“A safe zone?”

  “A walled community. Something they built before the world went tits up.”

  “Something who built?”

  “The government. I dunno. They were prepared, anyway. Prepared for a disaster. Prepared for… for something like this.”

  “Shit. I used to love my conspiracy theories. But only when they were just that. Theories.”

  “Nobody really knows the truth. Nobody really knows anything. And I’m not even sure it matters.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” Gav said. “Everything matters. Knowledge is power. That’s how the saying goes, right?”

  Cody nodded. Hurt his head on the back of the solid brick wall again. “Right.”

  There was another moment of silence between them. Cody figured this was as good an opportunity as ever to learn a bit more about the man he was going to be locked up with for God knows how long.

  “What about you?”

  “Me? What about me?”

  “Your story. Your past.”

  Gav sniggered. “Well, I’d love to say my life’s been just as normal as yours. Truth be told, it’s been… well, eventful.”

  “Right?”

  “Yeah.”

  He didn’t elaborate. Which annoyed Cody. He’d been open about his past. To an extent. He’d blabbered about the MLZ. This man could be anyone.

  “Have you seen them?”

  “Seen what?”

  “You know what.”

  Cody tasted something sickly in his mouth. “The hybrids.”

  “That what you’re calling ’um? We prefer Uglies.”

  “Uglies?”

  “Well, they are really fucking ugly, aren’t they?”

  Cody tilted his head. “Can’t argue with that.”

  He was about to say something else when he picked up on something. Something he’d not really taken in at the time. But something that unsettled him.

  “You said ‘we’.”

  “What?”

  “When you said about calling them Uglies. You said ‘we’ call them Uglies. Who’s we?”

  Silence.

  A long enough silence to unsettle Cody some more.

  “And… and you said you saw her face. M’s face. But you—you had a sack over your head.”

  More silence.

  “Gav?”

  Gav sighed.

  And then Cody heard chains chinking. In the dim light seeping under the door, he saw Gav stand.

  “Fuck,” Cody said.

  “I’m sorry, Cody.” He walked over to him. Stood over him. “We needed to get some info from you somehow. Hey. I got a name, at least.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Gav tutted. “And we were gettin’ along so well. We’re not the enemy here.”

  “You bashed me in the skull then locked me away in this cell. You look very much like the fucking enemy.”

  “We’re doing it for your safety. For everyone’s safety.”

  “How is this for my safety?”

  “You’ll understand. The Uglies. You clearly don’t get ’um like we do. Clearly not seen how they work like we do. How they operate.”

  Gav’s words sent shivers up Cody’s arms. “How they operate?”

  “The end of all things is coming, Cody. You might fucking think you’ve seen it already. You might think the world’s dead. But it’s not. It’s nowhere fucking near. It’s just getting started.”

  Cody sat completely still in the total silence as Gav stood over him.

  And then he heard a shout from outside.

  “Uglies! Uglies heading from the north!”

  He saw Gav turn. He rushed over to the locked door. Outside the room, Cody heard the spray of gunfire. Heard footsteps. Heard shouts.

  “Gav, don’t—”

  “Gotta go, Cody.” He struggled with the handle. Opened the door.

  Cody pulled against his chains. “Please. Don’t leave me in here. Not any fucking longer.”

  Gav stepped out into the light. Turned around. For the first time, Cody saw his face. Narrow cheekbones. Weathered skin. Dark under his eyes. “I’d love to let you go. I’d seriously love to let you go. But it ain’t happening. Not right now. Not enough fucking time anyway. They’re coming this way. So just… just stay put. Stay fucking quiet. You’re safe in here. I swear.”

  “Gav!”

  Gav slammed the door shut.

  Darkness surrounded Cody once more.

  Outside, he heard more gunfire.

  He heard more shouts.

  And underneath the door, he saw shadows.

  Heard a low, inhuman growl unlike anything he’d ever heard.

  He stayed completely still. Held his breath.

  The end of all things is coming, Cody.

  Fuck that.

  The end of all things was right here.

  And there was nothing he could do to fight it.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Riley pushed on down the long and straight road to the Rivington, but he knew Hassan wasn’t doing too well.

  He was lingering behind for one. Couldn’t be easy, especially not in this heat. The sun had reared its head a few hours back. Looked like it was in for the afternoon. It was making the journey bad enough and challenging enough for Riley, let alone Hassan.

  Hassan, who’d been bitten by one of those hybrids.

  Hassan, who’d come all this way with him.

  Hassan, who he used to hate.

  “It’s fucking cold,” Hassan muttered. Riley heard the shivering in Hassan’s voice. He didn’t want to turn round. Didn’t want to see the state he was in. Most of all, he didn’t want to tell Hassan that it wasn’t cold at all. He couldn’t get the taste of sweat from his own lips. Couldn’t ignore the smell of body odour lingering in the air, either.

  Hassan wasn’t well. He was showing signs of someone who was turning.

  But turning into what?

  “We’re not far from the mouth of the woods,” Riley said. “There should be a cottage around there. Just before the bridge we need to cross. Should lead us straight to the reservoir. That’s where he’ll be.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  Riley looked ahead down the vast expanse of the road. Saw the tips of the trees in the distance. “He took me there once. On the way back from a run.”

