EVOLVED

by Jessica Gomez

  Azami is nodding, excitement running through her body. She’ll sleep solidly tonight, helping to aid my own lack of sleep.

  “All right, we’ll see you at dinnertime.” James holds the curtain open for Azami.

  “Bye, Daddy! Bye Uncle Mitael!” Hopping past the curtain, she squeals down the hall.

  Michael chuckles as he sets the buckets of water down. The steam coming off each one, lets me know they’re warm. My left hand is far better off than my right, allowing me to wash myself. The soothing action sounds perfect right about now. Michael helps me out of my dirty clothes and sets out new ones.

  “Usually, I’d require you to take me to dinner before you took my clothes off, but there’s no turning back now,” I joke, suggestively lifting my eyebrows.

  A laugh bursts from his lips as he throws a clean towel at me. “You wish. You’re not my type.” He leaves one bucket next to the bed. “I’ll be back in a few. Going to see where Jen’s at, so take your time. I’ll be back to soak your hands and feet, see if we can get some of the dead skin to come off.

  ~~~~~

  Tired and sore, I groan as I settle in for the night. Azami chose to crash on her own bed tonight, and James is sound asleep on his side of the room. They pulled up an entire field of potatoes tonight, then hit the pool when they finished.

  A small smile remains on my lips as I begin to fall into a much-needed sleep. Slowly, images begin to flutter across my closed lids, noise penetrating my moment of calm. Anxiousness is fueling the air around me, the emotion floating heavily in the air. But that’s not the only thing I absorb. Lust. Desire. Primal need.

  The noises grow clearer. Grunting. Groaning. Moaning.

  Fear joins the weight in the air and instantly I sense her.

  Lillie.

  There’s no pain, nothing’s harming her, but she’s not in a safe space. My vision is clearing and revealing snippets of my surroundings. A small form lays on the ground, surrounded in fur, while a large male twice her size lays behind her, leaning in close enough to kiss her. My temper is rising, joining the chaos in the air. Her shaking recedes until a loud voice growls out, “No touch!”

  Her emotions spike again, forcing me out of my dream.

  Breathing heavily, my eyes snap open and instantly, I know the dream is real, somehow connecting with her. My room is silent, echoing the sound of my breathing against the wall. Azami and James are still both sound asleep. Snow covers any sign of light through our ceiling, keeping the time of night an enigma. The pounding of my heart slams against my chest with worry. Where the hell is she, and what the fuck is going on there? Panic is coursing through me thinking about the answer. Being an invalid is torturing me. If I can’t physically find her, I’ll start searching for her through our dreams.

  I’ll try anything at this point.

  Chapter 6

  Lillie

  The noise is gag inducing.

  Moments after Jeff places the bearskin over my body, he’s escorting a gaggle of infected into the cave. Peeking out of my fury cover, I see two infected women and three men entering. The men immediately go to the horde in the back. One naked infected ass is enough to have me turning away and ducking under my cover.

  “You don’t need to see this. Stay under the covers.” Asher stuffs my head all the way under the hide, leaving a small area for me to breathe. A patch of his tan chest is all I’m able to see.

  The noises filling the cave has me shaking. There’s an entire fuckfest going on around me. When are they going to turn on us? Asher must sense my line of thinking, because he leans down next to me, his voice clear, and says, “The smarter ones aren’t interested in us. We’ve only seen them breed with their own kind.”

  The information settles my uneasy nerves, until Jeff growls at Asher in a warning tone. “No touch!”

  Asher scoots back about a foot, careful not to touch me again.

  Those two words play on repeat in my dreams, along with the horrible slapping noises echoing throughout the night. I know there are several new infected in the cave, doubling their numbers. Two different tribes of sorts, both smarter than we ever imagined. Asher’s words bounce around in my head. If the infected weren’t interested in using us sexually, why keep us around? The information’s a relief, but questioning.

  Late into the night, the room is silent, giving me an opportunity. I stick a single finger out of the blanket and poke Asher softly. His eyes snap open immediately. He glances around without moving, silently gauging his surroundings. When he’s satisfied, he returns his gaze to me.

