Evernight Publishing ®

ISBN: 978-1-77233-139-4

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: Karyn White

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

When the caterpillar thought it was the end of the world she turned into a butterfly.

—Anonymous

RAVEN’S HELL

Savages, 2

Jenika Snow

Preface

A flu vaccine was what collapsed civilization.

Something as simple as an immunization was found to stop the spread of cancer. It had been hailed worldwide as a magnificent accomplishment, one where the scientists had thought they had come across something monumental. They had, but what they brought to humans was a hell on earth. The ones who had gotten the vaccine started exhibiting signs of cannibalism and necrosis right away. They became far sicker than anyone could have imagined. Everyone thought they were safe if they stayed away, waited out the sickness. They refused to take responsibility for what they had done, what they had created. They had thought they were helping people, curing something as devastating as cancer.

They had been wrong.

Whatever was in the flu shots had infected people, changing something inside of them and making them crazed, thirsty for blood, and something that wasn’t considered human any longer. It slowly killed them from the inside out, made their flesh rot, every orifice bleed, and all logical reasoning vanish. And this was the world they lived in now, tried to survive each and every day with obstacles thrown against them. Starvation, death, rape, and being hunted by walking corpses was the world now, and the ones standing needed to be the strongest, and have no remorse in trying to survive.

Chapter One

New York City, 2013

The music was loud, the room filled with smoke, and naked flesh gyrated in front of him. Collin Suthers leaned back, brought the cigar to his mouth, and inhaled deeply. The smoke billowed out around him when he exhaled, and the sight before him had his dick hardening. There were two naked women sitting in front of him, their hands on each other, their mouths fused together, and the thought of them getting it on for his viewing pleasure a guarantee in the very near future.

The club he was currently in was one of many he owned in New York. This was his empire, his world, and he controlled it any way he saw fit. He wasn’t a good man, didn’t care about anything but what allowed him to grow as a King in every way. He fucked any female he wanted, because they were there for the taking. He killed without remorse when the time called for it, and he never looked back. Never. He did things to ensure he stayed on top, and because of that he survived. He always survived, and always would.

Marco, one of the men working for him stepped up to Collin, leaned down, and whispered in his ear.

“Mr. Suthers, the shipment is here for your inspection.”

Collin stood, smoothed his hands down his three-piece suit, and made his way to the back room. The room was lit with harsh florescent lighting, but this space was used to store the club supplies and conduct Collin’s less than legal business deals. He moved away from the shelving and stopped at the stainless steel wall that held bottles of stocked liquor. Collin gestured for Marco to proceed. He crouched and pushed one of the boxes of bottled beer aside. Marco pressed the hidden lever that had the wall opening up and revealing a small office. Collin heard the side door open and saw two men coming forward with black briefcases in their hands. Collin’s men patted them down for weapons once more, because although they had been frisked before they were allowed in his club, he didn’t trust anyone.

They walked into the back room, and the wall shut behind them, sealing them in. Collin had Marco and Peter standing guard, their guns visible if these two junkie fuckers thought to try anything. If they were smart and knew Collin’s reputation they would not, of course, but they were drug addicts so anything was possible.

“Collin, we have some primo shit here—”

“Just shut up and put the fucking cases on the table.” Collin didn’t have time for conversation. He didn’t give a shit what these assholes thought. “If the product isn’t up to standards then the solution for bringing me less than quality drugs is simple.” He stared at the two men, and although he didn’t usually do business with junkies, their product was known to be top shelf shit. He’d find out for himself.

The men set the cases on the desk, opened them, and the product that was presented could have given Collin a hard-on. “Sample it.” He pulled out his switchblade, sliced the package of heroin with the blade, and held it up to one of the men. The junkie was eager to try, and he moved forward and sniffed the white power off of the stainless steel. After a few seconds of Collin waiting to see if the fucker would drop dead, he had one of his men try the heroin. Marco took a hit for himself, inhaled roughly, and then nodded.

“The product is primo, Boss. The drip hits real good in the back of the throat.”

“You have contacts in South America that hook you up with this product?” Collin asked and shut the cases of heroin. When they didn’t answer right away, but just looked at each other, Collin’s patience faded. “Answer the fucking question. I have other business to attend to, and you’re wasting my time.”

“No disrespect, Mr. Suthers. Um,” one of the men said. “We know a guy that knows a guy that knows a guy in the Cartel. He can send us small amounts at a time. This load took a month to get to us because of the mules having to cross the border.”

Collin would need to look into getting into contact with their wholesale distributor, because the meth and coke he sold wasn’t enough. He had inventory to stock, people to get high, and his empire was expanding. He nodded to Peter, who grabbed the duffle from off the floor and tossed it to the junkies’ feet.

“That’s the amount we discussed.” Collin stared at the two men, and when they didn’t move right away his patience snapped. “Get the fuck out of here.”

They grabbed the money and took off once the wall was opened again. Collin sat on the edge of the desk, blew out a breath, and stared at Marco and Peter, his two most loyal men that worked for him. “Let’s get laid and fucked up.” And then the three of them headed back out to the club to get their dicks wet and enjoy the rest of the evening with a little cocaine and some booze.

Chapter Two

Seven months after the fall of civilization

Collin walked across the rooftop, his last cigarette in his mouth and the sun beating down on him. In just six short months the city of New York had crumbled. Parts of buildings were missing from the bombs that had been dropped. The government had tried to eradicate the threat of the infection spreading by killing off the sick, as well as anyone still healthy and on the ground. Sections of the city were nothing more than crumbled wastelands, burnt to the ground, blackened and ash-filled. He had stayed, though, become the last man standing in his crew, and watched everyone around him flee, become infected, or waste away and die.

He sat on the edge of the roof, his feet hanging off the side, the drop below thirty stories. The wind picked up, and the stench of the decay below, of the filth that built up in the city and covered it like a sickening blanket, filled his nose. He took another hit off the cigarette, pulled the smoke back, and looked at it. He’d had a few cartons at his place before all of this shit had happened, and during it he had acquired a few more cartons, along with other supplies in exchange for helping some people. Because he had run things before the infection, a lot of people in his area had looked for him for help. But Collin couldn’t do anything but wait it out just like everyone else.

“So long,” he said to the smoke, took the final hit, and then flicked it over the ledge. Even from the distance he could see the infected below, stumbling around, their groans muffled by the distance. Collin stood and walked back to the rooftop entrance of the apartment building he lived in. He had the penthouse, and although he had lived here comfortably for the last six months, staying was not an option he wanted to exercise anymore. His resources in the city had run out, and if he stayed he’d die like the rest of this place. The country seemed like a good place to start his life over, away from this fucking death, the life he had once had, and now was the time to leave.

He headed down the stairs and into his place. The sound of moaning came up from the lower levels, and he knew getting through this building and past the fucking infected was going to be a bitch. But he had been preparing for this, plotting out his way to leave the city with as little hassle as possible. After shutting the door behind him, he leaned against his door and stared at his penthouse apartment. The entire upper level was his, with an open floor plan that he had worked for from the floor up. He had everything packed: a backpack with enough supplies—the rest of what he had—a few weapons, and a pair of clothes. Those were the items he’d have to survive on until he found other supplies. He was smart enough to know that the measures he’d have to take to survive out in the world, to get more supplies, could very well mean he’d have to kill and maim for them.

He walked over, grabbed his coat and backpack, and shoved the jacket inside of it. This was it. He was leaving all of this shit behind, going to set roots down away from where the stench of death and decay covered the streets, filtered up to the rooftops, and saturated him in vileness. He didn’t have a shirt on, and his reflection in the wall mirror across from him showed the many scars he had gotten leading a bad life, a few bullet holes in his shoulder, and the raven tattoo that covered his back. He grabbed his shirt off of the couch, and once it was on he went over to his things. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, taking one more look at the life he had once lived, a life that was no more, he set out to start over.

Collin left his apartment, started making his way down the stairwell, and stepped over a few rotting corpses. They wore employee outfits, their bodies partially eaten from the few straggling infected that had made their way back here months ago. The smell was intense, but Collin was used to it, used to the death that was part of his world now. His descent was far since he had been on the top floor, and when he finally reached the bottom he stopped, hearing the low groans and shuffling coming from behind one of the two doors. One exit led out the back alley that he knew was thick with infected, and the other went into the employee kitchen. The groaning was coming from the staff entrance, and although he could have taken a big chance and risked going out through the back entrance, he was playing it smart. He had a better chance of going through the main part of the apartment building and dealing with what leftover corpses were walking around, than braving the small, narrow alley that wouldn’t allow him to move very well.

He walked over to the staff entrance, listened to see if he could hear how many infected were behind it, and when he heard only the one, he held onto the lead pipe he had in one hand and gripped the door handle with the other. He had a few weapons on him, one being the pipe, a couple of knives, even a thick bike chain. He had two guns with him and a small amount of ammo he had stocked up on. But Collin wasn’t going to waste the bullets on the sick so soon.

When Collin pulled the door open, he held the pipe up high, saw the infected slowly turn around and face him because of the noise, and watched a spark of energy come to life in the asshole. The guy was badly decomposed, but not nearly enough for him to be one of the original people who had gotten that damn vaccine that started all of this shit. No, this poor bastard had been infected by a bite, and that was confirmed when he lifted his arm toward Collin and the grisly looking bite mark was prominent on his inner bicep. His head was cocked unnaturally to the side, and when he opened his mouth Collin saw the way his tongue hung over his mouth, no longer attached fully.

Collin moved forward, bashed the pipe on the side of the man’s head, and heard the sickening crunch of his skull caving in. The corpse fell to the ground, and black blood was pooling beneath his body, covering the red tiled floor beneath. He stared at the kitchen, the large stainless steel appliances, the few dead bodies on the ground, and the fact it was scavenged clean. He had come down, as had many of the people still toughing it out in the building, and taken what supplies he could. There had been riots and looting, killing and overall chaos. The apartment building he lived in had catered to the wealthy, served room service even, and because he had been on top of the world, owning his own empire, albeit an underground one, Collin had ruled like a King. But that was in the past. He was alone now, and it was kill or be killed.

The building had been closed up, and with no windows in the kitchen, the only light came through the open doorway from the stairwell, the one that led into the main foyer of the complex. The place stank to high hell and looked like a dark wasteland. He moved around the dead bodies, pressed himself up against the wall, and listened to hear if there was any movement in the main lobby. When he heard silence he leaned over the side, stared out the doorway, and saw that it was clear. Collin moved through the lobby, stepped on broken glass, walked over the body of the security officer that had been named Robert, and went over to the front doors. The glass on the front part of the building was reinforced and had withstood the destruction of the city. He peered through the foggy, filthy glass, saw a few infected across the street, more down the way moving slowly away from him, and he knew that he would need to just make a run for it. Because the infected were already dead, the infection that killed them rotting their bodies from the inside out, they were slow, had no conscious thought, and were only intent on feeding. Collin could handle one or two head-on, but if he got stuck, cornered with a horde of them, he’d be outnumbered and done for. Even a scratch from one of these motherfuckers would infect him, and he wasn’t going to die that way. If his life on this world ended, it would be because he’d fought to survive, not because a nasty corpse got to him. He opened the door, and the damn thing creaked. Pausing, he hoped those bastards didn’t hear the sound, and waited to make sure everything was clear to go. When they didn’t turn and notice him, he slipped out of the door, and started moving toward the city limits. The road ahead of him would be pretty damn long, but he had nothing but time anymore.

He made his way quickly down the street, stayed close to the side of the buildings, and kept his attention all around. There was the decomposing woman lying on the sidewalk, her face unrecognizable, and her scraggly long dark hair lightly blowing from the breeze. She held a small bundle wrapped in a pink blanket, and the sight was heartbreaking. In all his life Collin had never felt any kind of emotion aside from the power, violence, and rage that stayed with him at all times. But things inside of him were changing. He was changing.

Another infected moved out from an alleyway and crashed into Collin. They both fell backward, the corpse scenting fresh meat and starting to try to bite at his neck. Black blood, bits of rotten flesh, and the stench of death covered Collin. The pipe dropped to the side and rolled down the sidewalk. He brought his knee up, grabbed for the knife at his ankle, and once he had it slammed it into the fucker’s ear. The infected fell off of him, but the scuffle had caused commotion, and the other assholes that had been moving away were now moving toward him. Collin got up, grabbed his backpack that had fallen during the scuffle, and the pipe, and moved quickly away from the death and corpses, and out of the city.

****

One year later

Solitude. Isolation. Alone.

Those three things meant the same, and they were definitely the worst things that had happened since the world had ended, at least to Rebecca Shaw.

Walking corpses needing, wanting to consume human flesh, men who were no longer decent and honest, but intent on raping, maiming, and stealing anything and everything, were what she lived with now. But those things weren’t as bad as the silence that consumed her, at the fact she’d never be able to sleep next to a warm body again, or the fact that she was utterly and miserably alone for the rest of her life. She couldn’t trust anyone but herself now. With no family or friends left, she was this lone person that was always looking over her shoulder, always wondering if tonight would be the night she didn’t wake up, or if she was taken and used as a plaything for depraved men.

Rebecca stared out the single, tiny window in the loft she now called home. The moon’s glow came through marginally, but she didn’t need much light. She was currently staring at the small lake in the distance, at the way the light bounced off the surface of the water and seemed to make it glow. The close, distinct sound of moaning and groaning had her looking below the abandoned warehouse she was in. She didn’t know what the building had been used for, but she assumed maybe manufacturing farm machinery by some of the equipment scattered, slightly dismantled, on the floor below.

The moaning got a little louder, a little more desperate, and she knew the corpses down below were hungry. She had been holed up in the loft for the last few days, but she knew she’d have to venture out because her supplies were dangerously low. She spotted a walking corpse directly across from her window. Although Rebecca was a few stories up from the ground, she could see the woman well enough because of the full moon. Rebecca didn’t know if the walking dead were called zombies, but it didn’t matter much anyway. They were what they were: rotting flesh, decomposing former people, and monsters needing living human flesh to survive.

The corpse stopped and lifted her head to the sky. Her grisly looking mouth was open, her teeth partially missing, and this dark ooze was coming out of every orifice. The hair on her head was straggly and missing in chunks, and a piece of her skull looked to be absent, too. She cried out into the night, a spine chilling sound that had goosebumps covering Rebecca’s arms. A few more corpses walked by, their slow, shuffling gaits showing that they were weak and starving. In the last year and a half since Rebecca had been on her own in this fucked up world, she had noticed a few things in regard to these creatures that were now focused solely on feeding. Since they were already dead they wouldn’t starve to death. They became slow, immobile in some cases, and in some kind of hibernating state until fresh meat was near. And then it was like they had some kind of renewed energy, able to track and hunt in packs.

She turned away from the window and stared at her small hovel of a home now. A pallet of holey, dirty blankets and a sleeping bag were in one corner. She had made a makeshift propane stove that was on the other side, a bucket and a roll of toilet paper for her daily business, and overall the sight was pathetic and depressing. Her propane had run out yesterday. The small bags of jerky she had and the few cans of baked beans were nearing their end, and if she stayed here any longer without stocking up on her supplies it would only get worse. Although sleep wouldn’t come to her tonight, she would start supply searching in the morning. It was safer that way since she only had a few flashlights with working batteries.

Moving over to her pallet, she covered herself with the blankets, closed her eyes, and pictured her life before all of this. It was a memory she went back to over and over and over again. But it soothed her, and those memories were all she had anymore. The world was an evil, hate-filled place now, dangerous and not friendly, and although a year and a half was a long time, being alone was what suited her now. She knew the horrors that waited for her out there, had experienced a few of them firsthand, too. Rebecca was more content in this life, by herself, than surrounded by the ugliness human existence had succumbed to.

