His left hand cups my face gently. “I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t tell you right now how much you mean to me.”
He pulls me closer and he presses his mouth to mine. His lips are warm and surprisingly gentle, but I can feel the passion and emotion behind them. I wrap my arms around his neck and press myself up against his chest, trying to close as much of the distance between us as possible. My lips move in sync with Ryder’s, and his good hand weaves its way through my hair, and he tilts my head back to kiss me harder.
When he pulls away, we’re both breathless, and more than slightly embarrassed. He catches his breath for a second, before kissing me lightly on the lips once, twice, and three more times.
“Ryder–”
“Sam, I’m sorry for the things I said to you that day in the tree. I didn’t wanna say them, but you have to understand, things are so uncertain now. Any day could be the day I lose you, and I don’t know what that would do to me. It’s safer for everyone involved if we don’t fall in love.”
“I know that, but there are so few good things in this life now. Love is one of those things, Ryder. No matter where we go, we’ll see death, fire, and rotting corpses. If we have a chance to have something good, we should take it.”
He nods, even though it has to kill him to do it. “I understand that now.” He pulls me close and kisses me again, softer and slower this time, and pulls away with a smile. “And all it took was me getting shot.”
Reese clears his throat, and I look over my shoulder. “How’re ya feeling?”
“Like shit.”
“How long until you think you’re ok to move out? We can’t stay in this ruined, burned shell of a house forever.”
“You can’t seriously think he’s alright to move, do you?” I ask, appalled. “He’s almost bled to death, twice, in the last week. He shouldn’t move for another week at least!”
“Sam, I know you’re worried about him, but we can’t stay here indefinitely. This place isn’t suitable for four people anymore, let alone six. We have to find someplace more stable, someplace safer. Someplace with more food and clean water.”
“I know, but he’s in no shape to move.”
Ryder takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. “I’ll be alright.” He looks at his brother, who’s leaning in the kitchen doorway. “I think we should leave tomorrow. If you can help me get in and out of the boat, I should be alright. What I’m really worried about is protection. I’m not going to be firing a gun for a while, and I don’t know if you can keep the six of us safe by yourself.”
“Sam can help, and Naomi’s pretty good with a gun. The three of us should be able to keep us all safe. Don’t worry about it too much,” Reese says. “Everything will work out, especially now that the Warriors are gone.”
That relaxes me a little. Reese is right. The world is a much safer place now that Frank and his Warriors are gone. I feel like I don’t have to look over my shoulder constantly in fear that they’ll pop up at any moment.
“I’ll go tell the girls it’s time to pack.”
He leaves us with one last look, and I know he notices the joined hands. I hope he’s as alright with it as he said he was the other day, because as much as I care about Ryder, I don’t want Reese to be hurt because of it.
“Don’t worry about him. He and I have talked, and he’s perfectly fine with…with us.”
“Are you sure?”
He nods. “Positive. He liked you, but he does understand. For him, it was just a harmless crush. For me, it was something more.”
He yawns and stretches with his good arm. “You need to get some rest,” I tell him. “If we’re going to be leaving soon, I want you as strong as possible, just in case something goes wrong.”
He nods, and leans back against the pillows. He takes another harsh breath, and his eyes close. His breathing starts to even out and I lean in and kiss him on the forehead. He slowly smiles, and I feel better about leaving him.
“Sleep tight,” I say, giving his hand one final squeeze. He nods his head, and I get up from his side and head into the kitchen. Reese is lounging against the fridge, and Naomi is staring at him. I stop, getting the distinct impression that I’ve just interrupted something. “What’s going on?”
Reese sighs. “Naomi thinks leaving the island is a bad idea.”
“And you disagree.”
