Chapter One
Tahira watches in horror as the stumbling horde approaches her. The mummies at the front, the only ones she can see clearly, have a blue tinge in their eyes.
Which means her powers won't work on them.
She wills her mouth open to tell them to leave, to at least try. Maybe the last time this happened it had been a fluke. But nothing comes out. Fear has her frozen.
"D-ie!" one of the mummies screeches as it breaks into a sprint.
Motion kicks back in and she's dashing into the room behind her. As she slams the door, the first few bodies start ramming into it, trying to get to her. She looks down at the handle and sees that it needs a code to get in. Unless they break the door down, which they very well could, she'll be safe.
"What the hell, Tahira?"
Darrus is the leader of the group she's been travelling with. He and his brother are the only ones who are nice to her. Mostly, at least.
"There's mummies out there," she says between pants, her breath hitching in her throat.
He crosses his arms. "And?"
"They're the ones I can't control."
His arms drop immediately. "Seriously?"
"Yes, they have the blue in their eyes."
"Did you try at least?"
"I got scared!"
His sigh comes out irritable. "Maybe you should try."
"If I open the door and it doesn't work, we're dead."
He hooks his backpack over his shoulder. "Fine. Then we need to get out of here some other way."
Thankfully, many of the rooms in the hospital are connected. They only came in here to find out where the compound could be—the one place the mummies haven't taken over. Maybe she should have heeded the warning from the mummy in the cafe. This place is crawling with mummies.
She adjusts her backpack on her shoulder, not having time to worry about how light it is. "We have two options." She points toward the doors on either side of the room. "Both will lead out into the hallway, at some point."
"Then we need to make sure that we have a head start. Do you have everything you need?"
Except for Bastet.
"Yes."
She keeps hoping that any minute now, her backpack will suddenly become heavier, and Bastet will pop out. The goddess has been killed by something and, so far, hasn't come back yet. The last time this happened she was back within a day, but this time it seems like it could be longer.
I need you. Please hurry.
He shrugs. "I guess we'll go left. That way we'll, hopefully, be closer to the stairs when we come out."
Her heart is pounding as he walks towards the other door. She didn’t think to mention the mummies. When the door squeaks open however, nothing runs out at them. She breathes out a few times before following him inside. This room is slightly darker than the last and is filled with multiple wooden desks with computers sitting on top.
Various documents have been scattered across the floor, along with muddy footprints. She doesn't want to imagine what happened here when the virus started to spread. The virus that Anubis is using to control the mummies. Thankfully, the jackal god isn't here now, but the mummies will be able to tell him where they are soon enough.
Darrus creeps around one of the desks. "Shit. I guess it was just these two rooms that were connected."
"Do we go back?"
From the other room comes the sound of creaking hinges and low growls. With the number of mummies pressing against the door, it won't take them long to break it down.
"Nope. We'll have to make a run for it."
They both move towards the door and try to peer through the tiny slit of glass in the middle. She recognises the grey floor of the hallway but knows that the mummies are only one door away.
"Do you think we'll make it?"
"We have to!" he snaps. "I'm not letting them leave us behind."
"Fine. What's the plan when we get out there?"
"What?"
"We can't just run out there, we need to know what we're doing."
He glares at her like she's a naughty child. "Head for the stairs. Do not go for the lift for any reason. We both need to go as fast as possible."
She swallows her protest. "Fine. I'll go after you."
He doesn't argue with her. He gently pushes the door open a crack. "Ready?"
She nods quickly, feeling her knees wobble. "Yes."
After a second, he dashes out the door, throwing it open. She's barely out when it slams on the wall next to her. In the corner of her eye, she can see the mummies have spotted them and are wrangling themselves out of the crowd. Darrus doesn't slow for her, which she's grateful for. Lumbered feet smack on the floor behind her, filling her ears with a roaring sound. All of them are following them now. Out of one room, they pass a mummy who stumbles out, lazily reaching towards Darrus. He manages to dodge easily, and she darts around it as well.
Darrus reaches the door seconds before she does. The growling of the mummies behind her drowns out the sound of the door opening. He's already halfway down a flight of stairs when she reaches it. She momentarily stumbles over her own feet before launching herself after him.
The stumble gave one mummy enough time to catch up, and it slams her into the wall. She screeches and pushes it away before rushing after Darrus. He's now far ahead of her, having already descended the stairs.
Will he wait for me?
Their relationship has been a hot and cold one. There's a chance he could decide she's not worth it and leave her. Especially since the one thing that made her useful, controlling the mummies, no longer works on all of them. The fear propels her forward, and she practically tumbles down the last few steps, catching herself on the handrail.
A mummy plummets through the handrail beside her, landing with a splat on the floor below. She risks a glance up and instantly wishes she hadn't. There are mummies as far as the eye can see, all on various floors. They're all crowded around the railing, staring down at her with their dark eyes.
