An hour later, Will found Lara asleep in their room.
She was exhausted and slept in the same clothes from last night. Her right arm was covered in bandages she had put on herself — both of her arms were now covered in bandages — and her face was blackened and bruised, as were her legs and, he knew, most of her body.
She was curled up on her side on the bed, sleeping in a pool of sunlight pouring in from the open patio window. There was a light morning breeze, and the room felt strangely cool despite the oppressive heat outside.
He sat down on a chair next to the bed and watched her sleep. It was quiet. So quiet. The only sounds were the birds outside, water lapping against the island, and her soft breathing. He could look at her forever, he realized.
After a while, she stirred and opened her eyes.
She saw him immediately, and a ghost of a smile appeared across her bruised lips. “You’re back.”
“I’m back.”
“How did it go?”
“They were gone by the time we got there.”
“Figures.”
“Yeah.”
“Any signs of where they went?”
“No.”
“What about Blaine’s Jeep?”
“Gone.”
“Thieves.”
“Yeah.”
She lay still, and they were content to look at each other in silence for a moment.
“Carly woke up for a bit while you were gone,” she said. “She should be back on her feet soon, though she won’t be very chatty for a while. Danny’s and Gaby’s wounds aren’t too bad. Nothing life-threatening. And Maddie’s going to be gimpy for a few days.”
He nodded.
“How’s your arm?” she asked.
“It’s fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
She reached out and stroked his cheek with her fingers. “You look like shit.”
“Thanks.”
“But I still love you.”
“You just love me for my body.”
“Who told you?”
“It’s obvious.”
She was quiet again.
“What is it?” he asked.
“What happens now?”
If they attack tonight, we’re probably all going to die, he thought, but he said instead, “We gave up a lot for this island, so we’re going to make the best of it. They might have lured us here on false pretenses, but they weren’t completely lying. Song Island is a haven, and it has everything we need to live out the rest of our lives.”
“Are you saying you want to grow old with me?” she said, smiling at him.
“I would like to see you with gray hair.”
She laughed. “It’s called Clairol Perfect 10, babe. The first sign of gray hair, and I’m sending you out there to fetch me a box.”
“The things I do for love.”
She took his hands in hers and pulled him onto the bed with her. “Come here.”
“You’re still hurt.”
“So are you. We’ll make it work. Adapt or perish, remember?”
“Adapt or perish,” he repeated, and lay down on the bed next to her.
She slipped comfortably against him and Will wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He ignored the stabbing pain in his arm. It was a small price to pay for this moment with her, which could very well be their last.
“Will?” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
“If you dream about Kate again, I’m going to kick your ass.”
“Fair enough.”
EPILOGUE
“We’re going to need a new leader,” Mason said, grinning through that big black hole in his front teeth.
It was dark outside the kid’s room. Very dark, despite the fact that there was moonlight and the spotlights, and the sound of the generator humming in the background could be heard. But it was very dark in the front yard, though Josh thought that might have been because of the ghouls.
They were everywhere, spread out across the yard, spilling over the driveway, flattening the grass as far as he could see. Their dark skin looked like black oceans of tar swaying slowly back and forth under the window. He wondered how terrified he would be if they turned and looked at him all at once.
He pushed the thought out of his head. They weren’t going to turn. They were focused on what was happening in the middle of the yard.
Josh felt a strange sense of fascination mixed with dread at the sight of it moving through the crowd of ghouls. It stood out because the other ghouls were homogenous, devoid of identity. But this ghoul was different. He could tell, even from a distance, that it was female. It walked straight, and if not for the supernatural fluidity with which it moved, he might have believed it was human.
No one had returned from the island. There had been a gun battle the likes of which he had never heard before. At one point he swore he even heard an explosion or two, and all he could think was, Gaby, please be safe, please be safe…
The gun battle seemed like it went on and on for hours, and it sounded like the end of the world all over again. He wasn’t sure how long it really lasted. Maybe twenty minutes, maybe ten minutes, maybe even less than that. It was hard to tell. He was so far away that the pop-pop-pop of gunfire sounded surreal, like listening to a movie. Not even watching a movie, just hearing the echoes of one playing in the theater next door.
She lied to me. Karen lied to me. She didn’t go there to save Gaby. She’s throwing everything at the island.
Lying bitch!
And when it was over and no one returned, he heard the loud rustling of movement outside his window and looked out and saw Karen on her knees, waiting, as ghouls appeared out of the darkness and surrounded her. They came from nowhere and everywhere, and he had forgotten momentarily that they were hiding in the night all around him.
No, that wasn’t true. They didn’t really “hide” anymore. It was where they lived. Where they dwelled. It was their home. He was the one hiding in a kid’s room. They, the humans, were the ones who didn’t belong anymore.
“What’s happening?” Josh asked.
“Karen didn’t follow orders. It told her not to attack the island, but she did it anyway.” Mason smirked. “See, kid, this is what happens when you overestimate your abilities, not to mention your importance in the larger scheme of things. When it’s all said and done, we’re just cogs in the machine. Remember that.”
The female ghoul stood over Karen, and Josh could see bright blue eyes piercing the darkness, almost glowing. The blue-eyed ghoul touched Karen’s hair, seemed to brush it like a mother would her child’s.
Karen was talking now. Talking fast.
The blue-eyed ghoul seemed to nod, then it put a hand under Karen’s chin, and Karen stood up slowly. Karen smiled, but it didn’t last long because suddenly the blue-eyed ghoul’s head was pressed against the side of Karen’s throat and Karen’s mouth opened in a wide, surprised O.
The ferocity and speed with which it happened made Josh take an involuntary step away from the window.
“Relax, kid,” Mason said. “If they wanted us dead, they’d have come in and gotten us already. Front door’s not locked.”
Josh didn’t know how to answer that. Was that supposed to make him feel better?
He walked over to the bed and sat down. The mattress underneath him was still damp from his wet clothes, but he hardly felt it. His whole body was numb. Jesus, was he even still breathing?
“Relax,” Mason said again. “You’re going to hyperventilate yourself to death, kid.”
“What if we run?” Josh asked suddenly.
“Run?”
“Sneak out the back door. Run away before they notice we’re in here.”