Save Me (13 page)

"Andi?" Will peeked his head in the room. "We are going hunting right after breakfast, so if you wanna join us you better get moving."

He left without waiting for an answer. Before Janet showed up, he wouldn't have even thought of leaving me here on my own. A few times, I had nearly begged him to let me stay behind but he insisted we stay together. That was even what he made me promise to that night before everything changed after he found me upstairs. I guess now that Janet is here promises mean nothing.

I thought about staying home. The idea of spending the day with Janet was so not appealing. Will didn't seem like he wanted me to tag along anyway, but then maybe that was the perfect reason to go. A part of me was even afraid that if I let them go without me, they wouldn't return. I didn't want to think Will would do that to me, but after what I saw with him and Janet, I just didn't know for sure. Thinking of the two of them in my parents bed, limbs intertwined, her in his shirt, made me want to go just to keep the two of them off each other. I grabbed my stuff and headed out to the kitchen. There was no way I was letting them go without me!

I got about two steps into the hall when I heard Will and Janet taking quietly from the kitchen. I stopped to listen, knowing I shouldn't be but unable to stop myself.

"What are you doing with this girl, Will?"

"It's complicated."

"It's not. She's a child, Will. From what you've told me, this isn't going to end well"

I was really getting sick of this woman calling me a child. I was going to be nineteen soon. I was a grown woman. My childhood ended a long time ago, regardless of my age.

"Look Janet, I can't just leave her. You know what I went through before. How can you ask me to do that again?"

"It's different this time Will. You have me now."

I stepped further, getting a look at them. My eavesdropping knew no bounds. They stood close together, Janet's hand on Will's arm.

"I don't know. I know you say it's different but, I..."

Janet's hand went up to Will's face tenderly. The two stood there, eyes locked, lost in their moment. I debated whether I should stand there and listen some more or go break up their moment before they ended up back in my parent's bed. I was about to go with the latter when Janet spoke again.

"Will, I want you to be happy, but that's not gonna happen with her. You're going to get hurt."

Okay she was trying to convince Will to leave me and go with her. That much was clear. I know that my time with Will hasn't been the easiest. Sure, I had a few close calls that he had saved me from but he never got hurt. She couldn't blame me for those things. Hell, it was with her and their group that Will nearly got killed. He has the gunshot scar to prove that.

"Look, I know you are probably right but..."

Probably right? He actually believed that he was going to get hurt because of me.

Okay, this needed to be broken up before she actually did convince him to leave. I reclosed my door loud enough for them to head and walked out into the kitchen. I needed to prove to Will that he was safe here with me, that he wanted to stay.

"Good morning." I sat at the table innocently.

Janet eyed me suspiciously. I ignored her look, digging in to the oatmeal Will handed me.

"Make it quick. We're ready to go." Janet huffed off into the bathroom leaving me alone with Will.

"Did she get up on the wrong side of the bed?" I asked motioning in Janet's direction, looking up innocently at Will.

Not that waking up on either side of Will was the wrong side. Waking up to Will's face as the first thing you see in the morning was enough to brighten anyone's day. Damn, I really had to stop having these thoughts. Will and I were just friends. The last thing I needed was a boyfriend and Will obviously had much different taste in girls. Will looked at me, head tilted to the side, as if he were trying to decide if I was being sarcastic or not.

"What?"I was sticking with my innocent act.

Will shook his head. "Nothing, just hurry okay? We have a long day ahead of us."

"Can't wait."

I tried, but keeping at least a hint of noticeable sarcasm from my voice was impossible. Will didn't miss it. He left me alone in the kitchen to get ready to leave. I gulped down the last few bites of food and quickly washed the bowl. I wasn't about to let them wait for me to be ready. Janet would love something else to use against me.

I was already dressed so all I needed to do was grab my pack and get on some shoes. Of course, Janet was standing at the door looking annoyed before I managed to lace up some sneakers. Will stood next to her watching me, probably wondering if Janet was right and he should just leave with her and forget all about me.

Before Janet let us leave the house, she insisted on going out first and making sure it was safe. I'm surprised she didn't send me, hoping I wouldn't make it back. That sure would make it easier on her. When she deemed it safe enough for us, or for Will really, because I knew she didn't give a crap about me, she signaled for us to join her. The first few miles weren't bad. I had to practically jog to keep up, but I managed to keep myself in the middle of them as we walked. Every so often, Janet looked over at me irritated for being there. Will didn't seem to notice Janet's looks, or how hard I was working to keep some distance between them.

"So where are we going?" I asked breaking the silence.

"Didn't you teach this one anything?" Janet asked Will, ignoring my question.

What was her problem anyway?

"We do things a little different," Will replied, looking guilty, like talking to me was a crime or something.

"Look
Andi,
" My name slid off her tongue sarcastically. "We don't talk in unsecure areas. You need to pay attention to your surroundings so nothing sneaks up on you. Again," she added that last part looking at me disgusted. I figured Will had told her about the cousins. Her accusatory look told me she blamed me for what happened.

"We?" I asked, looking from her to Will, who looked away, refusing eye contact.

She ignored me, walking faster, making it more difficult for me to keep up. Will easily adjusted to her pace, leaving me struggling to stay a few paces behind them. Okay, so I had short legs. Janet couldn't hold that against me too, though I'm sure she would anyway. I had told myself I was going to prove to Will staying with me wasn't a mistake, but so far I was off to a bad start.

Up ahead, a couple of flesh eaters hobbled down the road, moaning and gurgling. I figured Will would just use the crossbow and take them out quickly like he usually did but he just kept walking. Will dropped behind Janet a couple yards, making it possible for me to catch up with him.