"Tahira!"
Darrus' panicked scream kicks her muscles into gear. She's running again, back the way they came towards the entrance. In the middle of the hallway, Darrus is wrestling with a mostly decayed mummy. Its leathery hands have a firm grip on his shoulders. Its teeth chatter as it tries to tear into his flesh.
"Enough! Leave him alone!"
For a moment, she's worried that this mummy is one she can't control, until it releases him. Darrus doesn't hesitate to run, and she follows him a second later. Her heart is pounding so hard it feels like it's going to break through her ribs. Her chest is hot and tight, and she's not sure how much longer she can keep running. The adrenaline boost she got earlier is now completely gone, and she's left to rely on her own energy.
"They have a car!"
The sound of a honking car horn hits her ears when they reach the entrance. Darrus is already running up the hill toward the others, but she's starting to slow.
Run faster, dammit!
Fawn and Eddy, the other members of Darrus' group, will have no qualms about leaving her. Since discovering that she was ‘cured’ of the virus, they've tried every trick in the book to get rid of her. They’ve even suggested killing her.
More growling behind her gives her another speed boost. Darrus has now reached the car, a beat-up red truck. The door pops open and he climbs in, just as mummies emerge from the car park.
There are hundreds behind me now.
If the ones from the hospital have followed her this far, there will be a huge horde behind her. They may not wait.
Fawn sticks their head out the window. "You have five seconds, baby!"
Fawn starts to count, and she gets one last boost of panicked energy. She reaches the door by four seconds and throws it open. Someone grabs her arm and yanks her in, kicking the door closed.
"Drive!" Darrus screams.
The car pulls away before she can sit up. She falls onto Darrus' lap and tries to scramble away, but she's being thrown around too much.
"Are you okay?" Dallas asks, clutching her hand.
"Fine," she mumbles through gritted teeth.
He pulls her forward just as the car hits a speed bump. Her head hits the roof, and she grunts as she sits in a more comfortable position. The car swerves, and they go over another bump, making her float in the air for a second before coming back down. The inside of the car is filthy, with dark stains on the floor that she doesn't want to think about. The seats are old leather and partially torn. Dried stuffing is scattered all around the car, and the front seats have no headrests.
"It's the best one I could find," Dallas mumbles, playing with his fingers.
"You couldn't have found a dirtier one." His brother snorts, nudging a piece of stuffing away with his foot.
"I think it's fine," Tahira says.
"No one cares what you think, baby!" Fawn swings around from the passenger seat. "Now shut up, we're not in the clear yet!"
Tahira looks out of the back window. A sea of mummies is following the car, some in regular clothes while others are in hospital gowns or scrubs. Everything is moving too fast for her to tell whether the ones inside the hospital have followed her out.
I bet they have. Why would they not pursue?
Anubis has probably ordered her dead by now. He'll know where she is thanks to seeing through their eyes. That means that her brother, Seth, will also know soon. Her body shivers at the thought of her twin, who seems to want nothing more than for her death.
She's shaken out of her thoughts when the car lurches and goes over a speed bump. This time however, a sickening squelching sound accompanies it. It dawns on her that they're not going over speed bumps, but rather mummies that are getting sucked underneath the wheels. Their dirty hands paw uselessly at the windshield as they're dragged under. Seeing them disappear so quickly makes her squirm.
"Don't look if you can't handle it," Darrus tells her, a slightly scolding tone in his voice.
"She can't handle it because she doesn't like seeing her own kind get hurt!" Fawn sneers. "Maybe we should put you out there with them."
"You're enjoying this a hell of a lot for someone who claims they're still people," she retorts.
Fawn shakes her head. "They're more human than you ever will be, baby!"
Every time she hears that awful childhood jeer, she wants to punch them in the face. Her anger is boiling, but she holds herself back for Dallas' sake. He shouldn't see her fighting all the time.
Instead, she focuses on Eddy, who is driving. His knuckles are white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly, and each movement he makes is desperate and jerky. She doesn't blame him; visibility is getting difficult with the number of bodies in front of them. With each mummy they hit, the windshield gets dirtier and dirtier, obscuring his view.
"I've got directions to the compound," Darrus blurts out. "It's in Bristol."
"Bristol?" Fawn exclaims. "That's not as far as I thought it would be."
"Once we get out of this mess, we can pull over and discuss it more." He leans forward to tap his friend’s shoulder. "You okay, Eddy?"
The car jerks to the side as a mummy gets pulled underneath. Eddy manages a quick nod before turning his attention back to what's ahead.
Dallas nervously checks the lock on his door. "What if they get in?"
Darrus leans back. "They won't."
"But what if they do?"
