Gen Z Boxed Set

by Baileigh Higgins

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” Chas said, regretting her bluntness immediately.

  Liam didn’t answer. Instead, he walked away with stiff shoulders, leaving Chas to kick herself for her thoughtlessness. “Why did I do that? Why?”

  Chapter 14

  Liam returned the following day, bearing a tray with breakfast on it. He pulled aside her curtains, letting in the light. “Rise and shine. Time to eat.”

  Chas yawned and sat upright, her belly rumbling at the sight of the food. More than that, she was happy to see Liam again, and he was smiling too. She’d spent a long, restless night worrying about him, afraid she’d never see him again. I hope he’s forgiven me.

  “Hungry?” he asked.

  “I’m starving,” Chas replied, throwing him a tentative smile.

  “Good thing I dished extra then,” he said, placing the tray before her, complete with cutlery, a napkin, and salt.

  “What’s the occasion?” Chas asked. “I’m not used to getting the royal treatment.”

  “Oh? That’s too bad. Maybe I should do it more often then,” Liam quipped.

  Chas stared at him, taken aback by his manner. Was he flirting with her? That seemed odd, especially after their fight the previous night. Then she caught the delicious scent of fried eggs in her nostrils, and her eyes widened. “Eggs? We’ve got eggs? Since when?”

  He shrugged. “One of the scavenging teams went out to the surrounding farms yesterday. They came back with cages full of chickens, a couple of goats, and even a few milk cows. Cook decided to go all out and even made toast. There’s no butter, but with cows, we’ll soon have some. Even cream.”

  “Oh, that would be heaven. Real butter,” Chas said, her mouth watering at the thought.

  “Well,” Liam prompted. “Don’t let your food get cold.”

  Chas pushed her messy hair out of her eyes and grabbed a slice of toast, topping it with a fried egg. It went down at the speed of lightning. She quickly ate the rest as well, stuffing it into her mouth until Liam handed her a cup of foaming milk.

  “Slow down before you choke,” he said with a chuckle.

  Chas suddenly became aware of the picture she must present and blushed bright red. “I’m sorry. Where are my manners?”

  “I don’t blame you,” Liam said. “I looked like a chipmunk at breakfast this morning. I think we all did, even the most proper of grannies.”

  Chas ducked her head, still mortified, but quickly forgot about her embarrassment when she took a sip. The milk was still warm and melted in her mouth with creamy goodness. It brought back many fond memories of breakfast with Lala and Grumps. Vivienne too when she wasn’t working night shift. “Wow. That’s the best thing I’ve tasted in weeks.”

  “Like milk, do you?” Liam asked, dragging a chair closer. “It’s a bit rich for my tastes.”

  “No way. I love the stuff,” Chas said, smoothing a satisfied hand over her full belly. “That was awesome.”

  “If I knew it was that easy to impress you, I’d have gone looking for a cow ages ago,” Liam teased, removing her empty plate. “Time to check your blood pressure.”

  Once again, Chas was surprised to feel a ball of flame unfurl in her stomach, warming up her insides and cheeks until she felt like a glow-worm. She became super aware of his touch as he took her pulse and changed her dressings. What’s wrong with me?

  He finished his exam and smiled. “Looking good. You’re healing fast.”

  Chas stared at him, unable to reply as she got lost in his gaze. After a few seconds, she became aware of what a fool she must look and managed a muttered, “Uh, great. Thanks.”

  Liam’s smile fell away, and he sighed. “I hoped you wouldn’t still be mad at me.”

  “Mad at you?” Chas asked, now thoroughly confused. “Why would I be mad at you?”

  “Because of last night,” he answered. “I didn’t mean to storm away like that. I just…I didn’t want to think about my family.”

  “Oh, no. I’m not mad at you,” Chas cried, relieved beyond measure.

  “You’re not?”

  “Of course not. That was my fault,” Chas said. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

  Liam sighed. “I haven’t really dealt with it, you know? It’s still raw, and most of the time I pretend it never happened.”

  Chas bit her lip. “It must be awful. If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here for you.”

