Clare did the only thing she could think of. She smashed her palm into the steering wheel. The horn blared.
They all jumped, including Dorran. He gripped the edge of the motor, his head down. The hollow released a pained screech and stepped back as its eyes twisted to stare about itself.
They hate loud noises. Clare leaned on the horn again, grimacing, and watched as the tightening circle of hollows widened. The ones that had pressed against the car’s windows retreated to the shadows at the forest’s edge. The one with blood frothing at its mouth stumbled back.
Dorran brought both hands back to the engine. Clare kept on the horn, trying to hold the creatures back for him. Some disappeared entirely between the trees. Others began circling, holding their distance, their distorted faces pinched with frustration.
The nearest ones began creeping forward again. Clare’s heart dropped. Their hunger was winning over their repulsion.
Dorran’s head appeared above the engine, and he waved. She twisted the key. The engine turned over, spluttered, then died again. Clare tried the key again, holding it, desperate. It wouldn’t catch.
No, no, no, come on.
Dorran grabbed a fresh tool off the sheet beside the car. The closest hollow was nearly at his side again. Clare hit the horn. The creature barely flinched.
Metal thudded above her, and she looked up. Feet slapped over the roof, tracing a path above her head, creeping closer to the engine. She felt sick.
Dorran had twisted his body to hide his face from the monster looming over him, but it was no longer staring at his mask. Its eyes had fixed on his wrist, twitching as they followed every movement. Clare’s heart turned cold. They had rushed through their routine that morning, and he hadn’t tied his jacket sleeves in place. It had ridden up, and a sliver of flesh was visible above the glove.
“Dorran!” she screamed.
The hollow lunged. Teeth fastened over the exposed skin. Dorran cried out and pulled back, one hand pressed against the hollow’s face, trying to force it off, trying to pry its teeth free. It clung on.
Clare wrenched her door open, and the metal hit a hollow that was trying to lunge past. Before she could step out, Dorran yelled, his voice full of pain and urgency, “The motor!”
Help him, one half of her mind screamed. Trust him, said the other. She had one leg out of the car as she reached back inside and turned the key.
The engine roared into life. The headlights burst on, bathing Dorran and the hollow in a harsh glow. The creature released its grip on him, screaming, and staggered back. Blood glistened over its jaws.
More were coming, attracted by the commotion and the smell of blood. Dorran snatched up the axe and swung. It impacted a hollow’s skull, sticking there as the creature screamed at him. Another latched on to his back, pulling him off-balance.
Door still open, Clare put the car into reverse and hit the accelerator. The car was trapped on the side of the road, facing the tree it had hit, balanced precariously. The wheels skidded in the mud, seeking but unable to find traction, and Clare felt a stab of panic. Then Dorran threw his weight into the bumper, shoving the car back, and the wheels caught. Clare gasped as the car dropped onto the road. Her chin hit the wheel, and she tasted blood.
The car jolted as she reversed over a hollow. She slammed on the brakes, switched to drive, and twisted the wheel as she powered forward.
Two creatures disappeared beneath her front wheels. The one on the roof scrabbled as it tried to keep its perch. Clare hit the brakes again, stopping right beside Dorran. He grappled with a hollow, fighting to keep its grasping fingers away from his head.
Clare leaned across the passenger seat to throw open the door. “Get in!”
Dorran fell back, hitting the car’s side, and lifted a foot to kick the hollow. His boot impacted with its skull, splitting the bones. Its jaw rolled free as it screeched at him. Clare reached through the open door, wrapped her arms around Dorran, then pulled him back. He fell inside, half in the passenger seat, half in her lap.
She didn’t wait for him to right himself or even try to close the door. She just pressed her weight into the accelerator, throwing them both back. The car shuddered as it hit the screaming, scuttling creatures blocking its path. Clare’s heart missed a beat as she thought the car might become stuck on them. But her beloved hatchback powered on, tumbling over them as though it had been born for it, and then, before Clare could even draw breath, they were on clear road, monsters fading in her rearview mirror.
Chapter Twenty
Clare choked as she tried to breathe. She squeezed the wheel so tightly that she was afraid she might break it as the car rocketed down the Banksy Forest road. She was sliding onto the other lane, and as she corrected it, the passenger door slammed closed.
She glanced at her mirrors. The car’s taillights washed a sheen of red over the road. The hollows were scuttling after them, heads bobbing, limbs twisting, but they disappeared from view within seconds.
Dorran was tangled in the passenger seat, his arm braced on the cup holders, his long legs against the door. He reached up and wrenched off the mask. His face was sheet white and wet with sweat. “We did it.” He sounded surprised at himself.
“We did.” Clare hated how badly her voice shook. She let the car slow until it was only coasting, then she pulled off her own mask. They shared an unsteady smile, then Clare pressed her sleeve across her eyes to clear the moisture off them. “You were amazing.”
“And you were clever to think of the horn. Thank you.” Slowly, he adjusted himself, sitting up in the seat. Bright blood glistened over his glove and sleeve.
Clare’s smile vanished. “Your hand—”
“It’s not bad.” He wrestled out of his outer jacket, wrapped it around the cuts, then pressed on it to stem the flow. If any colour had remained in his face, he lost it then, eyes closed and a muscle in his jaw twitching.
They came to a halt, engine still purring, as Clare turned to dig through the backseat. Her unsteady hands fumbled the items as she sorted through them. “Hang on, we have the first aid kit. I can—”
“I will take care of this.” His voice was surprisingly calm. “Please, for a moment, could we keep driving? I want to be out of this forest.”
Clare found the first aid kit. She didn’t trust herself to speak, but placed it at Dorran’s side, then turned back to the road. The car’s headlights glowed across the trees and the still-wet asphalt. In between the sparkling drops of water were several pairs of eyes. She swallowed and pressed on the accelerator.
Dorran leaned back in the seat, eyes closed and fabric wrapped tightly around his arm. It had to be hurting him, but his face was calm.
Clare kept her speed steady. She wanted to be out of the smothering trees, but she also knew she needed to be careful. Another crash, or even becoming caught in a pothole or snagged on a fallen branch, could be fatal. Especially as the distance between them and Winterbourne, their only safe haven, grew.
As far as Clare could tell, they were the first people to drive along the road since the world had collapsed. The endless storms and melting snows had left debris. Clare drove over the smaller branches carefully. Several larger branches lay to the side of the road, and she coaxed the car around them. Twice, streams of water flowed over their path. Water sprayed in graceful arcs outside their windows, but the car held together.