“Where are the others?” I asked when Beth said nothing else.
“Around.” She didn’t look up. “Logan was with Jim the last time I saw him.”
Kellan turned to look at me. “We could take a walk. Look around. I could use the exercise.”
“As long as you promise not to overdo it.”
He gave me a crooked smile. “Yes, Mom.”
“Ugh. Don’t ever say that again,” I grumbled and gave a fake shudder, trying to make it look like I was totally disgusted instead of overjoyed that he was acting like his old self.
Kellan laughed as he pulled me away from the truck.
I hadn’t been outside since we got here, and even then it had been dark, so the walk we took was my first real chance to look the place over. The wall these people had built seemed to go all the way around the building, and when we headed toward the back, the sound of animals was just detectable over the noise of the settlement. It grew louder the closer we got, the clucking of chickens, the snort of what could only be horses, mixed with other sounds I couldn’t quite place but instinctively knew were not human.
There were other noises, too, just beyond the wall. Quiet moans and the scratch of nails raking across metal as the dead tried to get inside. It made me shiver for real and move closer to Kellan. That was the good thing about living in the middle of nowhere the way we did. The dead showed up from time to time, but it wasn’t a constant threat the way it probably was here. Even after nine years, being so close to what had once been a city meant the zombie population was bigger.
“You think they go out and clear the dead from the wall or just ignore them?” I asked as we walked.
“I don’t know.” Kellan eyed the fence like he was appraising it. “The wall is pretty secure, so they might just let things be, I guess.”
“I don’t think I could stand living like that.”
“It’s like everything else in this world,” he said. “You get used to certain things.”
“I guess,” I muttered.
Makeshift shelters surrounded by low fences came into view, as did a barrage of animals. The horses and chickens I’d expected, but there were also cows and two pigs—fat things lying on their sides in the mud—and even a handful of turkeys. Beyond that stood rows and rows of vegetables. Corn and tomatoes, green beans and squash. There were people everywhere, lugging buckets of water over to the animals or plants, pulling weeds, inspecting the leaves so they could pick off any pests that dared risk their crops. The whole thing made me ten times more thankful for our little underground oasis, because we didn’t have to worry about watering the plants—it was a hydrogarden, after all—or even about bugs destroying things. It made the process of growing food easier and lightened the already heavy load.
It also made me long for home in a way I hadn’t been able to until now. Before, I’d been so focused on making sure Kellan was okay that I hadn’t allowed myself to really think about what I’d been ripped away from. Now, all I could think about was Emma and Cade, back in the shelter and probably worried to death about what had happened to us. Then there was Blake, who’d been in Altus with us. He’d been stranded with Christine and Scott as well as an injured person—Bill, who’d been shot—and no way to get help since Andrew’s men had slit the tires of all our vehicles. What had they done after we were gone? Did they make it to safety, or had they been overrun by another horde before they had a chance to get away?
Not knowing made every inch of me ache.
“Do you think Bill is okay?” I asked Kellan.
“I don’t know,” he said with a sigh of worry. “I was too focused on you to see how bad it was.”
“Andrew said he cut the cars’ tires.” I swallowed. “I don’t know how they would have been able to get Bill to help.”
“You can drive on flat tires if you’re desperate enough,” Kellan said.
He had a point. It would have been useless to try to follow us. The cars never would have been able to catch up on flats, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have made it to the Altus settlement. It was only a few miles away, after all. They could have loaded Bill into the truck and made it there in ten minutes, tops. If they managed to do that, he might be okay.
I hoped so.
“Just a few days, and we’ll know,” I said, mostly to myself.
Kellan gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Yeah.”
I caught sight of Ash and Logan several feet away, the two of them leaning against a fence in front of the chickens as they talked to another man. Not too far from them, Jim stood as well. He was resting against another fence—smoking—but he wasn’t talking, and he didn’t seem to have any desire to. The opposite, really. There was something about him that gave the impression that he wanted nothing more than to be left alone.