  “Why do they keep us around?” I whisper the one question burning a hole in my head.

  “Work. They’re evolving. The more they watch us, they learn. Hunting, building, you name it. They’re using us as reminders, reconstructing their lost skills.” He pauses, concentrating, attempting to understand his own explanation. “Watching them this entire time, waiting for a chance to escape, I notice them studying us. They can relearn human traits, but it’s not until they mimic us do they reenact our demeanors. When the world went to shit, they were wild and crazed. The ones that are reemerging now are smarter, faster, and stronger. They’ve evolved.”

  The next question has me panicking for what we’re up against. “Do you think we can escape?”

  “They’ve held me captive for almost a year. Not once have I had a chance to run.”

  My heart plummets. “They…They won’t touch us?”

  His voice sounds as relieved as mine when he answers. “Not exactly. They only mate with their own kind, but they’ll hurt you. Starve and torture you if you don’t do their bidding. When your infected showed up a few months back, he took over, killing the original leader.”

  “Jeff?”

  “What?” Asher tilts his head, questioning.

  “That’s his name, Jeff. He used to live in my cave system. He turned infected a couple months after I arrived.” I finished relaying the bulk of our history while Asher listens intently.

  “Wow. That explains a few things.”

  We remain silent, absorbing the information, before I ask another question. “How many others were before me?” I want to know how much longer I can expect to live.

  “Three.” The one word is spoken quietly. Jeff left our group only a few months back and has already gone through three prisoners. Who were they? Where the hell did he find them?

  “Hey.” Asher reaches out and touches my fingers. “He’s different with you.” He shakes his head softly, looking puzzled. “He’s…nice with you. He was brutal with the others, working them to death. No food. Barely any water. With you, he’s…attentive. I’m not sure what to make of it.”

  A loud snore vibrates next to us, halting our conversation. The entire cave is out, tired from their activities. Wendy, Abbey, and Greg lie on the edge of their bed, acting as if their infected mating next to them is an everyday occurrence. I’m thankful Jeff left me with Asher and not in the bed next to him while he competed in his sexcapades.

  In the silence of the room, my chain clanks together as I move. “Where did they find these chains?”

  “Jeff brought them. His first human was male. Jeff followed him everywhere, seeming eager to learn his forgotten traits. He spoke his first word a couple of days after his arrival, stunning us all. They’ve never spoken to us before, only grunting and growling. Jeff stares them down and they seem to know instinctively what he wants.” I don’t volunteer that they may communicate telepathically. “After a couple weeks, Jeff caught his human attempting to escape. This was before the snow hit, so he may have had a chance if he’d gotten far enough. Once Jeff noticed he was missing, he went after him. We heard his screams a few minutes later. Jeff didn’t return right away, staying gone most of the day. Into the night, we heard an awful rattle coming closer. When he entered, he pulled these long chains in behind him. I have no idea where he got them from, but he chained each of us, giving us minimal slack to move around. Since then, we’re only allowed off them when
we’re with our infected, foraging or hunting.”

  His story leaves me drained. I don’t want to hear anymore. I hold to the idea of being able to escape, because the thought of permanently being stuck here is tearing me apart.

  “Get some sleep. That’s enough information for one night. We don’t want to wake them. That wouldn’t be good for either of us, no matter how much he likes you.” He pulls the blanket back up and over me, tucking the warmth in with it.

  ~~~~~

  The night’s restlessness compounds with a loud screech that tears me from my sleep. My eyes snap open a split second before hands grip my hair and rip me from my warm bed. Asher startles awake, shouting as he moves forward to intercept me. The infected hits him hard but keeps moving, determination set deep in his brown eyes as he charges.

  “Let her go!” he demands.

  The infected snaps their teeth at him and hisses.

  “Now!” he demands again.

