Thicker Than Blood (Thicker Than Blood #1)(52)

Then I yanked my blade free from my belt, dropped to my knees, and sent it straight into the exposed skull of the infected. Not once, not twice, not three times. The pain, the fury, the fear, it all burst forth, all consuming and all controlling, and my hand, gripping tightly to that tiny knife, sent the blade into that monster’s skull an uncountable number of times. Over and over again until I could literally feel something inside me snap, break, split wide open, and then…I no longer felt so constrained, so uncomfortable inside my own skin.

Breathing hard, partially blinded from the sweat dripping into my eyes, I got to my feet and sheathed my blade. Both Evelyn and Alex were instantly at my side. Alex kicked the dead infected, ensuring it was truly dead, and Evelyn wrapped her arms around me. They expected tears, I supposed, or me to collapse weakly into their arms, needing comfort and soothing. And then they would oh-so-sweetly tuck me into the backseat of the truck, cooing at me about getting some sleep and feeling better when I woke.

But I didn’t cry; I wasn’t sad. And when they reached for me, I pushed them away, pushed right past them and headed for the truck. Hastily, I grabbed what little belongings we’d appropriated along our journey, shouldering a tattered backpack, wrapping my hand around a plastic milk carton a third of the way full with dirty water, tucking a hammer into my belt, and then I turned to face them.

They still stood where I’d left them, standing in the middle of the road, the dead infected at their feet. And I swore to myself that if either one of them were to say a word, be it soothing or comforting or full of false positivity, I was going to send my little blade directly into one of their feet.

“Let’s go,” I said, my voice unwavering, my tone uncommonly hard, even to my ears. “The sun will be setting soon, and we’ll need light to kill those infected.”

“The barn?” Alex asked as he assessed me curiously, and much to my amusement, cautiously.

I nodded firmly. “The barn.”





Chapter Twenty-Two



Evelyn

We marched along, one behind the other, each of us keeping to our respective places since we couldn’t stand to be near one another. The only good thing about being stuck in the middle of nowhere was that we were in the middle of nowhere, and it was unlikely that anything was going to sneak up on us. I couldn’t say that I was completely at ease, but as I walked, or rather, stomped, I found the tension in my shoulders beginning to fade.

The fresh air, the warm sun beating down on me, it was all somewhat soothing after being stuck inside the cramped and filthy truck, breathing in the sweaty foul air for long hours at a time. The stench of the dead body and the infected that had been trapped inside had yet to leave the truck, and despite the open windows, the smell clung to our skin. To be outside in the fresh air was invigorating, and I took breath after deep breath, feeling calmer and better as the smell finally left my nose.

I watched Leisel’s confident steps as she followed behind Alex, and found myself smiling slightly. He’d silently refused to let her take the lead, walking purposely faster every time she’d attempted to walk ahead, his stubbornness nearly outweighing hers. Eventually she’d relented, but her scowl remained.

I knew her well enough to know she was reading too much into the situation, taking his behavior as a personal insult against her, when in reality, he cared about her so much more than she realized. To a man like Alex, protecting what he cared about was how he expressed his feelings, but it made me nervous as well. So I couldn’t blame her for wanting to stand strong and fight her own battles.

Accepting that she didn’t need me as much as she once had wasn’t an easy feat for me. Her budding relationship with Alex and her own desire to finally exert some independence had come as such a surprise, that at first I hadn’t known how to handle the mixed emotions her new behavior had stirred within me. And I was still struggling with where I fit in here, within our little group as well as in this world. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever figure it out, or if there was anything left to figure out anymore.

Kicking a rock, I watched listlessly as it bounced down the road, passing both Alex and Leisel, but neither took any notice, too consumed with their frustrated stomping. Rolling my eyes and wanting to throw rocks at both of their heads, I let myself fall even farther behind them.

It was another hour or so before the barn finally came back into view. Still surrounded by infected, too many to count, there seemed to be even more than when we’d passed by earlier. It reminded me of the cabin, and the infected that had gathered there. There had to be some reason why they were crowding this barn, desperate to get inside. Something had to have drawn them here, the same reason that was keeping them here.

Coming to an abrupt stop about fifty yards from the barn, Alex turned to look at Leisel and me, waiting until we’d both caught up to him before speaking.

“Something is attracting them here,” he said, giving voice to my thoughts. “But the sun will be setting soon, and I don’t have a damn clue where we are. Either we clear it, or we walk back and spend the night in the truck…again.” He grimaced.

The thought of spending another night in the truck, with barely any room to move, with no choice but to have the doors locked and the windows closed, trapping us inside with that god-awful smell, made me cringe. Alex and Leisel both seemed to share my sentiment, all of us looking positively nauseated at the very idea of it.