Roamers (Book 2): Fear. Loss. Survival. Hope.

by Viper, Velveteen

  “Sure. Just don’t go to bed without me,” he rumbled.

  “Believe me, I won’t,” she purred.

  In the living room, the atmosphere was cheery. Piper, Bill, Vaughan and some of the bikers had been joined by Colin, Riley, Chino and Jack. It was encouraging to see them melding together so quickly, and highly important that they did so. They’d all been drinking and laughing together, and Scarlett and Travis lowered themselves down to the floor. The room was small and everyone was packed in tightly. Piper, Chino and Colin were all squeezed onto the couch and Bill had made himself comfortable on the armchair, while the rest sat on the old brown carpet. Chino was inebriated and attempting to seem jolly, but his grief was evident in his eyes. Vaughan was strumming away on his guitar.

  Travis and Scarlett sat next to each other and Colin handed them each a drink.

  Piper had been humouring Chino’s drunken flirting.

  “I’m glad you decided to join us, Chino, despite what happened today. Your brother was a hero. If he hadn’t gone to the base, we wouldn’t stand a chance tomorrow.”

  “Can I get you another drink, babe?” Chino said slickly, regaining his façade before he crumbled. He didn’t want to spoil the mood for everyone. He would grieve when it was over.

  Piper agreed and, as Chino tried to stand, he realised that his backside had sunk almost to the floor and he couldn’t get up. Piper started to laugh and couldn’t stop.

  “Sorry about that, Chino,” she cackled. “This couch has seen better days; it’s been broken in the middle like that for a little while now.”

  “Does somebody wanna help me?” Chino cried, each word running into the next. “It feels like I’m gonna leave my ass behind!”

  Bill stood and took Chino’s hands, pulling him strenuously to his feet, at which point, Jack helped himself to the armchair. Bill turned and glared at him with his hands on his hips.

  “Sorry, Bill. Three second rule.”

  “You’ve got Scarlett and Travis to thank for the sofa saga,” Piper grinned. Suddenly the room was quiet and Scarlett and Travis could feel their faces flushing. “Honestly, they’re back together for five minutes and already trying to make more babies.” Piper burst into fits of laughter again and tears streamed down her face as the others joined in.

  “Stop,” Travis said, trying to hide his embarrassment.

  “Hell no, T!” Chino interrupted, holding his hand up for a high-five. “You broke the fuckin’ couch, man. I knew it wasn’t your personality Scarlett stuck around for.”

  “I ain’t gonna high-five you, Chino,” Travis smirked.

  “Oh, don’t be embarrassed, guys!” Piper exclaimed. “It’s down to you that we’re all together like this. You hadn’t seen each other in months and you’re obviously very in love. Who could blame you for doing the deed then and there? Just promise me one thing.” They looked at her and Piper took a deep breath to try and curb the hilarity. “If the next one’s a girl, name her after me.”

  Everyone was howling with amusement and Chino’s comments had even evoked a chortle from an exceptionally red-faced Travis. The only person in the room who didn’t delight in the group’s teasing and merriment was Riley. Without a word, he stood and made a bee-line for the door.

  Travis’ face dropped and Scarlett noticed. She tried to say something to him as he was getting to his feet, but he didn’t hear her. He quickly followed Riley outside to his tent. Riley had already zipped himself in.

  “Riley, it’s Travis,” he announced. “Can I come in?”

  There was no answer, so Travis let himself in anyway. Riley was lying on his camping bed, facing the roof of the tent.

  “I’m okay, Travis. Just not in the mood for laughing when we lost someone today, and no one knows who’s gonna be coming home tomorrow.”

  “Ain’t that the reason we should be laughin’?” Travis replied. “We should be enjoyin’ each other’s company while we still can. Besides, we’re all comin’ home.”

  Riley shrugged, “We all thought the same about today. I’m just gonna try to sleep. I think everyone else should do the same pretty soon.”

  “What ain’t you tellin’ me, Riley?” He finally looked at Travis, but gave nothing away. “You’ve been actin’ like somethin’ crawled up your ass ever since you got here.”

  “Drop it, Travis, please. It’s really not worth it.”