She covered her face with the blanket, feeling the chill of the winter air coming in through the debilitated warehouse. It was November. Winter had already settled in, and she was surviving anymore just by the skin of her teeth. Life was even now more bleak and hopeless, and she didn’t know how much longer she could last. She didn’t know how much longer she wanted to last.

****

Collin scooped out a peach from the rusted as fuck can and stared at the fire in front of him. He was alone, but he welcomed the solitude … to a point. It had been a long time since he had actually interacted with another human being. Oh, there had been a few altercations in the last six months or so since he had left the group of men he had been traveling with. And those altercations had ended up in a few dead bodies, some maimed assholes, and a whole lot of violence. Collin knew that life well, had known it before all hell broke loose and civilization ended. But this life now meant everyone was out for themselves, took care of no one but their own skins, and that was how it should be.

But even though Collin liked his solitary life now, that didn’t mean he wasn’t looking for a female. He wanted one, needed a woman like he needed to breathe, and he wouldn’t stop until he found one. He had thought he’d found one a few months ago. But it turned out the woman that had been taken by the group of men he had been with, wasn’t what or whom he needed. He hadn’t backed off because Sparrow had two men with her, watching over her, claiming her as their own. It was because when he had actually had her in his grasp, taken her away from the people she had been with, that Collin realized this wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted a woman to come to him, to want him because she was desperate for human contact that wasn’t tainted by this life.

But although he had been searching for a woman since letting Sparrow leave, that didn’t mean he’d actually find one. The ones he had come across had been with groups, loyal to those members, and so rundown in appearance and spirit that they hadn’t been what he wanted, either. Collin was specific in the taste he had, the darker aspects of pleasure he wanted, and although he wasn’t hopeful of finding a female for his own, he was also not a man that gave up. But the desires he had once harbored in his former life didn’t much matter in this world. Just finding a woman to be only his, to protect and give hope and meaning to this hell, would make him keep going.

He thought back to the night he had let Sparrow leave. He had given her his gun, told her to run, and prayed that she would survive. Then he had taken his knife, and killed every one of those flesh-eating motherfuckers when they had come after him. The night had been bloody, grisly, and then it was like an animal had broken loose inside of him. He had searched for Sparrow after that, obsessed with the need to make sure she had survived. And then three months ago he had found her, still with those two men she had traveled with, as they had scavenged through an abandoned gas station. He hadn’t approached them, but knowing she was safe had been enough to ease his obsessive need to make sure she had found her peace. He had walked away and never looked back.

The sound of a twig snapping in the background had him slowly rising, unsheathing his hunting knife, and trying to see through the darkness. But he didn’t have to wait long, because the moaning and groaning came right before he saw the corpse of a man stumble out of the forest. He was still in Colorado, made camps nightly in the Rocky Mountains, and was content that way. He was out in the middle of nowhere, and although there were times one of the dead found him, it was easy to take them out. The zombie—and he felt strange calling them that since this was reality and not some book or movie—came closer. The fire didn’t bother it, and it didn’t seem to be affected by the light or heat. It came forward further, tripped over a small log, and fell right into the flames. It started thrashing back and forth, trying to right itself, but when Collin moved closer to it the corpse seemed to forget about the fire as it tried to reach for Collin.

The sounds coming from it were earsplitting, and the smell of its rotting flesh being burned away from its bones was nauseating. It finally managed to move out of the fire and crawled toward Collin. Cooked and burned rotting flesh hanging from its face, arms and legs, his face was half gone from the decay, and his mouth gaped open as its jaw was partially torn off. He moved a step back, kept his knife held tightly in his hand, and wondered who this man had been before he was contaminated. He could be an original, one that had gotten the vaccine and changed into what Collin was looking at right now. Had he been a doctor, lawyer, or some other honorable profession that helped others? Or had he been a bad man like Collin, killing people when they crossed him, doing and selling drugs, and fucking any and all women that were willing? Or maybe he had been bitten, turned into a walking corpse?

It didn’t matter now. As he stared at the grisly looking being in front of him, with his skin burned and charred, blackened in areas from the fire and necrosis, all he saw was the dead. The zombie lifted a thin arm toward Collin, its fingers having flesh and muscle hanging from the bones, and opened its mouth to let out a low, hungry howl. Collin plunged the blade in its skull, the sound of the knife sinking into its decrepit body slightly sickening. It dropped full to the ground, truly dead now since its brain, the control center for it all, was destroyed.

Collin cleaned his blade off on the tattered clothing of the corpse, and pulled the body from the fire. There wasn’t any snowfall yet, but it was cold enough that the body should be frozen within a few days, as long as the frigid temperatures dropped. Once he had the body a good distance away, he took a step back and looked at the corpse. The night and the heavy trees around him made it impossible for him to really see the once living man.

He turned without giving it another thought, knowing that he’d pack up in the morning and find another place to set up camp. He stayed in the mountains, but didn’t camp out in one place for any given amount of time. That was too dangerous, and he wasn’t going to test his luck that way. Besides, his supplies were low, and he needed to gather more. He knew there was a town close by, and a hike down the mountain could bring him right in the heart of it.

Collin sat back down, grabbed the small bottle of water he had, and cleaned his hands. He picked up the can of peaches he had set on the ground, and started eating them again as he watched the fire still burning brightly. He had always lived his life any way he saw fit, but anymore he was living just to survive, because there were no back alley deals, no pleasures handed to him on demand. It was eat or be eaten, and Collin was going to be the biggest fucking dog in the fight.

Chapter Three

The warehouse Rebecca stayed in was about ten miles from the nearest town. She had gone through another city before stopping and making her home in the loft, but she had scouted out the surrounding area so she knew the lay of the land. She certainly wasn’t one of those survival men she had seen on TV … well, back when there had been TV, but she had learned a few things in the last seventeen months. Fires were a necessity now, and so she had learned quickly how to make one with only things she could find in the wilderness. It had been a lot of trial and error, but she hadn’t given up, despite the fact she had wanted to.

She stayed in the tree line and stared at the small town. The sign right before entering the limits of the city said it had once been called Havens Peak. The little calligraphy beneath it said it was the most beautiful place in Colorado. Now it just looked like a sad and depressing visual of what life had once looked like.

Rebecca might have stayed there, hidden amongst the thick foliage of the Rocky Mountains, waiting to make sure everything was as safe as it could be in this situation, but her stomach cramped, her head ached, and she felt as though she was coming down with something. It was the most inopportune time for her to catch a cold or get the flu, but she did hope she could find some over the counter medicine to stem off the symptoms.

If she closed her eyes and imagined this town, she could visualize it as a quaint little place a couple might go to retire. It had sidewalks that were intimate and small, and the shops that lined the tiny street looked like something she might have seen in Pleasantville. But now it was just deserted, with trash blowing along the ground, windows broken out of the little shops, and the vehicles parked on the curb having their doors hanging open. Grass and weeds grew through the cracks in the sidewalks and streets, and the stench of desolation filled the air.

She moved away from the woods and into the street. The knife she held was more of a shiv she had created herself after nearly being raped by a group of men. The only thing that had saved her that day was the horde of walking corpses that had come out of nowhere. The men had diverted their attention from her to the infected, and she had made herself scarce. Rebecca had run so hard and fast that when she had reached the warehouse and climbed her loft she hadn’t come down for days. Not even the sound of zombies outside the warehouse had taken her mind off the fact she had nearly been the disgusting plaything for a group of vile fucking men.

But then she had gotten out of her blankets she barricaded herself in, and found a long piece of metal on the warehouse floor. In fact she had gotten several pieces of metal, and shaped them into long, nasty looking shanks. The smallest of the four she kept tucked in her sock by her ankle, the second she kept in her bag, the third at the small of her back, and the fourth she held at all times. She was ready to slice an asshole up if they looked at her the wrong way. Rebecca wasn’t going to be a victim anymore, or at least she wasn’t about to lie down and let this world swallow her up. She’d fight back until there was nothing left of her.

Rebecca stayed close to the buildings as she moved silently and slowly. She kept her focus on anything and everything, and when she stopped by a truck that was half on the curb, she stared inside. There was a horribly decomposed body sitting in the driver’s seat. He, or she, because she couldn’t tell what gender the corpse was, was not one of the living dead. The clothing was just a t-shirt and pair of jeans, and the shoes a pair of sneakers. This person had been someone ordinary, who did average things, and was just now a rotting pile of bones and flesh. It had its arm on the steering wheel, and its forehead resting back against the seat. Its mouth was opened, its tongue hanging out, and there was a bullet hole in the side of its head. She had long since gotten rid of her need to gag at the vile aromas and sights that now covered the earth.

Moving forward, she focused on the street, on the buildings on either side of her, and felt her pulse beat wildly in her ears. She moved her gaze back and forth along the deserted, eerily silent town. The wind picked up and had a few shutters on the mom-and-pop stores banging against the cement walls. She stopped, focused on each noise, and then moved forward when no corpses made themselves knows because of the noise. She moved past a hardware store, a creamery, and even a small clinic. Even though the town was now dead, it wasn’t that hard to see how it might have been before the contamination hit the world.

A small pharmacy was on the corner of the street, and she crossed the cobblestone road, and pressed her back to the wall as soon as she made it across. Keeping the knife held to eyelevel, she tapped it on the glass of the building, and waited to see if anything came shuffling out. She repeated the action after a few moments of silence. She waited again, and then slipped inside. The pharmacy was small on the inside, with a few rows of shelving in front of her, the actual pharmacy counter in the rear of the store, and a cashier’s counter beside her. The large sign hanging in the center of the store had a mortar and pestle with a recipere in bright red coloring. The text beneath it read: “A community helping each other become one”.

Rebecca focused on the trashed shelving, boxes scattered along the ground, and even money lying on the counter with an inch of dust on it. The interior was dark where the light didn’t penetrate it through the windows, and the stillness was so damn spooky that she felt a chill race up her spine. Her shoes crunched over broken glass as she moved through the shop, collecting what she could find that was usable. Most of the items were destroyed, expired and unsafe to take with her, or had been totally cleaned out by scavengers.

There was a small room off to the side, and she could see a sink and toilet from where she stood. Moving toward it, she grabbed her flashlight from her backpack, turned it on, and shone it in the room. The bathroom was small enough to hold one person, so when she realized it was empty she stepped inside. Shining the light along the wall, she spotted what she had been hoping was in here. A condom and pain reliever wall dispenser hung behind the door, and although both were beat to shit and cracked wide open, she was able to get some of the packages off the floor. A few single serve packets of ibuprofen and Tylenol, and even some condoms were by her feet. Although sex wasn’t a part of her life anymore for obvious reasons, she did take the condoms. They were useful in other ways, such as containers for water, which sounded nasty, but worked when she was desperate. She shoved the medicine and rubbers in the backpack and stepped back out into the store.

Rebecca moved behind the pharmacy counter, and although she had been hoping she could find antibiotics, even if they were probably expired and wouldn’t help if she had a cold or flu, she saw everything was pretty much cleared out. There was hardly any light in this part of the store, so she swept her flashlight back and forth until she spotted some first aid supplies. Crouching on her haunches and balancing the flashlight between her neck and chin, she shoved the gauze, alcohol swabs, A&D ointment, and other small supplies that had been kicked under a shelf, into her bag. She took the flashlight again, shone the light over the ground, and spotted a few small bottles of saline in the corner under a box. They were filthy, and a few were already busted open, but the sterile ones she picked up and kept. She stood and glanced around the room once more. This place was picked clean already, and she wouldn’t be able to get anything else of use from it.

Stepping out of the pharmacy she immediately saw a clothing store a few shops down, and made her way over to it. Repeating the same procedure she did for all buildings before she entered, she waited for a few minutes to see if anything partially dead came out. Inside the clothing store proved a little more positive as she saw several racks of overturned clothing and even some vending machines in the corner. The backpack she had only carried so much, but she was able to find a tote bag, and started filling it with some undergarments, socks, even a couple of pants and shirts that were a little too big for her, but were better than nothing. A winter coat was pushed underneath a shelf, and although there was a tear in the arm, and the coat itself was filthy from the dust and grime on the ground, she took it and slipped it on. The clothing she wore was on its last leg anyway, and anything other than what she had on was like gold.

The vending machines proved pretty much useless as the glass was busted out and everything taken from the inside of it. But she moved toward the back, saw that a few bags of chips and even one chocolate bar were behind it, and sent a silent thanks to whoever was helping her right now find this stuff.

After she got what she needed she headed out of the clothing store and went into a few other ones, collecting what she could carry, and finally stopping at the lone grocery store in this town. It was much bigger than the other buildings she had gone into, and compared to the chain businesses in Denver it looked more like a convenience store at a gas station. Grass and weeds were starting to make their way through the numerous cracks in the pavement right in front of the doors. There were a few busted and partially dismembered cars in the distance, but she didn’t see any movement. The sun was especially bright today, but it was still cold as hell. She lifted her arm and blocked the light as she stared at one of the cars. The glare off the windshield proved to block out anything that was inside. But if an infected were laying low in a hibernated state in there, it would have seen her and come staggering out.

The frigid wind picked up, and the scent of winter in the air slammed into Rebecca. She pulled the coat around her tighter, adjusted her bag and tote on her shoulders, and headed forward. The front window was broken in one spot, and the dirty and foggy looking glass spoke of age and death. Rebecca gritted her teeth at the cold weather that was coming on way too fast, and moved inside after she once again make sure it was safe. After she was done here she’d head back to the warehouse and bunker down for a very cold night.

****

Collin sat back and stared at the woman moving to each store in town. He was currently sitting in one of the beaten down cars that was close to the grocery store she just entered. He could see her moving around in there, and although he was tempted to go to her, Collin didn’t want to scare her. He had seen how shifty she had been just scanning the area, and although that was smart, if he made himself known she’d probably kill him on principle alone because of his gender.

Collin stared through the broken window of the store and saw her picking up some cans, and then shoving them in her bag. Staying put was pretty fucking hard. Never in his life had he had to wait for anything he wanted, but for this woman, one that was surprisingly alone and alive, he made sure to take his time. She had long dark hair, and it looked like it might reach down to her ass, but she had it in a ratty looking ponytail. He couldn’t see the color of her eyes, or her shape due to the layers upon layers of clothes she had on, but he had noticed the wicked looking blade she held. It was like something out of the show Oz, except this one was at least ten inches in length, and looked like it would fuck an asshole up.

Like an asshole with only one thing on his mind, he grew hard at the images that played through his mind. They were ones that didn’t have the bulky clothes covering her body from him, or the dirt and grime that covered them both. They were pictures in his head of them hot and sweaty, alone in this world, but fucking so hard and fast that it was like their last day on earth.

“Damn,” he gritted out, adjusted his dick, and knew that he wasn’t going to let her go, not when the obsessive side of him had risen up at the first sight of her.

She would be his.

Chapter Four

Rebecca walked fully inside and stared at the shelves. Most of the things were scattered along the floor. The lighting hung by a cord from the center of the ceiling, and the florescent bulbs were in shattered remains on the ground. Some of the shelves were turned over, empty boxes of food littered the ground, but there were some bent cans with missing labels amidst the rubble. Moving over to the cans she picked them up, tried to tell what might be inside due to the labels gone, and said fuck it. If it was edible it didn’t matter what it was. She moved over to a rack that had once held packages of those little snack-sized bags of chips, and grabbed a few that were on the ground. They were nothing but crushed up crumbs now, but she was fine with that, too. A bottle of water was what she spotted next, along with some hard candy, cough drops, and even a few partially open Slim Jim sticks. She shoved all she could find in her pack, because these days, there wasn’t anything edible that she didn’t like. She didn’t have a choice, not if she wanted to survive. She snagged up one melted and partially opened chocolate bar and even a travel-sized bottle of cheap vodka and placed them in her bag. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.

