“Let go of my arm. You’re hurting me.”
He let go of me like I’d burned him. “I’m sorry, it’s just… I needed you to come to the back—”
“No, you wanted me to. You didn’t need me to. They needed me right where I was. Those people were unarmed. How could I leave them knowing that?”
“I was worried, Eva.” He ran the back of his hand over his mouth and let out a breath.
“Then you should have come where I was. The back was well guarded with Devlin and Roy there. They didn’t need you, too.”
David didn’t answer. He rubbed his hands up and down his face before he said, “Can you get our tents set up? As close to the middle of the meadow as you can. Make sure George and Tiff are near us. I’m going to help get some fire wood and see if we can find a squirrel or three dozen to feed everyone.”
“Three dozen is right. We need a buffet line to feed everyone.”
“Eva…” He hesitated, then kissed me quickly. “Don’t get into any trouble.” He turned and walked away.
Taking a breath, I reached for my tent and met Devlin’s eyes. He was frowning. “Devlin…” I reached for him.
He took a step back. “I hate that he can do that.”
“What?”
He took two large steps toward me, put his hand behind my neck, and pulled me into a kiss, his tongue dipping between my lips. Just as quickly as the kiss began, he pulled back, dropped his hand, and stepped away from me.
“That. I hate that he can do that without hiding.” He wiped his mouth with the side of his hand like he was wiping me off him, and walked away.
That night was quiet. I worried we’d have visitors. We’d left a trail of dead wolves right to our camp. It would have been easy for any type of infected—human or animal—to track us.
I sat on the ground next to the campfire and watched the sun rise over the treetops. The sky was painted in oranges and yellows with a few wisps of white clouds. Someone sat down next to me, and I looked to the side, expecting to see David.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Devlin asked quietly, resting his arm on one knee.
I smiled and leaned back on my hands. “No. What woke you?”
“You did.” He answered without looking at me, staring off into the sunrise.
“Sorry, I didn’t think I was making any noise,” I whispered.
“You weren’t.”
Okay, he’s even harder to figure out in the morning than usual.
“Coffee.” he leaned forward and picked up the pot.
I shook my head. “No, thank you.”
He chuckled. “No, I meant the coffee is what woke me up. You started it, right?”
“Oh, yeah, I did.”
“So, you woke me up.”
“Ah. Gotcha.” I nodded. “Devlin, how far do you think we are from a town that might still have supplies?”
“A day, maybe two.”
I bit my lower lip and nodded.
“It’s that tight, huh?”
I looked at him. His gaze was fixed on mine. “Yeah. It’s pretty bad. There are so many people, and they didn’t have anything to bring with them. We have lots of hungry bellies and not enough food to fill them.”
“I’ll make sure we get enough people hunting today to bring in enough meat for everyone.”
“Well, that’s a problem, too. Too many go out hunting and it leaves the camp vulnerable without their guns for protection. It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t kinda thing.” I tossed a twig into the fire.
“Whoa, is that pessimism?” He pursed his lips to hide a grin.
“No, it’s realism.”
“We’ve seen worse. It’ll work out. Give us time to get to the town. Then we’ll assess what supplies we have and what we find when we get there. We might have to have each family be responsible for feeding themselves.”
“I can’t do that. There are people who have never traveled like this. They wouldn’t know how to feed themselves. Besides, that’s not how our community worked the first time around. We shared everything. There was no segregation or this is mine and that’s yours crap. And that’s why it worked. We were all invested in something bigger than ourselves.”
He nodded and poured himself a cup of coffee.
“I hate it too, you know,” I murmured, looking at the ground. I felt him shift toward me. I didn’t have to explain what I meant. “I just don’t know what to do. I’m so sorry…” I looked at him with tears in my eyes, took a breath, and started again. “I’m so sorry. I made this such a freakin’ mess.” I shook my head and opened my mouth to say more, but I couldn’t push the words out—I wasn’t even sure what I’d say.
