Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,340

a brief moment to rest his forehead against mine. "I'm gonna be okay," he promised. But how could he know for sure? We were on a hunt for Payne, but even then there was no guarantee that his blood would hold the secrets to the cure. We were going off blind hope.

"I'm so scared," I sobbed. I wasn't sure where Kemper was because all I could look at was Maverick. I felt like I was already losing him, and the boils hadn't even begun to form on his skin. I took in his red hair and haggard expression. I gazed into his brown eyes like they were never-ending. I clutched his arms, digging my nails into his skin like it would keep him here with me. "I would be lost without you. We need to find Payne. We don't have time.” Maverick picked me up, wrapping my legs around his waist as he kissed me and walked us out of the water.

On the riverbank, Kemper stood with a frown. Naked and dripping with water, the three of us shook, our trembling limbs cold from the breeze hitting our skin. "Ash!" Huxley yelled. A light rustling through the trees and bushes drew my attention towards the east, and soon my fearless protector appeared.

“Cyler’s not doing well. And now we need to move faster than before,” Huxley said while eyeing Maverick in somber trepidation.

He didn’t have to say it out loud. We were all thinking it. It was only a matter of time before Maverick started showing symptoms of Influenza X. I closed my eyes for a breath, resolving to keep strong and push the worries I felt out of my mind. Huxley took off his shirt and tossed it at me, then reached in his backpack for some boxers and a spare pair of pants. “Get dressed. We will carry Cyler if we have to. I want to be in Galla within the hour. I hope you’re ready to run.”

Chapter Sixteen

I never thought I’d be so happy to see Galla. The tall buildings once flashing with advertisements and lights were now ruined. It was dark by the time we crept into town undetected. The guys took turns carrying Cyler’s limp body while Maverick hung back away from the group, too scared to potentially infect everyone.

The metropolis which was once booming with the Elite was now scarce. We only saw a couple of people, but they ran and hid the moment the six of us came into view. We didn’t run into any more Walkers, but there was a graveyard at the edge of Galla near the Walker Zone. We could smell the death the moment we got downwind of it. The stench made me gag and even woke up Cyler from his feverish delirium. Bodies were piled high, rotted corpses covered in boils and blood stained the ground. We circled around it, keeping away from the rot and decay. It was a sight I never wanted to see again. Everyone was dying. Everyone was killing each other.

“This is awful,” I murmured as we passed, regretting speaking the moment the words left my lips. I’d been holding my breath, and the moment I opened my mouth to speak, it was like death coated my tongue with its rancid stench.

Although we were exhausted, we continued to move quickly while keeping our eyes open for danger. I knew where the nearest hospital was, and prayed that it was still standing, despite the crumbled buildings and boarded up windows surrounding us. The Stonewells had taken me there when I was a little girl after Josiah dared me to climb a tree and I fell. I remembered feeling fascinated by the technology there. At the time, it was a painful experience, but now I felt relief that I even knew where it was.

The chill in the air kept wafting the smell of death towards us, making me nauseous. The moment my eyes connected with the hospital, I started sprinting towards it, praying that the healing pod would still be there.

The only reason I didn’t wrench open the door and storm into the seemingly abandoned hospital was because Jacob intercepted and stopped me. “Let me check it out first. Make sure there’s no squatters or Walkers,” his mindspeak said while gripping my arm to pull me back. He was right, but I was still frustrated to have to wait any longer. Time was of the essence. We had to save Cyler then find Payne so that we