Save Me (10 page)

"I woke up two hours ago with no idea where you were. I didn't know if you wandered off, confused from the concussion, or if someone had broken in, ....or if you just left. I was frantic, only able to sit here and wait, hoping you'd return."

I was about to say something but the look on Will's face stopped me. He really was pissed at me. He took another deep breath and continued.

"When I couldn't take it anymore, I went to look for you.I was about to walk out the front door when I heard sobbing from upstairs. All the terrible things that could have happened to you flashed through my mind and I nearly lost it." Will turned away, unable to look at me again. Well, I sure felt like shit. I had no idea he had been awake that long. If the situation had been reversed, I probably would have assumed he had left on his own. Will was different though. He wanted to see the good in people. It also didn't help that despite the fact that I have managed to keep myself alive for nearly two years in this outbreak, he has had to step in and save my ass on a number of occasions in the short time we have known each other. I could see why he would assume the worst.

"I'm sorry, Will." My earlier irritation was replaced with guilt.

"Andi, you have no idea what I went through to get you back. Sorry just doesn't cut it." He was getting angry again. I could tell there was more to the story than what he was telling me.

"Well, tell me then." He never did finish the story about what happened before he found me in the cabin.

"You don't want to know." He nearly whispered the words.

"Yes, I do." I demanded. "You can't keep saying that I don't know what you went through and getting so angry with me then not even tell me the whole story." I pushed him for more, even though I wasn't positive it was the best idea. "I think you owe me the truth Will. I'm the one the cousins took and when they come back looking for me, I want to know how much more pissed they are going to be." He turned away from me again, still not giving me any answers. "Will! Tell me what happened!"

"Like I told you, they aren't coming back."

"You don't know that, Will. They could track us down."

"That isn't going to happen." He crossed his arms in front of him, still refusing to face me.

"But how do you know?" I was not about to let it go this time.
"I killed them okay!" Will shouted, turning back toward me, tears welled in his eyes.

"They're dead?" I couldn't believe it was possible. I didn't have to worry about them coming back for me. Looking at Will, I could tell that he didn't share the same level of relief.

"Yes. They can't hurt you anymore." He dropped his face down into his hands.

"Why didn't you just tell me that?" I asked, moving closer to Will and stroking his shoulder.

"I just couldn't. I don't know. I've never done that before you know, to anyone... not already dead." He looked up at me, a single tear escaped down his cheek. No one could blame him for killing those bastards. They had killed his friends. Not to mention what they were planning on doing with me. They were bad guys. Not the kind of people you shed tears over.

"It's okay Will. They deserved it."

"It wasn't like that Andi. I didn't go there planning on killing them. I mean, I knew it was a possibility, or that I'd get myself killed, but I had to try to get you away from them. I was about ten yards away where they couldn't see me, waiting them out. I didn't even know what the hell I was going to do. Honestly it was probably one of the dumbest things I've ever done. I figured you were inside the cabin, so I guess I was going to wait until you were outside and maybe try to get you away from them or something."

"But, I was still inside." My memories were fuzzy of that day but I did remember that much.

"Yes. When I heard them talking about what they were planning," Will slid his hand across my face and behind my neck, looking into my eyes. "I lost it. I had to do something quickly."

"What were they planning?"

"Andi, please trust me, you really don't want to know that." Will pulled me against his chest, resting his chin on the top of my head. He was probably right. I didn't need to know what the cousin's plans were if it was bad enough to make Will not only risk his life, but take the lives of two human beings, if you could even call them that.

I tilted my head back to look up at him. "I remember hearing a gunshot." It was more of a question than an actual statement. I couldn't be sure about the details of that day thanks to the concussion.

"Yeah. When Bo went inside, I knew there really was no other choice. Having them separate like that, with the element of surprise, was my best shot. As soon as I heard you scream, I shot Lucas in the head and waited for Bo to come outside."

"I screamed?" I really couldn't remember much, just pieces.

"Yes. I don't know what happened, or when, but I'm guessing that scream was right before he cracked your head into whatever it was that caused this concussion."

"The wall." The memory shard came back, blurry in my mind.

Will winced.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't get to you sooner Andi. The thought of you being with those two animals all night sickens me." Will's hands balled up into fists with the thought. I'm sure he was imagining all the horrible things they might have done to me.

"It's fine Will. I'm okay. Nothing happened to me." I placed my hand over one of his fists, trying to relax him a bit.

"Andi, how can you say that? Look at you. You're covered in bruises and cuts. You have restraint marks on your wrists and ankles. You're clothes were nearly ripped off. You have the worst concussion I've ever seen. Plus, God knows what else they did to you that didn't leave visible marks." Will stood up, leaving me alone on the sofa, and paced back and forth across the room.

"Nothing else happened. I'm okay, really."

"You hardly remember what happened. You don't know that." He couldn't bring himself to look at me again. He was right though. I didn't have a clear memory of that day and I wasn't sure I wanted to, but I knew what he was afraid of. I got up and walked over to Will, taking his hands in mine and looking up into his beautiful green eyes.

"You're right. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but trust me, it's just the cuts and bruises."

Will looked me over, trying to decide if I was being honest or just trying to make him feel better. "I promise. If you hadn't come in when you did, I know it would have been different."

"You were with them all night. Are you telling me they just went to sleep?" Will's skeptical look told me he wasn't quite convinced.

"I don't know what they did all night. I got sick and they stuck me in a cage out back until morning."

Will searched my eyes for a hint of anything more. Finally, he relented and wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace, my face pressed against his shirt.

"I'm so sorry I didn't get you out of there sooner," he said kissing the top of my head, still squeezing tightly. Somewhere in the back of my head a little voice wished that kiss on my head had been on my lips, but I told her to get lost.

