Love at the End of Days

by Tera Shanley

  She scanned the road behind them as far as she could see, but nothing stirred except what the wind picked up. The woods around them were quiet beyond the song of moaning branches, complaining of the wind’s unsavory treatment. Even the birds had fled the eerie woods to find shelter from the storm clouds that churned overhead. A fat snowflake landed on the fiberglass roof in front of her, and she glared at it. Great. Just what they needed was the first snowstorm of the season to lay all of their plans in a grave. Movement pulled at her eyes, but it was just the boys, pushing another car into the ditch.

  Wait.

  She focused the binoculars onto a spot in the distance. The cars ahead seemed to be moving. No, not the cars. Heads above the cars.

  “Sean,” she said into the radio. “We’ve got Deads up the road. They’re headed this way.”

  “You have a head count?”

  “They’re still a ways off. At least five. No.” She squinted. “More than that. Too many for us out in the open.”

  Sean slid out of a car and faced her. “ETA? We have four more cars before we have a shot at moving over this bridge.”

  “Five minutes if you’re quiet. They’re walking.”

  He spun his finger in the air and said something to Finn and Guist that didn’t reach her ears, and she pulled herself over the front of the RV. “You done refueling, Mitchell? We’re going to have to dodge some Deads here shortly.”

  He eased the hood down and wiped grease onto a rag before he squinted behind him. “Stay here and keep a rifle trained on them. I’m going to give them a hand so we don’t cut it too close.” He jogged up the road with long, deliberate strides.

  Sean wrapped a rag around his elbow and busted out the driver’s side window to an old sedan. Three cars left.

  “Come on, come on, come on,” she chanted as she watched the herd of undead make progress. They seemed to be speeding up.

  Two cars left.

  The team was scrambling, and an old Dodge pickup seemed to be the holdup. Guist tried to get it into gear and then Mitchell tried. Finally the truck lurched, and all four of them pushed, muscles straining against the massive weight of it until it was rolling.

  It wasn’t a figment of her morbid imagination. The Deads had heard, or smelled, or seen them, or all three, and had picked up the pace to a sprint. “Time’s up,” she barked into the radio. “It’ll have to be good enough.”

  The engine roared to life below her only to sputter and die. Just as she swung through the side door, Laney tried again, pumping the gas.

  “Oh, this is a terrible time for engine trouble,” Vanessa said in a voice much calmer than she felt.

  The engine roared again and dropped to nothing, and Laney muttered an oath before she ripped the engine again.

  “It’s that crap they use for fuel,” Vanessa said. “Sometimes it takes a few minutes to get her going again. This happened on our supply run a couple times. Keep trying!” she exclaimed as she hopped back out the side door.

  The first pepper of gunfire lit into the growing horde as Guist turned and covered the others’ retreat. A Dead sprinted out of the woods on a straight-line warpath for the RV. She pulled the Glock and fired. Miss.

  Aw hell, she didn’t need to be wasting the ammo anyway. “Oy!” she called around the side of the camper. The Dead flew toward her as fast as a corpse could with a snapped shin bone on one side. His hair was thin and stuck out in all directions, and gray liver spots coated his pallid complexion. His rolling eyes were sunken deep into the recesses of his rotted face, and he bellowed through a mouth that no longer had lips. She lifted her boot and thrashed it against his chest, launching him backward. Her carefully placed knife was in his skull before he could right himself.

  The engine died again.

  Hell was coming for them.

  Sean running full out was a work of art. Each step was more powerful than the last, and the intensity on his face rivaled the grace of his stride. She stood for them, popping off round after round into the brains of the closest on their tails until they’d all piled inside. Sean’s strong hands pulled her in by the waist just as the monsters reached the RV. The body of a Dead blocked the door, and she kicked viciously at it while Sean hacked mercilessly at the ones trying to take advantage of the opening.

  The engine finally roared and kept going, and Laney hit the gas just as Sean was captured in the unrelenting grasp of a monster. With the strength of inhuman hunger, he pulled Sean to his jagged teeth just as the RV lurched forward.

