The next thing I show Levi is how to properly hold a knife. His grip is a little weak and uncertain, but he takes one look at Lucy, sets his shoulders, and tries his hardest to fend me off. I have to correct his grip on the knife several times, and he finally throws it down in frustration. “I can’t do it!” he shouts, startling a few people nearby. “I’m useless and Lucy’s gonna die because of me.”
I put my hand on his shoulder and give it what I hope is a comforting squeeze. “Levi, this is your first training session. Don’t let this get to you. We’re as safe here as we can possibly be, so you have plenty of time to train. In a few weeks, you’ll be able to do what I can, and you’ll be able to protect anyone you need to.”
He looks at me and sighs. “Lucy is counting on me,” he says, looking at his younger cousin. “I can’t let her down. I promised my aunt.”
“Levi, the two of you have survived this long. I think that means you’re better at this than you think. Just give it some time. We’re in no hurry here,” I say quietly, hoping he doesn’t catch the small lie. With the apocalypse at our front door, there isn’t really much time to take things slow, but he doesn’t need to know that right now. “Now, come back down here tomorrow, and we’ll do this all over again. Alright?”
Levi and Lucy leave the gym holding hands, and Aaron walks over to me. “That went better than I thought it would. You’ve learned a lot over the last five months. When I found you, I thought for sure you’d end up being one of those useless people that just sit around waiting for others to do the hard work. I’m glad you proved me wrong.”
I smile up at him. “I’m glad you found me, Aaron. If you hadn’t, I probably would have died for sure. With my mom and dad gone…” I pause for a second and my hand clenches into a fist at my side as their memory swamps me. “With my mom and dad gone, I don’t think I would have survived long on my own. I’d have been zombie bait in a week tops.”
He studies me for a second, taking in every last inch of me before he speaks. “I think you would be surprised at one’s ability to survive. Instinct tends to take over for us, and we do things when pushed that we wouldn’t think we’d be capable of under normal circumstances.” He watches as the last trainees file out of the gym, rubbing sore muscles and fighting back exhaustion. “We need to get more people down here, Madison. If this place is attacked by any group of those things, we’ll be in some serious trouble.”
“How many soldiers are here right now?”
“Counting myself, I believe there are forty. Forty soldiers to protect over two hundred and fifty civilians. I don’t like those numbers. And only a handful of the civilians know how to shoot a gun at all, let alone with any kind of accuracy.”
“We can’t waste the ammunition to train them,” I say sadly. “It probably wouldn’t even be worth it. We’d just deplete our resources, and we’d end up with a handful of sloppy shots and no ammunition for our weapons. I think you’re right, Aaron. If this place is attacked, we’re in trouble. But we can’t let the others know that, can we?”
He shakes his head, and his dark curls—which are a bit longer than they should be while in the service of the military—bounce with the movement. When he looks at me, I notice not for the first time how incredibly clear and blue his eyes are. He’s five foot ten, making him about half a foot taller than me. And at twenty-four, with his well-muscled body, broad nose, strong jaw, and just a hint of stubble, Aaron is one of the most attractive men I’ve ever met.
It’s too bad I’m not his type. Actually, women aren’t exactly his type. Which is a real shame, because every time I see him, I just want to run my fingers through his dark, curly hair while sighing his name over and over again. I haven’t been with anyone since before the apocalypse started about seven months ago, and I wish there was someone here that could be as interested in me as I am in them.
Many of the other survivors have paired up to pass the time together in bed, but without protection to go around, I’m not interested in risking pregnancy at the end of the world. Already we have four pregnant women here, and they require more food and water than the rest of us, and they’re slower and much more vulnerable. Not to mention the lack of doctors at the end of the world puts them in a dangerous position when it comes time to deliver.
“We have to keep as much hope alive as possible. It’s the only way we survive this. Thanks again for helping me out today, Madison. I don’t suppose I can count on you to help out tomorrow, too?” he asks politely, looking at me while he waits for an answer.
