No Where to Run

by Raven K. Asher

  I just want Hunter back.

  Mel sits with me for most of the morning, and then slips off to cook a meal I won’t eat. I lay my head back and send out another prayer. Please god, if you can hear me just let them come home safely.

  He must not hear me since I’ve been praying to him at least ten times a day.

  I’ve begged for them to return and every prayer goes unanswered.

  “Pumpkin’, please eat.” Lucca gently commands as he places a plate on the table next to me. I don’t answer him and I don’t make a move to touch the food either.

  He kneels in front of me. “Please, for me. Just take a few bites. That’s all I ask. I don’t want to watch you wither away.” When I still don’t answer he pats my knee and walks away leaving the food.

  I look to the food and my stomach growls.

  Maybe I could eat a few bites.

  I grab the plate and fork and quickly gobble everything down. As I place the plate down Lucca comes through the door with another and silently hands it to me. He smiles and takes away the empty plate.

  I finish off the second as quickly as the first. Lucca and Mel both come out. Mel hands me a glass of juice and takes my empty plate from my hands, walking back into the house.

  I watch her disappear and look to Lucca. He sighs and walks over to sit on the swing next to me. He puts and arm around my shoulders and pulls me toward him.

  I slowly lower my head to his shoulder and my eyes grow heavy.

  Lucca takes the cup from my hand and places it on the floor.

  “Don’t worry pumpkin’ you can close your eyes. I’ll keep watch and let you know when they arrive home.” He kisses my head and I swiftly drift off.

  ****

  “Wake up, Lexi.” Lucca shakes my body. “Wake up pumpkin’. Hunter and Kane are home.” He states joyously as he shakes me awake.

  My eyes quickly pop open and I spot them riding up the driveway.

  I jump to my feet and run down the steps toward them. I don’t notice the rough grass on my bare feet as I run to Hunter. He quickly dismounts and holds his arms wide as I run into them crying.

  “I thought I’d never see you again.” I cry into his chest.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m back now. That’s all that matters.” He pulls back and raises his hands to my face to wipe away the tears. I look to his lips as he grins, I quickly lean up and kiss him, catching him by surprise but he quickly kisses me back harder.

  Hunter pulls back as Lucca clears his throat behind me.

  Lucca stomps toward Hunter.

  I think he’s going to hit him and I start to move to stop them from fighting, but Lucca grabs Hunter in a hug and slaps Hunter on his back in a friendly manner.

  “Shit man, you guys scared us.” He laughs out and pulls back. “I’m glad your back.” He slaps his shoulder before moving on to talk to Kale.

  Wait, Kale?

  I look on in disbelief and he grins at me.

  “What, you really thought some dead guys with the munchies were really going to get the best of me?” He points to himself. “I thought you knew me better than that, babe.”

  I run to him and he opens his arms for a hug.

  He holds me tightly as he swings me around.

  I laugh out and he places me back on my feet. “Nothing can kill me off babe, nothing.” He gently taps my chin with his knuckles.

  Kale looks past me as Mel runs to him. “Mel.” He chokes out as he hugs her tightly.

  We all stand quietly when we hear vehicle engines. Hunter grins. “That would be Tank and his wife, Kane too.”

  Lucca comes up next to me as we watch a huge black semi truck pull up the driveway with an animal trailer attached.

  Next is another gray semi with a box trailer, and finally Kane trails behind them with an RV.

  “That.....” Hunter gestures with his hands as he comes up beside me. “....Is what took us so long.”

  I laugh out and he wraps his arm around my middle as Lucca holds my hand. “I’m glad your back, Hunter.”

  “I’m glad I’m back too, sweetheart.” He states then grabs my hand pulling both me and Lucca towards the trucks.

  We come to stand in front of a big burly man. He’s tall and wide with muscles. His arms are covered with various tattoos and he has a bandana wrapped around his bald head. He grins to me and holds out his hand.