  “No!” Vanessa screamed and pulled her gun up. The shot echoed through the cab, and cold moisture spattered against her face.

  The Dead went limp, and Sean shoved the freed door closed before pulling her back.

  “Hold onto something!” Laney screamed just before they barreled into the last remaining car, a dark SUV.

  The impact sent Vanessa reeling, and she hit the corner of a cabinet.

  Sean had reached for her a moment too late and flew into the back.

  Dizzy, she pulled herself onto all fours and retched at the pain in the back of her head. The RV thumped and bumped as Laney ran over any Dead in their path and pulled to the shoulder to avoid the dense traffic of abandoned cars.

  The chaos in the RV blurred in and out of focus. Finn pointed animatedly from the passenger seat while Laney maneuvered the oversized getaway van. Mitchell clutched Soren protectively. Guist had thrown his body across Eloise to keep her in place. Adrianna sat on her knees crying and clutching her bunny by the sink, and Sean lay limp near the bed in back.

  “S-Sean?” she slurred. Why did her voice sound so far away?

  Afraid to try to stand up, she crawled until she reached him. Her hands felt funny as she shook him, like they were detached from her body. Her ears rang from the pain that spread across the back of her skull, and she closed her eyes against another dizzy spell.

  Crimson ran in a stream down the side of Sean’s face, and she touched it with a frown. Red coated her fingertips and terror snaked down her spine. That was Sean’s blood on her hand.

  “First aid. Finn!” she screamed, aggravating her headache until it felt like a fire alarm in her face. “Get me the first-aid kit! Sean,” she sobbed, shaking him again.

  Guist was closest, and he checked his pulse and then pressed against his spine with a faraway look in his eyes. “I don’t think it’s broken. I think he just got a nasty bump on the head. Here,” he said, holding a hand out for the red backpack stuffed with medical supplies.

  Gentle hands tugged her shoulders. “We need space to work,” Mitchell said calmly. “Go on up by Laney so we can fix him.”

  The edges of her vision were blurred as she stumbled forward. Finn gave her the passenger seat, and she rolled down the window for some fresh air. Up ahead, a lone Dead stumbled toward the road, and the closer they got, the first inklings of an awesome idea took shape.

  “Vanessa, close the window,” Laney said.

  “Nuh uh. Watch this.”

  The cars on the left of the RV were bumper to bumper, and Laney had no choice but to drive on. Vanessa hung out the window and spread her fingers out like a little star in the whipping wind. And when they were close enough, she leaned farther out and smacked the Dead’s outstretched hand.

  “Shit, Vanessa!” Laney yelled, yanking her hair until she was no longer hanging out of the window.

  Vanessa frowned as she watched Laney roll her window up and put on the child lock from her side. And then Laney looked down at her hand with a furrow to her perfectly arched eyebrows. The palm of her hand was covered in red. “Mitchell,” she said in a strange tone.

  “Yeah, babe? You okay?”

  “I’m fine. Something’s wrong with Vanessa.”

  He pulled away from Sean’s still limp body and rubbed a sheen of sweat from his face with a forearm. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, she just high-fived a Dead.”

  He gave his wife a look that said she’d lost her mind. “What?”

/>   “I mean, she leaned out the window and slapped happy palms with a freaking Dead, and then there’s this!” She held her crimson palm in the air before grabbing the wheel again. “She’s hurt, Mitchell. Can you help her?”

  Three long strides was all it took to reach her, and he yanked the hair band out of her tresses before parting it down the middle. “You split yourself like a peach, kid. Stay here while I get something to fix you up.”

  She narrowed her eyes at the unsavory nickname. “Don’t call me kid,” she said as seriously as she could muster while the world spun on its axis. Sex goddess or warrior woman or some other such name would fit better. At least that’s how Sean made her feel. “Where’s Sean?”

  Laney squeezed her hand and left it there. “He’s going to be okay. Mitchell doesn’t seem worried, so that’s a good sign. He probably just got a bump on the head like you.”

  Vanessa’s stomach dropped out of the bottom again. “Adrianna?” she asked, the edges of her vision clearing slightly with the effort to focus. She felt like a drunk trying to sober up too fast.

