He pulled her back. “No, I’m going with you. I can’t lose you again,” Houston said quietly, urgency in his voice.
Haven squeezed his hand reassuringly and pressed it up to her face, relishing the feeling of his strong hands against her skin. “I’ll be fine, baby. I’d rather you stayed here and watched over them. They’re like kittens right now. Completely defenseless.”
Houston nodded, but he didn’t seem convinced. “If you’re not back in fifteen minutes, I’m coming to get you.”
She smiled and shook his hand playfully as though they were finishing a business transaction. “Deal.” She started to walk away when she turned around suddenly. “Thank you,” she breathed, and once more she felt overcome with emotion.
He tilted his head to the side. “For what?”
“You came for me,” she whispered.
“Of course I did.” He covered the distance between them and kissed her hard, his embrace filled with love and desperation. No matter how many times he got to hold her in his arms, it was never enough. “Haven, I don’t want to live a life without you in it. I wouldn’t be living at all.”
Haven reluctantly let go of him. “Fifteen minutes.”
“Hurry back,” he said with a huge grin as she backed away from him. “When you return, I’ve got an idea I want to run by all of you, a way out of this to somewhere safe.”
Haven felt a renewed surge of energy as she listened to his words, hope soaring in her heart.
***
Colin was skipping rocks into the lake when Haven found him. She walked up to him slowly. He glanced back at the sound of her footsteps, but continued throwing the flat stones across the glassy surface of the water.
“Colin,” she began, unsure how to continue.
He shook his head disbelievingly. “Haven, there’s no need to explain anything. You were right. He did find you.”
When she was beside him, she rested her hand on his forearm. “You’ve been so wonderful. Under any other circumstances...” Her voice trailed off.
He chuckled bitterly. “What about it? You said ‘under any other circumstances.’ What does that even mean?”
“Colin,” she said again, trying to measure her words carefully. When she didn’t know what to say, her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know.”
“You can’t deny that we’re great together. You can’t,” he insisted. His eyes held an intensity she’d never seen before.
“Haven, I’ve never met anyone like you. I fell so hard for you, from the beginning. Maybe you don’t feel the same way right now, but you might have had he not come back. And how long were you going to wait anyways? Months, years? When were you going to move on? Did I even have a chance?” he asked, anger piercing his tone.
He looked away when she didn’t answer and threw another stone into the water.
“Look, Colin, I don’t know! Houston is my best friend, everything to me. I wasn’t going to just throw that away because zombies came into the picture!” she exclaimed, resting her hands on her hips.
Turning to face her fully, he grasped her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. In spite of her firm resolve and tough exterior, Haven felt her knees buckle ever so slightly.
“I know I will never find another girl like you. Especially in this damned apocalypse... they’re all bloody zombies by now.” He sighed, any previous anger drained from his demeanor.
“Haven, if this is really what you want...” He let go of her. “Damn it.”
Haven gripped his arms tightly. “Colin, I do care for you. So much.”
He smiled sadly. “Yeah, but not in that way, right?” He looked down, and Haven sensed that it pained him to bare his soul as he had. “I don’t want to stand by and watch while he holds you, touches you, kisses you. All the things I wanted to do. You don’t bloody need me anymore. Between you, your brother, and him, your group will be safe.”
Haven narrowed her eyes. “What are you saying? You’re leaving?”
He didn’t respond.
She was stunned. “You can’t leave; you’re a part of us now. We do need you. I need you!” she exclaimed.
“And what would I be to you if I stayed? The lucky bastard is your best friend, your lover. That leaves me with the extremely appealing title of ‘supply run partner.’ Maybe not even that anymore. I just love that,” Colin answered her sarcastically.
“You’re really something, you know that?” Haven said passionately, throwing her hands in the air.
“Oh, I’m something?” he retorted. “Haven, he’s too calm for you, too boring,” he called out after her. She ignored him and walked determinedly back to the camp.
Shaking his head angrily, he glared across the lake then looked over his shoulder as she left. With a rugged sigh, he ran after her. He turned her so that she faced him.
“Haven, your safety, your happiness means the world to me. But don’t ask me to give up what we’ve forged since I found you on the lake. I won’t forget our friendship. Not for him, not for anyone.”
Haven stared at him. “I’d never expect that, Colin. You’ve been an amazing friend, someone I can trust and confide in. I don’t know what I’d have done without you.”
Rubbing the stubble along his jaw, he took a deep breath. “Well...” he said finally with reluctance. “Your boyfriend surely misses you. You’d better get back to him.”
She leaned forward and hugged him tightly, her hands clutching his neck.
“I’ll see you there,” she whispered.
He pressed a kiss to her cheek before gently pushing her away.
Chapter 28:
The following hour was spent brainstorming their next move to get to Houston’s parents’ cabin in West Virginia. After retrieving a map from the Jeep, Houston traced a route that would cut through Tennessee and Kentucky to get to West Virginia. He surmised that this would be safer than attempting to journey along the east coast by way of the Carolinas, explaining that from what he’d seen, the latter states were completely ravaged.
