Thicker than Blood (8 page)

“Oh my God,” I breathed, watching as the
creature crumpled to the ground. But my relief was short lived as
the remaining infected had somehow managed to get back on its feet.
And Evelyn, looking victorious, was oblivious to the danger that
was now nearly on top of her.

I screamed at the top of my lungs,
frantically waving my arms in the air. “Eve! Eve! Behind you!”

Evelyn spun around just in time to catch the
infected as it was reaching for her, its jaw open wide, ready to
take a bite out of whatever piece of her it could manage. As she
struggled to keep it at bay, shoving her hands into its chest, her
gun fell from her grip. Screaming, Evelyn staggered backward under
its dead weight, barely holding the monster off of her.

“Do something!” I cried, pleading with Alex.
“She’s going to die! Do something!”

“I can’t get a shot,” he muttered, still
squinting into his scope.

Frustration and fear had me grabbing his
arm, gripping tightly to the thick material of his canvas jacket
and twisting. “This can’t be for nothing!” I screamed, tears in my
eyes. “And if I lose her, this will have all been for
nothing
!”

Evelyn continued to scream, barely managing
to remain upright as she tried again to push the infected off her.
But it wouldn’t relent.

Lowering his gun, Alex turned to me, his calm
gaze finding my hysterical one. It took only a split second, this
strange look he gave me, and then he was shoving his rifle into my
arms and running out into the field. Pulling a large hunting knife
free from the sheath strapped to his thigh, Alex ran a circle
around Evelyn and the infected, catching the infected’s attention
and allowing Evelyn the distraction and space she needed to give
the thing a good shove. They both stumbled in opposite directions,
Evelyn backward and the infected straight into the waiting arms of
Alex.

With a swiftness that only came from
experience, Alex laid the creature out flat on its back, and in the
space of a heartbeat had sunk his blade into its skull.

Still cradling both the rifle and my gun, I
sank to the ground, desperately trying to catch my breath. It was
over now, everyone was safe, but…

This was life outside the walls, wasn’t it?
This was my supposed freedom. Tears burned behind my eyes, tears of
both relief and regret. Had we only traded one hell for another?
And what would the cost of this new hell be?

“Lei!”

I lifted my eyes, watching as Evelyn came
quickly down the incline, a small smile on her face. Incredulous, I
stared at her, wondering how she could smile at a time like this.
But I already knew the answer. Simply put, she’d been built this
way, able to find a light when everyone else around her saw only
darkness, able to hold herself together when everyone else was
falling apart.

She’d lost Jami only hours ago and yet here
she was, looking fresh faced, exhilarated, and…free.

“Are you okay?” she asked when she reached
me.

Unable to answer her, so caught up in my own
self-pity, I could do little more than bob my head once for
yes.

“That was fucking amazing,” she said
breathlessly, shifting from one foot to the other. “Fucking
amazing.”

“You need to learn how to use that gun.” Alex
had strolled up casually beside Evelyn, his eyes on me.

Still on the ground and feeling awkward, I
cleared my throat and attempted to get to my feet. Suddenly Alex
was by my side, taking his rifle from my hands. With one arm around
my waist, he pulled me upright.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, moving quickly away from
him and trying to subtly inch closer to Evelyn.

“She does,” Evelyn agreed. “But first we need
to figure out where we’re going.”

“Cold weather is coming,” Alex said, still
watching me. “We could head south, wouldn’t have to worry about
freezing to death.”

“Sounds good to me.” Evelyn turned toward me.
“Lei?”

“The cold weather slows them down,” I said
softly, knowing I had nothing to offer and feeling silly because of
it. “Doesn’t it? Wouldn’t that make it safer here?”

Alex continued to stare at me, his hard
expression giving nothing away as to what he was thinking. “Don’t
know how safe we’re going to be when we’re freezing to death and
can’t find shit to eat.”

“Hey!” Evelyn snapped. “She made a good
point!”

“No,” I said quickly, reaching out to grab
her hand. “He’s right, I wasn’t thinking. We should head
south.”