"Why aren't you shooting them? You want me to do it?"

"No," Will whispered and held a finger up to his lips to silence me.

He really was going along with this no talking thing of Janet's I guess.

Janet continued walking straight for the two undead, dropping her bow to her side and switching it to her other hand. It seemed like a reckless thing to do. Why not just take them out from a distance rather than risk getting closer. Will kept his bow up and ready. He seemed confident in what Janet was doing. Maybe this was how they did things before when he was with their group. If so, I don't know how they lasted that long.

"Stay here," he whispered and moved ahead closer to Janet.

The closer they got the more determined the flesh eaters became. They were in pretty bad shape. Most of their flesh had fallen away and they were slow, so they weren't fresh corpses. Still, it wasn't wise to take chances. Nevertheless, I stayed put where Will had asked me to. I wasn't about to do something that would get me blamed if something went wrong.

Janet pulled a knife out that was strapped to her thigh and inched closer to the two coming toward us. When she was within a couple feet, she lunged forward, plunging the knife through the eye socket and into the brain of the one on the left. The other grabbed her arm, intent on taking a bite when Will took it out with an arrow through its rotting skull. It held on to Janet as it went down, knocking her off balance and forcing them both to the ground. Janet quickly recovered and pulled the arrow out, handing it to Will. I stood in the same spot, looking at the scene in disbelief. I couldn't believe what just happened. That was the most reckless thing I've seen happen in longer than I can remember. Will thought I was going to get myself killed but it was Janet with the death wish.

Will and Janet stood there quietly arguing over something. Will leaned over and whispered something into Janet's ear then walked back to where he had left me standing.

"What the hell was that?"

"Janet does things a bit differently," Will said, again avoiding eye contact.

"No shit! She could have been bit!"

I was being too loud and I knew it. From the death glare on Janet's face, so did she. Will turned to look at Janet, then back to me.

"Calm down Andi. It's not that big of a deal. I had her covered the whole time."

Will put his hand on my arm trying to quiet me, for Janet's sake I'm sure.

"No, Will. That's not right. That's not how you do things. You stressed in our training
not
to get close."

"And that's how I want you to do it, Andi. Janet is different. She has her own way and it works for her. It's not for us to judge."

"What she does puts us all at risk!"

How could he not see that? Will must be blinded by his feelings for her to go along with something so foolish. Janet folded her arms in front of her, losing patience.

"You were never at risk, Andi. I wouldn't have let that happen." Will slid his hand up from my arm behind my head, through my hair, and pulled me closer. "I promise you," Will said, softly looking into my eyes.

For a moment, I forgot what I was angry about and got lost in a sea of green sparkles. Up ahead Janet whistled, snapping me back to reality.

"Just trust me, please. I know she is a little different but she's a good person. Give her a chance." Will turned and started walking, the moment lost, leaving me there to follow or not. Trust was not something that came easily for me these days. I did trust Will though, at least as far as safety. I knew if he had any choice, he wouldn't let anything happen to me.

I again had to jog to keep up with them but after awhile the pace slowed down. I was getting tired, but Janet wasn't going to get the satisfaction of knowing that. It seemed like we were going to walk half the day before she decided we could stop for a break. We chose the side of an old building that had been knocked down on two sides so we were partially covered, and by 'we' I mean Janet. She shows up less than 24 hours ago and now she thinks she is queen of the world, with Will and I her loyal servants.

"Am I allowed to talk now?"

I directed my question at Will but didn't miss Janet rolling her eyes at me. Will just gave me a look like 'Please, be nice,' siding with her again of course.

"How much further are we going?" This time I directed my question at Janet, attempting to be mature, for Will.

"What's the matter princess, you tired?" Janet laughed, taking a swig from her canteen.

Now who was being immature? Will looked away, ignoring her comment. Of course, it's only me who gets their immaturity pointed out. I stared at her blankly, not letting her engage me this time.

"About another hour away," Will answered, probably trying to keep Janet and I from interacting more than necessary.

How was I supposed to give her a chance, like he asked, if he stepped in and didn't let her prove how right I was about her.

A branch cracked, turning all our heads at once. Will's bow went immediately up while Janet pulled out a long knife. Screw this, I pulled out my gun, not wanting a repeat performance from earlier. Janet motioned for Will to fall back and cover her while she peered around what was left of our cover building. Will looked back at me, glancing to the gun in my hand, shaking his head at me and pointing to the bow sticking out of my pack. I knew I'd hear it later from him, but I wasn't giving in this time. He shot me a frustrated look and turned back to Janet. She inched slowly around the side to see what was lurking behind us, ready for the fight.

"Oh my God, Janet!" A strange voice called from behind the brick wall.

"Dan!" Janet practically squealed with delight as she flung herself into the man's arms.

Will waited to lower his bow until Janet insisted it was safe. Our sneaky visitor was apparently a friend of hers. Dan was tall, maybe 6'5", with bushy dark hair and tangled beard to match, with the build of a grizzly bear. His eyes were a clear, crystal blue, a lot like my own. Underneath all that fur, I would bet there was a good-looking guy. My guess would be that Dan was a little older than Will, but my track record for guessing ages isn't exactly stellar.

"This is Will, a good friend of mine," she said, introducing Dan and Will. Then glancing in my direction, with a nod toward me, she said with disgust, "and his little girlfriend, Andi."

After a quick handshake with Will, Dan walked over to me, offering his hand.

"I'm not his girlfriend, by the way," I said barely above a whisper, ignoring Janet's snicker behind me.