Lena sighed. It broke her heart a little to see the others suffering so. As she stared out the window, she let her mind wander somewhere that it hadn’t been in a very long time. She wished for a minute to have the understanding to know how or why things had happened as they had. If only there was a way to know that what had happened to these people could somehow be reversed.
Staring out the window, she allowed her guard to drop, even if it was only for a minute. Without any warning, an arm landed on her shoulder and she turned with a tremor. One of the others had somehow snuck up on her and had grabbed her arm. She couldn’t tell if he was aware of who she was or if he was merely looking for a fight.
He mumbled and pulled on her arm aggressively. Struggling, Lena shook her arm violently, trying to get him off. His strength, like that of all the others, increased and her panic began to rise. She knew she shouldn’t scream and her strength was nothing compared to his. Nothing mattered more to her than getting out of his grasp.
“Free man.” The man’s mumbling finally became comprehensible. She froze instantly when she heard him mention the leader.
“There is no way I am going back to that man,” she sneered through her teeth. His advances became more aggressive and he pulled her towards the door. “Let me go!” she snarled, conscious that there could be more others around. The last thing she needed was to draw more attention to the situation.
Looking around frantically, she reached down and grabbed what looked like the remnants of an old chair. She took the wooden leg and began beating the man’s back.
Turning, he focused his eyes on her. She hesitated when she saw how intensely he stared at her. “Free man,” he said again, and Lena knew what she had to do. She smashed the man in the face with the chair leg. Cringing, she heard his face crack under the blow. To her surprise, he didn’t let go of her arm. She struggled again, pulling on her arm. When his grip didn’t loosen, she dropped the chair leg and began clawing at the man’s hand, trying to loosen his grip.
He began pulling her from the room, her feet slowly dragging across the floor.
“Damn it!” she cursed, reaching to grab the chair leg again, but she had been pulled just out of reach. The man turned towards her, his face bleeding and disfigured from where she had hit him. She cringed at his features. He seemed to smile at her as he tried to pull her from the room, his mouth now missing a few teeth.
As she struggled against him pulling back away from him, he was suddenly struck from behind. She watched in shock as he fell to the ground, lifeless. She didn’t stay around long enough to see the other that now tried to grab at her.
She ran past him, thankful that her first attacker had fallen onto the second man. Opening the stairwell door, she ran down the stairs without a second glance. Her heart raced as she turned to see the man following closely behind her. She made it down two flights of stairs before he grabbed her waist and dragged her to the ground.
Clawing at her attacker, she realized that she was coming to her end. Emotionally she had been pushed to her limit, but physically she was even more drained. She had had little to eat since being captured and the wound on her head had caused a lot of blood loss. She knew there wasn’t much fight left in her. Although her body was screaming for her to stop, even if it was just for a minute, she just couldn’t do it. She was never going to give in to one of these creatures.
Shaking her body rapidly, she vaguely heard her name being called out.
“Lena!”
Opening her eyes, she looked around, still trying to push the other man off her. She heard him. Jasper was somewhere nearby. The stairwell was dark, but she knew she heard his voice somewhere. All she needed to do was get away from this man. Gathering her strength, she lifted her leg and struck the other in the one place she knew would get him off her. Every man, whether still human or other, was still affected by a kick to the groin. She watched as he bent over in pain. Her heart soared as she hurried to push him off her while he was still in shock.
“Jasper, I’m here!” she yelled, looking wildly around for his face. For a moment she wondered if she had dreamed his voice.
The other man reached up and grabbed her shoulder. She turned and lashed out, trying to push his hand off her. She looked into his face for the first time and she was forced to look again.
Jasper stared back at her.
His face was partially covered by the old coat that he had thrown over his shoulders. He smelled atrocious, and were it not for his clear, rational gaze, she would never have suspected he was not one of the others.
Lena threw herself into his arms and held him tightly. “Oh, Jasper,” she whispered as tears flowed down her cheeks. He held her tightly and for a moment, time stood still. Lena freely let the tears flow as she felt Jasper run his hands up and down her back.
He pulled back and looked at her. She leaned forwards thinking he was coming close to kiss her. Her eyes closed momentarily when she felt his hands running along her body.
She opened her eyes quickly and pushed him away. “I’m fine, you idiot,” she grumbled.
The laugh that escaped his lips was the last thing she expected to hear. He roughly reached forwards and pulled her mouth to his at last. His lips searched hers and for a moment she saw stars.
The kiss ended almost as quickly as it had started. “Trust me,” he said. “I want to kiss your entire body, but I smell like a yak and when I take you—and I will take you—it will be somewhere that I can spend all night doing so.”
She was speechless. All her apprehensions of whether he felt anything for her were gone. As he stood and pulled her to her feet, she felt heat rush through her as he smiled.
“Now, let’s get the hell out of here.”
He pulled her down the stairs. As she followed close behind, she wondered if her feet worked at all, as her heart made her seem to float with excitement.
