Sanctuary's Aggression Box Set

by Maira Dawn

  When Skye opened her mouth, Dylan repeated, his voice stern, “Later.”

  “Okay.” Skye lowered her head and rolled her eyes. He hadn’t even known what she was going to say.

  Jesse didn’t give up though. "Oh, come on, that’s not fair! I just wanna see!"

  “Not this time, buddy,” Dylan said. “I’ll blow somethin else up for you."

  "Come on, Jesse," Wade said, "Let's go back to the pickup now."

  Dylan let the boy loose so he could follow Wade, and chuckled as Jesse jabbered a long list of everything he would like to blow up someday.

  Once Jesse was out of earshot, Skye sent a questioning glance to Dylan. When he didn’t respond other than a shake of his head, she jabbed him in the arm.

  He rubbed the spot. “I hate being poked.”

  “So I heard. I hate being treated like a child.”

  Dylan snorted. “Okay. That’s fair.” He glanced up at Jesse and lowered his voice. “It was Frankie.”

  Skye stopped and placed a hand on her chest. “Are you kidding me?”

  Dylan stared at Skye, gauging her reaction to the news before shaking his head and studying the pavement. “No.”

  With wide eyes, Skye looked at Dylan unable to believe what he told her. Her gaze turned to the forest-covered hills, over the valley and back to Dylan as she thought about the situation. Then she asked, “What was he doing?”

  Dylan pressed his lips together a couple times. “Followin us. Probably trying to see where we live.”

  “Oh, no! Dylan, what if he finds us? I was hoping... Well, I know it’s horrible, but I was hoping he’d gotten the AgFlu.”

  Dylan’s mouth twisted. “Weren’t we all?”

  “How did he look?”

  “Healthy, but still beat up. Think he’d learn.”

  Skye waved toward the fire. “What happened there?”

  Dylan pointed to the edge of the roadway. “He ran down the side of the mountain, and we pushed his car over.”

  Skye raised her eyebrows. “You threw a car at him?” When Dylan looked down and scraped his foot along the road, she asked, “You couldn’t have just taken the keys?”

  A bit of red colored Dylan’s cheeks. “Wade’s way was more fun.”

  Skye blinked a couple times and crossed her arms. “Figures we have him to thank for this.”

  “Hey, I was all for it too.”

  Skye frowned. “Why was it that big of explosion?”

  “Seems like he had a surprise for us in the trunk.”

  Skye started walking again. “This is horrible! I don’t like this, I really don’t. I thought he’d just give up.”

  Dylan laid a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Skye. He will now.”

  Skye stared up at Dylan. “I don’t want anything happening to Jesse, to any of us.”

  Dylan gave her a solemn nod. “I know. Me either, and to get Jesse away from Wade would be like wrestling a bear.”

  Skye chuckled even as tears flooded her eyes. She glanced down.

  “Hey.” Dylan put a finger to Skye’s jaw and tipped her face to his. “Jesse’s okay. We’re okay, and we’re stayin that way. Frankie’s got a long walk back, and that’s if he’s in decent condition. I’ll radio Tom, and he can keep an eye open for him.”

  His callused thumb wiped away an escaped tear. Skye caught Dylan’s hand and laid her cheek to it. “Thank you.”

  Dylan’s gaze met Skye’s and held hers, refusing to let go. He raised his other hand and lightly ran it down her hair only to tangle his fingers at its edge.

  Skye’s heart thumped. Almost all rational thought left her as she held Dylan’s intense dark-blue gaze. The world around them disappeared as Skye set her palm on Dylan’s chest and felt the hard strum of his heart beneath it.

  With a gentle tug on the hair he held, Dylan drew Skye to him. Her knees weakened, but she managed a tiny step forward. It was enough.

  Her eyes on his, Skye slowly gathered his t-shirt into her fist. Dylan’s heart quickened beneath her hand, and Skye’s throat went dry for a moment. She swallowed.

  Dylan’s gaze questioned Skye. He gave her time, and she took it, still returning his intense gaze. Then she wavered.

  Skye looked at the trees, Dylan's face, the road, Dylan’s lips—soon anywhere but him.