  My heart’s beating wildly, hoping my only ally doesn’t get himself killed. The infected continues to back away until my chain tightens, holding me captive by the boulder. My leg muscles burn from the tension when the infected pulls me further away from Asher. After a moment, the boulder begins to drag behind us, stretching my ligaments to the max. Blood is running down Asher’s lip, busted from the hit he took. He advances, but his chain stops his pursuit, allowing the infected to drag me closer to the exit and farther away from him. Panic is rushing through my veins, knowing that if I don’t get away from the infected, I’ll be snuffed out.

  “You…” the infected snarls in my ear.

  The air is becoming crisp with cold as the infected drags me around the corner of the main cave, Asher and the rest of the room no longer visible. The metal attached to my ankle is cutting deep, blood dripping down my almost numb foot as I’m dragged around the bend, heading for the open forest. A loud pop echoes through the cave as my knee dislocates. Asher’s deep voice frantically chases after me when I scream out in agony. The pressure on my knee is unbearable, seeming to rip my leg in two with the fire lancing through my tendons. Tears begin to stream down my cheeks as my vision blurs from the torture.

  Where the hell is Jeff?

  My answer comes in the form of a menacing growl. The sound is deep and threatening, and directly behind us.

  The infected holding me freezes and snaps around, pulling my wounded leg harshly. White stars dance behind my closed lids, my head swimming with pain. When I’m able to gain enough composure, I open my eyes to see Jeff.

  He crouches, with four others flanking him, preparing for a fight. They’re blocking all escape routes, leaving nowhere for the infected to run. There are at least a dozen fish at their feet, some still flopping against the snow, distracting me for a moment. A deep growl pulls my attention back to Jeff, his eyes yellow and glowing with anger. The iron grip around my neck tightens as Jeff takes one menacing step forward.

  “Mine.” His voice echoes throughout the forest with its force.

  The infected grunts, rejecting the declaration, and tightens its hold again. A single cry escapes my lips as air fights to enter my lungs. Jeff breaks his death stare to assess my condition. I meet his eyes, understanding he’s my only option to escape this new threat, and elbow the infected holding me in the stomach. A loud grunt follows, signaling I’ve hit home. In the blink of an eye, Jeff is in front of me, and I’m dropped to the cold hard ground. The impact blankets me in a new form of suffering. I remain on the ground, catching my breath, hearing death around me. Chancing a glance, I peek through my lashes. The infected that came into the cave last night, lay in terrible piles of carnage, while Jeff holds my attacker by the neck in the air.

  The first glance is a shock. I know those cold dead eyes that glare back at me.

  Becky.

  Chapter 7

  Ian

  My eyes crack open, heavy from the lack of sleep. Several days have passed since I dreamt of Lillie, and restlessness has plagued me. The itching that’s spread over my frostbitten skin is driving me insane, mixing my emotions about Michael’s visit this morning. James dropped Azami with Sarah in the kitchen to start the bread, before going to collect more wood from the storage tunnel. I elbow my pillows higher to sit up, nervous about Michael peeling the blackened skin from my frostbitten areas.

  My thoughts conjure him out of thin air, as he pulls the curtain to my room aside. “Hey, you’re up.”

  “Yeah.”

  Michael brings in three pots of warm water to soak my appendages, and starts with my feet. The water still burns, but nothing near the pain I felt the first night. I can only be thankful I passed out for the worst of it.

  There’s little conversation; there’s nothing new to say. Deagon, Luke, and Mason returned last night with no new leads on Lillie’s whereabouts, and I haven’t had any other visions of her. My senses are strung tight with the amount of emotions flowing through the caves. It might be part of the reason why I can’t dream of her, too much interference.

  Michael works me over well, peeling off most of the deadness, revealing new pink, sensitive skin. He removes the buckets from the room so he has more room to towel dry my injuries. Even though he’s gentle, the new skin is sore and sensitive to the touch.

  He takes one more look at my feet before nodding his approval. “Good news. You’re not going to have any permanent damage. In a couple of weeks, you’ll be back to new.”

  Relief sweeps through me, lifting one of the heavy boulders off my chest. “That’s good to hear.”

