In Between Seasons (The Fall) (5 page)

“Hey, sleepy head,” I greeted
Hunter as he sat up beside me.

“You like thos
e things don’t you?” Hunter observed
,
nodding to the pop tart I was warming over the fire.

I bit off a piece
and
smiled,
“Mhmm…toasty.”

“How’s your tongue feeling right now?”
Hunter teased as he shook his head at me.

“B
urnt,” I said through the mouthfu
l I was trying to swallow.

“Is that one for me?”

“
Of course, yo
u cook dinner, I cook breakfast,” I replied,
handing it to him.

“
Unwrapping
it from the foil must have been a real ch
allen
ge for you,” h
e said
as
his handsome lips curled in a clever smile.

“I’ll ha
ve you know
that
I actually can cook
and
quite well.”

“Like what? M
ac n’ cheese from a box?” h
e said
,
an eyebrow
raised
.

“You’re a jerk…” I said
,
sighing
and
looking in the opposite direction.
I really wasn’t sure what mac n’ cheese
was
,
but
I knew it wasn’t something good.

“I’m sure you’re a very talented cook. I can’t wait to see what you can do with a
ll the food we have at the base,” h
e said
,
touching my shoulder
and
sending shivers down my spine. I didn’t want
to turn
and
look into his eyes
because I felt that if
I did I might get lost in them,
“You k
now I was joking right?” h
e asked
,
his tone serious.

Ah, what the hell.

“Yeah, of course,” I said as I looked over my shoulder at him,
“I know you know I can outwit you any day.”

He stood brushing off his jeans
and
held out his hand to me,
“Now
,
I’m not so sure about that one.”

“Thanks,” I said with a huff.

“But we do make a good team,” he commented
,
and
his eyes showed me
that
he was
sincere,
“I
just need to teach you a few life
and
death skills that don’t involve hiding in trees. I have a feeling that trick won’t work for too much longer.”

“You think some
one else is tracking us?” I asked,
looking around me
and
hugging my arms to my body.

“I just think someone might be looking for you, whet
her or not you think they would,” he replied,
watching my reaction carefully.

“I’m not going back either way.”

He threw dirt over the fire
and
held his hand out to me,
“Good. There’s a safe house about five miles from here. We won’t
have to travel too much today
and
tonight we can sleep in real beds.”

I had gotten use to his
body next to mine while I slept
,
and
I favored sleeping with him on the hard ground over a soft bed alone.
I was strangely comfortable about the fact that he was beginning to alter my perception of the world
and
although most of it was bad
there was one good thing that made it worth it—that it was the truth
and
that he was there no matter what.

“This is it,” Hunter’s
running slowed
to a jog
,
and
we entered a clearing.

I slowed as I s
aw the log constructed building,
“Blends in doesn’t it?”
I noted
.

“If you’re in a rush you would never know it was h
ere. That’s the point of course,” Hunter responded,
slowing to a walk.

“Is this a safe house for just your tribe?”
I wondered,
looking over my shoulder.
I had started to do this ever since we had run into the hunters.

“It’s supposed to be,” Hunter said releasing my hand f
rom his own, “b
ut I’m not
sure if it
really
is.”

“Do people live here?” I replied
as I watched
smoke curl up out of the chimney
and
blend into the clouds in the sky.

“Yes, they run the safe house all year long
,
so
anytime we need to stop we are able. We can stock up on supplies, sleep on a soft bed
,
and
shower.”

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous for them to run this place for just your tribe? I mean other tribes must
travel through here when they’
re tracking or hunting.”

He looked d
own at me his eyes not blinking,
“Exactly. My father says they’
re on our side
,
but
I wonder if th
ey’
re on a side we don’t know about.”

“That doesn’t make
you nervous?” I wondered,
a shiver
running throug
h me as I thought of the bulky h
unter tha
t had tried to kill us
.

He slipped his hand in mine quickly
and
squeezed it before letting it go as the door to the house swung
open,
“I trust Collin
and
Victoria to a certain degree
,
but
I’m always cautious. I’ll p
rotect you if anything happens—
don’t worry.”

“Hunter, your father said you would be traveling through soon. He didn’t say you would be bringing a friend though?” A man I assumed was Collin said as we reached the porch of the house. Collin was a slight man with thick glasses
and
a modest smile. He didn’t seem the type to betray anyone as scary as Hunter.

“
This is Kate. I was returning from my mission
and
found her wandering the woods. She’
s a POW now
,
and
I hope you won’t let my father know a
bout this. It’s something I’
d like to explain to him myself
espec
ially after I failed my mission,” Hunter clarified
as we stepped into the warm house.

“Of course not. A POW? What tribe?” Colli
n asked
with a look of skepticism
.

“She’s not sure; she had no clue ab
out the world she was living in,” Hunter responded
with a shrug.
I was surprised by how well Hunter could lie.
The fact made my stomach jump a bit, but then as his eyes met mine it settled.

“And why were you w
andering the woods?” Collin questioned,
his brow knit together as he looked at me.

“I got sick of my parents
and
ran away. I
guess there’s no going back now,” I retorted,
not sure if I appeared upset in any way.

Collin narrowed
his eyes at me before shrugging,
“Victoria, Hunter is here p
lus one very pretty young woman,” He shouted out as he peered over his shoulder into the hallway behind him.

“Plus one?”
A young woman
onl
y a few years older than me repeated,
coming into the
room. She cocked her head at me as
her straight
strawberry
blonde hair fell
over her shoulders. She blinked her brown eyes twice
with
a smile
coming to her face,
“Nice to meet you?”

