Out the door she slipped. Out onto the landing and down the wooden walkway. She laid down the plank to bridge the gap and cautiously darted across. There was a noise behind her. Maybe the wind in the trees. Maybe Nick rising and looking for her.
She ran.
Gravel cut into her feet. Everything was wet from the rain, the scent of damp earth strong. She threw open the pickup’s door. No keys. Where were the fucking keys? Not above the sun visor. She climbed in and reached for the glovebox. Maps and rubbish spilled out onto the floor, but no keys.
She’d run out of time. Her heartbeat was drumming in her ears, deafeningly loud.
The sun was lower than she’d anticipated. The cabin door remained closed … but for how long?
Roslyn jumped out of the pickup and headed for the highway on foot. There’d be something. A car she could start or another house she could hide in for the night. She’d return to the school tomorrow and make them see sense, work something out.
Her thin T-shirt was useless against the ice-cold wind blowing through her. She jogged past the other cabins. Stones kept cutting into her feet, but she’d manage. There’d be no stopping now. Yes, she’d head back to the school. Neil wasn’t selling her twice. She’d beat the wanker with a wine bottle if she had to. Bash some sense into him. Her days of playing victim were over.
The muscles in her legs burned. Nick would follow, but she’d deal with that later. She wasn’t going back to the chain without a fight.
It was better when she hit the highway. The asphalt was kinder to the soles of her feet. There wasn’t anything visible in either direction except trees. Lots and lots of trees with the evening’s shadows growing beneath. Town was to the left.
Back up the driveway there were no signs of life. He wasn’t coming. Probably wasn’t even awake yet, because when he woke—shit. He’d be furious.
Except a part of her strongly disagreed. Nick wouldn’t be stomping and yelling because he’d be too scared for her. He’d be beside himself. No matter the time of day, he’d follow her. She knew it. He would come after her to find her and protect her. No matter the danger to himself he would follow her out into the night.
A chill spilled through her.
Nick.
She stood by the roadside, frozen in place. Terrified at what might happen next. Disaster waited around every corner and one wrong step could cost lives. Her life, and maybe Nick’s life too.
What if she did go back to the school? Because if she was brutally honest she had to admit that she’d be sitting there waiting for him. Waiting for them to sort this out and come to some sort of agreement where she wouldn’t be torn in two.
Shit.
She needed to talk to him. They needed to sit down and work this out. What she was doing standing by the roadside as dusk closed in? She didn’t even know anymore. Running away wasn’t the answer. As her father had said more than once, cowards and pussies left things unresolved. Go Dad. Double shit. She had to talk to Nick.
“Fuck it.”
Roslyn about-faced and headed back up the drive, swearing constantly. Badmouthing him and herself and the whole fucked up world. Not to forget this bitch of a situation. Of all the times to have unresolved feelings for a guy. How fucking old was she? Fifteen? God the drama, it sucked. The first star winked into existence on the horizon. It peeked out from behind the limbs of swaying gum trees, taunting her. The storm clouds were moving north. Her lips felt chapped from the cold, or maybe that had more to do with beard rash. Her poor pained feet were frozen.
The first moan came from a green tin shed, tucked back from the driveway. A second answered it from a nearby cabin. The door stood open. Something was inside there—an infected.
What the fuck had she done?
She pushed herself faster and something dug into her foot. A piercing pain shot up her leg. Hopping in place, she tried to keep her balance. A shard of rock had punctured the sole of her foot. Blood dripped from between her toes. With a tug and a wince she pulled it out. Damn, it hurt.
The next moan sounded closer. It came from a straggle of bushes beside the drive. The driveway hadn’t seemed this far when she’d been running away. Like an optical illusion, the distance seemed to have lengthened and warped. She ignored the pain in her foot and pressed onward. Movement from the darkened doorway of the first cabin caught her eye. A monster shuffled out into the early night. Its white sundress had been stained in patches. Dirty, crusty scratches covered its arms and legs. Sickly, bloodshot eyes took up half its face above a gaping mouth.
Roslyn’s stomach felt weighted, heavy with dread.
Another groaned behind her. A thick and heavy man. Or it once had been. Its bald head shone in the low light and its bloody mouth hung open, blackened tongue wiggling.