  Dylan tugged on Skye’s hair again, and her gaze shot back to him. “Hey, it’s okay,” he whispered. “Come here.”

  Skye fell into Dylan’s arms. A kiss she couldn’t do yet, but this… this was perfect. “I’m sorry. I’m just not ready yet.”

  “It’s fine. I’ll be here.”

  And he would be. When Dylan said he’d do something, he would do it. He’d be there for her, not rushing, not pushing, letting her have the time she needed.

  Skye nodded and closed her eyes listening to his steady heart, as Dylan’s powerful arms sheltered her. The blare of the truck’s horn startled Skye. When she jumped, Dylan chuckled. He looked down at her. “I guess they’re getting impatient.”

  Skye looked up at him. “Hungry more like it. Neither one can go more than a couple hours without eating.”

  “Well, a couple hours is a long time,” Dylan said as he pinched a little of Skye’s hair between two fingers, followed it down to her shoulder and let go. “Come on.”

  Dylan ran a palm down Skye’s arm and folded his calloused fingers around her smooth ones. She squeezed Dylan’s hand and gave him a shy smile.

  When they reached the pickup, Dylan opened the door. “Get on up there, woman.”

  “Yeah, what took you so long?” Jesse said, “We’re hungry. We need you to make us food.”

  Skye let out a sharp laugh. “Everyone in this truck is more than capable of making their own food. I’m not the maid. I don’t take orders.”

  Dylan settled himself into the driver’s seat. “Yeah, you could work on that a bit.”

  Skye’s amusement grew. “I could work on that?”

  With a serious frown, Dylan nodded. “Yeah, like when I say something, you hop to it.”

  “Pfft, I’m not a rabbit! The only place I’ll hop to anything is in your dreams!” Skye shoved back in her seat and watched Dylan’s eyes track her.

  “Yeah, apparently. You’ve made that clear.” Dylan held his tough demeanor for a moment before letting a slight smile curve the side of his mouth. “Somethin else to add to them.”

  Skye giggled and held Dylan’s gaze in the mirror, a twinkle in her eye. “How about you listen to me for once?” Skye smirked. “Take me home, tough guy.”

  Dylan winked at Skye. “Yes, ma’am.”

  The End

  The Climb

  Sanctuary’s Aggression 3

  1

  Calvin

  Calvin, Tony, and Pete drove along at a leisurely pace. Calvin's hands kneaded the steering wheel as he stared at the road in front of him. The rays of the autumn sun overheated the men, so he rolled down the windows. The wind ruffled their hair as they traveled the highway.

  Tony sat in the back seat, his bad leg stretched out, healing from the wound Jesse gave him. Calvin had managed to patch it up, but he was no medic. Everyone knew it wasn't good enough. Calvin caught Tony's fierce expression in the rearview mirror. Revenge boiled in Tony. His leg would never heal right, and he'd limp for the rest of his life. A blind man could tell that if Tony ever got hold of that kid, he would be happy if a limp was all Tony gave him.

  Pete kept his eyes on the side window refusing to look at his friends. The back of his bloody head and a red blush on the top of his ears was all they could see. Pete couldn't get over being taken down by a girl.

  No one ever beat Pete. His whole life he had been the largest, strongest kid, and now he was a massive man. A little slow maybe, even he would admit that, but he believed his size more than made up for that. Now he'd been beaten by a woman. Not even a big one either. A kinda small one, at least from his point of view. It stung. All that little girl did was push on a car and down he went.
<
br />   Calvin whistled as they drove on, confident they would find the woman and the kid. At first, he'd been angry, but there was no reason for that now, it'd just get in the way. When a person was furious, they didn't think straight. Strong emotion had messed him up more than once.

  And anyway, there was no doubt they would find them. Calvin knew it from the moment they pulled away from the side of the road. Both the Jeep and the truck's license plate contained their county name, and it wasn't like there were many towns in such a small area. If he and the boys needed to go town by town, they'd track them down.

  A sky-blue Jeep and that huge black truck would be remembered by someone. They'd find them, it was just a matter of time.

  And time was different now. With no TV or computers, no work or families, it was all they had left. The trick was filling it, and Calvin was very good at doing that.

