Tyler pulled back and seemed to look at us for the first time. “What happened?”
“Why does everyone keep asking that?” Hendrix complained. “It should be obvious what happened.”
“You… had a Zumba class that took a violent turn?” Tyler asked.
“We kicked Zombie ass.” Hendrix declared proudly.
“But after that, was the Zumba,” I filled in the blanks.
“Obviously.” Tyler smacked my ass.
I shook my head at her. “I can’t believe you were just going to leave. You really thought you could walk all the way to Arkansas?”
“Oh, no!” Tyler looked around a bit panicked. “No, I arranged for a ride…”
“A ride?” I squinted and convinced my brain to start thinking again. “A ride? A ride! Kane. You got Kane to come pick you up!”
She bit her bottom lip and tears overflowed her eyes again. “I just wanted to talk to Miller. I had to make sure he could make it.”
My stomach dropped to my toes. “You told Kane you would go back with him, didn’t you?”
Her teeth dug into her bottom lip and she nodded.
“This goddamn night will not end,” Vaughan snarled. “When did you see him? And where?”
“At the compound,” she whispered. “Last week. I caught him near our room.”
“And you didn’t tell us?” Hendrix bellowed into the night.
She didn’t answer. She just stared up at us with an apologetic expression. I put my arm on Hendrix’s bicep, afraid that he would strangle her.
In the charged moment when I wasn’t sure if Tyler would live through the night or not after all, we heard the oncoming car. With so much silence in this world, it was easy to hear the foreign sounds of a motor running. And it was coming fast. Kane would be here soon and see us sooner if we didn’t get our asses moving.
“We have to move!” I hissed at them.
Vaughan shot Tyler a murderous look but ushered her towards a small crop of trees with thick bushes off the highway a bit. Hendrix didn’t follow and I wondered what he was doing until I looked up and saw him watching the road with scary intensity.
I realized immediately what he wanted to do.
“Now, is not the time,” I told him. He didn’t even acknowledge me. “Hendrix, how many weapons do you have on you right now?”
That caught his attention. “I don’t need weapons. I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”
“He won’t be alone. And he will be armed.” I tugged on his hand, hoping he would think past his absolute hatred for Kane. “Tyler has more guns with her. Let’s go hide with them and get armed. If Kane finds us, you have my permission to destroy him. But let’s be smart about this. If he… if he ever hurt you, I couldn’t survive that.”
Finally, he looked down at me and cupped my face in his hands. “You make the most sense when you have head trauma.”
“Please come with me. Please stay by me.”
He bent down and kissed me quickly on the lips. “This time,” he agreed.
We ran after Vaughan and Tyler and jumped into the dark shadows of the trees as a black Suburban came around a bend in the road. It flew past us for a ways before slamming to a stop and reversing back up the highway. When the vehicle stopped again, it was parallel with us. I sucked in a steadying breath and let Vaughan pass me a gun from Tyler’s stolen stash.
I checked out the weapon as silently as I could, made sure the safety was on but the clip was loaded and tucked into the back of my pants. I had a Glock in hand and would use that one first.
All four doors to the mammoth SUV opened and Kane stepped around the hood with an AK in hand. He swung the barrel into the surrounding area and surveyed every inch and foot of the world around him. His goons were quick to join him and carried similarly heavy artillery.
We all held our breath, equally armed. Kane’s eyes seemed to penetrate the darkness as he took in every tree and bush with a measured, calculating gaze. A chill skittered down my spine and the exhaustion was gone again.
The human body was such an incredible thing. Adrenaline overdosing, concussions, full-body and bone exhaustion… and still I could be ready for a fight.
In fact, the only thing the human body didn’t seem capable of was not succumbing to a Feeder bite.
I might sleep for the next four days if we got out of this one alive, but that wasn’t the point.
“Tyler!” Kane shouted at the night. “Don’t back out on me now! Miller needs you, Ty!”
Tyler’s breath caught in her chest loud enough for all of us to hear. Vaughan immediately grabbed her and pulled her into his chest. Her gun fell forgotten at her side while she buried her face in his neck and clung to him.
“Tell me again that you’ll help me, Vaughan,” she demanded in a voice that made me tense with fear that Kane would hear her. “Swear it to me.”
“I swear it,” Vaughan promised immediately. “We’ll go tomorrow. I swear that I’ll help you get Miller back. Please stay with me, Ty. Please trust me.” Apparently he had forgiven her for not telling us about Kane sooner.
He was definitely a goner with this girl.
She nodded frantically against him and sniffled. “I trust you.”
“Tyler!” Kane shouted furiously. “I drove all the way over here! Don’t tell me you’re chickening out on me now!”
We watched from our hiding place while Kane continued to scan the area. He took a few steps our direction as if he really could see through the darkness. I held my breath and let my finger rest over the safety. It wasn’t like pulling a trigger wasn’t some work, but I didn’t want to jump at some random noise and shoot myself in the foot. That was how people became Zombies- stupid mistakes that would eventually kill them one way or the other.