  She stumbled toward the child and slid onto her knees. She couldn’t go any farther without passing out. “Come here, sweetie. Daddy’s going to be all fixed up soon.”

  The little girl slumped, sniffling into her arms, and she held her as tight as her twitching muscles would allow. The soothing words she offered didn’t make a lick of sense, but the child didn’t seem to care as she buried her head into Vanessa’s shoulder.

  A murmured voice asked a question, and Guist answered. “She’s okay. They both are.”

  “Where are they?” Sean asked.

  Guist moved to the side, and Vanessa got the first glimpse of Sean’s brilliant eyes, filled with worry and pain. Something heavy and suffocating lifted from inside of her, and she smiled. Or at least she thought she smiled. Her body wasn’t really working like she told it to at the moment.

  Mitchell cut off her view and held a needle the size of a miniature saber and a small length of sutures. Oh good. She was wondering when she’d be stabbed again.

  He squatted down behind her and told her to sit still before he started sewing humpty dumpty back together again.

  Against the pain, she pursed her lips and tried to concentrate on Sean. He was moving his legs, and Guist helped him sit up. She fought the urge to gag each time the thread pulled through the flesh of her scalp, and when it was done, she nearly died of relief.

  “I think you need to go lay down,” he said. “Or wait. Guist, if she has a concussion, is she supposed to sleep or no? I can’t remember.”

  “No. Don’t let her sleep.”

  Sean frowned but winced as the expression pulled at new stitches. “Vanessa, come here.”

  She swayed with the effort and then shook her head. “I can’t.”

  Mitchell half dragged, half carried her until she and Adrianna sat next to Sean, and then he went to take Soren from Eloise.

  “Let me see,” Sean said. He prodded the soreness with tender fingers and shook his head. “I tried to reach out to shield you, but I didn’t have enough warning.”

  “I know. Neither one of us was going to get off uninjured when she had to run through that SUV. It couldn’t be helped.”

  Guist handed Sean a bowl of water and a rag.

  “What’s that for?” she asked.

  “Your face. You have that last Dead all over you.”

  Gross.

  With tender strokes, he cleaned her, and when he was finished, he drank in her face like he was taking inventory. “You’re a fierce woman, Vanessa.”

  She nearly glowed around the edges with pride. In fact, she was quite surprised she didn’t look like an actual giant lightning bug. That was until she noticed Finn’s glare of impatience. Him and his stupid made-up rules. Clearing her throat, she held out her hand for a shake and gritted, “Finn’s going to taser me if I don’t leave you alone.”

  His warm hand slid solidly into hers, like they were created to touch. A devastating smile touched the corners of his lips, and he shook her hand gently. Oh, Sean could tell Finn to go jump off a bridge if he wanted to. There was no question who was leader here, but he seemed to be enjoying the game. Finn probably didn’t even realize he was just pushing them closer together with his challenge, the oaf.

  “Thanks for saving my life,” Sean murmured in that deep, rich voice she’d come to adore.

  “Thanks for saving mine.” With a naughty grin and a stolen glance at the back of Finn’s head, she leaned forward and kissed Sean on the cheek before moving off. Sean’s smile expanded until it reached his eyes, and she’d do just about anything to be the cause of adoring looks like those.

  Chapter Nineteen

  VANESSA CHECKED THE KNOT of Laney’s baby sling again. “Is it too tight?”

  Laney turned her neck from side to side and checked the weight of Soren, cradled snugly against her chest. She couldn’t defend herself or her daughter with no hands, so they’d had to improvise with a sturdy sheet. “It’s good. Thanks.”

  “Eloise, how you feeling?”

  “Still pregnant. Not even a single false labor pain. I think this kid’s going to stay in here forever.”

  Vanessa huffed a nervous laugh. “We don’t need forever. We just need until we can clear out Sean’s old headquarters.” She gestured to the pistol in her friend’s limp hand. “Remember to take the safety off before you pull that trigger.”