She saw a comb and mirror across the floor by a cardboard cutout of one of the popular teen heartthrobs before all of this happened. But the cutout was now leaning to the side, faded from the light that had gotten to it, covered in dirt and grime from the weather, and the smile on his face looked sad now. Picking up the mirror and comb, she stared at her reflection, at the dirt that covered her face, the bags under her green eyes, and the way she had changed so much. How many young girls had come to this very spot before the contamination, taken a look at the pop star staring back at them with his perfect smile, and looked at themselves in the little colorful mirrors like Rebecca was doing right now?

Sighing heavily from exhaustion and wear, she took a few of the combs and mirrors and put them in the tote. And then as she turned over everything in the store, searched high and low, she found one small toothbrush sitting on a rusted out shelf. A single roll of toilet paper was also a few feet away, rolled under a pile of smashed boxes, and the top layer covered in God knew what. She was going back to her loft with more things than she thought she’d find, and it all sounded like nirvana at the moment. She could open one of these cans, heat up the contents with the few matches she had found, and enjoy a warm meal. She hadn’t known how good she had it until the little things in life were now a rarity.

A sound behind her had Rebecca spinning around and staring at a young woman. Well, she wasn’t a woman any longer, but a corpse with long stringy blonde hair, lifeless, pale, almost white eyes, and dark coagulated blood seeping from every visible opening in her body. She wore a pair of pants, ones that were tatters on her thin, skeletal body, and a tank top that showed the flesh hanging from her bones. She had been dead for a while given the state of her decomposition. The fact she was slowly shuffling toward Rebecca with her arms outstretched and her mouth opened wide, told her that she was also starving. She was weak, and although she’d have enough strength to still go after fresh meat, this corpse was more of an easy target. Ones that had eaten more recently were still slow as hell, but they also had a little bit of strength in them if they caught a person.

She held her knife tightly in her hand, set her bags down so they didn’t have her faltering in bringing this thing down, and waited for it to come closer. It tried to walk through one of the clear shelving at first, and when that didn’t work and it finally fell to the side it tripped forward. Righting itself and reaching out to Rebecca again, it made this nasty sound, and finally lunged at her. Rebecca fell backward, tripping over one of the end caps, and landing on her ass. The woman corpse was on Rebecca seconds later. Rebecca struggled to get her arm free as the coat sleeve was hooked on a piece of metal shelving. Black goo slipped from the zombie’s mouth and landed on Rebecca’s coat, and then she finally heard the rip of her jacket tearing free of its prison of metal. She brought the knife up, and plunged it right in the woman’s eye. The body immediately slumped forward, and she scrambled away, trying to get away from the stench of death that the corpse emitted. Rebecca’s stomach churned painfully, and she turned away and threw up. She might be able to kill these bastards, that she was usually hardened, but that didn’t mean there weren’t times, especially when she went head-to-head with these things, that it didn’t affect her.

****

One of the infected moved slowly past the vehicle he sat in, but Collin didn’t move, and the zombie didn’t notice him. He stared at the grocery store again, his bag beside him and filled with a bunch of shit he had grabbed from the various little shops in this town, and then he noticed a corpse move into the store … right where his woman was. Yes, she was his; she just didn’t know it yet.

He stiffened as he watched the contaminated creature go further into the building, but couldn’t see the woman any longer. She was too far into the store for him to see her clearly through the broken glass. Grabbing his bag and knife from the passenger seat, he climbed out of the car and slung his backpack over his shoulder. He silently, stealthily, moved across the street, through the parking lot, and stopped when he reached the front of the building. He moved closer to the front doors, making sure the corpse was alone, and when he stepped inside it was to see the woman had already taken out the infected. The body was a gruesome mess of black blood and flesh on the ground, and his woman was in the corner staring at it all.

Collin had to admit that he was stunned and appreciative that this woman had taken out one of the infected. The sick, demented, and twisted part of him even got aroused over the fact she could handle herself. He sheathed his knife and moved closer. The glass under his boots crunched, and she looked at him, her hand shaking as she held the knife high in the air.

“I am not afraid to kill you, so back the fuck off.” Her voice shook, and she now held the knife’s handle with both hands. “I mean it. Don’t come any closer. Just turn around and leave.”

Collin lifted his hands, showing her that he wouldn’t harm her. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said softly. “If I wanted to harm you I could have done it ten times over by now.” He hoped she could see that if he really wanted to attack her he could have done it before she even realized he was there. “I’m not a savage toward women.”

She didn’t move, didn’t respond, and still held the knife toward him. But she wasn’t screaming for him to leave, wasn’t getting crazy with that fucking shank, and so at least that was a more positive note.

“Listen, I saw you in trouble, or thought you were at least, and so I came to help.” He said in a neutral tone. The truth was Collin didn’t speak in a soft, coaxing manner, and sure as hell didn’t try to woo a woman into liking him. He was a bastard on all accounts, bad to his soul, and took whatever he wanted. He had done that with Sparrow all those months back, had planned on having her for himself because he needed a woman in his life. This life was hard enough without having to be alone and not have a female to warm his bed and pleasure him. He could be gentle with her when the time came for it, offer her comfort and protection, and in return she’d be his. No one else would touch her, look at her, or even fucking think about taking her from him. She would be tied to him until the day he died, and this little female would come to realize that even if he had to throw her over his shoulder and go all caveman on her ass.

He held his hands out in surrender so she knew he didn’t mean her any harm. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

She opened her mouth, but before any words came out her eyes widened and Collin heard the crunching of glass behind him. He ducked just as he felt the whoosh of air move over his head. He instantly took note that there were two men standing in the entryway of the store, and one right beside him with a long knife. He grabbed the blade from where it was tucked at the small of his back, and working on instinct alone he sliced out, cutting right through the asshole’s faded, holey jeans, and cutting right into his leg. The man howled out, fell to a knee, and then the other two came forward. Collin wasn’t about to have this shit, wasn’t about to lose this woman when he had just found her. He would kill every last bastard to ensure that.

He stabbed the asshole that was on the ground, brought the knife right across his neck and opened his jugular. Blood sprayed out in a great arch of red, and the gurgling sound of him choking on his own blood brought Collin back to the underground in New York. He stood, charged forward toward the man that was standing closest to him, and tried to slice the asshole, too. But then he heard a scream from his woman. When he grabbed the man around the neck and spun him around he saw the woman n the corner, her knife held high and her hands shaking. The fucker that was advancing on her had this sick, sadistic smile on his face.

“Kill him if he touches you,” Collin shouted, and the woman looked at him with wide, frightened eyes. She was afraid, but not because of this particular situation. She was afraid because obviously she had been in a situation like this before: men coming after her and looking to hurt her in unspeakable ways.

Rage burned brightly inside of him, and he saw red. He was a very bad man, but what he had never done, what he would never do, was hurt a woman. These pricks wanted Collin dead to do just that, to take something from her that wasn’t willingly given. Even if Collin hadn’t claimed this woman—even if she didn’t know it yet—he wasn’t about to let anyone hurt her. He sliced the throat of the other man, and then it was just him and the motherfucker that was facing his woman. He turned and faced Collin, saw his two friends dead and bleeding out on the ground, and bared his rotting and yellowed teeth at him.

Collin would show her that he could protect her, that being with him was safer than being alone.

“You piece of shit. You’re going to die, but not before you watch me fuck her raw and bloody.” The man charged forward, trying to get the upper hand on Collin, but no fucking way was that happening. This asshole didn’t know who Collin was, who he had been. He had been ruthless back when shit was afloat, before the infection, and when the world at been at his feet. But now he was even more savage, even more hardened and cold to everyone and everything.

Collin braced himself as this little prick tried to take him down. He got him on the ground, and Collin pinned his arms to his side with his legs on either side of this piece of shit. He could have killed this bastard nice and slow, and watched him bleed out, just lying here and waiting for an infected to come along and contaminate him. But he lifted his head and stared at the woman. Her eyes were wide, and her lips were parted and she looked at the dead bodies on the ground, at the blood, and then at the way he was holding the knife over the man that had nearly taken her from Collin.

“Look away if the sight of this upsets you.” He didn’t say it angrily, because he could see that she was living in the past, remembering the moment that had frozen her. There was no need to make her witness the grisly act he was about to take pleasure in.

“You motherfucker and your skank-ass cunt—”

Collin punched him in the face, and heard his nose crunch from the impact. He bared his teeth at this degenerate. “Shut the fuck up,” Collin growled out.

“Kill him,” she said softly. “Make him scream,” she said with anger and hatred in her voice.

Collin glanced at her for a second, and then nodded once. He brought the blade across the man’s neck, just like he had done to the other two, but more slowly this time. He watched as blood covered his chest. The guy gurgled and spat out the red liquid. When he was dead Collin wiped his blade on the man’s jacket and stood. He didn’t speak while he went through the three motherfuckers’ bags and pockets, taking what he could use as food, weapons, and supplies. He then turned and faced the woman. The sound of groaning was becoming more apparent, and the noise from the men shouting, of their death cries, and of the banging and breaking of shit in the store had the infected coming out of the damn woodwork.

“Listen, you don’t know me, I don’t know you, but we need to get the hell out of here,” he said with determination in his voice. Truth was she could leave without him, but he’d track her, follow her, and convince her that they needed to be together. No matter how long it took him to do it. She didn’t respond right away, maybe thinking about what she wanted to do, or if she should try to kill him, too. He glanced behind him, saw ten or so infected slowly making their way toward the grocery store, and faced her again. “I’d love to sit here and get to know each other, but we need to leave. Now.”

She seemed to snap out of whatever haze she was in, nodded once, and then turned to head out the rear door that could be seen through the back of the store. He moved in front of her, stopped for a second, and held his hand out, touching her abdomen with his forearm. He wanted to make sure she was safe, and although a horde of infected were coming toward them, he didn’t want to be ambushed either. When it was clear to move forward, he grabbed her hand, held the knife with his other one, and was pleased when she didn’t fight him on it. Her hand was much smaller than his, and she was cold, her fingers like icicles. He knew it was because of what had happened and not because of the weather. She was breathing heavily, and the sound of her jacket moving up and down from her rapid respirations had Collin wanting to turn around and just hold her. But they would have time for that later. Right now he needed to get her away from this place, somewhere safe, and then they could talk.

They ran out the back door, and he kept a tight grip on her hand as they moved across the back parking lot, and into the woods. There was an infected that staggered out of a gap in the trees, but Collin was ready for him. He wasn’t very decomposed, so that told him that this one had been turned recently, and the bite mark on his neck was proof of that. His face was ashen, his eyes milky white, and he groaned as he tried to swipe out at them. But Collin already had the blade plunged into one of his eyes. The infected fell to the ground, but Collin didn’t stop pulling the woman through the woods. They ran for another five minutes before Collin finally slowed. He pulled her behind him, scanned the woods, and then breathed out. He sheathed his knife and faced her. She was breathing heavily, her eyes wide as she scanned their surroundings, but she didn’t look as frightened as she had in the store.

“You’re okay?” he asked.

She nodded, breathed out roughly, and then put her own knife back in the little loop of her pants. They stared at each other for a moment, and then she turned behind her, scanning their surroundings, making sure that she was safe. When she faced Collin again there was hesitation in her eyes.

“What’s your name?” he asked her, hoping to prove to her that if he had intended on harming her he could have done so already. When she didn’t answer he spoke again. “I’m Collin Suthers.” He held his filthy, bloody hand out to her. She looked at it for a second before grabbing his and shaking it lightly.

“Rebecca Shaw.”

Rebecca.

He rolled the name around in his head, loving the way it sounded, how it made him feel, and having this proprietary sensation moving through him.

“So,” she looked at him, stopping what she was about to say. “If you want to come back to where I have been staying, maybe to rest or eat something, you can.” She licked her lips, glanced around again, and then looked at the ground. She was nervous, really fucking nervous. He could hear it in her voice and see it in the way she held herself. It was the same reaction he had seen on hundreds of people when they had been around him and feared the situation.

She shrugged. “If you want, that is. I owe you my life.” She rubbed her hands over her dirty jeans, and breathed out. “Thank you, by the way.” She looked at him with just her eyes, and Collin was struck by the vivid green color of them. “I figured if you wanted to hurt me you could have done so already. But you saved me, and a little post-apocalyptic hospitality is the least I can show you.” She was even more attractive up close, even though dirt covered her face. Her skin was this pale, luminescent shade, her eyebrows as dark as her hair, and he could tell by her slender shaped face that underneath her bulky clothes she would be tiny. Most likely starved, because in this day and age there wasn’t enough food to keep someone a healthy weight let alone overweight.

Before he could respond, she turned and started moving through the forest. He followed, keeping his ears open for any sound or movement from the infected, or rogue humans like they had encountered back in town. He scanned left and right, keeping his eyes trained on everything around them. After about half an hour of hiking through the thick foliage of the woods, the trees parted and a rundown and deserted warehouse came into view. It was strange seeing this building out in the middle of nowhere, but the broken and hanging sign on its side said it had manufactured farm equipment. It made sense because of the small Colorado town they were currently in, and the land that surrounded them.

The dirt ground gave way to cracked and uneven pavement. There was a large gap in the fence that surrounded the ten or so acres of property that the warehouse sat on. It wasn’t an overly large building, certainly nothing that could have been seen in New York, but for this town it probably was very substantial.

“I stay up there.” She pointed to the highest level of the three-story building where a broken out window was. She moved through the opening in the fence, and he followed closely behind. He didn’t see any infected on this side of the property, but he could hear their moaning and groaning echo off the pavement and the building. She might think this place was safe, but it wasn’t, not with the amount of sound he heard, and the access anyone had to the building. It wasn’t secure, and certainly not safe. She might not know this yet, but he wasn’t just coming here to rest and eat. He was coming here to make her see that she was his, and that he’d be taking her away from this place.

They made their way into the building without coming in contact with any infected, but Collin knew that was just luck. He stopped at one of the windows that showed him the other side of the property, saw at least thirty infected walking around aimlessly, and cursed low.

“Are you coming?” she said softly.

He turned away from the horde of infected corpses only separated from them by the debilitated warehouse. He followed her toward the back of the building, around one corner, and stopped when she came to a halt. There were a few pieces of machinery that were rusted and aged from time and the weather that came through the various holes in the ceiling. Collin watched as she moved over to the corner. It was darkened from the shadows, and when she started pulling a piece of machinery out from it he moved forward.

“I got it,” she said without turning and facing him. The sound of the metal scraping against the concrete was loud, and he knew that the infected would be able to hear it. But she stopped after a second, and pulled out a ladder. When Rebecca placed it against the wall he looked up and saw that there was a narrow loft above them. It was pretty well hidden because of the rafters crisscrossing in front of it, and the thick layer of shadows blocking it from view. There weren’t any holes in the ceiling right above it to shed light on it and reveal its location, and although he knew there was a small window somewhere up there from when she pointed it out to him, he couldn’t see any light.

After adjusting her backpack and tote over her shoulders, she started climbing the ladder, then stopped and glanced at him over her shoulder. Collin had to admit he was damn impressed by her ingenuity and the fact she was smart enough to find this place to hole up in.

He adjusted his own bags, nodded, and started after her, knowing that this woman might very well give him a run for his money when it came to her stubbornness and strength. But she’d realize that Collin never gave up, and he wanted her pretty fucking badly.

