They ran until their legs hurt.
Phileo tripped and fell to one knee. Blood ran from his nose and dropped onto the ground. His head felt like it was splitting open.
Mara grabbed him. "Get up."
A sound came from behind them.
Not footsteps.
Something dragging.
Phileo turned.
A Listener crawled out of the alley door.
Its legs were crushed. Bone stuck out. Its back was bent wrong. It pulled itself forward with its arms. Fingers scraped the ground. Some snapped off.
It did not scream.
It moved faster.
Ben fired.
The bullet ripped through its shoulder. Flesh tore open. Black blood sprayed the wall.
The Listener kept coming.
"Head," Phileo said. "Hit the head."
Mara stepped forward and stabbed down.
The blade went into the skull with a dull crack. The head split. Thick gray matter spilled out. The body shook. Hands twitched.
Then it stopped.
No one spoke.
Jax was gone.
Calder was gone.
Only four were left.
A scream came from nearby.
Human.
Then gunfire.
Then wet tearing sounds.
Phileo swallowed hard. "They're pushing people together."
Mara looked at him. "What?"
"They use noise," he said. "They drive people into it."
Something slammed into a dumpster.
Another infected came out.
This one was swollen. Its stomach was ripped open. Guts dragged on the ground as it ran. Pieces fell off with every step.
It tripped.
It kept crawling.
Through its own organs.
Mara turned away and gagged.
Ben raised his gun.
"No," Phileo said fast. "Too loud."
Phileo grabbed a brick and threw it far away.
The infected turned at once and crawled toward the sound. Blood smeared the ground behind it.
Phileo looked at his hands.
They were red.
He didn't remember touching anyone.
A deep sound rose in the distance.
Many voices.
Too many.
"They're coming," Ben said.
Mara looked at Phileo. Her eyes shook. "You feel them, don't you?"
Phileo nodded. "Yes."
"They're moving for us."
Ben stepped back. His gun shook. "Then we split."
Mara turned on him. "No."
"They follow him," Ben said. "Even when he's quiet."
"That's not his fault," Mara yelled.
Ben didn't answer.
Metal bent behind them.
The yard gate shook.
Bodies hit it over and over. Arms broke. Heads cracked. Still moving.
Phileo felt it again.
A pull.
Not toward his friends.
Away from them.
"They want me," he said. "Not you."
The gate tore open.
Infected fell through. Some missing jaws. Some with broken necks. All still moving.
Ben looked at Phileo.
"Run," he said.
Mara screamed his name.
Phileo stood still.
The infected rushed in.
Blood hit the ground.
Screams filled the air.
And everything broke.