Alive (The Crave) (14 page)

“Seriously?” Gage heard Eve’s voice from beside him. He swiveled his head to check and make sure they weren’t going to be caught off guard with a back door approach. He let another arrow fly into the head of an undead that was coming up close on left.

“That belongs to me!”

Gage snapped his head around to see Eve holding the man’s bag and him yanking it out of her hands. She let it go.

“Just helping you out,” she snarled and thrust her pry bar over the guy’s shoulder and straight through the eye of gurgh.

And then they were running back toward the road, away from the horde of gurghs with a man and a child on their heels.

Chapter Fifteen

“I don’t want to carry the bag with the food.” Olive stared down at the things sprawled out before her feet on the ground, just waiting to be hefted up onto her aching back. “I drug the jenks yesterday. It’s my turn with the blanket pack.”

“We’re going to let Rose carry the light load until after she has her baby. She’s having trouble walking as it is.” Laney’s voice was kind when she spoke, as if talking to a child, not a girl only a few years younger than her.

“But it’s her turn to pull the jenks.” Olive frowned down at Laney who was folding everyone’s blankets.

“She’s about to give birth. She deserves a reprieve. It’s bad enough she has to carry her own pack at all.” Laney glared over at where Reno stood with his back to them about twenty yards away, emptying his bladder against the side of a tree. “He should be helping. He should be carrying her things. He
is
one who made her pregnant in the first place.”

The thought of the child within Rose’s belly made Olive’s fist clench in anger. The feelings that dwelled inside her bordered on hate. “Just because she’s having a baby doesn’t mean we should all bend over backward to give her special treatment.” Olive glanced over to where woman was carefully tying a knot in the rope that bound the carcasses of their circle of protectors.

“Seriously, Olive? I don’t get why you hate her.”

“I hate no one!” she squealed and jerked her eyes away from the large globe of Rose’s stomach. “She just shouldn’t be treated any differently because she’s pregnant. Women have children all of the time.”

“Not anymore, Olive. Just get over whatever you have against her.”

“She shouldn’t be having his child!” The words escaped Olive’s mouth before she could re-think them. She’d felt this way from the moment Rose had started showing.

“You’re jealous?” Olive looked down at Laney again and was surprised to see that she looked more sad than anything else. “You never should have accepted his offer.”

Laney’s words set a fire under Olive’s skin. “Why? Because you and Rose want him all to yourselves? Is that what it is? Well, I’m sorry that I had to move in and crash the party.” Olive turned away from the other woman. If she said anything, Olive didn’t hear it.

“I’m ready to leave.”

Olive jumped. Reno stood right beside her.
When did he come up behind me?
His dark brown eyes bore into hers like laser, sending a shiver of nervousness down her spine. Olive feared Reno. There was no helping that.

“Rose isn’t pulling her weight anymore.” The words were out of her mouth, intensifying her fear. She didn’t like Rose, but she had never said anything to Reno about it, for fear of being punished. He’d slapped her more than once when she said or did something he didn’t like or approve of. Once it was because she had traveled too far away to release her bladder. When she got back he’d backhanded her so hard she’d fallen on the ground. She didn’t blame him though. She should have known better than to wander that far away.

“She’s not?” His eyes focused over her shoulder.

“No. She doesn’t want to carry anything because of her ‘condition’.” Olive made air quotes with her hands. Her words weren’t exactly the truth, but they weren’t far from it. They could have been totally true. Olive didn’t know how Rose really felt about any of the situation. She probably didn’t want to carry anything and had been dropping subtle hints to Laney, who was too soft at heart.

A growl erupted from Reno’s lips. Olive jumped and wrapped her fingers around the ends of her long auburn hair. “She knows her place.” He stalked toward where Rose sat. Olive let out a sigh of relief. A feeling of giddiness washed over her. It reminded her of days in the before when her daddy would become angry, especially during the time they were still at home after the Crave hit. He had become more and more irritated each day and he’d started treating her like Eve—like she was some sort of abomination, but she would go to him and tell him things that Eve said, whether she really said them or not, just so he would punish her.