"They won't."
Dallas seems to want to argue further, but he clamps his mouth shut. Tahira gives him a small smile before turning her attention back to the window. It's not the fact that she was a mummy that's upsetting her, it's the fact that these people are the ones suffering. Anubis is forcing them to do his bidding, though luckily, they can't feel pain.
"Almost out!" Fawn announces, peering through the last piece of window that isn't covered in muck.
"Thank God for that," Darrus mumbles. "I've had more than enough mummies for one day."
"I'll keep an eye out for somewhere to pull over, Eddy. Just keep driving."
Eddy gives Fawn a nervous glance before nodding. He never really speaks, except to spew insults at her like Fawn does. She doesn't care that he isn't interested in talking to her; she doesn't want to worry about making small talk with anyone else.
After one last bump in the road, the terrain evens out and Eddy speeds up. Fawn gives him a thumbs up, and his shoulders relax slightly.
***
Fawn hadn't spotted a suitable place to pull over for twenty minutes. They hit two roadblocks and had to backtrack twice, which has only increased the tension in the vehicle.
"This thing won't make it," Fawn snorts, tapping the dashboard. "Not enough petrol."
"There are petrol stations everywhere," he argues. "We'll find one and fill up."
"You don't think people haven't done that already?"
"It's only been a year."
"Exactly! Enough time for assholes to swoop in and take everything they need and more."
"As much as I hate to admit it..." Tahira sighs before continuing. "They have a point. We're not the first ones to come up with the idea of going to a petrol station."
"I don't need you to agree with me, baby!" Fawn hisses.
Instead of an outburst, she settles for a poisonous glare. Fawn doesn't look the least bit fazed, though Eddy does scowl at her.
"Is there any other way we can get petrol?" Dallas asks nervously. "What about from other cars?"
Fawn gives him a look that makes him shrink. "If there's none left in the petrol stations, what makes you think other cars haven't been tapped too?"
"I was just saying—"
"Well, don't. Leave it to the adults to talk."
"You're only seventeen!"
"And? That makes us the eldest! You and baby, keep your traps shut."
"Stop having a go at him just because you're older," Tahira snaps. "Just because you believe you're better doesn't mean you are."
"I'm only better than you, stupid baby!" Fawn leans across the seat to get in her face. "Everyone is. You're just a stupid little freak."
"Fuck off, I've kept you safe!"
"Ooh!" Their voice goes high-pitched and mocking. "Kept us safe? Like we're babies like you? Fuck off!"
She looks to Darrus, but he doesn't seem interested in getting involved. He promised to call Fawn and Eddy out whenever they were horrible to her, but she didn't think that would last long.
Dallas grabs her hand. "Just let them argue amongst themselves, Tahira. Can I see Bastet?"
A lump forms in her throat. How can she tell him? When Bastet comes back, she could come back a different cat. How would she explain that?
"Keep the cat in there for the time being," Darrus seems to have finally found his voice. "You can check on it later, when we find somewhere to rest for the night."
"So, we have no plan?" Fawn scoffs. "We need to get to Bristol!"
"And we will, once we find a way to get there!"
The sound of a car horn beeping in the distance makes her jump. The others also go silent peering out the dirty windows. Dallas tries to wipe away some of the dirt on the inside, but it makes little difference. After a few minutes, there's no other sound, so everyone relaxes.
"Sounds like someone has petrol," Dallas mutters.
"Shut up!" Fawn screeches, rocking the car slightly when they move forward. "I told you that your opinion doesn't matter!"
"And I think you're just enjoying being an asshole!"
"How dare you?"
Fawn prepares to launch themselves into the backseat, but Eddy and Darrus block their way. Dallas is sitting up a little straighter now. Even though she can see the slight fear in his eyes, he's keen to defend himself.
"Enough fighting!" Darrus pushes Fawn back into their seat. "This is getting us absolutely nowhere. We don't need to squabble amongst ourselves, we have enough problems!"
Funny how when everyone is ganging up on me, it isn't a stupid fight.
The car horn goes off again, sounding nearer this time. Tahira looks out the back window but can't see any cars moving through the grime. She narrows her eyes and scans the road, jammed full of abandoned vehicles, but sees nothing. The only cars out there look like they haven't been touched in months.
There are no houses nearby either, they're just on a stretch of motorway heading towards Exeter. She doesn't want to think about the shopping centre they'll have to pass, the one where she was forced to send mummies back to Merry's group. From what Darrus has told her; he thinks they're the only group that made it out.
"Who is that?" Fawn snaps. "Can you see anyone?"
"No, nothing," Darrus replies. "Hopefully they'll pass us by without noticing us."
"Or they're trying to get our attention."
"We've been parked here for an hour. No way has anyone seen us move."