Chapter Five

Rebecca pulled the ladder up and onto the loft once Collin had cleared it. She moved it out of the way, and stared at him. Although the loft was small, it was big enough to have been used as storage when this place had been up and running. There were a few bales of hay that had been up here when she had first found it, and although she had thought about tossing them because they stank from mold and dust, she kept them as a kind of wall for half of the loft.

“You’ve been staying here long?” he asked and looked around.

“A couple of weeks. It’s served its purpose, and even when a few of the infected managed to find their way in here, they couldn’t reach me, and didn’t know where I was.”

He nodded, walked over to the small window, and looked outside. “It’s not safe here,” he said almost absently.

“It works for me. You’re free to go, though.” She hated saying that, because even if it was stupid to have brought him here, shown him where she stayed, the fact was he had saved her life. Sure, those men may not have killed her, at least not right off the bat, but they would have raped her to the point she would have gladly welcomed death.

He turned around and faced her. The ceiling was high and arched enough that they could both stand fully straight, but this man was immensely taller than she was, well over six feet tall. She was not tiny in any sense of the word, or she hadn’t been before the contamination hit. Before all of this had gone down she had been full and thick, a healthy size sixteen even. At five-foot-seven she wasn’t short either, but with the lack of proper nutrition, she felt thin and frail almost. Now she was trying to keep a size twelve on her without them falling off. But this man still looked so powerful and strong, like he took care of himself despite the lack of … everything in the world.

“It’s not safe here,” he stated again. She didn’t care what he thought. She had found this place, lived here for the last couple of weeks, and no one had found her yet. It was safe, elevated, and she left when she needed things. Rebecca was familiar with the area, and although she knew that maybe she couldn’t live here forever because the town would only provide so many supplies, she was afraid to go anywhere else.

“Maybe not, but it’s worked for me so far, and what is left for me out there?” she asked the genuine question, knowing that unless there was some kind of safe haven out there where people had banded together, she had nowhere to go.

He didn’t respond right away. She watched as he picked up his backpack and sat down a few feet from her. He took out a small battery operated lantern style flashlight, and turned it on. It was daylight, and although there was a good amount of light coming through the holes in the ceiling across from them and the small window behind Collin, it was still dark in the loft.

The glow from the lantern washed the small area in a yellow light. She stared at his face, and noticed the fact his blond hair was on the longer side, brushing the tops of his ear, with a disheveled look to it. Despite the fact he had clearly cut his own hair, it looked good on him. He didn’t look very old, maybe a decade or so older than her own twenty-seven years.

“You hungry?” His deep voice had her coming out of her thoughts. Rebecca nodded, and turned to grab the tote that she had shoved a few bags of chips into. The bottle of water she had snagged was next to come out, but when he made a noise, stopping her, she glanced up at him.

“We can eat some of my stash.” He took out a can of baked beans, a package of turkey jerky, and a small box of crackers. It wasn’t five star dining, but it looked damn good to her.

She handed him the bottle of water, and the smile he gave her totally changed his hard exterior. She noticed it did seem kind of forced, though, as if he wasn’t quite comfortable with the gesture. This man was dangerous, and not because he had killed three people right in front of her with little to no effort. He was dangerous in the way he looked at her, and in the way he scanned his surroundings and took every little detail in. The air around him was charged with violence. This man was used to this world, used to killing without even blinking, and knew how to survive on his own without fearing anything. Rebecca could tell that just by looking at him and by the way he moved, as if he were this wild animal stalking his prey.

They started eating in silence, and then when she was growing comfortable sitting here not saying anything, he spoke.

“This place isn’t safe for a permanent home, Rebecca.” He stared at her, and then took a chunk out of his jerky. He pointed behind him at the window. “There are thirty plus infected out there, and if they realize that the sound you make every time you move that ladder is coming from in here, and that coming in here would be easy…” He paused in speaking, maybe for effect, but it had her straightening and thinking of what he just said.

She stared down at her lap, thinking about the times those few infected had come into the warehouse. She had stayed down, tried to be as quiet as possible, because even if they couldn’t see her any kind of noise this close to them would have sent them into a frenzy. After what seemed like forever one of them had finally wandered off. Rebecca had taken out the other one with her knife. Yes, she knew she needed to find a place that was safe and protected from not only the elements, but these sick assholes, too.

Lifting her gaze back to his, she licked her lips, stared at this ruggedly handsome man that seemed to be able to read her as easily as if he had known her forever, and hated going down this road. She didn’t want to have to air her dirty laundry, didn’t want him thinking that she was weak and couldn’t handle herself, because she had, for the last seventeen months in fact. “Even after all of this time, after everything … this is still the safest place for me.” She licked her lips, watched him hold his composure, and wondered what he thought. Was it wrong that during all of this, after everything that had happened in the last year and a half, and the last twelve hours that just looking at Collin had this warmth consuming her? She shouldn’t want him, shouldn’t want any man for that matter, but the fact was he had saved her life, acted as though he cared about her safety, and up until this point hadn’t been anything but a gentleman. Well, as much as a gentleman as the end of the world allowed.

“You seem pretty young, but have survived being out here alone for over a year and half now. What did you do before all of this went down?” he asked her, and took another bite out of his jerky. He was changing the subject, that was obvious. But Rebecca felt herself start to grow relieved and blew out a breath.

“Nothing that is of much use now.” She stared at him for a second before continuing. “I’m not really that young. I’m twenty-seven, turned it this past summer, although I couldn’t tell you what day.” She thought about how her birthday had come and gone, yet she had lost track of time and didn’t even know what day it was. “I was an accountant for a small laundry service.”

He still didn’t respond, but nodded.

“I managed their books for the last three years, and then my boss was the first in the company to get the new flu vaccine. He had made it mandatory for all employees to receive it, but before I got my shot the news was coming out with the symptoms, the concern, and then the outbreak.” She remembered that day that it seemed the world had crashed in around them. “My boss started acting funny at first like he had gotten the flu, as ironic as that is. But as time went on he started acting more crazed, manic even.” She pictured that day, the one where she had killed her boss. She zoned out as she remembered him coming after her in his office. “He was a pervert anyway, so even though he had gotten infected I couldn’t feel bad for him.” Gritting her teeth she thought about all the times he had hit on her, threatened to fire her if she reported him. “I could have slapped him with a sexual harassment suit so many times,” she said almost to herself. He had known she needed that job more than she needed anything else. “I was supporting my brother at the time.” She looked up at Collin again, coming back into the present. “It was just the two of us after my dad passed away, and our mom ditched us when we were little.”

God, why was she telling him all of this? It was like a dam had just been opened and all of these things came from her without her being able to stop it.

“Go on, Rebecca.”

She stared at him, and loved how he said her name so softly that it seemed to go against the way he held himself, the way he had acted and reacted back at the store. “I don’t know why I am telling you all of this. I don’t even know you.” She gave this awkward little laugh.

“Sometimes we just need to get it out.” His voice was deep, coarse even, but his words made sense.

She nodded and continued. “I killed him, my boss I mean.” Rebecca focused on the wall behind Collin. “I stabbed him right in the eye with his letter opener.” She closed her eyes, picturing that day when she had heard about the infected turning into these crazed cannibals that attacked without thought. They had been told to run from them, tell the authorities so they could handle it, and to not engage because of how dangerous they were. But others had been saying they were already dead, and damaging their brains would bring them down for good. So, Rebecca had taken out the asshole, and not thought twice about it.

“I killed him, and when his blood covered me, and his lifeless eyes stared up at me as he lay there bleeding out all over his cheap carpet, I felt … nothing.” She was still focused on the wall, thinking about that day, picturing the way it had felt to stab him through the eye, to see the life drain from his rotting face. “He had already started decomposing,” she said, still picturing George’s face. “I think he had died in his office, and when I went in there to bring him a stack of reports, he had already changed to one of those infected sick assholes.” She stared at Collin, seeing how his eyes seemed hard as he watched her, and how he didn’t move a muscle.

“We have to do what we need to in order to survive,” he said slowly, confidently.

She nodded. “I know, but we don’t have to be heathens about it.” Swallowing roughly, she reached for her water, took a long drink, and thought about Andrew, her sweet, young brother.

“You lost someone very close,” he stated without phrasing it as a question.

Rebecca nodded. “Didn’t we all?”

He looked down, breaking their intense stare. “I was estranged from my parents for years before the outbreak occurred. I don’t even know if they are still alive.” He looked up at her. “Chances are they are infected, but I hope they are dead, because that would be a hell of a lot more humane than walking around like those fuckers out there.” As if on cue an infected groaned out.

“I killed my brother a month after all of this went down. We had been driving away from the city, trying to get to the country because we heard the infection hadn’t hit there yet.” She had been wrong. Everyone had been wrong. “But Andrew, my brother—” She stared at Collin. “Andrew had been scratched and didn’t tell me. He thought it would be okay because he wasn’t bitten.” She closed her eyes and breathed out. It had been a long time since Andrew’s death, and it still felt like yesterday. “But I found out soon enough that a scratch was just as deadly as a bite.”

“I’m sorry.” Collin sounded genuine, and she offered him a smile, even though it didn’t feel real.

“That’s the world we live in now. Having to kill your flesh and blood before they turn on you and want to destroy everything that you are.” She didn’t want to think about Andrew, how she had killed him right after he had turned, because that wound hadn’t healed within her yet. Rebecca knew that it would never heal. Since then she had killed enough infected that she was comfortable with it. Rebecca only ate half of the jerky Collin had given her and set it aside. Even if she was still hungry food was scarce enough that she couldn’t be greedy. “What about you?”

“What about me?” he asked without malice in his voice.

“What did you used to do before all of this?”

He was silent for a few seconds, brought his water bottle to his mouth, and took a long sip from it while watching her over the rim. He lowered the bottle and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. “I wasn’t a bookkeeper,” he said without any emotion in his voice.

Was he some kind of criminal, murderer, extortionist? Did it matter anymore? He could have been a criminal in the world before, but what happened then didn’t really matter now. He hadn’t hurt her, had saved her life even, and was sharing his food. As far as she was concerned he was a good man. “It doesn’t matter anymore what someone did in their previous life, well, not unless they were a doctor or something and could have a useful talent.” She shrugged. “But if you’re in need of your finances checked over, I’m your girl.”

“My finances were the last things that needed to be looked at, believe me.” He started chuckling, and she liked the sound. It was manly, masculine, and had this little tingle moving through her. Sex was the last thing she should have on her mind, especially with her almost rape situation, and maybe she was suffering from some kind of “been saved from a near death experience syndrome”. But whatever she was feeling it felt good and real, and for the first time in her life, and living in this new, shitty world, Rebecca wanted this moment to last. But it was clear Collin wasn’t feeling this “moment” because all he did was stare at her with this unreadable expression.

The moaning and groaning from outside grew louder, and she moved to the back of the loft and rested against the wall. Collin stayed where he was, finished his food, and then leaned against the wall diagonal to her. They were silent for several seconds, and then she decided to speak again, trying to ease the sudden awkward tension in the air.

“How old are you, and where are you originally from?” Small talk seemed like the safest route right now, and besides, she didn’t want to sit here, neither speaking. She lived in silence, and having someone to actually converse with was nice.

He brought his legs up, rested his forearms on his knees, and looked at her. The light from the lantern didn’t quite reach him, and the shadows covered half of his body. “I’m thirty-seven, and originally from New York. I stayed at my place for about six months, safe because of where I was located, but eventually ran out of supplies. I knew staying there any longer would be my death.” He stared right at her. “New York was consumed by the infection in a matter of weeks, as were most of the larger cities.”

She had heard that major cities around the world had gotten hit the hardest, and then it had moved outward, sucking up the health and life of every state in the United States. The vaccine had already made it across the ocean to Europe, Asia, and the rest of the continents, and soon the entire world was one giant infected cesspool of walking corpses.

“So, I grabbed what I could and left it all.” He rested his head on the wall, breathed out, and closed his eyes. “It is what it is, and there is no going back. We can only focus on the here and now.” He turned just his head and stared at her. “I never looked back, never wanted to either. My life back there…” He looked away from her and stared at the holes in the roof. “My life back in New York was filled with drugs, embezzlement, illegal activity, and a lot of fucking violence and death.”

Rebecca’s heart started pounding fast and hard at his words. They were cold, deep, and held a lot of darkness to them. It was obvious that whatever Collin had done before all of this, it hadn’t been anything good.

“But even though I wasn’t a good man back then, and honestly still am not, you and I are the same, Rebecca.” He looked at her again. “We are survivors.”

Chapter Six

Collin watched Rebecca sleep, saw the movement of her chest rising and falling, and should have felt like a sick bastard for wanting her the way he did. She may not have come out and told him that she had either been attacked in the past, or raped, but he had seen the truth on her face back at the store. And then when he had said they were both survivors, he had seen that same painful and true expression cover her face. They had been talking about bullshit before she had nodded off. He hadn’t wanted to wake her, because clearly she was exhausted if she could pass out with him being here. And hell, he didn’t know how anyone could get any decent amount of rest with the moans and groans coming from the infected right outside of this place.

He moved closer, trying to be quiet so as not to wake her. The sun was starting to set, and although he should turn off the lantern to preserve the battery life, he wanted to be able to see her clearly. She was on her side with her back toward the edge of the loft. The haystacks were blocking her from actually rolling right off of the ledge, as were the wooden beams running horizontally. She had taken off that big bulky jacket, and although she had several layers on underneath it, he could see that she was a tiny thing. The shirt she wore gapped open at the front slightly, and her delicate little collarbones were showing. He was a fucking asshole for watching her as she slept, but there was this possessive side of him that had reared its head as soon as he had seen her. She was vulnerable as well as strong, and he wanted to protect her.

He reached out and ran his thumb along the thin line of her collarbone, heard her sigh softly in her sleep, and got hard that this woman was his. She didn’t know it, probably would fight him tooth and nail over it, but she was his. Collin’s dick throbbed for release, and he closed his eyes and lay down beside her. Placing his hand behind his head, Collin stared at the play of light from the lantern on the wooden rafters above him. Rebecca was breathing softly, and then shifted closer to him. He stared at her, saw how her raven colored hair fell over her forehead, and gritted his teeth to force himself not to touch her. It was wrong to even be lying next to her, to look at her face, her lips, and think about touching her in ways that were dirty as fuck and would have them both sweaty and moaning.

God, stop thinking about this shit or you’ll get blue balls.

She shifted again, moved a little closer to him, but was now on her back. Her breasts were not much more than a handful, but they were fucking hot as it was. Her nipples were hard, too, poking against her top and having his mouth water to pull up the material and latch onto that tip. Since the contamination had hit Collin hadn’t had sex. Not one fucking time had he felt a woman’s warm, soft body against his. Jerking off was getting old, especially when he had been used to getting willing pussy at the snap of his fingers.

The sound of something banging against the side of the building was loud, echoing off the high ceiling, and had him sitting up. She was still sleeping, and when he sat up fully and looked over the haystacks he saw an infected had made its way through an opening in the wall. It fell against the side of a broken down machine. The metal fell to the ground with a loud clatter, and Rebecca woke on a gasp. He pressed his hand on her belly, flattened it against her body to keep her still, and felt his cock jerk because of that small contact. She made this small noise, and he leaned forward and whispered in her ear softly.

“There is an infected in here. We have to be quiet,” he whispered.

She nodded, and that small movement had her hair brushing along his cheek. He closed his eyes and held back his groan of pleasure at the fact he had this female here with him, pressed so close he could hear her breathing almost intimately.

