Thicker than Blood (24 page)

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.

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 fucking 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.

“Who’s in charge?” Alex asked.

“Man named Jeffers,” Bryce answered. “Him and
his old lady run everything. You’ll be meeting them soon. They like
to greet all the new arrivals in person.”

There was a note of pride in Bryce’s voice,
and I couldn’t help but think that maybe this could be a decent
place, especially with a woman at the helm. Because with a woman in
charge, things couldn’t be all bad for the women inside, right?
God, I hoped so.

As we approached the camp I began counting,
estimating there were ten, fifteen, no, nearly thirty buildings in
all, probably more that I couldn’t yet see. Vehicles were
everywhere, taking up the numerous parking lots and scattered
across the lawns. And interspersed through it all were people.
Hundreds and hundreds of people. Milling around, running, walking,
talking, laughing, and shouting.

An array of tents was lined up between the
buildings, some big, some small, in a large variety of colors. From
this distance I couldn’t exactly be sure what they were for, but
from the shouts carrying across the way, it seemed like a street
fair, with vendors selling their wares. And far off, on the
opposite side of the property, I could see several dozen rows of
wind turbines, the blades turning slowly in the breeze.

“This place is huge,” Alex muttered. He
appeared somewhat at ease, but his gaze was everywhere, darting
left and right at a rapid pace, taking in everything. And his body
language was taut and rigid, his posture ramrod straight, all
things that belied his calm and cool exterior.

“Entrance is this way,” Mike said, glancing
over his shoulder. His gaze found mine and he gave me a toothy
smile. I attempted to smile, but more than likely only accomplished
a somewhat strained grimace. Mike might be young, but he was of the
age where sexuality was the first and foremost thought above
everything else. His roaming eyes moving up and down my body made
me want to slap him silly and send him home to his mother. But he
probably didn’t have one, at least not anymore, and had been forced
to grow up around the likes of men like Bryce.

Averting my eyes, I suppressed a shudder.

“Bryce! Man, we sent you out for supplies and
you brought us pussy back instead!”

Three men had appeared on the opposite side
of the fence, close but careful not to touch the electrical death
trap. They were all older, heavily bearded, and in their late
forties or fifties. From our vantage point on the road, they
appeared to be triplets, all of them hairy, overweight, and
carrying two or three large rifles each.

“They ain’t mine!” Bryce grinned at his
friends. “Paul Bunyan over here has claim.”

Immediately all three sets of hungry eyes
sought out Alex. “How much, man?” one asked.

“I got a stash of some pretty sweet steel,”
another called out. “You give me a two-for-one and I’ll set you up
real nice.”

I quickly inched toward Evelyn, who was also
closing the small distance between us. Our hands found each other,
our fingers interlocking as we squeezed each other tightly,
silently conveying our apprehension and fear. Suddenly, my rather
modest dress seemed skimpy, as if this were my fault for exposing
too much skin. Skin that was starting to crawl with dread.

“Alex!” I hissed under my breath. “Alex!”

But Alex wasn’t looking at me. Still walking,
he fixed his stony glare on the three men at the fence as they
walked in tandem with our small group, then shrugged his
shoulders.

“Not for sale,” he called out. “Got a truck,
though. Broke down a couple miles that way. Good condition, just
needs some gas.”

“Got enough trucks to last me a lifetime,”
the man answered. “But I ain’t seen a real redhead in years.” His
beady gaze shifted to Evelyn and his lips twisted into a greasy
smile. “The carpet match the drapes, honey?”

Alex froze mid-step, his hand on his gun, and
turned to face the men at the fence. “They aren’t for sale,” he
said slowly, forcefully, spitting each individual word out between
his teeth with enough venom that the tiny hairs on my arms and neck
rose to attention.

I’d known Alex was formidable, dangerous
even, and could hold his own more often than not. But this show of
dominance over these men, his claiming us in order to protect us
from the dangers of this new world, caused a different sort of
appreciation to blossom within me. He wasn’t just our savior and
our protector, he was more than that. He was the kind of man who
stood up for what he believed, a real man who did everything he
could to prevent evil from spilling over into the remnants of good.
He was a man like Thomas had been, despite his young age, a man of
honor through and through. And I couldn’t help but think that
Thomas would have liked him.

“Told ya so,” Bryce said cheerfully. “Can’t
say I blame ’im myself.”

The men grumbled under their breath, shaking
their heads, their expressions conveying disappointment and
irritation. One by one, they walked away, no longer interested in
haggling with Alex.

“Just a little ways up.” Bryce gestured at a
small bend in the fence, where just around the corner several dozen
heavily armed men wearing fatigues were gathered. “Don’t mind the
artillery, gotta keep this place safe somehow.”

“You know the rule, Bryce,” one of the
soldiers called out, coming to greet us. “Strip down or stay
out.”

“What?” Evelyn asked, her eyes wide.