  “Thanks. Maybe…maybe one day,” he said, backing away. “Until then, are you up for a walk?”

  “Am I ever!” Chas said, throwing back her blankets with eager abandon.

  “Woah, slow down. Nurse Inge said it’s time for you to get back on your feet, but you’ve got to be careful with those stitches. No sudden moves, okay?”

  Chas nodded, willing to agree to anything that got her out of the boring hospital bed. “Whatever. As long as I can get some fresh air.”

  Liam waited outside the curtains while she slipped on a pair of tracksuit pants, a top, and a pair of shoes. The doctor had removed the drip the day before, so she was unfettered, free to walk as she wished.

  Together, they left the infirmary and headed toward the park. The halls were busy, filled with bustling people, and Chas was glad when they left the building. The crush of bodies was replaced by open air, and she stretched out her arms. “That’s better.”

  “Yeah, it’s been pretty rough in there,” Liam said, sucking in a deep breath of air.

  The rain of the past few days had receded, and the sky was crystal clear. White clouds dotted the blue expanse, and the sun shone down on them with benign benevolence. It was neither too hot nor too cold. Just right.

  Chas tipped her head back, enjoying the golden warmth on her skin. “Can you fill me in? My friends told me a little of what’s going on, but not all. Just what they think is good for me.”

  “They can’t know you very well if they think you’d be content with just the good news,” Liam mused. “You’d want to know it all.”

  “It’s not that. They’re just worried about me. I mean, I did run away in the middle of the night with Anke, and look how that turned out,” Chas said feeling the grief she felt for Anke well up inside. The pain was still fresh. “If we hadn’t gone, she’d still be alive.”

  “Hey,” Liam said, coming to a stop. He reached out a hand and gripped her fingers. “You can’t blame yourself for that. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “But, if I’d said no…”

  “She’d still have gone, and she didn’t die for nothing. She got infected trying to save her brother, whom she loved very much. She made her choice.”

  Chas sucked in a deep breath. “I guess so.”

  “I’m not saying what she did to you in the beginning was right, but she made up for it in the end. Killing her own brother like that must’ve been hard for her, but she did it for you. She saved your life.”

  After a moment, Liam resumed walking again, and Chas fell in beside him. Liam’s words made sense to her. It also gave Anke’s death meaning, which was something Chas dearly wanted. The last thing she wanted to remember was Anke’s final moments when she lost her humanity. Rather remember the good parts. The best of her. She deserves that much.

  They’d been walking for several seconds before Chas realized something that took her thoughts in a completely different direction. Liam was still holding her hand. It was a tentative touch, and yet, it was there.

  He’s holding my hand! I can’t believe it. Chas wasn’t sure what to do, so she did nothing. Instead, she followed where he led without saying a word, her insides quivering with excitement. What did this mean? Did he like her? Or was he just being nice?

  They walked across the park before Liam pointed to a bench. “Let’s sit there for a few seconds. I don’t want to push you too hard.”

  “I’m okay,” Chas replied, disappointed when he finally let go of her hand.

  “I know, but you’d say that even if you weren’t,” he pointed out. “You’r
e pretty stubborn, you know that?”

  “I know. Lala says so all the time. She says I got it from my mother.”

  “Lala?”

  “My grandmother. She’s stuck in the safe zone with my mom,” Chas explained.

  “You escaped, didn’t you? You and your friends,” Liam said.

  “Yeah, we did.”

  “You’re arrival caused quite a ruckus at the time. Nobody could believe you got out.”

  “It wasn’t easy.”

  “Tell me about it,” he said. “It must be quite a story.”

  Chas told him about that night, the sneaking out, drugging the guards earlier…everything. She even told him about Sandy, the coyote bite, and the car crash.

  He chuckled. “Wow, you hotwired a car only to crash it minutes later.”

  “I’m not much of a driver,” Chas admitted with a laugh.

  “Well, it is quite a story. Now I know why you’re not content with just sitting around waiting for things to happen. It explains a lot,” Liam said.

  Chas frowned. “You make me sound like a real troublemaker.”

  “Aren’t you?”

