1. Taryn #2
“I know that. But friends don’t let friends make stupid decisions alone.” Her face took on a sly expression. “Besides, I’d bet I’m not the only one with someone mad at them for sneaking out.”
I raised an eyebrow. “If you’re referring to Lucas, he can go fuck himself.”
“I bet you’d enjoy it more if he fucked you,” Lila smirked.
My jaw dropped. “Lila Leanne Winters, did you just say fuck?”
She held her head primly. “I curse sometimes.”
“Sure, you do,” I smirked. “Especially when Ethan is pounding that ass.”
Lila gasped. “We make love. There is no pounding of the ass.”
I tried to contain my laughter, but I ended up covering my mouth with my hand to muffle it, and she joined me.
When we finally stopped laughing, I wiped tears from my face. “What I’m hearing from your room doesn’t really back that up.”
Lila’s face turned crimson. “You can hear us?”
“Everyone can hear you. We’re sharing a 1200-square-foot house.” I stopped abruptly and held up my hand.
Lila and Max came to a standstill.
A few minutes later, a deer leaped out of the trees about a hundred yards in front of us.
I listened for a few seconds. “Okay, we’re good.”
We resumed walking.
“I’m still not used to that.” She followed close behind me.
“Used to what?” I pulled a couple of energy bars from my pack and handed her one.
Lila peeled the wrapper and took a big bite. “The extra boost to your senses,” she said around the mouthful of food.
I shrugged. “I’m still getting used to it myself.”
“Maybe I’ll get the fever and become a superhero.” She giggled.
“I’m far from being a superhero. I just have better senses than I did before.” I finished the last bite of my energy bar and stowed the wrapper in my pocket.
If I had superpowers, things at home might've gone another way, and maybe my dad would still be here.
“Don’t forget faster and stronger.” She muttered.
I buried the grief I felt beneath a smirk. “You wouldn’t let me forget it even if I tried.”
She pouted. “That’s because I’m jealous.”
“Just be happy you didn’t become one of the infected.” I took the band off my wrist and twisted my dark hair into a messy bun.
This time out, I wasn’t stuck in a ridiculous cheerleading outfit.
Thank God.
On one of our scouting trips, we’d come across a large retail camping store that wasn’t completely cleaned out, so we took everything we could carry back to the farmhouse.
We had to leave most of what we owned behind when we fled from my house.
Both Lila and I were wearing what I lovingly called apocalypse chic.
Big flannel shirts hung off one shoulder over tight tank tops.
Flashlights dangled from utility belts, and scuffed hiking boots were paired with cutoffs or leggings that looked like they'd survived at least one fence hop.
Backpacks adorned with colorful patches complemented outfits that blended practical survival gear with a determined flair for style.
At least that’s what we told ourselves.
It was all very rugged, outdoorsman-meets-hot-girl, who absolutely knows how to start a fire and slit a throat.
And let’s not forget the matching bracelets we made with the twins using some craft supplies we found. Looking down at my wrist, I thought it might be my most beloved accessory ever.
Lila shuddered. “Believe me, I am. I wonder why certain people didn’t become infected or get superpowers?”
“I don’t know. Adrian has a theory about that, but he doesn’t want to share it until he knows more… the dickhole,” I snarled.
My stepbrother was a sensitive topic. Almost immediately after waking, he made it clear I was his.
Beck strongly opposed this, and the only thing keeping them from killing each other was the circumstances we were in.
Before the incident that haunted me constantly, it’d been my dad.
I felt tears well up, turned my head, and regained control of my emotions.
I didn’t want Lila to see me crying.
We’d all experienced tragedy by this point, but the human need to survive kept us from succumbing to our grief. Lila had lost her entire family, and she wasn’t crying, so I wouldn’t either.
The only thing I needed to think about at this point was finding out why in the hell Beck and Adrian hadn’t come back yet.
“He’s a sexy dickhole,” Lila sighed dreamily.
“You can have him.” I rolled my eyes.
She laughed. “As if he would even glance at anyone who wasn’t you.”
I didn’t comment. My heart was being pulled in two directions (my body in three), and I didn’t know what to do about it.
We walked for several more hours without speaking, both of us lost in our thoughts.
“We’ll stop soon,” I said, looking ahead through the trees. “Then we can make plans to check out the town.”
With a yawn, Lila nodded her head in agreement.
Max moved a few steps ahead of us, nose low, body alert but not tense enough to signal immediate danger.
Just…aware.
Like me.
