Safe wasn’t necessarily in the cards, but it would keep us off the radar a bit. “We don’t need to right away,” I said. “And we should find a location where we can meet up again at some point.”
“Of course,” Kristy said with a smile. “We’re family. Any split will only be temporary. You can do what needs to be done, and then we can all be together again.”
Caleb took his sister’s hand and nodded. “As long as Kris and I stay together, we’ll do what needs to be done.”
“We’ll figure that out in a bit,” I said. Of course, there was no way I’d split up the twins. They were always a package deal. “Let me talk to Jake and Rex, and we’ll figure out the groups.”
Kristy smiled again. “No prob. Do what you need to do. Just keep us in the loop, okay?”
I agreed, and called out to Rex and Jake to come walk with me for a while.
Scout’s people continued to lead the group. They moved slowly, and kept a close watch for any threats. Jake, Rex, and I walked in silence for a few minutes, just watching as the tension began to ease from the others.
“You know we’ll be leaving them soon,” I said softly.
Jake nodded somberly. “We won’t be able to watch out for them. At least for a while. But we’re in one of the safest places we could be.”
“They’ll be fine. I’d like to leave them all together. Do you think they’d be okay once we split from them?”
Just me, Rex, and Jake. It would be reminiscent of the beginning of the outbreak.
Rex shook his head. “I think we should take Scout too. He knows how the guards work, so he could be useful. Who knows, he could even have some idea where the center of all this actually is.”
Shanti slowed until she was walking with us. “I’m going with you.”
Great. The one person in our group who never liked me, wanted to travel more closely with me.
“Why?” It was the only thing going through my mind, so it seemed like the only valid question.
She stared at me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Because you keep us safe.”
“But… you hate me.” Honestly, this was the most like a thirteen-year-old I’d felt since the outbreak started. Stating petulantly that an older teen didn’t like me. Great leader here, right?
Surprisingly, the other girl chuckled. “Not hate, dear. I just think you need input from someone other than the boys.”
I raised an eyebrow. Her reasoning seemed off.
“Okay, fine,” she sniped. “Can I talk to you alone for just a moment?”
Rex and Jake watched curiously, but I waved them off. As he passed behind Shanti, Rex pointed and rolled his eyes. I had to work to keep the smirk off my face. Probably wouldn’t help anything if the older girl thought I was laughing at her.
“Alright, Shanti. What do you want?”
“I want to understand how you do what you do. You’re connected to the monsters, and I’ve seen what they can turn you into. I just… I feel like I can help you.”
Shanti was our most recent addition, and I knew very little about her previous life. Understandably, she seemed a bit unwilling to share personal stories.
“How?” I asked. “How are you going to help me?”
She smiled. “I can fight, if needed,” she answered. “But I can also help remind you who you are when you start to lose yourself.”
Basically, something anyone in the group could do. And possibly better, since they’d all known me longer.
She must have sensed my reluctance, because she sighed and stared at the ground. “Look, I just know I can be of use to you. Can you… could you please…”
“Z, just let her come,” Jake suggested, coming up behind her. “She seems pretty insistent, and she could be useful to have along.”
“And it makes the group of kids staying here smaller,” I said with a nod.
It was only slightly annoying that Jake had interrupted what was supposed to be a private talk. But he had a point. Shanti was strangely insistent about coming along, but her reasoning didn’t compute. Which raised the same question I’d had before: Why?
Chapter Twenty-One
Of everything we’d seen in the last year, I think this was the strangest. We approached the town, awestruck by how normal everything appeared. Streetlights were lit. Houses had real electric lights. Cars drove on decently-kept streets. It was difficult to reconcile our experiences in the outbreak zone with what we saw here.
Uniformed people patrolled the streets, but there were still children playing outside their houses. None seemed concerned they might be killed by one of the enemy. Although, looking closer, they did appear nervous of the guards if they came close.
Our group crouched near the edge of the woods and watched. “They don’t have monsters, so what are they worried about?” Caleb asked.
“The guards are their monsters,” Jake answered. “At the beginning, the police forces tried to protect people from the new guards forced in when the government declared martial law. Unfortunately, the good force lost to the more violent tendencies of the newly created border guards.”
“So… the guards are violent towards everyone?” I asked.
One of Scout’s people shook her head. “Not all of them. Even in the violent group, there were some good soldiers who only wanted to protect people.”
“Yeah, Kate,” Scout agreed. “But most of us have been pushed out by now.”
The former guard sighed. “We joined the guard to fight the outbreak, and stop people from dying. Somehow, it turned into ruling people. I wouldn’t have joined if I’d known. Once you’re in…”
“It takes a lot of work to get out,” Kate finished. “Zero, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry we even considered turning you over to those people. If I can help you in any way, just let me know.”
At her offer, Jake stepped forward. “Actually, we could possibly use some added muscle, and insider knowledge. We’re going to be hunting down the people who started this outbreak. We could use some help with that.”
Okay. Poking into a private conversation with Shanti I could accept. Inviting virtual strangers on our—plan? Mission? Quest? I’m going with quest—was another story.
