CHAPTER 67: 67: THE WORLD FULL OF SHADOWS

The world had grown silent again after the storm, a silence that clawed at Zara’s nerves. Every step along the highway felt heavier, the tension in the air thick enough to taste.

Winter moved ahead of Zara and Leo, his rifle slung low but ready. His eyes swept their surroundings, restless and sharp. Every so often, his jaw would tighten, a signal that something—a sound, a shadow, a memory—had set his instincts on edge.

Zara trailed just behind, her hand resting protectively on Leo’s shoulder. The boy clutched the strap of her backpack, his small fingers white-knuckled.

"Stay close," Winter said over his shoulder, his voice a gravelly murmur.

They passed the first abandoned car, then another, and another—an endless graveyard of vehicles rusting under a greying sky.

Winter came to an abrupt halt, raising a fist. Zara froze, instinctively pulling Leo closer. Ahead, an overturned SUV blocked most of the lane, its tyres shredded and its doors flung open like a gutted animal. A smear of fresh blood trailed across the ground, leading to the edge of the highway and disappearing into the woods.

"What happened here?" she asked softly.

Winter stopped, his eyes scanning the road ahead. His jaw tightened. "Ambush or panic. Maybe both."

He crouched near a dark smear on the pavement, running his fingers over deep gouges etched into the concrete. The claw marks were jagged and uneven as if something monstrous had raked its talons across the ground.

"These aren’t from the usual dead," he muttered, more to himself than to Zara.

Zara tightened her grip on Leo’s hand. "What do you mean?"

Winter didn’t answer. Instead, he rose to his feet, his expression hardening as he motioned for them to keep moving. "Come one, let’s get out of the open."

*****

As they weaved through the congested stretch of wreckage, the tension became suffocating. A low whistle pierced the air. Zara whipped her head around, heart hammering. Winter’s hand flew to his gun. Men emerged behind a cluster of rusting cars, rifles and pistols drawn. Their smirks were wolfish, their eyes hard.

"Well, look who it is," one of them sneered, his gaze locking on Winter. "You’ve got some nerve walking into our territory after what you did."

Winter’s stance shifted subtly, shoulders squaring. He didn’t answer immediately, his eyes darting between the scavengers. Zara tightened her grip on Leo, pulling him closer.

"Friends of yours?" she asked, her voice low.

Winter’s expression hardened. "Not exactly."

The scavengers fanned out, eight in total. They carried weapons—pistols, machetes, and makeshift clubs—and their postures screamed aggression.

The leader spat on the ground, his eyes narrowing at Winter. "You’ve got some nerve, showing your face after what you did to our crew."

"I remember your crew," Winter said evenly, though his hand drifted closer to his sidearm. "You should’ve stayed out of my way unless you also want to end up dead like them."

The man’s grin twisted into a snarl. "You think you can waltz through our territory after killing my boys?"

Zara’s breath hitched as she caught snippets of their conversation. Her mind raced, piecing it together. These men... they were with the ones who’d attacked her and Leo at the gas station. She instinctively took a step back, her pulse roaring in her ears.

"We already had this talk." winter raised his rifle and took aim. "I said it would be best if I didnt see your ugly mugs again."

One leaned closer, his eyes raking over her with an insolent smirk. "Nice company you’re keeping these days. What’s she to you, huh? Bet she—"

The crack of Winter’s rifle cut him off mid-sentence. The man’s head snapped back, and he crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

The world exploded into chaos.

*****

Winter’s voice was sharp and commanding. "Zara, get the kid out of here. Now!"

Zara didn’t hesitate. Grabbing Leo’s hand, she darted toward the cover of a nearby car, her heart hammering in her chest. "Leo, go into your space," she gently urged, patting his head.

"But—"

"No buts!" she hissed, her voice trembling. Then she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Baby, remember what we said about helping each other?"

He nodded, then flinched when the spray of bullets came a little too close to their hiding spot.

Zara pulled him close. "You’ll be safe there. I’ll call you when it’s time. I promise."

Tears brimmed in Leo’s eyes, but he obeyed, his small frame disappearing in a shimmering haze.

Just as Zara straightened, a figure lunged at her from the corner of her vision. She barely had time to react. The man’s weight slammed into her, knocking her backwards against the car. His breath reeked of sweat and rot as he sneered.

"The fuck was that? Where did the kid go?"

Zara nearly blacked out from the panic rushing through her. This felt too similar to what had happened a few days ago. Not to mention he had seen Leo use his space!

Her hands groped for anything—a rock, a shard of metal—until her fingers closed around a heavy wrench lying nearby. Without thinking, she swung it upward with all her strength.

The impact was sickening. The man staggered back, clutching his head, blood dripping between his fingers. Zara didn’t give him a chance to recover. She swung again, a guttural cry escaping her lips as she struck him down.

Her chest heaved as she backed away, her eyes wide and wild. Winter’s voice cut through the haze. "Zara!"

