Demon Ember (Resurrection Chronicles Book 1)

by M. J. Haag

  “Mya, no go back outside.”

  I nodded slightly.

  He stepped around me, and I watched him carry the infected to the back of the fence then chuck both the body and the head over. The early morning sun caught on the face as the head tumbled down. Was this my life? Death and hiding and fear?

  Drav turned, and his watery gaze never left mine as he stalked back across the yard. I stepped aside, hoping he would pass me, but he shadowed my move, crowding into my space.

  “I’m sorry, Mya.”

  Was he just repeating Charles’ words or was he really sorry for stealing me?

  He glanced at the dark hallway then nudged me in that direction. This time, the doors weren’t closed. The sight of the first clean, cozy bed reminded me how very little sleep I had gotten. Until now, adrenaline had kept my exhaustion away. However, that was fading fast.

  When I saw a bathroom, I stopped.

  “Mya.” Drav’s tone held a note of warning.

  “I want to pee,” I said. I didn’t. Not really. I wanted to climb my ass out that big window and see if I could run my way back to Charles or some other humans.

  He grunted and nudged me toward the bathroom. When I stepped in and tried to close the door, he blocked it.

  “No.”

  “I’m not peeing with you watching me.”

  He turned and looked at the mirror.

  “Not helpful. Leave,” I said.

  “No. Mya leave.” He looked at the window, and I swallowed hard.

  “Out the window?” I said, feigning disbelief. “I would never fit.”

  “You would fit,” he said.

  Not sure what to say to that, I went to the sink and turned on the water, unwilling to make it obvious that he’d correctly busted me. Before I bent to drink, I glanced at myself in the mirror. A smear of dirt decorated the bridge of my nose and one cheek. Crusted bits of blood clung to the skin under my nose.

  Changing my mind about the drink, I opened the bathroom closet, grabbed a washcloth, and washed my face. Afterwards, I quenched my thirst and turned off the water.

  When I turned toward Drav, I noticed a wet spot on his shirt.

  “I think you got a little bit of blood on you,” I said, pointing.

  He looked down at the spot on his side and then lifted his shirt. A gash split his skin just over his lower ribs.

  A bullet had grazed him. I glanced at his shoulder and realized it had been the side on which he’d carried me. My head would have been about right where that bullet had gotten him. My eyes widened as I realized Charles had been aiming for me, not Drav.

  “Holy shit,” I said softly.

  I met Drav’s gaze as the implications settled in my mind. Whatever Charles had seen on that video had been enough for him to think I would be better off dead by his hand than Drav’s. The questions I’d tried to avoid thinking forced their way in. Why was I still alive? What did Drav plan to do with me?

  “D-do you want to clean it?” I asked, instead.

  I didn’t wait for an answer but grabbed a new washcloth and wet it. He still had his shirt up when I turned back to him, so I held out the washcloth.

  “No. You clean it.”

  He stared at me unblinkingly, unnerving me further. With a shaking hand, I bent forward and began to gently clean the blood away. Drav’s free hand went to my hair, his fingers trailing through the strands. I didn’t understand his fascination with me, but it had kept me alive so far.

  When I finished, I moved away from his inquisitive fingers and grabbed the first aid kit I’d noticed on the shelf. He held still as I put butterfly bandages on the gash. Finished, I straightened away from him and he lowered his shirt.

  He waited while I washed my hands then nudged me down the hall again. Instead of sitting on the floor, he steered me toward a small bedroom with closed curtains. In the dim light, the pink and white frilly decor did nothing to cheer me.

  “I don’t want to sleep on a bed. We can sit in the hallway.”

  “No. You sleep on the bed,” he said, closing the door.

  He nudged me toward the bed in question, and my mind raced. Would I now find out why Charles wanted to shoot me? Is this why Drav came back for me?

  When I didn’t immediately jump onto the bed once we reached it, he picked me up and set me on the soft mattress.

  “I don’t want to sit here.” My voice shook like crazy. So did my hands.