He nods. “Yes, I do. Naomi thinks we should find another house here on the island, clean it out, and just live out the rest of our lives. But surviving here was going to be hard enough with four people, now we have six, and Ryder isn’t going to be of much use now. I don’t think he’ll ever fully recover.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Relax, Sam. He’ll live, but I’m not a surgeon, and I could only do my best. Even though the wound will heal, I’m not sure if he’ll ever get back his full range of motion. He might be crippled for life.”
“So he can’t fire a weapon?”
“Not anytime soon, if he can even recover to the point where he can life a gun with that arm.”
“He was just fine using his left arm when you raided the camp to save us.”
“The whole time we were in that camp, he only fired two shots, the ones that put Frank down, and it damn near killed him to do it. He can’t get up and overexert himself like that again; he might not recover a second time.”
“I understand. He’ll have to take it easy for a while, but I agree with you. We can’t stay here. This island, no matter how careful we are, will never support six people, especially with only one of us to defend it. I’d rather we move on now while we’ve got the strength and supplies to do it.”
I nod, and look at Naomi. “He’s right. If we wait to leave, we’ll be doing it with no food, no water, and no ammunition. We won’t stand a chance out on the open road. If we’re gonna go, we have to go now.”
Naomi sighs. “That’s the problem. I don’t want to go. I like this island. We have the woods to hunt, and we can start a vegetable garden; I found your seed packets in your supplies. We can collect the rainwater, and we can find a better house, one with more room, and that isn’t destroyed by fire.”
“Those things won’t last forever, Naomi. Listen, it doesn’t rain here everyday. We need to leave.”
“I don’t understand why,” she complains. “We could have a real life here. Where else are we gonna find that’s anywhere near as safe as this one? Once we clear out all the zombies here, there won’t be anymore. We won’t have to live in constant fear, always looking over our shoulders. Why would you wanna leave that?”
“Because…” I have to stop, because I don’t really have an answer. This place could be perfect. If Reese is careful, he could probably clear out the zombies without Ryder’s help. Could we fortify this place? If we could, Naomi might be right. We could have a semi-normal life?
“Sam, I know what you’re thinking,” Reese says, “But I don’t think we should stay here.”
“Why not?” Naomi asks. “Give me one good reason why we should leave this place.”
Reese looks at me. “Sam–”
“You have a reason,” I say, looking at him. “Don’t you?”
He sighs, and runs his hand nervously through his hair. “Yeah, I do. We didn’t take care of all the Warriors; there are still a handful of them left. We destroyed most of their supplies and ammunition, but I don’t wanna be here if they decide they want revenge.”
Naomi’s mouth drops open. “There are still Warriors and you didn’t tell us? How could you keep something like that from us?”
“I didn’t think it would be a problem,” he admits. “But I think I’m wrong. If they’re anything like Frank, they’ll be out for revenge, and I’d like to not be here when that happens. Cause if it comes down to a fight, I know we won’t win.”
I look at Naomi. “Is that reason enough for you?”
She sighs. “Yeah, I guess it is. I don’t wanna be here when those monsters come looking for r
evenge. In fact, I’d like to be as far from here as possible. What did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking Kansas, South Dakota, or Utah. Something with a lower population.”
Naomi rubs her arms nervously. “I still don’t know if we should leave. We’re so safe from zombies here, right? If we’re out there on the open road, we could and probably will get attacked daily. I think I’d rather be shot by vengeful Warriors than eaten alive by a zombie.”
“Then stay here,” Reese says, grabbing a bottle of water. “I’m leaving tomorrow, and I think Tobe, Sam, and Ryder are all coming with me. However, you and Melissa are welcome to join us, as long as you’re willing to take orders from the person in charge, which will be me.”
Naomi sighs. “I won’t survive long if I’m here by myself. I’ll go with you guys. But if I get bitten, you’re the first one I’m coming after, remember that.”
Reese smiles. “I will.”
Naomi nods. “Alright. So when do we leave?”
“We’ll do it tomorrow after breakfast. I wanna give Ryder a little more time to heal. I don’t think half a day is going to help him much, but I think it’ll be better than nothing.”
