Waited for her to return from the bedroom.

  When she did, she was holding a black rucksack over her right shoulder.

  Her brown eyes looked at Riley just like they used to before all that badness crept in. Her scarred lip twitched in the dim light of the lounge. “That’s the problem, Riley. I’m not sure I know that anymore.”

  She walked out of the bedroom door. Across the lounge. Towards the door.

  It took Riley a few moments to realise Jordanna was leaving.

  “Wait,” Riley said. “Where are—”

  “I think it’d be a good idea if we spent some time apart.”

  Heat built up in Riley’s cheeks. “What? You do? Or fucking Hassan does?”

  He regretted the words the moment he’d spoken them.

  But from the apathetic expression on Jordanna’s face, she’d seen them coming from a mile away.

  She looked back at Riley, her cheeks paler than usual. She shook her head. Smiled. “You keep on saying you’re going to get better. That you’re going to try being a better person.”

  “And I will.”

  “Then you need to do that. But you need to do that on your own. Or at least… without me.”

  She turned around. Opened the door.

  “Jordanna—”

  “I’m sorry, Riley. But don’t follow me. Please.”

  Riley put a hand on Jordanna’s arm. She had her thicker coat on now. The posh faux-wool one Riley found in some dead woman’s apartment several weeks back. One of the few productive things he actually had done for her since his accident. Since Mr Fletch’s attack.

  “You’re not coming back. Are you?”

  Jordanna didn’t respond. She exhaled shakily. And she didn’t need to answer Riley’s question. The answer was right there in her body language. He hadn’t been dumped many times in his life—he’d always been too scared of attachment to get into many relationships in the first place, and the one time he’d really allowed himself to get close to someone, they’d run off to Australia with his kid.

  But he knew this was what it felt like.

  He knew this was the feeling of being neglected.

  Of someone walking away from him.

  For good.

  Jordanna turned around. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

  “Please don’t go.”

  She took hold of Riley. And he wanted to fight back. He wanted to fight back but he was too weak. He was too weak to fight. Too defeated to fight.

  He wanted to fight back but all he could do was hold Jordanna.

  Inhale her perfume.

  Feel her soft dark hair against the side of his face.

  She held him tightly. So tight that the pain from the stab wound that still crippled him to this day burned with agony. And then she pulled away. Put her hands on his cheeks. Looked into his eyes, her own eyes bloodshot and tearful. “Never say never, Riley. Never say never.”

  “But you’re not—”

  “You just focus on getting yourself better again. On getting yourself well again. Okay?”

  Again, Riley wanted to fight for Jordanna. He wanted to fight for this woman he cared about, this special woman he loved, who’d loved him in return.

  But he couldn’t.

  He didn’t have it in him.

  So when she kissed him on his lips and turned around again, this time she really did go.

  She really did step through the door.

  Rucksack over her shoulder.

  Bulk of her life supplies on her back.

  And as she closed the door, not taking another look around, Riley wanted to stop her. Wanted to ask her where she was going. Where she was staying. But he could picture it already. He could see the truth clearly in his mind.

  Hassan.

  She was going to stay with fucking Hassan.

  He was going to be enjoying her.

  Enjoying her body.

  Fucking her while they laughed about Riley and—

  NO.

  Riley grabbed the handle of the door. His heart raced, his breathing stammered.

  He stepped out into the corridor.

  “Jordanna!”

  Because he wasn’t giving up on her.

  He wasn’t just going to let her walk away.

  Not without her hearing him out.

  “Jordanna, wait!”

  He didn’t see her at the end of the corridor. Didn’t know how far away she’d got.

  Only that he was going to fight for her.

  He was going to get her back.

  He didn’t think much of the faint metallic taste on his lips.

  He just ran.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The blood moon shone bright in the sky above.

  It didn’t really look like blood. But it was bright. So bright and bold in the night sky.

  But nothing like the real thing.

  Nothing like the real thing that trickled down their hands.

  Blood.

  Like metal.

  They crouched above the scene and stared down at it. Not really understanding. Not really accepting it. Like they were in some kind of sedated state.

  They knew they were looking at something horrible.

  Something horrible that they’d probably done.

  But they just couldn’t…

  The realisation welled up in their chest.

  Welled up and brought a shitload of burning vomit and stomach acid with it.

  Their heart pounded.

  Their entire body went cold.

  The realisation of what had happened.

  Of what they must’ve done.

  But how?

  Why?

  THEY DIDN’T NOTICE the speck of blood drip down from their nose.

  Out of their eyes.

  They were too busy staring.

  Staring at the scene ahead in the light of the blood moon.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It wasn’t the scream that woke Riley. Not like usual.

  It was the light.

  He opened his crusty eyes. Looked over at the window.

  A redness shone through.

  Like the light from a nightclub, only it couldn’t be a nightclub ’cause he didn’t live in the old world anymore, and he’d made absolutely sure his apartment was nowhere near the main strip regardless.

