by Kate L. Mary
Having spent most of his life working outdoors, Jasper’s skin showed more than a little wear from the sun. It was still tan—he liked to go out and spend time with the animals—and dotted with sun spots and freckles, as well as wrinkled with age. It was endearing, though, the way his eyes crinkled in the corners when he smiled, or how he was constantly reaching up to smooth down the few gray hairs he had left. The wiry fibers seemed determined to disobey, though, and were constantly sticking up. Just like they were now.
“Hey there, kid,” he said at my approach.
I leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of his nearly bare head. “Hey there, old man.”
“Old man. That’s the truth. These days I feel ancient.” Jasper flexed his fingers and stared down at the swollen knuckles of his left hand, which had gotten worse and worse over the last few years as his arthritis increased in severity.
I rounded the couch and slid into the overstuffed chair. “You still have a few good years left.”
“That I do.” He grinned my way. “How was Altus?”
“Same.” I shrugged, ignoring the pang that went through me. “There’s some crazy rumor going around that a group of marauders is out grabbing people.”
Jasper’s smile slipped from his lips, and his mouth turned down in one corner. “Grabbing people for what?”
“The new government.” Kellan’s voice boomed through the room.
I tore my gaze from Jasper and focused on Kellan as he crossed the room, heading our way. His dark hair was still wet from his shower, and he was only halfway to the couch when he shoved his hand through it, causing a drop to fall onto his black t-shirt. I stared at the spot of water, slightly darker than the rest of his shirt, which had faded over the years thanks to the hot sun and hundreds of washings.
“They’re looking for more people who are immune.” Kellan’s words drew my attention from the spot on his shirt, and I looked up to find both his and Jasper’s gazes on me. “They say there’s a reward.”
I squirmed uncomfortably when Kellan wouldn’t look away.
“Let me guess,” Cade called from across the room. “They’re grabbing people and letting them get bitten to see if they turn.”
Kellan shrugged, but nodded at the same time, his eyes still focused on me. “No one said that outright, but mainly because they don’t know for sure who these assholes are or what they’re doing with the people who disappear. Only that the new government out east is looking for people who are immune and their search has extended to this part of the country.”
“It’s not a surprise,” Jasper muttered as he ripped the copy of the National Newspaper up off the coffee table and waved it in the air. “This thing is full of bullshit that stinks so bad I can smell it all the way out here, but I can read between the lines.” He tossed it back on the table. “The people in charge are power hungry.”
“But finding new people who are immune isn’t about power,” Emma said, looking around, her brown eyes wide with worry. “It’s about creating better vaccines. Right?”
Kellan threw himself into the chair across from me, finally looking away and giving me a chance to breathe. “That’s what they say.”
“Don’t believe anything you hear,” Jasper muttered. “And especially don’t believe anything printed in that garbage they’re trying to pass off as legitimate news.”
It came as no surprise that Jasper didn’t believe anything the government said. He’d always been a conspiracy theorist, which was how he’d ended up in the shelter to begin with, and ultimately how Kellan and I had made it here.
Decades ago, this shelter had been a missile silo during the Cold War, but had later been purchased by a company and renovated into a luxury end of the world shelter, complete with more than a dozen condos—which they’d sold off for millions of dollars. Each. This was years before the zombie apocalypse, though, and back then the company had advertised it as an end of the world shelter for people who thought the world was going to end in 2012—the year the Mayan calendar had ended. Of course, 2012 came and went, the world didn’t implode, and the people who’d spent millions of dollars on a shelter weren’t too happy about wasting their money. By that point the company had already purchased and begun renovating more shelters, and with the sudden influx of unsatisfied customers, not to mention the lawsuits they were faced with, they’d hit a financially difficult time. To recoup some of their losses, they’d started selling off the supplies in the shelter. Food, medicine, fuel for the generator, and weapons. All the things they’d promised to provide the people who purchased a condo. When the shit hit the fan for real, only six of the original owners survived, and they arrived at the shelter to discover it wasn’t stocked as promised. In fact, it had barely had enough food and supplies for the small group of people to make it through a month.
