by Dawn, M. K.
“Thanks.” Axel hoped Gunner stayed true to his word. “Now keep your eyes open for the gun shops Britney told us about. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“I think our luck has just about run out.” Gunner reached for his gun. “You see that up ahead? On the side of the road?”
The snow had picked up in the last fifteen minutes, making it hard to make out anything, but in the distance Axel could sort of see what Gunner was talking about. “Infected or human?”
“Can’t be sure. But they aren’t running toward us, and this truck is pretty damn loud.” Gunner wiped off the condensation that had formed on the windshield with a dirty handkerchief. “Weird how we haven’t really encountered any. In Myrefall they were everywhere.”
“The weather was warmer the last time we went into town. We haven’t seen any infected since the cold weather blew in late October.”
“Slow down as we pass them.” Gunner rolled down his window. “I want to get a better look.”
“You think that’s smart?” Axel asked. The last thing they needed was a horde of infected attacking the truck. It wouldn’t take much and they’d be in the cab.
“They’re definitely infected.” Gunner poked his head outside. “But they aren’t moving much. Slow down. I think it’ll be okay.”
“Think?” Axel didn’t agree, but he let off the gas anyway.
Gunner shook his head. “I’ll be damned. This cold weather is kicking their ass. Look at them. They can barely move.”
Axel felt his heart rate return to normal for the first time since they left that morning. “That’s crazy.”
“Let’s get home. Not only are we bringing a shit ton of stuff back but also good news.” Gunner did a little dance in his seat. “Who are the big bad heroes now?”
“Us, I guess.” As happy as Axel was to drive by a group of the infected and not be attacked, he didn’t share Gunner’s enthusiasm. “Can I go faster than ten miles an hour now?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Gunner waved him onward. “The sooner we get back the better. Do you think we should unload when we get there, or should we celebrate first?”
“It’s going to be dark, so I would say wait to unload until tomorrow. Though people might need the bedding. The last few nights have been damn cold.”
Gunner grimaced. “Please don’t tell me we stuck those in the far back.”
“No, they were the last thing I loaded up.” Axel had made sure they were easily accessible.
“Good thinking.” Gunner leaned back against the headrest. “It’s been a hell of a day. I’m exhausted.”
“Get some rest.” Axel wouldn’t mind some peace. “I’ll wake you when we get back.”
Axel hadn’t even finished his sentence before Gunner was asleep. Silence was better than the entire drive full of small talk and endless teasing by Gunner.
Yes, he had gotten the wine, books and toys for Britney and the kids. And yes, he wanted them to be a surprise, but that meant nothing. Sure as hell didn’t mean he had romantic feelings for the woman.
She was great. Probably one of the coolest chicks he’d ever met in his entire life. But she had just buried her husband. Hell, Axel was living in her dead husband’s man cave, for God’s sake.
Factor in that not once had she ever shown any signs of romantic feelings toward him, and he knew they were just friends. Plain and simple. Which was fine with him. He wasn’t even sure if he liked her beyond that.
The wall came into view a while later, and Axel shook Gunner’s shoulder. “Hey, wake up. We’re here.”
Gunner popped his head up and blinked a couple times. “I was out for like five seconds.”
“Try near an hour.” Axel stopped at the gate. “Mind getting this?”
“Sure, sure,” Gunner grumbled as he unlocked the gate. He was still griping when he climbed back in.
From the road Axel could see the faint cloud of smoke rising over the tree line. “You see that?”
“What? The smoke from the fire? Why do you ask?”
“I’m just concerned. Anyone driving by could see that smoke and know someone is here.”
Gunner yawned. “And that’s a bad thing, right?”
Axel honestly didn’t know.
“Remember when we showed up unannounced and Britney held us at gunpoint?” Gunner asked. “Don’t you think strolling up here when we weren’t supposed to come back until tomorrow might be a little dangerous?”
Axel slowed the truck. “What can we do about it? We either wait here until morning, or we take our chances. She’ll recognize the truck and trailer and know it’s us.”
“She’s been a little jumpy lately.” Gunner shrugged. “But you’re probably right.
The vein in Axel’s temple throbbed. He needed a good night’s sleep and some time alone. “Are we good? Can I keep going?”
“Yep. Unless you want me to get out and walk the rest of the way, let them know we’re back.”
Axel pressed on the horn with the heel of his hand. “There. Now they know we’re here.”
Gunner furrowed his brow. “What the hell, man?”
“You wanted them to know we’re here. Now they know.” Axel pressed on the gas.
At the house, everyone waited outside, many with guns in hand. Britney must have recognized them, as she was the first to lower her weapon. The others followed.
The closer they got, the more excited everyone became. He could hear them cheering even over the noisy engine.
Axel parked the truck in front of the house and got out.
Britney came racing around the bumper and threw herself into his arms. “You’re early!”
“Shit.” Axel stumbled, taken aback by her surprise affection. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Sorry.” Britney slipped from his arms. “I got a little caught up in the moment.”
Axel gave her a lopsided grin. “I’m not complaining.”
