Valentine

I volunteered for last guard shift that night, so I could get solid sleep the hours before, and be ready to go at dawn. Camilla and I took the couches in the den, while most of the injured were moved to the bedrooms upstairs. For as bad as the house looked from the outside, the interior wasn’t in terrible shape. Camilla wondered if they had boarded the place up to keep the Immolator inside, and I had to admit it wasn’t the worst theory, especially considering the lack of supplies left behind.

The couches were comfortable, but the fatigue I would usually feel after a day like this wasn’t coming. I was worried, maybe a little scared. I liked to play the reckless badass, but I’d always had someone at my back. The crew we had now formed in the first months of the apocalypse, minus a few later additions over time, and leaving them behind felt wrong, like I was betraying family. Uncle Sean had promised our father he’d look out for us, but we had silently vowed to look out for him too, and now we were leaving him behind.

I sighed and rolled to my side, frustrated by my own thoughts keeping me awake. But my own thoughts I could handle. It’s when the whispers began that things got more complicated.

‘Valentine.’

I sat up straight, startling Camilla awake.

“What is it?” she asked, but I was already getting up.

“Tell Mama to come inside,” I instructed her. “I’ll alert front guard.”

Camilla’s eyes went wide and she was up just as fast.

“Corruptor?” she guessed, and I nodded.

“Nearby,” I replied. “But not here yet. Hurry.”

‘Valentine. Come to us.’

I quickly and quietly made my way through the den and into the blood-splattered foyer, and gently opened the front door.

“Come inside,” I whispered to Big Greg, who jumped a little at my voice. One of his arms was in a sling, but he insisted he could still be on lookout with his pistol.

“What is it?” he asked, struggling into a standing position.

“Corruptor,” I told him, and he nodded gravely. “We’ll need to guard from inside tonight.”

“Hopefully it passes through before you leave,” he said as we locked the door and dragged a few chairs in front of it just in case. “No one else can hear them coming.”

“I know. I’ll listen out.”

“You need sleep.”

“I won’t be able to sleep with it here anyway.” I twisted one of my french braids nervously and glanced toward the front door. “You’ll make sure I don’t try to leave?”

“You haven’t before,” he reassured, “but yes.”

I nodded, looked one last time toward the door, and headed back to the den.

“Night, Greg,” I called back softly.

Camilla was returning to the den at the same time I was, and I saw her eyeing me closely as we both lay back down.

“You okay?” she asked.

‘Valentine, we’re waiting.’

“Yeah, of course.”

‘Valentine Scott, open up.’

“Is it here?”

“Almost.” My head began pounding, and my stomach threatened to overturn. Ever since I had survived being caught by a Corruptor, a particularly dangerous demon that takes over your mind and turns you into one of them, I could hear them coming. Sometimes other types of demons too. It was like a chip was planted in my mind, opening some sort of frequency to the damned, and I had no way of removing it.

“Just breathe,” Camilla reminded me, and I felt her hand on mine.

“Thanks.” I squeezed her hand back as the whispers grew louder.

‘Valentine, Valentine, Valentine.’

It was here, probably at the door, but it wouldn’t knock. They didn’t work like other demons. You could see them, but not hear them until they already had you, and they didn’t attack you physically.

‘Hurry, Valentine. It’s time.’

They also fortunately didn’t stick around. Corruptors constantly moved through the shadows, searching for someone to latch onto and drive to madness. They didn’t waste time going after large groups or fighting, which made them all the more terrifying. That, and they looked almost humanoid, keeping many of the traits of the people they once were.

‘Valentine…’

The whisper was softer this time, and my nausea was beginning to recede.

“It’s leaving,” I whispered. Camilla squeezed my hand, and I let out a long breath I’d been holding.

‘Next time.’

And it was gone.

Exhaustion overtook me, and I curled up on my side under my travel blanket.

“Good job, sis,” I heard Camilla say, just before I drifted into unconsciousness.