Pushing those desires away, he focused on the infected walking aimlessly around the main floor. It wouldn’t be long before more infected realized they could get in as easily as this one had. They were high enough that nothing could get them, but once the infected knew they were up here, more would congregate, and it would be impossible to escape the building. The window was too small to go out of, and even if it wasn’t, they were too high up to jump out of it without hurting themselves.

“Are you afraid?” she asked softly, staring right at him.

He thought about her question, knew the answer right away, but got lost in her green eyes that were lightly visible because of the lantern. He needed to turn it off, not draw any attention up until he could climb down and kill the motherfucking infected, but he was transfixed. She was gorgeous, so feminine and looking almost ethereal in this dim lighting despite the grime and dirt around them. Collin wanted to kiss her, to just take their clothes off, no, tear them away until they were naked and he was spreading her thighs. Christ, he was insatiable, and he knew that until he was between her sweet thighs, pumping away and finally claiming her as his own, Collin would only get even more desperate for her.

****

Rebecca tried to control her breathing, but Collin was touching her stomach, holding that heavy weight on her body, and it felt really good. Maybe she should have focused on the fact a corpse had gotten into the building, but she couldn’t be worried about anything right now. She didn’t know if it was because she hadn’t been with a man in far too long, or if it was just him, but whatever it was had her aroused, wet and needy, and not thinking clearly.

He moved silently over to the lantern, turned the light off, and they were plunged into darkness. It took a moment for her vision to clear, but then she saw him moving back toward her, the moonlight gently playing through the small glass window behind him. He moved beside her once again, so close that she felt his body heat seep right into her.

She should be worried about the infected currently in the building and that more would probably soon follow. But instead she pictured the two of them together, him with his big, strong body over hers, his hands parting her thighs, and Collin guiding his cock into her. God, she wanted him badly, and she knew it was an irrational desire. This entire time she hadn’t wanted a man, hadn’t wanted any kind of sexual relationship. But then Collin had come along and she felt something, really felt something inside of her, that didn’t make sense in this fucked up world. She didn’t know him, had just met him a couple of hours ago, but she wanted him in ways that also had nothing to do with sex. She just wanted his presence to ease the loneliness, wanted his body to press against hers when she slept. Was she so starved for attention and affection that she would take it from a man she just met?

“No, Rebecca, I don’t feel scared, and neither should you.”

And then she did something she had never thought she’d be doing after the fall of civilization, or after everything that had happened to her. Rebecca leaned up, braced her hands on the wood beneath her, and pressed her mouth to Collin’s. He tasted good, like dark spices, with a hint of something sweet and minty. They were both filthy, and although she wasn’t going to have sex with him right now, it felt good to have him so close, to have his mouth on hers, and just to feel good after so long being alone.

He didn’t move his mouth, didn’t move anything for that matter, but then he speared his hand in her hair, tilted her head back, and devoured her. The sound of the corpse shuffling around below them, of it moaning and groaning off and on, didn’t stop them from kissing. He swept his tongue out, stroked her, and moaned softly. He tightened his hold in her hair to the point that a soft cry of pain left her, but he swallowed the sound, masking it with his breathing.

He broke the kiss, but had his lips still lightly pressed to hers, his breath moving along her mouth, and her arousal growing higher. They stared at each other, with the disgusting world all around them, the rotting corpses just on the other side of the metal and wood that housed them, and right here, right now, there wasn’t anywhere else she wanted to be. He consumed her and made her feel breathless and lightheaded, and it had all come to this in a few hours.

This is insane. You’re insane, Rebecca.

All she wanted to do was close her eyes and pretend they were in a nice place, surrounded by clean things, and nothing was stopping this from going further.

“As much as I want to continue this, and have it go further, I think we need leave before any more find themselves in here and make things worse. Right now I can handle a few infected and stay unnoticed by the other assholes, but if this building gets swarmed with the motherfuckers we might have a problem, especially since I don’t have a gun.”

His voice was so low, so deep, that she felt it down to her very soul. He groaned something unintelligible, and then tightened his hold on her hair and kissed her again. With one final sweep of his tongue along her bottom lip, Collin pulled away.

She wanted him to continue kissing her, to hold her close. She had been alone, dodging shady humans, killing infected, and making sure she wasn’t bitten or scratched so she wasn’t infected, yet she felt like no one else was around. She was always alone, so utterly, heartbreakingly alone.

Having Collin so close, even after just meeting him hours before, made her feel as though she could get through this ugly, hateful world. It was illogical to feel this way, to want him like she did. Was she so desperate that she was looking for comfort from the first person, the first man that had come along and didn’t try to take something from her that she wasn’t willing to give? Her thoughts were halted when the sound of more metal scraping came through. She pushed herself up and looked over the haystacks. Another corpse was finding its way through the opening in the wall, the same way the other corpse had gotten in.

“We need to go now while we aren’t overrun by the bastards,” Collin said gruffly. “Pack up what you can carry.” Then he was moving away from her and grabbing his items.

She got up and grabbed her jacket, put it on, and started shoving anything and everything she could into her backpack and tote. She couldn’t carry everything, and as she looked around at her little makeshift stove, at some of the extra weapons she kept up here just in case, this part of her grew disappointed that she was leaving her safe haven. Or at least it had been safe. Rebecca watched as Collin grabbed the ladder, and as quietly as he could manage, lowered it. There was some banging as the wood hit the loft, but the infected that was already inside didn’t take notice because the other one was still trying to get through the side of the wall, and the noise it made drowned out everything else. But that noise was also causing the sick outside to get more restless, and that was why they needed to leave.

Collin went down the ladder first, and once he reached the bottom he quickly made his way over to the roaming corpse. She watched from the loft, knowing that he wanted her to stay up here even if he hadn’t specifically said so, and saw him take out the man that groaned out low. It was a quick stab to the infected man’s skull, and then Collin went over to the woman that was still trying to get through, clearly stuck halfway in the wall’s opening. The contaminated woman was struggling to get her arm free as it was stuck between parts of the wall. Even from the distance and height Rebecca could make out the skin and muscle being torn from the corpse’s body as she struggled to get through to them. But the infected woman was oblivious to anything aside from the fact Collin was close by. She reached out with her other arm, trying to grab him even though he was feet from her. She opened her mouth, made this low, wet, and filthy noise from the back of her throat, and became more frantic to get through. Her flesh continued to tear from her arm, and dark blood oozed onto the ground. But the walking corpses felt no pain. Collin moved over to her, grabbed a chunk of her hair, and tilted her head back. He plunged his knife in her eye socket, and when the infected slumped forward, finally dead for good, he removed the blade and wiped it on the tattered and stained shirt she wore. Rebecca couldn’t breathe. Collin had taken those two out without any emotion on his face. He had been like a machine, a well-oiled, dangerous, and heartless machine. But in this world that was how someone survived.

He walked over to the window and looked out of it.

“We need to leave, Rebecca. Now.” He turned from the window and moved back toward the ladder. She was already making her way down it, but it was slow in going as she had to keep adjusting the bags on her shoulders. When she finally reached the last couple of slats Collin had his hands around her waist and lifted her from the ladder. He held her for a second.

“Shhh,” he said softly against her ear. The sound of moaning and groaning became even louder, and then there was banging on the windows as the infected made themselves known. When they saw Collin and Rebecca they made this loud screeching noise, and clawed at the building. Collin grabbed her hand and they made their way quickly out of the warehouse, and out through the back way where they had entered.

Once outside an infected lunged forward in the slow, sloppy way a starving corpse did, but Rebecca had her knife ready, and stabbed it in the side of the neck. It wouldn’t kill it, but it would slow it down. It gurgled out a sound, and dark blood gushed out of the artery as it fell backward and landed on the ground. Collin and Rebecca started running again, still moving from the horrors that had swarmed in on them, yet not able to get rid of the sounds of hell filling her ears.

There was clanging behind them, and once they got into the woods they didn’t stop. Collin continued to pull her forward, refusing to let go of her hand. She ran as fast as she could, but he had longer legs, and the supplies she carried were weighing her down. Glancing behind her, the world shook, and the warehouse grew smaller and smaller the harder she ran. The ground was uneven, and when she faced forward again her foot caught on something. She fell forward, landed on her knees, and the air left her in a whoosh.

“Come on, baby, we have to keep moving until we can’t walk any further.” Collin said and had her lifted off the ground a second later. He cupped both of her cheeks with his big hands, and leaned down so he could look into her eyes. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“But why?” she gasped out still trying to catch her breath.

He shook his head. “Does it matter why? I am here, won’t let anything happen to you, and I want you to trust me.” He continued to stare right in her eyes, and a little bit of moonlight filtered through the treetop. “We might be safe from those infected, but I want us to get as much distance between us and them as possible. We can talk about all of this later, but right now we need to move.” He kissed her hard and fiercely, broke away, and breathed just as hard as she did. “You’re good, baby, good to walk?”

She nodded. “I’m good.”

He nodded in response, kissed her once more, and then they were moving through the forest, fast and hard, not stopping until the warehouse was now a distant memory, and she nearly collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

Chapter Seven

Collin finally allowed them to stop once they had put a substantial amount of distance between them and the warehouse. It wasn’t as if the fuckers could run or walk very fast for that matter, but since there was a horde of them starting to move toward the machine warehouse Collin didn’t want to take any chances. It seemed they were grouping together, congregating and then having more muscle to take down someone. It was easy enough to kill a few at a time if they were destroyed in the head, but if twenty, hell, even ten swarmed him and all he had was this knife, that could get dangerous. He might have been able to take down a shitload of them when he had taken Sparrow all those months ago, but he’d had an extra gun, a small one tucked in the ankle of his boot that she hadn’t known about. It had saved him them, and if push came to shove he would use the knife he had and take down every last asshole that came close to Rebecca.

Rebecca was on the other side of the fire, sleeping. He had made a small camp for them about a few hours so after they had run from the warehouse. Although he had seen the fear in her face, knew that she was used to doing things her way, probably slowly and safe, he wasn’t going to sugarcoat anything. This world was fucked up, and she knew that, and although she had left with him without complaint, he had a feeling that on her own she would have waited the infected out at the warehouse, thinking that eventually they would have left. She considered that place her “home”, and it was clear she had had no intentions of leaving there.

Collin watched her sleep, knew that the sun would be rising soon and they would need to keep moving, find a safer place to camp, and maybe one to set up shop permanently, but right now he just wanted to watch her. She was a fighter, a survivor, and when she had kissed him, just rose up and placed her mouth on his, everything had stopped. He wasn’t the bastard, violent man that lived on the streets of New York anymore. He wasn’t fighting until everyone bowed before him. He wasn’t the drug lord, the pimp, or the killer that everyone had been afraid of. Right here and now, he was still all those things, but more. He was so much more in this world and with this woman. What he wanted now, where his focus and priorities were now, were on this female, and protecting her at all costs. Sure, they had just met, and no, he wasn’t in love with her. What he felt was raw, uninhibited possession and territorial need. He saw her, knew she was his, and something inside of him had clicked. It was like this primal, wild energy at seeing his female. Was this how things had been back in the day when men had to fight for a woman, had to show her they were stronger and could protect them with their life?

She was asleep, and he knew she was exhausted, not only from running, but also because she had barely gotten any rest back at the loft. He had seen the bags under her green eyes, her too pale skin, and he wanted her to be able to get some sleep. But they needed to keep moving, because infected weren’t their only problem. He scanned their surroundings, not able to rest until he knew for sure they were safe. There had been some semi-fresh human tracks that he had seen when they stopped, and knowing that someone could be lurking out there, waiting for Collin to put his guard down, had him doing the opposite.

He had his knife and moved his thumb back and forth over the blade as he looked at their surroundings. But even though he had seen the tracks he didn’t feel anyone near. Collin had always relied on his instincts. They had been a must when he had been working the underground, and they were still what kept him alive.

There was a crack of a twig in the distance, and Collin stood, his knife in hand, and his entire body poised and ready to attack. He backed away from where the sound had come from, closer to Rebecca, and then stopped. He listened, his heart beating slowly and steadily, and his eyes alert. He sensed the moment Rebecca woke because she held her breath, obviously sensing there was danger close by. Fortunately she didn’t make a sound or move. She was smart, but then again she wouldn’t have lasted this long if she wasn’t.

More sounds of twigs breaking became closer. He placed a hand on the other knife he had strapped to his waist and strained to hear, making sure the sound wasn’t echoing off the trees. And then he spotted the infected moving out of the forest and toward them. Its steps were slow, languished even. The male was hungry, softly groaning and raising its hands toward them.

“Rebecca, stand up and gather your things.” The moonlight cut through the trees and bathed the corpse in a bluish tint.

“Oh God,” Rebecca whispered roughly, now standing right beside him with her arms wrapped tightly around her middle. “Collin, he’s just a little boy.”

Yeah, he was, probably not much older than eleven or twelve, but he was badly decomposed, no longer the child that she was envisioning in her mind, or what he had once been. Right now he was a walking corpse, hungry for human flesh. Their flesh.

The infected lifted its head and parted its lips in a silent cry. Blood oozed out of his mouth, nose, and eyes. It was old blood, congealed and dead, just like he was. These creatures were no longer living, but rotting from the inside out. Its flesh was black in some areas, necrotic and starting to spread across his gaunt cheeks and sunken, cloudy-white eyes. The little boy, or corpse as Collin thought of him now, wore a pair of stained, torn and striped pajamas. The pocket in the corner was torn clean off, and a festering bullet wound could be seen.

“Grab your things, because we have to leave.” He had planned on waking her soon anyway, but it looked like sleep would have to wait.

The young boy made another low, wet, gurgled sound and moved closer. Rebecca had all of her things packed now, stood beside Collin, and whispered softly, “Collin, let’s just leave. He’s a little boy.”

He looked at her, at her soft face that was so innocent even though this world would eat her alive. She had lasted this long, although clearly she hadn’t dealt with a child that was infected. “He isn’t a child anymore, Rebecca. He isn’t even alive. He’ll attack us without even thinking twice, and then we will be like him.” He smoothed his finger over her cheek, and then looked back at the male. It was staring at the fire, clearly transfixed at the bright flames for a second. Sometimes they could be taken off guard by something small, and this was one of those times. “Leaving him alive to continue to wander aimlessly around, and potentially infect more people would make me a vile man, Rebecca,” he said without looking at her. “I’m not a good man by any means, but I sure as fuck can’t let this once little boy continue to be the way he is. It’s not right. Don’t you think he deserves peace?” he said softly, and glanced at her once more.

She shook her head. “No, but God, all I can see is the little boy he used to be.”

“I know, baby. Maybe you should look away.”

She shook her head, not saying anything at the fact he kept calling her baby. Collin walked around the fire, and then the boy came forward, following his movements. He made more strangled sounds, and then Collin took him out swiftly. He wasn’t into making them suffer, because he just wanted them dead. Whoever this little boy used to be, he didn’t deserve to have to wander this world feeding on flesh, dead and rotting more each day. It was a sad world, and the thought of children being infected made it worse.

****

The sun started to rise over the tops of the blue spruce trees, and Rebecca shielded her eyes from the glare. They had been walking for what seemed like forever. She was tired, her feet were sore, and her body wanted nothing more than to lie down and just sleep the rest of the days away. But they couldn’t stop, not until they were in a safe place. After the assholes at the grocery store, and the infected all around them, sleeping out in the open again didn’t sound like the best option for them. And she could see the wear and exhaustion on Collin’s face, too, but he never stopped, never gave up his composure or alertness.

The sound of the leaves crunching under their feet seemed overly loud, or maybe she was just so exhausted that what she heard was just the thundering of her own heart. They had been walking for miles, farther and farther up the mountain until the air thinned and a crisp wind blew through the trees. Her whole body burned, and all of the adrenaline, endorphins, and energy that had kept her going thus far, had since dwindled away to nothing. But she kept her mouth shut, knew Collin was just as tired, and told herself that when they got wherever they were headed this would have all been worth it.

