Love and Decay, Boy Meets Girl (6 page)

“It’s the mountains,” Reagan whispered as if
it cost her something.

I pulled all those intense, consuming
emotions back, regained some mental stability and tried really hard
to look at this from her perspective. She had been on the run since
her parents died- probably hadn’t even taken the time to grieve for
them or her dead boyfriend. Her life had gone from completely
normal and probably a little spoiled to upheaval and constant
danger. She didn’t have a home anymore, a permanent place to stay
or anything but the pack on her back and her friend at her side.
And both of those things could be taken from her at any given
moment. She wasn’t suicidal… she was purposeless, lost, alone. She
needed someone to give her something to work for. She felt out of
control and needed a way to grapple back some of the stability
she’d lost the moment Feeders entered the world.

“We have mountains here,” I reminded her,
testing her. I hoped that would persuade her away from the worst
place she could possibly go.

“My dad’s cousin lives, or um, lived down
there. As far as I know, she’s still alive. Anyway, she was this
missionary. She had an orphanage in the Andes Mountains. When
things started to get bad, she begged my dad to move us down there.
She said it was safer than Iowa. She was protected by the
mountains, there were very few people up there and she knew of this
ancient Mayan city that had walls. She said we’d be able to protect
ourselves, rebuild society,” Reagan explained with that same
confident voice.

“Yeah, and when’s the last time you talked to
her?” I pressed, feeling the anger rise again. Why couldn’t she see
this plan was just completely bat shit?

She didn’t miss a beat, “Right before my
parents died. The phones were still working and my parents were
considering it. They thought they would see how the assembly went,
what other news was being floated around and then we would either
stay or buy a plane ticket.”

The length of time that had passed didn’t
seem to faze her at all. This girl was an enigma- a surprising
dichotomy of careful, world-wise cynicism and naïve hope and sweet
belief. And there was something in that, something magnetic and
irresistible.

While I struggled with something helpful to
say, my little sister caught a different point to the story than
the rest of us. “Your parents died early,” she whispered. She
looked at Reagan with a swelling compassion that kicked me in the
chest. Even Page could see how hurt and broken Reagan and Haley
were. I could probably give them and their crazy plan a break.

Maybe.

As long as they agreed to give it up before
tomorrow morning.

“You’ll never make it through Mexico,” I
warned her.

And I was right about her indomitable will
because the next thing she said was, “We’ve made it this far.”

I couldn’t indulge this fantasy anymore, “By
pure luck and our generosity.”

She snorted and shot me a patronizing glare,
“Hardly. We would have made it out just fine. In case you didn’t
notice, Haley swept up down there.”

“Yeah, fine,” I conceded. “But now her gun is
empty. And how much ammo do you have left, Reagan? You hadn’t even
drawn your weapon when you came flying through that door. I bet you
have less than a handful of bullets left. I bet you’re on the last
of everything.”

“That’s not entirely true. I’ve got plenty of
makeup.”

God, she was such a smartass. And it was kind
of turning me on.

“My point exactly.” I was right. She needed
to admit that I was right.

“Ok, great plan-maker, what’s your long term
goal? You can’t stay here forever. Eventually you, too, will run
out of supplies, water and food. Then, what?” She vibrated with
anger and tension. Her cheeks blushed with frustration and her
perfect lips pouted adorably at me.

I wanted to keep her mad- keep her like this.
And then kiss her until she turned all that passion and energy on
me.

I really needed to get my life together. What
was going on with me? It had to be the two years of celibacy.
It
had to be.

And that smart mouth.

“We’re heading north,” Vaughan answered when
I couldn’t. “Nova Scotia, or anywhere isolated in the Canadian
provinces.”

Nelson explained further only it sounded like
he might be trying to sell it to them. “No slavers up north and not
as many people-turned-Zombies to run into. We’re going through the
Dakotas, taking our time so that we can stay strong, well-fed.”