No one else I recognized was in sight, so I headed that way, pulling Kellan with me. He didn’t resist, but I didn’t miss the way he was dragging his feet. Despite his improved health and the color that had returned to his cheeks, he looked worn down.
“You okay?” I asked when we were still a good five feet from the others.
“Yeah.” Kellan shoved his hand through his dark hair, pushing it back, but like always, it refused to obey. “Just worn out.”
“We’ll go back to the room soon.” I gave his hand a comforting squeeze as we came to a stop beside the others.
Jim gave a slight nod but said nothing. Logan, too, barely glanced our way—he seemed to be in the middle of haggling with a man over a few eggs—but Ash turned toward us, a huge smile on his face.
“You’re up!” he proclaimed.
Kellan gave the teen an amused look. “It would seem that way, although my body is protesting just a little.”
“I told you he’d be worn out for a bit.” Jim blew a mouthful of smoke into the air, his icy blue eyes moving from me to Kellan. “You should rest.”
“I’ll have plenty of time to rest on the boat.” Kellan waved the other man’s worry off. “I had to get out of that room and enjoy the fresh air.”
He inhaled a deep breath through his nose then let out an exaggerated cough, making Ash hoot with laughter.
“Don’t you mean fresh animal shit?” the teen asked.
“Well…” Kellan inhaled again, his gaze moving from the pigs to the cows. “There are worse things.”
The man Logan was talking to grinned. “The dead?”
“Exactly,” Kellan replied, punctuating the word.
He slipped his arm around me, and I pretended to lean into him, although what I was really doing was letting him lean on me. It was subtle, but I’d known Kellan long enough to know his strength was waning.
Logan, having wrapped up his conversation with the egg man, turned our way, a bundle of at least a dozen eggs in his hands. “Jim’s right. You should rest just in case we run into trouble.”
His words slammed into the light mood, cutting it in half.
“Did Andrew show back up?”
“No,” Logan shook his head, “but we all know he’s out there.”
Kellan tightened his grip on me, and I found myself wrapping my arms around him without thinking about it. I felt like if I just clung to him, I’d be able to hold on long enough to get us both home safely. At least I hoped so, anyway.
“I hear you’re going with us,” Kellan said, his focus on Logan.
Ash was the one who responded, “That’s the plan.”
“We want to be sure you get there safely,” Logan added. “Plus, I’m hoping we can catch back up with that asshole and finish him for good. The last thing I want is to have another run-in with him down the road.”
“Do you have a plan?” Kellan asked. “I mean, you told us about the boat, but there are a lot of other concerns. Like what we’re going to do for transportation once we get to Oklahoma.”
Logan eyed Kellan quietly for a few seconds before finally answering. “We have connections everywhere. Don’t worry.”
“Connections?�
� Kellan said.
From there, they started into a detailed discussion of what we might face, as well as what we might have to do.
My scalp began to prickle as they talked, and I turned to find Jim watching me closely. He was still smoking, still giving off the impression that he wasn’t interested in conversation, but his eyes on me were intent. Or, more accurately, on Kellan’s fingers as they ran up and down my arm. I’d barely even registered the action, and he seemed as unaware, but Jim, on the other hand, watched the motion with an intensity that unnerved me.
“What about you?” I asked, forcing him to focus on my face instead of Kellan’s hand on my arm. “You said you have a friend on the boat. Are you coming with us?”
Jim flicked his cigarette to the ground and pushed himself off the fence. “No.” His gaze moved down so he could snub out the still smoking butt with the toe of his boot. “I have to get back to Georgia.”
“You have people there?” I asked.
What I’d really wanted to ask was if he had someone there, but I got the feeling it wouldn’t have been a welcome question.
Jim worked his jaw like he wasn’t sure how to form words before saying, “I know people there. Yes.”
“The same people you knew in Colorado?”
