Chapter Six
Wade
I pull the machete from my hip, adjusting my grip as I walk up to the car in front of me.
The machete was a recent find. Apparently, people from Wisconsin were big hunters because we stumbled upon more than one hunting shack up here that we were able to raid before we headed West towards the Canadian border.
A few of them had guns but most of them were already picked over.
Thankfully, we managed to find this machete.
I finally have a weapon of my own, one that feels comfortable in my hands.
The car in front of me has the window partially down, allowing the zombie trapped inside to reach out towards me as it growls and gnashes its teeth.
I put the thing out of its misery, sliding my machete through the crack and straight between its eyes.
As far as I know, the only way to properly put these things down is to attack the brain or sever the head completely.
“I never understood this,” Briggs murmurs as we walk through the lines of cars.
This used to be the border between the United States and Canada.
Now it’s nothing more than a car graveyard.
“Why would they just abandon their cars like this? And why would some of them just lock themselves in their cars? I don’t know, it just doesn’t make sense to me. ”
I grunt. “Maybe Canada closed their borders and there wasn’t any space to turn their cars around?”
“I guess,” Briggs says, shaking his head. “But leaving your car here would just cause even more of a traffic jam. Once there’s no one to move the car, it kinda fucked everyone else.”
“People are selfish.”
I talked Briggs into taking one of the hunting knives we found. He’s good with those throwing knives, but I get nervous when I think about something attacking him close quarters. Those throwing knives are so short. He uses his new knife to finish off a different zombie trapped inside a car.
As we move, we keep an eye for any movement around us and glance in each car, just in case there’s loot inside we could use.
“You’re right,” Briggs says eventually. “People are selfish.” He lets out a long sigh. “I should really stop being surprised by that. Call me naive but I want to think the best about people, even despite all this bullshit around us.”
It’s hard for me to wrap my head around that.
After everything I’ve been through, it’s hard not to see the worst of humanity and assume everyone is like that.
Briggs is proof that’s not true, but even so, trust is something to be earned.
If we ever meet another person, I’m not sure how I’ll react other than assume the worst.
Briggs is different though. He’s proof that there’s still some good in the world. Not only did he save me but he did so without expecting anything in return. If the world was made of more people like him, the world wouldn’t be such a dumpster fire.
I admire his outlook even if I can’t do the same myself.
“You can see the best in people and I’ll continue to see the worst,” I tell him after a moment. He looks over me and gives me a small smile.
“We’ll have our bases covered.”
My chest warms at his words. There’s something about hearing Briggs say ‘we’ when he talks about the future that leaves me feeling things.
Things I don’t really understand but are there nonetheless.
These feelings don’t need a name, they’re just nice existing.
It’s been a long time since I’ve felt anything other than rage and terror. This is a nice change that I welcome.
We move through the sea of cars. At the border, we easily hurdle over the car gates and make our way into Canada.
Every day the air gets more and more cool and every night, it gets colder still.
Briggs has his bomber jacket to keep him warm and I’ve been wearing layers but eventually, we’re going to need to find somewhere to make into a proper base.
Sleeping in our sleeping bags isn’t going to cut it especially once the snow properly hits.
“I think it would be best if we steer clear of the cities and stay closer to the more wooded areas. If we can get a bit more north, I’m sure we could find a cabin or something like that to stay in.”
“Sounds good,” I say, following Briggs’ lead.
There’s so much to work out and plan still.
Once we find a place to stay, we’ll need to explore and see if there’s any cities nearby so we can stock up for the winter.
Will we be able to keep ourselves fed during the winter?
Will we be able to find supplies? Will we get cabin fever or try to kill each other after being stuck together in close quarters so long?
All of those things fall away because right now, we’re in a new country. We’ve made it to Canada. There’s something about being here that feels freeing and different. Maybe this place won’t have the same horrors as where we came from. Maybe this is the fresh start we both need.
We take out half a dozen zombies as we walk, all of them roaming aimlessly and alone. They’re easy to take care of, especially because I can hear them from a distance.
As the sun starts to set, we do our best to find a place to bunker down for the night.
Thankfully, we spot a treehouse. This must be another hunting spot from before.
We climb up the wooden steps that are nailed into the tree and shove ourselves into the small space.
The windows are open, allowing the cold breeze to travel in but at least we have a roof over our heads.
“Tomorrow we should try to find a creek or a river or a lake,” Briggs says as he pulls his sleeping bag out and unrolls it. He stretches it out onto the ground, taking up half the space in here. I follow suit. “I could really use a wash.”
I hum. “You do stink.”
Briggs chuckles, shaking his head. “Trust me, I’m not the only one.”
“I have a werewolf nose, I know which of us smells worse.”
“You’re just used to your own scent.”
“Pretty sure I would know if I stink.”
Briggs laughs again, looking at me with softness in his light brown eyes. It makes my stomach do a funny flip inside of me. I shake my head at him, ignoring the weird feelings swirling around inside of me.
