by A. J. Snyder
"I'll take the first shift," I call out.
The three guys grumble in response, pissed off that they didn't call dibs first.
"Wake us up if anything changes," Carter mutters, walking out the door with Owen trailing behind him.
"I'll take second shift. I'll be back in a few hours," Jack tells me.
I give him a nod before he goes, half hoping that he'll sleep through his shift, but knowing he won't. That man is like a machine and runs on clockwork. His body seems to know the exact amount of sleep he has, and he can wake up at the same time every day with his internal mental alarm.
I would say it's a Marine thing, but it's more like it's a Jack thing.
Yawning again, I sit back in my chair and study the beautiful and mysterious goddess before me. The woman has occupied a lot of my time lately, and I can't say that I mind in the least bit. She's been a much needed distraction for all of us through the mundane pile of shit that is now our lives.
As a doctor, I had grown accustomed to running on hardly any energy and little sleep. My life was busy and good. Fuck, it was good.
The night that everything went to shit will forever be with me as a daily reminder…and a freaking nightmare.
My fiancée, who was also a doctor at the same hospital I worked at, called me on the phone. I could hear the alarms and sirens going off in the background as Sarah was screaming into the receiver at me.
I was woken up out of a dead sleep, exhausted after working a double shift, and I could only comprehend bits and pieces of what she was saying.
People were dying…coming back to life…killing others…eating people…like zombies…the flu…the vaccine…something was wrong with the new vaccine…so much blood…
I listened to her die on the phone that night, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. Sarah's screams are forever burned inside my mind, and I'll never forget them.
I lost my fiancée and my entire world as I knew it that night.
And I've never been able to forgive myself for not staying at the hospital. I could have pulled a triple. I could have been there for her, protected her…or at least tried to.
But maybe I would be dead too at this point. So, really, all of this regret might just be moot.
I'd stumbled out of my house after the phone call abruptly ended, still in my pajamas, and trying to make sense of everything. But the neighborhood was in pure chaos. People were packing up their shit and hitting the road, leaving everything and even loved ones, in some cases, behind.
The world had become a different place in the matter of just a few days.
I left the house I had a thirty-year mortgage on and traveled north with no destination in mind. When I ran out of gas and couldn't find a station to fill it at, I traveled on foot.
I found a large group of people, and we all headed in the same direction. Our group dwindled down slowly from illness, attacks and other injuries. I ended up being one of the last men standing in a group of four — the same group I'm with now.
We became brothers overnight. Even though we weren't related by blood, we had the same goal in mind — keep each other safe.
We happened upon River's Edge Farm in northern PA by complete accident. But what a happy accident that was. The farm had everything we needed and then some. The prior owners abandoned it. We had no idea why, but could easily figure it out. They were either running too or perhaps looking for their loved ones.
The owners haven't returned since, but we would gladly share the farm with them if they ever did.
We've made a life for ourselves here.
And now we have one more addition to our close-knit group.
I peer down at Sleeping Beauty. Her pupils didn't indicate she had a concussion, so there's really no medical reason causing her unconsciousness. Sometimes the body simply shuts down when the mind is overloaded by too many things. It's as if it's running in protection mode. And I would say she probably needed a lot of protection against the now cruel and vicious world out there.
Even though I've had a couple of years now to grieve the loss of my fiancée, sometimes it feels like eternity wouldn't even be long enough.
And the girl here stirs something inside of me that I thought was gone forever. It's not lust…at least not yet…but a feeling of wanting to protect her from everything bad in the world. It's as if she might be another chance at happiness for me, and I have to grab it and hold onto it for as long as I possibly can.
Gently, I trail my thumb over her jaw and caress her soft cheek. I wonder where she came from and if she has anything or anyone to go back to. The thought of her not being here tomorrow or the next day makes me physically ill. She's become such an integral part of our lives in such a short time that I can't imagine her leaving.
I hope she stays.
But what am I even thinking? I mean, seriously…four guys and one girl. It could never work out. Right?
Just as I'm contemplating that question, Sleeping Beauty stirs. Her eyebrows furrow as her breathing increases. She's having a nightmare, and I suddenly want to jump in there and save her like her real-life prince.
"Shh," I soothe her, brushing away a stray hair from her face.
She recoils from my touch, and I realize I'm making the nightmare worse. So, I sit back in my chair and watch her carefully.
A whimper escapes her full lips and slowly morphs into an ear-piercing, agonizing scream. Then, she bolts upright in bed, her eyes darting around the room…before they land on me.
CHAPTER 5
TRINITY
I AWAKE WITH a start. Someone's screaming, and that can only mean one thing — something found us.
We're not safe.
We're never safe.
It takes me a moment to realize the scream is coming from my mouth. The noise dies quickly as I sit up and my eyes shift around the room.
I must be dreaming.
I'm in someone's bedroom, and I'm lying on a comfy mattress with sheets and blankets. I haven't had this much comfort in so long that I almost forgot what a blanket against my skin felt like.
I wrap my hands around the soft material, afraid to let go. Afraid to wake up from this wonderful dream.