  “James?”

  Riley nodded. “Told me it was his favourite place. A place special to him and Tamara. Told me it… He told me it’s where he was going to have the baby christened. Right in those waters.”

  “Fuck,” Hassan said.

  “Fuck indeed.”

  Riley heard Hassan drag his feet further along the road. They’d walked so far. Cars weren’t worth it. Too noisy. And too much of a risk. He’d seen the state this road got in when he’d been this way on runs. Way too many close calls that drawing attention to himself never helped.

  He turned. Faced Hassan. “You don’t have to follow me.”

  Hassan narrowed his eyes. There were big dark circles underneath. “What?”

  “You can… There’s still time. To stop. Or to go another way. To find somewhere safe for yourself. You don’t have to follow me. Not anymore. I can take it from here.”

  Hassan’s eyes narrowed even more. And then he scoffed. Shook his head. “You just don’t get it, do you?”

  Riley felt knocked back. He didn’t know what to say.

  “It’s not all about you, Riley. It’s not all about you and it’s not all about you getting Jordanna, saving her, whatever.”

  “It’s mostly about—”

  “I care, Riley. I care about Jordanna. I know you might not like hearing that but fuck. It’s true.”

  Riley did everything he could to ignore the burning sensation tingling across his skin.

  “I spent time with her. She spent time with me. We’re a part of each other’s lives.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t—”

  “But it’s not just about that, either. It’s about you and Jordanna. It’s about that baby you’re going to have together. That baby you’re going to raise. I care about her. So I care about you. I…”

  He cleared his throat. Lowered his head. His eyes were filled with tears. Blood seeped through the rip in his shirt, the rip from the hybrid’s bite mark.

  He looked back up at Riley. “You’ve taught me things, Riley. Things I didn’t want to learn but things I had to learn. Like how to fight. Like how to take responsibility. Like… like there being more to this world than my-fucking-self.”

  Riley felt a lump in his throat. The quivering in Hassan’s voice was that of a man accepting his fate. A man who knew he was going to die.

  “So if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll make sure I get you to Jordanna. I’ll make sure you two are reunited. And I won’t stop. Not even if my legs fall off. I won’t stop.”

  Riley looked Hassan in the eye.

  Nodded.

  Hassan nodded back at him.

  “The bite marks.”

  “What about them?”

  “We need to talk about them. About what to do.”

  Hassan rolled his eyes. Smiled. “I’m going to turn into one of those ugly fuckers. A fate worse than death, I suppose. Or worse than undeath, even.”

  “We don’t know that.”

  “Know what?”

  “We don’t know that’s how they work.”

  “They bit me. Just like the zombies bite people. They’re just… just evolved zombies. Or whatever. They’re bound to work in the same way.”

  Riley put a hand on Hassan’s good shoulder. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this world, it’s that nothing’s ever as it seems. Now come on. We’d better get moving.”

  THEY KEPT on moving down the barren, hilly road. They were at the mouth of the forest within an hour.

  “The bridge should just be up ahead,” Riley said, walking past the cars scattered around the concrete.

  “You smell something?”

  “Death.”

  “Glad it’s not just me.”

  Riley tried not to focus on the smell of rot. There was a definite tang in the air. It smelled like it was coming from up ahead. From the bridge.

  But he didn’t want to consider the alternative. Going through the woods. Working their way across the stream under the canopy of forest.

  Terrible things hid in the shadows.

  “Cody,” Hassan said. “I… I should’ve gone back for him. But I swear I’ve no clue where the fuck I was.”

  “You did what you could.”

  “Like fuck I did. I left him. They… they buried him. From the neck down. Shit. He’s probably…”

  “He’s a tough guy,” Riley said. “I’m sure he’ll find his way out.

  “You really think so?”

  “Not really. But what else can I say?”

  Hassan half-smiled.

  And then there was a snapping of a branch up ahead.

  Riley swung around. Looked ahead.

  “Did that come from…”

  But Riley was already jogging down the road, towards the source of the sound. Towards the bridge.

  When he reached the bridge, Riley understood exactly what the source of the sound was.

  “Shit,” Hassan said, gasping as he caught up.

  The bridge was covered in cars. Abandoned cars. Cars with smashed windows.

  But that wasn’t the only thing it was covered in.

  There were creatures. Lots of creatures. All of them with their backs to Riley and Hassan. But creatures nonetheless.

  “What do we—”

  “Ssh,” Riley said.

  He ducked down. Grabbed Hassan’s arm. The pair of them descended the muddy hill to the left of the bridge and headed into the woods. Riley swore he heard the creatures groan as he disappeared under the canopy of trees. He swore he saw movement in the corners of his eyes.

  But he kept on moving. Kept on descending the hill. Because it was the only way to go.

  They crossed the stream. Kept as quiet as they could. Riley looked to his left, to his right. There was something in this woods with them. Something close by. He was sure of that much.

  “You absolutely hundred percent sure this is the right way?” Hassan asked.