“Will he really be ok to travel?” I ask.
“I think we’ll have to help him to the boat, out of the boat, to the car, and then out of the car, but he can’t stay here.”
“We should leave him behind,” Naomi says.
I round on her, hands instantly clenching at my sides. “We will not be leaving him anywhere! How dare you suggest that?”
“I was just trying to think rationally. He’s only going to slow us down and deplete our supplies. He can’t contribute to the group in his condition, and he might get one of us killed. I know he means a lot to you, but I’m just thinking about what’s best for the group, seeing as Melissa and I are now part of it. Don’t take it the wrong way.”
She’s right. Ryder is going to be a burden, but he’s done so much for our group that I could never think about leaving him behind. And it might be beneficial to have someone in the group that doesn’t care so much about us; someone that can keep an objective view on things. I know that no matter what happened, after everything we’ve been through, Reese or I could never make a call that would hurt anyone in our group. Naomi can do that, because she doesn’t really know us yet.
“Alright, we’ll let Ryder sleep for now, make a hasty breakfast in the morning, and then we’ll go. We’ve got a jeep waiting for us on the mainland, and we’ll transfer our supplies and get going.”
In the morning, we let Ryder sleep as long as possible while the rest of us load up the boat. Naomi and I load up the last of the MRE’s, and I catch her looking at me a few times. Finally, I can’t take it anymore. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I look at her, and she sighs. “I keep thinking about that other girl in the tent with us. I don’t know what happened to her. One minute she was with us, and the next she was gone. I feel bad because it’s been like five days that she’s been on her own and she’s probably dead right now, and I didn’t even know her name.”
“You didn’t know her name?”
“She wouldn’t speak. She didn’t say a single word the entire time she was there. She just did a lot of whimpering and sniveling, not that I blame her. What those monsters do to women is deplorable. I just wonder what happened to her, and if we should take the time to look for her when we get to the mainland.” I snort, and she narrows her eyes at me. “What was that for?”
“You think we should leave Ryder here because he’ll be a burden, but you think we should take the time to stop and search for a woman that’s most likely dead. I don’t believe it. How can someone take life for granted like that, and then completely flip their thinking around?”
She sighs. “I know you don’t wanna hear this because you’re in love with the guy, but there’s still a very real chance that he’s going to die in the next few days, and you should begin preparing yourself for that. If he doesn’t get an infection, it could still be a zombie that gets him, or even blood loss. If he overexerts himself, he might bust open that hasty stitch-up you did.”
“He’s going to be just fine,” I say tightly. “Ryder can survive anything.”
She shakes her head sadly. “I hope for your sake that you’re right.”
“I am.”
“Hey!” Reese shouts from the house. “You guys ready to go? Ryder’s up, sorta, and we’ll be leaving in a bit.”
I head back up to the house at a run, and burst into the living room. Ryder is sitting up in his makeshift bed of pillows and blankets, and he’s got a bowl of oats and blueberry stuff that I recognize from one of the MRE packs. He’s trying to balance the bowl in his lap while using his left hand to scoop the food into his mouth.
He looks up at me and smiles slowly. “I’ll be damned if I’m gonna be fed like a baby.” He looks slightly uncomfortable with all of us watching him eat, but he shrugs it off and keeps trying. He spills almost as much as he eats, and I smile.
“Are you sure you don’t want help?”
“I am a man, and men feed themselves.”
I laugh, and try to hide it in a cough. He just smiles, and goes back to trying to spoon oatmeal into his mouth. He does a little better, but I still have the strangest urge to reach over, take the spoon from him, and do it myself.
When he’s finished, he sets the bowl aside, and looks up at Reese. “Alright, let’s do this. Help me up, and we’ll get going.” He sets his jaw, and Reese takes his arm. Ryder winces in pain, but grits his teeth and lets Reese pull him up. When he stands, he’s shaky and a little unbalanced, but Reese steadies him with a worried look.