Despite Darrus' assumptions, she feels a twinge of anxiety. Something isn't right. The car sounded like it was closer this time. No way could it be a mummy that accidentally slumped on the steering wheel. Someone is out there.
"Right, how much petrol do we have left?" Darrus asks, trying to peer at the dashboard.
"About a quarter of a tank," Fawn says and sighs. "Maybe we should just drive and hope we can find another car when this one runs out of juice."
"I guess there's not really any other option. We could always check out the petrol station along the way though, just in case."
Dallas looks annoyed that they're now coming around to his suggestions. She squeezes his hand softly and gives him a little smile.
The horn blares again—louder now, like it's right next to them. Eddy jumps and peers out his window before shaking his head.
"I think I see someone!" Dallas blurts out.
Darrus climbs onto her lap to peer out the window. "Shit. Someone is in that car. It's moving."
"Then let them go past," Fawn replies with a yawn.
"It's going to ram us, drive, Eddy!"
The engine roars to life, and the tyres squeal as the car reverses. In a small corner of the window, Tahira sees a black car heading toward them, and her eyes widen.
"That's one of Seth's cars!" she shrieks.
The car misses them by an inch, almost scraping the front bumper. Its wheels spin as it swings around to hit them again. She would recognise it anywhere; it’s the one she was dropped off in to get the group groceries. When she emerged after being chased by a sha, all the cars were gone.
A lump forms in her throat, and she blinks several times, so she doesn’t cry.
"Are you sure?" Darrus demands.
"Yes, I've been in that car."
"There are several cars of the same make, baby!" Fawn hisses, clinging to the sides of their seats.
"The boarding around the windows is definitely the same as the one Seth has."
Eddy pulls forward, dodging several cars as he weaves through the traffic. The car continues to pursue them, and she knows it’s Seth. All of them are thrown to the left as their car avoids an overturned lorry. Its contents have partially spilt onto the road, creating even more hazards they must avoid.
"Careful, there's glass!" Fawn yells, pointing at a glinting mound in the road.
Eddy avoids it, though there is a crunching sound from one of the wheels on the other side. They just have to hope there are no punctures. From looking out the back window, she sees Seth avoid the pile as well, and his wheels screech as he rights himself to continue the pursuit. He will not stop until he kills her.
Dallas screams as the car smashes its side against another vehicle. A few mummies have wandered into the road, attracted by the noise. She cringes as one goes flying over the hood, getting crushed by Seth's car. They’ll be nothing more than a bloody pulp on the tarmac now.
"Can we lose him?" Darrus screeches over the sound of metal screaming.
"I don't know!" Fawn answers for Eddy when he shakes his head. "There isn't anywhere to lose him."
"What if we pull into Plympton? Or Ivybridge?"
"Then there's no guarantee we'll find another working car!"
"Plympton is his territory," Tahira adds. "He knows that place inside out."
Darrus curses under his breath. "Fuck's sake. We just have to hope he doesn't have as much petrol as us."
"Or we can make him crash."
Everyone gives her a disgusted look. "You're horrible,” Fawn says. “You want to kill someone? Your own brother?"
"No! Just make his car crash."
"You've still got zombie brain. You want to kill your own brother! You're a piece of shit!"
"No, I'm not! But we could get him to stop—"
"Enough," Darrus cuts in, far too late for her liking. "We don't need to kill him. A little bump or something should do it."
"Nuh-uh, I'm not killing someone because the baby wants it!"
"You were more than happy to kill me. On several occasions."
"Because you're not a person. You're a disgusting mess that should never have been born."
"Fuck you, I've had enough of you—"
An arm is flung over her chest, preventing her from climbing in front. Darrus is giving her a cold glare, looking disappointed in her behaviour. She tries to pry him off, but he won't budge.
"We're not fighting each other here, Tahira."
"Oh really? Seems like everyone here is fighting me!"
"That's not true."
"It is, and you know it!"
"We have bigger problems than you right now, zombie girl!" Fawn says. "We're trying not to get killed here!"
"Fuck this!" Eddy explodes; it’s the loudest she's ever heard him speak.
The car comes to a sudden stop, causing everyone to lurch forward. Seth wasn't expecting this, as his front tyre catches on the car. It slams into another car, making metal and debris fly everywhere. There’s a horrible crunching sound as the car abruptly stops, almost fused with the car in front of it. Plumes of smoke rise from the hood, and the door pops open. Eddy then turns around and zooms further down the motorway, leaving Seth behind.
Tahira looks over her shoulder at her brother, who stumbles from the wreck, clutching one arm. Despite how far he is, she knows he's seething. The further they get away from him, the less safe she feels.
***
That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter of the third book in the Curse of Anubis series! This book will be available for pre-order by the end of the month, so keep an eye out for it!
See you next Sunday.