“Scout, we were considering asking you to join us,” I acknowledged, ignoring the look Jake sent Kate’s way.
“In that case, Kate and I would be happy to join you. The rest of our unit will hole up until we get back.”
Great. Another uninvited guest. First Shanti, and now Kate. The dark-haired woman appeared to be in decent shape, and definitely knew how to handle a weapon. Her green eyes showed a spark of intelligence, and were currently locked on Jake.
“Awesome,” I said flatly. “Now, how exactly do we get the others to a place they can be safe? This town would notice outsiders in a heartbeat.”
Kate answered, “If I’m remembering my maps correctly—”
“And she is,” Scout vouched with a smile.
“Then there is a larger city only a few miles away,” Kate continued. “We can skirt around this little town and continue on our way. Hopefully, no one in this town will even realize we were anywhere near them.”
I eyed the town warily. The guards seemed to be on high alert, patrolling both on foot and in their cars—actual running cars!—and weapons held ready for quick use.
Scout sighed. “They probably got an alert about us. The border guards know we were trying to cross, and probably assume we’ve made it by now. This is the closest town to the border. Of course, they’ll be watching.”
Hardly mattered. Zombies or guards, we had to avoid them. “Alright everyone, back further into the tress. We’re going to make our way around this town.”
“Rex, you and Scout lead the way. Jake and I will follow,” I said.
Rex had always been good at picking out paths to follow. I figured that with a name like ‘Scout’, the other man would also have some skill in that area.
“Oh,” I added quickly. “Kate, you’
re the lady with the map in your head, you go with Rex and Scout.”
Kate eyed Scout, and I realized I may have jumped the gun. “If that’s okay with you, Scout,” I added sheepishly.
“I’m good with it, boss,” he said with a wink. “Kate, come with us.”
“On it,” she acknowledged.
Jake and I kept watching the town as the others made their way through the woods. It was nearly sundown, so they moved slowly.
“I’d love it if we could move a bit faster,” I tapped my fingers on the hilt of my sword uneasily.
“Relax, Z,” Jake urged. “If we try to use lights, they’ll definitely notice,” he gestured toward the town as he spoke.
I knew he was right, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that our entry into this safe zone had been too easy. Something was going to happen, it was only a matter of time.
Of course, that was only a feeling. I’d be happy to be proven wrong.
Jake and I followed the group after one last glance at the town. It wasn’t long before I noticed some noises behind us. I nudged Jake, and could hardly see his nod. Apparently, he’d also noticed the sound. A soft huff was followed by the sound of scratching on wood.
A large shadow dropped from a tree, and a loud growl cut through the woods.
In all our worries about the zombies and humans following us, there was one thing we’d forgotten to consider as a potential threat: wildlife.
Chapter Twenty-Two
We were cut off from our friends, but too close to the town to feel comfortable yelling for help. Or use a gun to shoo the large beast away. Just our luck to run into a cougar. Likely a young creature still figuring out its territory, the cat prowled around us. Another barking growl escaped it as it blocked our path to the others.
“Jake…” I paused, unsure what to do. I’d faced down horror movie creatures and armed guards, but a giant cat had me frozen in fear.
He touched my arm gently, then started waving his arms and yelling.
“Jake!”
“Run, Z!”
Right. Like that was going to happen. I run, the predator chases. It’s instinct. I drew my sword. “Not going anywhere, but I think you’re risking being heard,” I warned.
The cat cringed from Jake’s yelling, but hissed and swiped a paw instead of leaving.
Jake shrugged. “It’s beautiful. I don’t want to kill it.”
Silence had been broken already, so I put the sword away and pulled out the handgun I’d holstered at my side.
“Zero, I don’t want it—”
“Not gonna kill it. But we need to keep moving.” I raised the gun and aimed at a tree, rapidly firing three shots.
With a final growl, the cougar took off. It apparently wanted nothing to do with the human noises.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Twigs snapped behind us, and Jake grabbed my arm. “We gotta go!” he hissed.
We rushed as quickly as possible in the direction the others had been heading. As we moved, more noises came from behind us.
“They know these woods,” I whispered. I kept one hand on Jake’s arm to avoid losing him in the darkness.
The only answer he gave was an annoyed huff.
“This way!” a voice hissed in the darkness.
We adjusted our trajectory to aim toward the voice, and I almost let out a yelp when my arm was grabbed and I was pulled away from Jake.
“Shhh,” a hand covered my mouth. This wasn’t one of my people. None of them would risk touching me in this way. I grabbed the arm and reversed the hold so I had a hold of the person.
“I have a safe place,” the boy insisted quietly. “Please, come. The guards will be here soon.”
“Go, Z. We don’t have a choice right now,” Jake whispered.
I dropped the boy’s arm, and he took my hand again. I grabbed Jake’s hand as we were lead through the dark woods. Finding the others might be a trick, but getting away from the guards took priority. I only hoped that Rex would keep the others moving. We could meet up with them later.
“Watch your step.” The boy shifted some branches and led us through a cramped passageway. “Wait here.”