  “What ain’t?”

  Riley sat up and rubbed his eyes. Getting to his feet, he attempted to leave the tent. Travis placed a hand on his chest to stop him.

  “Travis, seriously. I’m not doing this.”

  “Is it about Scarlett?” his hand remained firmly on Riley’s torso while trying to gauge his expression. “What happened while you were out there that’s made you so distant from each other?”

  “I’m gonna need you to remove your hand.”

  “Not until you talk to me. You used to be so close.”

  Riley sighed and batted Travis’ arm away, trying once more to leave. Travis quickly stopped him again, but this time, Riley shoved him backward.

  “Forget it.”

  “What happened, Riley?” he demanded, shunting him back.

  “Fuck off, Travis!”

  Riley pushed him again and the pair began to scuffle, each trying to restrain the other. They had their arms around each other, fighting shambolically. Travis repeated himself several times while Riley continued to struggle, just wanting to get outside. Despite everything, and how he felt about Scarlett, Travis was his friend and he didn’t want to hurt him. Neither one was willing to throw a punch.

  No matter how hard he fought, Riley knew that Travis was stronger. He almost made it past, but Travis grabbed him again and a deep rage finally bubbled its way to the surface.

  “Alright!” Riley shouted. Travis let him go and looked at him expectantly. Riley’s face was red and already damp with tears while fresh ones lingered in the corners of his eyes.

  When he spoke, his voice cracked and shook as though he was trying to hold back supressed feelings from bursting out of his mouth, “You want me to tell you what happened? She came back. She came back to find you and you were gone. You’d taken her daughter and left. And I was the one, Travis; I was the one who looked out for her. It was me who kept her safe. She was broken. I took care of her and that little boy. I was there for her when she started to lose the person she was. I brought her back, Travis. Me!” Riley wiped the tears from his cheek while Travis watched, astounded by his outburst. “I had to watch her falling apart right in front of me. I had to watch that spark and the will to survive leave her eyes when she convinced herself that her daughter was dead. I had to help her clean up blood because Grey had her so frightened for James’ life that she murdered three people.” Riley’s top lip momentarily lifted into a snarl, “We slept together. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

  Travis clenched his fists and his breathing quickened while he took in what Riley was telling him. He tried to work out in his mind whether there was any way that he’d heard wrong. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting to hear, but that wasn’t it.

  “Are you happy now, Travis?” Riley shouted.

  “What did you just say?” Travis’ voice was a low rumble.

  “Oh, come on, Travis. I know you’re not that stupid. We had sex.”

  A few seconds passed, allowing Travis to finally process Riley’s admission. His eyes were dark. He threw himself at Riley and grappled him further back. They collided with the camping bed, falling over it onto the floor. Travis was on top of him, striking him in the face. Riley quickly gathered his wits and began fighting back. He gripped Travis’ shirt with both hands and pushed, trying to keep him at arm’s length.

  “It didn’t happen because she forgot about you,” he screamed through bloody lips. “It happened because she couldn’t forget about you. She was losing faith and about to give birth. She felt alone. She was starting to believe, after months of trying to find you, that she’d nev
er see you or Hope again. She was giving up, Travis.”

  “So, you fucked her?” Travis bellowed, throwing another punch. “You thought fuckin’ her would bring her back? Do you think so highly of your own fuckin’ dick that you thought it’d make Scarlett feel better about losin’ her daughter?”

  “Of course not. I’ll admit that I was selfish. I took advantage of her vulnerability, and I’m completely ashamed of myself for that, Travis. But it did bring her back, because she realised that she didn’t want me, or Grey, or anyone else. She didn’t want to give up on you. It reignited the fire in her belly that she needed to go on looking for you.”

  “Oh, well I guess I should fuckin’ thank you then, right?”

  Travis continued to thump Riley until he was seized from behind. Jack and Vaughan dragged him back while Piper helped Riley to his feet. Both men were bloodied. Travis had revulsion in his eyes as he glared at Riley, who was still sobbing.

  “I told her, Travis. I told her I love her, but it didn’t mean anything. She doesn’t love me; not like that. She didn’t want me there when James was born, not really. She wanted you. She wanted his father there. The only man she’d ever die for. Please, don’t blame her for this.”

