The 13th Witch Complete Trilogy (22 page)

_“
What’s yours?” I snapped back, letting my hand down and sliding the knife back out of my sleeve. He watched me and raised an eyebrow at the action.
_“
Jax.” He didn’t volunteer anymore information. I didn’t press him either. There really wasn’t a point. I just volunteered my own name.

_“
Leah. What are you doing around here?” I did need to know his intentions if nothing else. He turned and started walking out of the old house and I guessed I was supposed to follow him.

When I got out of the house, I was staring at five more survivors. They ranged from a couple of children to a man in his late forties. I was amazed at the fact there were more than just me and Brandon alive. It made the idea of my family being alive still that much more real.

_“
We’ve been heading East. There’s supposed to be some kind of safe zone on the coast,” Jax said before taking a step towards the small group.

_“
There’s a safe zone?” I almost whispered it in disbelief. For such a long time I thought I was the only one out there alive and now I was seeing others that were fighting to get to a place my family could be.

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Yeah, we heard about it from someone that was there,” Jax spoke for the group and was the leader, that much was clear.

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Why would he leave?” I didn’t look Jax’s way. The question nawed at me. What if there was a good reason not to go there?
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He was looking for his family.” He almost looked sad at the thought. “He was a good guy.”

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You don’t think he made it?” The question was kind of a stupid one considering what we were up against. The silence was the only answer he gave.

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We’re moving out in a few. Are you going the same direction?” Jax almost smiled as he said it, but there was something else behind it. He didn’t want to have to worry about another person if he didn’t have to, but I could take care of myself and would never want another person to have to do it.

_“
I can go on my own. It’s not a big deal,” I shoved my hands in my pockets. The truth was I didn’t want to go on my own. I liked the idea of someone else being around and someone else taking the lead for me. While I wanted to make sure I was in some kind of control, it got to be too much sometimes.

_“
You don’t have to be alone. There are people out there.” Jax glanced at the group like he was asking permission in his own way. They all looked at him as though they didn’t mind the extra couple of people. There was no way I was going to leave Brandon on his own. He wasn’t as tough as he thought he was and the break might actually do him some good too.

He had somehow managed to stay out of the whole thing until just then. Jax cracked a smile and turned towards the group.

_“
This is Ayla,” he said pointing to a young girl of about eight. She had long black hair and looked as though it hadn’t been brushed in weeks. When Jax introduced her, she glanced only quickly at me before looking at the ground she was kicking. She wore old tattered tennis shoes and jeans that were a little too big for her small frame. Her light purple t-shirt looked as though it had seen better days and the lettering was starting to fade from it.

Jax went on to a man standing beside the girl. He had the same dark hair and I figured it was her father. He was wearing dark jeans and black tennis shoes that were wearing out in the front. He glanced up for a moment and caught my gaze. His eyes were not dark like Ayla’s but a beautiful green with a hint of sadness. I figured we all had that these days.

The girls were both blond and almost looked exactly the same except for the age difference. Kaly was clearly only a teen and Ely was just a few years older. They both wore jeans that were tore from day to day wear and t-shirts that had seen better days.
Kaly’s was a dark blue while Ely’s was a light red and fit a little too loosely. They both had tried to pull there long blond locks into a ponytail, but Ely seemed to be able to get her hair done better for whatever reason. It didn’t look as though she had failed to brush it for as long as the others. That made me think of my own hair and how it was probably matted to my head. I frowned at the thought.

“
It’s nice to meet you, but we still don’t have any idea who you are?” The last of the survivors said to me taking a step forward. He was tall with dark skin and kind eyes. He was the kind of person you hoped to meet when everything else seemed to go to shit.

_“
Leah.” I turned and glanced at Brandon who was still hanging back. “This is Brandon.” Smith glanced back at him and then looked at everyone else.

“
So what are we still doing in here? Don’t we have to get somewhere?” He almost made it a crack and I caught Jax rolling his eyes. As much as I wanted to remain serious, I just couldn’t help but crack a smile.

# The first part of the walk was quiet. Kaly and Ely stayed off with themselves and Jax seemed to take the lead. I glanced back at Brandon from time to time. He was hanging off to the side of the group tinkering with something in his pocket.

I struggled to catch up to Jax and find out more about this safe zone. If it was real, I wanted to get there and fast.

“
So, what’s your story?” The question came out lighter than I thought, but if I was going to be a part of this group, there had to be some kind of trust. Jax glanced at me before even letting me know he’d heard what I said.

_“
I don’t know if you really want me to answer that question,” he started and then glanced in my direction. The look in his eyes was a warning, but I had to know what he was capable of.

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I do. If we’re going to be trying to keep each other alive, I need to know who I’m helping.” It was blunt. I knew that, but it was the truth. Jax sighed, but didn’t look at me.

_“
I wasn’t a good guy.” He glanced at me for a reaction. I didn’t give one, but kept walking with him. “When the world went to shit, I was in prison. Somehow things malfunctioned when the electricity stopped working and I managed to get out.”
_“
That was probably the safest place to be when all this started.” I kept a steady gaze with him, but a part of me wondered what he was in for. He seemed good enough, but how can you really trust anyone right now.

_“
Yeah, until the guards got infected and then it was the worst place. I was lucky.” He stopped there and I didn’t push him. “We just found each other as we tried to make it alive, but this life, it’s not an easy one.” He smiled as he talked, trying to lighten the mood. “What about you?”

_“
I was in college when it started.” The memory of normal life made me smile. “It was my first semester.” Everything seemed so far away, even though it really wasn’t. The life I’d lived was gone and this new one was all about surviving, staying alive another day.

We walked most of the day and got pretty far before the sun started settling behind the trees. We stayed off the interstate and tried to keep to roads less people would travel. It seemed like a good idea. There were more dangers than just the Undead trying to have you for a snack.

_“
We have to find a place to settle for the night. There’s a campground not to far ahead we can stay at,” Jax said, glancing back at the group.

_“
That won’t be very protected.” I looked back at the kids in the group. Somehow they’d managed to make it alive for as long as they had, but one wrong choice and it could all come down around them and us.