That was where Jasper came in. He’d not only worked on building the shelter, but had also been hired for repairs and any maintenance that might be needed. The location of the shelter was secret, meaning he’d had to sign a contract swearing he wouldn’t reveal its location to anyone, and he’d followed through on his end of the bargain and hadn’t told a single soul where to find the place. But when he discovered the company was selling off the supplies, an idea had formed.
At that point Jasper already had a good stash of supplies to get himself through the end of the world, but he’d started collecting more. He rented a storage unit and filled it with food and water, guns and ammo, even medical supplies, and hunting gear. Then he’d rented a second one, and then a third, and by the time the end came for real, all he’d had to do was load his supplies onto a truck and head out here. He’d known the people inside wouldn’t let him in unless he had a pretty big bargaining chip, but he figured five years’ supplies for twenty people would be a good one. And he’d been right. They hadn’t just opened the door for him, they’d welcomed him in with open arms.
“Whether you believe it or not,” Kellan said, waving to the newspaper, “people are still disappearing.”
“What’s new?” I muttered, just like I had back in Altus when we’d first heard the rumor from Simon. Still, I was squirming.
Kellan rolled his eyes, and I had to bite back the urge to stick out my tongue. My body’s reaction to his presence may have changed, but my brain sometimes forgot we weren’t kids anymore. Especially when he gave me that look.
“You have to admit I have a point,” I said defensively. “People go missing all the time. It’s the zombie apocalypse.”
“But there have never been weird rumors surrounding it before,” Kellan argued, “and how do you explain those two people who came into the settlement while we were there?”
“Marauders,” I snapped.
“What people?” Cade asked just as Emma said, “What happened?”
Jasper raised his hand and leveled his gray eyes on Kellan. “Why don’t you tell me exactly what you heard?”
Kellan shoved his hand through his still damp hair. His eyes were on me, and they were swimming with frustration, but he focused on Jasper when he started talking. “A guy at the bar told me a group came in a couple weeks ago. Strangers. They wouldn’t give much information other than that they were from somewhere out east, and they were asking a lot of questions. Mainly about the people in the area and if anyone around here was known to be immune.”
I shifted uncomfortably yet again. Apparently, I hadn’t been with it enough to remember this conversation. Maybe Kellan heard it when he went to the bar to get more drinks, or maybe he hadn’t been as focused on Chelsea as I’d thought he was.
“Then, just last week, a guy came into town screaming about how his group had run into some men in the middle of nowhere,” he continued. “These other guys attacked, releasing zombies on them. This guy managed to get away, but before he did, he noticed that the other men made sure no one got killed in the attack. He wasn’t sure what it was all about since he didn’t wait around to find out, but it seemed to go along with the rumors
.”
“It’s mighty suspicious.” Jasper rubbed the gray stubble on his chin as he thought it over. “Plus, I wouldn’t put it past the people out there.”
“Is that it?” Cade asked. “You mentioned some other people.”
Kellan shook his head. “Two people came into town last night, banged up but relatively unharmed. They had an almost identical story to the other rumors going around.”
“So you think there’s actually a group of men out there who are allowing zombies to attack just so they can see if anyone is immune?” Emma asked.
Kellan nodded.
“That’s sick,” I muttered, but I wasn’t sure if I believed the stories. Or maybe I just didn’t want to believe it. “What kind of reward would be worth that?”
“I don’t know,” he said, “but I do know we have no real clue what’s going on out east.”
Jasper was still scratching his chin. “The rumors could be bullshit, but I want you to be extra observant out there. You see anything suspicious, you lay low and stay out of trouble. Got it?”
“Do you really think it’s safe to go out at all?” Emma asked.
She gnawed on her lower lip, her brown eyes on Cade as worry swam in them. He reached out and took her hand, but it didn’t seem to help.