Feeling a rush of air against her cheeks, she shook her head and looked around. Jasper was pulling her so quickly through the stairway that most of what she saw was a blur. Her heart sank when she heard footsteps from above, a lot of footsteps, coming towards them.
Looking up, she saw that they had made it all the way to the first floor. The door was missing and they could see the chaos through the doorway. The floor no longer resembled the office building that it once had been. The others had made camp there. Most of them were outside near the tree that was now ablaze. There were a few scavengers inside rummaging through what was left behind.
Jasper kept his eyes forward, assessing the way out. The sound of footsteps kept getting closer and Lena got a little nervous.
He seemed unfazed by the footsteps that she knew were coming down the stairs. Turning towards her, he quickly pushed her against the wall. Her back pressed against the hard surface as he slowly pulled her down to the ground with him. He pulled his black robe around both of them, encapsulating them both in a protective bubble. The hood covered his head and he shielded her with his body. His arm encircled her as he pressed his body closer to hers.
“Don’t move.” He looked down at her, their eyes meeting in the darkness. His face was covered with smudges of dirt and blood. He stared at her and time seemed to stand still. Her heart raced, but not from fear.
Their eyes remained locked as the footsteps reached their level. Without a second glance, the soldiers ran past them, heading out the door. Lena’s breath caught in her throat as she continued to stare into his eyes. “Ah, fuck it,” he said, and suddenly his mouth was on hers.
His lips were soft but firm and he continued to press his advantage. His tongue invaded and she moaned as he explored her mouth with his tongue. He was passionate but not forceful and she welcomed every second of the kiss. Her hands explored his chest as she let her fingers travel along the ridges of his muscles. And he was muscular.
Pulling away quickly, he grabbed her chin and held her gaze with his. He didn’t need to say anything. Releasing her, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the d
oorway. Bending down, he grabbed some scrap fabric, something that at one time had probably been clothes. He threw it over her shoulders and rubbed some dirt on her face and arms. She was already coated in old blood so she had no doubt that she looked as bad as she felt.
“Listen to me.” He looked at her intently. “I need you to follow my lead and do as I do.” She nodded and swallowed her fear. She had been able to avoid confrontations with others back home, but she had never had to actually disguise herself as one. Looking and smelling the way she did now, she hoped the others would not be able to distinguish her from one of their own.
Jasper stepped out into the crowded room, making sure to avoid the obviously aggressive others. Lena took one final deep breath before she stepped out into the room as well, trying not to remain too close to Jasper. The only time Lena had seen others in pairs was when they fought.
Angry with herself for once again thinking of the others as something less than human, she pushed on. No one paid any attention to them with all the smoke billowing around the building, and she was doubly glad that Jasper had—as she was now certain—started the fire.
The smoke circled around the building and the others watched in awe. It seemed as if the smoke had hypnotized or sedated them. Jasper grabbed her arm and tugged her out of the building. The smell from the smoke was overpowering. There was more than just a tree burning now. Although her clothes smelled terrible, Lena covered her mouth with the disgusting cloth and tried to suppress her gag reflex.
“They are burning bodies,” Jasper said evenly. He continued to tug her around the building. The smoke hid their movements as they tried to leave the area.
As they moved around the building, Lena saw the free man across the field. He was ordering many of the others around and Lena couldn’t help but be astonished that they were in fact taking the orders. She had never seen them work with such coordination. Granted, the free man had created some kind of an army, something she couldn’t even have imagined a few days ago. There he stood, yelling orders and trying to get his people to remain calm under such conditions.
Jasper suddenly stood taller and Lena looked around, suspecting that they had been seen. She searched the faces around them and met a gaze she wished she hadn’t. The free man had stopped giving orders and stood motionless as he faced them. His gaze held hers for a second and then shifted to Jasper. Lena watched as he slowly pulled the hood from his face and stood taller. Their eyes met as they acknowledged each other, something that Lena didn’t understand.
As suddenly as if he’d conjured it from the air itself, Jasper drew a gun from under his robes. He pointed it directly at the free man who had also pulled out a gun. They stood, weapons aimed at each other in silent threat. Jasper grabbed Lena and pushed her behind him, blocking most of her view. She watched the others come to life as they saw their leader’s weapon. None of his warriors had weapons, but their massive size made up for the lack. Lena remembered their strength all too well. This was going to get ugly very quickly, but Lena couldn’t keep her eyes off the electric tension that now flowed between these two warriors.
The free man’s other hand went up in a silent halting motion, stopping his soldiers from moving any further toward them. Jasper and the free man continued to stare at one another, neither of them altering their aim.
“Jasper Anderson.” The free man said his name with disturbing familiarity. Lena’s gaze darted between the two men, and she was not sure what to think anymore.
Chapter Nine
Jasper didn’t hesitate and cocked his pistol. “Eric, I shot you once,” he said, his voice unwavering. “Don’t think I won’t do it again. This time I will hit something a little more vital.” He smiled as he shifted his aim from the free man’s head directly to his crotch.