“Better to find somewhere before it all freezes over,” he says. “I think the snow will be coming soon. I can feel it in the air.”
“I’ve never seen snow before.”
Briggs looks at me in surprise. “Right, you were from California. It’s really pretty but it’ll also take your toes and fingers if you’re not careful.
We need to find someplace where we can warm up with a fire or we’ll be fucked.
We might not have zombies to contend with but frostbite doesn’t discriminate against the living and the undead. ”
I nod my head in understanding. The prospect of getting free only to freeze to death isn’t appealing.
“Why’d they have so much beer? There’s nothing here but beer, beef jerky, and a deck of cards.”
Briggs laughs. “From what I know, which admittedly isn’t a lot, hunters enjoyed coming to places like this on the weekend. They’d get drunk with their buddies or just themselves and then call it a hunting trip.”
“That sounds--” I look around, trying to find the right word. Eventually I land on, “interesting.”
“It’s something alright. Personally, I would much rather come to a place like this by myself while enjoying a nice book and maybe a glass of wine.”
“A man of fine tastes,” I say with a small smile, trying to picture Briggs like that.
I bet he’d be comfortable in a little hoodie with a pair of cute reading glasses.
Maybe he’d sit on a porch swing, overlooking the forest. I can see it so clearly that it makes my chest ache.
I miss when things were normal. I miss when things were easier.
I crawl into my sleeping bag, suddenly feeling a weight against my chest that I can’t quite shake. I turn my back to Briggs.
“Good night, Wade.”
“Good night, Briggs.”
I’m not sure how much time passes but as the night goes on, something wakes me up. It only takes a moment for me to place the sound.
Briggs is shivering. The air blowing into the little tree house is colder than it was when I went to sleep. I can feel the way my nose is freezing but being a werewolf, I run hotter than the average human.
Turning around, I can see Briggs doing his best to stay warm, curling up inside of his sleeping bag. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be enough.
“Briggs,” I say, my voice breaking from just waking up.
“Go back to sleep, Wade. I’m fine.”
“You’re not,” I say after clearing my throat. “Come on, I’ll keep you warm.”
“What?” Briggs pops his head through the top of his sleeping bag, looking over at me in the dark. “Are you serious?” His words come out choppy through chattering teeth.
“Yes. Get over here,” I say, unzipping my sleeping bag so it’ll be easy for him to crawl in.
“Wade,” he says but I cut him off.
“Shut up and get over here, Briggs.”
Briggs makes an amused noise before finally starting to move. His movement is stilted and shaky, like his limbs have grown too stiff. Was he planning on suffering in silence all night? What a dumbass.
I scoot over as much as I can as Briggs lays down beside me. He pulls the sleeping bag around himself. I reach around him, zipping it back up. I can zip the part over our heads as well but I wait a moment for him to settle first.
“Maybe you should take a few layers off. It’ll be easier to warm you up if we’re closer to skin to skin.”
“What? Is this your way of getting me naked?”
I can’t help but snort, shaking my head. “If I wanted to get you naked, it wouldn’t be like this. I have a little more class than that.”
Briggs starts to take his jacket off, tossing it outside the sleeping bag. “You’re a classy guy, I can tell. If you’re seducing someone, they’d be able to tell.”
“Exactly.”
Once Briggs is down to his boxers, socks, and shirt, I close the zipper the rest of the way, leaving us tucked away inside.
I open my arms for him, wrapping him up with my body.
He’s freezing but already the chattering has slowed down.
He melts against me. That does something to my insides, watching him relax and find comfort against my body.
I run my hands against his back, helping to warm him up further. Eventually, his body stops shaking. The sleeping bag is warm inside, like a miniature sauna. Briggs lets out a long breath, his entire body going slack.
“Thank you,” he whispers, just barely loud enough to hear.
“It’s okay. Payback,” I say as a joke.
Briggs shakes his head. Our legs are tangled and I can feel that his toes are still a little cold. I’m sure they'll warm up soon. “No payback is needed, Wade, I’m serious. I know we didn’t choose to do this together but I’m glad for it nonetheless. I couldn’t imagine doing this on my own anymore.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. I’m sure Briggs can hear the way my heart races. “We’re in this together.”
I can feel Briggs smile against my skin. “Together. I like the sound of that.”
“Me too.” I squeeze him. “Now go to sleep. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow.”
Briggs falls asleep against me but I don’t find sleep again this night. I’m too busy listening to Briggs breathe, too busy listening to his heart beat. My mind is a tidal wave of noise. Together. I can’t stop thinking about that one word and everything it means.
For better or for worse, I’ve hitched my wagon to Briggs. I should be scared to rely on another person but instead, all I feel is relief that I don’t have to figure this all out on my own anymore.
Together.
That funny feeling in my chest comes back with a vengeance, plowing into me and stealing my breath.
It’s warm and exciting but also terrifying.
Holding Briggs only makes it worse. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but for the first time in a long time, I look forward to it instead of dreading it and I have Briggs to thank for that.