Kellan and Blake were by the truck like they were preparing to leave, an arsenal of weapons in front of them, and I headed their way. They were going hunting, which was why I’d dragged my ass out of bed this early when I’d really wanted to sleep in. Despite my annoyance at Kellan, I’d told him the truth yesterday at the farmhouse. I wanted more practice, and not only at killing zombies. I wanted to know how to hunt. How to take care of myself. When I was a young teen, this protective bullshit had been okay—it wasn’t like Jasper hadn’t taught me to shoot—but now it was getting old. I wasn’t a kid anymore, and I wanted everyone to acknowledge that. It was past time.
“I’m coming,” I said when I stopped next to the men.
Kellan didn’t even bother looking my way. “No, you’re not.”
Blake chuckled but said nothing, and when I shot him a look, he shrugged. Even with the raggedy red hat he always wore pulled down low over his face, I could see the way his green eyes twinkled. He was like a big brother, so I was used to the teasing light in them. That didn’t mean it didn’t get under my skin at times.
“Kellan.” I paused, waiting for him to look my way. When he did, his intense gaze captured mine, and my mouth went dry. I had to swallow so I could get more words out. “I need to practice. My aim’s shit because I’ve never had to shoot a moving target, and it’s dangerous. You know it is.”
He let out a long, deep breath, shaking his head slightly. I was preparing myself for another argument when he said, “Fine. But you do exactly as I say out there. Got it?”
My shoulders relaxed and I shot him a grin, winking. “Don’t I always?”
Kellan snorted, and Blake chuckled again.
A burst of wind swept across the yard, carrying the stink of goat shit my way, and I lifted my face to the sky. “Might storm.”
“You should get a job as a meteorologist,” Kellan said.
I glared his way, ready for a fight, only to find him grinning. Damn. He could go from grumpy to teasing faster than anyone I knew.
I returned the smile. “Always have to be an asshole, don’t you?”
“Only to you.” He winked, then shoved the supplies further into the truck bed before slamming the tailgate. When he turned to Blake, he said, “Get the gate, will you?”
“I’m on it.”
Blake shot me a grin before jogging toward the gate.
Despite the overcast sky, my shirt was already sticking to my body when I slid into the truck. Blake got the gate open so Kellan could pull through. When it had once again been secured, Blake climbed into the cab next to me, and Kellan took off.
Within minutes, I could feel the telltale signs of swamp ass creeping up on me. The incoming storm had done nothing to cool the day, and it had to be nearing ninety degrees. Wedged between Kellan and Blake as we flew through the desolate Oklahoma landscape, the temperature shot up at least ten degrees. Even the air whooshing through the truck didn’t help.
It was only April, though, and in Oklahoma the temperature could reach ninety well into October. Meaning we had months of heat ahead of us. Last summer we’d had a stretch of hot days, creeping close to 110 degrees a few times, but that was normal for the area. Back in 2011, at the height of the last drought, there were places in Oklahoma that saw nearly a hundred days of temperatures over a hundred degrees. That was during the age of electricity and air conditioning, though. Nowadays, I didn’t know what folks would do if the heat wave stretched out that long. At least we were safe in our bunker since our air filtration system was also programmed for climate control. In the Altus settlement, things would be sweltering in no time.
We’d been driving for maybe fifteen minutes when Blake leaned forward and pointed out the driver’s side window. “Check that out!”
I leaned forward, too, trying to get a look as Kellan slowed to a stop. In the distance, a horde was gathered around the decaying remains of a house. There had to be a couple dozen of them. We were a good way off, far enough that we weren’t in any danger, but whoever was inside the building probably couldn’t say the same.
“You think someone’s trapped?” I asked even though I had no doubt in my mind.
“Probably,” Blake said. “Poor bastard.”
“Can’t we do something?”
“No.” The word was firm and final, and Kellan didn’t even bother looking my way.
He reached for the gearshift, but I grabbed his hand.
“We can’t just drive away and do nothing.”
“We can.” He turned his eyes on me. “We have to. We can’t draw enough of them away to make a difference without getting close, and doing that would put us in danger.”
I turned to Blake. “You’re okay with driving off?”
“No.” He shoved his hand under his hat and scratched his head. “But Kellan’s right.”
“Bullshit,” I said. “If we make noise, they’ll head here.”
“Some of them,” Kellan elaborated. “Not all of them.”
“Isn’t that better than doing nothing?” I snapped.
“Target practice,” Blake said.
Kellan and I turned his way, and he grinned.
“You said you needed practice.” Blake shoved the door open and hopped out. “It’s the perfect opportunity.”
I slid across the seat after him, grinning from ear to ear. “You’re a genius.”
“I don’t like it.” Kellan hadn’t moved, and his hands were wringing the steering wheel.
“This is a hell of a lot safer than any other scenario.” Blake had to raise his voice when he said, “And she’ll get to practice with the scope.”
Before Kellan could argue again, I slipped out of the truck.
Blake was at the back already. He lowered the tailgate, and I pulled myself into the bed of the truck as Kellan shoved the driver’s side door open. He came out grumbling to himself, but I didn’t pay attention to him. My focus was on Blake and the rifle he passed me.