  Riley hopped over the stream. Slipped. Scrambled around to get a grip on the soily slope on the other side. “Not really.”

  “Wonderful.”

  Hassan jumped over the stream. Joined Riley on the other side.

  “Now come on,” Riley said, looking up the hill. “There’s a cottage a mile or two ahead on the left. We can rest up there.”

  “And how sure of that are you?”

  Riley smiled. “Positive.”

  Hassan sighed and shook his head.

  Then, he walked on.

  Riley waited for a few seconds. He stood. Looked around the woods. Looked past the trees. Up the hill, back towards the bridge where the mass of undead waited.

  Ahead of the undead, something else occupied his mind.

  Something he’d kept quiet about when he’d reached it with Hassan. But something big. Something significant.

  James’ car.

  The red Vauxhall Astra he’d taken Jordanna away in.

  Abandoned, right by the edge of the bridge.

  He was getting closer.

  He took a deep breath. Followed Hassan up the slope. The creatures on the bridge gasped and grunted just a matter of metres away.

  IN THE TREES, they watched.

  Waited for their moment.

  Snapped their dagger-like teeth.

  Readied for the hunt.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Cody held his breath and kept as still as possible as the shadows crept underneath the door.

  He could hear gunshots. Hear shouting. But more than anything, he could hear those sporadic footsteps interspersed with growling. The footsteps he knew had something to do with the attackers. Growls that weren’t like those of the undead.

  But growls that weren’t human, either.

  He pulled his wrists apart. Tried to snap his way out of the chains. No use. He was trapped in here. Trapped in this damp darkness until whatever was going on outside resolved itself.

  He’d seen the look of fear on Gav’s face. The look of terror in his eyes.

  The end of all things is coming, Cody.

  Was this it? Was this the end that Gav spoke about?

  He pulled even harder against his cuffs. He knew it was no use. He was stuck in here. But he had to try something. Instinct and human nature told him not to back down. Not to give in. He had to battle. He had to fight.

  Even though escape was impossible.

  He felt the sores on his wrists opening up. Felt sharp, intense pains as the scabs from the tightening chains seeped blood. He gritted his teeth. The echoing of the gunfire, the shouting of people—lots of people—filled his consciousness.

  His heart raced.

  He wanted to be out of this place. He wanted to be back with Sasha and Kelly.

  He wanted to be okay again.

  He wanted to—

  The cuff around his left wrist loosened.

  He stopped. Went still. He didn’t believe it at first. Couldn’t understand it. Couldn’t accept it.

  He pulled against it again.

  Fuck.

  The cuff was loosening.

  It was actually loosening.

  He pulled harder. Shook the cuffs together. If he could get out of these, he could free himself from the chain around his waist. He could free his ankles. Wasn’t sure how exactly, but this was progress. It was a start.

  He kept his eyes on the door. Kept on watching those shadows as they passed by, blocking the light.

  The cuff loosened some more.

  He was almost free. Almost out of here. Almost—

  A bang.

  Cody looked up.

  He wasn’t sure where the bang came from. Not at first. Or maybe it was more a willful ignorance of his. A lack of acceptance.

  Maybe it was all in his mind.

  Maybe there wasn’t a bang at all—

  Another bang.

  No denying it this time.

  A force cracked against the door.

  Again.

  Again.

  Again.

  Cody’s chest tightened. He started to pull at the cuffs until his left wrist came free. He reached for the right one. The banging continued. He had to stay calm. He had to keep steady. Composure. That’s what he needed. Composure and control and—

  The door swung open.

  Light filled the room.

  Cody didn’t see anything at first. Nothing significant. Nobody standing there.

  It was only when Cody saw the floor that he realised where the banging came from.

  There was a person. A person lying on their back. Only their arms were raised. Raised in an impossible angle. And…

  Fuck.

  It didn’t just have two arms. It had five. Except three of them didn’t look like real arms. They looked all… fleshy. Like they were made out of plastic.

  Didn’t fucking matter.

  Whatever this thing was, it scurried in Cody’s direction.

  Cody grabbed the right handcuff. Pulled hard against the pipe he was tied to.

  The monster kept on coming. The “Ugly,” as Gav called them.

  Is this what he spoke of?

  Was this the horror—the end of all things—he talked about?

  Cody heard a high-pitched screech.

  Felt something grab his right thigh.

  The Ugly was on his leg. Holding onto it with three of its arms. Squeezing tighter, its big, deformed hands eel-like in their grip.

  Cody did the only thing he could.

  He punched at the arms with his free hand. They were soft. Spongy. Didn’t feel like there were any bones inside.

  But the Ugly just kept on tightening its grip.

  Looking at him with that…

  Fuck.

  It wasn’t a head.

  It was just skin.

  Pale skin.

  A complete blank canvas.

  The mouth was on its neck.

  Cody punched at it as it crept onto his body, crouched over him. He felt the arms softening. Felt a dampness seeping through from inside.

  The mouth moved closer to Cody’s body.

  Little sharp teeth—shiny, like they were brand new—snapped towards his neck.

  He punched some more. Punched its arms. Its head. Everywhere. Outside, in the corner of his vision, he saw more passing shadows. More things like this.