  He placed a palm on my chest, just above my thundering heart, and steadily pushed me down until I lay flat on the bed. With wide-eyed panic, I stared up at him. He lowered himself beside me, pulled me into his arms, and buried his nose in my hair. My heart beat so painfully hard and fast that I struggled to breathe.

  It took several moments to realize he hadn’t moved. I held still and tried to quiet my booming heart so I could hear his slow and steady breathing. Was he really sleeping?

  I lifted my head slightly.

  “No, Mya. Sleep,” he said.

  He reached up and gently ran his fingers over my face. When he found my eyes, he swiped over them again and again until I kept them closed.

  He grunted and wrapped his arm around me. Despite everything, his hold began to feel safe, not confining. I exhaled heavily.

  It didn’t take long for my body to agree with him, and I slept.

  * * * *

  I opened my eyes to a darker version of the room. Comfortable on my side, I could have easily gone back to sleep for another hour, but the very warm hand cupping my left breast posed a problem. Behind me, Drav lay close, with the offending arm curled over my side. We were far too cozy.

  Laying still, I listened to his even breathing then carefully pushed at his forearm to remove his hand. His fingers clutched a little tighter around his prize, and he moved closer, his breath tickling the back of my neck. A roller coaster started in my stomach and freaked me out.

  “Drav, stop.”

  He grunted, let go, and sat up. I quickly sat up, too. He was right there, in front of me in the dark, not giving me any room to leave.

  “Mya, hungry?”

  “Yes.” Anything to get out of bed.

  “Yeeessss,” he drew out the word and something about his tone made me think he was smiling.

  “Yes, Mya. Yes, hungry. Yes, home. Yes.” He stepped back, giving me some room.

  “Uh…okay.” I stood and let him guide me to the kitchen. The back yard light shone through the window and illuminated the space well enough to see.

  This time he searched for the cans while I checked the fridge. I found a pizza box containing four slices.

  “You can stop looking. We can eat this,” I said.

  I took a slice and set the box on the counter. He watched me take a bite then grabbed a slice and brought it to his mouth. He bit into the pizza, chewed, then spit it onto the floor.

  I laughed before I caught myself.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. “It’s cold, but it’s not bad. Don’t you like it?”

  “No.” He went back to searching cupboards and produced a can of spaghetti sauce.

  “You sure you want to eat that?” I asked, when he started looking through the drawers. He paused and stared at me.

  “It’s spaghetti sauce. It’s close to the red stuff on the pizza you just spit out.”

  He grunted, set the can opener on the counter, and went back to the cupboards. Each can he found, he held up to me until I identified it. When he’d emptied the cupboards, he said my name and pointed to the cans.

  “You want me to pick?”

  “Yes.”

  I lifted the can of chicken and the can of fruit cocktail. “If you like meat, eat this one. If you like fruit, like we had last time, eat this one.”

  He took both from me, and I watched him pick up the can opener and open the cans without hesitation. Using his fingers, he picked out some chicken and some fruit and popped both into his mouth at once. He seemed to enjoy it. I took another bite of my pizza and watched as he ate it al
l and drank the juice left in the fruit can.

  I took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water, drinking three glasses before setting it down. My stomach felt tight, but I didn’t know when I’d get food or water next. Drav picked up my glass and proceeded to turn the tap on and off without filling anything.

  “While you’re doing that, I’m going to use the bathroom.”

  He looked at me without blinking.

  “Pee?” I said.

  “Don’t leave, Mya.”

  The progression of his speech and understanding continued to unnerve me.

  “I won’t leave. Please don’t watch me. It’s weird.”

  He didn’t try to follow, and I hesitated at the bathroom door. He still watched me.

  “I’m going to close the door,” I said.

  “No.” He took a step toward me.

  “Fine. I’ll leave it open if you promise to stay right there.”

  He stopped moving. Taking that as an agreement, I turned and quickly stepped into the bathroom. Although the window tempted me, the darkness beyond did not. I decided I would wait and try to find a way to slip from Drav once the sun rose.