The trees had broken way to show a small backwater, secluded village. They both stopped. Everything looked like it had been taken right out of a western movie where the towns were small, intimate even. A schoolhouse was in the distance, a small diner of some sort, a few cabins, and even a doctor’s office on one side of the school. There were a few corpses moving around, but they were slow, clearly hungry, and they’d be easy enough to take down. Rebecca already had her knife out, pressed to the side of her thigh, and stood on the other side of Collin. He had his weapon in hand, and when she looked at him she could see his gaze moving back and forth, taking in everything.

“We can go around and avoid them, but there might be something we can use in the buildings,” he said softly and then looked over at her.

“Where exactly are we going?” Rebecca said just as softly.

“I don’t know, but I think the higher we go up the safer we will be. The chances of the sick wandering so far up into the mountains are slimmer, and I think a lot of the healthy ones still surviving will stay close to the towns.” He glanced at the small village again, if it could even be called a village. It seemed more like a community than anything else. “And this isn’t it.” He stared at the infected again, and then he crouched low, trying to maybe see another way around the sick. It was easier to avoid them altogether. But the three infected were roaming in a circle, groaning and unaware of their presence. He was right though. They needed to at least see if there were any supplies in the buildings.

“What the hell is this place, though?” Rebecca asked, and kept her focus on the infected. One of them turned toward them, groaned, and then that had the others turning and doing the same. They moved toward her and Collin, their flesh peeling, black congealed blood seeping out of their skin, and gouges missing from their bodies and faces taking up her entire view.

She didn’t think, just reacted. Moving forward, her knife raised high, she attacked the first corpse. The older man had receding lips and scabs littering his face. He was missing his left eye, and in its places was this pus-filled socket. Pushing back her gag reflex, she stabbed him right in that socket, drilling her knife through his skull, and hearing the sickening wet, bone crunching sound. She looked over at where Collin was, and watched as he finished off the infected. The bodies littered the ground, and then he was looking at her with anger, and moving toward her.

“What the fuck, Rebecca?” he said in a very angry tone, and looked down at where her knife was in her hand, blood dripping from the tip. “You cannot just run out there and start going Warrior Princess on their asses. You need to wait, and together we can do this shit.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and breathed out, clearly looking frustrated.

“What?” she asked just as outraged. “I’ve survived without you in my life, and won’t just sit back while the big muscle man takes care of business.”

They glared at each other for several moments, and then the sound of clicking had them both tensing. Collin pulled her behind his body, and she listened hard, trying to see where the noise was coming from. The clicking started again, but it wasn’t as if someone were cocking a gun, but of a lighter, more nonthreatening noise. It was strange, and one that she had heard before, but couldn’t place now.

Then the sound stopped, and they waited several moments, trying to see if it was a threat, or maybe a small animal going through debris. But when she saw a dark figure move across the window of the schoolhouse everything inside of her went on alert. She tugged on his sleeve, about to tell him what she had seen, but then he started speaking.

“I saw,” Collin said in a low voice. “You wait here.”

“No,” she said before he even finished speaking. He stared at her with a scowl, and then sighed. They moved forward, keeping to the side of the buildings, and when they reached the front door to the school they stilled. He looked at her, pointed to her knife, telling her without words to keep it at the ready, and she nodded. He pushed open the door with his boot since it was already cracked ajar, and when no one attacked him and infected didn’t come out groaning and moaning, they stepped inside.

The interior was small, with a main room that looked like something out of a nineteenth century schoolhouse atop a hill. There were benches for the children’s seats, a chalkboard that still had writing on it, and dirt and debris all over the floor. The two windows in the building were busted open, and the glass was shattered pieces on the ground and some of the benches. It didn’t look like anyone was in the room, but she had seen someone walk by the window. She knew she had, and Collin had seen it, too. And then there was the clicking again. They turned, faced the darkened corner, and waited for whoever was standing there to make themselves known.

But the man that stepped into view didn’t seem like a threat. In fact he looked almost frail, even though he had this crazed, cockeyed look going on. He was filthy, with salt and pepper colored long hair in thick dreads, and a scraggly beard. He also held a small light blue camera, one of the old-school ones that carried the 35mm film and looked like it may have belonged to a twelve-year-old girl for her sleepovers. He lifted the camera, and they tensed. He clicked it over and over again, and then started laughing in this crazed way that had the hairs on her arms standing on end.

“Welcome to paradise, children.” And then he lunged forward, grabbed Rebecca by the hair, and pulled her forward. She cried out from the sudden pain, and tried to take his hands from her hair. But Collin was there, prying the asshole off. The old man cackled in a seriously eerie way, and then she heard Collin grunt in pain. Rebecca took action, sliced out with her knife, heard the old man howl, and then he pushed away from them, stumbling back, and slamming into the wall.

Collin pulled her close, and she saw a trail of blood move down his arm.

The old man lifted the camera again, clicked it over and over, and then darted out the front door. She moved to the broken window, watched as he disappeared behind the trees, and finally sagged her shoulders. She turned and faced Collin, saw him looking at the wound in his arm, and felt her heart beat even faster. He didn’t need this right now. Neither of them did.

“Come here, let’s get that cleaned up.” She moved over to the farthest corner from where that psycho was, set her bag down, and gestured for him to come closer. He moved toward her, looking like he hadn’t just gotten stabbed with God knew what. When he was seated beside her, and she had his jacket off and his shirt pushed up, she looked at the six-inch slice in his bicep. He reached out, grabbed her head, and pulled her close to kiss her gently.

“You’re okay?” he murmured against their mouth.

“I’m fine,” she said softly and pulled back, smiling. He tried to pull her in for a kiss again, but she placed a hand on his chest. “Collin…” She looked at his mouth. “Please, let me just get you cleaned up before an infection sets in.” She smiled, knowing that he wanted to do a hell of a lot more than to get his cut tended to.

“It’s just a scratch, Rebecca.” He grinned when she rolled her eyes. They had only kissed a few times, but she was anxious for more, and it was clear so was he.

“It’s not just a scratch, Collin. The blade was no doubt rusty. I hope you had your tetanus shot in the last ten years.” She went back to cleaning the gouge in his arm, washing it out with some saline she had, and spreading some ointment on it. Once she had it bandaged, Rebecca said, “I hope it doesn’t get an infection, but we need to keep it clean and watch it.”

“Okay, baby.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. He leaned in close enough that they shared the same air. “I really want to kiss you again, Rebecca.”

She looked at his mouth, wanting that, too, even though this was the most inappropriate time. They could have died, both of their lives just snuffed out because of some loony that had been living out here in the woods with infected roaming around him for far too long. “Then kiss me. But you should rest—”

Collin didn’t let her finish that sentence. He slammed his mouth on hers, and speared his tongue between her lips. He slid his hand behind her head and curled his fingers into her hair. He tangled his fingers in the strands and tugged her head back, baring her throat. Collin looked at her with this hard, desire-filled expression that made her feel as though she were naked before him, and he couldn’t get enough of the sight of her.

He groaned again. “I need you so badly, but I know I have to wait. Right now isn’t the time, especially not in an abandoned elementary school.”

She breathed out softly, and when she looked at him she saw he was just as into this moment as she was. He lowered his head back down to hers so he could take control of her mouth once more. The sound of their heavy breathing and of his groaning had her so wet, so aroused. This was so not the time, but she couldn’t help herself, or how she felt around him. She placed her hands on his chest and curled her fingers into the flesh. He grunted in pleasure.

“Collin, it feels so good, but I’m filthy, and so are you.” She chuckled softly.

“Yeah, it feels really good, and as much as I don’t want to stop, I don’t want our first time being in this rundown school. Besides, that asshole could come back and I want to make sure I’m ready if he does.”

She made a small noise in the back of her throat, and he wrapped her arms around her, trying to pull her closer to his body. “You think he’ll come back?”

“Not if he’s smart, but then again he is clearly a crazy motherfucker so who the hell knows.” He pulled her closer, leaned back on the wall, and had his weapons right on his lap, at the ready. “If that bastard decides to come back I’m ready, and this time I won’t let that asshole escape. I want you, Rebecca, and not just because I am a man and you’re a woman, and that I haven’t been with a female in far too fucking long.”

Licking her suddenly dry lips, she said, “I want you, too, Collin. I feel safe with you, protected.” But she knew that there was more that needed to be said. She could see it in the way he held himself, in the way he watched her, and the air around them that was electrically charged.

“There are things about me that you should know, even if it doesn’t mean anything anymore.”

Goosebumps popped out along her body at the deep, dark way he spoke. Settling closer to him, he wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in close. Rebecca tilted her head back and stared at the sky that was visible through the roof of the school and the treetops. The sky was dusky pinks and oranges throughout the blue and white. For several long moments they didn’t speak, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. The sound of the wind whistling through the trees had a lulling quality.

“Before all of this went down with the infection I ran the biggest drug empire in New York, pimped out willing women, and sold illegal firearms.”

His words startled her, but she stayed quiet and waited for him to continue.

“I killed people, took their lives as if they meant nothing, because they didn’t, Rebecca.” He stared at her with a hard unforgiving expression. “I liked taking their lives, especially if they crossed me or my business.” He swallowed roughly, and she saw the way his throat worked, as if he didn’t want to tell her and was forcing himself to continue. He was ruggedly handsome, with a few days’ worth of scruff lining his face.

“I-I don’t know what to say.” She shouldn’t have even spoken, because this whole revelation was a shock, but at the same time it really wasn’t. Rebecca had known he was a bad man before all of this, could sense it in the way he held himself. She just hadn’t realized or even contemplated that he could have been this big-time drug lord and pimp.

“But even though you probably want to run from me, Rebecca,” he shifted so he could fully face her. “I can’t let you go. I won’t. You’re mine. I knew that from the moment I saw you, and it isn’t in my make-up to let things go when I want them as badly as I want you.”

Her heart thundered in her chest, pounded so hard that she swore it would burst right through her ribs.

“I didn’t tell you these things to make you afraid of me, although that would be the smart reaction. I told you because I want you to know who and what I was, and in this world I will protect you with my fucking life.”

When she felt his lips at her temple everything faded away. She shut her mouth, not wanting to make this any harder, not wanting to worry about what had happened in the past. She should be afraid of him, of what Collin used to be in his former life. But what did it matter now? This world was destroyed, and everything that had happened since then was what was important.

“Could you accept me for who I am?” he asked, but there was this strange tone in his voice. “Because I can’t change, I won’t. This is how I was in my old life, and in this new one I am even worse. I have to be in order to survive, in order to keep you safe.”

Rebecca licked her lips, not knowing how to respond, because she did want him, badly. But at the same time she should also be afraid. He was just as dangerous as the savages out there, the ones that killed and maimed for sport. But Collin had saved her, had done so much for her, and made sure she was safe in the short amount of time they had been together.

Rebecca glanced down, knew that she wasn’t about to go into detail about what had almost happened to her all those months ago, but wanting to be honest with Collin. “I was almost raped months ago, but they stopped, had to stop, when a horde of infected came through. I barely escaped with my life.” Looking away, feeling these memories wash through her, she knew this was what was right. If they were going to be in this world together, fighting side-by-side, trying to survive, then she needed to be honest.

He didn’t say anything when she looked at him again, just stared at her with this expression that told her he had known all along. She didn’t want to have to run anymore, didn’t want to have to look over her shoulder because there were men out there that wanted her body to use and abuse. Rebecca closed her eyes and breathed out when he pulled her in close and whispered how everything was going to be okay.

But this world made that just a fantasy.

Chapter Eight

Rebecca followed Collin closely behind. They had been walking for several days, thicker into the woods, farther away from the towns that she knew dotted this area, but for some inexplicable reason she trusted him and his decisions. Collin had taken her tote, even though he had his own bag to carry. She had tried to take it back, telling him she could carry her own things, but he refused. A part of her felt warmth at the thought he wanted to do that small thing for her, to make sure she was as comfortable as possible, but another part of her said that she needed to stay as independent as possible. This world could eat both of them up in an instant.

Of course she thought about why exactly she was letting him call the shots when she had survived just fine by herself this whole time. Truth was, she was lonely. That isolation ate at her, and made her think that the world was closing in on her. Loneliness was a horrible fate, to her at least. Maybe she just wasn’t built for this kind of world, for this kind of life? He stopped, held his hand out, and she stood there, silent, waiting to see what the next move was. She had no idea where they were going, and maybe that should have frightened her. But strangely enough she wasn’t afraid of Collin. He hadn’t hurt her, and had instead protected her on every occasion. It actually felt right and good to be in his presence. Still, maybe this kind of attention, affection from him, was something she should be wary of, afraid of even.

A small rabbit moved fast across their path. It was gone before they could really react, and then Collin motioned for her to follow forward with a curl of his fingers, and they walked further into the thick covering of the trees. He lowered his hand to the knife tucked in the back of his jeans. Collin held his lethal looking knife, and she held her handmade one. But the way he was acting, as if he were on high alert, had her growing conscious of everything around them, too.

“Look,” he said and pointed to the dirt road.

She moved closer, saw what looked like a pond or lake in the distance, and this little bit of excitement ran through her. Yeah, it was cold as hell, but she was filthy, had grime under her nails, and the water sounded heavenly. It would be the quickest wash off she had ever had, mainly because of the risk of being seen by the infected or savage fucking humans, and the fact it was cold, but she’d take it.

“And there.” He pointed to the other side of the body of water.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to see straight, and then she spotted the small white structure that was tucked into the woods.

“Stay behind me, Rebecca.” Collin kept his voice low, but before she could take one more step he curled his fingers around her waist and pulled forward until she was flush with his body. Her chest was pressed to his back, and she had to look around his arm just to see anything. It felt good to be this close to him, and although this wasn’t the time to think about sex, that was what was on her mind. Ever since their kiss she had been having these lewd, totally inappropriate thoughts about being with him. It was inevitable, because she knew he wanted her, too, and that was on her mind as well. It fueled her desire, her erotic images, and made her feel alive again.

They continued to move through the woods, her steps crunching over the fallen, dried leaves, and creating this echoing effect around them. And then she stopped, gripped onto Collin’s arm so he would do the same, and lifted her hand to point to the three infected walking on the road ahead of them. She could barely see them through the break in the trees, but they were stumbling along, clearly unaware that they were only feet from human flesh. And then the sound of something moving close by, across from where Rebecca and Collin stood, had the infected turning toward it. Rebecca could see a doe standing between two thick oaks, her ears twitching, and her big black eyes taking in the three infected moving toward her.

For whatever reason, when someone turned into these disgusting walking corpses that fed on human flesh, that was all they fed on. They didn’t go after animals, and Rebecca was sure there was a reason behind it, but she had never heard the details. After everything had crashed in on itself the government and the scientists that had been working on all of this seemed to drop off the planet. They hadn’t been prepared, that was for sure, and the idea that they survived, maybe bunkered down in a hole somewhere, was totally plausible. But it didn’t matter one way or another, because a lot of time had passed since the infection had spread, and there was no more civilization. If the government or the scientists were alive, they were probably suffering as much as everyone else was.

But the movement kept the infected occupied, had them curious maybe, and so when the doe ran off into the woods they followed her, slowly, but they still followed.

And then she and Collin were moving through the forest again, toward the lake and that white structure in the distance. Rebecca just hoped there weren’t any more surprises for them in the near future, because as it was since meeting up with Collin it had felt like one thing after another.