“For now, I don’t think we need to overreact,” Jasper said.
“I agree.” Kellan stood and stretched, leaning back until his spine cracked. “We’re careful, for one, and for two, these men were last spotted out in Duke. That’s a hell of a ways from here.”
“If these strangers show up in our area, we’ll lay low.” Jasper nodded his head twice like he was trying to reassure himself he was making the right decision. “Assuming the stories are true.”
“If they are?” Cade asked. “What do we do if these guys do show up?”
“Sit inside. Wait for them to pass.” Jasper shrugged. “Consider it a vacation.”
“Vacation?” Emma snorted but looked my way. “I guess it’s time to break out the bikinis.”
I let out a laugh. “And here I thought I’d never get to use them.”
“Bikini?” Kellan looked between Emma and me, his eyes settling on my face. “When did you get a bikini?”
“Never.” Was it my imagination, or had Kellan’s gaze moved slightly south? “It was in my condo when I moved in. Since the pool was decommissioned before I hit puberty, I never got to use it.”
“Couldn’t keep it going and waste water,” Jasper said. “We needed it for the hydrogarden, if nothing else.”
“I know.” I shrugged because, like the Internet, the pool was the least of my concerns.
If we got desperate and wanted to go for a swim, we could head out to Lake Altus. The water level had gotten low thanks to the drought, but it was still hanging on.
“Speaking of hydrogarden—” My back stiffened when Kellan’s eyes narrowed on me. “Guess who decided it was a great idea to take an apple to the market?”
I shot him a look that was supposed to be a warning, but it was too late. Everyone was already staring at me.
“You didn’t,” Emma said.
“It was stupid. I admit it.” Heat licked at my cheeks, and I wanted to glare at Kellan, but I couldn’t even look him in the eye. Why the hell did he have to be such a tattletale? Next thing I knew, he was going to tell everyone I drank too much.
“You sure you weren’t followed?” Cade asked.
Kellan waved off his concerns with one swipe of his hand through the air. “I was careful.”
“You do that again and you’re grounded, and I don’t just mean for a few weeks.” Jasper’s stern tone made me look up, and I found his gray eyes narrowed on me. “Understand?”
“I said I was sorry.”
“No,” Kellan said. “You said it was stupid.”
I pressed my lips together and curled my hands into fists. I wanted to punch him. “Same thing.”
Once again, Jasper waved him off. “She’s sorry.”
He hauled himself to his feet, groaning, and I had the urge to reach out to him. Over the last year, his age had started to show more and more, and every time it did, it made my chest tighten. Jasper wouldn’t live forever, but I hated the idea of losing someone else. He was the closest thing to a parent I’d had since the virus killed most of the population, and having to say goodbye to him was something I didn’t even want to think about.
“I’m turning in,” he said. “I’m getting too old to stay up this late.”
“Night,” Emma whispered when he passed her, and the expression on her face said the same thoughts going through my head were going through hers.
The room was silent as Jasper headed out. I watched him walk away, thinking about what it would be like to have to say goodbye to someone who’d been such a huge part of my life. Honestly, I couldn’t even stomach the thought.
The second he’d disappeared from sight, though, my gaze was back on Kellan.
I swiped the newspaper up off the table and tossed it at him. “Tattletale.”
Kellan batted it away easily. “I just thought everyone should be aware of the situation.”
“What situation is that?” I snapped. “That I’m an idiot? Why didn’t you go ahead and tell Jasper that I got drunk, too? That way maybe he’d never let me go out again.”
Kellan rolled his eyes like he thought I was being a drama queen. “I’m not going to call you out for something I’ve done plenty of times myself.”
“Right.” It was my turn to roll my eyes. “Because you’ve never made a simple mistake.”
Cade said something to Emma, and they headed for the stairs together. “Good night,” she called over her shoulder, giving us a little wave. Quieter, but still loud enough that we could hear her, Emma said, “The hormones in here are getting out of control.”
