‹ Prequel: White Noise
Status: Active

Static Screams

Personal

In the pre-dawn light, I tiptoed back to the room where Lila was sleeping. If I had to leave her again, I would at least say a real goodbye. When I peeked my head in through the door, I was surprised to see she was awake, sitting up and staring at the wall.

“I heard you guys moving around,” she explained. “I figured you’d pay me a visit, first.”

I smiled as I walked in the room, taking a seat next to her on the mattress. I hadn’t noticed until then that her hair was short. “You cut your hair?”

She reached up and ruffled her hair. “Yeah…it seemed safer.”

I reached out to touch it, still vibrantly red, and incredibly soft. “It looks nice,” I whispered.

She smiled. “Thanks, Hol.” For a moment, she stayed silent, before she spoke again. “I want to kick your ass, by the way.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I figured as much.” I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand, “I’m sorry, Lila. I never should have left like I did.”

She nodded, “I understand why you did, though. You saved us.”

We sat in silence again, another quiet moment passing between us before I said, “Well…I should probably go.”

She looked at me, bright eyes shining in the soft, early morning light. “Before you go…”

“Yeah?”

She bit her lip for a moment, contemplating whatever she was about to say. She seemed to think better of speaking at all, going instead to grab me by the shoulders and pulling me close and…

Oh my god…

She kissed me.

I pulled back quickly, in shock and confusion. “I—uh, I have to go.” I jumped up and ran from the room, ignoring as she called after me.

Logan watched quizzically as I strode through the front room, grabbing my backpack and heading out the front door. “Let’s go, guys.”

My head was spinning, synapses firing in opposite directions. What the fuck was she thinking? Why the hell would she put me in this situation? I stormed halfway down the driveway before slowing up, Peter and Darren catching up.

“Are you okay, dude?” Peter asked from my right, a look of concern across his features.

“Yeah,” I swallowed. “Just ready to get our friends back.”

“You stormed out of there pretty fast,” Darren said. “Did something happen?”

“It’s nothing,” I said. “Lead the way to these magic tunnels.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. “I’m ready to gut some fish.”

Peter and I walked in step, while Darren kept watch behind. I tried to focus only on the ground beneath me, on keeping my eyes alert, watching our surroundings as diligently as possible. Knifing a Zom here, crushing the brain of one there, it was easy to get lost in that for a moment. What wasn’t easy was thinking about her green eyes, or her freckles, or how Ryan would kick my ass if he were still here.

Ryan.

The pain in my chest threatened to spill over to my tear ducts, because I felt like I’d committed the ultimate act of betrayal. I didn’t kiss her back, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was I felt the weight of his death across my shoulders, burying itself deep in every nook, cranny, and crevice it could find in my heart. I pushed it back as far as I could as Peter led us to the store-front, before pulling out a map.

“So, Darren, you’ll be here,” Peter explained again. “The first corridor to the right is basically beneath the next store. Since it dead-ends, but the tunnel wall juts out enough to hide it, that will be the perfect place for you to wait.”

“Alright, sure,” he answered, walking into the store. “I’ll close the door behind me, but I’m gonna leave it uncovered, right?”

“Right,” Peter nodded, looking at the map in his hands. “The goal is to let them find us.”

Darren snorted. “Okay. Got it. Anything else?”

Peter shook his head. “Just be careful, and be smart.You know the plan.”

Darren nodded, before disappearing beneath a trap door in the floor, and it closed with a thud. Peter nodded to himself, seemingly in approval, before looking back at the map. “So, a mile and a half down the road here there is a manhole cover that almost intercepts where the tunnel ends and the sewer begins. That’s where we’re going.”

“We should probably get off the streets,” I said, motioning to the rising sun. “They could be watching us.”

Peter nodded, and we made our way through back alleys, dodging through trees and bushes until we reached our destination. Armed with a crowbar, Peter wedged the manhole cover up enough for me to climb down first, and he followed behind, replacing the cover gently.

“Right,” he said. “Now, I’m going to stay here.” He pointed to the mouth of the tunnel, illuminated by the mouth of his flashlight. “There’s no light down there, so you’ll have to use your flashlight for a minute. About 400 feet in, there’s a corridor that dead-ends, and that’s where you’ll go. Get in there, get armed, and wait.” He turned to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You’re our wild card, okay? They don’t know a damn thing about you, and we’re playing that to our advantage. Stay down, stay quiet, and wait for the signal.”

“What’s the signal?” I asked, swallowing hard.

Peter laughed darkly, “You’ll know when we’ll need you, Holland.”

I clicked on my flashlight. “Time for me to man up,” I said. “Let’s do this.”

I stepped into the tunnel, following a curve out of Peter’s sight and into darkness. The light from my flashlight only illuminated so much; the dark felt impenetrable. I stepped quietly through, but quickly, making my way into my own designated hidey-hole. I placed myself in the far-right corner, moving quickly to pull a pistol and sizable knife out of my bag. Making sure the gun was loaded and the safety was off, I finally turned the flashlight off and tried to steady my own breathing.

