by Kate L. Mary
Kellan jerked then let out a deep breath. “My dad.”
“Your dad?”
“He was Kiowa. Grew up in Anadarko before he met my mom.” Kellan paused for a moment, no doubt thinking about his dad. “Anyway, he used to take me out a lot. Hunting and fishing. It was the stuff he’d always done with his dad. He heard some stories about a gypsum cave near Mangum and did some digging to figure out where it was. One weekend, we came out and found it. Spent two days exploring the underground tunnels.”
“It’s incredible,” I whispered. “I didn’t know it existed.”
“I’d forgotten about it, really, but then a few years ago when we were out hunting, Cade and I came across one of the entrances. Most are on what used to be private property, but I guess no one really cared if you explored them as long as you didn’t cause trouble. My dad and I ran into a rancher when we were out here who told us where we could find a few other entrances. He said he always ran off the teenagers if he saw them because he didn’t need some drunk kid getting lost inside the cave, but otherwise he looked the other way.” Kellan’s voice took on a wistful tone. “It’s the longest gypsum cave in the country. More than six miles of underground tunnel and sixty openings. The rancher told us Mexican freetail bats like to sleep here. Thousands of them. He said some nights you could see them emerging from the caves like a huge, black cloud.”
I shivered and looked up, even though the darkness made it impossible to tell if there were hundreds of bats hanging over my head. “I wish you hadn’t told me that.”
Kellan let out a low chuckle that vibrated through me, and every inch of my body warmed under the sound.
“I’ll keep you safe.” His voice was low, his lips close to my ear. When I shivered, his grip on me intensified. “Are you cold?”
I swallowed so I could answer. “No.”
“Why did you shiver, then?” The husky tone of his voice told me he knew, and he wanted me to say it.
Too bad I was a coward.
He slipped his hand from mine and instead wrapped his arms around me, and when he did, the soft stubble on his chin tickled my neck. It was different than any other man’s I’d known—not that the list was long—because it was soft. I knew it was his Native American heritage that made it that way, which was also why he rarely had to shave and why it came in so sparse. Something Cade and Blake had mentioned being jealous of numerous times. Regardless of why, I loved that stubble. Loved it because it was so unique to Kellan.
“How long do we think we will have to stay here?” I said instead of telling him what was going through my head.
Kellan pulled back a little, sighing, but he didn’t release me completely. “A while longer, at least.”
“You think those were the same men who grabbed Harper?”
“Probably. They chased us, which isn’t a good sign. Of course, these days it could have been another group of assholes. God knows there’s no shortage of them.” He gave me a squeeze. “Thanks for listening to me when I told you to get out of there.”
“I trust you. I know you’ll keep me safe.”
“Or die trying,” he said.
Silence settled over us once again, broken only by our breathing and the pounding of my blood as it rushed through my ears. His arms were still around me, his body heat keeping me warm. I wanted to turn to face him. To wrap my arms around his neck and get lost in his kiss. I couldn’t do it, though, and instead contented myself with leaning against his chest. His heart thumped against my back, and a second later he tightened his grip. Neither of us said a thing, though, and I could only attribute our sudden bravery to the dark cave. It was the darkness that made us feel safe. Like we thought we wouldn’t be vulnerable to the same pitfalls Emma and Blake had fallen into as long as we were here.
I wasn’t sure how long we’d sat like that when Kellan shifted, but it was long enough that my right ass cheek had fallen asleep. His hands slid away, and he scooted back until we were no longer touching. I reached for him, trying to grab hold of him and keep him at my side, but I couldn’t find him in the darkness.
“What are you doing?” My voice rang with terror.
“I’m going to take a look around. See if it’s safe to head out.” His feet scuffled against the floor.
I scrambled forward, and this time I managed to grab hold of his ankle. “Kellan, don’t go. It’s not safe.”
He squatted and pried my hands from his ankle.
“I’ll be okay.” Before I could say anything else, his hands were on my face. “Stay here. Wait for me to come back.”
“Kellan, I don’t want you to go.”
“I’m serious, Regan. Promise me you’ll stay here. We can’t let them get their hands on you. I have to know you’re safe.”
I swallowed as I nodded. “Okay.”
It was the tone in his voice that made me agree so easily. That desperate, needy tone that left miles of open space between the words. Devastated. Kellan had said he would be devastated if something happened to me.
But wouldn’t I be equally devastated if something happened to him?
He started to move, but I grabbed his arms before he could release me. “Promise you’ll come back.”
“I won’t leave you,” he whispered.
Then, with no warning at all, his mouth was on mine.
It was my first kiss, and it went straight through me, from my lips to my toes. My fingers tightened on his arms as his mouth moved over mine, slowly at first, and then with more desperation. It was the same desperation I’d heard in his voice only a moment ago. It told me that not only did he want me, but also that he needed me. Just like I needed him.
I gasped when he pulled away, already aching from the loss of his mouth on mine. The pain only increased when he let go of me and stood.
He didn’t move for a second, and I waited for him to say something to explain the kiss. To tell me how he felt.
Instead he whispered, “I’ll be right back.”
