Demon Ash

by M. J. Haag

  He considered the map in silence for several moments.

  “Humans fear the infected because they can become infected. We cannot. You cannot. We are strong, silent, and fast. I think we should stay on your road and go through the city without stopping,” Molev said.

  “I’m not just worried about Timmy and me; I’m worried about you guys, too. Half the men from last night are still healing, and the commander marked it as heavily infected.”

  “We will be well, Mya. My instincts are telling me to go through.”

  I glanced at Drav.

  “Molev is the strongest and oldest because he has good instincts.”

  They both waited for my decision.

  “All right. I trust you guys.” I reached up and gently traced the scar running across the bridge of Drav’s nose. “But, we need to be careful.”

  He kissed me softly, and a moment later, our group continued toward the city. For the first stretch, we passed wide areas of grass and trees and quiet industrial buildings.

  I watched the road and the structures around us. Knowing that the infected had evolved enough to try to bait humans worried me. I could ignore cans of food or a lone figure in the distance, but what if they tried using a kid again? I couldn’t ignore that. Thankfully, I didn’t see any sign of humans from the highway.

  “Do you hear that?” Drav asked softly, still running.

  “What?” I strained to hear what he had. Nothing but the whisper of boots against blacktop reached my ears, though, until we approached the city’s shopping district. The faint wail of a car horn drifted on the light breeze.

  Within moments, a shopping center came into view on our right. In the parking lot, an RV sat in the middle of a swarm of infected. The vehicle rocked as the creatures slammed into the sides, trying to get in.

  Molev lifted his arm, and our group slowed.

  “It’s probably a trap,” I said softly.

  “Yes,” Molev agreed. “But the infected seem to want whatever that thing is.”

  “It’s an RV. A mobile home that people use when traveling.”

  “So there might be humans inside?”

  “Yes. Hopefully, healthy ones.”

  A scream rang out, proving that uninfected humans were trapped inside.

  “We need to help them,” I said.

  Half the group split off, racing toward the motorhome. The infected didn’t notice the fey until the first infected’s head flew through the air. The horn quieted, and the infected turned as one, attacking the immediate threat to their existence. It didn’t matter that the infected now worked together. The herd of at least seventy infected posed no challenge for the fifty fey. Blood bathed the exterior of the RV by the time the last one fell.

  In the silence, the fey watched the camper. The door stayed firmly closed.

  “We need to go down there, Drav. If there are humans inside, the sight of you guys is probably scaring the hell out of them. They’ll never leave the RV.”

  Drav grunted and led the way from the highway to the parking lot. The fey moved out of the way so Drav stood near the front of the group, just on the outskirts of the dead bodies now surrounding the RV. The stink of rotting flesh almost made me gag before the wind shifted, bringing cleaner air.

  “Can you put me down? I look more like a captive than a willing…” What was I? I glanced at Drav, and found him watching me knowingly.

  “I look more like a captive than a girlfriend.”

  He smiled slightly and let me down. With a blush covering my face, I focused on the camper.

  “I really hope you’re not all infected in there,” I said in a normal voice. “And I really hope you can hear me without me needing to yell because I don’t want any more infected chasing us.”

  One of the windows slid open an inch.

  “We can hear you,” a man said. “And no one in here is infected.”

  “Good. What happened? Why are you here?”

  “We’re on our way to the McAlester Ammunition Plant and stopped for supplies.”

  “The commander from McAlester said they don’t come here because of too many infected.” As I said that, I heard a distant call. A moan like we’d heard on the road when the infected had tried to ambush us.

  “The infected know you’re here. Can you start the RV?” I asked.

  “No. We came out with supplies, and it wouldn’t start. Something got to the engine.”

  A trap.

  “We need to get out of here. You have two options. Stay in there and face the infected on your own, or come out and let these men carry you out of the city.”

  “What are they?”

  “They are the men who can hunt and kill infected and the hellhounds.”

  “You going to McAlester?”

  “No. Whiteman. Honestly, McAlester isn’t that safe. We just came from there. They had a hellhound attack the night before last. The whole thing would be filled with newly made infected if these guys hadn’t been there.”

  The door opened, and a young woman with greasy blonde hair stared over her shoulder while the other inhabitants started yelling at her to close the door.

  “I’m fucking tired of this shit,” she said, not addressing us. “Everything wants to kill us. She’s cleaner than I am and standing there telling us these guys are safe. Either they are or they aren’t. Either they kill us or the infected do. I’m done.”

  She faced us and saw all the infected bodies for the first time.

  “Holy shit.”

  “Yeah, stay where you are,” I said.

  I glanced at the men around me. Most of them had infected blood on them.

  “Same rules apply to these humans as Timmy. If you have infected blood on you, stay away.”

  Some of the men grumbled, and others chuckled.

  I looked at the girl again.

  “If it’s okay, one of these guys will carry you. They can run much faster than we can.”

  “Sure. Whatever.”

  I called out the names of a few men who had been around me enough that they weren’t overly weird.

  Ghua, still clean, stepped toward the girl first and picked her up.