My back stiffened even more. Why the hell was everyone ganging up on me?
I jumped to my feet. “I’m going to bed.”
“Regan,” Kellan called after me.
I just waved over my shoulder and kept moving.
8
The clouds clogging the sky had succeeded in completely blocking out the early morning sun, making it seem earlier than it was when I stepped out of the little shelter on the surface. The goats bleated as they stomped through the mud. Their trough, usually running low these days, was filled to the brim, while below it, a puddle had collected. The sight of it made me freeze. It had been a long time since we’d gotten enough rain to leave puddles behind, and based on the ominous clouds hanging overhead, Mother Nature wasn’t done with us yet. Maybe the drought had finally ended.
Kellan and Blake were by the truck like they were preparing to leave, an arsenal of weapons in front of them, and I headed their way. They were going hunting, which was why I’d dragged my ass out of bed this early when I’d really wanted to sleep in. Despite my annoyance at Kellan, I’d told him the truth yesterday at the farmhouse. I wanted more practice, and not only at killing zombies. I wanted to know how to hunt. How to take care of myself. When I was a young teen, this protective bullshit had been okay—it wasn’t like Jasper hadn’t taught me to shoot—but now it was getting old. I wasn’t a kid anymore, and I wanted everyone to acknowledge that. It was past time.
“I’m coming,” I said when I stopped next to the men.
Kellan didn’t even bother looking my way. “No, you’re not.”
Blake chuckled but said nothing, and when I shot him a look, he shrugged. Even with the raggedy red hat he always wore pulled down low over his face, I could see the way his green eyes twinkled. He was like a big brother, so I was used to the teasing light in them. That didn’t mean it didn’t get under my skin at times.
“Kellan.” I paused, waiting for him to look my way. When he did, his intense gaze captured mine, and my mouth went dry. I had to swallow so I could get more words out. “I need to practice. My aim’s shit because I’ve never had to shoot a moving target, and it’s dangerous. You know it i
s.”
He let out a long, deep breath, shaking his head slightly. I was preparing myself for another argument when he said, “Fine. But you do exactly as I say out there. Got it?”
My shoulders relaxed and I shot him a grin, winking. “Don’t I always?”
Kellan snorted, and Blake chuckled again.
A burst of wind swept across the yard, carrying the stink of goat shit my way, and I lifted my face to the sky. “Might storm.”
“You should get a job as a meteorologist,” Kellan said.
I glared his way, ready for a fight, only to find him grinning. Damn. He could go from grumpy to teasing faster than anyone I knew.
I returned the smile. “Always have to be an asshole, don’t you?”
“Only to you.” He winked, then shoved the supplies further into the truck bed before slamming the tailgate. When he turned to Blake, he said, “Get the gate, will you?”
“I’m on it.”
Blake shot me a grin before jogging toward the gate.
Despite the overcast sky, my shirt was already sticking to my body when I slid into the truck. Blake got the gate open so Kellan could pull through. When it had once again been secured, Blake climbed into the cab next to me, and Kellan took off.
Within minutes, I could feel the telltale signs of swamp ass creeping up on me. The incoming storm had done nothing to cool the day, and it had to be nearing ninety degrees. Wedged between Kellan and Blake as we flew through the desolate Oklahoma landscape, the temperature shot up at least ten degrees. Even the air whooshing through the truck didn’t help.
It was only April, though, and in Oklahoma the temperature could reach ninety well into October. Meaning we had months of heat ahead of us. Last summer we’d had a stretch of hot days, creeping close to 110 degrees a few times, but that was normal for the area. Back in 2011, at the height of the last drought, there were places in Oklahoma that saw nearly a hundred days of temperatures over a hundred degrees. That was during the age of electricity and air conditioning, though. Nowadays, I didn’t know what folks would do if the heat wave stretched out that long. At least we were safe in our bunker since our air filtration system was also programmed for climate control. In the Altus settlement, things would be sweltering in no time.
