4. Micah

4

MICAH

“Are we getting any closer?” Grace asked, exhaustion dripping from her voice.

The horses had slowed their trot to a walk, and the group had tired themselves out.

The crescent moon hung high in the sky accompanied by a billion twinkles of stars that lit the way. We’d passed almost completely through the pasture that led to the forest home of the Oasis.

“We’re only an hour out now,” Nathan answered. “We normally would’ve camped three nights from the city and one night from the distance of your ranch. We need to get back as soon as possible to warn the others of the incoming horde and prepare.”

The group fell silent, matching the nightlife as we drew closer to the woods.

“The forest being this quiet used to mean there was a large predator around.” I gave a heavy sigh. The crunch of dead pine needles and twigs under the horses’ hooves and our breaths filled the air, but nothing else. “But the roles have changed now. These days, the forest is indefinitely this quiet—unless there’s something making noise.”

“That’s ominous,” Tori murmured, and my chest tightened.

That woman made me feel things I hadn’t since Kelly, and it didn’t feel as unwanted as I thought it would. It made me want to protect her.

“I miss the ranch,” Spencer whined.

“You’ve really lived in a bubble the last three years of this shit storm,” I said. “Count your blessings. Things aren’t so good out here. Stay alert.”

The group didn’t say anything else as we left the pasture and entered the forest.

This area was fully wooded, and it went on for miles. It was why I chose it to make my homestead. It was far away from people.

I had to use the four-wheeler to get to my truck next to the road if I ever wanted to go anywhere. Fuel had long run out though. Any motor-vehicles that relied solely on gasoline had become a thing of the past.

A branch snapped, and our horse jerked, causing the horses behind us to get spooked and try to run off. The rest of the group fought to get a handle on their horses as I narrowed my eyes toward the thick-rowed trees to our left and pulled back on the reins until the horse came to a stop.

Distinct moans echoed through the forest just before a zombie sprinted from the darkness with speed I had only witnessed in someone freshly turned. The moonlight filtered through the leaves above, showing that its muscles and body were still intact.

“Get the horses under control, and watch out!” I shouted, jumping off the horse as Nathan took the reins and tried calming it down.

All the horses reared up and bucked, distracting everyone else from the zombie that leapt forward and sank its teeth into the back leg of the first horse it could—Tori’s horse.

My heart plummeted into my stomach, and the horse gave a bone-chilling groan as it went down, the zombie’s teeth still embedded in its flesh. The horse must’ve already been at its limit because it didn’t even try to run.

Tori and Spencer went down with it, but Tori fell to the side, rolling with the impact, while the horse fell on top of Spencer’s leg with desperate groans.

“Tori!”Spencer’s panicked voice was laced with pain as she pushed at the horse and tried scrambling out from under it.

I rushed toward them, weaving around the chaos of the horses, but Tori moved faster than I did.

She pushed off the ground and raced back toward her sister and horse as the zombie yanked a chunk of flesh from the horse and spat it out on the ground as it found its next victim.

Zombies had one motive: to bite and infect.

They didn’t eat like the mainstream media had eluded before the world ended.

The infected corpses didn’t care about anything except spreading the soul-sucking virus as it crawled over the horse’s struggling body, intent on getting to Spencer as she screamed for help.

I made it to them just as Tori threw herself over Spencer and kicked the zombie in the face to force it back, but the zombie’s mouth chomped down, wrapping its fingers around her ankle.

My vision pulsed red with fury at Tori being at the mercy of a zombie.

An intense desire to protect her bloomed deep within me, and I lifted my axe over my shoulder, bringing it down onto the zombie’s head before it could pull its teeth out of the rubber of Tori’s sneakers and try to bite again.

The skull split with a crack before its jaw loosened, and it slumped forward.

“Oh my God,” Tori whimpered, shaking her foot until the zombie fell off the horse to the ground.

Its teeth had been an inch or so deep into the thick rubber part of Tori’s sneakers—just the sneakers.

Relief swept through me.

“Help me get her out from under him.” Her voice cracked as she moved her arms under Spencer’s and pulled.

“Of course, darlin’.” My throat thickened as I bent down and lifted the horse up enough for Tori to free her sister’s leg and laid the horse back down.

“Spencer, Tori, are you okay?” Grace’s frantic tone sent a pang of remembrance of my mother before I pushed it away.

“We’re fine,” Spencer assured as she rubbed her leg and flicked her watery gaze toward the horse. “But Kovu’s not.”

“I’ve got Spence.” Grace fussed over Spencer’s leg as she helped her to her feet, and miraculously her leg wasn’t broken. “She’s fine, Tori. Go to him.”

Saying that seemed to clear any of Tori’s hesitation.

Her face crumbled as she turned and dropped back to her knees next to Kovu’s head. She slipped the horse’s large head into her lap and stroked his face as he groaned and squirmed in pain.

Tears dripped down her face and landed in small splatters on the horse’s fur. “I’m so sorry, Kovu.”

The horse blinked up at her, and while I didn’t know much about horses, it was clear that Kovu loved her just as much as she loved him.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t see it.” She gritted her teeth as the tears flowed freely. “I know it hurts.”

“Tori…” Nathan stepped beside me, rifle perched on his shoulder as he kept checking the perimeter. He’d managed to tie the horse we’d ridden to a tree limb a few feet away, and it was huffing and pacing while trying to break free.

The havoc of the situation had startled everyone, including all the horses, and we had a newly turned zombie attack us from nowhere.

Adrenaline flooded me, which made slowing my heart rate down difficult.