His eyes are so beautiful, it would be impossible to ever say no to him, I think to myself. “Sure thing, Aaron. As long as you can find the time to give me some private lessons later,” I say softly, batting my eyes in a flirty way. I know Aaron isn’t interested, but that just makes it all the more fun since he blushes every single time a woman flirts with him. He takes it in stride, and I personally think part of him is flattered to have so much female attention.
Since I’m one of the few people here that knows he’s gay—he took pity on me and told me after a couple of failed attempts at flirting with him—I can flirt with Aaron and not make him too uncomfortable. He even flirts back on occasion, like right now. His hand reaches up and gently caresses the side of my cheek, sending pleasant shivers down my spine, before he pulls away with a quick wink and a flirty smile. “Tell me when and where, and I’ll be there in a hurry,” he says in a deep, husky voice.
With that, he heads for the gym’s exit, leaving me standing in the middle of the gym feeling more frustrated than I have in months. “That wasn’t fair, Aaron!” I holler after him. He knows how badly I miss intimate contact with another person, and judging by his lighthearted chuckle as he leaves, he knew exactly how his touch would affect me.
Chapter Two
I find Felicia working in one of the bottom-level classrooms that used to be some kind of agricultural class, judging by the built-on greenhouse attached to the back of the room. With her are Daisy, Rose, and a handful of other girls who are stuck with washing duty. Between the eight girls are three large metal tubs full of cold, soapy water and a handful of washboards. A few of them scrub the clothes as thoroughly as they can, before passing them off to be wrung out.
A few lines of cord hung up in the greenhouse serve as makeshift clotheslines, where the clothes are hung up to dry in the sunlight. Beneath them are a few plastic trays of plants that are still in the process of growing, courtesy of the agricultural teacher that taught his students to grow things. Peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower, carrots, and cabbage are a few of the seed packets that were left behind, and we planted them a few weeks ago, though much hasn’t grown yet. Aaron and I are afraid we waited too long to plant them to expect anything to grow before winter.
However, the greenhouse ceiling lets in light and heat without letting it out, so we may be able to grow a few of them inside during the winter months. If not, we’ll have to ration our canned goods even more than we already do, and that will bring down our morale lower than it already is.
I take a seat next to Felicia and grab a stained shirt from a pile beside her. I’m not sure whose shirt it is, but it’s definitely seen better days. Most of the clothes aren’t in the greatest of conditions. They’re ripped, stained, or threadbare. The camp will definitely need newer stuff before winter arrives, or many of the people here will freeze. And people who are cold, hungry, and scared do not make for good workers.
Dunking the threadbare shirt into the cold water, I begin to vigorously scrub it against one of the old-fashioned washboards, but I’m not sure if it will come clean yet or not. There are a ton of bloodstains in these clothes that no amount of hand washing will get out. When the shirt is relatively clean, I pass it off to one of the other girls. She wrings it out into a fourth tub near the back of the room that collects the dirty water, and then she hangs it up with a clothespin to dry.
“How was your training lesson?” Felicia asks, scrubbing a pair of jeans with a bristled bru
sh. “Did you learn anything new?”
I shake my head. “Nope. I was a teacher today, not a student. There were only thirteen people in class today counting me, and there were two new kids that haven’t been here long. Aaron asked me to help show them the basics while he taught the rest of the class. Apparently he thinks I could be a good teacher.”
Felicia’s hand pauses mid-scrub and she sighs wistfully. “Aaron sure is cute, isn’t he?”
I nod in agreement. “Yeah, he is,” I say as Rose, Daisy, and the others mutter a chorus of agreement.
Aaron is easily the most sought after man at the camp, and any of the three of them would love to spend the night with him. Even though I know it’ll never happen, I won’t dash their daydreams out from under them. Those simple daydreams are what keep many of us going from day-to-day. Without them, I have a feeling many would kill themselves, unable to face the horrors out there without some kind of escape, no matter how temporary it may be.