  “Hey! Not really.”

  Liam snorted. “Please. Save it for someone who’s less gullible than I am.”

  They burst out laughing, and Chas reflected that she hadn’t felt this relaxed in ages. All thanks to Liam. She dreaded her return to the infirmary, but Liam made no move to leave.

  In the end, they spent another half hour sitting on the bench talking nonsense. She could’ve stayed like that forever if it wasn’t for the sound of her name being called in frantic tones. “Chas? Where are you? Chas!”

  Chas twisted around in her seat and shaded her eyes. “Emily? What does she want with me?”

  “Whatever it is, it sounds urgent,” Liam said, standing up.

  Chas stood up as well, facing Emily who flew across the grounds at full speed. She halted in front of them, her face red with exertion. Damp curls clung to her forehead as she gasped, “Here you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  “What’s wrong?” Chas asked, her hands starting to shake with fear. Whatever Emily had to say, it couldn’t be good.

  “It’s Julia and Alvarez. Sanchez too.” Emily paused to take a deep breath, her lungs heaving after her headlong rush.

  “Did something happen to them?”

  Emily shook her head.

  “Tell me,” Chas pleaded, certain she was going to have a heart attack.

  “They’re back,” Emily said at last. “They came back.”

  “What?” Joy flooded Chas’ veins. “They’re here? Now?”

  Emily nodded. “And they brought a whole platoon of soldiers too.”

  “That’s great news,” Chas said, grinning from ear to ear.

  “That’s not all.” When Emily straightened up, her expression was grim. “Major Brown and his nephew are with them too.”

  “Major Brown?” Chas began shaking again. Her knees gave out and she collapsed onto the bench. “He’s back? I can’t believe it. I’d hoped he was gone for good.”

  “You and me both, but cheer up. At least, the others made it back safe and sound,” Emily said, sitting down next to her. “Besides, forget Major Brown. Julia’s asking for you. Don’t you want to see her?”

  “Of course, I want to see her,” Chas cried, jumping to her feet. “Where is she?”

  “Woah, there. Hold your horses,” Liam said. “I’m still responsible for you, and you’re in no shape to go running around.”

  “What do you mean? I have to go to her,” Chas said.

  “The only place you’re going is straight back to bed. You’ve been out long enough already,” Liam insisted, taking her elbow with a firm hand. “She can visit you there.”

  “What? No!” Chas cried. “I don’t want to wait until tonight’s visiting hours.”

  “You won’t have to, I promise. I’ll speak to Nurse Inge. She’ll make an exception for you,” Liam said with calm resolve as he steered her back to the infirmary.

  “Are you sure?” Chas asked, relaxing a little. Much as she hated to admit it, she was feeling tired, and her stitches were burning. Suddenly, her hospital bed looked very appealing.

  “I’ll take care of it. Trust me,” Liam said. “Emily can fetch her while I get you back inside. Deal?”

  Chas looked at Emily, who nodded. “I’ll bring her to you, don’t worry.”

  “In that case…deal.”

  Despite her injuries, Chas walked with a lighter step as she followed Liam. Emily was right. Forget Major Brown. Julia and the others were back. That was all that mattered.

  Chapter 15

  When Julia walked into the infirmary, Chas nearly jumped out of bed again, but Liam restrained her at the last moment.

  “Slow down, hot sauce. You can wait a few more seconds,” he admonished.

  “Hot sauce?” she said, eyeing him with raised eyebrows.

  He shot her a rueful smile. “Well, you’re kinda like chili sauce. Almost too hot to handle with a tendency to surprise a person, but…”

  “But?” she said.

  “Worth the trouble,” he answered with a wink. “In every way.”

  Chas blushed, not knowing what to say. She was rescued from a reply by Julia who appeared at her bedside with a thunderous look on her face.

  “I leave you alone for a couple of days, and this is what happens? Really?” Julia exclaimed, her hands planted on her hips.

  “Yeah, well. You know me. I can’t sit still,” Chas said, relieved when Liam made a discreet exit. This wasn’t going to be pretty.