“Tyler,” Kane sing-songed. “Tyler…” His deep baritone voice carried into the trees around us and rustled the leaves. His words pulled goose bumps from my arms and his familiar voice wrapped around my skin with a deathly chill.
Okay, more likely it was the wind doing all those things. But if I could blame Kane for something, I was going to.
“I’m trying to help you, Little Sister. Why are you running now?”
He took four more steps our direction and I knew he was going to spot us. I could feel his cutting gaze rest on me and look straight into my eyes. I could feel his body become aware of my presence as if there were this invisible rope binding us together.
His expression hardened and his gun lifted a bit higher. His tall frame stood out from everything around him; he looked dangerous and deadly beneath the moonlight. His dark hair tossed in the wind and his glasses hid the dark truth in his eyes. He had the kind of body that was obviously powerful; even fully dressed the wind pressed his clothes against his muscled body and you could stare at him and instinctively know that every, single inch of him was made of virile strength.
I thought he would keep coming at us, that he would open fire on our crowded hiding place and lay waste to every last one of us. But suddenly his shoulders relaxed and he took one step back.
I didn’t know what made him change his mind, when he so clearly thought he saw something, but I didn’t really care.
“Kane!” One of his henchmen called out. “If you don’t want your dad to find out about this, we have to go now.”
Kane glanced around the forest that sprawled out in front of him and nodded at nothing. He walked backwards all the way to the Suburban, never once turning his back on us.
“I thought she wanted to come back,” I heard one of the goons say as Kane started to step into the driver’s seat.
“She did,” he answered. “Someone talked her out of it.”
“Waste of our time,” the other guy grumbled.
Just as the door started to close, I could have sworn I heard Kane say, “Not entirely.”
But that couldn’t be right.
That had to be my imagination.
He couldn’t see me through all these branches and
leaves. And we had been absolutely still and quiet the entire time. Nothing had given us away.
The Suburban punched into drive and sped off toward the Colony. We all shared a confused look but Vaughan motioned for us to stay put, so we did.
About ten minutes later, the Suburban reappeared flying down the highway back toward the Colony. We waited another ten minutes before we dragged ourselves from hiding and headed home for the second time tonight.
“Do you think Kane tried to catch up with you?” I asked Tyler quietly as we walked side by side down the middle of the highway.
“No,” she answered. “He knew if I wanted to go, I would have been there. It sounded like he figured out what happened.”
“Then where did they go?”
Tyler shrugged, but Hendrix slipped his hand into mine and tugged me to his side. “Exactly where I would go if I were Kane.”
“And where’s that?”
“To see if I could catch a glimpse of you.”
Hendrix’s words spooked me. An uneasy feeling slithered in my stomach and the hairs on the back of my neck raised. I knew he was right. And it made total sense in the world of Kane. Stalking, following, watching… all of those things were Kane’s idea of fun.
Hendrix’s comment put a stop on all other conversation and we walked back to the compound silently. He kept my hand in his and it was almost relaxing.
No Zombies tried to attack this time. There was no gunfire. We didn’t have to shoot or kill anything. We walked quietly with the cool autumn breeze blowing gently on our faces and the moon shining in a lightening sky.
Even though we had fought one of the most gruesome battles of my short experience during a Zombie Apocalypse, even though we’d had to rescue our dear friend from a suicide mission and were forced to hide while armed men looked for us… this felt kind of nice.
Almost like a double date.
“You’re smiling,” Hendrix pointed out as we came into view of the compound gate.
I looked up at him, realizing he was right. “I’m concussed.”
He grinned at me. “You are concussed.”
“We’re going to have to climb this thing,” Vaughan groaned. “I didn’t bring the key. Or tell anyone we were leaving.”
We sighed equal notes of exhaustion but got into line. Tyler went over first, then her backpack. I convinced Vaughan to go next so he could catch me. If I made it to the top of the wall, there was no guarantee I could land gracefully or injury-free.
The events of the night were finally settling on me permanently. I was pretty sure an entire army of Feeders could appear behind me and I would still pass out on the ground in front of them. Plus, I was tired of fighting and killing. The brutality I was capable of had taken its toll tonight and all I wanted to do was go to sleep and forget for a few hours that I was a hardened killer that would take any life that threatened my own.
That was only possible if I didn’t dream. But I thought maybe I was injured enough and tired enough to slip into a coma. I had high hopes for that coma.
“Are you going to make it over the fence?” Hendrix asked with obvious tones of amusement in his voice.
I shook my head and yawned. “No,” I said. “I’m too sleepy.”
“Come on, Reagan.” His voice was that low rumble that heated my insides and made my belly flip with anticipation. “All you need is a little incentive.”
“Like a prize?” I asked sleepily.
“Mmm,” he confirmed.
“What is it?”
“I’ll tell you on the other side of the fence.”
“How do I know I want the prize?” I demanded stubbornly.
His lips made a trail from my earlobe to the hollow of my throat. “I promise you’ll want the prize.”
“I’m starting to believe you, but I need more details. When do I get this prize?”
He stood up and started to herd me where the gate met the stone wall. It was tricky footing, but if you’d practiced as much as we had, for some odd training or demonstration, you could get your feet to go where they were needed to.
