“Five hundred and then five hundred more.”
She smiled, reassuring him. “We’ll make camp here.”
X nodded. At some point he had to listen to his body and rest.
* * *
Tiny held a sheet of wood, which had once been the back of a dresser, against the frame of a second-floor window. “Do you really think that’ll keep someone out?” she asked Grace.
The group had finished searching the dorm rooms. In all six floors, they had found no one truly alive. They had found ten dead bodies and the one foamer that Kade had peppered with the shotgun. They all split into separate jobs to make the dorm livable and fortified.
Grace, free from the handcuffs while she was working, drilled a metal screw through the wood and into the frame. “We’re on the second floor. Not likely anyone will get this far, and even if they do get through, the stairs will be knocked out. Don’t worry, I’ll wall up the first floor.”
Grace moved around Tiny as she inserted screws every foot around the perimeter of the window.
“I didn’t get a chance to thank you.” Tiny paused, not used to the words forming on her tongue. “So, thanks for saving my life.”
Biting down on her lip, Grace steadied the screw and drilled it home. “It was the right thing to do.”
“I know it’s rough right now. Mick is taking Lucas’s death a lot harder than I thought he would. Once he has some time to recover, you’ll see he isn’t so bad,” Tiny said.
She and Grace stood back, looking at the flimsy piece of wood barricading the window.
“Thanks … What’s your real name?” Grace asked.
Tiny rapped a knuckle against the wood. “My father gave me my last name, my mother gave me my first name, Kade gave me my real name. It’s Tiny.”
“Let me guess: you had trouble fitting in, and he took you under his wing?”
“Making a long story short.” The long story was that she had been so much of a tomboy that the girls didn’t accept her, but she acted so manly the guys didn’t know how to treat her. She lied to herself that she was strong enough not to need any of their approval, but she didn’t realize just how much she wanted it until Kade had taken to her. He saw right through, as he put it, her tiny frame, and accepted everything there was of her. Once they bonded, everyone else saw her the way he saw her.
“Ash was always the same way. I think she named every person on our soccer team,” Grace said.
“Nicknames are far more important than birth names,” Tiny replied.
“I’m starting to redefine the word ‘family’. Come on, these windows aren’t going to board themselves up,” Grace said.
* * *
X and Ashton had made their way to a small community, where they found a house with an unlocked front door. Even though X could break into any of the houses, an unlocked door was much more valuable. The other group planned to turn a dorm into a fortress, but he and Ashton wouldn’t stay here long, so spending hours to secure the house was wasted time he could spend preparing to leave. A locked door would be more than enough protection for their night here. After all, the foamers they had come across weren’t able to open their car doors or unbuckle their seat belts.
The house was a split-level in desperate need of paint. The peeling yellow coat looked like it predated X. Regardless, he was happy to have a roof over their heads after spending two days outdoors.
They stood at the landing, between the flights of blue carpeted floors that extended in both directions of the house. Ashton flipped the first light switch, but they were still in the dark while the porch light turned on. She flipped the second switch and the light hanging from the ceiling cast a glow through the house. She clapped her hands and smiled at X.
He held a finger to his lips and she nodded. After testing the top step for creaks he descended the rest of the way, drawing his .357 and predator knife. He doubted the cartridge powder would fire, but it still steadied his nerves to have the gun to point at anyone—or anything—that might be waiting for him.
At the bottom of the steps, Ashton flipped every switch, showering the family room with light. There was a love seat and couch in the shape of an L, and a stone fireplace on the far side of the room.
Ashton quietly opened the door at the bottom of the stairs. She snaked her hand inside the door and flipped the light on. The room was filled with workout equipment and boxes. Nothing X needed to be alarmed over.
X found the entire experience to be flipped on its ear: He was the intruder searching for life, but usually he was the one trying to avoid detection. They went back upstairs where there was an open living room with a leather sectional and small, flat-screen TV.
Through an arch was the kitchen. The white refrigerator was against the wall, next to a stretch of countertop that was littered with small appliances and tubs of baking ingredients. A rectangle-top table with four chairs sat in the center, with the door to the garage at the end of the table.
Ashton tapped X on the shoulder and pointed to a set of keys hanging from a hook by the door. X let out a sigh. The drive to Houghton was only a couple of hours. That was much better than the days it would take them to walk the rest of the way.
He looked at the three closed doors down the hallway. The door on his left had a string of white hearts around it that descended in size from top to bottom. They opened that door first and found a narrow bathroom in spotless condition. The door to their right had a cartoon dog hanging by a brown string.