  He looked to his side. Expected to see the bed, empty. But he wasn’t even on the bed. He was on the sofa.

  Staring out at the darkness.

  At the red light shining through.

  He got off the sofa. His head wracked with pain as he moved. Bottles clinked as he walked past them. Hadn’t even remembered drinking anything. Must’ve just passed out.

  Wait.

  He’d been chasing Jordanna.

  And then he’d…

  For a staggering moment, Riley realised he couldn’t remember what’d happened earlier that night. If it even was earlier that night at all.

  His memory stopped at the point of him chasing Jordanna.

  It started again on the sofa right now.

  Head killing.

  Scratching noises in his ear with even the slightest of turns.

  His body shaking.

  Something damp between his fingers.

  He walked over to the glass. Looked outside.

  He couldn’t believe what he was looking at.

  There was something in the sky. Something enormous and red. A planet of some kind.

  As he stood there, squinting as it glowed down over the streets of the MLZ, it took Riley a few moments to realise what he was looking at was, in fact, the moon.

  He rubbed his eyes. Squinted at it again. It was so bright it was giving him a headache. Sure, the drink probably wasn’t helping with the headache. Probably making the moon seem brighter than it actually was.

  But that redness…

  It was like nothing he’d ever seen.

  Nothing in his entire life.

  Riley soon became aware of just how quiet everything was. Not just inside these apartment blocks. Not just out on the streets, which were usually pretty quiet anyway. But beyond the walls. The constant drone of groaning was never too far away. Was always there, at the back of your consciousness, kind of like the sound of the waves when you’re at a seaside resort.

  Even when you can’t hear the waves, you still feel them.

  Feel that bobbing sensation when you’re dozing off.

  But right now, Riley felt nothing.

  The world felt empty.

  For the first time since the outbreak, it seemed… totally quiet.

  Until the scream.

  The scream was so sudden, so high-pitched, that it jolted Riley out of his trance. Like he was in some kind of nightmare. Only this time, he didn’t wake up.

  The hairs on his arms stood up. He was instantly transported back to the night of the ball. The night where he’d heard Billy. Seen him dragging himself along.

  From the laughter. The blood rolling down his face.

  His head bursting.

  Riley knew something was wrong. Something was wrong with this entire town. Something just didn’t feel right. There was something to the air. Something to the entire mood of the place.

  He just couldn’t put his finger on it.

  But he heard the scream again and he knew he was going to have to do something.

  He stepped away from the window, still entranced by the moon. Walked across the room. First place he looked was Jordanna’s cabinet. But of course, she’d taken the gun with her.

  Which meant he was going to have to investigate unarmed.

  He was going to have to go outside without a weapon.

  He swallowed, his throat dry. Took a few deep breaths. The screams. Why was he the only one hearing the screams? Was he mad? Was the booze really getting to him, just like Hassan said?

  He didn’t know.

  All he knew was he had to get outside.

  He had to see what was happening.

  He had to stop it.

  He opened his apartment door and stepped out into the corridor.

  He walked down it. Walked across the blood red carpet, which looked jet black in the darkness. With every step he took, Riley felt like eyes were watching him. Like they were staring right into his soul.

  Like they knew the truth.

  He heard the scream again.

  “Not just me hearing that,” he muttered. “Right?”

  Not a sound. Not a sound from any of the apartments.

  He turned back ahead. Walked towards the staircase. He knew he lived in a quiet apartment block. But surely one or two of the residents would hear the scream. Surely not every fucking one of them was a deep sleeper.

  Unless they were all just scared.

  Unless they were just content in letting whatever happened, happen.

  Maybe Riley should’ve taken a leaf out of their book.

  He started to descend the stairs when he heard something behind.

  It was a creak. Like the creaking of a floorboard. Only he recognised it. He recognised it well because he’d stepped on it so many times. He’d been woken up by it so many times, too.

  It was the floorboard outside his apartment room door.

  Someone was outside his room.

  He turned back. Squinted in the darkness. The only light came from a luminous red emergency light, but that was dim and fading.

  “Hello?”

  He couldn’t see anyone outside his room. Couldn’t make out the silhouette of an intruder. Couldn’t make out a thing.

  But somebody had to be out there.

  The only way that floorboard creaked was if somebody stepped on it.

  “Jordanna?”

  His voice echoed down the corridor.

  He stared at the spot in front of his room.

  The spot enshrouded in darkness.

  And then he heard the scream outside again.

  Only this time it sounded… different.

  More afraid.

  He looked away from his room. Carried on his descent down the stairs. He’d take a look later. Besides, there was nothing in his room worth stealing. Nothing in there worth taking. If whoever was outside his room wanted some of Jordanna’s remaining stuff, well, unlucky for her. She should’ve taken it with her first load of crap.

  When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he swore he heard the floorboards creaking again.

  Only this time, he heard the scream loud and clear.

