A Whisper in the Flame (The Ragers Series Book 1) Read online

  Bathroom! I rush into the master bathroom to see the hunting knife sitting on the counter where I left it before jumping into the shower this morning. The shower was cold but exhilarating. Clearing my mind for the task ahead.

  I tuck the knife back into its place in my socks and then take a final moment to look at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes are puffy and red from what little, restless sleep I have been getting; however they are now a dark shade of green, with hints of blue around the iris. Without carrying what I look like, I pull my hair back into a messy ponytail with a few strands already managing to fall into my face.

  I search out all of the windows one final time. I need to make sure I am clear to leave and that there are no Infected inside or lingering near the broken storefront of this building. After looking for a few minutes and trying to settle my nerves, I finally convince myself that the way is clear.

  My jacket goes back over my shoulders and then the backpack as my chest fills with anxiety, but I look around the apartment for comfort. It's been my safe harbor for nearly four weeks now. It has seen me go from uncontrollable crying, to half crazed laughing fits, to anger and destruction, and finally to determination. The power may have gone out, but I'll still be able to come back here for a bit while I finish my plans to get out.

  Well, here goes nothing, I think as I open the apartment door for the first time since I arrived. My hands are slick with sweat and nerves.

  As I take my first step onto the stairs, they creak loudly in my wake. I suck my breath in, freezing in the middle of my movement to listen for sounds below.

  Nothing, I sigh. I double check that my backpack is still on me, as if it somehow vanished, and then take in a deep inhale of clean air before continuing on.

  The infected man is still there, slumped down against the wall. It is a disgusting sight to see. His forehead is caved in and bloody from banging his head on the metal door and his skin oozes as if it is molting off of his bones, drooping with glass shards and all.

  His smell though, that's what gets me. Desperately fighting against the swell of acid and vomit rising in my stomach, I pull my jacket around my nose and mouth as I near the bottom of the stairs. It is the foulest thing I've ever smelled in my life.

  Thank God his stench is not reaching through the metal door of the apartment. There is no way, none, that I could deal with that. On the plus side, the smell of death might have something to do with why there haven't been much Infected coming by.

  Now that I am not running from infected, I have a chance to take in the store that I've been living above. The walls have posters of couples in wedding attire, couples getting engaged, diamond ring sets, and fancy watches. This was a jewelry store at one time. The glass cases are all emptied now. Not a single piece was left behind.

  My hand slides gently across the glass tops of cases, jumping from one case to another as I make my way around the store. The cash register and jewelry cleaning machine look to be the only things of value left.

  I glide my hand over the buttons of the register and then the drawer, wondering if I can pry it open.

  Something silvery is sticking out from the counter below the register. The end of it is cut into mini triangles, the kind you would make using those crazy scissors when we were little kids. Are you freaking kidding me?

  "Yes!" I exclaim, picking the small candy bar up in my hands. Snickers. My heart leaps in my chest with excitement and pleasure. Whoever owned this place is officially the coolest person I never met.

  The metallic wrapping goes straight to my nose as I inhale the rich sweet and nutty aroma coming from within. For a fraction of a second, the smell fills my nostrils, overpowering the rancid smell of death. But only for a moment. I tuck the bar in my backpack before continuing on my trip, ready to savor every last bite when I get back.

  Slowly, I finish my sweep of the store and stand at the broken window I came through that first night. The glass crunches quietly beneath my feet and I can see the droplets of dried blood that must have come from the infected man.

  Parts of the window are still sticking up like mountains rising high above the hills. Raising my foot, I ease it down, pressing into the ground., Small fissures of broken glass crumble beneath my feet. I stand still for a moment, hoping I didn't draw attention to myself.

  Satisfied that I don't have a crowd of Infected after me and that I am not going to stab myself on the glass and die of an infectious blood disease, I slink out the window, hurriedly skirt around the chained door and press myself onto the brick façade. Being out here for the first time in weeks is absolutely nerve-wracking.