His feet scraped against the rocky floor, followed a few seconds later by the splash of water as he stepped into the stream. I held my breath, listening to his progress. When his dark silhouette finally came into view, framed by the little bit of light still penetrating the darkness, I sucked in a deep breath. His shoulders looked broad and strong. Firm and steady. He would be okay. He would be back in no time, and then we could head home. I could depend on Kellan.
He reached the mouth of the cave and stopped, turning to look in my direction despite the fact that there was no way he would be able to find me in the darkness. Then he ducked out and a second later slipped from sight.
I sat back, trying to will my body to relax. It was impossible. The seconds ticked by, turning into minutes, and I waited for him to reappear. The men had to be gone. Hours had passed, after all. They couldn’t be so desperate for survivors that they were willing to wait around this long. Could they? No. There were plenty of other small groups in the area. Kellan and I were insignificant.
Still, time moved forward and he didn’t reappear. I wanted to go find him, to climb out of this hole so I knew he was okay, but I couldn’t. I’d promised Kellan I would stay here. He wanted to keep me safe, and I wanted to make him happy. He’d be back any moment. He wouldn’t leave me. He’d promised.
It was impossible to judge how much time had actually passed when I finally got to my feet. Not that it mattered. Long enough that I knew something had gone horribly wrong. It could have been something other than the men, too. This was the apocalypse. Kellan could have emerged to find a horde of zombies, or just a couple. One sneaking up on him could have taken him out. Or it could have been a rattlesnake. There were also coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions. Anything could have happened, which meant I couldn’t cower in a ball and do nothing. I had to find Kellan.
Water splashed around me when I charged into the stream. It was up to my knees in seconds, forcing me to push my legs harder so I could cut through the water. A memory of when I was a kid came back
. Me trying to run through knee-high water at the lake, laughing as drops pinged against my skin, cooling me. Matt at my side, splashing me and making me shriek. Kellan, young and tan, with a grin that lit up his entire face.
Kellan.
God, what would I do if something happened to Kellan?
I moved faster, and soon the water had receded enough that every step didn’t feel like a struggle. When I reached the mouth of the cave, I didn’t hesitate. The heat hanging in the air wrapped around me, chasing away the goose bumps as I burst out. The sun had gone down, and the crickets were out, singing to one another, while above me stars twinkled in a remarkably cloudless sky.
I scurried up the slope, clinging to weeds and shrubs as my feet slid on the loose ground. It took no time at all to make it to the top, and when I did, I froze, spinning around in the hopes of gaining my bearing. There was nothing around but nature. No zombies, no animals, no car, and no men who were desperate to find us. Even worse, there was no Kellan.
The world was empty.
“Kellan!” I screamed.
I spun again, but nothing moved. The crickets had gone silent at the sound of my voice, and even my own feet seemed to make no noise when I ran forward, heading back the way we’d come when we were running from the men.
“Kellan!” I called again.
My voice echoed through the night, Kellan’s name growing fainter with each reverberation until it finally faded away. I held my breath, waiting for him to respond. He didn’t, though, and it was the loudest silence I had ever experienced.
I slumped to the ground.
The grass was still damp from the earlier storm, and within seconds I was soaked again, but I didn’t care. I didn’t move. The brush swayed back and forth with the wind, tickling my arms and face, but I barely registered it. What had happened to him? He could be lying in this field, dead from a zombie attack, or maybe a mountain lion had dragged him away after mauling him to death. Or he very well could be in the clutches of those assholes, meaning he was on the way to becoming a zombie himself. Yes, he could be immune. There were other people out there, but the odds were slim. Miniscule, really. Most likely, he would suffer the same fate most of the world had succumbed to nine years ago.
I needed to get to him before he was bitten.
What was my next move, though?
Home. I needed to make it back to the shelter so I could get help. That was the first thing. But what did we do from there? We had no idea if these men had even taken Kellan or where they might have gone. None of us had ever seen them. We’d only heard other people talking about them.
Except Harper. She’d been to their place, and from the way she’d described it, it sounded like it was located in the old wildlife refuge. Sure, that place was huge, but there had to be a way to narrow it down. Something might have stood out to Harper that might give us a clue about where they were staying. If she could describe it, it was possible Jasper could figure out where it was. He knew this area well. Better than any of the rest of us.
It was dark when I pulled myself to my feet, and it seemed like the silence was following me as I started walking, heading back toward the fence Kellan and I had climbed over only a few hours ago. Getting over it was easier now that I wasn’t in a hurry, and I stopped once I reached the road. Tire tracks from the car cut across the still damp dirt, barely visible in the moonlight, and I stared at them for a moment. There were several footprints around them, but one in particular caught my eye. I’d seen it before, dozens of times. I’d know that crisscross pattern anywhere.
“They have him,” I said to the dark night.
Then I started walking again.
19
I was sweating and out of breath by the time the shelter came into view. The moon was high and bright, and it seemed to shine down on the little fenced-in area like it was trying to lead me home. I was already moving at a slow jog, but I started running faster, and a bleat from one of the goats was quickly followed by the squawking of the chickens.