“Racing your way anywhere, so that you’re
starving and unarmed is foolish.” Ok, probably that was low even
for me, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Going the pace of a snail, so that all that
glorious land you were gunning for, is occupied and settled, is
just as foolish,” she countered.

“It’s not the California Gold Rush, Reagan.
You’re playing with your lives when you expose yourself like this.
You’re obviously starved and undersupplied. What would have
happened to you if we wouldn’t have found you digging through the
women’s clothing? Where would you have slept tonight?” I demanded.
And I was honestly curious. They had survived this long, I could
admire them for that. But they were playing with fire. They were
risking their lives every moment they chose to live this vagabond
existence. It was fine for them before. But now they had me. They
had us.

“What do you care, Hendrix?” she hissed at
me, clearly unnerve by my questions and interest in their welfare.
I was a little unnerved by it too- Ok, more than a little. “We are
not your concern. In fact, in T-six hours, we’re going to be well
on our way, headed toward the other side of the equator than you.
Leave it alone.”

We stared each other down, waiting for each
other to break. I knew she wouldn’t. I knew she was dead set on her
plan and well beyond reason. But she should know I wouldn’t back
down either. Not a chance in hell.

Vaughan cleared his throat, trying to diffuse
the tension that was building between us. “Alright, now that we’ve
gotten that settled, it’s time for bed, Page.”

That set us all into motion. Vaughan got Page
ready for bed and Haley and Reagan disappeared to do more girl
stuff before they disappeared into their corner of our space.

I stood there thinking for a long time- maybe
too long. Eventually everyone was quiet and spaced out across our
make-shift home.

I walked over to where Vaughan and Nelson
were talking in hushed voices. Nelson was sitting on my bed, while
Vaughan leaned forward, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. I
sat down heavily next to Nelson and Vaughan raised his head and met
my stare with tired eyes.

“We should have never let them in, Hendrix,”
Nelson said in a low, regretful voice.

“And why is that?” I demanded.

“Because now they’re here. And we can’t
ignore them.” Nelson stared at his feet, embarrassed to admit what
I already knew he felt.

“We at least should never have asked them
what their plans were,” Vaughan sighed.

“No,” I disagreed. “It started before that.
For me, it started before we even let them in the door.”

“So what are we going to do?” Vaughan
demanded. “Go with them? What about the little ones? Or what about
them
? They haven’t exactly invited us along.”

“We can take care of them,” I put in.
“Protect them.”

“Is that what this is about? You can’t
protect everyone, Hendrix. Even if we go with them, there’s no
guarantee that….”

“That’s not what Hendrix is saying,” Nelson
interjected. “It’s not about protecting everyone who needs
protection. If it were that, we never would have left home.”

“Then what’s it about?” Vaughan demanded.

“It’s about protecting
them
,” Nelson
confirmed. “Come on, Vaughan. These girls…. They’re not going to
make it by themselves. Even if they manage to fight off Feeders and
the elements and hell, wild animals; there is no way settlements
are going to keep letting them pass through. Look at them. They’re
every sick bastard’s wet dream. They’re as good as whores if we
don’t do something.”

“Geez,” Vaughan spit out disgustedly.

I hadn’t even thought it through that far.
But Nelson was right.

“They need us, Vaughan,” I confirmed in a
serious voice.

“And Page?”

I already had my answer for this because it
was true. “They’re obviously capable girls. Think of it as mutually
beneficial. We protect them. They help protect Page. Plus, you have
to admit having some female influence will be good for her. They’ll
make all that girly stuff important. They’ll make her education
important. Girls are naturals at those things. We haven’t even
tried to teach her to read since we left with her. We’re keeping
her alive, but we’re failing her in every other way.”

“Damn it.” Vaughan put his head back in his
hands and pulled at his hair. “But South America? Hell, could they
have picked a worse destination?”

“That’s a long way away,” Nelson reminded us.
“Let’s just see where it goes. Maybe, they change their minds.
Maybe we find a better plan. The end goal isn’t about where we end
up, but that we end up there together.”

“Wise, brother,” I smirked at him.