  “You must be Lexi.” He looks to Hunter. “She’s just as beautiful as you described.” Hunter blushes a deep red and the man barks out a laugh. He looks back to me. “My names Chester, but everyone calls me “Tank”. He looks away to a woman carrying a small child. “That there is my wife, Ruby. She’s holding little Ace.”

  Ruby steps up to us, as Lucca is shaking Tanks hand. She’s much smaller than Tank with dark gray hair. She places Ace to the ground and he rushes to hide behind her legs. She holds out her hand and I shake it.

  “My, my, you are a pretty little thing. Hunter here hasn’t stopped telling us about you.” She laughs at Hunters even darker blush.

  She holds out her hand to Lucca next. “And you must be Lucca?” He nods.

  Kane steps up to us and wraps his arms around mine and Hunters shoulders. “So, what do you think about my girls place?”

  “It looks damn good. We’ve been searching for a safe place for days. I’m happy you guys are willing to take us in.” Tank states as he looks to me gratefully.

  Kane lets us go and kneels down to the ground with his arms open wide. “Come on Ace. Let’s go see if we can find us some chocolate like I promised you.” The little boy runs into his arms and Kane carries him off. We all watch silently as they walk off.

  “Poor thing, he’s really taken to Kane. I don’t think he would have made it another day if we wouldn’t have found him. He still hasn’t said a word yet, though.” Ruby mutters watching them walk away.

  “You found him?” I ask.

  “Yes, we found him hiding in a cupboard in an abandoned house. His mom was killed by the dead.” She states sadly.

  Kale and Mel walk up and they introduce themselves. Lucca and Tank walk off to the animal trailer and I decide to follow. “So, how many animals did you bring?” Lucca asks.

  “We brought twenty or so chickens, five goats, two pigs, and a lama.” Tank laughs as he counts them off on his fingers.

  “That’s awesome.” Lucca laughs. Hunter walks up behind us holding a rope with horses tied to it.

  “That’s not including the seven horses, and five cows.” Hunter states.

  “Where are we going to put them all? There isn’t enough room in the barn for them.” I state.

  “Ah, that’s where the second truck comes in. It’s filled with enough supplies to build a second barn and any other building projects we may have.” Hunter grins. “It also has beds, food, gas and water, among other supplies. The animal trailer has enough food to feed them all through the winter also.”

  “That’s great.” I reply happily.

  “Want to help me put these guys into the stalls?” Hunter gestures to the horses behind him. I nod and take his hand.

  I glance back to Lucca who smiles at us and continues to talk to Tank.

  ****

  Soon we get the animals situated and we unload most of the supplies from the trucks. Tank parks his RV near the barn and we park the semi trucks to the far side of the house.

  We all sit down at the dining room table and make plans to what duty each of us will have over the next few days.

  “We are definitely going to need to get rid of those trucks. I don’t like them being near the house. If anyone stumbles across us, it will be a dead giveaway that we have supplies.” Lucca recommends.

  “I agree with Lucca.” Kane, states.

  “I think we should keep them nearby though, just in case we need to leave here.” Hunter chimes in. I nod my agreement.

  “We could park them on a nearby road. Maybe make them look as if they were abandoned.” I suggest.

  “That�
��s a great idea little missy.”Tank grins. “Kane and I can drive them and leave them tomorrow after we unload the rest of the supplies.” We all nod in agreement.

  “It’s getting late and we are going to have an early morning. We better all get off to bed if we are going to have any chance at sleep.” I yawn out.

  “That sounds good, sweetheart.” Hunter says with a yawn of his own.

  Everyone says their goodnights and heads off into their rooms.

  We had to move a lot of stuff around and add new beds to the rooms so everyone had a comfortable place to sleep.

  “Let’s get to bed, you two.” Lucca yawns.

  We stumble up the stairs and head into the master bedroom. I strip and slowly climb into bed in only my panties.

  I shut my eyes but open them when Lucca laughs out. “Dude you should see your face.” He shakes his head still laughing.

  “This is priceless.” He laughs as he strips down to his boxers and slips into bed next to me. He buries his head into the pillow and snorts out another laugh.

