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He rolled onto his side, coughing blood out onto the pavement.
She bent down, picking her rifle and flashlight up off the ground.
“Get up,” she said, wiping the sweat from her cheek.
He rolled further over onto his stomach, writhing on the ground.
She spit a small wad of blood out in disgust beside him.
He whimpered and started coughing again, but this time, it sounded different. He pulled his knees up to his chest and she watched his hand drift down to his ankle again, clawing at the skin behind his jeans.
She cocked her head, watching him.
He groaned, falling onto his side once again into the small puddle of blood that had formed beneath him.
His other hand found his ankle and joined in tugging and scratching at the jeans.
“Hey,” Saff commanded, her hand tightening on the handle of the rifle. “I said get up.”
He whimpered again and then coughed more blood out onto the cement floor.
Something was wrong.
It was too much blood. She knew exactly which injuries he’d most likely suffered during the fight. Broken nose. Possible jaw fracture. Maybe a few lacerations in the mouth. But nothing that should cause that much blood to be coughed up.
She whipped her head to the side, looking at the girl. “Were you guys attacked before today?”
“I–” She shook her head. “Yeah–we–we walked into some of the infected people last night.”
The man groaned again, arching his back. Saff looked back at his hands, pulling roughly at his pant leg.
“Let me see it,” she yelled at him. “Now!”
He coughed more blood out onto the pavement while his body jerked wildly to the side.
“Tyler,” the girl said, her voice shaky. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Saff took a step forward, crouching down at his ankle. She held the rifle in one hand as she used the other to yank the pant leg up his calf.
And there it was.
Angry red and black lines cascaded through the skin, all stemming from one small row of teeth marks.
“Tyler?” the girl called out again.
Saff’s eyes flitted up to his face, twisted in pain. And in the dark of the room, she could almost see her father’s face again. The way it had contorted in pain as the infection took over.
She raised her rifle, lining it up with the center of his forehead.
Then, without even a second of hesitation, she squeezed the trigger.
Chapter two
Ablood-curdling scream tore from Maddie's throat.
Not a moment later, the woman’s angry voiced hissed in front of her, “Hey!” A powerful hand grabbed her throat, while another yanked her by the arm.
“Do not scream,” the woman said with lethal clarity, close enough that warm breath swept over her cheek. “Or you’ll be next.”
