Love Starts With Z

by Tera Shanley

He stared at the gruesome bodies bobbing in the waves and nodded. A frown darkened his face. “Can you hold your breath for a long time?”

  Leaning back on her palms, she shook her head. “No, why?”

  “You could’ve died trying to save me.”

  Should she tell him she would’ve happily done so? That her life would feel like it lacked purpose if something happened to him? She’d focused on the cure for so long, she’d forgotten about having connections with people. Real connections. Her pants had been ripped up the side of her calf and she stared at the pale skin that glowed from beneath the sopping fabric. The muzzle on her face was heavy with water, an uncomfortable reminder of what she was. Nothing had changed. Kaegan would find a nice, unquestionably human woman someday, and she’d hover in the background of his life as that friend who saved him once. No, she couldn’t tell him how she felt or that she’d drown a hundred times over if it would prolong his life. What she felt was wrong, and dangerous to his very existence.

  A Dead clawed his way steadily to the beach where they sat, and together they watched his slow ascent in silence. When he was close enough, she stood and pulled her knife.

  Kaegan would never know it, but in her heart, it would always be true. “He’s mine,” she whispered under her breath as she brought the blade down against the Dead’s temple.

  Chapter Nine

  COLTEN SPLAYED HIS HAND reverently against the cinder block wall of the Denver Colony.

  Soren stared at him with one blond eyebrow cocked. “We can leave you alone if you want to kiss it.”

  Kaegan pursed his lips and tried not to laugh out loud as Colten scowled at her.

  “Look, Z, it’s not every day a man gets to meet his idol.”

  “Stop calling her that,” Kaegan said at the same time she said, “Stop calling me that.” Really, the number of times Colten had used the taunt over the past two days was borderline ridiculous. He was even starting to shove the moniker in where it didn’t make sense.

  “This way,” she said, leading them along the fence line.

  The gate was huge and wooden, and two guards stepped through before they’d even reached it. What kind of welcome would Soren receive here? Kaegan cringed at the thought of watching her wilt like she had in Dead Run River. This stop would be a quick one, though, and he wouldn’t have that sick feeling in his gut for long before they’d be on their way and to the shelter of the woods again, away from all the people who treated her like a pariah.

  “Holy hell,” one of the guards called with a beaming smile. “She’s back. Teague, call it in. Tell Sean Soren is back.” He was shorter, at five-six or so, and his chestnut hair was mussed. The man leaned his rifle against the fence and wrapped Soren in a rough hug. Whacking her on the back a few times, he laughed as they rocked, and she greeted him.

  “Hey, Barret, long time no see.”

  “Hell yeah, too long. What is it, two years now? We were starting to think you’d never come back.” Pulling back, he teased, “You couldn’t send a messenger every once in a while to let us know you were still alive?” and then playfully punched her in the arm.

  The other guard looked nothing short of shocked and confused as he talked into a hand-held radio. “Soren is at the front gate.” His voice went up an octave at the end like he was really asking if he should let the strange looking creature in or not.

  “New guy?” Soren asked with a jerk of her head toward the guard.

  “Yeah, Teague came to us last year. He just finished his training a couple of months back.”

  “Nice to meet you, Teague. I’m Soren, and this is my team, Colten and Kaegan.”

  Colten snorted in derision, but she ignored him neatly.

  “I know who you are,” Teague said in a rush. “I just didn’t expect—”

  “The muzzle is throwing him off,” Barret said. “What’s up with it?” With a tug on the strap that dangled from the buckle, he asked, “Is this the latest fashion at Dead Run River? Because I have to tell you, I don’t think it’ll catch on here.”

  Swatting away his hand, she wrapped her arm around his neck and drew him close, making chomping sounds with her teeth. “It’s so I don’t bite the newbies like Teague over there. New people taste extra delicious and are super tempting,” she clarified to the pale faced guard.

  Kaegan stared at her in shock. Soren was joking. Not only that, but she seemed completely at ease with Barret. And then suddenly, something ugly burned in his gut, and he wanted to step between them. Not for her protection but because, well, he just didn’t like her arm flung around the stranger’s neck or his comfortable smile.