“Kneel and use the side of the truck to steady the gun.”
I did as I was told, positioning the rifle with the butt securely wedged against my shoulder. I’d closed one eye and was peering through the scope at the distant horde when the truck rocked and groaned, telling me Kellan had decided to join us. I didn’t look his way, too focused on the mass of dead clamoring to get inside the house.
“How many?” Blake asked.
I moved the rifle around, counting the dead through the scope. “Twenty. Maybe a couple more.”
“Shit.” Kellan dropped to his knees at my side and put his hand on the small of my back. “Be careful.”
Despite the tingles that moved through me at his touch, I pulled away from the scope so I could shoot him a glare. “Will you stop being so overprotective? They’re not even close to us.”
“Good,” he said. “Keep it that way. If even one of them gets close, I’m driving off. Hear me?”
I went back to looking through the scope without answering him.
“I’m going to start,” I said, focusing on a zombie at the back of the crowd.
His head bobbed in and out of the crosshairs as he fought the rest of the pack to get closer to the house. I exhaled slowly, my finger poised over the trigger as I waited for the perfect shot.
“Concentrate,” Kellan said, his face so close to mine that his breath brushed against the back of my head.
His fingers brushed my spine, and I jerked, my own finger twitching on the trigger. The shot rang through the air, echoing as the rifle kicked back, slamming into my shoulder. The bullet smashed into the house, missing the zombie’s head by a good foot.
I let out a hiss of annoyance.
Kellan chuckled. “Did the kickback hurt?”
“No, you prick.” I cocked the rifle, and the empty casing dropped to the bed of the truck with a metallic clang while a new bullet locked into place. “Irritated is more like it.”
I shrugged his hand off before repositioning the gun and peering through the scope once again. This
time when I pulled the trigger, the zombie’s head exploded.
A couple of the creatures turned from the house and began stumbling our way.
“They’re coming,” Kellan said.
“I can see them.”
I cocked the rifle again and another casing dropped out. When I pulled the trigger, the head of the zombie in the lead jerked back. He dropped to the ground as I cocked the rifle again and set my sights on the next zombie.
I repeated the process ten times before Kellan got too antsy. He’d jumped down from the truck after the fifth zombie hit the dust and started pacing. Most of the horde was now headed our way, and I couldn’t shoot them fast enough to stop them from coming. They were still a good forty feet away from us, but Kellan had had enough.
“I’m going.”
I was still looking through the scope when he walked right in front of me.
“Shit.” His head appeared in front of me and I jerked the rifle back, my heart pounding harder than a drum. “Way to practice gun safety.”
“Holy shit, man.” Blake let out a low whistle. “You almost got your brains blown out.”
Kellan jerked the door to the cab open. “No, I didn’t.”
“I beg to differ,” I muttered.
“It’s fine,” Kellan snapped. “They’re too close. Let’s move.”
Blake was shaking his head when he took the rifle from me. “You have to let her grow up sometime.”
“That’s not what this is about.” Kellan hopped in and slammed the door.
My sweaty skin was stuck to the floor of the metal truck bed, and I had to pry myself off it when I stood. It still felt like my heart was going to explode. Thinking about Kellan’s head being in my sights, about what could have happened to him, made me sick.
“You okay?” Blake asked.
“No.”
I hopped out of the truck and charged to the passenger side door, ripping it open.
“Get in.” Kellan stared straight ahead, his hands on the steering wheel.
I did, but only because I was still too shaken to argue with him.
The cracked vinyl seat stuck to my sweaty legs, making it impossible to slide over. I wiggled my butt across until I was pressed up against Kellan. Since I didn’t want to look at him, I focused on the house in the distance. All the zombies had now fled and were heading our way. I only hoped it helped whoever was inside.
Blake climbed in next to me and wordlessly shut the door, and a second later Kellan took off, leaving the house and the zombies behind.
We drove in silence the rest of the way, and when we reached one of the rocky areas where the guys usually went hunting, Kellan pulled to a stop.
Blake looked between us and sighed before throwing the door open and jumping out.
“You need to stop treating me like a little kid,” I said, staring straight ahead. “I know that’s hard for you, and I know you’ll always see me as your responsibility, but I’m not a child anymore.”
“Regan,” Kellan whispered.
I turned and found him staring at me, his brown eyes intense but unreadable. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then shut it again.
“What?” I asked.
He shook his head like he was trying to clear it. “I don’t think of you as child. I haven’t for a long time.”
Something in his gaze, or maybe even the space between the words, made my stomach jump. “Then why do you insist on being so protective?”
“Because I want to keep you safe.”
Because he feels responsible for me.
I exhaled as I turned away from him, wiggling my way to the open passenger door. “I’m old enough to take care of myself.”
Blake was waiting at the back of the truck, the rifles and packs ready. I loaded up, slinging a bag over my shoulder, followed by a rifle. Kellan once again said nothing when he reached us at the back of the truck.
