Thicker Than Blood (Thicker Than Blood #1)(45)
The door swung open, revealing three infected. They were older ones, their skin sunken in and blackened from exposure, their limbs little more than skin covering bone. They were missing their eyes, the reason they hadn’t followed the others, yet their ears seemed just fine as they growled ferociously in our direction, already bumbling toward the noise we’d made by simply opening the door.
Using the chair, Alex shoved them backward and onto their backs, and then he grabbed Leisel’s hand and yanked her out of the cabin. We ran blindly through the clearing, not bothering to see if the other infected had spotted us.
The trees were a blur as we ran, our footsteps loud and clumsy in the underbrush. Branches snagged my hair as I sped by but I never slowed, not even when my lungs burned and my muscles ached. Not even when sweat was slipping down my face and burning my eyes.
Outside the clearing, the trees were denser, making it difficult to see where we were or where we were going. Yet we didn’t stop, not until we came to a steep bank that dropped to a wide river, another bank just as steep on the opposite side.
Dizzy, I dropped to my knees and bent forward, my hands digging in the dirt as I tried to catch my breath. Leisel slumped to the ground beside me, her pale skin reddened from exertion, her dark hair slick with sweat. Together, we sucked in air at a rapid pace.
“We…need…” Alex gasped, taking a moment to steady his breathing. “We need to…get across this.”
Wiping her sleeve across her forehead, Leisel glanced up at him. “Why can’t we go around?” she asked, still breathless.
“You don’t normally go around rivers,” he told her. “They could go on for miles.”
“So, over?” she asked. “Or through it?”
“Too dangerous to go through it,” Alex said, frowning as he surveyed the water below us. “If the current is strong enough, we’ll be pulled away.” Looking frustrated, he shook his head. “There are too many variables to consider.”
Getting to my feet, my entire body protesting any sort of movement, I placed my hands on my hips and sighed noisily. “Then we go around,” I said pointedly, annoyed at our indecision. “There’s no point in just standing here talking about it.”
About to offer my hand to Leisel, I found that Alex was already doing so. Taking her hand in his, he pulled her easily to her feet. For a moment the two of them just stood there, him looking down at her, her looking up at him, leaving me feeling incredibly awkward.
Clearing my throat, I turned away, purposely letting my steps fall heavier than usual. Soon, I heard the two of them walking behind me and I slowed, allowing them to catch up.
As we walked on in silence, constantly on guard, I couldn’t help but think how fortunate it was that we’d woken up as early as we had. We were going to need as much daylight as possible in order to find a safe place to spend the night.
Chapter Nineteen
Leisel
“What do you miss the most, Eve?” I asked, slowing my pace until we walked side by side. We hadn’t seen an infected for hours, something that wasn’t surprising considering how deep in the woods we were. The trees were unbelievably thick here, proving to be formidable obstacles in some places, and the ground wholly uneven, all of it making for a tiresome journey. Still, it was beautiful to look at. The normally green leaves, having begun to succumb to the changing seasons, were turning vibrant shades of amber, crimson, and violet. It had been so long since I’d had the peace of mind to simply enjoy nature in its true glory.
Peace of mind aside, by mid-afternoon, the sun high in the sky, I was growing weary and in desperate need of a distraction, something to keep my mind from dwelling on my mounting aches and pains.
“That’s a silly question,” Evelyn said, wrinkling her nose at me. “You know what I miss the most. Who I miss the most.”
“No.” I hurried to fix my mistake. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant what stupid and insignificant things do you miss? Not from Fredericksville, but from…before?”
I was taking a risk by bringing up the past yet again; Evelyn never talked about it. But after our heart-to-heart she seemed more open to it, finally willing to remember what life had been like before the virus had taken a foothold in our lives. At least, until the incident back at the cabin.
“Oh.” She pursed her lips. “Hmm, you mean other than Starbucks and cold beer and bikinis?” She smirked at me. “I miss ice.” Sighing happily, she said, “I miss ice and ice cream and popsicles and frozen margaritas. I miss anything that isn’t room temperature.” She shrugged her shoulders and sighed again. “What do you miss the most, Lei?”
“Hot showers that don’t require boiling water,” I offered. “And shaving. God, I really miss shaving. Oh, and Butterfingers, water that doesn’t taste tinny… Oh! And I really miss my slipper boots, you remember the ones, right? Pink with—”
“How could I forget them?” Evelyn interrupted, making a face. “They looked like giant fuzzy pink marshmallows.”
“They were really comfortable.”
“No, Lei, they were really ugly.”
I stuck my tongue out at her before sparing a quick glance down at my baggy outfit. Letting out a little huff, I said, “I miss my clothes too.”