He reached around me to put the branches back in place, and we pushed forward. The passage wound around until I could finally see a speck of light. Jake had to move sideways to fit, but after a couple more minutes, the passage opened into a larger cavern. Not huge, by any means, but open enough that we could fit comfortably. A lantern was lit near one wall, and other flashlights and fire starting tools were near it.
My eyes adjusted quickly to the dim lighting, and I got my first look at the boy who’d found us. He was taller than me, appeared to be a couple years older. His light brown hair hung limply to his shoulders, but his dark eyes shone with excitement.
“I know you were with some others,” he said. “They passed a few minutes before I heard you fighting the cougar. I should be able to get you back to that path tomorrow. The guards will have given up by then.”
“Thanks for getting us away from the guards. I’m Jake, this is Z. We’re trying to get to the big city.”
The boy’s eyes widened. “You might find that difficult.”
“What? Why?” I asked, eyes narrowing. My friends had gone ahead. What were they walking into?Eyes still wide with fear, the boy shook his head. “You really didn’t hear? You don’t know?”
Jake and I exchanged a quick look before Jake answered. “We haven’t heard anything. We’re a bit… new to this area. So, what happened?”
“The epidemic. It spread to the city. The safe zone—at least in our area—is only the size of this town and a chunk of woods around it.”
“So, our friends…” My voice trailed off.
The boy picked up where I left off, and nodded somberly. “Are walking directly into another outbreak zone.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
My feet were beginning to hurt. Pacing off my nervous energy wasn’t working, but I couldn’t sit still.
“Z, it’ll be okay. Rex’ll notice before they run into trouble,” Jake assured me.
I nodded absently and eyed our new companion. He was slouched against the wall, sitting on a thin blanket. His eyes were closed, but I could tell he wasn’t sleeping.
“You. Kid,” I said, sliding down the cave wall to sit by him.
“Mike,” he said without opening his eyes.
“Mike,” I nodded. “Okay. Is there a good, safe place around for people to stay? Does the town accept newcomers?”
He scoffed. “Sure. They love new people. That’s why we’re hiding in a cave.”
“Right. Good point,” I acknowledged with a sheepish grin.
“Sorry, kid. Z, was it? I know this is a scary time, but we’ll be okay here for the night.”
It was my turn to scoff. “You think this is scary? Have you been in the infected zones?”
Alright, so in truth I was terrified. This guy was being a bit patronizing, and I couldn’t put up with it. I didn’t want this boy thinking I was a coward.
“I haven’t been,” Mike answered with a glare. “But you haven’t been here, either.”
“Fair point, Mike,” Jake said. He shot a warning glance at me.
Antagonizing the boy who could help us was probably a bad move. I nodded. “You’re right.”
Jake nodded, a proud smile aimed my direction. He turned toward Mike and added. “But you don’t know us either, Mike. So, don’t make too many assumptions.”
The boy eyed Jake warily, but gave a curt nod of agreement.
“Fine,” I said. “So, let’s get to know each other.”
At Mike’s incredulous stare, I added. “We have some time. We’ll be here all night, right?”
“Sure, but we need to sleep.”
I shook my head at the stubbornness Mike was expressing, but forced a smile. “We’ll get plenty of sleep, but I would like to know a little more about the guy who says he can help us. Wouldn’t you agree, Jake?”
<
br /> Jake held my gaze for a moment before nodding. “I would. Just talk to us for a few minutes, then we’ll get some rest.”
Mike huffed. “Look. I grew up in this town. It used to be a nice place. Now it’s not. I can get you back to your friends, but you’d probably be better off in one of the infected zones. The guards are ruthless. If they’re looking for you here, they will find you.”
“What will you do?” I asked. I surprised myself by honestly caring.
Mike smirked. “Why? You worried about me, kid?”
I bristled. “No. Just making conversation.”
Jake gave me a cockeyed look. “Mike, if you don’t have anyone to stay with, you could join us. We…”
“Are heading into the lion’s den. No thanks. I’ll stay here. Some of the townspeople still help me sometimes.”
He seemed unsure. Obviously scared of facing the guards. I softened my tone. “You could come with us. We’ll get away from the guards. You said yourself we’d be better off in an infected zone, right? You could come too.”
Mike glanced between Jake and me. “I’ll let you know, okay? Tomorrow. Just… get some sleep.”
He turned away, ending the conversation. I motioned for Jake to come to the far end of the cave. “He shouldn’t be alone,” I whispered. “We can help him. He needs…”
“He needs to make the decision for himself,” Jake interrupted softly. “We can’t push him. Let him sleep on it, and we’ll find out in the morning.”
I couldn’t argue. It was hard to think of leaving him on his own. Despite knowing he’d survived alone up until now, I still felt like he would be better off with us. I also knew forcing the issue would be more likely to push him away.
Jake must have seen the reluctant agreement in my body language, because he nodded. “Good. Get some sleep.”
Before I could respond, we heard muffled yelling from outside the cave.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mike sat up, a concerned look on his face. “It sounds…”
“Like they’re right outside the entrance?” I finished in a low whisper. “Yeah, it kinda does.”
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