Lena didn’t know what kind of history they had together but she wanted nothing more than to get out of this mess as quickly as possible. She had seen what Jasper could do with his weapon but they were outnumbered and she had no way of defending herself, let alone helping him.
The free man’s laughter echoed through the trees. Every member of his army stood silently waiting for his orders.
“Run when I give the signal,” Jasper whispered to her, barely loud enough for her to hear. She didn’t see his mouth move. His body remained still. She almost wondered if she had heard him at all. Eric’s laughter tapered off and she watched as he gave the same sinister smile she had seen back in his throne room.
Almost as soon as his laughter stopped, Eric shouted. “Kill them!”
Without hesitation, Jasper opened fire on the others. Lena stood rooted to the spot, shocked by his precision and accuracy. “Now! Go!” he shouted at her.
Angry with herself for not recognizing his signal, she turned and ran away from the gunfire. She ran as quickly as she could manage, ignoring the pounding in her head. She was dehydrated and the wound on her head still hadn’t been cleaned. Suddenly, she felt Jasper grasp her elbow, helping her weave through the buildings. She quickly looked back, seeing only a few of the others following behind them.
The others didn’t carry weapons and Lena’s wasn’t sure if they even knew how to use them. Those that were able to keep up with their pace appeared quite menacing. Shockingly, Jasper pointed the gun near her head and opened fire.
“Have you lost your mind?” she screamed as she quickly pulled out of his arms and away from the flying bullets. An ear-piercing scream came from behind her as Jasper reached down and grabbed her arm again, not even missing a step as he continued to pull her along. He didn’t blink. Behind her she saw one of the others screaming, a bullet hole through his eye. Her stomach clenched as she gagged. She had almost lost her life and Jasper had shot barely past her, knowing his aim would be so accurate that he would miss her completely.
He continued to pull her along. By now, Lena couldn’t see any of the others, but she could still hear them chasing behind. The light was dimming and although most others were not very intelligent, she suspected many of them could smell and hunt as well as any animal. She knew that Jasper wouldn’t risk stopping merely because they could no longer see their pursuers.
To her surprise, he dragged her into what looked like an old water pipe. He pushed her low to the ground and positioned himself near the end as a lookout. Lena knew better than to question him and remained silent. The sun had fallen to the horizon and it was slowly getting dark. She listened as intensely as Jasper did, her heart pounding in her ears. They could hear some of the others but it was hard to determine if they were still searching for them or if they were just others who lived in the area, going about their usual business…whatever that might be.
Before she could finish her thought, Jasper got down to her level again. He grabbed her chin with his thumb and forefinger and pulled her mouth to his. His lips were warm and her breath caught in her throat as she leaned into his kiss. Slowly she opened her mouth to his kiss, allowing his tongue in to explore. She heard his breathing speed up as he released her chin and plunged his hand into her hair. Although she knew it was still caked with blood and dirt, she felt more desirable than a model on a tropical island. His kiss made her forget where she was. He made her forget the danger that lurked around the corner.
When he pulled back, he didn’t say anything. He grabbed her arm again and pulled her back out into the street.
Just as they ran out of the ditch, they were attacked from behind. One of the others had found them, and grabbed at Jasper. The man bared his teeth and Lena screamed as she saw him claw and bite at Jasper. He was a large man but he wasn’t as quick as his uninfected opponent. Jasper twisted away as the man’s fingernails scrabbled desperately onto his arm. Lena could see the blood running down his bicep as the sharp nails dug into Jasper’s skin. Writhing away, Jasper dodged the other man’s blows. Quicker than she would have thought possible, Jasper pulled a large knife and sliced the man’s neck open.
She gasped as she heard the man’s gurgled cries. Jasper struck agai
n, cutting through the man’s windpipe, making an actual scream impossible for him.
“Let’s move,” he said, and pulled her along again. It wasn’t long before they reached another cluster of homes. Even in the dimming light she could see a motorcycle hidden among the debris. It was becoming apparent that Jasper was quite good at hiding vehicles in plain sight.
“What? No truck?” she teased as she hopped up behind him.
“Hold on,” he whispered and revved the engine.
The motor was very loud and she knew that they needed to get moving quickly before the others found them again.
Just as she had expected, through the streets she could hear the groans and cries of the others, attracted to the sound of the engine.
It was too late, though. Jasper pulled the motorcycle out of the area, expertly maneuvering the bike over the pavement. Jasper opened up the throttle and they easily reached a hundred miles an hour, quickly escaping the mess Lena had gotten herself into.
She pressed her face into Jasper’s back and let the tears run down her cheeks. She never wanted to let go and this time she wouldn’t.
* * * * *
It wasn’t long before Jasper turned off the highway. She knew being on the highway meant putting them at high risk in terms of visibility. If the free man was still following them, then being on the highway meant being in danger and ultimately, no matter how fast they drove, they would eventually run out of gas. The best thing for them was to find a small side road or even to avoid roads at all costs.
The Oasis Page 10