  2

  Close

  Skye relaxed into the seat of Dylan's new truck and scanned the landscape they passed hoping they would never see Frankie again. This time was a surprise, and it was one too many. Though pushing his car over the side of the mountain seemed extreme, perhaps Frankie would now understand he couldn’t take Jesse from them.

  Dylan quietly cursed and straightened in his seat. Skye glanced from Dylan to where he stared through the front windshield, but she saw nothing.

  Dylan stopped the truck, letting it idle. His hands gripped the steering wheel as he looked from the forest to Wade. Clearly, what they saw unnerved them.

  So as not to disturb a sleeping Jesse, Dylan spoke softly as he waved Skye closer to him. “Some Sick just walked through those trees."

  Skye's hands tightened on the back of Dylan's seat, and her stomach turned. "Just when we're almost safe at home."

  "That's the thing, they're so close to the cabin. We gotta check this out."

  Skye's eyes widened." What? No. It's too dangerous. Remember last time?"

  "I do, but I also know we can't have Sick wandering around in our back yard. We gotta see what's goin on."

  "Them? How many were there?" Skye's voice rose with her anxiety.

  "A few, and we need to know how many. We can't have Sick or Infected comin up on us unawares."

  Skye closed her eyes. Dylan was right. To have any amount of Sick roaming the woods was risky, but to have Dylan and Wade out scouting them was dangerous too.

  "You'll be okay," Dylan said. "Wade will stay here with you and the boy."

  Skye shook her head." You can't go by yourself, you need someone with you." She wound up her courage. "I'll go."

  Dylan opened his mouth to object, but before he could, Skye pulled one of his own moves on him and said, "Are we going to go, or are we going to sit here and argue about this?"

  Dylan raised an eyebrow at her. "Skye."

  "I'll be quiet, you know I can. I'll follow all your hundreds of forest instructions to the best of my ability. You need someone else out there, someone to have your back. "

  Dylan hesitated, and Wade cleared his throat. "Far be it from me to get mixed up in whatever you have going on here, but bro, I'd rather see you have someone too. I should be here in case they circle back." Wade tipped his head at Skye. "Can she run?"

  "Oh yeah, she can run," Dylan said with a twinge of pride in his voice.

  "Okay, then. Stay back from them. She'll be fine."

  Dylan waved Skye out of the truck then reminded her of his most crucial rules. Skye dutifully bowed her head to each of them. When Dylan finished, he gave her a hard stare assessing her forest worthiness. When Skye could take no more, she pushed his arm to get him to turn around and get started.

  He resisted for a minute before reaching back into the truck for a couple of rifles. He handed one to Skye, and she grimaced.

  "Take it or you ain't comin."

  "I know." Skye paused before slinging it over her shoulder. Bashing two men still haunted her. She certainly didn't want the added violence of shooting one.

  Dylan started for the tree line along the road and broke through the brush, holding back a branch for Skye. He easily followed the trail left by the Sick. It was plain enough even Skye could see it. Leaves and dirt had been kicked up on the Sick's way through. Either they didn't care or were not aware of what they were doing.

  As Dylan pointed out signs of the people they trailed, a frown drew his eyebrows. "These aren't the only ones out here."

  Skye shivered. "What? There's more than the ones you saw?"

  Dylan nodded. "See." He pointed out more broken twigs and overturned fallen leaves in one, two, then three places.

  Skye's glance darted around the trees. "Why would they be here?”

  Dylan shrugged. "That's what we're here to find out."

  Skye wrapped her arms around herself and quickly looked at the ground sternly reminding herself that this was all part of learning how to survive. It didn't make her feel any less scared.

  "Stay close," Dylan said so quietly she wasn't sure if she'd heard it or just saw his lips move, but she nodded and tightened her arms. You better believe it, buddy. So close.

  Dylan put a finger to her chin and raised her head. "It's okay," he mouthed and turned to start his slow trek forward.

  Skye silently scoffed. I hate to tell you this mister, but it is most certainly not okay. Nothing has been okay for a while now.

