by Sarra Cannon
Beside her, Parrish tensed and cleared her throat. “Are we going?”
Noah blinked and shook his head, as if coming out of a daydream. “Yeah, let’s head out,” he said. “We need to find a safe place to buckle down for the night.”
He nodded to Crash and the engine revved. The witch kept her eyes on Noah, watching as he waved to the survivors they’d helped.
As she knew he would, he dared one last glance back toward her, their eyes meeting for only a moment before she looked away, her cheeks flushed.
In an instant, the mood in the Humvee changed. Parrish’s confusion and doubt hovered near her like a dark cloud.
The burns on the witch’s arm tingled and she pulled it tight against her body, warming herself with its decay.
They were back on the road, but Noah was restless.
He kept glancing at the new girl, wondering if there was something she needed to say to him. They’d hardly spoken since she’d been brought into the group, but today when he got back in the truck, they’d shared something. He couldn’t quite explain it.
He’d felt connected to her somehow. He’d actually imagined, for the briefest moment, what it would have been like to kiss her.
There was no doubt she was beautiful, but he didn’t even know the first thing about her. Not even her name. Where had these feelings come from?
He couldn’t shake it. Maybe when they stopped again, he’d offer the front seat to Parrish again so he’d have a chance to talk to the girl. Get to know her. But the thought of being attracted to someone else made him uncomfortable. Wasn’t he finally getting somewhere with Parrish? He’d felt connected to her his whole life. He didn’t need to complicate it by thinking there was something special about the girl they’d picked up in D.C. He was probably just feeling the effects of their group’s connection. Nothing more.
He sighed and turned around.
He also couldn’t get the survivors of the burned town out of his mind. They were the first people the group had seen in a very long time, which gave him some hope that there were people still out there fighting to stay alive through the worst of this thing. But at the same time, these were grown men and women barely hanging on by a thread.
It sent chills up his arms. What if mankind didn’t survive this?
It was the first time the thought had really come across his mind. Before now, he’d known that the virus and everything that came with it had destroyed billions of lives. But still, he’d never once entertained the idea that humanity wouldn’t eventually win this fight.
Now that they were out in the thick of it, actually seeing what was going on out here, he was more afraid than ever.
As if to punctuate that fear, a group of hungry undead appeared in the distance, all huddled together at the edge of the highway.
“What’s going on up there?” he asked, pointing toward the group.
Crash squinted ahead. “Good call,” he said. He slowed the Humvee down just a little bit as they approached.
They moved closer and Noah suddenly realized what had brought this group out here during the hottest hour of the day.
There were six of them all huddled around a single object. A body. Noah watched as one of the zombies—a girl who couldn’t have been much older than him—reached into the stomach of the body on the ground. She tore something from its innards and shoved it into her mouth.
Noah looked away, feeling sick. “Jesus,” he said.
They were eating someone like buzzards on roadkill. He was going to be sick just thinking about it.
It was one thing to see hints of it on video or to get the feeling that this was happening, but to actually see it with his own eyes was something else entirely.
“What is it?” Parrish asked from the back. She leaned forward to try to get a better look, but he shook his head and held his hand out.
“You don’t want to see,” he said. He turned to Crash. “Just keep moving.”
Crash had been staring at the group, nearly bringing their vehicle to a stop so he could get a better look.
“That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Come on, man, seriously, let’s get out of here.”
Some of the zombies were starting to look up from the mangled corpse. They didn’t need that kind of attention. No matter how safe they felt inside this Humvee right now, they didn’t need to be taking any chances.
One of the zombies opened its mouth in a type of hiss and stood up, staring straight at Noah.
“I mean it, man, let’s go.”
Noah smacked Crash’s arm, which seemed to bring the guy out of whatever trance he’d been in. Crash nodded and tore his eyes away from the group of undead.
The Humvee sped away, but Noah couldn’t get the girl’s bloody face out of his mind. And he couldn’t stop wondering if the person she’d been eating was someone she used to know.
It was nearly an hour later when they finally stopped to take a break. Karmen had been in the back complaining that she had to pee for the past forty minutes, and apparently, Crash had finally had enough.
Plus, this was the first place they’d come to that didn’t look extremely dangerous. Most of the towns they’d passed had either been burning or crawling with rotters. This was the first place that didn’t show signs of total destruction, so they decided to take their chances.
They’d navigated through a maze of abandoned cars, but other than that, there was no sign that anything bad had even happened here. It just looked like a quiet afternoon.
Crash pulled into the parking lot of a small gas station. “I’m going to check and see if there’s any gas left in these pumps,” he said. “I think I can run the truck without gas, but it’s easier on me if I don’t have to. Karmen, there’s probably a bathroom inside, but be careful. Just because it looks quiet here doesn’t mean it’s safe.”
Noah opened his door, stretched his legs, and grabbed his bat. “I’ll go in and check it out,” he said. “Wait here.”