  “Bite check,” Barret said, interrupting his escalating plans. “Soren you’re cleared. You can go on in if you want.”

  “Why does she get a free pass?” Colten whined.

  Kaegan sighed and tugged his shirt over his head. “Because she has second generation immunity. Even if she were bitten, she wouldn’t turn.” He threw his shirt on the ground near his newly shorn boots and froze when he met Soren’s gaze.

  She wasn’t boldly holding his gaze like she usually did. Her supernatural eyes had drifted to his neck and traveled downward, caressing his skin almost as if she could touch him with a look. His breath caught at her expression, open and intense. Hungry. Chills rippled up his forearms as he wondered what the desire in her expression could mean. Did she like the way he looked? Or was he food she was trying to resist?

  “Z,” Colten said, “if you don’t want to see my giant dick, I’d suggest you avert your eyes.”

  Soren’s eyes widened, and the barest hint of color crept into her cheeks before she turned away. “I’ll wait inside the gates for you.”

  “Don’t bother,” Colten said, unzipping his fly. “We can find our own way around.”

  She turned narrowed eyes on him. “You want to meet Sean, right? Well, I’m your ticket.”

  Colten watched her disappear through the gate and yanked his pants down. “What does she mean, she’s my ticket? Does she know Sean?”

  “Geez, man, do you listen at all when she speaks? She’s from here.”

  Holding his hands out so Barret could check his skin for bites, he frowned. “The bite on my leg is old and healing. I’m vaccinated,” he informed Barret as the soldier unwrapped the crispy gauze. Colten turned back to Kaegan. “From here, like, she lived here?”

  “You really are the worst listener.”

  “Not when it counts. And that was weird right? Her claiming us as her team? I mean, we’re not really a team, you know. Me and you are, but her?”

  Barret cleared his throat and eyed the torn flesh of Colten’s calf. “If Soren claimed me as part of her team, I’d feel like the luckiest son-of-a-gun this side of the apocalypse, gentlemen. That woman will save your sorry carcasses more times than you’ll ever know about, and she won’t ever tell you or look for credit when she does. Don’t talk ill of heroes, yeah?”

  “Seriously?” Colten asked.

  Barret clapped him on the back and offered an empty smile. “Serious as a Dead bite. You’re clear.”

  “Thanks,” he murmured and started redressing as Barret turned to check Kaegan.

  Both cleared, Kaegan slipped through the open gate behind Colten and was flanked by the guards. Another wall stood between them and the Denver colony, identical to the imposing gray cinderblock one they’d just entered through. Soren leaned against the second fence and tossed a shredded leaf to the ground before motioning them to the left.

  What must she be feeling, coming home after so long? She didn’t show any signs of nervousness, and other than a definite focus on the upcoming second gate, she didn’t seem overly excited either. Soren was a lot of things, and one of those was a tough read.

  “I bet he’s bigger than Finn,” Teague said quietly behind him.

  “How much you want to bet?” Barret asked.

  Kaegan turned away as the guards threw a flurry of whispered negotiations at each other. A man kneeled on the led
ge of the fence above them, a long range rifle limp in his hand. His expression couldn’t be seen from the shadow that shielded his face, but the tilt of his head followed them steadily.

  “Open the inner gate,” Teague said into the radio as they stopped in front of another heavy, wooden barrier.

  Soren stood small and stiff beside him, so close, he could almost feel her warmth. Unable to resist touching her, he reached out and fluttered his fingers softly against her hand. “You okay?”

  Her chest rose and fell steadily as she turned her head and looked up at him. The sunlight made the color of her eyes more brilliant, and he swallowed hard as she held him there, frozen beneath her captivating gaze. “You don’t flinch when you touch me.”

  The image of her straddling him by the river, of her arms possessively around him, and the lengths he felt he’d go through to touch her like that again rippled through his mind. Slowly, he leaned forward until his face almost touched the strap of the muzzle on her cheek. “I’m not scared of touching you, Soren,” he said quietly, for her ears alone.