  Skye matched her steps to Dylan's as he'd taught her to do, avoiding anything that crunched under their feet. Dylan continually scanned the ground and the surrounding woods as he walked searching for any clues as to what lay ahead of them.

  Dylan knew his craft well. His skill was evident in every move he made, from the careful way he stepped his way through the ground cover to his ability to pick out almost microscopic traces of who or what was around them.

  Skye studied him as he squatted down to peer closer to something she still couldn't see. His brow creased as he examined and felt the ground around it. She watched his muscles play along his arm and back as he reached out to explore the ground then push himself upright again.

  His hair is to his shoulders now. I wonder if he would like a haircut. And those shoulders... and that…. Skye allowed her eyes to drift before she cut herself short. Stop! Why do I always start this at the worse times? But she knew why. Because when she saw Dylan in his element, he made her feel safe. And safe could be very, very sexy.

  Dylan turned around and lifted an eyebrow at her.

  Oh please, don't do that. That is just too -- distracting. Skye blushed and tried to look innocent before looking away. Dylan hissed, and Skye snapped to attention. He gestured fingers to eyes and outward.

  Keep my eyes on the woods. I know, I know. Don't you be so enticing then. Skye turned another shade of red and nodded.

  Seeing she was suitably contrite, Dylan continued on. This time Skye looked at everything but him, even pointing out a small broken branch and a bit of trampled grass, which earned her a look of approval.

  Dylan's scouting gave him none of the answers he'd hoped for, only more questions. Were all the Sick ahead of them or were they stepping into the middle of a horde? They seemed to be ahead, but why? Why were such a large group here on top of their mountain? It would've been against their instinct to make such a hard climb. Those not in the full grip of the disease, the Infected, must be pushing them up here. But again, why?

  Dylan shook out his tense shoulders hoping for once in his life, he was reading the signs all wrong. He shot a look at Skye. She'd done pretty good so far, but this could really rile her up.

  A small sound came to him. Nothing Dylan could instantly identify but something foreign to the forest. He stopped abruptly and put his hand back to Skye in a protective gesture. It caught her around the arm, and she held it as Dylan slid his hand to her wrist. He pulled her down to crouch alongside him and put a finger to his lips.

  Skye quickly agreed, her large eyes turning away from him. Her attention honed on the scene around them. Before letting go of her wrist, Dylan gave i
t a small stroke with his callused thumb. Dylan smirked when goosebumps raced up Skye's arm. You ain't the only one.

  Dylan motioned for Skye to follow his example as he crept through the forest brush as low as he could. Branches scratched along their bare arms, and the briars picked at their clothing.

  Dylan tipped his head. There was something. A murmur maybe but that seemed wrong.

  Dylan motioned Skye to the ground, and laying flat as they could, they crawled the rest of the way. The sound grew louder. Dylan pulled back a layer of brush and grasses leaving a thin layer to look through.

  A house sat in a small glen. At least thirty Sick surrounded the small cabin. Many stumbled aimlessly through the yard, others mindlessly followed them. It would have been odd enough to come across that many Sick gathered in one place up here on the mountain, but the scene continued to get more bizarre.

  More were in the early stages of the disease and barely seemed ill at all. Those worked at chores one would expect of any homeowner, chopping wood, plucking vegetables, cleaning.

  A large crack sounded from the opposite side of the forest from where Dylan and Skye were. It could have been the felling of a tree or simply a broken branch falling. The worst of the Sick stopped their aimless wandering and stared in that direction, their murmur becoming a loud rumble of discontent. Agitated, the sickest among them paced the best they were able with their stiff limbs. Some raised and lowered their arms in odd patterns.

  Some of the healthier people grabbed what weapons they could, mostly gardening utensils, and stood watching the tree line while others tried to calm the Sick.

  A thin cold finger played along Dylan's back as he scoured the area. These people weren't passing through. They were gathering.

  3

  Home

  Skye heaved a sigh of relief when the cabin door clicked shut behind her. Walking to the windows, she made sure they were locked before pulling all the curtains. Skye needed to forget about all the bad things outside even if only a thin piece of material kept them from her sight. The dread covering her since she and Dylan spotted the large group of Sick and Infected lifted slightly.