The Oasis

by Janette Osemwota

  “Were you attacked?”

  She was surprised by the concern in his face. “In the beginning,” she said, remembering. “But they were pretty uncoordinated and unpredictable back then.”

  “I know what you mean.” He laughed nervously, remembering being attacked on the base where he was stationed. “Is that why you moved out here?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “There seemed to be so many of them in bigger cities. There are a lot fewer of them out here and they don’t give me too much trouble. Sometimes they come at the house like they know I live here, but usually they are in the town where you saw my truck. The ones who live here tend to be fairly predictable. I have at least five living around here but, like I said, I mostly stay away from them. I try to avoid them as much as possible.”

  Jasper found himself nodding when she spoke. He had seen the others that she talked about and had evaluated their territories before he had approached her. It somehow seemed less than accurate to call them humans now, and Lena’s term—the others—seemed to fit. What had surprised him was how she had managed to set up a permanent home and live with the unpredictability of the others. He had never trusted their “predictability” like she was doing. All it took was one day of unpredictability to lose your life. He chose a life of nomadic avoidance.

  “Have you eaten?” she asked suddenly, making him smile. She didn’t wait for him to answer before she turned on her gas tank to boil some water. Having someone to share something as simple as a meal seemed more important than finding out what he knew. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy having someone here.

  They laughed throughout dinner, enjoying each other’s company and avoiding any more talk about what had happened and what they had been through. Jasper thought her eyes sparkled, her skin glowing under the lamplight. She had remained so beautiful, even under such strain.

  After cleaning up the quick meal she had thrown together Lena glanced down at her watch, shocked at the time. “I really need to get some sleep,” she said, reaching into her closet for some extra sheets. “Bertha needs to be taken care of pretty early, so…” She threw the sheets on the couch. “Are you going to be here in the morning?” she asked tentatively, afraid of the answer.

  He smiled at her as he stood and took a few steps towards her. Without a word he reached down and stroked her cheek with a single finger, loving the feel of her soft skin under his hand. He watched her eyes as they darkened, heat rising to her cheeks. He felt his desire for her grow but lowered his hand from her face. “Of course,” he whispered as he stepped away.

  She felt suddenly alone, more so than she had all night. She knew their desire was mutual but something had stopped him from kissing her. “Goodnight,” she whispered. Grabbing her gun to put it back in her closet, she turned and entered her room. She saw him still standing there, watching as she shut the door.

  Chapter Two

  Lena woke up early, eager to see if she had dreamed the previous night. Jasper was still asleep on the couch and she had to force herself to leave him be and go about her daily chores. She could already hear Bertha calling out to be milked. Groaning, she went and grabbed her bag out of the closet, stuffed a change of clothes in and stepped out into the sunshine. The damage to the house from their nighttime visitors was minimal. She opened the lock of the barn, releasing the chickens into the yard. Bertha mooed welcomingly and Lena got to work.

  After she finished, she let Bertha free to walk around the fields. Lena’s lifestyle was pretty laid back and she liked it that way. She had made a new life out of the ashes of the final days. Jasper really did put a wrench in things, though. If he had survived then maybe others had too. He hadn’t mentioned other normal people and, although they had talked for hours the previous night, she still felt like there was something he wasn’t telling her. She knew he was a former Navy SEAL, a member of an elite group of Special Forces in the military, and she was sure he had to know something about what had happened.

  Lost in thought, she went back into the barn and began searching for eggs. Footsteps followed her in, startling her.

  “Jeez, Jasper, you scared me to death,” she said, jumping when she saw him behind her. He was just as stunning as he had been the night before. Hair pulled back out of his face, arms bulging out of his shirt. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she turned away, trying to hide her blush.

  He glanced at her, enamored by how beautiful she was in the sunlight. He watched as she bent to check inside the nests. She had changed clothes; a fitted pink t-shirt stretched against her breasts. A pair of snug jeans curved around her figure. He stopped and let his eyes follow a path down her body. She was fit and he took a moment to appreciate that. He wouldn’t have been surprised to hear she probably worked out.

  Walking towards her, he couldn’t help but smile when she looked up at him. Her chin rose, showing her obvious stubborn streak. This woman who knew nothing about his past had, after one night, trusted him. And he had trusted her. Of course he had done preliminary surveillance, but trusted her more than he had any one else in quite some time.

  Standing up, she faced him. There was so much thought behind his eyes that she didn’t want to speak. Impulsively he reached forward and grasped her neck, pulling her lips to his. Their mouths touched in sudden passion. His firm lips touched the soft contours of hers. He had never wanted to kiss someone as much as he wanted to kiss her. At first he didn’t want the kiss to get too intense but once he felt the heat of her lips on his, her body pressed up against his, he lost it. Her arms slid up his chest to wrap around his neck, holding him closer. His tongue slid into her mouth asking for more.

  They were still holding each other when a loud bang shook the barn.

  “What the hell?” He broke their kiss. Fear came to her eyes as she turned to look for her bag. Racing to it, she pulled out the gun she kept there. Jasper had a 9-mm in the holster on his leg. With ease he pulled it out and tried to push her to the back of the barn, silently asking her to hide. She stood where she was, determined not to go anywhere.