****

Collin stayed in the tree line, watched their surroundings, and only when he felt it was safe to move forward did he take a step out of the protection of the trees. He had a firm hold on Rebecca’s hand, pulled her behind him, and this wave of possession filled him when Rebecca squeezed his hand tighter. The body of water looked to be a manmade pond, and the small white structure across from it was a church. The cross atop it was large, but the church itself only had two levels. The single front door was open and hanging off the hinges. A grey shutter was banging against the window.

“It’s a church, but there isn’t a parking lot or anything, and it’s out in the middle of nowhere?” Rebecca said, almost as if she as speaking to herself.

“Have your weapon ready,” he said low, keeping his voice soft enough that only she could hear. He looked at the structure, scanned the property, and when he moved up the wooden steps to the front door and looked inside, the sight of a dead body was what greeted him. The person was draped over the podium that was on the altar, his body nearly rotted to the bone. Clearly the man had died shortly after the infection hit nearly two years ago, judging by the state of decomposition.

“Stay close,” Collin said to her, pulled her forward with him, and stepped inside of the church.

“Ugh, yeah, I have no plans on going anywhere,” she said just as softly, and he chuckled lightly. There were two sets of pews, with three rows each.

“Looks like this was a private congregation, maybe even a backwater church or something.” Collin wasn’t familiar with happenings out in the boonies. He had lived in New York all his life where it was busy with nonstop action and where everything was out in the open. This could have been a cult, possibly, although right now it didn’t matter. The pews were weathered and worn, but the only other windows in this building, aside from the small one by the front door, were ones about twenty feet high. They were stained glass and let in plenty of light, but what really caught his attention was the second story. It was open, with beams running parallel. It was very similar to the loft back at the warehouse, and he assumed it was for storage.

“You think someone is up there?” she whispered.

“I don’t know.” He pointed at the corner toward the front doors. “Stay over there, because although I know you can handle yourself, my mind will be at ease if I know where you are and that you aren’t trying to hold your own.” Collin stared at her, and pleasure moved through him that she stared at him with her wide green eyes full of trust.

And she didn’t argue, just nodded, looked back at the loft area, and moved over to the corner. It was shadowed, and the back of the door blocked her from prying eyes. Collin moved over to the stairs that he could see behind the altar. He stopped when he was close to the man slouched over the podium. There was a handgun beside the corpse’s feet and a bullet hole in the side of his head. Collin knew enough to see that the wound was self-inflicted. He’d have to clear the body out, use the podium and pews as firewood if need be, and as long as this place was secure he could see them staying here. Moving away from the corpse he walked over to the ladder, with his knife in hand, and slowly climbed. Once at the top, he stared down at where Rebecca was. She watched him, her knife at the ready, and pride and arousal filled him. This woman had only come into his life yesterday, and as much as he wanted her, and had thought she would have put up a fight, she had been just as lonely as he was.

Once at the top he looked around. There were more pews stacked in the corner, even a couple of cots, an outdated desk and lamp, drapes, and some religious artifacts. He moved closer, moved away some of the dusty boxes, seeing if there was anything of use up here, and noticed a small latch that had been covered. He lifted the small brass ring, felt his adrenaline pump through his veins at what was underneath this door, and then had his knife at the ready just in case. The light from the stained glass cast a multi-layer colored illumination around the floor and wall.

He swallowed, and then just opened the damn thing. He stood, ready to attack, but what he was greeted with was not a threat. In fact it was the opposite. “Well shit,” he said under his breath. Collin made sure the upper level was clear and safe, and then he called Rebecca up. When he glanced over the railing he saw her slowly approaching, her attention on the corpse slung over the podium.

“Baby, don’t look at that. I’ll clear it all out soon, but I want to show you something first.”

She moved quickly toward him, climbed the stairs, and then she stood beside him and looked down to see the items in the hidden apartment. Her eyes widened.

“Seriously?” She got on her knees and started picking up cans of food, ran her fingers over the jugs of water, and then crouched to open one of the plastic containers on the floor. There were bags of dried food, beans and rice, and other items that were shelf ready and nonperishable. When she sat on the floor beside the food, she glanced over at him.

“There has to be several months’ worth of food here.” She stared at him with this wide, confused expression on her face. “But why is it still here?” She looked at the food again, and ran her fingers over the cans. “I can’t believe no one looted this stuff.”

“Well, this place is pretty far off, kind of isolated, and this was hidden pretty well.” He shrugged even though she was still staring at the food. “There were boxes on top of the hidden door. Chances are, even after all this time, no one ever found the place. I didn’t see any trails, and everything is pretty much grown over by now. We lucked out, baby.” Here he was, saying endearments to this woman that he’d just met, and felt territorial possession fill him. She turned and faced him, and then slowly rose. When she moved toward him his cock instantly got hard. He had a lot of shit he needed to do to get this place safe and secure for them, but all he could think about was being with her. She was right in front of him, lifting her hands and placing them on his jacket. They were both filthy, but he had noticed a small tub behind the altar, probably for baptisms, but for them it would make a great place to bathe.

“This is kind of crazy, Collin.” she said in a soft voice, and looked at him. “And a little surreal.”

“But it feels right.” Collin didn’t state it like a question.

Rebecca looked down at the ground, but kept her hands on his chest. The silence was killing him, and Collin wasn’t used to that feeling. He had always gotten things handed to him, because if not the repercussions were grave and deadly, but with Rebecca he wanted to make sure she wanted this. He didn’t want to force her into anything, but at the same time he didn’t want to let her go, couldn’t let her go. If she had refused him, fought him tooth on nail on leaving with him, Collin would have pressed the issue. He never would have forced her to do something that she didn’t want to do, but only if she was safe. If there was a situation that she wanted to be stubborn about, and danger was close, he would have thrown her over his shoulder and fought anyone that came close. He wanted her to be protected above all else.

She looked into his eyes, so understanding, so open and curious, and his fucking heart sped up right then and there.

“It does feel right, and I think that is the craziest part of all of this.” She licked her lips, and he watched the act. “I don’t know anything about you, yet I feel so safe being with you.” She shook her head, and a moment of silence stretched between them. “I shouldn’t though, not after the stuff that I have been through, or the things I have seen.” She stared at him, and this anger rose inside of him like a fucking sledgehammer needing to destroy something. Just thinking about anyone wanting to hurt her enraged him.

“In this world we have to take what we can get, especially when it feels right.” He cupped her face, wanting to kiss her so damn badly. Why the fuck was he trying to stop himself? Leaning in he pressed his mouth to hers, felt her open for him, and knew that he had to have her tonight. He couldn’t wait, not when she was so damn receptive. He stroked her tongue with his, groaned out when she moaned into his mouth, and slid his hand down her back. He cupped her ass, squeezing the mounds. She was wearing too many clothes, like all of them, but before he could tear the fucking material way she broke the kiss and took a step back. He lowered his head but kept his gaze locked on her. Right now he felt pretty feral, but he’d let her call the shots and lead the way for this first time.

Only for this first time, though.

****

The sun had set some time ago, and Rebecca had actually had a bath in the baptism pool, although it had been frigid. They had gathered the pond water, filled the tiny pool in church, and he had cleaned herself with the soap she had found at the grocery store. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so clean since the world had ended, and even her teeth felt minty thanks to the toothpaste and toothbrush she had also snagged. Now she was watching Collin as he finished bathing, too.

They had found some candles in the loft storage area above, as well as several in brass candleholders around the main floor. The clothes she had on were clean, but she was already itching to have them off. She wanted his naked body pressed against hers, wanted to feel his big, calloused hands moving along her flesh, tweaking her nipples, stroking her pussy. God, she was so wet. Shifting on the pew, she glanced over her shoulder once more after turning away, trying to give him privacy. He stood, his back to her now, with the sight of his broad shoulders and muscular back on full display. But the massive raven tattoo that covered the width of his shoulders and branched all the way down to the small of his back looked deadly as much as it turned her on. It was almost violent in appearance as pieces of the big black bird’s wings broke off and covered his sides and the back of his bulging biceps.

The candles cast shadows along his big muscular form, and she wondered how he stayed so defined in a world like this. And then he turned and faced her—the podium was now gone after he had removed it—so she saw every single detail of his body. Every. Single. One.

Since the church was now cleaned up, the window and door boarded up, they were shut in here, alone, both wanting something, yet she was afraid to say anything or make the first move. Water dripped from his blond hair, which was darker now because it was wet. She watched as the droplets moved down his hairless chest, along the lines and ridges of his defined pecs and abdomen, and stopped when she saw his erection. His cock was thick and long, but not overly huge. He was a big man in general, and the shaft between his legs and the heavy sack below, had everything inside of her clenching in need.

He moved away from the small pool built into the ground, grabbed a rag to dry off, and then took a step closer to her. He was only feet from her, and she smelled the soap on his body. Rebecca saw the strength and masculinity in his form, and she wanted that all over her, and filling her until she smelled just like him. Here he was, his hair still slightly wet, water droplets dripping onto his chest, totally nude, and staring at her as if he wanted to devour her. He lifted a hand, and she held her breath as he pushed a lock of her hair away from her face.

“God, you’re so beautiful, Rebecca,” Collin said softly, deeply, and huskily. He pushed the hair behind her ear and smoothed his fingers long her cheek. Chills raced along her arms, and she grew even wetter. God, could he see how hard her nipples were?

“Thank you, but you haven’t seen a lot of women lately, have you?” Rebecca said, teasing him, just as softly as when he had spoken. She was growing awkward because she was nervous as hell.

He shook his head and stared into her eyes. “It wouldn’t matter if I was surrounded by a hundred women, Rebecca. You’d still be the most beautiful one to me.”

Her breath caught at his words. She didn’t know how a man that had just met her could think such things about her, or speak to her so intimately. But he had said them, and she wasn’t going to question it further. She wanted this, and wondered what in the hell would happen next. Rebecca needed to live in the here and now. She didn’t have anyone else now, and had been in this little pit of loneliness and despair.

This man had come into her life such a short time ago, and given her something that she could grasp onto … hope.

Chapter Nine

Collin was harder than he had ever been. His cock throbbed, and all he wanted to do was rip her fucking clothes away and bottom out inside of her. A groan left him at the image that thought conjured up. The only thing that mattered right now was this woman. They had started this back at the loft, and then continued it right above them in the second level of this church. They were clean now, he had secured the church well enough for the night, and they both wanted this. He could see her looking at his body, at the bullet scars from his previous life. It had been a life where he had lived on the edge, been shot at because of drug deals gone bad, of men fighting over territory, and this world wasn’t much different anymore. It was still dangerous, still violent and desperate, but right here and now there wasn’t anything standing in their way except each other.

Collin reached out, took her nape in his hand, and pulled her forward. She gasped out when her chest slammed into his, and then braced her hands on his chest. His cock jerked from the softness of her, from the scent of soap in her hair, and from the way she looked up at him with wide green eyes. Lowering his head toward hers, he claimed her mouth with his, licked and sucked at her tongue when she opened for him, and groaned against her lips. He didn’t break their kiss as he reached between their bodies with one hand, all but tore the button from her pants, ripped the zipper down, and tried to push the material down her legs. Shit, he wanted her just as naked as he was, but he also didn’t want to move away from her to make that happen.

She was hot and sweet, and surrendered herself to him like no other. When she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away, taking a step back was really hard for him. But she wasn’t stopping this, and instead slipped her thumbs under the edge of her panties, and pushed them down her legs, too. Christ, he could see the material was soaking wet, and his cock jerked even harder.

“I want this, Collin.”

He swallowed hard, and moved his hand down to rub his palm over his erection. The damn thing was liable to explode if he didn’t add a little bit of pressure to the bastard. He could have gotten off just from looking at her alone, and when she gripped the hem of her shirt and slowly started to lift it up everything in him stilled. The bottom of her breasts came into view, and he wrapped his hand around his cock at the sight. But she stopped before he could see the full weight of her tits. A low growl left him, and her eyes widened.

“Rebecca, baby, I’m liable to tackle you to the ground if you don’t let me see every inch of you.” He heard the soft noise that came from her, and then she pulled the shirt away and tossed it on the floor with her jeans. He took in her body, every damn glorious inch of her, and possessive need slammed into him. Rebecca was his, and he was about to claim her in a way he had never done with another woman. And then she was standing right in front of him, her breathing hectic and erratic, and her breasts rising and falling because of the action. She was thin and tiny. But she was also beautiful in every way her long dark hair hanging down, still damp from her bath, and the ends slightly curling. Her breasts were a handful and the peaks a light pink color. Her nipples were hard looking like they wanted his mouth right on them. Damn, he was hard.

He lowered his gaze to her pussy, one with a thatch of short, dark hair covering it. Collin had always liked bare cunts when he was ruling his empire, but staring at her now he grew so fucking turned on at the sight of her. But before he could move she was lowering herself to her knees in front of him. Collin parted his lips and breathed in deeply when she pulled out his cock and stared at it.

“Rebecca, what are you doing?” His voice was strained, and this was certainly not how he’d thought this evening was going to go, at least not right away.

“I’m not a virgin, Collin.” She stared at his face, and licked her lips. “Besides, I’ve been thinking about this since we were in the loft.” Her voice shook a little, and although she was taking the initiative right now, he knew she was nervous.

Cupping the side of her face, he smoothed his fingers over her lips. But she didn’t say anything else, just wrapped her hand around his length. A strangled noise left him when she parted her lips, and took the head into the hot, wet confines of her mouth. Collin reached out and wrapped his hand around her hair, closed his eyes, and let his head fall back on his neck. She took as much as she could, hollowed out her cheeks, and relaxed her throat.

“Fuck, Rebecca. God, you are sucking my cock so damn good, baby.”

She made a humming noise around him, and he groaned. The head of his erection nudged the back of her throat, but she didn’t give up. Over and over she brought him to the brink of coming, but it was when she reached down and took his balls in one hand, gave them a squeeze that bordered on pain, that Collin had to stop or he’d come and this would be over before it fucking started. Taking hold of her shoulders and pulling her to her feet, the sound of his dick coming free from the tight suction of her lips sounded erotic as hell. Her lips were swollen and red, and a surge of proprietary need slammed into him. He had made her mouth look like that.

Collin took her mouth in a brutal kiss at the same time he used his body to move her back until she was pressed against the wall. Sliding one of his hands behind her, down her back, and over the mound of her ass, he groaned against her mouth and squeezed one globe. He panted against her mouth, and squeezed again, and again, and on the third time he loosened his hold, knowing he needed to back off or he’d end up putting bruises on her pretty skin.

“Take me, Collin. God, please erase the ugliness around us.” Her eyes were closed, and her voice was soft. Using his other hand he gripped her behind one knee and brought her leg up to wrap it around his waist. He reached between their bodies, took hold of his cock, and started rubbing the head of his dick along her pussy, spreading her lips with the bulbous crown, and just wanting to shove deep inside of her.

“Baby, I need to be inside of you.”

She opened her eyes and licked her lips. “I want you, Collin. I want you to fuck me.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “I don’t have a condom, Rebecca.” He whispered, and then moved lower to kiss her softly. “But I have to have you. I have always used protection when I was with a woman. I’ll be careful, pull out, too, baby.” He groaned.

She stared at him and swallowed audibly. “I trust you, Collin,” she breathed out. “I want you.” And then she was the one taking his mouth in a bruising kiss. He reached under her ass with his arm and lifted her easily of the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and the movement caused her pussy to align perfectly with the head of his erection. She dug her heels into him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

In a great surge Collin pushed his cock into her, but had to force himself to go slow at the tight feel. She was wet, soaking even, but fuck was she squeezing him with an iron grip.

