Survival

Part 30: Valerie

"Oh my god." Aluna leapt to her feet.

I followed Indiana and Aluna out of the truck, stumbling over bags and pillows and blankets in our wild haste. On my way out I tripped over my own feet and fell out of the van, smacking my knees on the metal floor on the way down. I hovered in the air for a moment -with the single thought of 'oh shit' in my mind- and thumped onto the dirt outside. I felt my knees burn as they grazed through the denim of my jeans and my palms ripped like tissues on the sharp rocky surface. My breath rushed out of me loudly and suddenly. I lay on the ground gasping like a fish, feeling a sharp pain in my chest. A dull pounding began in my head and gradually intensified with every breath I took.

"Valerie! Are you okay?" Anna called from inside the storage area where she was watching over Jeordie like his very own guardian angel.

"Yep... Just... Winded...." I managed to grunt out. A hand came from above and I took it tightly. Indiana hauled me to my feet and patted me on the back. I stumbled towards where I saw Aluna standing silently, her bob askew and flyaway. She was tapping her manicured nails against her hoodie nervously, anything but a poised and battle-ready space ranger.

The screaming continued.

I began to really panic. Was it Aris or was it Marcus? I couldn't tell from the voice; his pain was distorting it so much that it was impossible to distinguish who it belonged to.

"Oh shit, shit, SHIT this isn't happening oh my god no SOMEBODY HELP!!!" It was Aris. My stomach sank into my boots. I looked over the waterway desperately but the opposing bank was empty.

"Aris!" Aluna screamed. She ran into the water, splashing in up to her knees.

"We're coming!" Came the reply.

--

Aris was carrying a screaming Marcus over the river, sprinting through the fast water with barely more than a stumble here and there. A group of five or so Changed followed him. I watched them carefully. Their footsteps became even more laboured until, one by one, they collapsed. The current quickly claimed them, dragging them downriver. Aris reached the bank and stumbled into the dirt. Mud was striped on his face like some kind of tribal war paint and there were muddy hand print designs on his bare chest.

"We were playing in the mud," Aris gasped, chest heaving for air, and lowered Marcus to the ground gently. "And then they came. Ten of them. Just materialised out of the bush. He's bit, Lune," He looked to Aluna with tears running down his face and disappearing into his stubble. "They grabbed his ankle and I tried so hard to save him, I did, but the fucker bit him."

Aluna burst into tears and hugged Marcus, who was also crying. She got to her knees in the mud and clutched Marcus's hands in her bony fingers, mascara streaking down her face.

"It hurts Luney! It hurts!" The boy sobbed, clutching his lower calf. There was an awful lot of blood there.

"I know it does, honey. But the pain will stop soon." Aluna choked out.

"How soon?" Marcus's bottom lip was quivering incessantly.

"I don't know, Marcus. A day or two, maybe."

"I have to tell Dunlop!" Marcus struggled free and ran over to Pancake, who was feasting on a new Changed. Marcus wrapped his arms around the dog and talked to it quietly, still sobbing. Pancake briefly attempted to eat him before going back to her snack. At least it was holding still for her.

"What do we do?!" Indiana hissed, furtively glancing to check that Marcus was still with 'Dunlop'.

"We have to kill him. Perhaps in his sleep. He wouldn't feel a thing." Aris said adamantly.