“Alright,” Vaughan looked up at us and
nodded. “Alright, we do this.”

“And we don’t give them a choice,” I added.
“I mean, we can make them feel like they have a choice, but we all
know that they don’t, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Vaughan agreed. “This is the only
way. This is the only way they survive.”

What I didn’t say, what I couldn’t say, was
that I was beginning to think this was the only way for me to
survive too.

We hatched a plan to approach them in the
morning and then crawled into our respective beds. The room was
completely quiet; still and pensive with silence. I closed my eyes
but couldn’t fall asleep. There were too many things on my racing
mind, plus the very real possibility Reagan would try to sneak out
of here in the morning without alerting us.

I wasn’t sure how long I laid there, thinking
about what I would say to her, how I would convince her that
joining forces was the only way to go, but when the first hand of a
Feeder fist landed on the steel encasing we’d melded over the
stairwell I wasn’t even surprised.

I sat up in bed and realized this was the
exact opportunity I needed.

She couldn’t leave me, if she needed me.

But I would let it be her choice. I would
always, always let it be her choice. Well, kind of. I wasn’t going
to hit her over the head and drag her back to my cave. But our
futures were connected now and she would just have to accept
that.

I got up, slipped my boots on and armed
myself to the hilt. We were all ready for this. We had a protocol
in place, and an escape plan that had been hatched and practiced
since we arrived here. I walked over to the girls, intending to
help them get ready. I caught the girls looking a little dazed and
disoriented in the bed they were sharing.

Taking a breath for courage, I said, “Girls,
we’re moving out in three minutes. Throw some shoes on. You don’t
have time to pack.”

She snorted again. “Like, we’re not
completely ready to go.”

And then they jumped up and threw some shirts
over their tank tops and shouldered their packs.

“Ready,” Haley said with a smile.

I watched, fascinated, while Reagan threw her
hair on the top of her head and tied it together with a rubber
band. Incredible.

“Do you have any more of those you want to
share?” she asked me, eyeing my semiautomatic hungrily.

“Over by Vaughan.” I pointed at our healthy
stash of weapons we’d been accumulating since we began this whole
journey. Hell, half of them were from even before that. Our house
hadn’t exactly been against the second amendment. “Take your
pick.”

And then I stood stunned, half-paralyzed as I
watched them bounce over to drool over guns, knives and
bullets.

Damn, I was already in love with this
girl.

I kept an eye on her while she armed herself
and her friend and while I helped my brothers get ready and pack up
Page. We worked seamlessly, a well-oiled machine of preparedness.
Our skill with planning for the worst and understanding which
obstacles to expect would always save us. Our dad trained us well.
We could navigate these uncertain waters simply because we already
came equipped with internal compasses.

Finally, we stood in a clustered group,
waiting for the melded shut elevators to be pried open. I found
Reagan in the crowd and chose to stand next to her. I now had a
place in her life, this was me stepping up to fulfill it.

Could I finally blame this on destiny? Fate?
A greater being that thrust us together- right time and right
place… all that?

It was hard to say. But only because the
impossible life we lived made believing in something bigger and
wiser than me nearly impossible.

Had someone asked me this same question
before the world went to shit, then I might have believed in cosmic
forces shifting earth plates and stars aligning until Reagan and I
were put in each other’s paths.

Now, I was less concerned with what destiny
had in store for us and much more determined to make the best of
this beautiful prospect.

Maybe I wasn’t spiritual anymore, but I had
definitely turned into an opportunist.

Reagan was my opportunity.

“This leads to the outside?” she asked me in
a strong voice. She wasn’t even afraid. The entire room quaked and
echoed with the pounding fists of hungry Feeders trying to get
inside to eat us and Reagan was only determined to get out.

“Eventually,” I answered. I couldn’t even
pretend to be as cool as her. Energy and adrenaline hummed through
my blood, bringing me fully awake and setting every one of my
instincts and senses on edge. I felt torn in half trying to keep an
eye on Page and on Reagan.