Undead Love: Not Alone
Undead Love Series, Book Two
Lee Sutherland
Undead Love Copyright © 2016 by Lee Sutherland
http://leesutherlandauthor.wordpress.com/
All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Art by Natasha Snow ( http://www.natashasnowdesigns.com/ )
Editing & Formatting by Mia Darien ( http://www.miadarien.com )
Other Books by Lee Sutherland
Undead Love
Dedication
Once again, to Sarah, for speaking reason when the train was so far derailed I couldn't even see the tracks.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
About the Author
CHAPTER ONE
Juliet felt safe behind the two brothers as she walked through the woods. Their large frames, formed from countless hours of manual labor, shielded her view of what was coming. The forest floor, laden with pine needles, muffled the brothers’ heavy footsteps and the only sounds she heard were breathing and the caw of a raven in the distance. Her body sweat in response to the midday heat, causing strands of blond hair to stick to her neck and forehead.
She let out a terrified scream when she came upon the pit. She didn’t mean to scream, but it escaped nonetheless. The smell had given them away, but what she saw was more worrisome than she had expected. Dozens of zombies were crowded together in a pit the size of a swimming pool and no more than eight feet deep. Their raspy breathing momentarily engulfed her, drowning out the sounds of the forest. The pine trees seemed to draw in, forming a cage around her and making it hard to breathe. She stepped back as jaws snapped and teeth chattered, desperate for her body. If they knew how to climb, I would be dead in an instant, she thought. She watched as they thrashed against each other, aware of her presence. She didn’t understand whether or not they could see her through their milky white eyes, but they knew she was there.
A squeeze on her arm caused Juliet to jump. Connor’s grip was firm, protective, wrapping easily around her small arms. She was certain it was meant to be a reassuring gesture, judging by the gentle smile on his face, but it startled her all the same. Her body was in fight or flight mode, and if not for the fact that she was frozen in fear by the zombie’s overwhelming pervasiveness, she would be halfway back to the farm by now.
Juliet had to fight the urge to run. She had asked to see what Connor and Phil spent all their time doing. While she and the others gardened and maintained the farm, the boys were always gone. Working, they called it. But they never talked about what they did, not even to their mom. It had taken weeks, but she finally broke them down. And now here she was, staring at the undead mosh pit before her.
“I don’t get it,” she whispered, afraid of drawing more attention to herself. “You put them here? Like this?”
“What’s not to get?” Connor smiled, trying again to calm her. “It’s better that they are in here than stumbling around through the woods, capable of latching on to any Tom, Dick or Harry that walks by.”
“Yeah,” echoed Phil, who stood facing her. He was a few inches shorter than Connor, but still a giant of a man. He wore a blue baseball cap pulled low over his eyes, the sleeves on his plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows, revealing strong, muscular forearms. “This is the reason it’s mostly safe to go out looking for supplies. We have a half-dozen of these pits around the perimeter.”
Juliet looked back to the writhing zombies. “Why not just kill them? Wouldn’t that be better?”
“We’re thinking long term here,” said Connor. “If we need to replace the zombies in the moat, we need to have something to replace them with.”
Connor and Phil had constructed a moat around the perimeter of the farm in the early days. The moat was filled with zombies instead of water, each one buried waist deep, making it impossible to approach the farm except for the main entrance. A single dirt road was the only break in the moat that stretched around a thirty-foot high wall separating the farm from the outside world. The wall itself was a lifesaver, constructed of steel plates. It had no spaces for footholds and was practically unclimbable. The moat made it all but impenetrable. Juliet had never felt as safe as she did behind its walls.
“So this is what you do all day?” she asked, her breath slowly returning to her.
“This is part of it, when we’re not looking for supplies or helping with the farm. It’s not easy work getting these things in here. We have to catch them, then we have to guide them. We can’t just strap them in the backseat, you know?” Connor laughed at the image he created. Juliet loved the way he smiled. It was a crooked smile that made him look like a small kid. A small kid that just happened to be six feet tall and two hundred pounds. She found herself lost in his eyes and momentarily forgot about the pit.
“Juliet? Are you with us?” Connor asked, waving his hands in front of her face. “I said do you want to help us round some up today?”
The groans from the pit brought Juliet back to reality and she began to feel the panic creeping up her chest. Connor bent down and looked her straight in the eyes. His blue eyes were piercing and stood out prominently on his face, tanned from years spent working in the fields.
“It’s okay.” He gripped her arms. His grip was powerful, comforting. “You don’t have to come. We can take you back to the farm.”
Her immediate desire was to leave. To go back to the safety of the farm and sit in the garden and watch the bees buzz around the squash and tomatoes. Connor would be understanding if she chose to leave, but she had asked for this. She had wanted so badly to be able to see what they did that she felt she couldn’t turn back now. Juliet took a deep breath and resolved to stick it out, for the day at least. She knew she was stronger than she seemed at the moment.