Inside the room, there were so many toys sprawled about that there was only a small path across the carpet to a racecar bed. The mattress still had the fitted sheet on it, but the top layers of bedding were missing. Satisfied there was nothing living in the room, X continued down the hallway.
He could only wonder if his luck would hold out as Ashton turned the knob on the final door. The hinges creaked as the door opened into the dark room. X stepped past her, noticing for the first time that she was holding a butcher knife. She must have snagged it from the kitchen. He couldn’t help but be impressed by her instinct.
A California king with a black comforter was centered against the wall, with nightstands on either side. The bed was nearly the same size as the room, leaving just enough space to pass between the bed and the cherry dresser that held a TV.
Ashton set her knife on the makeup table and launched herself onto the bed. She giggled as she rolled around on the gigantic mattress.
“I never thought I’d be so happy to see a bed again,” she said, hugging the comforter.
X fought the stupid smile on his face, but it won as he crossed the room and opened both doors to reveal nothing more than his and her closets.
“Glad you approve. Do you want to cook dinner or load the pack with food?”
“I’ll pack.”
He shrugged off the pack and handed it to her.
In the kitchen, she ransacked the cabinets, setting all the goods onto the countertops. He opened the refrigerator and appraised the contents.
As he pulled out a carton of eggs, he wondered if he would ever be able to make scrambled eggs again. It was a simple process: get a bowl, add eggs, add milk, whip, pour, sizzle, scrape, eat. It would never be simple agai
n.
He pulled a tomato out of the crisper drawer and bit into it like an apple, sending a burst of juice onto the red floor.
“I am not cleaning that up,” Ashton said as she clanked a can of SpaghettiOs onto the counter.
“We could probably feed the world with the amount of food going to waste.”
“You don’t strike me as the caring type.”
“Yeah, yeah,” X said. “Just keep unloading the groceries, honey.”
X didn’t look, but he could tell she was flipping him off. Such spunk.
Fifteen minutes later, they sat across from each other at the table. His masterpiece lay before them on the good china. His creation was ham and pepper scrambled eggs with bacon on wheat toast, and a dab of hot sauce, just for flavor.
X’s teeth tore through the sandwich, loving the first thing they touched in two days that wasn’t a protein bar. As he swallowed his third bite, he noticed Ashton sitting with her hands in her lap, staring at the plate. X set his sandwich down and pushed his chair out.
“Do you say grace?” he asked, opening the fridge and pulling out a carton of orange juice, a gallon of milk, and a beer.
She shook her head, grabbed the beer, and said, “It looks like it’s going to bite back.”
He debated saying something to her about the beer, but what the hell, it was the end of the world. Giving her a wink, he retrieved a second beer from the fridge.
“Only person who ever didn’t like one of my sandwiches was quite prissy,” he said, taking his seat.
The snap of the beer top echoed in the quiet house, and Ashton held her beer out toward him. He grabbed his own can and cracked it open. The gap closed between their beers, but at the last moment, he pulled his away and took a swig.
“You haven’t earned a cheers yet.”
“And what would it take to receive a tap from the great and powerful Xavier?” she replied, her can meeting her thin lips.
The stupid smile crept across his face, which he immediately felt guilty about since he knew Kade wouldn’t approve.
“Just eat your sandwich. Before we leave in the morning, we’re going to find every piece of luggage and pack all the food,” he said.
“What about the other houses?”
“Your brother is going to be flipping a shit. Plus, there’s a lot of work to do at Houghton. We need to go.”
“He’s going to be scared either way. It’s not like the food here will be good if we come back. So, we spend a day here, find a good vehicle, and get some extra supplies. Another day won’t kill anyone.”
“Two nights here?”
“You saw that bed.”
“Eat your sandwich.”
They finished the meal in silence and left the dirty dishes in the sink. X pictured the plates still sitting there in another decade, untouched by anything but the mold.
“That was delicious,” she said, opening the fridge and getting herself another beer.
“Thanks.”
She’d had a good idea at dinner, but he was more afraid to stay alone with her than he was to face anything in the Primal Age. He only had so much willpower. If he could just get to Kade, he knew he would have no problem seeing Ashton as Kade’s little sister again.
“I’m going to head to bed,” Ashton said, not moving a step.
“Good night.” X sauntered into the living room.
“You’re not tired?” she asked, following him.
“I won’t fit in the racecar bed.”
“You’re going to sleep on the couch?”
“Yes.”