“Angus’s brother, Axl, and his wife. Some others, too.” Jim paused. “They live in Atlanta.”
“Even though Angus is alive?” After everything Jim had told us, I couldn’t believe they lived in the city.
Again, he paused before saying, “They don’t know.”
“What?” My back straightened. “You haven’t told them? You have to. What if it was someone you loved? Wouldn’t you want to know?”
Jim’s already icy eyes seemed to freeze over. “If I tell them, it will put them in more danger than your little brain could ever imagine.”
My mouth dropped open, but Jim didn’t wait around for me to respond. He stalked off like he was considering slitting someone’s throat, and the way his hand was resting on the knife at his hip, it seemed like he might.
I watched him stalk off, muttering under my breath, “Nice guy.”
“He saved your boyfriend’s life,” Logan reminded me.
“He seems like he’s had a rough go of it,” Kellan said, frowning.
“You have no idea.” Logan nodded in the direction Jim had just gone, indicating that we should follow him, and started walking. “Let’s head back.”
Kellan’s stamina had greatly improved by the next morning. With no personal belongings to pack, he and I were pretty much empty handed as we headed out, but knowing Beth had prepared made me feel better. It was lucky these people were willing to help us get home. Without them, we’d have no supplies and no weapons, and no way to trade for them. I was just thankful that they were willing to share.
Jim, who I hadn’t seen since he stomped off the day before, was leaning against the truck when we stepped out of the hotel. His stance was more casual and laidback today, but his expression was just as guarded as he studied the people moving about the settlement, a cigarette between his lips and his arms crossed.
Even when he saw us coming, his expression didn’t change. He simply blew a puff of smoke into the air and said, “Thought I’d head over to the dock with you.”
Logan’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “You change your mind about coming?”
“Not likely.” Jim snorted, his gaze moving to Kellan and me. “Want to make sure you have all the backup you need. Just in case.”
In case Andrew decided to jump us, he meant.
“We appreciate it,” Kellan said.
The gun Logan had given him was at his waist, his hand resting on it, and he looked more like himself. Strong and confident, an aura of authority radiating off him like always. My heart swelled just looking at him, while at the same time my throat tightened with emotion. What would have happened to us if Logan and his people hadn’t stepped in? I couldn’t even think about it.
“How many of you are going?” Jim asked, eyeing the group.
Beth pulled the driver’s side door open but didn’t climb in. “Logan and me, and Ash.”
“Never been to Oklahoma,” the teen replied, grinning. His shaggy hair was pulled back today, tied at the base of his neck, but wisps had escaped and hung in his face. “Thought it would be fun.”
“You think everything’s fun,” Hickory grumbled as he climbed into the driver’s seat.
Beth looked toward Juliet and rolled her eyes.
Ash only shrugged, still grinning.
“Let’s get going,” Alex said with a sigh.
He sounded like he was ready for a break from Ash and Hickory’s constant bickering.
It made me think about how things had been when Emma and Blake were still together, which caused a pang of worry and homesickness to shoot through me.
Just a couple days, I told myself. A couple days, and we’ll be home.
I climbed into the truck behind Beth and Juliet, and Kellan followed. Unlike the other day, he didn’t require help to get inside, and once he was in, he looked around like he was seeing the interior for the first time. With as feverish as he’d been, he probably was. He’d been out of it for most of the ride the other night.
Logan and Jim came last, and once everyone was in and the door was shut, Hickory backed out. Through the slits that served as windows, I watched as we approached the gate, where we had to pause and wait for it to open, then as we pulled through, leaving the safety of the walls. My hand moved to my own gun—another loaner from Logan—as we drove, the city whirling by. The occasional zombie stumbled toward us, drawn by the sound of the engine, but they couldn’t move fast enough to get anywhere close to the truck. Every street and alley we passed had me craning to look for any sign of Andrew. Other than the dead, there was nothing of interest.
