The kiss wasn't very long, but it was enough to make me forget what I was thinking about.

And it would have been longer if we hadn't been interrupted by a drunken Carson barging through us on his way to the bathroom. In my bewilderment, I heard him throwing up, but even that wasn't enough to wipe the smile from my face.

Lowell glanced in Carson's direction and then back at me. The moment he caught my eye, we both burst out laughing. "Well," he said. "That's romantic."

It was then that I made up my mind to not let Blaine get anywhere near him or his friends, no matter what the consequences. "Let's head back," I said, suddenly eager to stop any attempt at a night hike.

"Already?" Lowell protested, grabbing my hand.

"We'll walk slowly," I promised and he grinned. The dim light of the lamp outside the ablutions block highlighted his delicate cheekbones.

We spoke quietly as we walked and Lowell never let go of my hand. When we arrived back at the campfire, we found it burned down to glowing embers. The others were nowhere to be seen.

"We have to find them," I said, turning to Lowell. I felt like I should have been in a panic, but my feelings were dulled.

He just smiled. "They've probably just wandered off. Ren and Eliza have both been here before. They'll be fine." He sat down.

I shook my head. "No. No, they won't." I peered into th bushes in the direction of the path and caught sight of flashlight glinting through the trees. "They aren't far away."

Lowell was frowning at me. "They can take care of themselves. They've been in far more dangerous situations."

"But were they drunk?"

"Oh yes," he laughed.

I was torn between leaving him behind and taking him with me. Maybe it would be best if he took the minivan and drove away. No, that would deprive us of a quick escape.

"What are you doing?" he asked when I found a case of cutlery and began searching through it.

I picked up the largest knife I could find - a serrated steak knife - and stood up. Lowell's eyes widened. "What's going on?" He stood up too, not taking his eyes off the knife.

"I don't have time to explain," I said. "I made a mistake and now I'm going to fix it." My motivation had been draining away, but now that I held a knife in my hand, I was filled with energy. It felt familiar and as I stared at Lowell, I became aware of the fact that he was so very alive. And I had the power to change that.

I shook my head and gripped the knife even tighter to calm myself. "I have reason to believe that someone is going to... attack us tonight." I swallowed. "And no, that someone isn't me."

"Are you crazy? This is a safe place. It's a nature reserve, for goodness' sake! Why would anyone want to attack a group of teenagers at a campsite?" He held out a hand to me. "Just give me the knife. We'll go inside the tent. You'll feel safer in there."

"No. I can't explain right now, so you just have to trust me. If something happens, you'll thank me. If nothing happens, I give you permission to tease me about it for all eternity. Agreed?"

Before he could reply, I heard a scream. The sound of terror sent ripples of pleasure through me, courtesy of the brain I'd eaten. I glanced pointedly at Lowell. "See?"

He nodded once and we set off in the direction of the sound. The screams became more panicked and I could hear Ren swearing, followed by a howl of pain.

I leapt over roots and stones, slipping a few times on fallen leaves. Lowell crashed through the brush behind me and when I glanced back, I saw that he was holding a thick branch.

I felt a sharp sting engulf the right half of my face. A branch that I hadn't seen in the dark had slashed me across the cheek and I could feel hot blood springing from the cut almost immediately. My vision blurred and I blinked furiously. I slowed down to try and get my heart rate back to normal, but it was already too late.

I shot forward with a burst of speed and immediately collided with a heavy figure. I knocked him over easily and we both tumbled to the ground. I no longer felt any pain, just a wild energy that told me to kill.

I sunk the knife into the shoulder of the figure and he growled. When he rose, I toppled off him, but didn't let go of the knife and dragged it through the flesh of his shoulder. His face came into view, his red eyes angry.

Somewhere, a part of me recognised him as Julian Dupont. I went at him again with the knife, but this time he was prepared. He whacked my oncoming hand away with a force that almost dislocated my shoulder.

I ducked just in time to avoid his gigantic fist and then stabbed upwards, making a deep gash in his forearm. He growled again and threw himself at me. I leapt out of the way and tripped over a figure lying on the ground. That figure screamed and crawled out from under me. I was about to bury my knife in that figure too, but Julian grabbed my foot before I could lift the knife.

I swung my arms around, slashing through denim and skin with knife and nails. I reached upwards to slice away at the hand holding me up in the air by my foot, but before I could get there, another force hit Julian from the side and we both tumbled to the ground yet again.

I scrambled to my feet, slashing away at dirt like the knife had become an extension of my arm. I saw a blurred figure hitting Julian in the head with a branch, over and over again at a superhuman speed.

Julian swatted at the figure and knocked him away. Before the large zombie could get up, I was on top of him and had buried my knife in his throat, all the way to the hilt. When he finally stopped struggling, I rolled off him.

I could feel my full-on zombie mode draining away, but my jaw was still tensed, mid-growl, when I looked up to see the tall figure silhouetted against the starry sky.

He stumbled towards me and I crawled backwards. Was he another one of Blaine's lackeys? If he was, then why would he beat the pulp out of Julian? My hand landed on a flashlight and I shone it onto the figure's face.

It was Lowell, his eyes a deep red and his face splattered with blood.