RecruitZ (Afterworld Series) (21 page)

“Honestly, I understand.” He stopped walking and turned to face me, gently grabbing my wrist. I unexpectedly took a step forward and looked up, his eyes focused on mine. I felt a wave of discomfort run through me and I didn’t understand why. Was it the memory of Gavin?

“We’ve both seen things that very few people even believe exist. When I find others who have witnessed or experienced the same horrors, as twisted as this sounds, I find comfort in knowing I’m not alone. On some level, there’s a connection that binds us all. That truth binds us all,” he replied.

I looked over toward the woods and thought about how many months Gavin and I had been on the run, taking shelter wherever we could, running from the undead and then coming out of the outbreak alive and well. Yet months after the outbreak, here I stood alone and feeling dead inside. I understood what Preston was saying. I just wasn’t sure I’d be able to be so willing to accept complete strangers into my life. I didn’t see how that could make up for my losses, the heartache I pushed out of my mind every hour of every day.

Preston ran his finger along my chin to bring me back to him. “I’ve been so alone since I lost my mother and sister that these people, the believers, are like family. There’s no judgment, they’re accepting—supportive,” he murmured. “Just like family.”

I stayed silent as his words burrowed their way into me. Family. Something I no longer had. Something he no longer had. But somehow I was the one who felt completely alone. I was the one hardened, bitter and angry. He wasn’t.

“Listen, I know it sounds odd, but having these relationships brings a strange sort of comfort,” he said, bringing his hand away from my face. “Just something to think about.”

The moment his touch left my skin, I felt an immediate emptiness. I craved the very comfort he was talking about, and I hadn’t even realized it. I wanted to be held, touched. There was a reason humans built communities within communities. It was one of the many things that separated us from the zombies.

“Thanks,” I said, moving away from him. The wind was picking up, blowing my hair all around. Anchoring a loose strand behind my ear, I glanced over at Preston. “I’m ready to hear what Braden and Emily have to say.”

“Let’s get on it,” he replied, his stride twice as long as mine as he took off toward the front entrance.

I jogged to keep up with him, and Emily and Braden were already on the stairs, hauling our items inside. Emily had composed herself since we had moved the truck.

I picked up my stray backpack and trailed behind everyone as we moved inside. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as if someone was watching me from behind. I glanced over my shoulder toward the driveway and wooded area and saw no one, not like I thought I would.

“Do you guys get lots of visitors?” I asked, closing the door behind me.

“Not unexpected ones,” Braden said, punching Preston in the arm. “But we make an exception for this guy.”

“Why’s that?” I asked, placing my backpack on the floor.

“He’s like family,” Emily said, her eyes falling to the wood floor as if she’d suddenly revealed something she shouldn’t have.

“So you’re a B&B?” I asked. There wasn’t any signage leading to the home, and it was as hidden as anything I’d ever encountered, besides maybe Preston’s underground abode.

Braden laughed and shook his head. “That’s what he told you?”

Perturbed, I glanced over at Preston, who was beaming. “Yeah. That’s what he told me.”

“I guess that’s one way of looking at it. Follow me to the great room and we’ll start from the beginning,” Emily said, gesturing down the hall.

Preston rolled out his hands urging me to walk in front of him. As I stepped forward, he placed his hand on my shoulder, and rather than flinch, my body actually relaxed with his touch. He gave me a light squeeze as we began down the hall, and I caught a look of relief behind his expression.

Emily was pouring coffee into our mugs, and Braden grabbed the plate of cookies. I clutched two mugs of the steaming liquid for Preston and me, and I followed Braden down a long hallway, which led into the enormous great room.

“This house goes on forever,” I said.

The room had a large sectional cornering the entire back of the room. One entire wall was lined with bookshelves, and a coffee table that looked like it was built out of computer boards was centered directly in front of the sectional. Soft snoring, from the corner of the room, alerted me to a tan-colored dog snoozing on an overstuffed pet bed.

Emily caught my gaze and started laughing. “How do you like our guard dog, Burt? He’s a Shar Pei. Built of toughness.”

I started laughing and watched Burt slowly wake up from the commotion and stretch his front paws before burying into the soft surrounds of his bed once more.

“Have a seat wherever you’d like,” Braden said.

He sat at the end of the sectional, near a set of French doors that led onto a concrete patio. Emily sat next to him and tucked her feet underneath her. I took a spot directly in front of the coffee table and placed both of our mugs on top.

“That’s an interesting piece of furniture,” I said, looking at the coffee table more closely.

“Thanks. It’s hooked into our main frame,” Braden said. “Not what you’re looking at… we just used those old motherboards and stuff to conceal the real jewel. We figured no one would actually think we’d make something so obvious. And it looks kind of cool.”

Emily rolled her eyes and shook her head. “It only looks cool to a geek.”

“Then I guess that’s what I am,” Braden laughed.

“Now about this B&B that isn’t?” I asked.

“So what do you know about the BN?” Emily asked, grinning.

I looked over at Preston and he just smiled.

“BN?” I asked. “Apparently nothing.”

“Have you been hauling her around everywhere and not telling her anything?” Emily scolded Preston.