Everyone agreed that moving north seemed like the best option. Having found Houston at last, Haven felt more ready than ever to depart from the familiar. While it was painful to say good-bye to a place that held such wonderful memories for her, she knew that they needed to start fresh elsewhere and build a normal life that didn’t involve constantly sleeping with one eye open.
No one wanted to spend another second near the lake. They felt exposed and vulnerable now that their shelter had been reduced to a pile of smoldering wood. Since it was getting late, they chose a house on the edge of town to catch a few hours of sleep before setting out on the journey north. Leaving the charred remains of the little lake house, they piled into the Jeep, sitting on one another’s laps with the dog squeezed in by their feet.
Twenty minutes later, Haven pulled onto a dirt driveway in front of a two-story ranch-style yellow house. Faith, Brett, and Houston sat in the back, the two men snoring loudly.
Colin was in the passenger seat beside her and remained silent.
She brought the car to a stop behind some bushes.
Houston groggily sat up in the back seat and looked around in confusion. “How long have I been out?”
Haven turned to him. “Less than a half hour. This place is right on the edge of town. It used to have a huge stable with lots of horses.” She gently shook Brett awake. “We’re here, kiddo.”
Brett groaned. “I was having a good dream for once,” he complained. “Why’d you have to wake me up?”
They gathered up their weapons and scant supplies, and Haven, Colin, and Houston cleared the large house while Faith and Brett waited on the porch outside. The home was in excellent condition and seemed to be untouched by looters.
While they sifted through the contents within, Houston asked Brett why they hadn’t come here first instead of the small lake house with no supplies. Brett quietly explained that they’d all needed time to cope with the loss of their grandmother and hadn’t been fit to travel f
or some weeks. When Colin was out of earshot, he told Houston how instrumental the Scotsman had been in helping them as they worked through their grief.
“He kept things running,” he said simply.
Always inventive, Brett managed to find a box of Betty Crocker brownie mix in one of the pantries. Although the eggs in the fridge had rotted a long time ago, he was fairly certain that since the house could be powered by a generator, they’d still turn out delectable. Haven was loathe to run the generator, convinced that the noise would draw in zombies, but after some prodding, the tantalizing idea of devouring such rare chocolaty goodness changed her mind. Besides, there were enough of them to take care of any threats, as long as someone kept watch at all times.
Upon exploring the rest of the home, everyone was overjoyed to find sweet-smelling linens upon plush Tempur-Pedic mattresses in each of the bedrooms. They had spent far too long sleeping under dirty woolen blankets that made their skin itch something fierce. They pulled the mattresses off the box springs and dragged them into the living room in front of the fireplace. After weeks of struggling to stay warm at night, being able to have heat within the safe confines of the house was a welcome treat. Sitting around the fireplace with a plate of delicious yet thin and slightly burnt brownies and a glass of powdered milk nearly made it seem as though all was right in the world. Brett patted his stomach and let out a satisfied sigh, then picked up his gun and offered to take first watch.
With a full belly, Haven’s curiosity got the best of her, and she told the others that she wanted to peruse the books in the study. She desperately missed reading, and when they were clearing all of the rooms in the house, it looked as though its former occupants had a solid collection of literature. Houston, also an avid reader, followed her.
Colin’s face fell as he watched them disappear up the stairs. He wished he liked books as much as Houston so that it was him up there with Haven instead. Hell, he just wished Houston had never come back.
Every time he saw Houston touch Haven, lean in for a kiss, gaze at her admiringly, or whisper sweet nothings into her ear, his heart constricted painfully. He turned over in his bed and tried to shut out the agonizing thoughts that tormented him. If he was honest with himself, Houston seemed like a decent guy, still a bit boring in his eyes, but he could tell that he loved Haven and was very devoted to her safety, as well as that of her family.
A nice, educated, caring, resourceful bloke like Houston… that was what Haven needed. She didn’t need some kilt-wearing, bagpipe-playing, alcoholic idiot like himself.
His father’s words rang true. When you love someone, you do what is best for that person, even if it isn’t what’s best for you.
And at the end of the day, even if he had never put that ideology into practice with another woman because he’d excelled at putting himself as number one his whole life, now it all made sense, and he understood.
There was one thing he didn’t doubt, and that one thing threatened to consume him and destroy him at the same time.
Colin loved her.
***
Outside, the barren branches of the trees twisted and turned as the wind howled. It was pitch black outside. The clouds had eclipsed the moon so that darkness swept over the landscape.
Moments later, a light flickered in the distance.
Slow, scraping movements and snarls of hunger broke the silence.
Sinister footsteps quickened, changing direction, kicking up leaves and dirt as they moved unevenly through the terrain.
A yellow house sat alone at the top of an old country road, a road that had once been illuminated by street lights, but now rested in obscurity. The footsteps came to a brief halt before a white picket fence. Gnarled fingers grasped the freshly painted wood, fingernails splintering as the grip tightened in frustration.
Soft orange flames glowed through white curtains.
The snarls became feral.