  When he stood straight again, she looked at the gate with lowered brows. “You should be.”

  The wood groaned as the gate began to move. Through the widening opening, colonists stood gathered at the entrance, talking, laughing, smiling. Soren’s eyes rimmed with the barest hint of moisture, and she ran through as soon as the opening was wide enough. A dark headed woman nearly tackled her, and they stood swaying in an unbreakable embrace as others crowded around. It would’ve been difficult to see them if he weren’t a head taller than most of them. Colten stood off to the side, but Kaegan drew forward as if Soren was magnetic. Watching her reunite with her people opened something inside of him that tasted like happiness. Damn, it had been a long time since he’d felt anything but the grit that came with the obsession over the pursuit of survival.

  A tall man with black hair and dark eyes pushed through the crowd and pulled the two women into his arms, laughing as a tear streaked down his cheek. It must be her parents, Laney and Derek Mitchell. Kaegan was staring at the woman who may have single-handedly saved the entire remaining human population with her struggles to sacrifice her body for the vaccine two decades before. He was in the presence of greatness—honest, decent, good-to-the-core people. Soren clutched onto her father’s guard uniform with a white knuckled grasp. No wonder Soren was so strong. Her family tree was an oak.

  She moved from person to person, hugging them, talking low enough for him to miss the words. Her eyes were crinkled like she was smiling. Her gaze drifted to him between greetings, and as time went on, she glanced back more and more often. Finally, she tugged on a man’s hand and pulled him through the crowd. He was tall and lithe, with striking blue eyes and the barest hint of gray peppered through his short, dark hair. A scar stretched down the side of his face, giving him an air of subdued ferocity.

  “Everyone,” she called as the crowd quieted. “This is my team, Kaegan and Colten.”

  “You fighting now, Soren?” the man beside her asked.

  “It’s a long story. Team,” she addressed them, “welcome to the Denver Colony. Colten, this is Sean Daniels.”

  Bounding forward like a stray dog in need of a scratch, Colten grabbed Sean’s hand and shook it until his teeth likely rattled. The man gave him a hard look.

  “Sorry,” Colten breathed.

  Soren whispered something into the leader’s ear, and a smile stretched across his face. “Any friend of Soren’s is welcome in my colony. Please, Kaegan and Colten, join us for dinner, and we’ll talk more. Soren—” he squeezed her shoulder “—I’m glad you’re back. This place hasn’t been the same since you left.” His voice cracked with emotion, and he turned abruptly and strode up a mountain trail that weaved through a grove of pine trees.

  The crowd dispersed except for a few, and Soren introduced him to her parents and Vanessa. “Guist is on patrol with Finn, but this is his wife, Eloise.”

  He shook the petite, golden haired woman’s hand and followed the slowly migrating group up the trail where Sean had disappeared.

  Small log cabins dotted the landscape, and soon, the fence wasn’t even visible behind the shield of trees that decorated the colony. It reminded him of Dead Run River, but the people here were much different. More open, affectionate, calling each other by last names and teasing, always teasing each other. He’d stumbled onto a giant extended family in the middle of the wilderness, and at the apex of it, was Soren.

  “Where’s Adrianna?” she asked Vanessa, Sean’s wife.

  “Off in the woods somewhere.”

  “On a run?”

  The striking blond woman looked troubled and shook her head. “She’s had a hard time while you’ve been gone. She spends a lot of time hunting now.”

  “How is Seamus?” Eloise asked.

  A flash of worry crossed Soren’s face before she smiled and turned to Eloise. “He’s practically king of Dead Run River. Everyone loves him there, naturally. He’s still working away on the cure. Dr. Mackey isn’t doing so well, so he’ll likely be taking over as one of the head medical staff.”

  “What’s wrong with Dr. Mackey?” her mother asked.

  And so it went, easy conversation catching everyone up about the last couple of years. She failed to mention, however, how hard the people of Dead Run River had been on her, how they treated her like a second class citizen, and when anyone asked about the muzzle, she batted the question away with a good-natured joke. Once though, she shot Kaegan a look, as if she was checking if he was listening or not.