  “Say another word, Riley, and I will fuckin’ end you, I swear to god,” Travis spat, struggling to free himself from Jack’s and Vaughan’s grasp.

  “Get him the fuck out of here,” Piper ordered with disgust in her voice. She began comforting Riley while Travis was forcibly removed from the tent.

  Scarlett was outside waiting. Travis shook Jack’s and Vaughan’s hands off and marched straight past her. She tried to stop him, but he brushed her off without a word.

  Riley emerged and Scarlett’s hands flew to her mouth when she saw what Travis had done to him. He mouthed a sad apology before making his way to the house. Scarlett began walking after him. She was followed by Piper, who stopped to speak to her.

  “Right now, you should be chasing Travis, not Riley. I don’t know what happened, or why, and I’m just gonna add it to the list of things that I don’t give a fuck about. But you need to sort this out, Scarlett, and fast,” she spat. “We’re supposed to be pullin’ together, not apart.”

  Scarlett opened her mouth to respond, but Piper was already walking away. She took a few deep breaths to try and slow her racing heart. As she turned to face the house, she noticed Travis heading for the motorcycles. She ran to catch up while he loaded the saddle bag with an automatic rifle and some water.

  “Where are you going?” she asked desperately.

  “It don’t matter.” He couldn’t look at her. “I’ll be back before mornin’.”

  “Please don’t go,” she begged. “I wanted to tell you, Travis, but I didn’t know how.”

  “Bullshit, Scar. It’s not hard. You just had to say, ‘I fucked my best friend, Travis.’”

  “Please don’t. I love you, Travis!” she yelled.

  “You love me?” he repeated, finally turning to face her. “Did you love me when you were ridin’ his dick, Scarlett?”

  Travis mounted the bike and started the engine.

  “You can’t go out there like this,” Scarlett insisted. He didn’t listen and began wheeling the vehicle toward the gate. Scarlett shook her head angrily and climbed onto another bike, following him.

  “What are you doin’?”

  “I’m going with you, Travis. I spent months trying to find you; I’m not letting you go again.”

  Travis ignored her and sped off down the dirt track, but Scarlett shadowed him. She’d only ever ridden Jack’s motorcycle.

  Travis didn’t wait for her. He was riding into the distance before Scarlett had worked out how to change gear. Once she’d mastered it, she gathered enough speed to start catching up.

  Travis watched her in a wing mirror, secretly concerned for her safety. It was clear to him that she wouldn’t back down or go home without him, so he began to slow and made for the scorched forest. Dust and ash rose around the bike when he brought it to a sudden stop. Scarlett followed suit and watched Travis dismount, pushing the kickstand out to balance the vehicle.

  “So, talk if that’s what you want,” he spat.

  Scarlett dismounted her bike, allowing it to fall to the ground.

  “I don’t have anything to say that’ll make it better, Travis. All I can say is it was stupid. I know that Riley was trying to help me see sense.”

  “Yeah, that’s the same bullshit he told me. How many times?” he demanded.

  “Once.”

  “And what about before?” Scarlett frowned at him. “Before we lost each other. All those times you were alone on supply runs, at the hotel, the cottage… Were you fuckin’ him then?”

  “No!” she said, hurt that he’d accuse her, but understanding at the same time. “At the base, that was the first and only time it happened.” She paused, staring at the ground. “I almost lost my mind. I started to wonder if I was the ‘good guy’ I thought I was. After the things I did... the things Ethan convinced me to do...”

  She trailed off and Travis finally made eye contact. She was weeping, and Travis could see remorse and shame written all over her face.

  “I thought you were dead,” he whispered. “I kept waitin’ to find you; either walkin’ around as one of them... or I thought I’d find your body. I didn’t want that for Hope, that’s why we came here. It was safe; it was far away from the warehouse. I keep goin’ over it in my head and I don’t understand why you did it.”

  Scarlett tried to move closer, but Travis wasn’t ready. He kept at a distance, side on to her, guarded, exactly as he had been when they first met.

