After the World Ends: Find (Book 3) by Jamie Thornton

Author:Jamie Thornton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Igneous Books

14

Cole pounded on the door with the butt of his rifle. “Delmar! Let us in!”

Dessa searched the alley for another way out. Infected raced toward them. A fire escape was too high to reach. An old can had tipped over, spilling green paint on the ground. A small dumpster with a heavy metal lid was pushed against one side. Her heart beat loud in her ears. Only two ways out and both blocked.

They were out of time. They could hate Delmar later. If there was a later.

She raced for the dumpster, almost slipping in the now wet paint. “Cole, help me!”

The lid was heavy on her hands, but that was a good thing. Instead of cheap plastic, the lid was made of metal.

Cole shouted a number of insults, but then left the door and helped Dessa prop open the lid. The rain obscured her vision, but she pulled herself over. Landing on the floor of the dumpster made the metal ring. She stood and held the lid while Cole slipped inside.

Infected slammed into the sides of the dumpster and reached bloody, grimy hands over the lip. She let go, and the metal slammed shut, muffled by crunched fingers, before the light disappeared. In the dark of the dumpster, they found handles attached to the underside of the lid and used their combined strength to hold it closed against the onslaught.

If the V’s got through, they were dead. Boxed up like a present for them to rip open.

A bit of light where the lid didn’t perfectly seal revealed Cole’s shadow and hit the fear that shined in his eyes. Dessa wanted to scream as the infected pounded, shifting the dumpster inch by inch. The noise was unbearable, but she couldn’t let go to cover her ears.

They held on like that for what seemed an eternity, and then a new sound cut through.

A horn.

At first, she didn’t think the V’s heard it. But then, minute by minute, the cacophony of metal and rage lessened. The fingers clawing at the gap between lid and lip vanished. Eventually, her ears rang with silence.

What seemed like hours, but maybe was only minutes, passed. The rain continued, pinging the dumpster, but at a bearable level. A small scratching noise shot Dessa’s heart rate back up until she identified it as the likely patter of a rat.

She breathed in deep and slow and silent, finally believing they were going to stay alive for a while longer after all.

“Can we let go now?” Dessa said in a whisper, but it was kind of a loud whisper, because her ears were still ringing.

“It’s all right,” Cole said, whispering as well. “I think they’re gone.”

She let go of the handle. Her arms burned from the effort and took a long minute to feel normal. Scooting across the floor of the dumpster, her sneaker hit Cole’s shoe. The metal shifted under her movement, making her flinch at the shock of sound. Frantic, she searched her pocket and realized the vial containing the bacterial antidote had broken.

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