There had always been a feeling of utter jubilance when that would happen, while he was yelling at Eve and sometimes when he hit her. She would revel in the fact that it wasn’t her.

Being with Reno was like going home again. Like her daddy, she both feared…and loved him.

Chapter Sixteen

“What do you want from us?” The rough words came a few feet away from where Eve stood, gazing at the stream just off Tim Pistol road. They’d been moving quickly for several hours. They were far enough ahead of the horde that they could stop and drink at the stream, but she knew they couldn’t wait long. The horde could get distracted and move on in a different direction, but she didn’t want to take the chance that they didn’t.

Eve glanced over at the owner of the voice. She clutched her Craftsman tight in her hand and stared into the face of the newcomer. “Nothing aside from wanting you to leave.” He was good-looking guy, she could admit. Probably not too much older than Gage, with a short dark beard and shoulder length brown hair.

He opened his mouth and closed it without saying anything.

Did it make her a terrible person, that she hadn’t wanted to save them? Especially after he jerked his bag out of her hand like she was going to steal it. She liked to take things, money especially, but she didn’t want some random guy’s bag in the middle of a jenk horde. She wasn’t stupid.

“You and your daughter can get your things and go on your own way now. And you’re welcome for saving your ass, your bag, and your
child
.” She narrowed her eyes and held her Craftsman tight in her hands.
You’re taking your anger out on the wrong person.
She tried to ignore her subconscious and failed. She wanted to deny that passing under the old Tim Pistol Train Bridge had her worked up, but it did. She could still see it just a little ways down the road in all its spray painted glory. The round contours looked just like a mouse-hole, which is what everyone called it—the mouse hole bridge. Swarms of lush green trees surrounded it, making it look mysterious and alluring, just as it had in the before.
“Because you’re beautiful, Eve.”
Eve’s chest contracted at the memory that pushed to the front of her mind.
Don’t think about it.

“We didn’t need your help!” New guy’s voice jerked Eve from her brooding thoughts.

“Looked like you—”

“What were y’all doing out there in that wooded area to begin with?” Gage came to stand next to her, his mere presence seemed to engulf the space around them. He had Hilda in his hand, instead of on his back.
Now I’m calling it that ridiculous name?

“Just trying to get to Fenton.” Eve shared a look with Gage.

“Why are you trying to get there?”

“Someone told me about a safe haven there named Eden. We’ve been traveling for weeks trying to get there.” He eyed her pry bar and Eve realized that he had left his sword sitting on the bank a few feet away. She glanced down his body, which was clad in clothes much like theirs, threadbare, to his hands. One was empty. The other clutched the small hand of the little girl who hid behind his legs.

She lowered her Craftsman. An inch.

“Eden isn’t far from here. A day’s walk at the most.” Gage’s voice was gruff when he spoke. “We are going there. You can travel with us.”

Eve let the tip of her weapon hit the ground and snapped her gaze to Gage. “What are you doing?” she asked, not caring that it was right in front of the man.

“Helping.” Gage didn’t look at her. “I’m Gage and this is Eve.” He held out his hand for the man to take. The guy stared at it for several seconds before shaking it.

“You aren’t one of them?” He sounded surprised. He glanced between them. “Is she?”

“One of them?” Eve asked. “What are you talking about?”

“The people that shake. The lurkers.”

Eve narrowed her eyes, remembering Gage’s term for the uninfected people who were addicted to consuming all things that had to do with the jenks.

“I’m Joseph and this is my daughter Maddie.” The child clutched her father’s hand tighter at the sound of her name. Joseph reached over to shake Eve’s hand. She only stared at it. Did Gage seriously just add two more people to what she would loosely call their “team”?

Gage shot her a frustrated glare that only made his dark face appear even more handsome than it already was. She sighed and took Joseph’s hand.
Looks like he did.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. As a group, which annoyed Eve to even consider the word, they traveled down the old Tim Pistol road with little effort. Any signs of the horde that had been following them earlier in the day disappeared, and strangely enough, they encountered no jenks, which was a first for Eve. There had been times when she had gone an hour at the most without seeing one, but never over half of a day. She brought it up to Gage and Joseph at one point and they both agreed, neither had ever seen anything like it.