  Finished using the bathroom, I stepped back into the hall and found Drav in the same spot by the kitchen sink. As soon as he saw me, he turned his attention back to the faucet. Had he really stared at the hallway, listening the whole time? My cheeks grew hot. Too busy getting a drink for himself, he thankfully didn’t notice.

  Ten

  After he drained the glass and set it aside, he looked me over. Not in a creepy way like when we’d first met, but more of a “are you ready?” kind of way. He confirmed that guess by heading toward the front door.

  “Mya and Drav go outside,” he said quietly.

  I watched him wrap his hand around the knob and knew what would happen if he tore the door open. The noise would attract any nearby infected.

  “Wait. I can open it,” I said, hurrying to him.

  He let go of the knob but didn’t step aside. I pretended not to notice the way he leaned in to smell my hair as he watched me unlock the bolt then turn the knob.

  “Yes,” he said, carefully moving me out of the way again so he could open the door and leave first.

  He didn’t go far. His back blocked the opening as he scanned right to left.

  After a moment, he reached back for me. It terrified me to have to step out into the night, knowing what waited in the dark. But, thoughts of my family gave me courage enough to lead the way as Drav and I sprinted for the first bit of cover.

  The sound of his soft footfalls behind me eased some of the terror. As much as I worried about what he wanted with me, I also realized how relieved I felt that I wasn’t trying to make my way home alone. Bit by bit we moved through one neighborhood to the next, making progress.

  I dashed across a quiet street and ducked behind a car in someone’s front yard to wait for Drav. A sound had me looking up as a woman came around the side of the house. Fear lanced through me at the sight of her. I could see bite marks through the tears in her bloody shirt. Infected. A small sound escaped me.

  Her head jerked in my direction, her mouth opening and closing. She lunged at me, and a solid wall of grey-muscled Drav stepped in front of me. He growled low and caught her by the head.

  This time, I shut my eyes. Even without the visual, the wet sounds and the soft thump made bile rise to my throat.

  A gentle pressure on my forehead had me opening my eyes. Drav’s forehead rested against mine.

  “I promise Mya stay safe,” he said.

  His steady gaze held me, and looking into his odd eyes, I realized what he meant by those words. Drav would keep me safe from the infected. But who would keep me safe from him?

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “Yes.”

  He moved back a little but stayed crouched beside me as I watched the houses and decided the next stop. Avoiding the infected who shambled along the roads posed little issue with a bit of stealth and patience. However, as the woman had just proven, they didn’t all stick to open areas.

  It took hours before I found myself in an area I actually recognized. During that time, we were discovered by an infected on six different occasions. Drav kept each one away from me. He also removed every head.

  “We’re not even halfway across town,” I said quietly as we stood in the darkness between two houses.

  Drav didn’t say anything in return, just watched the street and yards before us. I wasn’t sure how far he’d run with me, but I felt sure he’d covered more distance with me on his shoulder than we had by doing this duck and cover thing. Only the knowledge that he’d have no idea which direction to go kept me from telling him to carry me again. That meant we would need to keep traveling as we were, and it would be well after dawn before I reached my neighborhood.

  Unwilling to give up, I selected the next target and sprinted toward it, Drav right beside me.

  Near dawn, he tugged my shirt while we watched the street from behind a parked car.

  “Mya, don’t go outside,” he said softly.

  Since I already crouched outside, I had no idea what he meant. I began to understand, though, when he looked at a house with a fenced in yard further down the block. No sheets or paint indicated anyone needing help. Unlike some of the other houses, the front door and garage were closed. It would be a perfect place to rest for the day. If I wanted to rest. Which I didn’t. I wanted to go home.

  I turned to tell him we should keep going, but he tossed me over his shoulder before I could argue. Seething, I kept quiet as he sprinted toward the house. Behind us, the sky was just barely starting to lighten. In the daylight, I could maybe manage on my own.