She turned to see him rushing towards her, the last of the scavengers, running on a different direction. The road was littered with bodies, but there was no time to process the carnage.

A low, haunting groan drifted through the air, followed by the telltale shuffle of feet.

Winter’s face darkened. "Move. Horde."

The groans grew louder, more numerous, as the undead closed in. Winter sprinted to Zara’s side, his rifle slung over his shoulder. "Grab Leo. We need to move. Now."

Zara crouched beside the car, pretending to reach for Leo. "Baby, come out. We’re leaving."

The boy crawled out of the space, his face pale as he looked around. Zara scooped him into her arms, and they took off, following Winter further up the highway.

The horde’s noise faded as they pushed forward, but the silence that replaced it was no less unsettling.

When they reached the collapsed overpass, Winter cursed under his breath.

"No way over," he muttered. "We detour."

The twisted metal and concrete blocked their path completely, leaving them no choice but to detour into the overgrown neighbourhood beyond.

"This way," he said, his tone clipped.

The houses were dark and crumbling, their windows shattered and their doors hanging from rusted hinges. Winter’s pace slowed, his eyes darting to every corner. "Stay behind me," he ordered. Zara pressed Leo’s face against her shoulder, trying to shield him from the eerie sights—frozen half-eaten corpses, shattered windows, and bloodied handprints on walls.

They came upon a barricaded house at the end of the street. The windows were boarded up, and the door was reinforced with scrap metal. Winter hesitated, his hand hovering near his weapon.

"Might be occupied," he murmured. "Or worse."

"We don’t have a choice," Zara said. Leo shivered in her arms, his face flushed.

Winter nodded grimly. With a few forceful kicks, he broke through the door, his rifle raised as he scanned the interior.

The house was empty, but it bore the scars of desperation. Furniture lay overturned, cupboards hung open, their contents strewn across the floor.

"It’ll do," Winter said finally, lowering his weapon. "You both stay here while I check things out."

He motioned them inside and closed the door behind them.

Zara settled Leo onto a dusty couch, her hands trembling as she brushed his damp hair from his forehead. "You’re burning up," she whispered.

Leo blinked up at her, his voice small. "Is that the uncle from before?"

Zara froze for a moment, then hummed softly, surprised he remembered winter. "Don’t worry about that right now, sweetheart. Are you thirsty?"

He nodded, and she pulled a bottle of water from her backpack, pressing it into his hands.

Zara glanced at Winter, who was rifling through cabinets in the dark, probably the kitchen. It felt weird travelling with him again. His words from that day made her chest squeeze, but not in an unpleasant way.

"Mommy," She looked down at Leo holding the bottle, "M’hungry."

"Ok baby, let’s find you something to eat," She forced a smile as she smoothed Leo’s hair. What nonsense was she thinking about?

Winter returned from his search, carrying a small stash of supplies: a can of soup, a roll of bandages, and a half-empty bottle of antibiotics.

"Found these hidden in a crawlspace," he said, dropping the items onto the table.

Zara stared at him, surprised. "How did you—"

"Just a habit," Winter interrupted, his expression unreadable. "You learn to look in the places others don’t."

Zara remembered him mentioning something like that once when they were still travelling together.

*****

As night fell, they lit a small lantern, its faint glow casting long shadows across the room. For a moment, there was an illusion of peace, of safety.

They had dinner quietly, not making too many small talk. It wasn’t like Zara knew what to say, and Winter wasn’t one for small talk anyway.

Leo had fallen asleep before Zara could get a proper feel for him and she didn’t want to bother him.

Zara wondered if they would rest tomorrow as well or continue moving when Winter suddenly stiffened, his head snapping toward the window.

"What is it?" Zara asked, her heart leaping into her throat.

"Movement," he whispered, snuffing out the lantern quickly. "Stay quiet."

Peeking through a gap in the barricade, Winter’s jaw clenched. A group of armed scavengers was moving quietly through the neighbourhood, their flashlights slicing through the darkness.

"They’re searching every house," he murmured. "They’ve been tracking us."

Zara’s breath hitched as she glanced at Leo. The boy had fallen asleep, his face pale and glistening with sweat.

"We can’t stay here," Winter said, his voice urgent. He motioned for her to follow him down the hall and out through the back door. Zara’s grip on Leo tightened as they moved toward the back of the house, fear clawing at her chest.

As they prepared to slip away into the night, the sound of guttural growls froze them in place. Winter motioned sharply for silence, his expression unreadable.

"This isn’t just a passing horde," he whispered, his voice low and tense. "Stay quiet. Stay close."

The growls grew louder, and the air seemed to thicken with menace. Even the scavengers had stopped shouting, their voices low as they tried to pinpoint the location of the noise.

These words made Zara think back to the claw marks they had seen on the road.

Were these the creatures that caused that?

How many were there?

Would they be able to take them on this night?