He looked at me for what seemed like minutes. I didn’t think he was going to say anything. I nodded. He was mad and hurt, and I was the cause. “I’m sorry,” I whispered again and stood to walk away.
Devlin threw his coffee mug across the ground and grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the tree line. He pushed me behind a towering pine and leaned in, kissing me hard. He was an intense man, and he focused that intensity on me and that kiss. My stomach tightened and a tingling sensation ran through my chest. It felt like my whole body hummed when he touched me. It threw me completely off-balance. I loved it. And I hated it.
I ran my fingers through Devlin’s hair, trailing down his arms. I could feel his muscles flex as he moved his hands over me. He pulled back, ending the kiss. I reached for him, but he stepped away. I let my arms drop to my sides and turned my face away from him.
“Why didn’t you let him sleep in your tent last night?”
“What?”
“You heard me. He asked you, but you said no. I want to know why.”
I shook my head, opening and closing my mouth trying to think of an answer. David did ask to sleep in my tent. I don’t know why he asked, or what he thought would come of it, but he’d asked. And Devlin was right. I’d said no.
I didn’t answer Devlin, because I didn’t have an answer to give him.
Devlin closed the distance between us and grabbed my wrists, pinning them over my head, holding them with one hand. The rough tree bark bit into my skin. He grasped my chin in his free hand and forced me to look at him. His emerald eyes burned straight to my soul.
“Why didn’t you let him, Eva?” He kissed me hard and deep. When he lifted his head I was out of breath. “Tell me,” he said, his lips so close to mine I could feel them moving.
“I… don’t—”
He kissed me again. Rough. Demanding. And my body and mind reacted to him. I fisted my hands and arched toward him, a delicious warmth flowing through my veins. “Why, Eva? Why did you sleep alone last night?” he kept kissing me asking me the same question between his long, deep, raw kisses.
His hand ran down the length of my body. “Damn it, Eva,” he ground out. His breath mingled with mine. His chest rose and fell quickly, and I could feel his heart racing, keeping time with my own. “Why?” He kissed me again, barely letting me catch my breath between kisses. “Tell me, Eva.” His mouth moved over mine. His tongue glided in my mouth. “Why? Why’d you tell him no?” he kissed me hard, his hand gripped my hip, yanking me against him. “Tell me—”
“Because he wasn’t you,” I blurted.
He let go of me so fast I stumbled forward. He looked at the ground. One hand on his hip, the other on the back of his head. He blew out a breath and walked away, leaving me standing against the tree. Feeling lost and confused.
I slid down the tree and sat on the ground, with my knees to my chest and my arms wrapped around them. Tears burned my cheeks, but I wasn’t crying for myself. No, the tears were for Devlin and David. One, or both, of them were going to get hurt when this was over, and it was my fault. I was so ashamed of myself, and the mess I’d made. And how weak I was when it came to ending it.
The morning’s hike started off good. Everyone was in good spirits, for the most part. There was enough grits to go around to fill everyone’s belly. Without an attack
the night before, most people had a good night’s rest.
It was around eleven o’clock when things started to go south. People were hungry, the kids whined, parents were frustrated, newbies were already tiring of the journey.
And we saw the first wolf. It was larger than those we’d seen the day before. And bolder. It didn’t bother to hide in the weeds. It walked along the edge of the trail.
Well, it tried. It was only visible for about thirty seconds before David put a bullet in its skull.
Then the second came out of the trees, and the third and fourth. The fifth and sixth crossed in front of the group. Three more behind us.
“They’re scary looking, huh?” Jessica whispered to me.
“Yes.”
Tiffany held the baby closer to her chest and stared at the wolf in front of the group. It walked back and forth across the trail.
Jessica looked at the gun in my hand. “Are you going to shoot one?”
“If I get close enough that I can without hurting anyone, yes.”
“I think that’s cool.”
“What?” I looked over at her and tried not to sigh. Jessica was a sweet girl and I loved her, but she talked incessantly—even when it was time to be quiet. Like then, when we were being hunted.