“Is there something going on between you two?” Felicia asks as she hands off a pair of jeans to be wrung out. “I’ve seen you two flirting a couple of times. I think you’d make a cute couple.”
When I look up from my shirt to answer, I notice that all the other girls in the room are staring at me in surprise. Daisy and the others look shocked, but Rose just looks skeptical. Her skepticism stings a little, but I can definitely understand it. I’m a cute girl, with my long, strawberry blonde hair, my light blue eyes, and my athletic build, but cute girls do not often get the attention of a guy like Aaron…I think to myself.
“No, there’s nothing going on between me and Aaron,” I say finally. “He and I are just friends. He saved my life and brought me here. Without him, I would have probably died. He and I are both unattached and we just like to flirt with one another.”
Daisy smiles. “Sure you are. Nobody can be just friends with Aaron Monroe. It’s alright if you two are sleeping together. We won’t tell anyone,” she promises quickly.
I laugh. “We are not sleeping together. I wish, though. I haven’t been with anyone since before the infection started.” I glance over at Felicia. “But you probably don’t need to hear any of this, do you?”
“I’m fourteen,” Felicia says with a smile. “I’m not stupid. Most ten year olds know all about sex these days. In fact, there were a couple of freshman in my grade that were having sex. One girl even got pregnant at fourteen. Her parents disowned her and kicked her out. I found out about that a month before the infection spread.” Felicia stops scrubbing again and frowns. “She’s probably long dead by now.”
We all stop what we’re doing and stare at her until she begins to shift uncomfortably in her seat. “Felicia–” I begin.
“Well, she is,” Felicia says defensively, narrowing her eyes at all of us as if we’re accusing her of murder instead of just worrying about her wellbeing. “You think it would be easy for a fourteen year old girl to survive the zombie apocalypse, let alone a pregnant fourteen year old? She and the baby are both probably long dead, along with everyone else I knew!” she shouts, throwing the bristled brush into to the tub harshly, splattering us all with soapy water.
When none of us speaks, she gets up and storms out of the room, leaving us all worried and speechless. After a minute, everyone goes back to what they were doing before her outburst, but I just stare at that door, hoping she doesn’t do something stupid like hurt herself. When I’m sure she isn’t coming back, I grab the remaining clothes in her pile, and I start to scrub them clean.
*****
“Hey, Madison,” Aaron says, stopping me on my way back to my room after washing clothes. “I need a huge favor, and you’re the only one I can trust.”
“What do you need?”
“I need someone to come into town with me on a supply run. I’ve got a few soldiers willing to help out, but I want someone that knows the area a little better than them. You survived here in town for a while on your own; I thought you might be able to help.”
Aaron gives me plenty of time to think over his question without rushing me, because he knows how serious this is. I haven’t been outside the fenced-in perimeter since Aaron found me five month ago, and to be honest, I haven’t had the slightest urge to leave the safety of this camp. Even though we desperately need supplies, many refuse to go on the supply runs; there are so many things that can go wrong, and they don’t always come back. We’ve lost eight men and women on supply runs in the past three and a half weeks. Those that have come back in one piece claim that the zombie population is increasing daily, and soon there will be thousands in this portion of the city alone.
We really need the supplies. We’re short on food and clothes, and people are starting to complain to Aaron every chance they get. It’s not like I’ll be going alone. Aaron will be with me, plus the few volunteers he got to help out. I’ll be as protected as I can be while on the outside. But is it worth the risk?
I take a deep breath. “Alright, Aaron. I’ll help you out. But I want you with me at all times. Not any of the other guys. I don’t trust them to watch my back like I do you. Got it?”
He nods his head in agreement. “You have my word. You and I do not get separated from each other under any circumstances.” He looks at me more closely, before turning and walking down the hall. I have to walk quickly to keep up with his longer legs, but the pace doesn’t bother me. “I know you haven’t really had a chance to try out a gun for real, so just stay close and watch what I do and if you need help, just holler, and I’ll come running.”