Fighting Zoms is one thing, but being face to face with violent survivors was something I had no experience in; I’d never been a fighter, and only knew what I knew about guns thanks to Ryan forcing me to go hunting with him all those years. I was nervous, not sure what I was up against, but I was also pissed.

I was pissed that they wanted Lila, that they wanted the babies. I was pissed they took Cosmic and Seven, pissed that Natalie, Sawyer, Scarlett were being tortured for all we knew. I was pissed that Scarlett let herself be taken, that Darren couldn’t stop it, that I missed the birth of my fucking godchildren. I was pissed that Lila kissed me, that Ryan was dead, that some monster slit Sasha’s throat in the middle of the god damn street. I was so pissed that at twenty-three years old, I would never have a future beyond this.

After what I would estimate to be two hours of stewing on my own rage, letting my heart pound in my ears almost like a metronome, the party started. Commotion at the far end of the tunnel – a mixture of shouts and curses – told me that Darren had done exactly what he was supposed to do: get caught.

Assuming the plan went accordingly, they were marching our way, planning to find Lila and Logan at the end of the tunnel. I stood quietly, my back pressed directly against the cool wall of the tunnel. It was so dark, but I could see flashes of light bouncing off the ground. They were getting closer.

I waited with bated breath, watching as the group passed. I got flashes of a small blonde girl in the front, two men carrying Darren between them, and a girl bringing up the rear, though I couldn’t make out her features. The group carried with them the smell of death, and overwhelming stench that threatened to choke me.

400 more feet and they would be face to face with Peter’s gun.

I breathed quietly, listening intently. I snuck to the entrance of the corridor, watching the light from their flashlights disappear around the corner. I followed quietly, stopping at the bend of the tunnel, waiting once again for my cue.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Peter said loudly, gun and flashlight pointed directly at the woman in the front.

“I’m so bored with you guys,” she said. “Can’t you just make it easy on us, give us the redhead? You’re wasting my time.”

Peter laughed bitterly. “That’s exactly what is not going to happen.”

The blonde sighed, before waving a hand over her head. The woman in the back stepped forward, a knife glinting in her hand. When she grabbed Darren by the hair, I knew she held the point to his throat. The two men stepped to the side.

“You’re outnumbered, again,” the blonde laughed. “Do you really want to have a repeat of the other day? You really want all of your friends to be dead?” She shook her head. “Just give us the pregnant bitch.”

The two men pulled out guns, pointing them directly at Peter. His gaze wavered from the blonde to the two men, but he refocused on the blonde. “Why the absolute hell would I do that, Tana?”

The blonde stiffened, her shoulders squared. “Listen, bitch boy, we are not on a first name basis. Lolita wants toys, and I bring them to her. It’s up to you if I take you alive, or if I kill all of you but the redhead.”

Peter’s jaw was set angrily, and he quickly swiveled his aim to one of the men, squeezing the trigger. A perfect shot, right between the eyes, was met by the retaliation of the other man, returning fire. He tried to shoot Peter, but the gun jammed. He drew a knife, but before he could rush Peter, I stepped out of the darkness.

“Back off,” I growled.

Tana turned around, and laughed giddily. “Another one? And so pretty!” She eyed me up and down. “Bet the redhead’s yours, isn’t she? Lucky bitch.” She whistled to herself.

“Luckier than you’ll ever be,” I spat back, aiming directly for her stupid face. No point in correcting someone I was about to kill. “Let Darren go.”

She eyed the other woman. “What do you think, Amanda? Should we let precious Darren go?”

The woman turned him around, her knife sharp enough that tiny pinpricks of blood were bubbling around the blade. “Why would we?”

“Because you’re outnumbered,” I bluffed. “Because you’re down a man, and it’ll take less time for me to put a bullet in all three of you than it would take one of you to try to shoot me.”

“Oh, those are fighting words,” Amanda purred. “I love a good fight.”

“Please don’t make me kill you,” Tana whined. “You would be such a fun toy.” She grinned sardonically. “At least, after I get the redhead out of the way.”

I steadied myself, waiting for the moment, catching Peter’s gaze as he motioned for me to just wait one second. The group was focused on me, and Peter seemed to see something behind me that I couldn’t see, but I wasn’t going to turn my head.

Darren was cool as a cucumber, looking more inconvenienced than anything. I waited.

“It’s too bad,” Tana continued. “Your friends were so entertaining. Of course, they’re dead now.”

“Bullshit!” I responded, glancing back at Peter.

“No bullshit here, honey,” she laughed. “That leader of yours sure was a fireball. It’s really too bad she was so fucking weak. She could have been an asset.” She walked closer to me, seemingly to call my bluff. “You won’t shoot me,” she said. “And there’s no one left to call for help.” She turned, laughing. “Kill him, Amanda,” she directed.

Peter nodded.

I pulled the trigger.

I shot Tana, right between the shoulder blades. She dropped, but didn’t die.

Peter got the other man, right between the eyes. Instantly dead.

And an arrow whizzed right by my head, straight into Amanda’s shoulder. “This is personal,” a voice called from behind me.

Scarlett.
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