  They’d parked the heavily damaged RV a quarter of a mile outside the Denver colony gates so the noise of the engine wouldn’t draw the Dead’s attention. Surprise would be their best weapon against the monsters trapped inside. Guist unzipped a black duffle bag and passed out rectangles of Teflon with Velcro strips hanging from them like vines.

  “What’s this?” Vanessa asked.

  “Here, let me show you.” He strapped it around her forearm and tightened the Velcro until the armor stayed firmly in place. “If you get in a jam, deflect their bite with this. They won’t be able to get through it.”

  “Whoa, this is freaking awesome,” Mitchell said. “When did you make these?”

  “I’ve spent the last year making as many as I could. I brought a pair for each of us. Even a small pair for Adrianna. Patent pending,” he said with a wink.

  The second arm guard chaffed the half-healed knife wound Finn had given Vanessa, but the discomfort would be worth it if it saved her life. She bent down and strapped Adrianna in and zipped up her jacket. “You stay by me the whole time, do you understand?”

  The child nodded solemnly.

  “We don’t separate. I’m going to protect you, but you have to be near me and Daddy at all times. Follow right behind us, like a shadow. Do you know how your shadow always goes where you go? Stick to us like that.”

  “Okay. What about Daddy?”

  “He’s going to carry you as long as he can, but he might have to do different stuff, and then you’ll be with me. When he goes off, I’ll be there to keep you safe.”

  “Promise?”

  Vanessa smiled and hoped she lived to fulfill the oath. “I promise.”

  Sean watched them openly. Not even Finn dared to reprimand him, as he’d said not a word since she’d kissed his cheek. His face was a beautiful mask of determination. Serious Sean was back, and though she missed the easy smile he saved only for her, she understood the need for him to turn off his emotions. It was up to him to get them from the bottom of the lake to air.

  “Everyone, check your weapons one more time, and then we need to head out,” Sean said.

  She had more than usual to arrange. Two pistols, her trusty M16A2 strapped across her back, cargo pockets overflowing with bullet-filled spare magazines, and after learning a valuable lesson on the supply run, she wasn’t running short on knives. Six sharpened blades were slid snuggly into notches in the back of her belt.

  She was cold, but a jacket would hinder her movement, so she wore nothing but cargo pants weighed down with the cold metal of Dead
killers, and a fitted black thermal shirt that fit over her arm guards. Her boots creaked as she leaned forward and planted a kiss on Adrianna’s forehead.

  Sean handed Adrianna a small, red pocket knife. “After what you see today, you’ll be big enough to carry this with you all the time. Put it in your pocket for now. You do exactly as Vanessa says. If she tells you to do something, you do it immediately. Be listening for her to give you instructions.”

  “I will. I’ll help. I’ll tell you when the monsters are coming up behind us.”

  He ruffled her hair and she snuggled against his leg. “Good girl.”

  “You ready?” Vanessa asked her. After hoisting the little girl onto Sean’s back, she took off with long strides behind him and the others.

  “Hey,” he said with a quick glance around. Pulling Vanessa to a stop, his serious and steady gaze ensnared her. “Be careful.” His hand came up to rest on her waist, and his thumb brushed just under the button of her cargo pants.

  Her response, clenching flames and weak knees, was immediate. How could a man draw such a reaction from her body? From her soul? His kiss was short, but soft. A gentle promise that if they made it through today, he’d reward her with tender affection and expect nothing less in return.

  And suddenly she was terrified, watching Sean’s long, easy strides and Adrianna clinging so tightly to him. She had everything to lose now, and her most prized possessions were being thrown to the Deads. A fierce anger roared through her at the monsters who threatened her family, because that’s what they were. Supply runs and missions—they didn’t make lifelong friends. Such experiences forged bonds of fiery steel that welded survivors together and bound their spilled blood until they were brethren. Laney, Guist, Eloise, Mitchell, Finn—they’d die for her and she for them, but Sean and Adrianna clutched onto her heart until it threatened to burst. Since they’d come into her life, her defenses had been chipped away while she wasn’t paying attention, and now she was raw and vulnerable again.

  She’d burn the whole damned world to keep them safe.

  She stood on tiptoes to rest her cheek against the rasp of his. “I will.”