Thicker Than Blood (Thicker Than Blood #1)(56)
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “But it’s safer than being outside.”
“And when we sleep?” she bit out, making it clear that she didn’t approve of us staying, didn’t trust these men, and that if the shit hit the fan, Alex and I would be to blame.
“Sleep with one eye open,” I quipped back, purposely avoiding her glare.
Eventually Alex joined us, taking the space between Leisel and me, and quickly removed his T-shirt. He dunked it into the water and brought the soaking material up to his chest, squeezing it and sending water cascading down his body. Leisel, her worry suddenly forgotten, openly gawked at him, watching with wide eyes as his biceps flexed with his every movement. Water poured down over his rippled abdomen, and I worried she might start drooling at any moment.
Though I wanted to laugh at her expression, I didn’t blame her. Alex was an attractive man, young and muscular with sharp, distinctive features. Back in Fredericksville I’d never given him a second glance; he’d always seemed too clean-cut for my taste. But now, having gotten to know him, I’d since begun to appreciate him.
The beard had definitely helped.
“I think they’re okay,” he whispered, turning his gaze back on us. “They said they have a large camp not far from here, where we can load up with supplies.”
My eyes widened at the revelation. “A camp? Do you trust them?”
“I don’t trust anyone,” he said with a shrug. “But they seem harmless.”
“Harmless?” Leisel whispered angrily. “Did you see the way they were looking at us? We need to keep going. I don’t trust them.”
“I tried to tell you,” Alex hissed, sounding equally as angry as Leisel. “The world is broken. I’ve seen places worse than Fredericksville, women being traded like food. But it doesn’t change the fact that we need gas and food and weapons and clothes…” His hands gripping the edge of the barrel, he glanced between us, his features twisted in frustration, his nostrils flaring as he tried and failed to compose himself. “Shit!” he whispered. “We need everything!”
I felt sympathy for him, because as a man in this world he held a great advantage over women, and though I truly hated that concept, I had no choice but to accept that this was the way things were now. But that advantage also weighed heavily on him. Every option we had could potentially be a dangerous one, a burden he had to carry all on his own.
Reaching across the barrel, I placed my hand on Leisel’s arm. “Let’s just see how we feel in the morning. Alex is right—we need so much, and right now we won’t make it much longer without supplies.” Glancing up at Alex, then back to Leisel, I gave her a pointed look. “I trust Alex’s opinion,” I said, “so let’s just see how this plays out.”
Leisel outright glared at me, as if I’d just gone and broken the number-one girl code of honor by siding with a man over her. Undeterred, I held my gaze with hers, staring back at her until she sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Fine,” she snapped, yanking her arm free. “But I’m not sleeping anywhere near them.” Turning abruptly, she marched off and disappeared into a dark corner, as far as possible from where we’d left Bryce and Mike.
Giving me an exasperated but somewhat grateful look, Alex wrestled quickly back into his drenched shirt before stalking off after her.
Sighing, I dipped my hands back into the barrel and brought a handful of water up to my face. Leaning forward, I watched the droplets drip slowly back into the black pool, making circular ripples in the water while I prayed that Alex and I weren’t wrong to trust these men.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Leisel
I didn’t trust them, I didn’t like them, and I didn’t want to be anywhere near them or their shifty eyes. Both Mike and Bryce were too friendly, seeming jumpy and on edge. They were always assessing both Evelyn and me, and not in a good way. I didn’t want to spend the night in the barn with them, and I definitely didn’t want to journey out on foot with them to their supposed so-called camp in the middle of nowhere. But that was exactly what I did, what we all did, taking a necessary risk in order to obtain the supplies we so desperately needed.
Once morning came, the sun high and hot in the sky, we headed out, passing our truck along the way. We walked for hours, the sun burning down on our already sweltering backs, and just when I was about to accuse them of lying, wondering what kind of trap we’d just blindly walked ourselves into yet again, their “camp” came into view.
Camp was a one hell of an understatement. This wasn’t a camp, this was an industrial city. Many acres were filled with old factory buildings, some up to ten stories high while others sat squatty and wide beneath them. A tall and heavy formidable-looking gate, topped with razor wire, seemed to encircle the entire complex. Every so often a spark on the gate would catch my eye, followed by a zip, crackle, pop.
Electric fences, I mused, feeling both awed and wary at the same time.
“Fries ’em up good and crispy,” Bryce said, waggling his eyebrows at me. “Keeps ’em cooking ’til someone comes and blows a f*cking hole through ’em.”
Evelyn and I shared a glance, and I could tell she was apprehensive too. Gates like these didn’t just keep the infected out, they kept the living in. Gates like these were a little too similar to the walls of Fredericksville for my liking.