Revenant's Kiss | ONC 2022 Shortlister ✓

S I X

I bowed my head, clutching the crimson-stained gauze with shaky hands as I stared down at it blankly. The pain ebbed in my side and rimmed my field of vision black like the vignette in a photo. My chest tightened against every breath I fought to take and I closed my eyes, sitting in the shadows and waiting for my body to calm.

The stitches were in. They weren't the best by far, but they would do the job I needed them to. They would hold up, but the question remained.

What about me?

Blood loss had kicked my ass enough already, and my limbs drooped with a heaviness unlike any I'd felt before. Lifting my arms took more energy than I cared to admit, and the tiredness harassing my body had me feeling like I could sleep for weeks. If I was completely honest with myself, there was fear residing somewhere inside, clutching at the strands of my long-destroyed peace.

If I fell asleep, would I wake up?

The question itself brought more unwanted feelings than I had in me to push away. But I thought about it anyway. Here I was, injured and nearly helpless, tired out of my mind, needing more medical assistance than I could give myself, without my squad and lover, and unsure what to do.

Could I really carry on and make it through it all?

"God, I hope so," I whispered beneath my breath, drawing in a deep lungful of air. It hurt, but I didn't focus on it. I just let it out in a sigh.

At one time, I was what some would call religious. I attended church, gave tithes and offerings, and did my best to show others God's love. To the world I was a model Christian. But now? I wasn't sure anymore.

Did I believe in God? Yes, and no. If he was as all-powerful as he was believed to be, then why was the world ravaged with LycanZ and its people destroyed on the daily? I couldn't answer that and, as far as I knew, God never gave his own answer. Even so, I found myself praying to him despite the doubt I've harboured since the outbreak.

Everything happens for a reason, or at least, that was what everyone always told me. I believed it all my life, along with the saying God only gives you what you're able to handle.

I snorted. If that were the case now, God must think I was one badass motherfucker.

A muted grunt and the scratch of claws on wood disturbed the silence and I opened my eyes, tilting my head. My arms prickled with warning and my senses tingled on high alert.

Something was crawling up this building.

I eased my gun from its holster. It wasn't silenced so I would only use it as a last resort, but one couldn't be too prepared. Not when it came to the world outside QZs.

Dust and bits of roofing rained down from the hole in the roof before something plopped down onto the floor within jumping distance of where I sat in the bed with my back to the wall. It took only a few moments to identify what dropped in when her glowing eyes swept over me. She showed her teeth, but made no sound or move.

More scuffling sounded from the hole above seconds before three male revenants fell down onto the hardwood beside the female.

Shit! Forget being up the creek without a paddle, I'd lost the whole fucking boat and the lifejacket.

Every muscle on my body tensed when a threatening growl broke the quiet as the new arrivals caught hold of my scent. I needed to get the hell out of here, and quickly before one of them decided to pounce and turn me into mincemeat.

Sliding my pistol back into the holster as fast as I could, I shifted from the bed and broke into a run toward my only way of escape: the window.

The moment my shoulder crashed into the glass, greedy claws dug into my back. Throwing an elbow back into the revenant who grabbed me with all the force I could muster, I frantically threw myself at the window again. It instantly gave under my weight with a splintering crack that sent a surge of energy through me.