“I haven’t been hauling her anywhere. I’ve just been trying to keep up with her.” Preston held up his hand as if to dismiss his fault.

“It’s the Believers Network. Kind of a lame thing to be called so we shortened it to BN,” Emily said.

“Okay…” I raised a brow.

“What you experienced with your husband and Preston with his sister isn’t as uncommon as one might think. It’s actually quite widespread all through the states, and we don’t know who is or isn’t involved. We’ve been slowly creating an underground network and refuge where information is collected,” Emily said.

“Almost every state has a safe house like this one, and some states even have two. It’s a place where we can gather and help disseminate news and information about the occurrences that are continuing to pop up all over. Each home is equipped with enough food to survive three months for twenty people,” Braden said. “We also are able to monitor potential recruits.”

I didn’t want to rain on their parade but twenty? Twenty people?

“It may not seem like much, but anything more, and we’d be noticed,” Emily said, catching my expression. “But if you do the math, across the country we have the capability to feed and arm over seven-hundred people. A CTA at a moment’s notice. As more safe houses are formed, obviously the numbers of fighters ready and willing will increase.”

“I’m sorry. What’s a CTA?” I questioned.

“Call to Action,” Braden answered. “We also offer a place to stay for other members who are just passing through.”

“So you’re forming a network of people who will… what?” I asked.

“Who will be willing to stop at nothing to fight for the truth,” Preston said, surprising me. “We take great precautions to search out people who’ve encountered similar situations.”

“But first we have to find out what that whole truth is,” I whispered.

“Exactly,” Emily confirmed, trading a nervous glance with Preston.

And then it dawned on me. I didn’t search out Shackles and the zombie pit. These three searched me out. That’s why I was able to find the information so readily. They hacked into my wireless and ensured I found the information that would lead me directly to Shackles and into the hands of Preston. My heart started thumping inside my chest as I thought about what that really meant. I had been followed, hacked—spied on! One moment Preston was begging me to trust and the next violating everything I held dear. Furious was putting it mildly.

I stood up hurriedly, and my knee knocked the coffee table. “Excuse me,” I said, attempting to get by Preston, but he didn’t budge.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said, his voice low, gravelly. He stood up and wrapped his hand around my elbow. “You need us as much as we need you.” His eyes flashed a wildness I hadn’t seen before.

And I knew I wasn’t going anywhere.

I paced back and forth in the bedroom that they forcibly brought me to, my shoes clacking against the hardwood floors. They had locked it from the outside. Not that I couldn’t climb out the window or possibly even bust through the door…but then what?

I’d been so foolish to think I’d come up with the leads on my own. And worse, I was not only no closer to the truth but on the run for my life. Anger didn’t even begin to cover my sentiment toward the people downstairs. And Preston…I shook my head and glanced at my backpack.

It had been unzipped partially.

Great
.
When did that happen?

I grabbed the pack and opened it the rest of the way. Gavin’s notebook wasn’t inside.

Of course
.

I walked to the window that overlooked the back of the property and thought about my choices. Did I actually have any or was I only fooling myself once more?

What did they want with me? I turned back to the room and leaned against the window ledge. The room was quite spacious with a four-poster bed, a mirrored dresser, and two large chests of drawers. There was a light blue goose down comforter spread across the bed, and the walls were a complimentary grey. How soothing of them.

I took in a deep breath right when I heard a light tap on the door.

“Yeah?” I called.

“Can I come in?” Preston asked.

“I’m not the one who locked it, so go for it.” I crossed my arms and waited for him to open it.

I watched as the wooden door slowly opened, and he entered, balancing a saucer containing a cup of tea and a cookie in his left hand.

“You shouldn’t have,” I said, half snarling.

“I thought you might like something a little less anxiety causing than—”

I laughed, interrupting him. “You think I’m going to drink something that any of you bring me?”

He placed the saucer on the dresser and picked up the cookie, taking a bite. “See, I’m not dying. I can take a sip of the tea, too, if you’d like.”

“Is that supposed to reassure me? Because I distinctly remember our conversation outside about trust,” I said, glaring at him.

He had changed from Gavin’s clothes into a faded pair of jeans and a black wool sweater. His hair was damp from a shower, and he looked relaxed but concerned.

“Let me ask you this.” He walked over to the bed and took a seat directly across from me, his eyes not leaving mine for a second. “How else would you have liked us to go about reaching you? Do you really think you would’ve given us the time of day if we showed up on your doorstep?”

I didn’t respond, but I kept my gaze fastened to his.

“Everything I’ve told you has been true,” he said softly.

“You haven’t told me much,” I said.

“You’re right,” he confessed. “But I had to ensure you really did believe that your husband was targeted and that you had the research he was working on.”

I was so angry all I heard was my blood pounding in my ears. I saw his lips moving, but I didn’t care what else he had to say. I had been played.

“You used me,” I mumbled, interrupting his excuse-laden speech.

“Don’t you think you were using me just as much?” his brow furrowed.

I guess I was.

“But I didn’t have a network of seven-hundred people on my side while doing it. It was only me attempting to find answers about what happened to my husband.”