The Safe Zone by Amy Marsden

Author:Amy Marsden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Lit/genre, horror, action, post-apocalyptic, interracial, bisexual, gay, paramedic, PTSD, soldiers, photographer, Paris, found family
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Published: 2024-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Victoria was exhausted. She was pretty sure she’d fallen asleep on the helicopter, but she still felt like she needed about ten more hours. She’d been sitting with Alexia and Anthony and a soldier called Edward, eating and chatting and struggling not to fall asleep. At least she wasn’t thirsty anymore.

Her body ached. Muscles she didn’t know she possessed ached. Riya had seen to her cuts and bruises, and her knuckles were bound in thick bandages that made it difficult to hold things. Still, Victoria wasn’t complaining. She was fed and watered and all cleaned up. It had felt unspeakably good to ditch the blood-soaked armour. Her shirt was stained with sweat, which was revolting, but other than that, she was cleaner than she had been in what seemed like forever.

Victoria’s mind was blessedly blank. She wasn’t thinking about the past few hours, she wasn’t thinking about how many people she’d killed, she wasn’t thinking about almost dying. She wasn’t thinking about anything at all. It wasn’t shock; she was just too tired.

Anthony’s voice was a nice balm, even if the topic wasn’t. “It was horrific. Never in the entirety of my service have I seen soldiers lose control so quickly. It was embarrassing.”

“I know,” Edward agreed. “How do you think they got in? And how did they overrun us so quickly?”

“There were a lot of them,” Anthony said. “Maybe the sheer number? How did they get so close? Do you think they overwhelmed some scouts and were on the castle before we could do anything?”

“It’s definitely possible,” Edward replied. “The simplest explanation is often the right one. I think they overran us so easily because people panicked. A lot of those soldiers had been based there since the collapse and didn’t really have any exposure to infected people.”

Anthony shook his head. “All that loss of life, it’s such a shame. Have you had a chance to write that poem?”

It was Edward’s turn to shake his head. “Not yet, but I have some ideas of how it’s going to go.”

Victoria perked up. “You write poetry?”

Edward frowned for some reason, and Anthony quickly spoke. “It’s okay, she’s an English teacher.”

Victoria was not a teacher any more. Hearing someone say she was made her want to hit something. Teachers built up the young, educated them, and helped them prepare for the future. What kind of future was there now? She no longer built people up, she tore them down in bloody fashion. Murderer. That was what she was. Someone who destroyed instead of created. She was surprised to realise it didn’t bother her as much as it once did.

She was a fighter. Someone who killed, yes, but to protect the larger group. She leaned back on her elbows as she basked in the warmth of contentment, a small smile tugging at her lips. It felt a lot like acceptance.

She sat bolt upright as Jennifer flew past her in a mad rush. Victoria was on her feet a second later, running after her and wishing she had a weapon.

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