“You’re so big.” She moaned against his mouth. “It hurts, but God it feels so good.”

Yeah, it bordered on the pain side for him, too, because she was so tight, but hell, it felt incredible. He moved slower into her, felt her inner muscles milking him, and cursed.

“Christ, Rebecca.” He didn’t want to hurt her, but at this rate he’d come before he was fully inside of her. Holding her tight, he pulled her away from the wall and turned to lay her on the pallet of blankets that was in the center of the room. He wasn’t about to finish this with her up against the wall. When she was in the center of the blankets he pushed another inch into her. The gasp that she let out had him groaning and tensing. He leaned back, took hold of her legs, and pushed them as wide as they could go. She braced her feet flat on the floor, and gripped the blankets beneath her. Collin was riveted to the sight of her pussy stretched wide around his length. Her cunt was red from her arousal, and so wet his cock was soaked with her cream.

“You’re torturing me, Collin,” she moaned out. Her eyes were barely open, and her chest rose and fell violently, her breasts shaking from the force of it.

Curling his fingers into the soft skin of her thighs, he thrust the rest of his dick into her until his balls slammed against her ass and she had taken every fucking inch of him. He gave her a moment to grow accustomed to him, and then he started to slowly pump in and out of her, working his cock into her. Her clit was swollen and just begging for attention. He placed his thumb on the hard little nub, rubbed it back and forth until she writhed on the floor, and then he increased his thrusting. Soon the sloppy sound of her wet pussy sucking at his cock filled the room, and the smell of their sex slammed into his nose. Fuck, he was close to coming, but he was holding himself back.

“Yes, Collin,” she moaned again, and reached up to grab his biceps, digging his nails into his skin.

“Come on, baby. Squeeze my cock, make me come with you.”

She arched her neck, and her mouth opened on a silent cry as she did just that. The rhythmic pull of her milking his dick would have sent him over the edge, but Collin was a resilient bastard, and wasn’t going to end this until he tasted her. When her tremors subsided he pulled out of her reluctantly and put her on her belly with a rolled up blanket under her. He pulled her legs apart again, grabbed her hips, and popped out her ass. Her cheeks spread, and he saw an unobstructed view of her asshole. God, he was going to fuck that at some point. Her pussy was spread, too, all juicy looking. He wanted to see his cum slipping out of her. Collin moved lower so his face was right up in her cunt. She smelled sweet and musky, and there was the slight scent of him on her, He growled out low.

He ate her out, licked her slit from pussy hole to clit, and then moved back down again. Shoving his tongue into her opening, he fucked her with it until she started grinding herself back against his mouth. “That’s it. Fuck yourself on me, baby. Make yourself come all over my face.”

“Oh, God.” Her words were muffled against the blankets. He flattened his tongue up to her clit and sucked the little pearl into his mouth at the same time he shoved a finger into her. Curling the digit around until he felt that little hidden bundle of nerves, he pushed another finger into her and started stroking. Sucking on her clit and working her G-spot, Collin didn’t stop until he felt her start to shake. She was murmuring incoherent things, and he moved his mouth away to watch what was about to happen.

“That’s it, baby. Give me this. Give it to me, Rebecca.”

“Oh. My. God.” She lifted up her ass a little more, and a tremor worked over her entire body as she came. He pulled his fingers out and went back to teasing her clit. His woman was crying out now, but he didn’t stop rubbing her until she fell onto her belly and begged him to stop.

“Oh God, Collin.” She sounded exhausted, and when she turned her head to the side he saw a small smile on her face.

He took hold of the root of his shaft and started stroking himself. He could get off on the look of her pleasure alone, but then Rebecca rolled onto her back and reached for him. When he was between her splayed thighs, and was positioned at her entrance again, he stared into her eyes. Slowly he pushed into her this time, and never taking his eyes off of her, Collin knew he’d be coming sooner than he would like. He wanted to prolong this, to make it last. But she was too gorgeous, and felt too good. Resting his arms beside her head, he buried himself in her wet heat and made love to her slow and easy. In and out, keeping the same pace every time, and experiencing the buildup of orgasm, Collin closed his eyes and let his guard down. He wanted to fully experience this without having to worry about what was right around the next corner.

He felt his climax approach. It started as a tingling at the base of his spine and moved quickly through him. “I’m going to come, baby.” He went to move out of her, to come on her belly, but she held him close.

“I just ended my period, and we should be okay. I don’t want you to pull out, Collin.”

He thought about her words, about how he should play this smart, but he was weak when it concerned her. He bumped her clit with the base of his cock when he thrust into her again, and she cried out. Collin kissed her just as his orgasm tore through him. He came harder than he ever had. It sucked the air from his lungs, stole his sanity, and he knew that he would never be the same. Rebecca was his, and nothing would ever change that.

He groaned once more and stilled as his pleasure finally receded. They lay there for several minutes, neither saying anything. When he pulled back, a grunt left him when his dick slipped free of her pussy. For a second all he did was stare between her legs and watched as his cum slipped out of her. Possessiveness filled him. She reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward her.

“Just hold me,” she murmured sleepily.

He held her close, moved his hand through her hair and pushed the strands away from her shoulder, and leaned down and kissed her skin. She sighed, and this pleasure moved through his body that she was here with him, pressed close to his body, and not going anywhere.

For several moments all they did was lie there, neither saying anything. The sound of an infected groaning close to the church had him bringing his guard up and slowly rising. He kissed her on the forehand and moved to the loft. Once he was at the top he moved over to the window that was cracked and allowed him to see outside. One infected was moving around the property, and then moved back into the woods.

After climbing back down and seeing Rebecca standing and putting her clothes on, he moved quickly toward her and grabbed her around the waist. She breathed out, rested against him, and he kissed the top of her head.

“It was just one, and he moved on,” he said softly against her ear. “Lay down with me, and let me hold you, baby.” When they were both lying on the pallet again he pulled her close.

“Are you afraid, Collin?” she whispered softly.

He thought about her question, and answered without hesitation. “No, because fear is a weakness I can’t afford to have.”

She nodded and lifted her hand to hold his. He held her until she fell asleep, and continued to hold her until the nightmares of this world didn’t try to take Rebecca away from him.

Epilogue

The sun was high, bright, and hot as hell. It was June, and although this high up in the mountains of Colorado she shouldn’t have felt as though it was full-blown summer, today it felt just like that. Rebecca picked up the shirt she was washing in the creek that they had found in the woods by the church. She wrung out the excess water, stood, and put it on the clothesline they had erected. Rebecca dried her hands on the towel by her feet, and stared at the church. Over the last several months that they had been here they had done a lot to the property. Collin had rigged up these infected warning traps, just empty cans, pieces of metal they had broken down from some of the furniture, and it had done well in alerting them to the stragglers that had come through the woods. But they had both taken out their fair share when the infected had come too close, or when they had ventured to the surrounding towns that were a good couple of days’ walk from them.

She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and looked around. The scent of dirt, fresh air, and of the fish she had caught earlier today, filled her nose. There was a small garden off to the side, right beside the church. The vegetables were still inside in the little greenhouse they had erected on the second level because frost still covered the ground on occasion.

They had found the seeds when they had gone scavenging. The place had been overrun with at least a dozen infected, but they had kept to the shadows, been as quiet as they could manage, and had taken out what they needed when they were attacked. The towns were always picked over, but they had been lucky on a few occasions and found supplies. The smaller cities were also less scavenged than the bigger ones, which helped in trying to find things to survive with.

Collin was over by the chopping block, stacks of dead wood by his feet, and the axe he had found while they had been going through the things on the second level, tightly grasped in his hand. He was shirtless and stacked the last of the lumber by the side of the church. Sweat glistened off of his body, and the sight of his muscles bulging had Rebecca on edge with desire and heat. She moved over to the edge of the woods, walked past the evergreens and blue spruces, and stopped at the grave of the reverend that they had found at the church all those months ago. Rebecca had come to this spot numerous times since being here, maybe to pay her respects for a man that had clearly killed himself, maybe not able handle to stress of a new world that probably felt like hell itself. She hadn’t ever been a religious person, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t give her respects, and say a little prayer and thanks to the man who had clearly built this church and called it home.

When she moved away from the grave she saw Collin was now stacking several logs against the church. They had reinforced it to the max, and she had never felt as safe as she did with this new home, and with this man in her life.

Collin looked over at her, grinned, and tilted his head over to the lake. He set down the axe and moved over to her with determination. Instantly her heart started to thunder. In the last seven months or so since they had been living in this church alone and together, she had become closer to Collin than to any other person she had ever met. It was strange to be with someone in a world like this, to know him so intimately and trust him implicitly after less than a year. Evil was right at her doorstep, but they got through it one day at a time, and were there for each other. He might have come to her one day, saved her life by killing others, but in that time she had come to realize that there was no other person for her aside from Collin.

There was always the risk of being found, or someone challenging them for their home and supplies, but they were not about to let this place go without a fight. They had lasted this long in a grief-filled and violent world, and it was eat or be eaten. She and Collin were not going to be eaten. They grew their own vegetables, caught their own fish and hunted their own game, and even had a rain barrel made up for the water. When they were forced to move into a town and scavenge for supplies, they did it diligently, quickly, and always had each other’s backs. They were a team, and although Collin was fiercely protective of her, he gave her room to take care of herself when the time called for it.

Collin stopped in front of her, the sweat glistening from his body, the knives he had strapped to his hips reflecting in the sun. “Have I told you today that I love you?”

He didn’t say it with sweetness in his voice, but with possession and dominance, and for some reason that always had a thrill of arousal and warmth moving through her. He didn’t give her a chance to respond, because in the next instant he was gripping her behind the neck, pulling her forward, and kissing her. He claimed her in every way, in the only way Collin ever did. He wasn’t a man that said saccharine words often, and he wasn’t a man that cowered. He was fierce and strong, and dangerous in everything he did. Would Rebecca still be alive right now if she hadn’t been with him? She didn’t know. She might have lived for over a year before meeting him, but she had been in a rut of her own, caused by the isolation and loneliness of the world they now lived in.

He kissed her long and hard, made her feel as though she was the only one in this world that held his attention. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her breasts to his hard, muscular chest. When their clothing was off, and they were wading in the too cold water, Collin gripped her ass with both of his hands and pulled her close.

The water lapped at her flesh, and just as her body was relaxing, she felt Collin move his fingers between her thighs. He held her tightly, pulled her even closer to him still, and she felt his stiff erection pressing against her belly. Rebecca pulled back and stared into his eyes. He clenched his jaw, as if he were trying to control himself.

He moved them to a corner where an outcropping of rock sat, pressed her back to the smooth surface, and claimed her mouth with his again. She wrapped her legs around his waist as their kiss intensified. He broke away, trailing his lips down her neck, and cupped her breasts in his big hands.

“If we don’t stop, I’m going to fuck you right here.”

It sounded good to her, but she didn’t voice her opinion, just wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She let her head fall back, and she closed her eyes. He lifted his mouth from her neck, and in the next instant he sucked a nipple into his mouth.

She looked into the water, seeing his blond hair beneath the surface, darker now that it was wet, and watched while he suckled at her breast. She gasped and moaned deeply, while his teeth scraped over the sensitive bud. He brought his head out of the water, the liquid dripping down his face, his expression intense. His mouth was on hers in an instant, and she felt the tip of his shaft press against her pussy’s opening. But before he could fuck her he had them out of the water, carried her in his arms and into the church. He set them on the makeshift bed they had made together, stared down at her pussy that was spread for him, creamy just for him. He growled low. And then he was on top of her, kissing her, and spreading her thighs wide with his narrow hips, and placing the tip of his cock at her entrance.

“I won’t let anyone else have you. Ever.” He pressed open-mouthed kisses along the column of her throat. The air felt ice cold against her back, or maybe her flesh was just too overheated. She wasn’t about to tell him it was just them against the world, that there was no one else that would come for her, and she kept her mouth closed. She liked hearing his declarations, loved that they were here alone, rarely saw humans anymore, but that he needed to tell her that she was only his. Rebecca spread her thighs wide so Collin could fit between them. An involuntary gasp left her when his cock pressed against her slick folds, moving away from the entrance of her pussy.

“Fuck, baby.” He panted against her chest, right above her breasts, and her nipples tingled from the close proximity. “You’re so wet and hot. I want to taste you, baby.”

She would have let him do anything at that moment. Her mind was on hiatus, and her body was now running the show.

“I want to hear you say it.” He was slowly moving his lips down her chest. The warm, little puffs of air from his mouth warmed her flesh, and had blood rushing to the surface. Her back bowed when he latched his lips around her aching nipple, all she could do was grip his hair and bite her lip to hold off from crying out in pleasure. Over and over, he tormented her body, alternating between breasts, and sucking her nipples so hard the pain and pleasure morphed into one.

“Tell me, baby. Ask me for my mouth on your sweet pussy.”

His words were dirty, filthy, but they fueled her and she found herself lifting her hips and crying out. “God, yes.”

He was poised an inch from her pussy opening, and his voice sent vibrations through her clit, causing the bud to swell. He licked her from the entrance of her pussy to her clit, and then slid it back down again. Collin repeated this action until she squirmed beneath him, her climax approaching swiftly. “Please, God, I’m going to come.”

Collin had her clit in his mouth and a finger pressed into her body. He sucked harder and faster. He added a second finger, and the stretch of the penetration from those digits had her exploding. Ecstasy washed through her, stealing her breath, her pulse, even her sanity. He didn’t stop, wouldn’t stop even after she begged him. Legs shaking, heart racing, and sweat beading her brow, Rebecca finally felt him move up her body. His mouth claimed hers, and she tasted herself on his lips. It was unexpected, but certainly not unpleasant. In fact, she gripped his hair and opened her mouth wider. His flavor mingled with hers, creating a plethora of sensation that burst along her tongue. Lifting her hips and grinding her still sensitive pussy on his cock, anticipation slammed into her when he reached between their bodies and placed the tip of himself at her entrance once more.

When he slowly pushed into her, she brought her teeth down on his lip, biting gently as she groaned in relief. He thrust all the way into her, and her inner muscles squeezed his dick in approval.

“You feel so good, baby.” His voice was a hoarse whisper against her ear, sending delightful shivers through her body. He pumped his hips, slowly at first, and then picked up speed.

Rebecca gripped his shoulders, feeling her orgasm build ferociously. “I’m going to come.” She was gasping for air now.

His mouth was still by her ear, his breath ragged, as he spoke. “I want you to come all over me, baby. I want to feel that tight little cunt of yours milk my cock.” He bit her earlobe gently, and she came. His mouth crashed down on hers, and a moan bubbled from her throat. His hands tightened on her waist, and he thrust once more into her before pulling out of her. Collin rose above her, his hand on his cock, and started stroking himself wildly. They had to be careful of pregnancy, because bringing a baby into this world was not what she wanted right now. The condoms she had found all of those months ago had already been used. He stroked himself fiercely until arcs of cum shot out of the tip of his massive cock and landed on her belly.

Both of them breathed heavily, and then he sagged against her. For several minutes they just lay there, his cum cooling on her skin, but her energy fading. She didn’t care that his seed covered her, didn’t care that she should clean up. She just wanted to be with him right now and bask in the afterglow of being claimed by Collin.

He pulled a blanket over them, and within minutes that pleasure-filled contentment settled into her. Rebecca didn’t let the devastation of their world control her; she couldn’t allow it. It was now one hell of a world, but as long as she had Collin beside her, being there for her in every way imaginable, she could get through anything. A smile curved her mouth, and she closed her eyes. It was definitely a fucked up world, but she knew that they were doing a damn good job of making it work.

The End

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Other Books by Jenika Snow:

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