by M. J. Haag
I exhaled and pulled the trigger. The boom of the shot rang in my ears as the infected fell to the side. Rushing forward, I hauled Ryan to his feet. He picked up his gun.
“Come on.” I grabbed Ryan’s arm and pulled him down the hallway.
The sound of staggering footsteps reverberated off the lockers from all directions. More infected.
My heartbeat pounded in my ears as I searched for an exit. Something moved in the shadows ahead.
Ryan tugged me into a classroom then quietly shut the door behind us. We were silent as we backed further into the classroom. Unfortunately, the room only had small windows up near the ceiling. No exit that way. Unless…I looked at the desks, wondering if Ryan would have enough upper body strength to—
The doorknob rattled. We both lifted our guns, ready.
The door quickly opened and a head poked in. I recognized the face. The driver of our truck. His pained blue eyes swept over us before he limped inside and closed the door. Panting and sweating, he slowly slid down the wall beside the door and sat on the floor.
“Greg?” Ryan said. “Were you bitten?”
The guy looked like hell, but I couldn’t see blood anywhere.
“Fuck, I don’t know. I don’t know.” He closed his eyes, wincing.
Ryan kept his gun trained on his friend, but his hand shook.
“It’s okay, Greg,” I said in a calm tone, keeping my gun steady on the man.
“It ain’t. I knew there wasn’t somethin’ right about just one infected on the road. Shoulda turned around. Fucking shoulda turned around.” Greg groaned and wrapped his arms around his stomach before puking.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Fuckers followed us here.”
He retched again then looked up at me with bloodshot eyes.
“I can see it in your eyes. Fuckers bit me, didn’t they.”
“Yeah,” I said.
“Then kill me now. End it.”
I exhaled slowly.
“Kill me!”
A bang rang out, and I flinched. Red exploded onto the wall behind Greg’s head, and a dot dripped down his forehead. Slowly, he fell to the side.
I looked at Ryan, who held his gun pointed at the spot where Greg’s head had been a moment before.
“Start making a barrier with the desks,” I said, touching Ryan’s arm to get him to lower his weapon. “Don’t drag the desks. I’ll check for a radio on Greg. Maybe we can call for help.”
Ryan nodded and lowered his gun. I rushed forward to start patting the pockets in Greg’s jacket first. Metal scraped over the tile behind me. I flinched at the sound but didn’t scold Ryan. Our position had been compromised when Ryan fired.
Finding nothing in Greg’s jacket pockets, I tried his cargo pants pockets. My hand hit hard plastic, and I withdrew the radio.
A low moan came from the other side of the door just as Ryan wedged the first desk against it. Pocketing the radio, I rushed to help him, both of us lifting and stacking desks as the moans increased in volume.
The heavy metal desk that belonged to the teacher still sat over in the furthest corner from the door. I motioned to Ryan to help me move it under the windows. We’d just positioned it there, and he’d stepped on the surface when something hit the door. His eyes went to mine, then the window still just over his head. He lifted his gun and hit the glass. It spidered but didn’t break out.
“Shit.” He hit it again and again. The mesh in the glass wouldn’t give.
He jumped from the desk.
“Tip it over,” he said.
We hunkered down behind it, and Ryan glanced at the radio in my back pocket. A fleeting look of hope flashed over his face.
I pulled out the radio and pressed down on the button.
“This is Mya and Ryan. We’re trapped in a classroom at Warrensburg High School. We need help. Is anyone there?”
I released the button. Static crackled back. I pressed the button again.
“Is anyone there?”
More static.
“Hello?”
No one responded.
Cold fear coiled in my belly and tears stung in my eyes. Help wouldn’t be coming.
I turned to Ryan and wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight.
“I’m sorry, Sis.”
“The end of the world isn’t your fault.”
Ryan leaned his head on my shoulder, and I stroked his hair. It felt like we were kids again, riding out a tornado.
More footsteps shuffled outside the door. Something hit it again. This time hard enough to nudge the desks.
I hugged my brother closer.
“Love you, Ryan.”
“Love you, too, Mya.”
The moaning and groaning in the hall became deafening as the door opened a bit. A hand reached in, the thick, pale blood-stained fingers gripping the door. I pulled back from Ryan so I could aim my gun. Ryan did the same. Together, we waited for the infected to push through.
We watched the pile of desks slide backward an inch at a time until the barrier fell with a loud crash. Three infected shoved through the door, semi-milky eyes locking on us as we fired. As their bodies fell, more came, tripping over the fallen and making it harder to aim for a headshot. Sweat coated my forehead. I kept aiming and firing.
“I have only one more clip in my back pocket. After that, I’ll be out,” Ryan yelled.
How many shots did I have left? The implication of the few moments we had remaining hit me hard.
The moans grew frenzied in the hall, and scuffling footsteps escalated as more infected pushed through. Ryan stopped shooting briefly to reload.
I kept firing until my gun clicked. Numb to the reality of what would happen next, I tucked myself behind the desk and listened to the mixture of Ryan’s shots and the infected moans. Ryan would turn. I wouldn’t. The infected would eat me alive.