  “I was giving up. Riley could see that. Ethan saw it too and that’s what he wanted. He wanted to break me. He tried to convince me to leave James when he was born… and he almost did. Riley wanted me to see that I still had the urge to find you. It wasn’t supposed to happen. It was just sex, Travis. Simple, mechanical sex. I guess I was trying to imitate how it felt to be with you.” Slowly, Travis turned his body toward her. “I don’t know who I was trying to kid. I could never replicate the way you make me feel.”

  “What else did Grey do to you?” he asked. “I need to know. Those three people.”

  “He convinced me that his way was the right way. At my lowest point, when he’d wheedled his way right into my mind, he made me…” she trailed off when the tears started again. The image of what she’d done, seemingly so freely, was one that would stay with her forever. “Ethan cornered three women who broke into the base and made them kneel on the ground. He said if I didn’t shoot them, he was going to kill James; cut him right out of me. I knew he meant it, and they were going to die whether by my hand or his, so what was I supposed to do? He watched and smiled the whole time. Told me that eventually I’d enjoy it.” Travis saw her sadness quickly replaced by anger, practically seeping through her pores as she recalled the moment, “I dumped them outside the fence for the Roamers.”

  Travis didn’t know what to say to her.

  “Riley had been trying to tell me what he was doing, but I was too stupid to see it. I thought he’d catch up to us if we left. In the end, I’d convinced myself that you or Hope, or both of you were dead. I’d given up and Riley was there for me. He was trying to talk me round, but… Look, I can’t say anything that’ll make you stop hating me--”

  “Oh, come on, Scar,” he interrupted. “I don’t hate you. Jesus, I don’t think I could ever hate you. But it really hurts. I’ve never felt pain like this before.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I know,” he took a single step closer. “I should apologise to Riley.”

  Scarlett nodded gloomily, “I just want you to know, before you make any sort of decision, that I have never loved anyone the way I love you. When I woke up with Riley, I knew that nobody was ever going to make me feel the way you do.”

  “Decisions? Scarlett, this don’t change anythin’ for me. I was angry; hurt. It still hurts, but
I know that if he was what you wanted, you’d have stopped lookin’ for me and Hope. This all could’a been avoided if I hadn’t left the warehouse. Things could’a been simple.”

  “What do you want?”

  Travis closed the space between them completely and held her face in his hands.

  “I want us. We’re Scarlett and Travis. We’ve been Scarlett and Travis since I first saw you. And we’ll be Scarlett and Travis until we die, when we’re very, very old. I won’t ever forget what you did, but I can forgive you for it. And I can forgive Riley, too. I did some pretty stupid shit over the last few months. Nothin’ like that, but still stupid. We’re gonna keep on breakin’ couches ‘til that place is fuckin’ filled with kids.”

  “You mean you actually want to touch me after what I did?” she questioned.

  He smiled and slid his hands down to her shoulders, arms and hands before skimming around her waist and to the small of her back.

  “I’ve told you before; no matter what, I can’t keep my fuckin’ hands off’a you.” He kissed her. “You hear me?”

  With her eyes still closed, astonished that he still wanted her, she nodded once and responded, “I hear you.”

  Travis suddenly pushed Scarlett to the ash-covered ground, landing on top of her, when bullets began to ricochet off his bike. From beneath him, Scarlett grabbed for the pistol strapped to her thigh and ensured that it was loaded. Travis began getting to his feet and pulled her up with him. Taking aim behind him, Scarlett began firing while Travis retrieved his rifle. They unloaded their clips into the distance, reloaded and waited.

  “Do you think that was it?” Scarlett panted.

  Before Travis could answer, four Roamers began sprinting toward them from behind the burnt-out trees. Hanging from their necks were lengths of worn-out rope and Scarlett and Travis quickly realised how ill-judged their firing had been.

  Switching to his hunting knife, Travis boldly took hold of the fastest approaching Biter by its torn clothing and forced the blade into its cranium. Scarlett grasped for her silencer and quickly screwed it to her weapon, taking aim and firing a direct hit between another Roamer’s eyes. The bullet sliced through with ease at point blank range, exiting the back of its head and coming to rest inside the skull of the creature behind it.