  The woman baffled him.

  Soren’s father, Derek Mitchell, turned to him and offered a kind smile. “I bet you want to clean up and get some rest. They’ll be talking like this for a while. You want me to show you to your place? You’ll be in one of the trailers we dragged in. A family just left to try to find their people they’d been separated from when they arrived, and the place is empty for now.”

  “That sounds great. Thanks, Mr. Mitchell.”

  “Dear God, man. Call me Mitchell, please.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Drop that sir crap too. You’re making me feel ancient.”

  He chuckled and nodded. “Sorry. It’s just not every day I meet famous people.”

  “Yet you’re on Soren Mitchell’s team. Rumors love her.”

  Heat crept up his neck. He’d heard some of those rumors himself, and had even been inclined to believe some of them.

  Birds called out in the canopy above, and a row of small mobile homes circled a clearing. In the center was a giant fire pit and plastic storage containers that looked like they held kitchen utensils.

  “We have water power, but we try to reserve it for the big stuff, so no stoves. Soren will show you where to get food tomorrow. In about an hour, we’ll have dinner over at Sean and Vanessa’s house, so you won’t have to worry about tracking down food tonight. Hot showers worked at Dead Run River because they had a genius who ramped up their equipment for years, but we don’t have anyone that crafty here, so no hot water. We altered a river and it flows through the north side of colony. Respect the ladies’ privacy. If there is a woman bathing, come back later or find a spot farther down to wash up. If you feel desperate for an actual cold shower, there’s a few stalls on the other side of the colony. You’ll have to haul your own bucket of water.”

  Colten followed along quietly, two blades tied to his back knocking against each other melodically.

  “Do you need any help with work around the colony while we’re here?” Kaegan asked.

  “How long are you planning on staying?” Mitchell said, pausing at the front porch of a single-wide, painted in blues and grays.

  “Not long. We’re headed to the coast.”

  “The war?”

  “Yeah, you’ve heard about it?”

  “We’ve had several messengers in here over the last two weeks talking about it. And Soren?”

  “We’ve invited her to come, but it’s
up to her.”

  A frown shadowed Mitchell’s face and he tossed Colten a set of keys. “Let me talk at you.” He turned without a backward glance and strode toward the trees behind the trailer.

  “Daddy is pissed,” Colten drawled with a brightness in his eyes he only reserved for trouble.

  “Dick,” Kaegan muttered and followed Mitchell.

  “I’ve seen the way you look at my daughter,” Mitchell said as Kaegan caught up. The trail was thin and plagued with tree roots determined to trip him up. Mitchell, on the other hand, looked as sure footed as a freaking billy goat and dodged them easily.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Mitchell spun. “Don’t bullshit me, boy. I’m grown and settled now, but I was your age once. I loved the chase, back when Laney was dating her boyfriend before me.” He sighed and the harsh look in his dark eyes softened. Gesturing to a fallen tree stretched across the quiet woods, he sat, then pulled out an old rusty knife that had seen better days. He picked up a branch and ran the blade down the length of it, as if testing its sharpness.

  Kaegan sat, but far enough away to avoid an easy maiming.

  “Soren’s different,” Mitchell said low.

  “I know.” His voice cracked but the slow rhythmic slicing of Mitchell’s knife made his balls clench. They were utterly alone in the woods, and if he believed the rumors about the mighty Derek Mitchell, he could slit him from ear to groin and spit on his carcass without much thought about it. Soren’s mom, Laney, was equally dangerous. “H-How different are we talking?”

  A slow, knowing, humorless grin stretched Mitchell’s jaw. “You’re afraid it’s wrong to like her.”

  “The thought has crossed my mind,” he admitted. He just wouldn’t admit how many times. Today had been a constant pulling of his emotions after she’d straddled him by the beach.

  “She’s human. You aren’t enamored with some monstrosity, if that’s what you’re worried about. But—” Mitchell swung a dangerous gaze to him “—others won’t see it that way. People are cruel. When it comes to Soren, they don’t have much patience with accepting her. She’s other to them.”