Movement out of the corner of my eye causes a gasp to catch in my throat as I see a man in a chair beside the bed.
"W-who are you?" I ask. My voice sounds foreign to my own ears. It sounds scratchy and feral.
He holds his hands up in a placating gesture. "My name is Lucas."
He opens his mouth to say more, but suddenly the door bursts open, and a giant of a man comes rushing in.
Terrified, I bolt out of the bed, tripping in the blankets and falling flat on my face before scrambling up and moving to the dark corner of the room. There are a few candles on the other side of the room by the men, and the light illuminates their faces, albeit handsome faces.
The one that just came through the door is twice the size of the guy by my bedside. Maybe even triple the size. He's huge like some kind of bearded mountain man that could break me in half without breaking a sweat.
I hold my hands out in front of me and yell, "Stay back! Stay away from me!"
The big, bearded guy takes a step back and gives Lucas a sideways glance and a frown. Lucas clears his throat and slowly stands up, but doesn't move an inch towards me. "This is Jack. He's the one who found you in the woods," he explains as if the heroic deed will make me trust the oversized man.
But his tactic does work a little bit, because I'm not so fearful of the giant now. He saved my life, so I owe him the benefit of the doubt at least…and to not try to gouge his eyeballs out if he comes near me.
"What's going on?" I hear another voice ask.
Two more men barrel into the room, their eyes growing wide when they see me huddled in the dark corner like a frightened animal.
"Whoa, she's awake," the one with jet-black hair says. He's shirtless, covered in tattoos with a six pack — no, make that an eight pack — with a perfect V visible
from his low-riding sweatpants. "Hiya," he says with a big grin. "Name's Carter."
The other one with black-rimmed glasses and sleepy, bedhead hair gives me a shy smile and says, "I'm Owen. Nice to finally meet you." He's also shirtless and putting all sorts of muscles on display.
I glance around at the four of them. They're all so different and all so damn brutally handsome.
Yep, I'm definitely dreaming.
I pinch my arm and then hiss in pain when it actually hurts. Okay, so maybe I am awake after all. But how the hell did I even end up here? "W-where am I?" I ask no one in particular.
"You're in our home," Lucas speaks up. "Like I said, Jack here found you in the woods. You were in one of his traps he has set up for large game." He takes a tentative step forward, and I allow it. "You were unconscious, dehydrated and cut up pretty bad."
He motions to my forehead, and my hand instantly goes there, remembering how I hit my head against a rock. Instead of a gash, though, I feel little spiky stitches. He stitched me up?
I swallow hard, and it sticks in my dry throat as I try to remember what happened to me after I fell.
Henry.
"Who's Henry?" Lucas asks.
My eyes snap up to him. I didn't even realize I had said the name out loud.
"Is he your boyfriend, husband?" Jack demands, his hands curling into fists at his sides. "Why didn't he save you or come back for you?"
I shrink back at the tone of his voice, and Carter puts his hands on the big man's shoulder and says, "Chill the fuck out, dude. You're scaring her."
Jack's frown deepens, and he takes yet another step back, his dark eyes watching me carefully.
"H-Henry was m-my boss at the elementary school I worked at," I explain, keeping my attention on Jack. "Our group…" I swallow back my emotions and wrap my arms defensively around myself. "Our group was slowly dwindling down, and it was just the two of us left." I let out a shaky sigh. "I don't even know if he made it."
Jack studies me for a while before he answers with, "I'll keep an eye out for him when I go back into the woods. If I find him, I'll keep him safe and bring him back with me."
I'm surprised by his kindness, but he did find me in the woods and bring me here, after all. Maybe I jumped to conclusions too fast because of his massive size. "Thank you," I whisper to him, and the corner of his lips lift a little. It's not a smile, but it's better than the frown he's been sporting.
Lucas looks back at the others and says, "Let's give her some room and let her rest. We can talk more in the morning."
The guys grumble in response but slowly exit the room.
He must be the leader, I conclude.
Lucas stays in the room as the rest leave. His kind, blue eyes make me feel safe, and I slowly begin to unwrap my hands from their protective grip around my middle. My eyes fall on the medical bag on the nightstand and then dart back to him. "Are you a doctor?"
He nods. "Yeah…or I guess I was," he says, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "You were a teacher?" he asks.
I nod in response. "I taught fourth grade." Tears fill my eyes and my lower lip trembles. "I miss my old life so much sometimes it hurts."
"I know exactly what you mean." He gives me a sad smile. "Hey, look, I'm gonna let you go back to sleep. I'll just be downstairs on the couch."
The thought of him leaving the room scares me. I feel safe with him for reasons I can't even comprehend right now. "Wait," I call out as he moves towards the door. "This is your room?" I ask.
"Yeah."
"Then you should stay here. I can…I can sleep in the chair or on the floor or…"
His eyes widen in surprise when he gets my hidden meaning. "How about you take the bed, and I'll grab a sleeping bag for me?"
I nod in agreement to his suggestion and fight against the smile threatening to surface. I'm glad I didn't have to practically beg him to stay. And I'm certainly glad I don't have to explain why or how he makes me feel so damn safe.