“Did everything go okay?” She peered over his shoulder. “Wow, you got a ton of stuff.”
“It was a rocky start, but we got almost everything on the list.”
Her smile slipped. “What didn’t you get?”
“Guns and bullets. Walmart had been cleaned out by the time we got there. We’re lucky we found this stuff.” An unexpected yawn tugged at his lips.
“You must be exhausted. Have you eaten at all since you left?”
Axel hadn’t even realized how hungry he was until she mentioned food. “We haven’t.”
“You want to come in?” Britney offered. “I can heat some leftovers.”
“It’s late.” He knew if he went inside, it would be at least an hour if not more before he made it to bed. “I have some jerky you made in my room. I’ll just eat that.”
“Okay.” She frowned.
“But thank you for the offer. If I weren’t so exhausted, I’d be inside in a heartbeat.”
She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “Well, good night, Axel.”
“Good night.” Once she was out of sight, Axel grabbed what he could from the back seat and turned to head back to his room.
“Need some help?”
If Axel’s hands weren’t full, he might have pulled his gun at the unexpected person popping out of the shadows. “Jesus, Gunner. Don’t do that.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” Gunner gathered the rest of the stuff Axel had asked him to keep a secret. “I just thought you might need some help.”
“Thanks.” Axel headed for his room.
“And I wanted to tell you I saw the way Britney flew into your arms when we got back.”
Axel threw back his head and sighed. “Not this again.”
“And the way your face lit up—”
“Enough.”
Gunner chuckled. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What?” Axel snapped.
“Nothing over the top.” Gunner followed Axel into his room and placed the couple of boxes he carried on the floor. “Just allow me to say ‘I t
old you so’ when it happens.”
“Out.” Axel jabbed his finger toward the door. “Now.”
“Touchy.”
Axel slammed the door behind Gunner, still hearing him laughing through the thin walls.
Last thing he needed was to be distracted, and Gunner’s words were beyond distracting. They had more important things to worry about, like finishing the wall. Farm security had to be top priority. That and preparing for winter. Nothing else mattered. It couldn’t. Not until he was sure they were safe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
December turned out to be the worst month so far. Not because of the weather—Britney didn’t mind the cold—but because of the holiday that engulfed this month.
The kids were old enough to know that after Thanksgiving came Christmas. They hounded her for a week before she gave in and brought out the tree and decorations.
She didn’t have the heart to tell them the truth, so she went a different route, explaining that not even Santa Claus, with all his magic, could survive the apocalypse. They didn’t buy it and were insistent that, because Santa lived in the North Pole where it was also cold, the infected couldn’t get to him.
It didn’t help that Rainey encouraged their beliefs by having them create all sorts of crafts and reading them the Christmas books Britney had collected over the years.
Even tonight, on Christmas Eve, she had them bake cookies as a special treat.
“Maybe I should just tell them the truth,” Britney said to Axel and Angie, who kept her company at the breakfast table. “It’ll break their hearts, but it’ll be better than them wakin’ up tomorrow with no presents from Santa.”
“Christmas isn’t just about the presents.” Angie and her damn wisdom. “Plus, you’ve gotten them a couple. That should count for something.”
Britney had picked up a few things in the summer on clearance.
“I understand the true meanin’ of Christmas.” Britney did her best to keep her annoyance in check. “But they’re still kids. And the world’s gone to shit. They deserve to wake up Christmas mornin’ and find presents under the tree.”
“It’ll work out.” Axel patted her hand. “Trust me. Tomorrow will be great.”
“Exactly.” Angie took Britney’s hand. “We’ll have a nice dinner like we did on Thanksgiving. Mac promised the kids an epic snowball fight. Everything will work out, and we’ll keep them so busy that they’ll forget all about presents.”
“Look at them.” Britney gestured to her three little angels sitting in the living room. “They’re addin’ last minute items to their Santa list. God only knows what they’re puttin’ on there. Nothin’ I bought them, that’s for damn sure.”
“Britney,” Axel said. “Have a little faith in them. They’re young, but they understand the world has changed.”
“But Christmas is about magic, not reality.” Why couldn’t they understand that? “Neither of you has children, so you don’t understand.”
Angie cleared her throat and looked to Axel. “I’m going to go see what kind of craziness those kids are coming up with.”
“What was that all about?” Britney asked.
Axel rested his elbows on the table and propped his chin on his clasped fingers. “I have a daughter—had a daughter.”
Britney’s heart sank. “Oh my God, Axel. Why didn’t you say something? You have to be worried sick about what’s happened to her.”
“I know what happened to her.” He sniffled. “She passed away earlier this year. The ride the bikers were on, that was for her.”
Tears clogged Britney’s throat. “I’m so sorry.” She’d remembered the story he told her about the little girl and the cancer that had taken her life. “I can’t even imagine.”
“We did just about everything we could think of to save her.” Axel wet his lips. “Even signed her up for an experimental treatment run by NATO of all people.”
“NATO?”
“Yeah. Can you believe it?”