“I’m good.” She forced a smile. “Let’s go see what we can find.” She brushed dangling blond strands of hair behind her ear and took a deep breath, straightening herself.
“That’s my girl.” Connor gave her a wink. He turned to Phil. “You want to grab the catch poles from the Jeep? With Juliet helping, we can probably double up today.”
Phil nodded and took off in the direction of the Jeep. Juliet followed Connor as he stepped away from the pit and took a seat on an old log. When she sat beside him, he placed his hand on her leg, giving it a squeeze. The warmth of his touch coursed through her body. They had grown close since Juliet and her father moved in with Connor’s family at the farm. Her dad only wanted to stay for a few weeks before heading out to find their own place, but Juliet had managed to convince him to stay a little longer. She knew her dad didn’t approve of Connor, but she hoped that if they spent enough time together, they might grow on one another.
Whenever Connor wasn’t outside the gates, he and Juliet spent almost all of their free time together. It had been a comfort Juliet hadn’t experienced in a long time. There were sparks between them, in those moments when they found themselves alone. They had held hands a few times. Once, sh
e thought he was going to kiss her, but something always seemed to stop them. It was like they were standing on the precipice, ready to jump, with the wind blowing strongly at their backs. But was there water below or cement? It was too dark to tell.
Juliet placed her hand over Connor’s, its outline dwarfed by comparison. His skin was warm and slick beneath her sweaty palms. In high school, flirting had been easy, but now, it was a strange. Survival was more important than anything, even love.
“Sorry I freaked out back there. I’m not sure what came over me. I haven’t seen any of those things since we moved in with you. I guess I forgot just how terrifying they are.” She hadn’t seen many zombies at all since the outbreak, that had been the one good thing about their camp up north. It had its own perils, though.
Connor gave her leg another gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry about it. They are scary. They still terrify me, but the thing is, that we have to do this to keep us safe. Maybe one day we won’t need walls, but for now, we do. The thing that really gets me is thinking that these monsters used to be like you and me. They had lives, families. One wrong move and we could be the ones down in that pit.”
They sat in silence on the log, listening to the gentle rustle of pine needles as the wind blew overhead. One of the best things about Connor was that she didn’t feel the need to constantly talk. They could sit in silence and enjoy each other’s company without any awkwardness. A branch snapped in the distance, causing Juliet to jump. Connor rose to his feet, gun at the ready, immediately on alert. Phil emerged from the trees carrying two catch poles like the ones used to catch stray dogs. He handed one to Connor.
“We ready to get moving?” he asked the two of them. Connor gave a nod and turned to Juliet, waiting for her go ahead.
“Let’s go.” Juliet was nervous, having never wrangled zombies before. She trusted in Connor and Phil’s abilities and knew that they wouldn’t let anything happen to her. They hadn’t survived this long, going out every day, without knowing how to interact with these monsters.
They walked through the woods, scanning the forest floor and talking about life before. Connor and Juliet had known each other before the apocalypse wiped out civilization and sent those who survived scattering around the country. They had been great friends in middle school and had almost dated in high school. Juliet’s dad, Cedric, forbid Juliet from seeing Connor. He told her that she deserved better than a farm boy, that she could go off to college and find someone who could provide a nice life for her. He had made her promise she wouldn’t see Connor anymore. When she told Connor they couldn’t be together, they had stopped talking altogether.
“I remember in sixth grade, when you put a thumbtack in Mr. Richards’ chair to try and impress me,” laughed Juliet.
Connor’s neck began to flush at the accusation. “That wasn’t for you. I was just being a clown.”
“Don’t lie. When he called you to the front of the class, you never broke eye contact with me. I still remember that little smirk you had. Like you had scored the winning touchdown.”
“Yeah, well, I got suspended three days for that stunt. Dad really took it out of me for that. I’m sure I still have the marks to prove it.” He winced at the memory. “And then if I remember correctly, you started dating Tommy Jones while I was suspended.” He laughed.
“Really? I could have swore it was Benny MacArthur. I guess it was for the best, though. Didn’t you date Leslie Black for, like, two years after that?” Juliet fondly remembered her childhood romances. Back then things were simple. Easy, even.
“Longest two years of my life,” Connor said dryly.
Phil followed behind them, not talking and occasionally hitting a tree limb with his catch pole. Juliet watched as Connor’s brow lowered with each hit. After the fourth crack of metal on wood, Connor turned around and snapped.
“Phil! What the hell is your problem? Is there something you want to tell us?” Juliet had never witnessed Connor lose his temper with his brother.
Phil cut his eyes defiantly at Connor, tiny beads of sweat glistened on his upper lip as he spoke. “Whatever, I’m going to go off on my own for a while.” He turned and stomped off into the woods, never turning to look back.
