Until the Last by Mike Shackle

Author:Mike Shackle
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473225312
Publisher: Orion

52

Ange

Lanaka

Ange inched her way back along the ledge, scarcely breathing, eyes darting to the skies in case there were Daijaku in the air, cursing herself with every step. Why had they stayed the night? They should’ve left straight away, left this cursed city far behind them.

But she had to remain calm. They weren’t fucked just yet. They still had a chance. If they were quick.

Ange hooked her foot under the windowsill and crawled back inside, feeling all the better for having walls around her once more.

Garo and the kid were awake when she came down the stairs. Garo greeted her with a smile, but it disappeared the moment he got a good look at her face. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Skulls.’

Linx whimpered at the news and Garo pulled him in tight. ‘How many?’

Ange shook her head. ‘Does it matter?’ She went to a window and peeked out. The street below only had the dead in it. No Egril. ‘I was on the roof. I heard them. Marching. Lots of them.’

Garo came up beside her. ‘What are we going to do?’

‘We go now.’ Ange looked past him, to the boy. ‘How do we get out of the city, Linx?’

‘The main gates …’ said the boy, pointing out through the window.

Ange went over to him and bent down, smiling her fake smile. ‘We can’t go that way. Is there another way out? A back gate?’

‘I … I don’t know.’ Linx’s lip wobbled. ‘I … I’ve never left the city before. My mother … My mother …’ Tears sprang into his eyes.

Garo was there in an instant. ‘It’s all right, Linx. Don’t worry. You’ve got us. We can work it out. Can’t we, Ange?’

‘Yeah, of course we can.’ The words didn’t sit well on her tongue, but there was nothing else she could say.

They scrabbled their stuff together as quick as they could. Garo shoved an extra blanket in his backpack for Linx. Neither of them mentioned the lack of food or water. What was the point? They both knew it was bad.

When they got downstairs, Garo picked Linx up. ‘I’m going to carry you, okay?’

The boy nodded.

‘Now, I want you to keep your eyes closed as long as you can. Keep them closed until I tell you to open them. Do you think you can do that?’

Another nod.

‘Good lad.’

Ange was at the door, pulled it open a crack, listened. Someone somewhere was screaming, and she heard a man shout in Egril. A pig language, Dren called it, and with good reason. The Skulls must have prisoners with them.

Heart racing, she chanced a peek outside. Still no sign of them. Just the dead. Dear Gods, she didn’t want to become one of them. ‘Let’s go,’ she hissed to Garo. Then they were out, exposed, running down the street, Garo holding Linx tight against his chest. Their feet sounded so fucking loud, echoing all around them.

Ange didn’t know where she was leading them, just that they were going in the opposite direction from the city gates. The dead stared at them as they passed, down one street, a turn left, a turn right, down another.

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