  The sudden jump he executed made my stomach drop. When he landed, I patted his back.

  “Put me down.”

  He stopped moving and set me on my feet.

  “This time you go inside first and check for infected.”

  He blinked at me, grunted, then went to the entrance. I watched him put his shoulder to the door. As soon as it gave way, he went inside.

  I moved quickly to the fence and prepared to jump and catch the top. A whisper of movement on the other side stopped me. Leaning closer, I peeked through the tiny gap in the board and almost screamed at the sight of an infected looking straight at me. Slowly, I backed away and edged closer to the door and Drav.

  Drav came out several moments later with a body and a head. I almost yipped at his sudden appearance.

  “Inside, Mya,” he said, after he dumped them over the fence.

  I willingly turned from the fence—and what lurked beyond—and walked into the house with Drav right behind me. He went to the kitchen to start searching cupboards, and I noted the thick blood that spattered his shirt in several places. Tearing off heads was messy business.

  “I need to pee,” I said, watching him.

  He grunted and moved toward the hall. I followed him. As soon as I found a bathroom, I stepped in, closed the curtains, and turned on the light.

  “Door open,” he said over his shoulder as he headed back to the kitchen.

  Seeing the infected on the other side of the fence had killed any urge to leave. Still, I kept the door open as I quickly used the bathroom and washed my hands. By the time I returned to the kitchen, Drav already had several cans of food open. I ate some chili and green beans. He consumed three cans of tuna and tried a bite of peas, which he swallowed but obviously didn’t like, given the way he shoved the can aside.

  “Not good?” I asked, trying not to laugh.

  “Not good,” he said, agreeing.

  Once we finished, I wandered off in search of a bedroom before he could start his nudging. In the first one I found, I went to the closet to look for a shirt that might fit him.

  “Mya, no,” he said, snagging me around the waist and turning me toward the bed.

  “Drav, stop. Wait.” He let me go, and I turned to point at the blood on his clothes.

/>   “You can’t sleep in that shirt. It has infected blood all over it, and it’s gross.” But more importantly…what if it got into his gash and he turned into one of them? I wouldn’t stand a chance.

  He grunted and had his shirt untied and off in two blinks. My brain malfunctioned slightly at the sight of all that chiseled, muscled flesh.

  “Ohhh-kay. Ah, I’ll just see if I can find you a new one.”

  He blocked my step toward the closet then slowly moved toward me. I retreated, until I realized he was backing me toward the bed. Thoughts of how he’d pressed against me yesterday while I slept and his current exposed state had me scrambling for a way to distract him. The red spotting his white bandage caught my eye.

  “Wait. I, uh, should check that cut on your side.” I gestured at it. “We should clean and change that.”

  “Yes,” he said, stepping back.

  Relieved, I hurried from the room to the bathroom, where I dug out what I could find for first aid supplies. There wasn’t much. With a tube of ointment and several knee-sized band-aids on the counter, I faced Drav, who waited in the doorway.

  He didn’t make a sound as I eased the old bandage away. One part stuck and I had to carefully wet the cloth before removing it. After reapplying ointment, I put several new band-aids on. He waited in the hall while I threw away the wrappers and washed my hands.

  “I’ll get you a clean shirt,” I said as I joined him.

  “No clean shirt.”

  Crap. I didn’t resist his nudge toward the bedroom as I struggled to think of another solution to my half-naked demon problem.

  “There’s another bedroom if you’d rather have a bed to yourself,” I said.

  “No. You go outside.”

  Damn. Unable to think of anything else to prevent snuggle time without making him angry, I reluctantly entered the room. Before I reached the bed, he tugged at the bottom of my shirt.

  “Gross, Mya.”

  I turned to face him, understanding what he was saying. Up to this point he had been relatively respectful when I asked him to give me a sliver of privacy, so I shook my head and took a step backwards.

  Drav pulled at my shirt again.

  “It has infected blood all over it,” he said, using my words.