“It’s only a wound. We can make it past this. I just need something to use as a bandage.” Tori sniffled, stroking the horse’s face gently.

“He was bitten, Tori,” I whispered.

“I know.” Her lip wobbled as she stared over at the gaping hole at the top of the horse’s leg. “But it’s not that bad, right? We can get past this.”

“The zombie was freshly turned which means there could be more newly turned zombies or some other survivors around. The area’s not safe,” Nathan added next to me.

“But he can still get up. He may be older, but he’s a tank. Right, Kovu?” Tori stroked her horse’s neck as he groaned. “Come on. Let’s take that saddle off, and we can walk with you until we get there.”

“Tori,” I said again in a firm voice, and her head snapped toward me as tears slid down her pale cheeks.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She shook her head slowly as she leaned over Kovu, shaking with every breath she took. “No. You can’t mean to take him from me. It’s just a bite!”

“He was bitten by a zombie. He’s infected. He’ll turn.” I swallowed hard as disbelief contorted her expression.

“What do you mean he’ll turn?” Tom asked as Daisy and Jay joined us. “He’s a horse.”

The horses were finally starting to calm down, snorting and neighing less.

“A bite is fatal,” Nathan clarified gently. “The horse is as good as dead already. The virus is spreading through that horse right now. It’s why he’s in so much pain.”

Tori shook her head back and forth, hair swishing around her as a whimpered cry left her throat. “Since when do animals turn?”

“The mutation didn’t start until a year after the apocalypse. Around the same time the insects and arachnids died off,” Nathan explained.

“Fuck!” Tori cried, her body shaking as sobs wracked her.

Watching her mourn her horse made my chest tighten to the point it was hard to breathe.

Her sister moved to her side and wrapped her arms around her. “Tori, we can’t let him suffer.”

“I know.” Her voice cracked between sobs. “I know what we have to do, but I don’t want to.”

Daisy and Jay had enough sense to head back to their horse and give her the privacy she deserved.

“She can ride with us,” Nathan whispered to Tom and Grace.

“Thank you.” Grace’s voice was thick with sadness. “We’ll have Spencer ride with us.”

“Goodbye, handsome,” Spencer murmured as she pulled back from her sister and stroked the horse’s neck lovingly.

Grace and Tom helped Spencer up before saying their goodbyes to Kovu and taking Spencer with them to get situated on the horse.

“Do you want to be the one to do it?” Nathan asked softly, concern shining in his gaze as he offered her his gun, but she shook her head.

“I don’t think I can,” she croaked, petting him.

“Do you want me to?” he offered, and she nodded her head as fat tears soaked her cheeks.

Echos of groans and moans flitted through the trees around us, and we straightened.

“Tori, I’m sorry, but we have to go right now,” I told her, loud enough for everyone else to hear.

“I’m so sorry, Kovu. I love you so much.” Tori kissed her horse’s forehead before gently laying his head back down on the ground. “You were the best horse ever, and I would never let you suffer.”

The horse let out another rough groan before trying to nod its head at her, but that only made her sob harder.

“Make it quick, please,” she requested before pressing another kiss to his head.

I held my hand out for her to grab and hauled her back up to her feet. Her grip on my hand tightened, and I didn’t let go as she stood trembling beside me.

“I will,” Nathan promised before aiming his gun at Kovu just as his eyes fell shut.

The gun went off, and Tori whipped her head into my chest as she jumped. She let go of my hand and wrapped her arms around my waist.

My throat thickened as I wrapped her in an embrace as she cried. “It’ll be okay, darlin’.”

Getting everything settled for the ride was a blur as I continued to hold Tori in my arms, and the sounds of the dead approaching became louder with every passing minute.

Nathan got the saddle bag off Kovu and gave it to Tom before he secured the golf club to his backpack with his rifle, and then he took our saddle off with Tom’s help.

Daisy and Jay remained silent the entire time, but I could feel their eyes on her. The entire group had been worried about her and the approaching horde.

I scooped Tori into my arms, and she braced her hands on my chest. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Losing it. I know it’s a dangerous situation. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, darlin’.” I set her back on her feet next to the horse we were riding before hauling myself up on the horse’s back.

She glanced back at Kovu before swallowing hard and getting up behind me before Nathan could offer to help.

Nathan got up with a groan behind her. “Move forward a bit.”

I scooted up as far as I could, and Tori pressed close behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “Better?”

He sighed in relief. “Yeah, thanks.”

My stomach churned at leaving Kovu’s body in the forest without burying him, but we didn’t have the time to waste. Not when the horde could be heard.

“Let’s go,” I stated. “We’ve stayed too long as it is. Stay alert. Who knows what could be in the woods with us now.”

The horses were slower and more skittish than before as we went down the path in the forest toward the Oasis.

Tori had handled the situation logically, even if she’d been overwhelmed by grief. She’d saved her sister, and she’d tried to save Kovu.

There was nothing we could’ve done about the zombie. It had been newly turned, and it had caught everyone off guard. I needed to make sure she understood that once she came to terms with his death.

Her warmth surrounded me as she held onto me from behind, and her sobs mellowed into soft cries.

“I got you, killer,” Nathan murmured, and I felt his arms brush my back as his arms circled her waist. “Relax.”

Nathan was interested in her too, and that didn’t surprise me. He’d always been one to wear his heart on his sleeve. I admired him for that, and it made me wonder how Calix would react to such a stunning woman when he met her, especially with his limitations.

Because after this, I didn’t want to think of saying goodbye to her.