“Phil, come on. You’re being petulant. If you’ve got something to say, just say it.” Phil kept walking, gesturing at Connor over his shoulder. “Suit yourself, then.”
“Do you think it’s safe for him to go alone?” asked Juliet. She wouldn’t want to be out in the woods by herself.
“He’ll be fine. I wonder what crawled up his butt this morning.” Connor watched Phil as he disappeared into the woods.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Juliet was perplexed at how Connor couldn’t see his brother’s jealousy.
“What?”
“He’s jealous of all the time I’m spending with you.”
“That’s crazy. Phil is not the jealous type.” Connor looked at Juliet like she was speaking a different language.
“You’re delusional. He feels left out. You spend all your time at the house with me and I bet he misses hanging out with you.” Juliet was aware of the growing time they were spending together. She also saw Phil’s growing resentment and had hoped that Connor would say something, but Connor was oblivious to his brother’s turmoil. Juliet didn’t want to upset the balance at the farm, but she didn’t want to spend less time with Connor either.
“Yeah, right. He has Rich and Marie to hang out with.”
“Hanging out with his cousins is not the same as spending time with his brother. I know you’re both big and tough, but would it kill you to acknowledge that you have feelings? He looks up to you. Everyone sees it. I’m sure you do too.”
“Fine.” Connor let out an exhausted breath. “I’ll talk to him tonight.”
Guys can be so dense sometimes, thought Juliet. She had always been good at reading people. Even at a young age, she could see past the masks people wore when they ran into her parents at the grocery store. She could tell the people who put on a smile but didn’t mean it. She could see through the ones using her parents with no intention of returning the favor. Juliet kept her analysis to herself, of course, as adults very rarely took note of the thoughts children presented.
Juliet knew that Phil’s jealousy wasn’t caused by the fact that Connor was with a girl, he was jealous because he wasn’t spending as much time with his brother as he used to. Things had gone a certain way for so long and now it seemed to be shifting rather suddenly. Connor will find out in time, I suppose.
They continued their trek through the forest. Sweat beaded down Juliet’s body beneath her clothes as she walked. It was uncomfortable, but it still beat being back at the farm. She was glad to just be outside the gate. Juliet noticed as sweat began to stain the back of Connor’s shirt, making it cling tighter to his body and move with the contours of his muscles. Juliet pictured Connor without his shirt, causing her heart to beat faster. Then she remembered where she was. The forest was quiet without the ruckus Phil had been creating. An occasional bird call or buzzing insect dotted the otherwise silence.
“How long does it usually take to find one?” asked Juliet. She scanned the forest for any sign of movement.
“It depends. We’ve been seeing more lately. There was a while where we almost stopped seeing them altogether, but right before you showed up, they started coming through a lot more. Phil thinks something is pushing them this way. I don’t know about all that.”
“What could be causing them to move?”
“Hell if I know. I think it’s just coincidence. Maybe the fallout from the big cities is reaching us.” Connor stopped walking and placed his catch pole against the tree. He stood in front of her, his blue eyes peering deeply into her own. “I meant to tell you earlier. You look nice today.”
Juliet almost let out a laugh at the thought. She looked down at her clothes. A hand-me-down blue t-shirt from the woman who had once lived with Connor’s family, stained jeans, worn-in boots, and a mes
sy bun.
“I’m the belle of the ball,” she joked, but she felt Connor’s lingering gaze and blushed. When he stared at her like that, she felt like there was nowhere to hide, like he could see into her soul.
“I’m serious. You look great.” Connor had the look in his eye that she had seen before, on the night they almost kissed. He inched slowly towards her and she swayed in his direction, a lone reed caught in the wind. Her eyes darted from Connor’s eyes to his lips, and she wanted nothing more than him to pull her close.
It happened in an instant. His strong arms wrapped around her and Juliet felt weightless as Connor pressed his lips against hers. His tongue was soft and welcoming, his lips gentle. It had been a long time since she kissed someone, but it felt so natural the way their mouths moved in sync. The give and take of their personal riptide left Juliet moist between the thighs as Connor held her tighter. She rubbed her hands against the soft stubble on the back of his neck, lost in the moment.
When they broke away, a wide smile took control of her face. Connor beamed back at her, his blue eyes a raging storm of passion.
“That was nice,” Juliet whispered.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.” Connor wrapped his arm around Juliet. She felt safe in his embrace. She too had longed for their kiss. That forbidden kiss. She wondered how things would change. Would they change? She ached to know the thoughts going through Connor’s head at the moment.
A loud crack echoed in the distance. Juliet turned, expecting to see Phil lumbering through the woods. Her heart raced when she noticed the ragged zombie approaching from between the trees.
“Connor,” she screamed, but he had already grabbed his catch pole and was moving in on the zombie.
She watched as he delicately approached the creature. Its jaws gnashed in Connor’s direction, hungry for his flesh.
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