  “It couldn’t be—” she said but he quickly shushed her. An ear-piercing cry came from outside—one loud, quick moo, and then silence.

  “Bertha!” Lena screamed and tried to break from Jasper’s grip. Tears streamed down her face as he tried to keep his eyes on the door. She buried her face into his back and tried to silence her cries.

  They could hear the others outside before the face of one of them appeared at the door of the barn. Or what was left of his face. The man’s body was covered in blood, and his face smeared with more than just blood.

  Lena thought she would be sick. The man barely looked human. He glared at them but remained standing at the front of the barn. Jasper didn’t hesitate as he aimed his gun. As he did the man bared his teeth and growled at them before lunging forwards quickly. Lena raised her gun and began firing, tears running down her face, her emotions consuming her. She dropped the gun as the body hit the ground.

  “Jesus, woman,” he said as he stood up from his crouched position. He had ducked the moment she began firing. Racing forward he glanced outside to see if there were any more others, then stepped over the body as he walked back towards her. “I have got to teach you how to shoot that thing properly. I’m surprised you didn’t shoot me!”

  Looking at the crumpled corpse, she saw several bullet holes in him; thankfully one had penetrated directly through his skull. Furrowing her brow, she looked around the room and saw an array of bullet holes randomly marking the walls. When her eyes met Jasper’s he was smiling at her. “Well,” she said, more than a little embarrassed. “I’ve never been a very good shot. I usually just try to avoid them, really. But this guy,” she looked down at the creature at her feet. “He doesn’t even look like my local others.”

  Jasper had noticed that too. Experience had taught him that each other’s level of aggressiveness differed, and something about this one was off. He feared that the more animalistic ones had started to obliterate the
less aggressive others, leaving behind a collection of maniacs.

  Abandoning her gun, Lena moved towards the door, afraid of what she would see. He caught her by the arm before she could see the destruction outside. “Are you sure you want to go out there?” he asked quietly, knowing how she felt about her cow. She nodded, and they stepped out of the shadow of the barn.

  There was blood everywhere. The grass was saturated with it. Bertha’s body lay lifelessly in the sun, and Lena resisted the urge to touch her.

  Jasper saw movement in the tree line and quickly tried to guide Lena back to the house. There were more others in the woods. Seeing so many of them out during the day only solidified Jasper’s suspicions that things in Lena’s relatively quiet town were getting extremely hostile and quickly. Reaching for her arm, he guided her away from the carnage. Saddened by the death of her only companion for years, she let him pull her along, her eyes never leaving Bertha’s body.

  When they got into the house he shut the door and locked it quickly. He pulled back the curtain and looked out. Lena finally came to her senses but didn’t understand his rush. “Are there more?” she whispered, afraid of the answer. “How many?”

  “I don’t know,” he answered, not looking at her.

  “What do you think they are looking for?”

  He let the curtain fall before turning towards her. “I don’t know,” he repeated, stroking a finger across her cheek. “We need to get out of here.”

  He walked past her and searched for his bag. Lena hadn’t noticed it before then. “It won’t be long before they attack. We need to get our supplies together and get out of here.”

  Dropping onto the couch, Lena tried to understand what he meant. “They’ve never been that violent here; maybe that one was a fluke. The others will leave soon.” Her words sounded false to her own ears. It was only a matter of time, as Jasper suggested. She had seen it before; she had just naively let herself think that for once she had a safe haven against the more violent ones. Each person reacted differently to the illness. It had been wishful thinking to hope that she would be able to avoid the seriously aggressive ones forever.

  He sighed and stopped searching his bag. “I need you to get your things together. Pack light.” He looked at her, their eyes meeting briefly before his focus was back on his bag. “I’ve got food and weapons in my truck.”

  She stared at him. “Where is your truck?” she asked, not sure she was even prepared to talk about leaving the place she finally called home.

  Suddenly everything seemed to be spinning. Her whole world turned upside down as she tried to think about her life before Jasper had come into it. Was it really just yesterday they had met, and now her life was in danger? He was asking her to abandon the life she had finally made for herself.

  But Bertha was dead, and the others were attacking her home. Nothing compared to the confusion that she felt. She wanted to cling to Jasper, even if only because he was the first normal person she had seen in years.

  Jasper stood there looking at her, waiting for some kind of agreement from her. Some sign that she trusted him. When she just sat there, he went back to searching his bag, pulling out and loading weapons on his body. Her eyes dropped away from him and went to her hands, still shaking from the attack. She had no one else, but she knew nothing about the man who—as far as she knew—was the only other sane person alive.

  A sudden fear entered her mind. What if he wasn’t sane? What if he was really as crazed as the others, just more advanced? Had they evolved? Was he somehow responsible for the attack that had killed her only companion?

  Jasper quickly got up from his rummaging and went into her room. Lena ran quickly to her closet and grabbed a gun. When he came back with his hands full of her clothes she pointed the pistol at his head, trying to steady her hand.