“I’ll give it to you as soon as we’re both on the other side of this wall. And after you’ve had a bath. And brushed your teeth. And changed your clothes.”
I moaned. “God, I love it when you talk personal hygiene.”
“Up you go!”
He grabbed my butt with two hands and basically lifted me up halfway. I scrambled to grab hold of something while laughing at him. He reached as high as he could to push me all the way to the top of the wall. I slid up on my belly and started to turn my body around so I could drop to my feet on the other side. I looked down at him first though and we shared an intimate smile.
Nothing was right in this stupid world. Everything seemed wrong and too hard for it to be worth it.
Except this man and this feeling of warmth, security and belonging he gave me every second of every day. It wasn’t always the fast butterfly flutters that were so intense when we were first together. Sometimes it was the slow build that was love growing and expanding inside my soul until it reached the top of my head, the tips of my fingers and the tops of my toes. Then it would stretch beyond even me to the metaphysical places I couldn’t even describe.
And it all came back to Hendrix.
I loved him beyond myself. And I felt loved completely, absolutely and so profoundly that I could be grateful for a world in which we were forced to find each other.
Even the easy life before the infection wouldn’t have held half the fullness that this one did with this man.
“Wait for me,” Hendrix said.
I nodded and went to drop down.
But it was right as I lifted my body up and slid my waist so that it teetered on the sharp edge of the wall that I saw it. The silver glint of a gun barrel across the highway.
My breath caught and my blood boiled. It was just a glimpse in the yellow light of the moon, mingled in the brush and then it was gone.
But I could have sworn…
Hendrix popped up into my face and pushed his body to the top of the wall. He slid over and dropped down before I could even comprehend his ability to scale walls so gracefully.
I felt his hands pat my calves and I knew he asked me a question, but I was still looking for the gun. I was still searching out the person who could be lurking across the highway.
“Reagan!” Hendrix called. “I’ve got you. Don’t be afraid.”
“Don’t be afraid,” I mumbled as if in a daze.
Maybe it was the concussion. Instinct screamed Kane, but my instincts were always wrong with him. And if it had been Kane… he’d had a perfect shot at Hendrix’s back. He hadn’t taken the shot so he must not be there.
It must be my freaked-out, exhausted, traumatized imagination.
Hendrix wrapped his hands around my legs and helped lower me to the ground painlessly. We followed Vaughan and Tyler inside and waited for Vaughan to lock the door.
An hour later, I was scrubbed clean and my head had been wrapped and medicated. My nails had been taken care of and I had changed into fresh clothes. I pushed all thoughts of earlier tonight out of my head and snuggled with Hendrix on my mattress. Haley and Nelson had waited up while we were gone and after we’d explained the entire evening to them, they had taken Page down for breakfast while we tried to get some sleep.
Tyler had wandered off too, claiming that she wasn’t tired.
I didn’t believe her, but I appreciated that she was giving us space.
Hendrix faced me with his arm beneath my head, acting as a pillow. I breathed into his chest and let my fingers trace sleepily up and down his side. He shivered every once in a while when my light touch tickled too much for him to ignore.
His own fingers played with my damp hair and with his other hand he made feather-light circles on my lower back. Our legs were tangled together and my bare foot rubbed up and down his naked calf.
We didn’t usually dress so casually, even for bed. But I had in
sisted that we have a few moments of normalcy. I argued that we were on the third floor and that if Feeders attacked they would surely start on the ground level. And everyone was awake but us.
Also, after the night we suffered through, I desperately needed some normalcy. And bare feet and sleep shorts were as normal as I could get these days.
Hendrix’s stomach rumbled so violently that I actually felt the vibrations on my own stomach.
“You should go get some breakfast,” I told him rather magnanimously. I didn’t want him to leave this bed. In fact, my entire body wanted to wrap as much of myself around him as I could and never let go. I acted tough in the thick of our battles. And I could pull off almost heartless killings without any hesitation. But I hated it all. Night’s like tonight shook me up and I desperately needed something solid to hold onto.
“Nothing could make me leave this bed, Reagan,” Hendrix echoed my thoughts. “I’m too damn comfortable to ever think about getting up again.”
I kissed his chest and snuggled in closer. “Good.”
“Good? You were kicking me out not three seconds ago.”
“I was trying not to be selfish.”
He kissed my bandaged forehead and leaned over so he could kiss my scraped temple and cheek. “Always be selfish with me, Reagan.”
I smiled and inhaled the perfect, intoxicating scent that was Hendrix freshly bathed. I slid my hand under his t-shirt and wrapped my arm all the way around his toasty waist. He adjusted for my movements and held me so tightly against him it was almost a struggle to breathe.
And I loved every second.
“Your brother asked me to take care of your siblings if something happens to you two,” I whispered.
“I know. He told me.”
“Do you think I could handle that? Do you really think they would listen to me?”
He laughed gently at my insecurity. “Reagan, you already take care of them. They already listen to you. They love you almost as much as I do.”
Tears wet my lashes but I refused to let them spill over. “Don’t let that happen, though. Don’t let me have to go through the rest of this world without you.”