The shooting stopped, and Ryan crouched down next to me.
“That’s it,” he said.
I took in a deep breath and held his hand.
“It hurts,” I whispered. “But not for long.”
He frowned at me. I didn’t know how else to comfort him, though.
“Someone’s calling your name,” he said.
“That’s not funny, Ryan.”
“No, seriously. Someone is calling your name, listen.”
I heard it. A voice echoing down the hall as it called out my name. Then, another voice joined in, calling my name, too.
“Mya!”
Hope coursed through me. The fey were here, searching for me. I looked over at Ryan. He nodded.
I stood, drawing the attention of the infected, who’d paused in the doorway at the sound of the voices in the hall.
“Drav,” I yelled.
Two of the infected lunged toward us. Unable to think of anything else, I threw my gun as hard as I could. It hit the first one in the head, and he jerked to a stop.
Ryan pulled out a desk drawer and hit the second one with it again and again. Infected blood spattered me at the same moment a roar shook the room.
It was the best sound ever.
Heads flew off of the infected crowding the doorway as Drav tore into the room like a storm. The infected who’d entered because of my yell turned toward Drav. He took their heads in a fury, moving so fast that the first head hadn’t hit the floor before the next head parted from its body. Blood coated most of the room by the time the last body fell.
Drav stood in the middle of the mess, dripping with infected blood and looking like an avenging angel of death.
“Mya,” he said, looking at me for the first time.
I climbed out from behind the desk and threw myself at him, half-crying, half-laughing, and fully shaking.
He caught me in his arms and held me.
“My Mya,” he said again and again as he stroked my hair and kissed my head.
I heard Ryan behind me.
“Thank you, Drav.”
Drav growled loudly
and released me.
“You should not have let her leave,” he roared at Ryan.
I stepped in front of Ryan, ready to defend my brother.
“It’s not his fault. I had to come, Drav. I can’t selfishly hide behind the fence while other humans go out to get food and supplies that I’ll use, too. We all have a responsibility to pitch in if we want to not just survive, but live.”
“No, Mya. Matt Davis gave his word that he would keep you safe. That promise was broken. We are leaving. Now.”
He picked me up and stalked through the door. I looked back at Ryan, who followed behind us, along with several other fey.
Outside the school, Drav stopped to speak to Molev, who studied me with a frown.
“The school is clear,” Drav said. “I will take Mya back while you gather the supplies they were willing to risk Mya for.”
Nineteen
Extreme guilt weighed on me as I lay on our bed, snugly warm in Drav’s arms. He hadn’t loosened his hold on me all night, which I completely understood. I’d scared him. But, did he honestly think it justifiable to keep me inside the fence when everyone else had to go out?
I tried moving a little.
“No, Mya,” he said gruffly.
His words tickled the hair on the back of my neck and sent a shiver through me. The reaction prompted him to groan and kiss the tender spot just below my ear. His palm brushed over my still sensitive nipple.
This wasn’t the first time he started something since we’d returned yesterday.
“We can’t stay in here all day, Drav.”
“Yes, we can.” His hand slid down my stomach, and I knew I wouldn’t win. I wanted him to touch me as much as he did.
As if sensing my surrender, he nudged me to my back and covered me with his very naked warmth. He stared down at me for a moment while settling his hips over mine.
“You’re selfish when you risk yourself,” he said softly.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve told you, you’re the best thing here. Without you, I have no reason to help these people. Without you, we would return to the safety of the home we know. If you care for these people so much, do not risk yourself.”
His words were proof that he’d listened to what I’d been trying to say last night. He’d heard me, but he hadn’t agreed. While I might not agree with him, either, I knew better than to push just now. Besides, I could be useful in other ways inside the fence.
“I won’t. I promise.” I leaned up and traced the curve of his lower lip with my tongue.
His hips pressed against mine and, with a groan, he took over the kiss with the consuming energy of a drowning man. The stroke of his sure fingers started a fire beneath the surface of my skin that blazed just for him. He rocked against me in a slow rhythm that showed his love and passion for me.
For the next thirty minutes, the world outside the tent faded away as Drav proved his need for me.
In a sweaty heap, we lay together afterward. Underneath the blankets, his fingers stroked over the bare skin of my stomach. I lay my head against his chest and traced little circles on his skin with my fingertip.
“I don’t want you to stay mad at Ryan,” I said softly after my pulse slowed.
“Then he shouldn’t have told you to go outside the fence.”
“How do you know he did?”
“Because that’s what you told your mother, and that’s what she told Kerr.”
“You do know that I could have said no. But I didn’t because I understood what Ryan was saying. We’re all taking risks just by being alive, and we all need to help out.”
“No. Not for things outside the fence. That’s why you wanted my people to come here. We aren’t as fragile as you. As you pointed out to Molev, the hounds exist because of us. We will take care of them. Your job is to stay inside the fence, so we have a reason to return.”
I shook my head and exhaled. “You are stubborn, and I love you.”
He kissed my temple. “I love you, too.”