***
When a dark shadow moved across the window, Faith didn’t blink.
She could see the perfect silhouette of a man outside. It wavered ever so slightly in the wind.
Faith unsteadily began to rise to her feet. She tilted her head and shifted closer to the window, still lost in some kind of trance. Her fingertips danced along the curtain over the glass.
The sudden movement taken as a clear indicator of life, the zombie outside slammed into the window excitedly.
“Faith!” Brett hissed from behind her and hurriedly pulled her to him. “Guys, we have a situation down here!” he anxiously called to the others.
Colin was beside them first and noticing the threat on the other side of the glass, picked up his sword and walked to the front door. Brett held Faith tightly and watched the creature’s form shift towards the Scotsman when it heard him slam the door shut. Colin didn’t even try to be stealthy and yelled obscenities at the ghoul as he approached. With a grunt, he raised the sword above his head and swung it heavily down the center of the zombie’s skull, slicing through the brain. The body fell limply to the ground.
When he returned, Colin volunteered to keep watch for a few hours so that Brett could stay with Faith. Although he was exhausted, Colin knew that the young man didn’t want to leave his sister’s side. He moved to the upstairs room next to the study that had a perfect view of the surrounding landscape.
Brett looked down at his little sister, her eyes unmoving from the window. He could feel the bones protruding from her skin. Her once lovely hair was matted and lackluster. She was starting to resemble one of them.
Even though she was wrapped firmly in his embrace, Brett felt like he was going to lose her.
He was terrified.
***
A kerosene lamp on an antique desk emitted a warm and comforting luminosity in the study. Haven’s fingers brushed across a dusty globe. She watched it spin for a second.
Walking over to a wooden bookshelf, she chose some books at random, setting a couple aside for a later read. “I wonder who used to live here. Whoever it was certainly had good taste in books,” she remarked absentmindedly as she thumbed through the pages of a worn copy of All Quiet on the Western Front.
Once she had a nice stack of reading picked out, she took a couple of steps to a yellowed leather map on the wall and stared at it blankly.
Houston leaned against the desk and watched her. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened with Faith? She’s so different now. I hardly recognize—”
“Do you think there are any left?” When he didn’t answer, she continued detachedly, “Living, breathing people. Are there any left?” Her voice darkened. “Or do they all just want to eat our flesh?”
Houston walked behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her cheek. “Baby, talk to me.”
“What kind of life is this? There are more of them and fewer of us every single day. I had all of these dreams…” Her eyes welled up with tears as she was reminded of all of the horrific things she had seen and done since the outbreak started. Burying her anger and sadness deep within her, she turned to him. “Houston, it’s been so bad. I needed you.”
He pulled her to him and held her tightly. “I’m here now.”
And that was what she needed to hear. She didn’t want to explain anything. Worried that she might be reduced to a sobbing mess if they talked about her grandmother, the last thing she wanted to do was work through her feelings.
She just wanted to be alone with him and lose herself, even if it was just for a moment.
Her eyelashes damp with tears, Haven looked at him. There was a soft amber glow in her brown eyes, a spark that hadn’t been there for a while.
“Hey,” Houston wiped away her tears. “Things are going to change. You’ll see.”
“I just can’t believe you’re here. You found me. In all of this... the end of the world... you still managed to find me, Houston,” she said, putting her hands on his chest, feeling the warm muscles under her fingers. She swallowed hard, her jaw tense. �
�I feel like this is a dream, and when I wake up, you’ll be gone. I don’t want to let go of you. I don’t want to wake up.”
Haven had a sudden desire to be close to him, in every possible way.
She shivered, but not from the cold.
“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered, his lips brushing against hers slowly and sensually. She wrapped her legs around him as he leaned her back onto the animal skin rug below.
***
“He’s gone!”
The door swung open to the study. Brett stood there worried and out of breath.
Houston groggily sat up and put a finger to his lips, pointing down to Haven who was sleeping soundly. He pulled a blanket over her.
“What’s up, man?” he whispered throatily. Haven was just starting to stir against him, and a soft protest escaped her lips as she curled deeper towards his bare chest.
“Haven,” Brett persisted. “Colin. He’s gone.”
Haven jolted up, fully awake.
“What?” She looked panicked.
Brett shook his head. “I don’t know what happened. After I took over the guard shift from Colin, I accidentally fell asleep, and when I woke up, he was gone.”
Haven grabbed the blanket and covered herself while she hastily dressed.
Houston looked at her questioningly. “What’s going on here? Why would he leave?”
She pulled on her boots and ignored him. “I’ll be back.”
Pushing past Brett, she ran down the steps to the front door. She froze when she saw Colin’s sword leaning against the doorway. He never left anywhere without his sword. She grabbed it and sprinted out the door, not caring if a hundred zombies were on the porch waiting for her.
It was misty and gray outside and surprisingly warm considering the freezing temperatures from the weeks before. The snow had melted almost as quickly as it had come, leaving the land muddy and dreary.
The Good, the Dead, and the Lawless: The Undoing Page 31
