Hot blood squirts into her mouth. A gurgling cry comes from the man’s chest and the reaction is immediate. He shoves away from her, and she feels his flesh tear from her mouth. The gap between them widens enough for her to launch a kick at his groin. The muffled, mewling sound he makes as he tips to one side lets her know she found her mark. Then she’s on her feet and running, hoisting her pants back above her hips. She flies up the rockfall, not looking back to see if Reg is pursuing her, only moving, running from the feeling of his body on top of hers. Her mind attempts to rip itself from its moorings, to hide away behind a sudden memory of Lee’s fingers sliding over her hand, but she flings it away, bringing herself back to the present. A branch snaps behind her, close, and her bladder threatens to release itself. She can hear his breathing now, ragged and hoarse. She won’t be able to outrun him. Zoey catches a glimpse of a barren pine to her right a dozen paces ahead. Its branches are different from the other trees, and it takes her a split second to realize it’s dead.