  “Hi,” she said nervously, looking up at him.

  “I will keep you safe,” he said.

  She exhaled shakily. “I’d really like that.”

  An infected called out again, sounding much closer.

  From the shadows, another girl stepped forward. “I don’t want to die here.”

  “How many are inside?” I asked.

  “There’s twelve of us, total.”

  “We need to hurry. Molev, who else can carry someone?” I asked.

  Drav scooped me up, and Molev started calling out names. When a woman with a young girl stepped forward, I knew the woman wouldn’t want to be separated from her daughter.

  “It will be harder and less safe if one of these guys tries to carry two people,” I said before she could ask. “But whoever carries your daughter will stay right beside you the entire time.” She reluctantly handed over her whimpering daughter and squeaked a little when the next man picked her up effortlessly. She glanced at me, and I gave a half smile.

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  The human men were last, hesitating on the steps.

  “We can walk,” one said.

  “We don’t have time for that,” I said.

  An older man with white hair nudged the other man out of the way.

  “Speak for yourself. If one of you wants to carry me, I’m willing to take the lift.”

  I grinned and watched Azio move forward to pick up the man.

  “Azio, be extra careful. Humans with white hair tend to be more fragile.”

  The older man snorted.

  “Come on, Mary, your chariot awaits,” the man said.

  An old woman stepped down and looked over the men.

  “Oh my,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve seen this much bare chest since watching the Summer Olympics.”

&n
bsp; I chuckled, already liking Mary and the older man.

  An infected came from around the side of the RV. The already bloody fey moved to create a protective circle around the humans and beheaded the infected.

  “That’s so gross,” one of the girls said, turning her head away.

  “Gross but effective.” I looked at the remaining human men lingering by the RV. “It’s now or never.”

  In short order, each of the twelve RV inhabitants occupied the arms of a fey. The group set off at their normal sprint, heading north out of town. A few of the fey hung back and dealt with any infected that tried to follow.

  Once we cleared the city limits, I asked Molev if we could stop. He immediately lifted an arm and the group slowed.

  “Good instincts, by the way,” I said, giving his arm a pat after Drav placed me on my feet.

  He nodded, and I turned to the humans who the fey were also putting down.

  “My name is Mya. This is Molev and Drav.”

  The mom stepped forward. “I’m Jessie and this is my daughter, Savannah. Savvy for short.” She went through the rest of the introductions quickly, nodding toward the older couple first. “That’s James and Mary, then Finley, Ollie, and Aaron.” Each man raised a hand when she spoke his name. The girls did the same. “And that’s Hannah, Emily, Taylor.” They all looked close to my age. The two remaining boys, Caden and Connor, looked about twelve or thirteen.

  “Thank you for helping us,” Jessie added.

  “I’m glad we found you. You’re welcome to travel to Whiteman Air Force Base with us. We were told my family is there.”

  “Yes. We’d like that.”

  “Good. Byllo, can you bring Timmy’s bag and let Jessie use some of the wipes to clean up Savvy?”

  He brought Timmy over to the woman, and another fey followed with Timmy’s supplies. While they quietly cleaned up the kids and got them something to drink, I motioned for the other humans to move a little further away. The fey stayed loosely positioned around us. Drav and Molev remained with me. There would be no private talk to help explain things.

  “Drav found me the first night this craziness all started. He didn’t know a word of English then but kept me safe. Through all of it. The hellhounds, the infected, the bombs. I’m not telling you this so you trust him. I’m telling you this so you understand why I trust him and the others. Why I’ll take their side over yours if it comes down to that.”

  Aaron slowly shook his head at me as if I’d lost my mind.

  “They will keep you safe as long as you don’t do something to jeopardize my safety or the safety of any other woman or child,” I said.

  “Why just women and children?” Aaron asked.

  “Because they don’t have any of their own.”

  “Seriously?” Taylor said under her breath, looking at the fey with partial awe.

  “Yes. They’d never seen a female until me or a child until Timmy. This is still very new to them.”

  “So they are stealing women and children?” the older woman asked, horrified.

  “No. I’m not stolen and neither is Timmy.” Technically we kind of were, but I wasn’t going to get into that. “We were both rescued. They’re helping me try to find my parents. Along the way, they’re also looking for any humans who aren’t infected. But, I’ll be honest. They’re mostly interested in any female who would be interested in them.”

  “You mean interested-interested?” Taylor asked.

  I nodded.

  “Drav and I are very happily together. The rest see what Drav has with me, and they’re hoping for the same. They are kind and gentle. They will ask you if you want to be carried…unless you’re in danger. Then you don’t get a choice. They are loyal and very protective. But they are also a little clueless about some things. Because of that, we need to set some rules so there are no misunderstandings.”

  “Jessie, you might want to cover Savvy’s ears. Timmy, too,” I said to Byllo. As soon as the children’s ears were covered, my gaze swept over the fey. I knew what I needed to say, but could already feel my face heating.

  “Humans are typically modest. We like staying covered, so no asking…” I swallowed uncomfortably. “No asking to see someone’s pussy. And no more using that word.”

