Feeding Frenzy

Chapter 42

 Screams and shrieks echoed through the tunnel. Evey held onto her breath as they walked through the tunnel. She and Johnson held the beams of light ahead, but she still squinted to see. Her heart was pounding, and her muscles were tense as she prepared for another attack.

Evey had to push the thoughts of Connar to the back of her mind. He bled out while she tried to save him. It was not her fault he was dead. It was Gomez that killed him. If he had kept his mouth shut, they would have never attracted the attention of the Infected.

She was sweeping the light from side to side, on alert for any Infected that may be hiding. She gasped and stopped when she saw the tunnel diverge into two paths. Gomez bumped into her and muttered a curse. She lit each tunnel, trying to distinguish which was full of Infected. Johnson sighed as he looked into each path.

"Where do we go?" Evey whispered.

"Straight?" Ford asked.

"I'm not sure," Johnson said.

Gomez scoffed and rolled his eyes. Evey scowled. She would have glared at Gomez but was afraid to take her eyes off the tunnels.

"Once again, we're fucked," Gomez said.

The screams grew louder. Evey gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on the flashlight.

"Can you learn how to whisper?" Evey asked.

"I'm not the reason we are all dying, Evey," Gomez said.

Ford held onto Evey's arm. It was the only thing stopping her from turning and smashing the flashlight into his skull. Every moment in the subway tunnels made her despise him even more, which she did not think was possible.

"Should we split?" Fiona asked.

Joey remained in her arms. Despite her shoulders aching, she refused to set the child down. If they had to run, she wanted to know where he was at all times.

"Bad idea," Ford said.

"He's right," Johnson said. "We're stronger as a group."

Evey jumped when there was a loud screech. There was the sound of splashing as something was running toward them. She breathed heavier as she shone the light in multiple directions, trying to discover where the noise came from. Ford put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back.

The splashing stopped. A scream rang in their ears. Evey spun and pointed the light behind them. A group of five Infected men came from behind them. Her fingers grazed along the knife strapped to her thigh. Could they take on five Infected?

They became outnumbered as more Infected came out from behind the Infected men. Blood was dripping from their eyes, and they were foaming at the mouth. Dried blood coated their hands and the front of their clothes. How many people have they killed?

"Turn the lights off," Johnson said quietly. "We are going to stay quiet and run straight. Stick together."

The Infected charged toward the group. Evey's hands trembled as she flicked the switch on the flashlight. They were flooded with darkness. Instinctively, she closed her eyes and tensed all her muscles as she prepared to be attacked.

The group ran forward, and a hand touched Evey's waist. She assumed it was Ford, so she followed him as he dragged her to the left.

Why were they going to the side? Johnson had given them instructions to go straight. Chewing on her lips, she rushed as they ran in the pitch black with the sounds of shrieking following them.

---

Ford pushed the rest of the group ahead of him. Blocking them between him and Johnson seemed like a good idea. He could not see anyone but swung his hands out and could not feel anyone else around. He hurried forward until he touched someone's back, unsure of who it was. The group ran together in the dark.

Pulling the knife from the sheath, Ford was prepared to attack anything touching him. He prayed that Evey would not try to linger at the back of the group and find him. If he accidentally attacked her, he would never be able to forgive himself.

Hands grabbed Ford's shoulders. He spun and swung his knife. Air rushed by his ear as the Infected attempted to bite him. Burying the knife deep into the Infected's stomach, the warm blood rushed over Ford's hand. He stabbed the Infected's body multiple times, unsure of where he was hitting. The screams coming from the Infected were ear-piercing.

Johnson stopped when he heard how close the Infected's screaming was to the group. Was it attacking or being attacked? They did not have time to think, and he resumed running. Was he running too fast for the rest of the group? Was he abandoning the civilians unintentionally? He wondered where the hell Ford was in the tunnel.

Ford kicked the Infected away from him once it stopped screaming. The shrieking grew distant. Had the Infected stopped chasing them? Were the Infected searching for them in the dark? Johnson knew that they could not continue to run in the dark. They were rushing in the pitch-black, and one of them would get hurt, or the group would get lost.

Johnson stopped running, and no one bumped into him this time. How far ahead was he from the group? Letting out a silent prayer, he turned the flashlight back on.

Shining the beam of light in front of him, he could not see anything but the deep expanse of the tunnel. He spun and swept the light around the tunnel behind them. The civilians all squinted at the sudden brightness. A few blocked the light with their arm.

Ford was walking around the group. The front of his clothes was covered in sticky crimson. He wiped the bloody blade of his knife on his pant leg. His brows were furrowed as he scanned the group. It took all of his strength not to shout out a curse.

"Where is Evey?" he asked.

"Do you think she fell behind?" Fiona asked.

"Should we look for her?" Anjo asked.

Johnson flashed the light behind the group, but there was no sight of Evey. Ford looked through the group again. Gritting his teeth so hard he thought they would crumble, rage boiled in his blood.

"Where's Gomez?" he asked.

The group looked amongst themselves to see that both Evey and Gomez were missing.

"I'm going back," Ford said.

"No," Johnson said. "We need to stick together. There is no going back."

"He's going to kill her."

"Ford, we need to keep moving."

"Go without me."

Ford turned and walked back into the dark tunnel. Johnson shook his head before flashing the light ahead of the group.

"We need to get to the hospital," Johnson said.

"We can't let those three die," Roger said. "We should go with Ford."

"If we go with Ford, we are all dying."

Johnson flashed the light behind them again to see Ford walking away. He could also see tears welling up in Fiona's eyes and Anjo staring at the ground. None of the civilians said a word.

What was Ford planning on doing without being able to see? If Gomez were going to kill Evey, she would already be dead by now. It was pointless for him to try.

Once more, he looked back at his friend, that was marching to his death all because of a girl.