“How far?” Kellan asked from behind me.
He was looking out the other window, and he wasn’t alone. No one was sitting down this time. They were all as on alert as we were, all watching the city fly by as we drove, all keeping an eye out for the assholes who’d dragged Kellan and me here.
“Ten minutes with the roadblocks and debris,” Logan said. “Not far.”
“Good.” Kellan nodded, and his dark hair fell over his forehead, forcing him to shove it back.
It had gotten even longer, I realized, and he now had to push it out of his eyes more and more. He needed a haircut, something we might be able to take care of once we were safely on the American Queen.
It seemed to take no time for the truck to slow, and when it did, I tore my gaze from the window in front of me so I could look out the front. Through the metal sheets covering the windshield, I could see an iron fence that had to be at least ten feet tall. It had clearly been here before the virus, and effectively blocked off the parking lot that led to the dock. The gate, too, was old, and beyond it a few men with guns stood guard.
“You ready back there?” Hickory called.
I wasn’t sure who he was talking to, but Logan was the one who answered. “Ready.”
I turned to find him at the back of the truck. A second later, he shoved the door open and jumped out, with Alex right behind him. Kellan made a move for the door, but Beth stopped him, grabbing his arm.
“They’re clearing the dead so we can open the gate.”
“They’re going to need help,” Kellan said.
“They’re immune.” Beth shook her head. “We’re not.”
She was right.
“I’ll go.” I pulled the knife Logan had loaned me and moved to the open door.
“Regan.” Kellan grabbed my arm. “No.”
I gave him a half smile. “I’m immune, remember?”
“You can still get ripped apart,” he argued.
“But I won’t.”
I pulled my arm from his grasp and ducked out, jumping the short distance to the ground before he could stop me.
Moans from the dead mixed with grunts from Logan an
d Alex greeted me before I’d made it around the side of the truck, and when I did, I found them fighting with a small group of the dead. Five of them, a lot for two people, but not a huge risk considering a scratch or a bite couldn’t take them down the way it could most people.
Logan slammed his knife into the skull of a dead woman while behind him Alex used one zombie—a teenager, from the looks of the thing—to ward off the others. It worked to keep them back, ensuring that Logan only had to take care of one of the creatures at a time. But I was here now, and I was able to help.
Knife in hand, I charged toward the zombie Alex was working to hold back, slamming the blade into the skull of the first one I came to. It sank in with a sickening crack that vibrated up my arm, and the creature dropped to the ground. Once he was down, I moved on to the next one, and by then Logan had joined me.
My target was tall and slim, with bone visible in places where his decaying skin had ripped away. He snarled and reached for me, his fingers curling and his mouth chomping, but I was ready to dodge his grasp. Once I had, I moved behind him and grabbed the tattered remains of his shirt, using it to hold him still so I could slam the knife through the back of his head and up into his brain.
He dropped to the ground just before the thing Logan had been fighting off did, and I spun to find the zombie Alex had been struggling with down as well. In the distance, a few more were headed our way, but they weren’t close, and they were slow. There was no way they’d be able to reach us before the gate was pulled open.
Logan was panting as he jogged to the gate. “We’re here for the American Queen.”
The man on the other side nodded, his gaze moving to the truck. “How many of you are there?”
“Ten,” Logan replied. “But five of us won’t be getting on the boat.”
“We’re going to search you.”
“We know,” Logan said.
The man nodded and stepped back as the second guard moved to the lock. My gaze moved from the zombies heading our way to the lock being undone, my heart pounding harder with each passing second. A chain secured the gate, and it took a few seconds for the man to unwind it. Once he had, the gate was pulled open, the hinges groaning in protest, and Hickory drove through. Logan nodded for me to follow, which I did without hesitation, and he and Alex jogged in behind me. The dead were still a good ten feet away when the gate slammed shut at our backs.
The Oklahoma Wastelands Series Box Set | Books 1-3 Page 64