Karmen climbed out of the back of the truck. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, dancing around with her legs pressed together. “I’m going to pee my pants.”
“Better than getting eaten by a rotter,” Parrish said.
There was a definite smirk on her face, and Noah had to hide a smile of his own.
“I’m coming with you,” Karmen said.
“You don’t even have a weapon,” he said.
Karmen sighed and rolled her eyes. “You’ve seen what I can do,” she said. “I can handle myself.”
“You really think you’ll be able to concentrate in your current state?” Parrish asked her, stepping up to them with her sword in hand. “What are you planning to do? Pee on them to death?”
“Fine, clear them out if there’s any in there, but do it fast,” Karmen said. “I’m serious.”
Noah opened the door and let Parrish step in ahead of him. She held her sword in front of her and walked inside.
The place had a row of windows along the top of the main room which gave them a lot of light, but it was small and cramped and Noah knew one of those things could be hiding anywhere.
They went separate ways as they tiptoed around the rows of candy and chips and soda. Noah took the left side while Parrish checked the right. Neither of them said a word, but lately he had started to feel as if he could just tell what her next move would be. They were definitely in sync with each other, and it was a very cool feeling.
Their eyes met over the top of a shelf full of chips and Parrish shook her head. There were none on her side that she could see. He gave a single shake of his head, telling her that he didn’t see anything either.
“Are we good?” Karmen asked. She didn’t even try to keep her voice down.
Noah brought a finger to his mouth and she rolled her eyes.
Well, let her roll her eyes all she wants. He was keeping her safe. Did she really not see that, even after all they’d been through?
Somet
hing bumped around toward the back of the building near the bathrooms, and Noah snapped his attention away from Karmen.
It sounded like a bucket being kicked over.
He moved forward very slowly, his bat up and ready, and he did his best to listen for more footsteps or movement. Someone was definitely back there.
The moment he walked around the corner where the bathrooms were, a middle-aged man growled and lashed out at him, teeth bared and bloody. The guy had to have weighed at least two hundred and fifty pounds and he threw all of that weight onto Noah, sending him hard to the floor.
Noah’s bat fell and rolled under one of the shelving units. He cursed and lifted his arm in front of his face. The man bit down hard and Noah was about to punch the crap out of him when the glint of silver on Parrish’s sword flashed in his eyes.
The man’s head fell against Noah’s and clunked to the floor.
“That was gross,” he said.
“Sorry.” Parrish held her hand out to him. “He was biting you. Are you okay?”
He took her hand and stood. He studied his wrist. No marks except the blood from the man’s mouth. “I seem to be fine,” he said. He still hadn’t told them about his experiment with the razor blade in the bathroom. “I don’t think they can hurt me.”
“Don’t get too comfortable with that thought,” Parrish said. She pulled her hand away.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m just saying that they may not be able to bite through your skin, but that doesn’t mean they can’t hurt you,” she said. “There’s no need to get reckless.”
He nodded. She was right. The moment someone got cocky was when they put themselves into the most danger.
“Let’s check the rest of this place before Karmen pees her pants.”
“Would that really be such a bad thing?” she said, eyebrow raised.
He laughed and walked back to the restrooms. They were clear.
“Karmen, you can come back,” he said.
“Thank God,” she shouted, running past him and slamming the door behind her.
“I’m going to use the men’s room real quick, too,” he said. “Then I’ll head out and check on the others. See you back out there.”
Noah stepped into the men’s room and closed the door. It was pitch dark in there and he hadn’t thought to bring a flashlight or anything.
The hairs on his arm kept raising every time he thought of the possibility of someone standing behind him in the dark. It made it hard to pee.
Finally, though, he finished and headed back to where there was a lot more light.
He didn’t want to admit to anyone else that he’d been afraid in the dark all alone, but it was true. It gave him a very strange feeling, like he was being watched.
When he came outside, the door to the women’s room was closed and Karmen was ransacking the shelves of the store, tossing everything she could into plastic bags. Through the windows, he could see Crash pumping gas and looking at something on his cell phone as if nothing had changed in the world. His ability to power anything he wanted was incredible, and Noah smiled. At least they had gas.
But where was the new girl?
Noah walked outside and glanced inside the back of the Humvee, expecting her to be in there, but it was totally empty.
He turned completely around, hand lifted against the fading sun. There was no sign of her. Weird. And dangerous. She shouldn’t be anywhere all by herself.
“Hey, did you see where the girl went?” he asked.
Crash turned around and shrugged. “No. Did she go inside with the other girls?”
“Not that I saw,” he said. “I’m gonna walk around real quick and see if I can find her. I just want to make sure she’s safe.”
“Okay,” Crash said. “I’ll be here.”