It didn’t take long to find something I thought would be relatively safe. It was a small, rundown hunting shack tucked back just far enough from the nearby road to remain unnoticed. Someone had boarded up the windows from the inside, and the door hung slightly crooked on its hinges.
“Home sweet home,” Lila muttered.
“Stay here while I make sure it’s clear.” I pulled GG from my pack.
“I can kill infected, too, you know.” Lila rolled her eyes but did as I said.
Max followed as I approached the door, his eyes alert, watching for danger as I pushed it open just enough to slip inside.
It was in poor shape, but it didn’t seem like anyone had been there recently.
I stuck my head out of the door. “Clear.”
Lila came in, and we got as comfortable as we could without a fire.
We drank another bottle of water each and ate some jerky, then curled up on the floor in our sleeping bags.
Max settled near the door, body angled outward, taking it upon himself to stand guard.
“So, what are you going to do about Adrian?” Lila yawned.
I cracked one eye open. “Why do you keep bringing that up? I have a boyfriend. I don’t need two.”
She smirked. “At the last store we searched, I found two books, and I think you'd really like one of them.”
“I’m already bored,” I muttered, my voice tinged with irritation.
Unfortunately, the girl had lost all fear of me. She knew I’d grown soft on her and was immune to any mean-girl bitchiness I threw her way.
“What was it about, you say?” Lila smirked. “Well, Taryn, let me tell you. This story focused on a lucky, lucky woman who attracted four men and didn’t have to choose between any of them.”
I sighed. “That’s just fiction. Plus, why would anyone need that much dick in their life? To me, it seems greedy.”
She laughed. “You’ve always been a little greedy, so I think that kind of thing would fit you just fine.”
“I really miss the days you were too afraid of me to speak.”
“No, you don’t.” She snuggled further into her sleeping bag. “You love the new, improved me.”
I wanted to argue, but she was right. I found her much more interesting now.
“Wake me if you hear anything,” Lila said quietly, and was asleep in minutes.
It wasn’t that easy for me. I lay there staring up at the ceiling, tracking every sound—the creak of old wood, the whisper of wind against the old shack, Max’s slow, steady breathing.
Waiting.
Dreading the nightmare that would come as soon as sleep took me.
Eventually, exhaustion dragged me under anyway, and the dream began.
Gunfire exploded around me.
Then heat.
Not fire—just somehow wrong.
Too hot for nighttime and way too thick to breathe.
The air tasted like metal…like blood.
My ears rang, sharp and constant, as if something had burst too close and never quite stopped.
I couldn’t hear words.
Just flashes of sound.
-—move
—now
—Taryn—
Hands grabbed me.
Gently.
Not trying to hurt but trying to pull me back.
Or maybe push me forward.
I couldn’t tell.
Then the world tilted. And the house—
No.
The house wasn’t right.
The door—
It was open.
Why was it open?
It shouldn’t have been. I knew it as well as I knew my own name.
The darkness outside wasn’t empty.
It was waiting.
And then—movement.
Too fast.
Too many.
They didn’t break in.
They were already there.
A body hit the floor near my feet.
I didn’t look at the face.
Didn’t want to know.
A gunshot cracked somewhere behind me, loud enough to rattle my teeth.
Then another.
Closer.
“Back!” Ben’s voice—clear for a second, cutting through everything else. “Get the hell back!”
Something slammed into me from the side.
I went down hard, breath punching out of my lungs.
The floor was slick.
I didn’t want to know why.
“Get up,” someone said, low and urgent—Beck, I think—
Or Adrian.
Or both.
They blurred together.
Everything did.
Another sound—
Not a scream.
A choke.
Cut off too fast.
I turned—
Too slow.
Too late.
A shadow moved where it shouldn’t.
Inside.
Again.
Wrong.
So, fucking wrong.
And then—
Ben.
Standing in the doorway.
Blocking it.
Not looking at me.
Not looking back.
Just holding the line.
“Go! Get her out of here!”
He spoke as if he had already decided.
As if it had been decided long before that moment.
Like he’d known something bad was going to happen.
I woke with a sharp inhale, my body already moving before my mind caught up, my hand snapping to my knife as if the threat had followed me out of the dream.
Max was on his feet instantly, a low, dangerous growl vibrating through the room.
“Taryn?” Lila’s voice cut through the dark, tight with sleep and concern.
I took a deep breath, trying to slow my heart rate. “It’s fine,” I said, even though the words felt like a lie the second they left my mouth.
I lay back down, staring into the dark, but sleep didn’t come again.
Because this time, it wasn’t the gunfire that stayed with me.
It wasn’t the blood.
It was my father’s cold, dead eyes.