Page 74 of Ghosts of the Dead

Abandoned cars litter the three-lane tunnel. Some are overturned, and some are charred skeletal remains of what used to be running vehicles. Several have rotters trapped inside, clawing at the windows when we walk by, and more rotters are pinned beneath crashed and overturned vehicles.

We’re about halfway through the tunnel when I hear the first dragging sound up ahead. “Do you hear that?”

Mars lifts the light higher, and his eyes narrow.

Rotters fill the flood of light. There are four of them, maybe five, maybe more. They emerge from the shadows.

One falls from the roof of a semi truck right behind us. Jace is the first to act. His blade is out and in the rotter’s skull before I have a chance to blink. Mars pulls me to the side when another one swipes at my arm. I twist, duck, and drive my knife into its neck because of how tall it is.

Still, it keeps coming.

We’re surrounded within moments and thrown into a fight for our lives.

I lose track of where Mars and Jace are. Rotters swarm in from both sides. I spin, parry, stab, until something slams into my back and I hit the ground hard. Shoulder crushes against the asphalt, but potent fear rushes through me, taking up my full attention.

My knife skitters across the asphalt. A rotter pins my arms down, snapping its decaying teeth inches from my face. Its breath alone would make me vomit if I had anything in my stomach.

Layers of flesh fall from its face and land beside my head. The body is too heavy for me to hold up, and my arms are moments from giving out.

I scream.

A bark echoes through the tunnel, followed by a snarling sound and the pressure on me lessens.

Luna tears at the rotter’s leg, giving me enough room to twist free. Before I can fully escape, a gunshot cracks through the tunnel, and the rotter collapses in a splash of black and red. Its head rolls two feet away.

I blink up.

Caspian. He came. Despite everything. Despite the dark.

He stands there, panting and trembling, with a gun in his hand and Luna by his side. She yanks the rotter leg hardenough that it detaches, and then she sits with the leg in her mouth and triumph shining on her furry face. Caspian drags the rest of the rotter corpse off of me and kicks it to the side before reaching down and pulling me to my feet. “You okay?”

“I—yeah—” I start to respond, unable to believe he’s really here, but the ground trembles and the walls shake.

On instinct, I lunge forward and wrap my arms around Caspian, trying to pull him against me protectively. Small rocks rain down from the ceiling, and I press my body over his as best I can, despite being so much smaller. For a split second, he freezes in surprise.

“What are you…” Understanding dawns in his eyes. With a swift motion, he reverses our positions so his larger frame envelopes mine when chunks of concrete crash down around us. A groaning, splitting sound echoes through the space.

“Oh, hell.” Mars curses.

Caspian looks down at me, his wide blue eyes shining in the dim light, too bright against the dark, when the ceiling caves.

“Run!” Jace shouts.

We sprint blindly through the dark and the debris, dodging outstretched rotter arms and leaping over abandoned cars. I don’t remember grabbing my knife, but it’s in my hand. Mars pulls me forward and Jace shoves Caspian ahead. Luna darts between our legs, leading the way out of here.

The tunnel collapses right behind us and I’m thrown to the ground with someone’s body covering mine while rocks pelt his back. Dust and debris slam the space closed with a deafening crash. When the avalanche settles, I peek out from the strong arms surrounding my head and see Jace and Mars on the ground, covering their heads in the flickering light. Caspian coughs above me.

“Caspian. Caspian, are you okay?” I ask, my voice becoming more frantic with each word.

He coughs some more before rolling off of me and onto his back beside me. His hand wraps around my wrist and his wide eyes search for mine. “Told you I could do brave.”

A smile breaks out across my face, and I laugh. He’d told me that so long ago, I’d almost forgotten. “Yes, you can, and you did. Thank you, Cas.”

Luna pushes her way through the settling dust to lick my face. Her tail wags with excitement despite the chaos we’ve just survived, making me laugh.

“I’m okay, girl,” I say, soothing Luna before I look over at Caspian. His grip on my wrist tightens, and I feel he’s hanging on by a thread. “Are you doing okay?”

We’re in the middle of a long, dark tunnel that caved in on us. There are an indeterminate number of rotters still poised to attack. There’s no way he’s doing okay.

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