For the first time in a long time, Eve actually enjoyed the scenery. The Tim Pistol road was much like she remembered it with its tall high arching trees and rolling land on either side. The road had a lot of gas wells with gravel roads that led deep into the trees to the different wells. The road was a big hit when she was younger. She didn’t have to be popular to overhear conversations about where people went parking in their four by four trucks over the weekend. Most of the kids in Sunder lost their virginity out on this road. Eve flexed her hand, hating that she was one of them.

She glanced over at Gage who walked a few paces in front of her and watched his thick muscles ripple beneath his white tank top. His shirt was damp with sweat, as well as the dark skin of his arms and neck, glistening in the setting sun and making her itch to run her tongue along his exposed flesh and more…

She shook her head and looked away from him. She was still mad at him, but it made her even more upset that she had to remind herself of this. The way he treated her the night before was unacceptable.
I was stealing.
She shook her head again. It didn’t matter. None of it did. Once they got to Eden the next day things were going to go back to normal. She would split from Gage, look for Olive and if she didn’t find her, then she would head out and continue her search.

“Daddy, I’m tired,” Maddie said.

Eve glanced at the two of them walking next to her. She hadn’t wanted them to come along, but she couldn’t deny the kindness that had seemed to radiate from both of them after the initial distrustful awkwardness had worn off. Joseph had been surprisingly funny, making her laugh out loud more than once during the day, a pastime she was far from used to. She’d caught Gage looking at her a few times when she did, as if the sound was as foreign to his ears as it was to hers.

Maddie was just too cute with her freckles and copper colored hair. Once she was comfortable she had happily told them that she was six years old and that she loved her daddy. Eve couldn’t blame the little girl. The man had pulled off a miracle considering how long he’d kept them both alive. Eve couldn’t imagine having a child to take care of when the Crave hit.
You had your sister.
Her mind prodded.
Yes, but she knew when to be quiet. A two year old wouldn’t.

“I think we have a winner,” Gage said. They’d stopped in front of a driveway that led to a simple brown brick house that had seen better days, though its roof was missing more than most of its shingles, it didn’t appear to be caved in yet.

“Looks fine to me. Let’s check the place out.” Eve pulled her Craftsman from her back and followed Gage. “You guys can hang out here if you want, until we get done.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Joseph slid his sword back into the belt at his waist.

Eve was ready for anything when Gage pushed open the wooden front door, though nothing came running out, which didn’t surprise her. Sometimes, if a jenk was somewhere for too long, they would become dormant. They didn’t know how to open windows or doors, due to lack of coordination and they would end up being stuck in places and could be found sitting down or simply lying on the floor until a loud noise roused them. Almost like they were in a deep sleep.

A thorough check of all three bedrooms, the living area, and kitchen revealed a totally empty house. Even the closets were empty of the undead, holding only clothes that were still hanging nicely on crocheted hangers, just waiting for their owner—an old lady based on the disastrous attire—to come and put them on for the day.

“I can’t believe there’s not a single jenk. There isn’t even evidence that one has ever been in here. Or looters either.” She ran a hand through her tangled hair and looked at the small table in the corner of the kitchen. There were four placemats, one for each wooden chair, with yellow sunflowers embroidered on each. The one closest to the window was so faded that she could barely make out the stitching.

“Yeah, weird.”

She turned when Gage’s footsteps came up behind her. His gray eyes smoldered her when their gazes locked.
How does he have this effect on me?

His eyes shifted down to her lips, she could feel movement as if as he brushed against them with his own. Her heartbeat escalated.
Why is he looking at me like this?
He stepped forward. The memory of his hands on her body the night before came flashing back. The way her skin had felt so right against his. Her blood warmed as a flood of damp heat shot straight to her core. He took another step forward. She could visibly see the taught six-pack of abs flex beneath his shirt. She clamped her teeth together to keep from drooling on herself.