Bryce, already unbuttoning his jeans, gave
her an apologetic glance. “Them’s the breaks, kiddo. Gotta show
some skin, all your skin, if you wanna get in.”

Horrified, I looked at him with wide eyes as
my mouth fell open. “Why?”

“Looking for bites,” the soldier said, his
steely gaze on me. “Or any signs of infection.”

“Isn’t th-there somewhere p-p-private?” I
stammered, my voice trembling. “Less out in the open?”

“Boss man’s rules,” another soldier said,
coming to stand beside the first. “Nobody’s allowed in until
they’ve proven themselves clean.” He gave me a shark-like smile
while deliberately running his gaze up and down my body.

I pressed my lips together, turning away from
the quickly gathering crowd of men, and sought out Alex. He didn’t
look happy, in fact, he looked downright pissed off and ready to
bite the heads off anyone who dared to come near me. Yet, he was
already pulling up his T-shirt.

“Let’s just get this over with, Lei,” Evelyn
whispered, squeezing my hand. “They can look all they want, but no
one’s going to be touching, okay?”

No, it wasn’t okay. None of this was okay. I
understood the need for this, for keeping any sign of infection out
of such a heavily populated area, considering how quickly it
spread. But this was overkill. At the very least, they could have
set up some sort of makeshift shelter outside the perimeter, giving
people a semblance of privacy.

With a sigh, Evelyn dropped my hand and began
unbuttoning her pants. Whistling and catcalls immediately
commenced, and vulgar, sexually explicit innuendos erupted from the
growing crowd of men. Women too, I noticed. I continued to stand
there, fully dressed, even after both Alex and Evelyn had rid
themselves of every last stitch of their clothing, and alongside an
equally nude Bryce and Mike, drew closer to the fence for their
inspection.

“Arms up,” a soldier demanded, licking his
lips as he appraised Evelyn. “Spread ’em and bend over.” He
grinned, his eyes still firmly fastened on her.

“Lift up your hair, princess,” another
soldier said, drawing closer to Evelyn.

She did as she was told, her blue eyes
burning with a fire that promised retribution if anyone laid a hand
on her. Not that they could, the gate prevented any contact. But
once those gates were open…

Queasy and light-headed, I turned away and
pressed a hand against my stomach. I couldn’t do this; I couldn’t
strip for an entire crowd of people, leering and jeering at me as
if I were some sort of sideshow animal. I was a person, a woman; I
had feelings and emotions and pride. Oh God, why didn’t anyone seem
understand that anymore? Or care at all? Where was the
humanity?

Dead, I thought bitterly. Dead, like
everything else.

“If that one doesn’t strip, or leave, within
the next two minutes, I’m putting a bullet through her head.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, clenching my fists
into tight little balls. I couldn’t do this; I just couldn’t. I’d
already been subjected to enough torment and torture to last me
several lifetimes, and I’d be damned before I willingly subjected
myself to it.

“You hear me, sweetheart?” the same voice
called out. “I’m counting down, starting now!”

“Lei…”

I opened my eyes to see Alex standing in
front of me. Already dressed again, he gazed down at me with dark
eyes full of compassion.

“Lei,” he repeated, his tone gentle. “I’ll be
right there next to you. You don’t have to look at them, you just
look at me, okay?”

Staggered breaths caused my mouth to quiver.
“We don’t need this place,” I whispered. “We don’t need them. We
were fine on our own.”

But even I knew I was lying. We were far from
fine. Daily we had to scavenge, usually finding nothing of use. We
had no safe place, no guarantees, nothing but the clothes on our
backs and one another.

Alex shook his head. “We do. I wish we
didn’t, but we do.” His voice was desperate, his eyes pleading with
me.

He didn’t like it either, and I could tell it
was killing him to admit defeat, especially after making it this
far with just the three of us. But even a king knew he couldn’t
survive without his subjects, and whereas Alex was much like a king
in this new world, powerful yet just, he too knew when he needed
help.

I closed my eyes again, trying to find
someplace inside myself where I could go, where I could hide inside
my own skin in order to get through the next several minutes. I
already had enough shame to last me several lifetimes, and the
thought of adding more to it was sickening.

“One minute!” the voice called out.

“Lei, please.” Alex sounded somewhat
frightened now, whether it was his fear of never finding another
place like this one, or his fear of me being gunned down like an
infected, or maybe both, I didn’t know.

“I can’t lose you,” he whispered
fiercely.

“You barely know me,” I snapped, trying to
pull free of his grasp.

Tightening his hold on me, he bent his
head close to mine, forcing me to look at him. “I do know you,” he
hissed. “I know you hum songs from the sixties and seventies when
you’re bored or sad. I know that most nights you cry yourself to
sleep. I know that you’re usually thinking about Thomas when you
smile. Lei, I know where every bruise and cut on your body is and
what caused them, and I also know Eve is the only person on this
planet who makes you feel safe.
I know you
,
Leisel
.”