Gasping, I skidded to a stop inches from the fence. For a few seconds I did nothing but stand there, clutching the chain link while I tried to catch my breath. In my mind, the blood pounding in my ears sounded like Kell-an, Kell-an, Kell-an, and it was the thudding of his name in my brain that made me move.
I turned the dial on the lock with shaky fingers, but somehow managed to get it undone on the first try. My legs wobbled, threatening to give out as I undid the chain, but when I had the gate shoved open, a surge of adrenaline shot through me. I was home. I would be able to get help, and we would head out to find Kellan. Everything was going to be okay.
I’d just managed to get the gate shut and the lock secured when the door to the outbuilding burst open.
“Regan!” Emma was running toward me when I turned, and the others were right behind her.
She slammed into me, and it was the feel of her warm arms wrapping around my body that smashed the wall I’d erected around my emotions. Tears filled my eyes, spilling over a second later, and sobs shook my shoulders as my breath came out in hiccups.
“What happened?” Cade asked when he came to a stop next to us. “Where are Blake and Kellan?”
Jasper jogged up, his gaze going from me to the closed gate like he was hoping it would open and the others would walk through. Behind him, Harper stood with eyes that seemed wider than usual, and seeing her reminded me of what I needed to do. I had to tell them what was going on. We had to figure out where these men had taken Kellan. We had to save him.
“Regan,” Emma said softly. “Breathe. Take slow, deep breaths.”
I sucked air in, mouthful after mouthful, trying to calm myself down so I could tell everyone what had happened, but it was no use. I was a blubbering mess.
“Get her inside,” Jasper snapped.
Emma helped me up, but before I could take a step, Cade was at my side. He scooped me into his arms with little effort, making me feel as small as I had the day Kellan and I arrived here, and then he headed for the shelter.
In no time, we were in the common area and I was sitting on the couch. Cade ran for the first aid kit even though I shook my head when he asked if I needed medical attention, but I still couldn’t talk. I was working on controlling my breathing, taking the slow, deep breaths Emma urged me to, and was beginning to feel more in control. Still, my body was trembling from head to toe, and the knowledge that my emotional freak out was putting Kellan at risk only made it worse.
I was finally breathing normally by the time Cade came back. Emma sat on one side of me, and Jasper on the other. Cade took the chair across from us while Harper stood off to the side watching with terrified eyes.
“What happened?” Jasper asked in a soft yet gruff voice. “Where are Blake and Kellan?”
“B-Blake—” I swallowed. “Blake stayed in Altus. He’s okay.”
Emma winced but said nothing.
“Kellan?” Cade asked. “What happened?”
“We got caught in the tornado. At the farmhouse.” I inhaled, feeling like I’d said too much without taking a breath. When I blew it out, I said, “It was destroyed. The tornado ripped right through it.”
“Is he dead?” Emma asked in a shaky voice.
My heart jumped to my throat as images of Kellan dead flipped through my mind. Dear God, please don’t let him be dead.
“No.” My voice trembled. “I don’t know. We made it out okay, but the car was under a tree so we had to walk. That’s when we came across some men. We ran. Hid in a cave for hours. Kellan went out to see if the coast was clear and didn’t come back.” I focused on Jasper in hopes his strong presence would help me keep it together. “It was the men we’ve been hearing about. I’m sure of it. They took him.”
“No,” Harper whispered.
“They didn’t have any zombies with them,” I said quickly.
Jasper let out a deep breath. “How long ago?”
“A couple hours.”
“Shit,” Cade muttered.
Emma’s grip on my hand tightened. “I’m sorry, Regan.”
“Sorry?” I blinked and looked around the room, saw the resignation on the faces of my family, and my stomach lurched. I was going to be sick. I jumped to my feet, but once I was up, the nausea disappeared and had been replaced by anger. “We can still help him. He has to be okay.”
“How?” Cade asked.
I turned my gaze on Harper. “Her.”
She shrank back when everyone looked her way. “Me?”
“You were there.” I took a step closer to her. “In their hideout.”
“I don’t know where it is,” she said.
“You have to remember something about it. You said there were a lot of buffalo and longhorn cattle around, so we can safely assume it’s near the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.” I looked around and found the others nodding.
Jasper got up. “What did you see around the house?”
Harper shrugged but then shook her head, twisting her braid around her fingers nervously as she thought it through. “It wasn’t really a house.”
“What was it?” Emma asked.
“Kind of a church.” Harper tugged harder on her braid. “But old. Musty. It was weird.”
“What was outside?” Jasper prompted.
“Mountains. There were a lot of mountains. But there was also this other building not too far from the one we were in, and some walls that had arches.” She brought her free hand up and around to mimic the shape of an arch. “They were made of stones and reminded me of a castle. It was strange.”
“The Holy City,” Jasper said.
I spun to face him. “You know what she’s talking about?”
Jasper rubbed his chin. “I do. They used to have a live Easter performance there every year. There’s a little chapel and a few other structures. Walls, walkways. It’s in the wildlife refuge, but not really a part of it.”
“Can you draw a map?” Cade asked.
Jasper nodded. “Sure, I can.”
“What then?” Emma asked, looking around. “What do we do? Harper, you said there were at least a dozen of these guys, right?”
