting me.

  The gate creaked open. A horse and rider burst through, Frankie sprinting alongside, while the Alpha’s shadow trailed them. Kai.

  The Alpha swooped low, but he dodged and circled back for Sanna while Frankie continued to the woods. The Alpha closed in; ready to snatch him off the horse, but Gretchen tackled her at the last moment. They rolled across the snow, snapping and clawing. The rest of the horde fell back.

  Kai pulled the horse to a stop in front of her. “Get on! Hurry!”

  “I can’t move my legs.”

  He dismounted, slipping his arms under her knees and shoulders. The horse danced to the side and, for a heart-sinking moment, Sanna feared the beast would bolt, leaving them both to die. Kai held tight on the reins as Sanna grabbed the saddle horn and hauled herself over the mare’s withers. Kai leapt on, his leg colliding with Sanna’s nose.

  “C’mon,” he urged, digging his heels into the horse’s sides. The mare broke into a gallop, heading for the forest. She was large enough that all but the most tenacious Infected shied away, pooling behind them instead.