Evelyn gave my hand a conciliatory squeeze
but said nothing. However, it was hard to miss the fire in her eyes
as she glared at Alex.

“South, it is,” Alex muttered. “Let’s
go.”

Evelyn

The fire in my belly burned long after the kill had
ended. True, the kill had been messy and reckless, and I knew I
needed more practice, but it had been glorious. To sink bullet
after bullet into the infected, to watch them die…again. It had
been a bitter ointment for my fractured heart.

The ache in my chest was a constant
reminder that at some point I would have to stop and think about
Jami. I’d have to think about the loss I had taken, the life he had
given up, both for me and for the chance at freedom. His death was
another reason I wouldn’t let this all be in vain
, another reason why we had to
survive.

But not now. I couldn’t think about it
now.

Gritting my teeth, I jutted out my chin as we
all climbed back inside the truck, willing myself to stay strong.
We continued down the vacant road, and Alex turned onto the first
highway we came across. It was a dusty graveyard, a never-ending
obstacle course of cars, skeletons, fallen trees, and debris. There
was no sign of any infected for miles, but even after several hours
had passed, I found myself still longing to kill more of them. That
last encounter had lit a fire in me, and I found myself itching to
sink a bullet or a blade into another, and end it.

He’d kissed me good-bye.

My breath snagged in my throat, Jami’s face
coming to the forefront of my mind. Leisel squeezed my hand, and
startled, I glanced at her, giving her a reassuring smile.

“Are you hungry?” I asked her. “You need to
eat. No point starving yourself, you’ll get weak.”

“There’s some food in the bag, but it’s not
much,” Alex said, not bothering to take his eyes off the road.

Climbing over Leisel’s knees, I found Alex’s
backpack wedged behind the bench seat. There was some bread and
fruit, apples and berries mostly, and some meat. I scowled at the
meager supplies, knowing we needed to ration our food and water;
this wasn’t going to last us more than a day, two at most.

“How did you get the meat?” I asked Alex.

Meat was a rarity. In Fredericksville, only
once a month would there be a culling of our livestock. The
majority of it was cured so that it lasted longer. But this meat
was fresh, and still unsalted.

“I stole it,” Alex said, his voice as blank
as his expression.

I nodded once, my mouth flattening into a
thin, determined line as I began to divide the food between us,
giving us equal amounts of meat, bread, and fruit. Alex ate while
he drove, one hand never leaving the wheel, while Leisel picked at
hers for a long while before falling back to sleep.

“How you doing?” Alex asked quietly, glancing
at me.

“Fine, you?” I retorted cockily.

I could tell he thought I was just a
feeble woman, that I’d break down anytime and soon
he’
d have to care for
two broken women. But I wouldn’t break down. I had to be strong for
Leisel, and that thought gave me enough strength to keep my tears
at bay.

A small smile curved his lips. “Pass me the
water,” was his only reply.

We slipped back into silence, the low hum
of the engine lulling me, making me drowsy. I was just on the edge
of sleep, about to slip over into oblivion, when Alex called my
name. I was instantly alert, sitting up straight in my seat and
searching for threats, only to find Alex pointing to an upturned
car in the middle of the road up ahead, blocking our path. Heavy
steel guardrails boxed us in on either side, leaving us little
choice but to somehow move the vehicle.

Leisel was still sound asleep, and I decided
to leave her be. She needed her rest, a chance to calm and gather
her thoughts, find a way to accept everything that had happened
over the past several days, and hopefully wake up ready for this
new world.

After Alex pulled the truck to a stop, I
followed him out to the road, tightly gripping my gun as I scanned
the area for any infected. When we didn’t find any signs of others,
living or dead, we proceeded toward the car. It was little more
than a rusted-out shell, with bits and pieces of mangled metal
strewn across the road.

As we drew closer, we noticed something
odd, some sort of movement coming from within. We got closer to the
vehicle, squatting down on our heels to look inside, only to find
the driver of the vehicle, or what was left of him, was still
seated behind the wheel, pinned in place by the broken steering
column. Hearing us, it turned toward us, its jaw snapping, a raspy
hungry noise erupting from its
decaying throat.