"Will," I whispered, trying to get enough air in my lungs to speak. "I can't breathe."

Will loosened his grip and smiled down at me. It was the first real smile I had seen in awhile and after how angry he was with me earlier, I was thrilled with it.

After Will finally agreed to let me go, he reheated the food we never got to eat, and we settled on the sofa for dinner. My most recent dose of pain medication was finally taking the edge off the headache from hell and the dizziness had passed, at least for now.

"You must be starving. When was the last time you ate something?"

"I think maybe some crackers at the cabin." If not, I couldn't remember.

"Listen Andi, I think we need to set some ground rules." Oh here we go again with the bossiness. If you had told me two weeks ago that I would not only be living in my old basement with some boy, but that I was letting him boss me around, I would have told you to screw off. I wasn't the kind of girl who let boys be in charge. Dad had taught me to be independent and take care of myself. And so far, that served me well. Due to some great cosmic joke however, lately I have had to rely on a boy to keep me alive. I wasn't exactly thrilled with this new set up.

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow at Will, letting him know I wasn't about to take orders from anyone.

"Yes. And, we both need to agree to abide by them." Will wasn't about to be intimidated by my feeble attempt at asserting my independence. He certainly wasn't the same sweet, meek boy I met so very recently.

"And what exactly are these new rules?" I asked, rolling my eyes at him.

"I'm serious Andi. This is for both our sakes." Will gently grabbed my chin, ensuring my full attention.

"Okay, okay, let's hear it." I suppose I could at least listen to what he had to say since it seemed to mean a great deal to him.

"First of all, we have to stay together. No more going off on your own without telling anyone. No one leaves this basement alone."

"Agreed." It wasn't the worst idea in the world so I refrained from additional eye rolling, at least for now.

"Second, we have to trust each other. I know that's difficult for you, but you really do have to try. Andi, I'm not going to screw you over. I would never abandon you, even when it might seem like I have."He lifted my chin again, making eye contact on that last part. I could tell he still felt guilty about not being able to do anything as the cousins dragged me away from him. I know now that he was doing what was necessary in order to live long enough to actually get me away from them. I just wish I had known then that he knew where to find them.

"I'll try." I meant it too. Trust wasn't something that came easily for me these days, but after what my mother had asked of me in her letter, I knew I had to try. "Anything else?"

Will smiled. "Do you need more?"

"Well no, but I figured since you appointed yourself King of the world, you might have more rules." It was Will's turn to roll his eyes at me this time.

"Andi, this is serious."

"Yes, Will."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

He still had his arms wrapped around me, our faces only inches apart. For a moment, his eyes focused on my lips and I thought he might kiss me. My breath caught in my throat at the thought. Any thoughts of Will in that way were pushed aside quickly up to this point. Here in this moment however, I let my thoughts linger. My mind joined forces with my body, nearly begging to be kissed. He brought his hand up, brushing stray hairs off my face and stroking the back of his hand over my cheek. My stomach flip flopped a few times, bringing back the nausea but as I looked into those sparkling emeralds, nothing else mattered.

"We should probably get some rest." Will gently pushed me back, releasing me from his arms.

I swear that boy just lived to confuse me!

~Chapter Nine~

"Andi, you really are going to have to try." Frustrated, Will dropped his bow to his side and let out a sigh. He had been trying to get me to hunt with him all week. I had no trouble with the bow when it came to members of the undead, but when it came to fuzzy woodland creatures, I missed every time. I really wasn't doing it on purpose, at least not consciously. Every time I lined up the shot, and saw little Thumper or Bambi in my sight, I missed.

"I am trying!" We were spending more time chasing down arrows than finding food. Will could have easily handled this on his own, but he insisted I needed to learn. Honestly, I think he just didn't want to leave me alone. Since that night he found me upstairs, things were different between us. He insisted that I learn different weapons and has even been teaching me some basic self-defense moves. He was always around keeping an eye on me, yet he seemed distant at the same time, like he didn't really want to be around me.

"Fine. Let's take a break." Will's patience was at an all time low. He found a rock to sit down on a few yards away from where we were practicing. Closer to where we were, sat a larger rock with smaller ones beside it. There would have been enough room for us to sit together but instead he chose the one where I'd have to stand if I wanted to follow, or sit in the wet grass. Will had been doing whatever he could to keep some space between us all week. He went back to sleeping on the sofa and even ate breakfast before I woke up to avoid sharing the meal with me. He spent most of his free time reading, avoiding all but the briefest of eye contact or conversation. I was beginning to wonder if he was teaching me this stuff so that I could take care of myself after he left. Maybe he didn't want to stay with me after all and he just felt guilty about leaving me unprotected.

I sat down to eat some of the lunch we packed, alone in silence. If this was how it was going to be, he should just leave already. Despite a few minor situations since we met, I did just fine on my own. The last thing I needed was some boy hanging around out of imagined obligation. Will snuck up behind me, nearly knocking me onto the ground from the surprise.

"What are you back to being a ninja?"

Holding one finger to his lips, Will pointed about 20 yards away at a mother-daughter zombie team approaching from the trees. I hated kid zombies. They were the hardest to disassociate from. It sucked killing a kid, even if they were already dead and looking at you like you're dinner. She was in good shape too. She had that typical gray pallor and gazed over white eyes, but other than that, she looked fresh. The mother wasn't doing quite so good. Half her face was blown off and her clothes were pretty ripped up. She kept up just fine with the kid so she must not have been around that long. Guessing from the speed of the two, it couldn't have been more than a few weeks, maybe less. I could hear the little one growling as they got closer.