  “What word should we use?” one of the fey asked.

  “Nothing. You don’t need to talk about that part.”

  “Then how can we ask to see it?” another asked.

  “You don’t!”

  There were unsatisfied grumbles around me, but I ignored them and addressed the humans once more, my face burning.

  “These men don’t know much about us or our culture. But don’t mistake their naivety for lack of intelligence. If they do something that makes you uncomfortable, tell them. Nicely. If you’re rude to me, they take offense. Don’t use nasty words or slang. Not only are there children present, but these guys take things literally.”

  The girls, including Jessie, continued to watch the fey with a mixture of doubt and fear. I turned my attention back to the fey. Other than their open, hopeful expressions, they didn’t have much going for them. Infected blood covered the majority of them. If I wanted the new girls to look at the fey in a different way than they did now, I needed to figure out how to get the guys cleaned up. But, first I needed to finish the rules so they didn’t ruin their chances before they even got started.

  “Any female under the age of eighteen is completely off limits for anything other than respectfully keeping her safe. Humans are still considered children until eighteen.”

  I glanced at the twelve newcomers.

  “Do any of you have any questions about the rules?” Most of them shook their heads. “No? Good. Any fey with questions can ask Drav privately.” I didn’t want to deal with their pussy complaints.

  “Now, we need to find a place for these guys to clean up.”

  “We’re out in the open, and you want to stop for a shower?” Aaron asked angrily.

  Savvy, who’d been dozing in her mother’s arms, jerked awake with a cry.

  The old man hushed Aaron; and Mary moved closer to Jessie, who held her daughter to her chest and bounced the child, trying to ease her back to sleep. The dark circles under Jessie’s eyes stood out, another indicator of her exhaustion as her bounces became slower.

  “Jessie, dear, give me the girl for a bit. Let one of those handsome men carry you for a moment or two,” Mary said with a wink.

  “I will carry you, Jessie,” echoed around us as many of the fey spoke up at the same time and stepped forward.

  The woman immediately took a step back and clutched her daughter a little closer.

  “Back off boys, please,” I said stepping forward. “We’ll get the guys cleaned up first. But, maybe in the meantime, we can all walk. With this large of an escort, we’re safe.” I gave Aaron a pointed look.

  The group surrounded around the humans, and Jessie moved over to where Byllo walked with Timmy in his arms.

  Fourteen

  The humans we had saved continued to be wary of the fey and tended to stay as far away from them as they could. That meant the group was spread out in its plodding pace with the humans in the center. Caden and Connor, the young teenaged boys, dragged their feet against the ground in exhaustion. The girls walked in a group, leaning on each other. Jessie struggled to hold her daughter, changing her from hip to hip in an effort to find relief. And, Mary and James had fallen behind the rest.

  We’d already walked for a couple of miles when we came up to a large lake. The water looked murky, but I didn’t think the men would mind. The humans needed the rest, and the fey needed to bathe in order to continue carrying them.

  “This is a good place to wash up,” I said to Drav.

  He grunted in acknowledgement and set me down.

  “Are we going to rest for a bit?” Ollie, one of the older men with tired eyes and grey at his temples, asked.

  “Yeah, we can rest while they wash up.”

  The
fey who walked at the front dropped their pants without warning and went into the lake. The trio of girls gasped. Hannah’s eyes went wide, but she didn’t glance away. Taylor just gawked. Emily squeaked and turned away. Then she squeaked again.

  I turned around to see more of the fey men pull the strings to their pants and drop them where they stood. Those standing near Mary looked at her before confidently and slowly walking past.

  “Oh my!” Mary exclaimed as she got an eyeful. Most of the fey smiled proudly at her examination.

  “Mama!” James called.

  “Oh hush it, Pa. This is good for the blood.” She winked and continued staring at the men who walked passed her.

  Drav growled behind me.

  “What?” I asked, turning around to him. He stood, watching the others walking naked to the lake.

  “I do not like you looking at the others.”

  I smiled slightly and stepped close.

  “Drav,” I framed his face with my hands. “I only want you.” I pressed a quick, chaste kiss to his lips. “And, as I recall, you had no problem with me seeing their bathing when we were in Ernisi.”

  He grunted, and water splashed as more fey made their way into the water.

  “So stop worrying about what I’m not even remotely interested in and give me something I do want to look at.”

  He smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist.

  “Join me?”

  I glanced over at the brown water and the steam rising from the men already washing. I was no fool. That lake had to be as freezing as their underground river.

  “I think I will pass.”

  Drav grunted then stepped back to pull off his shirt and drop his pants. I shook my head at his shameless walk into the water.

  “You’re a lucky woman,” Mary said, ogling Drav’s firm butt as he walked away.

  “I am.”

  Mary’s eyes went big as one of the fey left the lake. The afternoon light caught on his wet, chiseled chest.

  “Mary,” the fey said acknowledging her.

  “New rule. No flirting with married women,” I called.

  “Oh, hush,” Mary said.

  “What is married?” a fey called.