Page 36 of Whispers of the Dead

“But—”

“Do it.”

She turns to look at me, but I shake my head. “You heard him.”

Without arguing further, she finishes the water and starts to lie down, but I stop her. “Come back here.”

“For another round?”

I chuckle. “I’ll give you as many rounds as you want,golden girl, but right now, let me take care of you in a different way.”

She does as I ask and returns to where she was lying. I pull off my shirt and dip it into my own water before holding it through the bars. “I can clean you easier if you slide your pants down, or you can do it yourself.”

After a momentary hesitation, she slides her shorts halfway down her thighs, exposing even more how beautiful she is. I lean down and press a soft kiss to her hip before proceeding.

Once she’s cleaned up, I toss the shirt into the corner of my cell and snatch my blanket from the cot and cover her. She falls asleep with me lying on the floor next to her, stroking her golden hair, completely satiated.

12

ZOEY

The sound of the lock turning snaps me out of my restless daze.

Footsteps move down the corridor at a pace that makes me suspicious. They’re slow and deliberate. Too slow. I rise to my feet and watch the long, dark corridor that stretches ahead, and wait.

Something feels off. Maybe the dregs are tired of waiting for us to eat their drugged food. Maybe they’ve taken another approach. If that’s the case, then where’s the usual clank of keys?

Feet dragging along the concrete floor accompany the silent footfalls. Clouds smother the sky, muting the faint light that normally spills in through the high window. Shadows crawl across the stone floor, but barely reach the stretch of corridor outside my cage. I strain to see beyond the bars, but the darkness is absolute.

The lock on my door clicks, signaling they’re right in front of me. I brace myself, expecting one of the dregs with their smug grins and cruel taunts, but what shuffles through the open door is worse.

Much worse.

A low, guttural growl sends ice through my veins. The sound drags me back to every nightmare I’ve tried to bury.

My stomach lurches when a rotter staggers forward. Its milky, sightless eyes lock onto me with eerie precision. The barred door slams shut behind it, and the lock re-engages with a cold finality.

“No.” My breath hitches. My body recoils before my mind catches up and I slam my back against the cold, damp wall behind me. “No, no, no.”

The screams. The blood. The bodies that fell and never got back up. My colony being overrun not once, but twice. The memories flood my vision and fill my ears. At least back then, I had access to weapons. In here, though, I have nothing. Only the pressing darkness around me and the window above filtering in sunlight like all those flames eating my colony. Not even the whispers in the dark can help me.

“What the fuck?” Benji’s voice cuts through the haze. Groggy from sleep, but sharp with confusion.

“Fuck,” Damon spits out. “Come here, blondie.”

I want to. I want to listen to him and believe he can help, but I can’t move. My body is frozen in place. I can’t even think straight.

The rotter lurches toward me with stiff, jerky movements. The stench of decay clogs my throat, and my stomach churns. It reaches for me with skeletal fingers curling through the air, its blackened nails caked with filth.

A dreg snickers and I snap out of my stupor in time to slam my boot against its chest. Instead of knocking it backward, my foot sinks into the decaying corpse. The ribcage caves inward with a sickening squelch.

“That’s fucking nasty,” Benji groans out.

“Get away from it, blondie,” Damon barks out.

I rip my foot free, but the boot stays inside the chest. Guess I won’t have any shoes anymore. My breath comes in ragged bursts when I dart a quick glance around my cell. Iplaster myself against the wall once again. Think, Zoey. There has to be something.

My hope dims when I look at the rotter they’ve shoved in here with me. It’s body is too squishy to finish off with a few kicks and punches. I need something sharp. A weapon of some kind. Anything. What do I have?

---