  “Are you serious?” He set the clothes on the couch and let his hands drop to his sides. “What are you doing?” he asked calmly.

  She wasn’t sure herself. The best thing that could have happened to her might be standing in her living room and yet she couldn’t trust her own judgment.

  “Listen, Lena,” he whispered her name. She hadn’t heard anyone else say her name since before the end of days. “I know you’re scared, but you have nothing to worry about with me.”

  She hesitated, upset. “What the hell is going on?” Lena felt the tears run down her cheeks.

  Jasper smiled, that melt-your-heart smile, and placed his hands behind his head in a kind of I give up gesture. He was sexy as hell and he had her in the palm of his hand, despite his apparent surrender. Sighing, he focused all of his attention on her.

  Faltering slightly, she lowered her gun and looked into his eyes. He was completely in control, his sanity intact, and she knew it. His brown eyes were so deep and focused she thought she could lose herself in them.

  Before she knew it his mouth was on hers again. The gun was gently pulled from her hands. She suddenly found herself clutching his back, feeling the contours of his muscles. His hands ran through her hair pulling her deeper into the kiss. His tongue searched her mouth openly. He tasted the way he smelled, spicy and all male. She filled her lungs with the scent of him and tried to consume everything about him, trying to understand. Her heart raced in her chest as he finally pulled away, looking down into her eyes.

  Her cheeks were covered with tears, her fears showing plain on her face.

  “I am not one of them.”

  His firm statement brought her back to reality. She quickly wiped the tears away as he watched her. She knew she needed some questions answered but didn’t think now was the time for inquiry. But there was still one question that stood between them.

  “What the hell is going on?”

  He smiled again and grabbed her things, shoving them into a bag. “Later,” he said throwing the bag over his shoulder. He took her gun out of the waistband of his pants and handed it back to her. She looked at him curiously as he shrugged. “To give you a little peace of mind.” She smiled at him and took the gun.

  He grabbed his own, one of the many he now wore, and walked towards the door. He peeked out the window again, trying to estimate the kind of welcoming party that awaited them in the tree line. This was going to be tricky. Especially since Lena was going to be trailing behind him.

  When he turned around, she had disappeared into her room and was gathering a few extra things. As she returned, he couldn’t help but remember the feel of her on his lips. She was scared, he could feel it, but she was so warm. He tried to remind himself that he didn’t need her. That he had been fine sleeping on his own all these months. After their kiss he knew he had missed that kind of warmth.

  There was something else, though. She woke something inside him that had never been awakened. After the virus had spread, he had resigned himself to operating in survival mode. He had prepared his entire life for living alone. Working as a Navy SEAL had solidified this idea.

  Just when he had finally come to terms with exactly what he was supposed to do, his growing feelings for Lena were messing everything up. Deep down he knew he desired her companionship just as much as she did. Instead of depending on himself for everything, he found himself craving her attention. His mission was now compromised…and he discovered to his surprise that he liked it. Lena was the distraction that he wanted, but did she just come too late? He knew she could change him but he wasn’t sure if he was ready. Right now she was a distraction, but with the changing of the others, he knew being with Lena was putting them both at risk. She distracted him at every turn, his mind wandering to her body instead of their safety. He should have left her that first night but something had told him that he needed her as much as she needed him.

  Throwing the pack on his back he checked to make sure his gun was ready to fire. “Let’s go,” he said. He pulled her against his side and kissed her cheek before he opened the door.

  Lena hesitated only for a second before quickly catching up with him. His strides wer
e long and purposeful. He walked confidently past the tree line and dropped his bag into the backseat of her car before hopping inside. She followed suit without asking any more questions.

  He started the engine and drove quickly down the driveway. No one emerged from the trees, even as Lena kept watch in the side mirror. As her house got smaller behind them, she thought to herself that she would never see her home again.

  They drove silently down the road she knew led away from her small town, away from everything she had come to know as a survivor. Now all she had left were the clothes on her back and what she could fit into a bag. To call themselves survivors felt too surreal; instead she thought of them as explorers, off to discover what awaited them in the distance.

  Chapter Three

  Only a few miles out of town, Jasper pulled Lena’s car down a small beaten path before coming to a stop. His closed-bed truck was pulled onto the side of the road in a ditch as if it had crashed there.

  “You can never be too careful,” he said before she could ask what had happened. It was evident by the care he had taken to make it look like some random crash that he had done this before. He reached around and grabbed their bags then unlocked his car for her. It was a black truck that had obviously been taken care of, which suggested Jasper was the kind of man who knew what was important. Without a good vehicle, you could get stuck out there with no protection, which could be very dangerous.

  She opened the passenger door and slid in. The inside was as clean as the outside, with a small cooler behind his seat and a case of water behind hers. He started the truck and pulled gracefully out of the ditch. He pushed in a CD and began driving west. “We’ll stop before the sun sets and find a place to sleep for the night.” He didn’t take his eyes off the road.

  There wasn’t much to watch. Randomly overturned cars were everywhere. Trash filled some streets and silent houses watched them like strangers. It was eerie. It had been a long time since Lena had been outside the safety of her home and an even longer time since she had been in the open like this.