  “I do know you, and I expected more from you. Running away in the middle of the night, stealing cars, nearly getting killed? You can stop me at any moment, you know,” Julia said. “I thought I taught you better than that. Alvarez too.”

  Chas sank lower into her cushions. “I didn’t mean to do any of those things.”

  “I know, but you did them anyway,” Julia said. “At some point, you have to grow up, young lady.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry,” Chas replied, surprised to find herself blinking back hot tears.

  “You’ve been saying that a lot, haven’t you?” Julia asked with a sigh, her look softening somewhat.

  “I’m sorry? Yes, more than I’d like to,” Chas admitted, swallowing hard on the lump in her throat.

  “Well, as long as you’ve learned your lesson,” Julia said. “Have you?”

  “Yes, I have. I promise, but enough of me,” Chas said, desperate to change the subject. It was bad enough being in everyone’s bad books. Not Julia’s too. “How did the mission go? I heard you found Major Brown.”

  Julia’s lips twisted into a grimace. “We did. Quite by accident.”

  “Tell me about it,” Chas said.

  With a sigh, Julia settled down and told her story, from the moment they left until they got back. “There you have it. Our magical trip to Washington.”

  “It’s all gone? The capital, the government. What about the president?” Chas asked, unable to believe her ears.

  “No one knows for sure.” Julia sat down on the edge of the bed. “Captain Williams says that the last he heard, Air Force One crashed somewhere in the Rockies. No word has been heard from them since. I can’t imagine anyone survived.”

  “Probably not,” Chas agreed. “And the army?”

  “There are pockets left, along with groups of survivors, of course. Supposedly, there’s a large safe zone in the North that’s still standing and going strong,” Julia said. “As for the rest…well. We’re it.”

  “What will happen now? To Grumps, I mean?” Chas asked. “Is this Captain Williams taking over?”

  “He’s taking over the troops, yes. He outranks Lieutenant Stokes and the rest of us, including Major Brown who’s National Guard, not army,” Julia replied.

  “That sucks,” Chas cried. “Grumps started this community. He shouldn’t be forced to step down just because of some army man sh
owing up on the scene demanding to be the boss.”

  “It’s not like that, I promise. Captain Williams is a very reasonable man. While he’s taking charge of the soldiers, your grandfather will remain the leader of this community. They talked it over this morning, and everyone agreed.” Julia smiled and squeezed Chas’ hand. “So, you can relax. Grumps isn’t going anywhere.”

  Chas blew out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad to hear that. Grumps worked hard for these people. He deserves his position.”

  “No one will deny that, sweetie. He’s a real hero,” Julia said. “He stepped up when nobody else either could or would. You can be proud.”

  “Oh, I am. But what about you? And Alvarez? Sanchez? Do you work for this Williams now?” Chas asked.

  Julia laughed. “Technically, yes. However, in light of the circumstances, we’ve all been given a choice. We can join Captain Williams’ forces, or we can join the civilian guard and work for Grumps. The rest of the National Guard too. It’s up to us to decide our fates now. We can even become ordinary civilians if we want.”

  “And? What did you decide?” Chas demanded, hoping that Julia would stay with her and Grumps. While Julia might think this Captain Williams was the bee’s knees, she was sure he’d abandon them at some point. He’d run off for a bigger cause, and that meant, she’d lose Julia. Alvarez and Sanchez too.

  “We haven’t decided yet. It’s a big decision,” Julia said.

  Chas nodded. “It is, but I hope you stay. We need you here. I need you.”

  Julia bit her lip. “We’ll see, sweetie. For now, we have bigger fish to fry.”

  Chas grew somber. “That’s true. It must be awful up on that mountain. I hope they still have food and water. I’m so worried about Lala and my mom. It’s driving me nuts.”

  “Yeah, it’s a good thing we found Captain Williams. With his forces, we can clear the mine shaft much faster, as well as any zombies wandering about. He’s also securing the route back to base, and helping to stock up on supplies and vehicles.”

  “What about Lieutenant Stokes? Is he still going into the safe zone with a team to clear the top entrance?” Chas asked.