  Thump, thump, thump, my heart calls out from my chest.

  Stop it you coward. Pull yourself together woman.

  A strong breeze sweeps down the street, pushing me sideways as it dances gracefully through the deserted city. I turn left and walk towards Park Street. My hand is clinging to the stone walls of the buildings, scared to let go of something sturdy.

  Move quickly but quietly, I tell myself as I make my way along the street. It's the same thing Mom would tell me, and it makes me smile to myself knowing that I've still got a bit of her in my head to guide me.

  My eyes race back and forth as I go. Trying to watch out for everything as I work to avoid broken glass and anything else that could make a loud noise and draw attention to me.

  My stomach plummets when I reach the corner of Jefferson and Park street. I push the anxiety down my body and out through my feet, trying to ground myself. Poking my head around the corner I see the store, aptly named The Corner Grocer, a few blocks away. Its doors are angled out towards the center of the street.

  Not only is the store up ahead, but there are a couple of cars parked along the street. I'll check them to see if I can find any with hidden spare keys.

  The first car is not far ahead. I jog a few paces towards it and then bend down next to a gorgeous silver Mazda. I can't believe this baby was left behind. Maybe they had a nicer one to take. The car is in fairly new condition with a slick body and black leather interior. My hand flies underneath the back wheel well, feeling for a thin magnetic box with a spare key.

  Nothing. Ew, except a spider web. Wonderful.

  Rinse and repeat, I think to myself sarcastically as I move forward to the front driver's side. Still nothing. My hope for this car is dwindling. I would have expected it to be in this wheel well if any at all.

  Still, I cautiously creep around the front of the car to check the other side. Now that I'm in the street, I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up as the wind sweeps me again. A whisper of voices floats past me and I stiffen up in the midst of my search.

  I must be going crazy. Another moment passes and I hear nothing more than complete silence and an empty soda bottle rolling down the street.

  There is another car across the street at the next intersection. The street right after that is where the grocery store is. I might as well cross now and check that car since I need to be on that side anyways.

  Bravado stirs around inside me and I launch up, running forward to the next car. As soon as I am on the other side of the street I sit beside the back wheel, trying to suppress a giggle as I listen to my surroundings.

  Maybe Mom was right, maybe I can do this.

  This would be a great car if I can find a spare. The red Hyundai is known, even to a non-car lover like me, for its amazing gas mileage. With more confidence than I think I have ever had in my entire life, I check the wheel wells, unsuccessfully, for a set of spare keys.

  Ugh, no keys. But it's so nice... Longingly, I pull on the driver's side door, dreaming of being able to drive it. I fall backwards in surprise as the door opens wide.

  Yes, yes, yes! I think, crawling on the pavement around the door and into the driver's seat. The car's beige leather seats are warm to the touch as I feel around. My hands fly desperately around the car looking for the keys. Glove box, nope. Center console, no. Under the seats, in the visor, in the sunglass’s holder, n
ope, notta, nothing.

  "Well thanks for getting my hopes up, you dumb car." I say with only slight irritability as I climb back out and slam the door closed. The slam echoes loudly in the empty street as I freeze in my spot.

  Crap... probably shouldn't have done that.

  After a moment of silence, I think, forget it¸ and throw caution to the wind as I make a quick run for the doors of the corner store. Chains are around the main door handles, but they hang limply down without a lock to close it completely. I move the chain with a gentle ease, keeping the noise to a minimum as I pull the chain out the metal handles and yank the door open.

  Diving back to the ground yet again, I stay crouched on the floor for a minute or two as I put the chain in my backpack and take in the empty store.

  I should have expected this... expected that most of the shelves would be devoid of product. My finger glides across an empty section leaving a streak from the dust I pulled away. There are a few items left at random on the shelves.

  I travel up and down the aisles as quiet on my feet as possible, searching for nonperishables and shoving them into my backpack. I guess canned pasta and soups are going to be my new best friends for the next few days.