Ashton’s arms crossed over her chest as she bit down on her lip. Her eyes scanned the room, focusing on the DVD rack. A sly smile crept across her face as her mind settled on a plan.
“Can we watch a movie?”
“You should get some sleep.”
“Please?”
“What do you want to watch?”
“Something in the bedroom.”
X stood in silence.
“Fine, but we’re just watching a movie.”
“What else would we do?” she said, and smirked at him. He couldn’t help the stupid smile stretching across his face.
She brushed past him into the living room and got down on her knees in front of the entertainment center. As she browsed the selection of DVDs, her pants pulled tight against her ass, which X was sure she was intentionally wiggling. She grinned as she caught him staring.
“Isn’t it weird, we’ll never see a movie in theaters again?” she said, grabbing something that looked like a chick flick by its pink and red cover.
“Lot of things we’ll never have again.”
Ashton pulled the corner of her lip almost all the way to her eye as she cocked her head to the side and gave him a super-exaggerated wink. “Not the important things in life.”
“Don’t mock the wink.” X gave her a quick wink. “It works.”
“I know.”
She grabbed him by the wrist and led him to the bedroom.
After she put the movie in and they settled onto the bed, it wasn’t long before X was asleep. When he came to, his body was inclined against the headboard. The menu for the movie was still playing, but the remote was out of reach and he didn’t want to move. Ashton had fallen asleep with her head on his chest, and sometime in the night had wrapped her arms around his torso. Her pale freckled features stood out against his dark, hardened traits. After being awake in that position for half an hour, he decided to wake her, even though he didn’t want to. The alarm clock read 11:00; the day was already getting away from them.
“You know something?” Ashton said, not opening her eyes.
“What’s that?” He ran a hand over her back in a conditioned response, but quickly pulled away when his brain registered what he was doing.
“You reek.”
“Smoke?”
“Basted in sweat.”
“No point in a shower. We’ve got a lot to do today.”
“Another night?”
“Another night. I’ll make breakfast, you search the house. Get your butt moving.”
“Try not to watch it,” she said, giving him the exaggerated wink.
CHAPTER VIII
PLEASE ENJOY YOUR STAY
___________
Ashton drove a black pickup, which she had been referring to as ‘our truck,’ into the driveway of the house. When they had first set out looting, the word ‘our’ was like nails on a chalkboard to X, but by the end of the day, the concept had grown on him.
X could definitely get used to the Primal Age. It was a thief’s paradise. All the goods, none of the guards—life was grand.
He stretched his legs out in the passenger seat. When he was a child, his mother was hardly ever around, and his father was nothing more than a sperm donor to him. Much of his youth had been spent playing make-believe. His favorite game was Last Man on the Planet. Today reminded him of those days, but better, because
he wasn’t alone. It had been a nearly fun day. Nearly. There had been many houses where they would find a dead person still lying under the sheets. No signs of pain, no signs of struggle; just like someone flipped an off switch. They looked so peaceful it unnerved him.
He pushed the button on the garage door–opener fastened to the gray visor. Those dead bodies were nothing compared to some of the rooms he had found. There was one in particular which would never leave his memory.
He went into that room first and didn’t let Ashton in after him. There were three bodies in the master bedroom: the mother, who had been a survivor, and her two children. The children each had a bullet wound to the chest. The mother’s legs, sticking out from a pink robe, had been clawed and bitten. She was propped against the wall, the drawer to the nightstand still open, a snub-nosed revolver in her hand, and the back of her head spread against the wall. The scene broke his heart: A mother forced to kill her own children to survive then unable to live with her decision.
After that, X checked all the rooms. When he found other rooms like the one with the mother, he would close the door, and Ashton didn’t question him. They had been concerned about finding survivors or foamers, but it was clear that anything that had the ability to leave town was long gone. Doors were left open in most of the homes, and anywhere windows were broken it was from the inside.
Even with all of that going on, X still had fun. He knew he may have been seriously miswired, but today he didn’t care. This redheaded, spunk-filled firecracker sitting beside him made everything fun. She constantly picked on him, continually flirted, and even respected him.
They had filled the truck bed to the top with luggage containing food. It had been a successful day in the world of thieving.
“What’s for dinner?” Ashton asked, pushing her door open.
X opened his door and climbed out. “Any requests?”
Ashton hit the button to close the garage door as the two of them walked into the kitchen. The room was shaded by the fading light of the evening, but they had decided it was best to keep the lights off unless they needed them. She had found candles for them to use once night settled. With the two of them working together and taking care of each other, he wondered if this was what a normal relationship felt like.
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