“I think I’ll be fine,” I say, eyeing the handgun in the holster on his belt. “Guns really aren’t complicated if you’ve had a bit of practice. It also doesn’t hurt to have a cute soldier for a teacher.”
Aaron smiles at me, but he has that look on his face that I’ve seen many times, and I get the feeling he’s remembering something from before the infection broke out. “I know; I had a cute teacher, too. He was one of the best teachers I’ve ever met, but I’m sure he’s long gone now,” he says, getting that solemn look most people have when thinking of their past lives.
I pat him awkwardly on the shoulder as we arrive at the front door to the school. It’s the only door aside from the backdoor near the greenhouse that isn’t chained and locked shut. Standing near the open door are six men, five of which I’ve never interacted with before, though I’ve definitely seen them around. The sixth man is more familiar to me, and I smile at the sight of him.
“Hey, Michael. So, Aaron roped you into coming with us, too?”
He chuckles and rests a large, warm hand on my shoulder in a good-natured manner. “Someone’s gotta keep you two kids in line, right? Just think of all the trouble you’d get into without a chaperone!” he says with another chuckle, and I notice the other soldiers join in. Aaron looks slightly uncomfortable, but he brushes it off. “You know, the outside world isn’t exactly the safest place for a young girl these days, maybe you should stay here,” Michael adds with a frown.
“I’m twenty years old, Michael,” I say defensively, though to be honest, I’m a little touched at his concern for my wellbeing. “I survived out there before, and that was before Aaron took me under his wing and showed me a few things. Just give me a gun, and I’ll be just fine out there. Who knows, I might even save your ass once or twice.”
The soldiers all chuckle again and I look over at Michael, and I’m surprised to find him looking at me with a strange expression on his face. When he catches me staring at him as he stares at me, he quickly averts his dark brown eyes and runs a massive hand nervously through his short dark blonde hair. Michael Davidoff is in his mid to late thirties, but he looks younger than that, probably due to the fact that he’s built like a machine. He’s easily six feet tall and his entire body is covered in thick muscle, testament to his fifteen years in the military flying all sorts of aircraft for our country.
It’s a shame there isn’t much of a country left for him to serve.
“A
lright people. We’re going into town to look for any supplies we can find. At this point, nothing is unneeded, but our priorities should be canned goods, durable clothing, and more ammunition if we can find it. I know that last one is a long shot, but we have to try, or we’ll have to learn to use swords and spears. Now, once we get into town, we’ll go off in groups of four. Stay vigilant and watch out for each other,” Aaron says, looking each man in the eyes.
He’s a good leader, I think to myself as we head out of the school. Even though he’s younger than many of the men here and he only won the leadership because of the female vote, he knows what needs to done, and he has no problem doing it. I wonder if any of the other soldiers resent him for being in charge…
With a small handgun in my hand, I feel better protected and more likely to survive this supply run. It doesn’t hurt that Aaron and two other soldiers are with us. Michael nods his head slightly at me as he and his group split off and head in the opposite direction. I watch him go, and I can’t help but wonder if this will be the last time I see the friendly giant. Unfortunately, it’s a thought I’ve had many, many times since the infection broke out.
Aaron taps my shoulder to get my attention, and I give him an apologetic smile. He and I jog down the street to catch up with our two companions, and I try to make my movements more silent and stealthy, like his. But I’m not trained soldier, and my boots thump heavily on the ground with each step. When we catch up with the others, one of them turns and narrows his eyes at me. “You need to learn to move more quietly, or you’re gonna get us killed, Kid.”
I narrow my eyes right back at him. “Don’t call me kid. I’ve seen just as much death as any of you, and I’ve managed to come out on top for now. Don’t underestimate me and don’t talk down to me like I’m some inexperienced child.”
Zombie Country (Zombie Apocalypse #2) Page 2