  The back half of the store is cast in dark shadows, so I try to move more slowly here. I round the corner and run smack dab into a display shelf in the middle of the aisle.

  "Ouch!" I groan after stubbing my toe on its metal frame. I hop up and down on my foot, bouncing around wildly before falling forward into another shelving unit, pulling it down with me as I clamber to the floor.

  "Aaaargh!" Of course, I am still a clutz. You'd think that maybe after the world goes to crap, I might be able to get it together. Apparently not... and to think that not even ten minutes ago I was thinking I was the stuff.

  Rising up off the shelf and feeling the huge bruise beneath the skin of my forearm, I think that maybe I should try to find a first aid kit as well. Circling the next aisle, I grab a few a boxes of crackers before heading to the pharmacy area of the store. There is one first aid kit left and a few boxes of band-aides.

  My backpack officially full and heavy on my shoulders. Okay, time to go, I think as I make my way towards the front of the store. Something creaks behind me before a loud pounding starts resonating from the back of the building. I jump in my skin, heart racing before I pull my gun out of my back.

  Okay, breathe. Think, think. How do I unlock this damn thing! My hand shakes as my finger inches towards the lock feature and slides it up, raising the gun in front of me.

  Suddenly, the glass behind me explodes as a cold, damp hand grabs me, pulling me through the front of the building. My back digs hard into the concrete sidewalk as I am slammed into the ground. My spine aches underneath me and my head feels jolted with electricity.

  An Infected is on top of me in seconds, pushing my hands into my chest with its massive body weight. Kill it, Emma. Shoot the damn thing!

  My finger quivers around the trigger, the gun stifled directly between our bodies. It screams in my face, hot spit flying everywhere.

  My gun erupts, sending a bullet into the Infected and forcing the slide into my chest. The hot shell slips out onto my bare chest and I scream at the heat and pain as the man topples off to the side.

  Shit. I may have just killed one of them but now a whole crowd of them surround me, blocking my path. They stampede towards me, forcing me to run in an unfamiliar direction.

  Adrenaline kicks in as I sprint down the street and take a quick turn onto the next road. They are right on my heels though, getting closer as I lose stamina under the weight of my full backpack. More Infected are coming from every different direction. I'm about to be boxed in.

  I'm about to be dinner.

  Instinct tells me to lighten my load and run so I swing my backpack from my back. As I prepare to hurtle my pack at the oncoming Infected, a black hatchback car races from up ahead towards me. It swings wide, turning in a half circle as if to speed away the direction it came from.

  I trip over my own feet as the hatchback trunk door opens up and a young girl around my age shoots at those pursuing me. I cover my head, ready to stay on the pavement road and never move again but the girl leaps out of the back of the car and shoves me to my feet.

  "Oh come on, get to your feet and get in now! Or do you not want to live?" she asks me coldly when I stare at her with a blank expression. Her eyes are as dark and rich as her chocolate-colored hair; her long face and cool expression stirs something in me. I reach for my backpack, lifting it off the ground as she pushes me forward, towards the front seat of the car.

  Our backs are only turned for a second. The driver of the car leaps out of the door, blonde hair flying and face screaming in time for us to look behind us. Just in time for an Infected to bite the girl pushing me towards the car. She ignites a bullet into the zombie person. It drops to the ground.

  “Come on, let’s go!” The driver shouts at us. Fear dances across her face before disappearing. She fires her own gun at the next few closest to us.

  “Look out!” I shout back to her. An Infected launches for her. I aim my gun and somehow manage to strike it in the back of its skull. It slows but keeps marching forward, but Blondie turns, rapidly firing another shot and finishing the job.

  We all get into the car; me and the blonde in the front seats as the brunette gets into the back and closes the door. Speeding forward, we peel down the street managing to bust through more groups of Infected.