Noah nodded and looked around again, trying to guess which way she might have gone. There was a row of shops across the street. Maybe she went over there to look for some new clothes? He’d overheard the girls in the back talking about wanting new stuff to wear. But why would she risk going alone?
He tried to ignore the part of him that had been hoping for a moment alone with her. After the way she’d looked at him earlier, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. He couldn’t explain it.
Out of habit, he looked both ways before jogging across the street to the row of shops, and movement in one of the windows caught his eye. Long black hair? He couldn’t be sure.
He kept his bat up and ready on his shoulder as he pushed into the clothing store. With his foot, he slid a trashcan in front of the door to keep it open. Just in case.
When he walked inside, he felt something strange. Off. But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He didn't like this place and he definitely didn’t want to stay very long.
“Are you here?” He kept his voice to a whisper and waited near the entrance, half-expecting a group of rotters to come shambling out of the darkness. He really hated that he didn’t know her name. They were going to have to do something about that. He couldn’t just keep calling her you or girl.
Inside the store, no one moved or made a sound.
He knew he hadn’t imagined the movement. But what the hell was she doing in here?
Reluctantly, he moved away from the door and ventured further into the shop. It was all racks of women’s clothing, so maybe he’d been right after all. It was a stupid time to go shopping, though. What was she thinking?
“Hello?” he said again, a little louder this time.
At first, he didn’t hear anything and almost turned around to go back to the gas station. But then, a faint cry sounded on his right. He turned toward it and moved quickly, terrified she’d gotten hurt or bitten.
When he found her, she was sitting on the floor, her back pressed against the wall of the shop. There was a shopping bag full of clothes at her feet.
Noah crouched down beside her, frantic. “Are you okay? Are you bit?”
She looked up and tears flowed down her face. Something inside him softened.
He looked for any sign of blood or struggle, but there was nothing. What was she doing down here?
“Hey,” he said. He suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to touch her face. He wanted to wipe the tears away from her eyes and kiss her cheek. He wanted to protect her above all things and tell her that everything was going to be okay.
He didn’t understand it, but he was suddenly so drawn to her that he couldn’t even take his eyes from hers to make sure there were no rotters around.
She reached out for his hand and closed her fingers around his. “Oh Noah,” she said, her voice a mere whisper that sent shivers down his spine. “Will you sit with me?”
He couldn’t do anything but what she asked. He set his bat on the floor and moved next to her against the wall. She entangled her fingers with his and put her head on his shoulder.
“I came over here just to pick up a few things,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking about being alone. I’d been alone for so long, it didn’t seem like a big deal. The whole town seems quiet. I thought it would be safe.”
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said. “I don’t know what we would have done if you’d been hurt.”
They’d never spoken so openly to each other and he wasn’t even sure where this was coming from, but there was something about seeing those tears on her face that had changed him.
The more she pressed her body into his, the more right it felt to be close to her. How had he not seen just how beautiful she was before now?
She lifted her head from his shoulder and he reached out with his free hand to wipe the tears from her cheek.
“I’m so glad you’re with me, Noah,” she said. Her black eyes shone with tears. “I need you.”
“We all need each other,” he said. His heart tightened. He shouldn’t be in here alone with her like this. It felt wrong, but at the same time, he couldn’t help himself.
His heart beat a little faster as she gr
ipped his hand. He couldn’t stop staring at her lips. He leaned toward her, unable to control himself or think about what it meant. He just wanted to be closer to her.
A rack of clothes a few feet away toppled over and Noah grabbed his bat and stood up, prepared for a group of rotters. Instead, Parrish stood there, staring at them. He called her name, but before he could get to her, she ran from the store, kicking the trash can on her way out.
When they got back on the road, Parrish sat up front with Crash. She refused to look back and see if Noah and the new girl were snuggled up together the way she’d found them in the clothing store.
Her heart was all the way in her toes. She didn’t want to admit just how much she was growing attached to Noah. She’d always been attracted to him, but lately it had seemed like there was something more growing between them. The other night on the roof, he’d really been there for her. Maybe she had read way too much into it and he was just being her friend in a rough time.
Parrish crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared out the window.
It was a dangerous time to let herself get attached to anyone, anyway. No one knew if they were going to be alive two hours from now, much less long enough to have a real relationship. It was stupid.
She would be much better off concentrating on survival and not letting silly things like this bother her.
Good luck with that.
She was already bothered, and nothing was going to change that. What exactly was going on with them in that store? Was he about to kiss her?
She tried her best to shrug it off, but every time the girl laughed or she heard the low rumble of Noah’s voice in the back of the truck, her shoulders tensed.
“Do you have any music we could listen to?” she asked Crash.
He glanced at her and smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”
He reached into a small pocket on the inside of his green army jacket. The jacket was hardly recognizable as its old self with the sleeves torn off, but it seemed to look right on Crash. He had a bit of military spirit about him, even if he did like to break the rules. It made him both complicated and awesome at the same time.