  It was outside. Right outside on the street. In a similar spot to where he’d watched Billy’s head explode.

  He held his breath. Walked through the pitch black reception area of the apartment towards the glowing red moonlight. He thought the scream belonged to a woman when he first heard it. But now, it sounded more like a shriek. A shriek of a man.

  He stepped outside the apartment and felt someone grab his right arm.

  He jumped. Pushed back.

  “Woah, woah! Riley!”

  Riley’s heart pounded. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

  “James,” Riley said, hands on his knees. “The… the hell you doing out here?”

  James rubbed his hand through his hair. “Tamara. She’s gone.”

  “She’s gone?”

  “I woke up. Woke up to this batshit red moon. No sign of her in her bed. No sign of… is that blood?”

  Riley didn’t know where James was looking. Not at first.

  Not until he looked James in his eyes and saw he was looking at Riley’s hands.

  Riley looked at his palms. Shit. He hadn’t noticed the blood until now. The cuts. Nosebleed? There was a slight taste of rust in his mouth, so possible. But that didn’t explain the cuts.

  “You okay?” James asked. “You need to see someone?”

  “No, I… The screaming. Did you hear the screaming?”

  James narrowed his eyes. “Screaming?”

  “Just then. Just a minute ago. Someone was screaming. Out here. Please tell me I’m not making this up.”

  James looked at Riley blankly. Shrugged. “I didn’t hear no screaming. I just woke up, saw Tamara was gone, came this way to…”

  He stopped. Stopped, like he was tripping up over his words.

  “James?”

  James looked up. Frowning.

  “What’s up?”

  “Nothing,” James said, his voice distant. “I just… I can’t remember why I came this way. Just weird. That’s all.”

  Riley wasn’t sure what to make of James’ words.

  Only that they scared him.

  The detachment scared him.

  The glowing red moon scared him.

  He was about to press James for more information when he heard the scream again.

  He looked at James. James’ eyes widened.

  “You hear it this time?” Riley asked.

  James nodded. “Loud and clear.”

  The pair of them ran in the direction of the screams. Weirdly, it seemed further away than when Riley first heard it. The first screams had been right here, out on the street. But now there was nothing on the street. Just him and James. Just him and…

  Riley stopped when he saw the trail of blood.

  He looked at it. Looked at it on the ground. In the redness of the moon, it looked jet black. But he could tell from the smell that it was blood.

  A hell of a lot of blood.

  He followed it. He could hear James saying things but he couldn’t process his words.

  All he could think about was the incident with Billy.

  His head exploding.

  It’s happened again.

  He followed the trail of blood right around to an alleyway. Part of him didn’t want to look. Part of him didn’t want to see what was around the corner. Part of him didn’t want to know the truth.

  Because something inside him told Riley he already knew.

  Something inside Riley told him he’d seen the truth already.

  “I… I think…”

  Riley looked to his right.

  James was gone.

  Nowhere in sight.

  He looked around the street. Looked around at the dimly lit MLZ alleyways and buildings.

  Riley was alone. He was alone and he was…

  He felt something trickling from the tip of his middle finger.

  Blood.

  His heart picked up. Nausea filled his chest.

  Something was wrong.

  Something was happening.

  Something terrible was around this corner.

  He took a few seconds. A few seconds to compose himself. Told himself he could go back to his apartment. He could go back there if he wanted to. If he needed to.

  No.

  He had to be strong.

  He had to fight.

  So Riley stepped around the side of the alleyway.

  Looked at the trail of blood.

  Looked at it stretch along the alley.

  Looked at the red moonlight reflecting in its…

  Then he saw it.

  Riley didn’t understand what he was looking at. Not at first. Or maybe he just didn’t want to understand what he was looking at. Maybe he just didn’t want to accept it.

  But he did do one thing. The only thing he could.

  He walked closer towards it.

  The closer he got, the more the taste of sick built up in his mouth. The more his arms shook. His muscles tightened. His stomach hardened.

  Because the closer he got, the more he saw what was at the end of the trail for what it really was.

  The closer he got, the more he realised that yes, something was wrong.

  Something was horribly wrong.

  He stopped.

  Stopped a few steps away from his discovery.

  Stared down at it.

  Unable to breathe.

  Unable to fight the pains in his chest, the dizziness in his head.

  On the cobbles of the Manchester Living Zone, a body lay.

  The skin had been ripped away, exposing mashed up muscle, like it’d been grated.

  It’d been so brutalised that it was barely recognisable as a body. More as a pile of mush. Of meat, chewed up and spat out.

  The only skin that remained was on the face.

  A face that Riley recognised.

  He felt a warm tear roll down his cheek. Felt the dizziness intensifying as the reality set in. As the realisation of the discovery weighed down on his mind.

  Her glistening eyes.

  Her blonde hair.

  But more than anything, the way her bloodied, mushed up hands rested on her belly.