  I look to Hunter who still hasn’t moved. He has a mixed look of want and absolute horror. It’s adorable. “Come on man, just come to bed it’s not like this is a first time for us.” Lucca barks out. “I promise I won’t bite.” He laughs again and I can’t help but laugh too.

  Hunter laughs and strips but doesn’t make a move to come closer. Lucca’s laughter dies down and I pat the bed next to me.

  “Come on, Hunter. Come to bed.” I smile as he finally makes his way over and slides in behind me.

  “By the way guys we are going to discuss that kiss you two had earlier. I’m not mad about it, even though I think I should be, but we need to discuss it. For now, let’s get some sleep.” Lucca says quietly.

  Hunter and I both agree and soon we are all fast asleep.

  Before I fall asleep I send up a little thank you prayer.

  Thank you, god for bringing them home safely.

  Chapter 11

  Day 22

  The next morning I wake to an empty bed.

  I hurry and dress, sliding a hoodie over my tee shirt.

  With fall taking hold it’s been getting chilly during the day. I make my way to the kitchen where everyone is sitting around the table eating.

  They all greet me as I walk in and Hunter pats a seat between himself and Lucca. They already have a plate of food waiting for me. I slide into the chair and both men lean in to kiss my cheeks.

  I blush and glance around the table seeing everyone else watching us.

  Hunter clears his throat and laughs nervously, but soon everyone returns to eating their food.

  Well that was awkward.

  Lucca smiles at me and I grab his hand under the table before eating the food on my plate.

  “This is good cooking.” Kane mumbles while shoving in another fork full of eggs into his mouth.

  Everyone nods in agreement “Ruby and I owned a nice little dinner a few towns over. Ruby’s the best cook around these parts. The best damn nurse, too.” Tank states proudly and Ruby blushes.

  “Well, you can cook for us any day you like, Miss Ruby.” Hunter says between bites.

  The rest of breakfast is eaten in silence.

  One by one as we finish we go off to start our jobs for the day.

  The men have decided to start building the addition to the barn this morning after they unload the trucks and drive them away.

  Since they are busy Mel and I decide to do the rounds to check the fences. We both grab a few guns from the gunroom and make our way out to the barn. We meet Hunter there who already has two horses saddled for us.

  “Thanks, Hunter. You really didn’t have to do this.” I point to the horses.

  “It was nothing. Kane didn’t want you two saddling up the wrong horses. We haven’t checked to see if they are all trained. I’d rather you not get hurt, sweetheart.” He kisses my cheek and hands over the reins before walking off.

  “He’s so sweet, Lexi. You’re lucky you got two sweet guys after you.” Mel smiles sadly and hops up onto her horse.

  I glance in the direction Hunter went off and sigh.

  I am a lucky girl.

  “Some days I wonder if I really am that lucky, Mel. I love them both, but I can only really be with one of them. I keep expecting Lucca to get mad at me for the way I feel about Hunter, but he doesn’t mind it at all. Is that weird?” I ask her.

  “Yeah, it’s a little weird but in this crazy world we’ve been shoved into, I don’t think it matters. If you love them both, then love them, hold on to it because it’s not always guaranteed to last. Don’t let anyone make you think otherwise.”

  “How did you get so wise?” I smirk at her and she sticks her tongue out at me.

  We head off to start our round.

  ****

  Over an hour later we make finally make it back to the house.

  Mel and I dismount at the barn and quickly take care of the horses.

  We had to kill over ten dead on our round. I am alarmed that there has been more and more showing up. Many of them we recognized as people we knew from town.

  On our way back both of us had silent tears running down our cheeks. It was definitely a cruel world we lived in.

  Once inside the house we part ways silently making our way to our rooms.

  I enter and strip my clothes off before laying facedown. I sob into my pillow and soon fall fast asleep.

  “Do you think she’s ok, Lucca?” I hear Hunters muffled voice.

  “Mel told me they had a rough day on their round. Guess they had to kill a bunch of dead that they knew.”