“No.” Britney thought back to Thomas and how he had beat pancreatic cancer. “I mean yes. My best friend’s father went through the same trials. You saw him, at the fall festival. He was the one who bit… Jesus.”
“Britney? What’s wrong.”
“He’s the one who bit John.” Britney’s voice trembled. “Your daughter…?”
“Sabrina.”
“She didn’t get violent after the treatment? Bite people?”
“They gave her the placebo.”
“Right. But I thought after the first round, they gave all the patients the actual treatment?”
Axel hung his head. “She had already passed away by that time. We were devastated.”
Britney scooted closer to him and cupped his cheeks. “Don’t be. I think whatever NATO was curin’ people with caused this outbreak.”
“What?”
“I can’t be sure, but it makes sense. When I saw Thomas in church, I noticed his skin had a gray hue to it, just like the infected. Then at the festival he bit someone. And then he bit John, and John became one of the infected.”
“Still doesn’t mean it originated with the NATO trials.” Axel swallowed hard. “But that makes me feel a little better. Her mom and I were heartbroken knowing she could have been cured if we had only gotten the call a few days earlier.”
“You and her mom… you guys aren’t together?” She had never thought to ask him if there was someone waiting for him back home.
“Our marriage was over before Sabrina got sick. We had filed for divorce a few days before her diagnosis.”
“I’m sorry.” Britney didn’t know what else to say.
“It happens. The love was still there, but we had just grown apart. Became two different people with different ideas on what life should look like.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes until Axel stood and stretched. “Probably wasn’t the best story to tell on Christmas Eve.”
Britney gave him a half smile. “I’m glad you told me.”
“I’m going to bed. Unless you need anything?”
“No.” Britney looked to her kids. “Just going to put the kids to bed too. I’m sure they’ll be up at the crack of dawn.”
“It’ll be okay. Trust me.”
Axel told each of the kids good night and headed out. The rest of the bikers did the same, leaving Britney alone with her kids for the first time in days.
“Okay, guys. Time for bed.”
“Yay!” all three of them cheered. It was the only night of the year they didn’t fight her on bedtime.
“Can you read The Night Before Christmas?” Molly asked as they headed upstairs.
Britney’s heart shattered, but how could she say no? “Sure. Is everyone still sleepin’ in Carson’s room?”
Every night they piled in his small bed and slept together. Britney resisted it at first, didn’t think they would get any sleep that way. But, much to her surprise, they didn’t fight and went straight to sleep most of the time. She guessed having someone close helped make things not feel so scary.
“That’s where we sleep now, Mom,” Blake said.
“All right. Well, brush your teeth and get your pajamas. I’ll get the book and meet you back in his room.” Because no one thought to grab the book before they went upstairs.
She took her time reading the story, enjoying the snuggle time they rarely shared anymore. After a big hug and kiss, she turned off the lamps and headed downstairs to make sure everything else in the house was off. No use wasting the batteries while they slept.
It wouldn’t be long before they would need to run the generators to ward off the cold.
Britney paused at the unlit Christmas tree before heading to bed. Maybe she should have said the presents she bought were from Santa? Allow them to hold on to their childhood a little longer.
Maybe a part of her wanted them to know the truth, rip the Band-Aid off before the tooth fairy and Easter bunny came into play.
Or maybe she was just an idiot
and didn’t think this whole present thing through.
As she lumbered up the stairs and into her room, the tears she’d been holding back most of the day fell. She didn’t make a habit of closing her door at night, but she closed it now.
The last thing she wanted was for her kids to hear her ugly cry on Christmas Eve.
***
The sound of Molly shrieking jolted Britney out of bed. She threw open her door, cursing herself for falling asleep with it closed.
Flying down the stairs, gun in hand, she could only imagine all the horrors she might face. If the infected hadn’t somehow found their way in, then the lack of a visit from Santa would be crushing their spirits right about now.
“What’s wrong?” she yelled when the problem didn’t immediately present itself.
“Santa came!” they screamed, shoving Lego sets, Hot Wheels and Barbies in her face.
Britney’s mouth fell open. “How?” She shuffled back a few steps until the back of her leg hit the couch.
“Look!” Molly held up the game Trouble. “He brought us each a game too!”
She collapsed on the couch, certain this must be a dream.
“Can we open our presents from you?” Carson asked.
Britney bobbled her head, still unable to form words.
“A princess dress!” Molly shrieked. “I love it so much. Thank you, Mommy.”
A knock at the door drew her attention away from the kids and their presents.
Axel popped his head inside. “Merry Christmas. How is everyone this morning?”
“Axel, come see!” Blake waved him in. “Santa came, and he brought us the coolest toys.”
Britney watched as he strolled inside and took a seat on the floor, not at all surprised that Santa showed up.
He leaned over and whispered into each of their ears, and they scurried off behind the tree, each retrieving a present.
“These are for you!” Molly handed Britney the first bag. “Here. Open it.”
“Presents? For me?” Her eyes darted to Axel, who still sat on the floor grinning from ear to ear.
“What did you get?” Carson asked.
“Let me look.” Britney pulled the tissue paper from the bag and lifted out a bottle of red wine.