“Are you gonna be alright to move? We can stay another day if we have to.”
Ryder snorts. “One more day isn’t going to help me any. We might as well get going; I don’t wanna be here if those remaining Warriors come calling for us. Better to get a head start now.”
It takes us a while to get Ryder down to the boat, and he’s in intense pain the entire time. He has to stop twice to catch his breath, and I worry about him. Tobe puts her hand on my shoulder, and watches with a frown on her face. “He’s practically helpless.”
“He is not!” I snap, and instantly regret it. Her face crumples, and I sigh. “I’m sorry, Tobe. I just don’t like him being so…weak. I’m used to thinking that Ryder will be able to protect us, but now he can’t. That puts more pressure on us, and I’m not sure if I’m gonna be able to keep him alive like he did for me so many times.”
I sigh. “If he gets hurt or dies and it’s my fault, I don’t think I could live with that guilt. Or with his loss.”
Naomi looks at me with raised eyebrows. “You’ve never been in love before, have you?”
“No,” I say, clearing my throat. “I don’t wanna talk about this anymore. Where’s Melissa? Isn’t she coming?”
The front door slams shut, and we all turn around, and gape. Melissa’s long blond hair is completely gone; she’s shaved her head down to the skin, and she looks so lost and confused that I instantly pity her. She walks past us with her head down and climbs into the boat. Ryder and Reese both stare, and they exchange quick glances, but nobody says anything.
Without another word, we all get into the boat with what’s left of our supplies, with our wounded group leader, and his younger brother taking the lead. We have no idea where we’re going, or if we’ll all make it there in one piece. It feels like we’re starting out again, but this time with no clear direction or plans.
Chapter Nineteen
When we reach the mainland, Reese and I both help Ryder out of the boat, and he gasps with pain when we let him go. His face is pale and he’s started to sweat, and I wonder if we should have just stayed on the island and given him more time to rest. He’s definitely not going far in his condition, and I don’t want anything to happen to him.
Reese checks his rifle, and nods his head to Naomi. “You’re with me. The jeep is
about a block from here; we parked it a ways away because we didn’t want anyone to see it. Sam, you stay here with Ryder, Tobe, and Melissa.” He looks uncomfortable at that thought for a second, but I shake my head.
“We’ll be fine. Just hurry back.”
He nods, takes one look at Naomi, and sighs. “Let’s get this over with. The sooner we leave, the sooner the group is back together. Come on,” he says, turning and jogging down the dock. Naomi takes one last look at me before following after him.
I tighten my grip on my gun, and move closer to Ryder. He wraps his good arm around my waist, and starts to scan the area around us. He might not be able to shoot, but he can still be on the lookout and with his training, he’s probably the best at noticing small things out of place. While he looks around, I study Melissa, the youngest member of our group.
She’s not only the youngest, but the most unstable. She just shaved her head, and she hasn’t said a word since Ryder and Reese rescued her. Not even a ‘Thanks for not leaving me behind’. She just sits there and stares off at nothing; even Tobe wasn’t this way when she first came to us.
Ryder leans closer and whispers in my ear, “You alright?”
“Yeah, I’m just thinking about Melissa,” I whisper back. She’s standing close by, but she isn’t paying much attention to anything. “She might be a hazard to our group. She’s definitely unstable.”
He nods. “I know. She just shaved her head. All she does is sit there and twitch. Even Tobe wasn’t this bad when we first found her. I’ll keep a close eye on her, and if she does anything suspicious, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks.”
We stop talking, and start paying more attention to our surroundings. This place is very exposed, and it makes me feel slightly uncomfortable, especially since Ryder won’t be of any use in a fight. If we get pinned down or ambushed, it’ll just be me capable of fighting. And I know that I won’t be able to take any Warriors; right now, I’m just glad that they’re about six miles from our position right now.
Zombie Island Page 18