“Drav,” Molev called from outside the tent. “It is time.”
“I am staying today,” Drav said, his hold on me tightening.
“No, you aren’t,” I said firmly. “You’ve made yourself very clear, and I’ve given you my word that I will not leave the protection of this fence. Now, it’s a matter of trust. Do you trust me to keep my word?”
He sighed and studied my face.
“Yes.”
“Then go. We all need you to keep us safe.”
“I will leave a few more men today,” Molev added through the tent, obviously listening. “To watch over the humans who stay behind and to help with any supply groups that leave.”
“Thank you, Molev,” I said, holding the blanket to my chest as Drav slid from bed.
“I will meet you at the gate, Molev,” Drav said.
“Do not take long. We go further this time.”
A moment later, Molev’s voice called out a greeting from further away, and I knew Drav and I were once again alone. In silence, I watched him pull on his pants.
His gaze shifted from lacing his leather boots up to me. The hunger in his eyes made me smile.
“Will you come with me to the fence?” he asked.
He held out his hand, and I slid from the blankets, grinning even wider at the way he looked at me.
“Of course I’ll come see you off. And I’ll be here waiting for you, just like this, when you come back.” I held out my arms and did a quick turn so he understood.
When I faced him, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest for a thorough kiss.
“I do not want to leave,” he murmured as he trailed kisses along my jaw to the side of my neck. “I want to stay here and listen to you pant yes again and again.”
An embarrassed flush consumed my face.
“I say stuff during sex?”
“Oh, yes. Many things for different places.” His fingers traced my collarbone before he nipped my skin, right below the almost healed infected bite. A tingle of need spread through me, and I almost groaned his name.
“Molev said not to take too long,” I managed to say, instead.
He grunted and stepped back from me after one more kiss.
“I’ll wait outside.”
After I dressed, I walked with him to the gate and waved as the men left. The fey who remained watched me like I was going to climb the fence and go running around screaming for infected to come get me.
“Relax guys. I have no plans to leave. In fact, I’m going to go to the dining hall and see if I can help there. I heard they’re going to use the potatoes you guys pulled from the school yesterday. With all that butter from the coolers, my mouth is watering big time.”
The fey disbursed when I walked away, likely to find their own ways to occupy the time.
A few people were already working in the kitchen when I arrived. Some scrubbed pans. Some stirred pots. Everyone seemed to be avoiding the pile of potatoes. I walked right up to the mound, picked up a peeler, and got to work.
While the others finished their various tasks and walked out without an offer to help, my pile of peels slowly grew. A few times, a fey would poke his head in and say hi but never stay long. I knew they were just checking to make sure I was still where I was supposed to be.
I didn’t mind the quiet time. I thought about yesterday and the fear I’d felt for Ryan and everyone else in the group. And how I’d felt hearing Drav’s roar. I loved that man completely. A world filled with infected and hellhounds didn’t seem so scary with him at my side. In fact, it seemed darn right survivable because of him.
Each hellhound death meant a better chance of a future for the remaining survivors. I thought about what that future might look like. Moving to houses where families could live…a family with Drav. It would be hard. This world would never be what it once was, at least not in my lifetime. Yet, the world not returning to the way it was might not be a bad thing.
Out of potat
oes, I filled a pot with water and started quartering the spuds. Once I had three pots going, I scooped the peels into another pot and went outside. Mom had mentioned they planned a garden in the back field next year, and I figured the peels would make a good start for compost.
Mom stepped out of the laundry building when I passed and waved at me. Carrying a basket of clean sheets, Shax stepped out behind her.
“Where are you going, Mya?” he asked.
“I’m going to start a compost pile with these peels.”
“That’s a good idea,” Mom called. “Set it up just on the other side of the walking path by the field we started turning.”
“Ok.”
Shax hesitated to follow my mom.
“I left potatoes boiling on the stove. I’ll be right back.”
Those words must have reassured him because Shax continued on with Mom. I shook my head and kept going, saying hello to the people I saw on the way. I’d forgotten how far away the back of the base was from the kitchen and wondered if Mom would keep an eye on the potatoes. My arms started to get tired as I walked. The peels weren’t bad on their own. The pot weighed a ton, though.
When I saw a lone fey walking toward me from the back of the base, I smiled widely.
“I’m so glad to see you,” I called.
He looked surprised that I’d spoken to him. Maybe because he looked like a mess. He had to have just gotten back from one of the group missions. His shirt was torn and filthy. He probably wanted to go to the showers, and I felt guilty for stopping him. But, my arms were screaming for relief.
As we drew closer to one another, I noticed the deep scarring on his face and his throat. Scars made from a hellhound attack by the look of them. Although his long hair covered much of the scarring, I felt bad for him. The fey already had the odds stacked against them because of their grey skin and eyes. Adding scars would make it even harder for the poor guy to meet girls.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Merdon,” he said, his voice a rasp.
The name sounded vaguely familiar.
“Would you be willing to help me carry this pot to the back field? It’s okay to say no if you’d rather go clean up first.”