I raised my gun, ready to shoot it and put it
out of its misery, but Alex placed a hand on my arm, stopping
me.

“We need to save our bullets,” he said, and
handed me a knife. “Straight through the head. He’s an old one,
should be soft.”

I knew why he wanted me to do it, instead
of him. He was testing me, determining whether I would be of any
use to him out here. Taking the knife from him, I purposefully
stalked closer to the car. As I reached the driver’s side and bent
down to look inside again, the infected became frantic. It reached
out an arm weakly for me, flailing against the door to get to me as
its neck strained, its jaw still snapping wildly.

I raised my knife, my gaze flitting to the
backseat of the car to find the skeletal remains of the rest of the
family. Oddly, I found myself giving each skeleton a name—Mary,
Jack, and sweet little Katie—and suddenly wished I could give them
a proper burial, not leave what was once probably a happy loving
family out here in the middle of the road like a circus
sideshow.

The infected groaned, drawing my attention
back to its snapping jaw. Without hesitation, I raised my blade and
brought it down swiftly, burying it deep within its head, and the
infected stilled instantly. With an easy tug, the knife pulled
free, dripping black sludge that splattered against the pavement.
Wrinkling my nose at the gory mess, I stood up and turned to Alex,
offering the knife back to him, but he shook his head at
me.

“That’s yours now,” he said, handing me the
sheath that had been strapped to his thigh. “Now help me move this
thing.”

It only took us a few minutes to realize
we couldn’t move the car; it was too heavy and too mangled.
Deciding to use our vehicle to push it out of the way, we made our
way back to the truck.

Leisel was still sound asleep, softly
snoring, yet I decided to wake her so we wouldn’t scare her
senseless with the sound of metal rubbing against metal. When I
shook her gently, she bolted upright, her hand immediately reaching
for the gun resting between her thighs.

Standing just outside the truck, Alex glanced
from me to Leisel with his ever-present scowl firmly in place. His
gaze finally landed on me, and he pointed to the driver’s seat.
“You drive, I’ll push.”

Putting the truck into gear, I began slowly
driving the truck forward. With Alex as my guide, I brought the
truck head-to-head with the car and began to nudge. The noise was
truly awful; the screeching metal on the blacktop was louder than
I’d anticipated, the pop of glass resonating as one headlight
exploded. I winced, hoping we weren’t going to break our own in the
process.

Mercifully, after fifteen minutes we were
able to move the car enough to give us the space to pass
through.

“You okay?” I asked Leisel as I slid across
the bench seat, giving Alex back the driver’s side.

“Yeah,” she said quietly, and let her head
fall to my shoulder.

“Promise?” I asked her.

Lifting her face, she offered me a small
smile. “Promise.”

I studied her for a moment before planting a
kiss on the top of her head, and fell silent.

• • •

“Town up ahead,” Alex announced loudly, the sound of
his voice making me jump.

He was an odd one, going for hours without
uttering a single word, then out of nowhere he would speak, scaring
the shit out of everyone. I turned to frown at him, but his eyes
stayed on the highway as he slowed down in front of an exit
sign.

“Keep going?” he asked, rubbing one hand over
his short black hair. “Or check it out,” he added, answering his
own question. He spared a glance in our direction, his eyebrows
raised expectantly.

I shrugged. “Check it out?” I said, unsure,
my gaze skimming over the town’s welcome sign.

Welcome to Covey

Population 1,600

Have a Nice Stay!

“Why wouldn’t we check it out?” Leisel asked,
her voice timid and laced with worry. “We need supplies,
right?”

“Women like you are currency,” Alex answered,
his expression still infuriatingly blank.

Leisel’s sharp intake of breath resonated
through the cab of the truck. “Then keep going!” she cried out
softly. “Keep going!” Leaning forward in her seat, she looked at
me, staring at me, willing me to agree with her.

Biting down on my bottom lip, I didn’t answer
right away, instead thinking of our options.

“Eve,” she whispered, sounding desperate.