  All I can think about is Shae and Camryn. Little Cam, still back there. No parents, no one around to help them. With all of these Infected around, how are they going to survive.

  Part of me wants to ask my rescuers to go back for them. To save them too. But how can I do that? They just put their lives in danger for me, and one of them was bitten. She’s not going to make it. She’s dead. I’m already going to have to be the one to tell them this terrible news.

  Shae didn’t want my help anyways. She pushed me away, just like before. So, I’ll swallow my guilt and bite my tongue. I’ve got enough guilt as it is. Especially after these people saved me only lose one of their own.

  Blondie kicks up her speed once she's made it past the outskirts of downtown. Her shift in speed brings me back into the car.

  "Thank you," I say to them both. Looking behind me, the brunette climbs into a coffin like crate. Now I see that the back seat is flipped down to give extended room to the trunk. The coffin is in the center of the vehicle while bags of supplies surround both sides.

  "What in the hell were you doing?" Blondie asks, "We were a couple of streets over getting supplies from another store when we heard all of the commotion you were causing."

  "I... I thought I heard talking..."

  "Was that you who slammed the car door?" she continues, looking at me incredulously.

  "Yeah, it was. What are you doing?" I ask the brunette who is sitting in the coffin.

  "Well if you haven't noticed, there are Ragers out there and I got bit," she snaps at me.

  "I noticed. And in case you haven't, you’re going to turn soon." I spit back in annoyance.

  She opens her mouth to retort but blondie interjects:

  "Anna, calm down and lie down."

  The girl, Anna, rolls her eyes, but nonetheless, does as she is told. She then pulls the lid down, closing herself in. The top of the lid has a square hole cut into it with little metal bars, reminiscent of the masks dangerous inmates have to wear when being transported.

  "Lock her in," the blonde says to me. When I only give her a bewildered stare, she says it again, a little more harshly, "Lock her in, now!”

  I do so and then face forward again, pushing my back hard into the seat.

  “Look,” I start, hating myself for having to tell her, “I really appreciate you both saving me and I’m so sorry that it cost her life. But listen to me, if you keep her in that thing, she’s just going to turn. She’ll break free of it and then we’ll both be dead too.�
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  “Not if we make it home in time.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” I ask as Anna begins knocking against the side of the coffin with her fists.

  What the hell did I get myself in to? She is going to kill us!

  "She had to do it, we had to do it," Blondie says, looking at me out of the side of her eye. "We have a cure at home, but if we can't get there before she goes ballistic..."

  "Cure?" I gasp. "You know about the cure too... but how?" I stare intently at my savior, wanting to know everything she knows. Maybe she can help me in more than one way.

  "You know about the cure too?"

  "Yes. But how do you have it? I thought they weren't releasing it to anyone."

  Before I can blink an eye, Blondie reaches beside her seat, pulls out her gun and points it at my head. My insides quiver and shrink as I crush my body into the door.

  "Are you with them?" she asks, "Are you military!?"

  "No!" I scream hoarsely as panic floods my mind. I stutter trying to find the words to explain myself, "My dad! He's... he's a scientist. He was able to send a few messages without being detected. That's how I know about the cure."

  Blondie lowers her gun and before I can ask how she knows about it; she volunteers that information herself. "We stole some of it. My brother did at least. He was in the military. When Jake realized they weren't planning to help people, he stole some and went AWOL."

  "Let me out!" Anna screams from the back. "Let me OUT!"

  I wince and look at Blondie, who presses her foot harder to the gas. "The virus has been spreading faster over the past year. It's changing, thriving. If we don’t make it back fast enough..." She trails off, turning onto another road and staring straight ahead.

  "My dad says you have about ten minutes to take the cure before the changes can no longer be reversed. How much further do we have?"

  Anna begins thrashing around in the coffin.

  "Shit... Really, it's that quick now? Dammit, it's too far!" Still Blondie drives forward so I turn my head away and stare out the window as the scenery blurs by.