Once he was loaded up, we headed out. Whether Kellan was still upset or had simply switched to alert mode, I didn’t know. What I did know, however, was that I had my eyes and ears open as we walked and was doing my very best not to think about him at all. The last thing I needed was a distraction.
We had to climb. The terrain in front of us was rocky and dotted with boulders bigger than I was, but it wasn’t quite large enough to be called a mountain. Despite the terrain, the guys had had good luck hunting in this area. Zombies didn’t have the coordination to maneuver the rocks, meaning we had to keep an eye out for the dead less than we did on flatter ground. The animals seemed to know it was safer as well, and the coyotes and mountain lions were ripe in this area.
“Keep an eye out for rattlesnakes,” Kellan said as he pulled himself over a rock.
He turned, holding his hand out for me, and I grasped it without hesitating. Sweat slid down my spine as I hauled myself up, and when I reached the top, I had to pause so I could take a drink from my canteen. In the distance, the rumble of thunder made me turn. The horizon to the west was dark gray and menacing, the clouds lit up by the occasional burst of lightning.
“Storm will be here soon,” Blake said.
He grunted as he pulled himself up behind me.
“Could go right past us.” Kellan was a few steps ahead of me, and he didn’t look back. “Just in case, though. We need to hurry.”
I moved faster, hopping from boulder to boulder, while at my back Blake did the same. In front of me, Kellan moved at a pace that reminded me of a soldier on a mission.
We neared the top and the rocks grew closer together and easier to move across, and I picked up the pace so I was walking at Kellan’s side.
“I want to take the shot when we come across something.”
“If.” Kellan glanced my way, but it was brief. “With this storm coming in, we might not find anything.”
“Are we good on meat?”
He nodded, then shook his head. “Yeah, but in case we do run into trouble with that group, I want to have some more.”
“That makes sense.”
We walked in silence for a few seconds before he said, “You mad at me?”
“No. I only want to be treated like an adult.”
Kellan hopped to another rock and then shot me a grin. “Maybe if you acted like one…”
I rolled my eyes, and when I caught up to him, gave him a playful shove. He let out a low chuckle, throwing his arm around me as he did, and the laugh echoed through him, and me in turn. This was the Kellan I adored. The one with the easy laugh and childish smile.
“I like you better like this than when you’re bossing me around,” I said.
Kellan leaned over until his mouth was inches from my ear. “I like being like this, too.”
Something in his tone made my insides buzz, and I turned to say something to him as we reached the top where the ground flattened out. I froze at the sight in front of me, and just like that, whatever I was going to say vanished from my mind.
9
The dusty remnants of a small plane lay in front of us, debris scattered behind it and half-buried by dirt. The front window was cracked, half of it missing, and through the opening, the skeletal remains of the pilot were visible. He was still strapped in, the headset still sitting atop his skull, and his mouth open in a macabre grin.
Behind us, Blake reached the top of the mountain and paused to take a breather while Kellan and I moved toward the remains.
“Looks like it’s been here for a while,” I said.
“Early days of the apocalypse. We’ve come across it before.” Kellan paused at the front of the plane so he could peer inside. “There’s a body in the back, too.”
Despite the pieces littered across the ground, the tail of the plane was remarkably intact. Standing at Kellan’s side, I peered in through the opening. The body in the back wore a pink shirt, telling me it had been a woman, maybe even the pilot’s wife. An open suitcase was just visible, its contents scattered across the interior. Clothes, mostly, from the looks of i
t.
“Maybe they were trying to get somewhere safe. Away from the virus,” I said, straightening.
“I considered doing that,” Blake said from behind us. “When everyone was dying, I seriously considered trying to fly out of here.”
Kellan turned to face him. “A C-17? Could you have done that alone?”
Blake shook his head, and then shrugged. “Maybe. Probably not. There was that little airport outside town, though. They had some small planes like this one.” He paused. “Maybe that’s where they were coming from.”
“If so, they didn’t get far,” I said.
“No,” Blake whispered.
“You miss it?” Kellan asked.
Blake’s gaze was pulled from the plane to him. “Flying?” Kellan nodded. “Sometimes. Sometimes, though, I wonder what would have happened if I’d decided to try to get home.”
“They were all dead,” I reminded him.
“Probably, but I never knew for sure.” Blake let out a deep breath and lifted his gaze to the overcast sky. “Things might have turned out better if I’d gone.”
Not for the first time, my heart went out to him. He wasn’t supposed to be here, had only come to Altus Air Force Base a few weeks before the virus got bad—here for training on the C-17 cargo plane—but had gotten stuck when travel was suspended. That was how he’d met Emma. Her parents had owned an old house on the opposite side of Altus from where Kellan and I had grown up, and they’d had a guesthouse in the back yard that they’d rented out to incoming pilots. He was staying there when Emma’s parents died. It had made sense when they got together. They’d been through a lot before they’d even known one another, but it hadn’t lasted. Maybe it was never supposed to. Maybe Blake should have hijacked a plane and tried to make his way home. I was glad he’d decided to stay, but I knew if I were in his shoes, I’d have a difficult time not wondering if I’d done the right thing all those years ago.
The Oklahoma Wastelands Series Box Set | Books 1-3 Page 8