  “Damn, that sucks. Maybe we shouldn’t let her go out without one of us with her anymore.” Hunter says quietly.

  “I agree. This whole world has gone to shit. I wish there was something we could do.”

  “Lucca, I think we are doing the best we can and that’s really what matters. We are safe here.” The bed dips with weight and I feel a blanket being tugged over my body.

  “You go help Tank and Kane. I’ll stay with her till she wakes up.” Lucca whispers as he lies next to me. I curl into his warmth and let out a sigh.

  “Yell, if you need me.” I hear footsteps and then the door closing.

  Lucca softly strokes my hair. “I know you’re up, pumpkin’.”

  I sigh again and turn my head to look up at him, forcing a smile. “I had a rough morning.”

  “I heard it was bad. Why don’t you tell me about it? It might help to talk about it. I know things are messed up, but we have to do what we can to survive.” He rakes his hand through his hair and plants a kiss on my forehead.

  “I really don’t want to talk about it, Lucca. Its better if I just act like none of this is happening.”

  He lets out a low growl. “You can’t think like that. If you do, it might end up hurting you worse in the end, Lexi.”

  “I know. I know. I just don’t know how else to process this all.” I gesture around with my hand. “Everything we know is gone. It’s all so messed up, like some horrible nightmare.”

  “That’s all too true, Lex. As long as we stick together I believe we will be alright.” I snuggle my face into his chest and he lets out a low sigh before kissing my head. “Go back to sleep pumpkin’ I’ll still be here when you wake up. We still have to talk about that kiss you had with Hunter.”

  I glance back up at him. “What about it?”

  “I feel I should be mad, but I’m not. I just have the feeling sometimes that you would rather be with him than me.” He confesses as he bows his head.

  “Oh, Lucca I love you and I want to be with you, but I have feelings for Hunter. I know it’s all messed up and I’m being selfish by wanting you both, but I don’t want to break up with you Lucca. I just want you to except my feelings for Hunter won’t change.”

  He sits up and runs his hands roughly over his face. “I don’t know if I can handle that, Lex, but I will try my hardest. I know he means a lot to you, and I
owe him for helping you when I wasn’t here.” He groans.

  “We can just take this one day at a time, Lucca. I know it won’t be easy but as long as we have each other, I think we will be fine.”

  Lucca looks to me sadly, and I can tell there is something more he wants to tell me. He opens his mouth, but he doesn’t get a chance to say anything before the door swings open revealing Hunter.

  “Am I interrupting something?” He asks.

  “No, we were actually talking about us.” Lucca stands up and walks over toward Hunter.

  My brow creases in confusion at what he could possibly be doing. I stand to my feet afraid that they might get into a fight, even though neither of them looks angry.

  “What are you doing, Lucca?” I demand stepping closer to them. He looks back to me for a moment before turning his attention back to Hunter.

  “None of this is easy for me. I hate that she loves you Hunter, but I know I can’t stop it, if I try I will lose her. I swear if you hurt her, even in the tiniest way, I won’t hesitate to hurt you.” He points in my direction. “I love her more than anything and that’s the only reason I will tolerate you loving her.”

  “I told you before I was going to protect her, I’m not going to hurt her and I wouldn’t even dare to take her from you. I love her enough to stand in the background. I’m not going to mess with a good relationship. I give you the same warning though, don’t hurt her.”

  “Good, that’s all I wanted to hear.”Lucca sighs as he relaxes.

  “So, can we try to be friends?” Hunter grunts as he holds out his hand.

  “Being friends, works for me.” Lucca answers as he places his hand into Hunters and they shake with smiles on their faces.

  Hope blossoms in my heart, maybe I won’t lose what I have with them.

  Maybe, I won’t lose everyone I love and care about.

  “One thing though.” Lucca laughs before continuing. “No more kissing my girl, you can kiss her cheek, but I swear if you two do what you did before I will have to punch you.” He warns Hunter before playfully hitting his arm.