  “You still can’t be up walking around on them yet. If you misstep, you can easily cut through the new skin. There’s still a small risk of infection, so keep an eye on them. You can use your hands more, move yourself around with them, but remember not to cut them open on the rock. Any questions?”

  “When can I go out to search for Lil?” It’s the only questions on a continuous loop in my head.

  “It’ll be a while. You still aren’t healed completely. The weather outside is much too cold for you to return to right after having frostbite. You’ll have to work your stamina up again. You’ve been out of commission for a few weeks, and you’re not going to be able to jump right back into the swing of things. Remember that when you charge out there like a bull.” I don’t say anything, so he continues. “We have it covered for now. Believe me, we haven’t left a rock unturned looking for her every day. Get better. We’ll go from there.”

  A tsunami of sorrow engulfs me. I’ve always taken care of any situation. It’s hard to allow others to do what I ache to do myself. “Thanks, Michael, for everything.”

  Michael smiles and slaps my shoulder before standing. “I’ll leave you to sort yourself. Remember what I said, everything will come with time,” he reminds me again, as he steps out of the room.

  “Time’s not on my side,” I mumble. Every minute that Lillie is out there is one more minute I’m not there to protect her.

  I still have a long road to recovery, but the harder I work on mending, the faster I can get her back. The first step is to get the fuck out of this room, take a piss without my brother having to dump it outside. Play, feed, and walk with my daughter. Her mother’s absence is growing heavily on her. It’s time to have another chat with her about how she’s doing. I try to ask her questions that don’t appear as if I’m checking on her. I don’t want to keep bringing it up either, but I also want to make sure she knows she can talk to me about anything.

  Mason pokes his head around my curtain. He smiles once he sees me and opens the curtain, stepping into the room. He’s carrying a couple plates of food.

  “Jen helped Sarah and Azami this morning. They got an early start.” He sets the plates on the ground and take a seat on the only stool in the room. “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d bring you breakfast and see how you were doing.” He rubs the back of his neck.

  While I’ve been here, laid up, Mason’s been out there looking for her every day. The toll its taking on him is be
coming evident. He’s lost weight. His cheeks are red and dry from the winter air. Luke, Deagon, Jere, and James go out too, but Mason goes every day. The others trade off. He refuses to stay behind.

  “Don’t overdo it on yourself, Mase,” I tell him.

  “I’ve already gotten the lecture several times from various people.” He huffs a laugh with no humor, rubbing his cheeks.

  “Have you found any signs of her?” My heart is pounding, waiting for him to answer. James is positive that I’ll find her, but what will happen to her between now and then? Imagining the worst each day is tearing me apart.

  “No.” He shakes his head, aggravated. “Nothing. The day they took her, it snowed a good four feet, covering every trace of them. I’ve searched for miles in all directions. I checked all our old hunting grounds to see if he returned to any familiar places. I have no clue where they disappeared to.” His head is now resting in his hands, obviously frustrated.

  “James told me yesterday that we’d find her in spring.” Relaying this possible outcome to him is the only way I can soothe his worry.

  His head snaps up, studying my eyes, looking for the truth. “Why am I just now hearing this?” he growls angrily.

  “He saw it in a vision. Flowers on a hillside are the only indicator that spring is the time of the year, but it’s the best we’ve got. Says she practically runs right into us in the forest.” I think about the look on James’s face when he talked about the vision. “He’s not telling me everything, though. He’s holding something back.” I fill Mason in on the rest of the vision, hoping to relieve some of his anxiety.

  Color returns to his pale face as he breathes a sign of relief. “She’s alive.”

  “Yeah…” The but hangs in the air between us.

  Understanding crosses his features as he realizes she’ll remain with them for several months before we can find her. What shape will she return to us in? Being with the infected for that long…the things she’ll have to endure. I have no doubt Lillie is strong. Our past is a huge indicator of that, but our situation is an exception. These creatures are no longer human, they’re wild and untamed. Mason’s emotions fluctuate between anger and despair, with nowhere for either of them to go.