“That you’re a girl and you know how to shoot a gun.”
“You should ask Devlin to teach you. He’s a really good shot. He’d be a good teacher,” I said.
“I’ve asked. He won’t,” she muttered.
“Well, ask him if I can.”
“Okay.” She turned and skipped toward the back of the group.
“Jessica!” I whispered as loud as a whisper would allow. “Not now!”
Six more wolves came out of the trees and stood at the side of the trail, watching as we passed
The first wolf wandered too close and a shot rang out. That started the melee. Whether the wolves understood what had happened to their pack-mate, or the sound of the gunshot was enough to set them in motion, I’ll never know. What I do know is, they went ballistic. They jumped into the group of people, springing off their hind legs like they were cats.
One wolf jumped straight at me and Tiffany. I raised my gun and fired. Blood and flesh sprayed over us. The animal landed with a thud in front of Tiff. Its eyes still open, and its tongue lolling out of its mouth.
“I never knew you could shoot a gun, Eva, but I’m damn glad you can,” Tiffany said, stepping around the carcass.
“David taught me when I left the compound. I think it’s time you learned, too.”
She looked at the other women of the camp with guns, who could protect their children and back-up their husbands. She nodded. “Yeah, I think you’re probably right.”
“We’ll get you a gun at the next sporting goods store that hasn’t been cleaned out or the next house we find that has a stash, then we’ll start target practice.”
All the wolves had been taken care of. The bodies lay in awkward angles along the path. Their blood pooled, making macabre mud puddles on the trail. We continued to walk, stepping around the blood and bodies as we went.
A shrill scream pierced the calm of the group. I jumped and whirled around. Her name was Hannah. She was a Topsider who’d been in our group the first time we ran from the Infected. I didn’t know her well, but she seemed sweet. And judging by the way her leg was bleeding, and the blood tinged saliva dripping from the wolf’s mouth, I wouldn’t have a chance to get to know her.
She’d been bitten. Our group had just lost its first member.
“Oh, no.” I stared at the bleeding wound on Hannah’s leg. She’d just gotten engaged, and her fiancé hovered over her, trying to stop the blood flow.
“George can help.” Tiffany signaled for George. He started toward the girl, only to be intercepted by Devlin. They walked to where we stood. “What’s the matter? Go help her,” Tiffany ordered.
“From the way her thigh is bleeding the wolf probably hit a main artery.” George rubbed his forehead with the side of his hand leaving smudges of dust in the beaded sweat covering his face.
“So?”
“She’ll bleed out in a matter of minutes.” George started to say more, but stopped, holding his hands palm up at his side. He shook his head slowly.
“You can’t do anything?” Tiff’s voice rose with each word.
“It wouldn’t matter. The end will be the same for her. It’s better she bleed out than suffer the alternative,” Devlin said, frowning.
“Which is?”
Oh, crap. Here we go. I was hoping to ease into this. Not have the discussion out in the middle of everyone while someone is suffering just a few feet away from us.
“She was bitten, Tiff. That means she’s infected with the virus. She’ll turn unless someone… um… stops the process before that can happen,” I said in a calm, soft voice, like I was talking to a scared child.
Tiffany took a step back, bumping into a group of people behind her. She clutched the baby closer to her chest and looked at us like we were the monsters. “You mean kill her, right? She’s infected so you’ll kill her.”
“No, not kill her. We isolate her from the rest of the camp until we know for sure she is infected. If she isn’t, she’s allowed back into camp. If she is we eliminate”—I couldn’t say kill— “an infected person. It isn’t her anymore. You haven’t seen them yet, Tiffany. None of us want to be like them. I’d rather end my own life than turn into what they become.”
“What do you mean I haven’t seen them yet?” She pinned me with a glare.
“Well, I’m sure we’ll run across a few sooner or later on our way to the PODs.” I licked my lips and bit down on the lower one.
“You mean you brought us out here knowing we’d be hunted by monsters?” She was borderline hysterical.
