Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
NAV
I paused with the shovel planted in the frozen ground and listened to the faint rumble of an engine to the south.
“They are either foolish or desperate to return. Do you think they will try to cut through town to get to the store from the other direction?” Belak asked.
Most of the nearby infected lingered around the big store he and I raided for supplies each night to the east. The same store that the humans had briefly scouted yesterday.
They hadn’t stayed long after losing several of their members.
We’d heard the gunfire and their retreat, even though we hadn’t left the yard then to check.
“If they are foolish or desperate, they might,” I said.
If the humans tried to go through town to get to the stores, they would draw the infected closer to Arena.
The slow ones didn’t concern me. However, not all of the infected near the store were newly turned.
A few were missing limbs, and I found a foot inside the doors near a puddle of muddy water the first time I went there.
I thought again of the frozen infected in the bedroom and wondered if some of the intelligent ones had survived.
If so, was that why the infected were staying close to the store? Did they know it would attract humans?
“Nav.”
Belak’s voice broke through my thoughts, and he shook his head at me.
“You are like the rest who have found females. Absent-minded.”
I grunted. “I was thinking of the infected by the store. Some are older and might be smart enough to set traps. The humans will lose more of their numbers if they try again, no matter how they approach it.”
Belak made a non-committal sound.
I set down my shovel. “I am going to check on Arena.”
Belak chuckled. “You are thinking with your cock and not your head.”
I moved to playfully cuff him, which he dodged, and I jogged around to the front yard, where Arena was happily planting seeds in the trays we’d brought back last night.
She liked us to stay close while it was light out but didn’t care if we left after dark.
She hadn’t wanted us to leave yesterday when we heard gunfire.
It warmed me to know she was concerned for us, but I was worried that the humans would bring trouble to the home we were building if they kept trying to reach the store.
She looked up at me and smiled as I joined her inside.
“It’s crazy how much warmer it is in here, isn’t it?” she asked as I closed the door behind me.
It was warmer, but not as warm as the greenhouses back in the communities. Those were much larger and had wood stoves.
“The seeds will like the warmth,” I said, coming to watch her work. “We heard an engine.”
She tensed as she did every time I told her I heard one.
“What direction?”
“South.”
Some of the tension left her.
“We think it’s the same group who tried to reach the big store yesterday. They might try to go through town, either to reach the stores or to search the houses for supplies. You should wait inside until they are gone.”
She paused and looked at me.
“You think they’re dangerous?”
“Hungry, desperate humans are always dangerous.”
She looked at the seed tray she was almost done planting and the bag of seed packets.
“There’s enough here that I can share,” she said slowly.
I didn’t try to tell her it wouldn’t work. Humans didn’t share well. At least, the hungry, desperate males didn’t. They took and left nothing behind. Not even the females. Seeds I could replace. I couldn’t replace Arena.
“Come.” I held out my hand to her. “The air in here is warmer than outside, but still too cold for a human.”
The worry in her gaze vanished, replaced by a knowing grin.
“You just want to get me inside so we can make out again.”
“Licking you is the fastest way to warm you,” I said, my mouth watering at the thought of tasting her.
She laughed, the sound wrapping around me, drawing me closer. She didn’t back away from my embrace but leaned into it.
“I like what we do together, but I don’t want to get caught. With the smoke from the chimney, they probably already know I’m here.” She sighed and turned her head toward the planters. “Hopefully they don’t wreck anything.”
I tightened my hold.
“We won’t let them.”
She tensed and looked up at me. “You won’t hurt them, will you?”
I would kill them to keep her safe but knew she wouldn’t like that answer.
“Every human life is precious,” I said instead, repeating what Ryan and Dad told us. “We will do everything we can to preserve the humans who remain.”
She seemed content with the answer and allowed me to hold her hand as we left the greenhouse. The engines sounded closer.
Inside, she went to the stove and reheated the soup that was leftover from breakfast.
“Do you want me to fry some more Spam and eggs for you?” she asked.
Belak came from the back. “They’ve reached the fence and are looking for a way in.”
“How many are there?” I asked.
“Four vehicles. I saw seven men, but there could be more.”
“Did they see you?” Arena asked.
“No. I was careful.”
“Good. When they come knocking, make sure you stay hidden. I’ll talk to them and see what they want.”
“No,” I said, pulling her close. “You’ll stay with us.”
“If I don’t go out and talk to them, they’re going to come in here. They’ll see the used cans and search for more food. Once they find what’s in the basement, they’ll clear it out.”
“They’ll do that even if you talk to them,” Belak said.
“Not if I talk to them outside.”
Two gunshots rang out.
“It’s too dangerous,” he said.
She leaned into me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “I know. But staying inside is just as dangerous.”
“Then we’ll go out,” Belak said.
“No. They’ll shoot at you on sight. Not me. Men won’t see a lone woman as a threat.”
“They will see you as an opportunity,” I said, my voice rough.
She tipped her head back and considered me. “They might be my family, Nav. If I go out there and things don’t go like I think they will, I’ll scream, and you can save me. Just…don’t rip off their heads, okay?”
I pressed my forehead to hers. “I don’t like this.”
“Me neither, but I think this is our best option.”
Our best option was leaving through the back door and running far away. I could find supplies for her anywhere. Maybe I could find that cabin in the woods that Gyrik had found his female in.
Arena tipped her head, brushing her lips against mine.
I took what she was offering, keeping the kiss, uncaring if my desperation was showing.
I did not want to lose her. Not to some stupid human males too hungry to understand that the future of their world wasn’t in aging supplies but in the few females who remained.
She pulled back suddenly, breathing heavily.”
“I really like the way you kiss, Nav. Tonight, you can kiss me like that some more.”
She slipped from my arms, flashed me a wry smile, and walked toward the front door. I watched her let herself out and listened to the engines outside. They were almost to the gate.
“I’ll circle around the houses and get behind them,” Belak said, moving toward the back door.
Nodding, I followed him.
The engines quieted. I jumped onto the roof, crouching low by the chimney to peer around it at the vehicles parked by the gate.
A man climbed out onto the roof of the truck, rifle in hand as he turned his back on Arena and watched the road. A second man got out. He hopped down onto the pavement and walked toward the gate, watching Arena.
He waited until she was close to ask, “Is your name Arena?”
He knew her name but didn’t know her. This was not her family then. I glanced at the vehicles, counting the humans I could see as she answered.
“I am. Who sent you?”
They weren’t speaking loudly. If I were a human, I wouldn’t be able to hear them.
“Gwen,” he said.
He reached into his pocket and withdrew a piece of paper. He handed it to Arena through the fence.
“After you read that, maybe we could talk some more inside.”
I watched her unfold the paper with a sinking feeling.
What if her family wanted her to leave with these humans?