“Kate,” I shook
her hand.

“My name is
Victoria, Collin is my capturer,” she teased,
putting her hand on his shoulder
. A large diamond flashed
on her finger.

“I told your father it wasn’t smart to send you on a mission so late in fall. It could snow any day now
and
of course you don’t have a coat—and you ran away without one?”

“It
was a spur of the moment thing,” I interjected,
awkwardly crossing my arms.

“My father’s orde
rs were also
spur
of the moment,
”
Hunter added.

“When are they
not, eh?” Collin replied
,
“We should get you into the safety of the basement. There have been several people out tracking lately. Did you run into any?”

“Yes, it looked like some from the McCrery tribe. Typical steroid pumped men with little sk
ill or brains,” Hunter explained
as Collin
led
the way
to what looked like a bookshelf
and
moved a statue of a woman dressed in blue robes. The bookshelf swung open to reveal a set of stairs.

“McCrery is a pain in the ass,” Collin retorted,
rolling his eyes.

“You’
ve had run-ins w
ith them?” Hunter aske
d
,
his eyes darkening
,
“Do we need to send out some h
unters to defend the area?”

Collin shook his head
as he realized
his slip,
“No need man. They ignore us fo
r the most part. They think we’re some freaks who
have no idea what civilization is.”

“You let my father know if any of the tribes become an issue. I’m sure it’s some
thing he would be interested in,” Hunter commanded,
his eyes searching Collin’s face for a break in countenance.

Collin gave him nothing, “Of course.
”

Victoria’s face wa
s easier to read. S
he was going
to give him hell for what he had said
,
although
it wasn’t
clear to me what was going on,
“I’ll get you some of my clothing
,
doll. You look about my size—four?”

“Yeah, thanks,” I answered
over my shoulder as Hunter turned down the stairs
and
I followed.

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs Hunter turned the knob of the door
and
reached his hand inside turning a light on.

“You still trust them?” I asked
as he closed the door behind us.

“Yes
, I don’t think they want to choose sides to be honest
with you, which is fine with me,” Hunter replied,
running his hands through his hair.

I looked around the large open space. There were two full size
beds with crisp sheets on them
,
and
a couch I just wanted to dive onto because it looked so comfortable. To the right was a washing machine
and
dryer along with a mini-fridge
and
a door that I assumed led to a bathroom. To the right of me was a fire place that was crackling the warmth into the room.

“I guess you don’t have to sleep with
stinky old me tonight,” I observed as I tried to keep my tone controlled
.

“Nope, you can take a shower
and
not smell anymore,
”
Hunter retorted, and I tried not to notice that he hadn’t said we weren’t sleeping in the same bed. I wasn’t sure if it was an invitation, but I knew I was blushing at the thought.

“Yeah, as
i
f you’re ju
st a bushel of roses,” I teased as I tried to stop my brain.

“My sweat smells sexy,” Hunter commented
with a smirk as I flopped on one of the beds.
I couldn’t help
but
stare as he lifted his shirt off
and
tossed it in the pile to be washed.
I had known he had defined muscles just from the way he looked in a t-shirt
,
but
without his shirt on was a whole different story. His chest was defined in a way
that almost left me breathless
and
his stomach was flat with
a
slight definition of the individual
muscles that
lead
to his striking hip bones.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a guy without a shirt
on
?” He teased
with a slight
, yet
painful smirk.

I
stood
and
stepped forward in the silence.

“What are these from?” I asked
,
placing my hand on a large scar on his chest
and
looking at the many more that marred his perfect body.

He placed
his hand
over mine as he bowed his head,
his eyes darkening. His
Adam’s
apple rose
and
fell bef
ore he managed to speak,
“I told you war wasn’t glorious.”

“I thought generals only gave the orders.”

He shook his head again
, his skin
hot against mine,
“I’ve fought on the front lines. I’ve killed too many people without a thought. My hands are permanently covered in blood.”

“War leaves it
s mark on everyone,
” I said
,
looking into his eyes
as the whole world blurred
around me.

“I’ve killed a lot of people Kate
,
and
these mark
s are all I have to show for it,” his hand tightened around mine,
“The more you know about me
the less scared you seem to be
when you should hate me
and
run away as fast as you can.”

“Is that it? You think I’ll hate you if I know who you real
ly are?” I replied
our faces inches apart.

“You should…”

“I won’t
. No matter what you tell me…
I won’t.”

His eyes dropped,
“You can’t know that.”

“Why?”

“
Because you don’t know what I’
ve done,” h
e said closing his eyes
and
taking a deep breath
his hand still tight over mine, “I don’t even know why I’ve done the things I’ve done. I’ve done them because I was told to. I could have killed you…”

“But you didn’t Hunter. It shows that you are still a good person. I don’t understand these wars…or what they are about--” I began.

“I wish I could explain to you what they are about, but I can’t because I don’t know. My father and your father shared the same opinion about whatever happened—that forming a tribe, and their own personal armies was the only way
to stay safe—to keep what they thought was theirs,” Hunter sighed, “but I never had to go along with it…I should never have gone along with it.”

“You’re
a victim of these wars.
You
did what you had to do.
It doesn’t matter what you’ve d
one Hunter. You are wh
o you are,” I reassured him as
my heart raced
It felt as though our bodies were magnetically charged
,
reaching for each other subconsciously.

“Being a victim is only an excuse
that
we use to justify our own cruel actions. I’m a beast, Kate. Everyone
sees
it
but
you,” h
is eyes searched
mine for a realization that
would never
come
.