“I didn’t bring you anywhere. You decided to come. And what’d you think this was? Day camp? What’d you think we were doing when we trekked to Area-One and back, huh? We weren’t sight-seeing, Tiffany! So, yeah, you’re likely going to see some Infected along the way. If your delicate sensibilities can’t handle it, go back to Rosewood and watch your children starve!” I turned and walked away, bumping into Devlin standing behind me. “Sorry,” I mumbled.
Gads, what’d she think we were going to do out here? Wander around in a field of flowers until we came to the PODs? Where’s David?
I found David across the sea of canine bodies and made my way to him. He saw me coming and stretched his arm out to me. I walked right into it; he wrapped it around me, pulling me close to him.
“Are you okay?” he murmured close to my ear.
I nodded, burying my head in his shirt. “I’m good, but if I’m going to keep hugging you, you need to find some deodorant.”
He laughed. “Yeah, well, you’re smelling pretty ripe yourself.” He kissed my forehead.
“Eva, are you feeling alright? You look pale.” Rebecca laid a hand on my arm. Her chocolate colored eyes stared at me. She was older than me, maybe in her late-twenties. She had a motherly way about her, always concerned about others. A natural caretaker.
“I’m okay, thanks. Just a little tired.” I smiled and patted her hand.
We resumed our hike shortly after that. One person short. Hannah bled out. Like George expected, the wolf hit the artery in her thigh. We buried her under a tree and marked it with a carving of a cross, just like we had done for all the dead we’d buried months before. It was like I was caught in some kind of sick déjà vu.
We came to a small town with a motel and stopped for the night. The beds were dusty and smelled of mildew, but they were soft and warm.
David used some of our water and filled the sink so we could wash up before bed. That’s probably why it happened. It’s kind of like when you wash your car—it always seems to rain the next day. Well we washed the dirt and grime off us before bed. It didn’t make it rain… well, not water, anyway. But it did rain.
Blood.
I stretched o
ut across my bed and sighed. David’s room adjoined mine on one side, and Devlin and Jessica were on the other side. Tiffany and George’s room was on the other side of David’s room. Tiffany and I hadn’t spoken since our mini-argument that afternoon. I didn’t care… at least that’s what I kept telling myself.
I crawled into my sleeping bag and waited for sleep to come, but my mind replayed the afternoon with the wolves.
Are they out there now? What about the guys keeping watch, are they safe? How many are in the pack? There must be a lot, they followed us all day.
I lay in bed and listened for any sound that seemed out of place. Growling, scratching, something. I didn’t hear anything. I strained harder. That’s when I heard it—nails clicking against the cement walkway as it passed in front of my door.
I rolled out of bed and crept into David’s room. I shook his shoulder. “David. David.” Geez he’s a deep sleeper. “David, wake up.” I poked him in the shoulder.
“What?” He snapped.
And grumpy, too.
“I hear something outside. It sounds like—”
“It’s just the guys keeping watch.” He rolled over and fluffed the pillow under his head.
“No, this is different… wake up and listen to me.” I kept poking him hard on the shoulder.
“Hell’s bells, Eva. I’m trying to sleep!”
I ripped the pillow from under his head. “And I’m trying to tell you there’s something outside and it’s not the guys keeping watch.”
He sighed. “There are sixty-seven people in this small motel. We fill it to capacity. You’re bound to hear the others. These walls aren’t insulated.”
“David, I’m telling you there is something out there…”
I hit him with the pillow, before throwing it across the room. At that exact moment, a crash sounded and glass flew through the room.
David threw the sleeping bag over my head. Grabbing his gun—thank the Lord he kept it by the bed—he shot the wolf that had just jumped through the window.
I peeked over the edge of the sleeping bag. “The pillow didn’t do that,” I whispered.
“No, and the damn window didn’t even faze it. It just kept coming.” David looked at the dead animal lying just feet from his bed. Thick red blood oozed onto the ugly green shag carpeting. Pieces of glass littered the floor, and were embedded in the wolf’s skin.
The Infected, a PODs Novel Page 22