I slowly climb into the bed as he goes to the closet and pulls out a rolled up sleeping bag. He spreads the bag onto the floor beside the bed and lays down, making himself comfortable.
Without even being able to stop myself, I inch over to the edge of the bed and peer down at him. His handsome face and bright blue eyes gaze up at me. And when he flashes me a dazzling smile, I can't even stop the butterflies from erupting in my stomach.
"Thank you for staying," I whisper to him.
"You're welcome," he whispers back. And then his brows furrow as if he's thinking about something important. "Can I ask you your name?"
"It's Trinity."
"Trinity," Lucas says, my name rolling around in his mouth like it belongs there. "We've been calling you Sleeping Beauty. So it's nice to finally have a name to match the pretty face."
My mouth opens in an "O" at his words. And when Lucas realizes what he just said, he tries to backtrack. "I mean, um…uh…"
"It's okay," I tell him with a smile. It's nice to hear someone call me pretty when I've been lost in the woods for months and probably look like grim death. "Goodnight, Lucas," I tell him before lying back on the bed and crawling under the covers.
"Goodnight, Trinity."
With a smile on my face, it doesn't take me long to fall into a deep sleep.
CHAPTER 6
LUCAS
I WAKE UP early that morning happy and in a great mood. That's a first…for a long time.
Sleeping Beauty is finally awake, and she has a name — Trinity. It's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.
I roll up my sleeping bag and glance over at Trinity, who is fast asleep. I can already smell breakfast wafting from downstairs, and it smells divine. Carter sure as hell knows how to wake up the people in this house.
We don't have feasts for breakfast very often, only on special occasions, and this is certainly a special occasion.
I watch Trinity as her nose does a little wiggle, and it reminds me of Samantha on Bewitched.
She stretches and lets out a low groan that sends a tingling sensation shooting straight to my cock.
Down boy, I think to myself. I'm already fighting back morning wood. I don't need to add anything else to the mix right now, or I'll be a walking boner all damn day.
She blinks her stormy, gray eyes open and flashes me a radiant smile that has my breath catching in my throat. "Morning," I manage to tell her with a grin.
"Good morning." She sits up slowly and glances around the room that is now illuminated with natural light. "I don't remember the last time I slept so well," she says with a sad smile.
I nod in understanding. Even though we weren't on the run for as long as she was, I know exactly what she means. It's tough out there in the real world. River's Edge Farm is like a utopia compared to everywhere else.
"I think Carter's got breakfast started. If you want to take a shower and —," I start, but she doesn't let me finish.
"Shower?" she squeaks out in surprise with big, wide eyes.
"Yeah. Thanks to Owen's amazing system he rigged up using solar panels, it supplies power to the pump in the well and the hot water heater in the basement." I can't even try to explain Owen's DIY solar panels and other ingenious inventions. All I know is that it feels damn good to take a hot shower every day. "Just don't stay in too long, and it should stay hot the entire time," I explain to her.
I walk over to the adjoining bathroom and open the door. "Towels are under the sink. And there's some handmade goat milk soap on the tub that you can use."
She stares at me in awe. "Wow, shower, towels and soap? You guys are living in a life of luxury. You know that, right?"
I chuckle and nod. "Oh yeah. We know how damn lucky we are." I look at her dirty, threadbare clothes and tell her, "We wash our clothes in the river and hang them up to dry. But I think the previous owners might have something you could wear."
"Wow, thanks. New clothes sound amazing. Wearing the same outfit every day for months gets pretty old," she says
quietly.
She stands, and I stare at her loose shirt and sweatpants that have definitely seen better days. "I'll go try to find you some clothes."
She gently rests her hand on my shoulder for a moment as she walks by. "Thank you, Lucas. For everything," she tells me.
I want to tell her she doesn't have to keep thanking me, but I love the sound of her voice and her small touches, so I keep my damn mouth shut.
I watch Trinity disappear into the bathroom and stare at the door for a while. I don't know what the other guys are going to say about her staying here, but there's no way I want to let her go now. I want to keep her. Maybe forever…if she'll let us, that is.
We live by simple rules in this house, and that is to claim what you want. If you want a can of beans or fruit, you claim it, and it's yours. I have about half a mind to claim Trinity, but I don't know how I really feel about that. And I can only imagine how she would feel about that…
She'd most likely be turned off by my caveman way of thinking.
First of all, Trinity is so much more important than food or supplies, even though they are vitally important to all of us now. She's a beautiful human being, and it just feels wrong to stake my claim on her.
Nevertheless, I might have to do just that so the other guys stay away. Hell, it's been nearly two years since any of us have even seen a woman. I can only imagine that we're going to be all clambering for her attention…and affection.
Walking down the hall, I go into one of the spare bedrooms of the large farmhouse and sift through the belongings of the former owners. We kind of stuffed everything we didn't need in this room, and I'm glad we kept it all. There are some women's dresses, pants, shoes, the whole nine yards. I grab a big box of stuff and carry it back to my room.
I set the box outside of the bathroom door and holler over the sound of water, "The clothes are out here, Trinity."
