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10. Emily

10

The glare I give Griffin is unreal. “We’re not leaving Buddy in the car.”

“If we roll the windows down, he should be fine.”

“How about we leave you in the car and bring Buddy instead? He’d be much less of a nuisance.”

Griffin closes his eyes and rubs at his temple, something he’s been doing a lot lately. “This was his first home. Do you think he won’t try to return to them?”

“You must’ve missed the way they treated him. They freaking kicked him, Griffin. Maybe I should kick you and then you can judge for yourself.”

He breathes out a sigh, a sign that he’s given up. Smart man. “Fine, we’ll bring the dog.”

I have to refrain from pumping my fist into the air. I’ve been wearing him down. It’s been a day and a half since Max got the information out of the dreg doctor. It took the rest of that day for Griffin to cool down enough to be around me without William stepping in between us, and then all of yesterday for him to finalize a plan enough to share it with me.

The plan is a pretty good one, but I’m not telling him that. His head is already big enough.

If the doctor was right, there should be dregs patrolling the outside, but only a few of them. We’ll take them down and take their clothes. We’ll have to hide them somewhere, otherwise a pile of naked men would be sure to get some attention.

Max was hellbent on killing them on the spot after what they put us through a couple of days ago, but Griffin is adamant that knocking them unconscious will be enough. He doesn’t want to draw any extra attention to us. It’s going to be hard enough blending in as it is, and the chance that someone will recognize that we don’t belong there is pretty high. So I’m curious to see how this plays out. My vote is on Max. Griffin is stubborn, but Max is unstoppable. Griffin can only reel him in so much. If he wants to feed his personified weapon, then there won’t be any stopping him.

I, personally, don’t care either way as long as we get that insulin.

We get out of the car and the first thing Buddy does is stand by my side. I give Griffin a triumphant grin, but he shakes his head and looks away. Proving him wrong gives me a thrill. I wonder what I can prove him wrong on next.

Griffin leads the way, and William follows. Then me and Buddy, and Max behind us. We parked in a thick of trees big enough to fit the car and hide it. We can’t even see the hideout yet. It’s going to be a short walk, but I can feel the excitement radiating through me.

We don’t have any information other than where the hideout is located, and I hope the doctor was telling the truth because we can’t exactly go back and ask him again. I really hope he was telling the truth about the insulin. If we get inside and find the medical room and it turns out to be empty, I…well, I don’t know what I would do. I only hope that it’s there. Zoey is counting on me.

When a building with a few people scattered around it carrying guns comes into view, I steel my spine. Max leans in from behind and whispers in my ear. “Don’t get any brave ideas, pet.”

I elbow him away. I’m grateful that I’m not alone in this and that these guys will go through this hell with me, but I’m tired of being treated like I’m fragile. Well, it’s more the smugness they have about it. All that masculine energy they like to throw around, claiming they’re invincible, and so am I if I’m with them. I guess I can’t fault them for that. They don’t recognize that I’ve already endured enough damage to prevent me from ever becoming fragile.

This is something I’d set out to do on my own, after all. I’ve been on solo scavenging missions for so long that I haven’t exactly built teamwork skills. I don’t even care about proving myself. All I want is that medicine. And to not die while getting it, that’s sort of an important goal of mine. At least that’s one goal the four of us can agree on.

We hide behind two cars, Max and I behind one, while Griffin and William are behind the other. We’re only a few feet away from the first dreg. I look around, trying to see if we can sneak by unnoticed. I see Griffin doing the same thing from behind the second car a few feet away, and when our eyes meet, we agree that it’s not possible. We’ll need a diversion.

“I got this.” Max slides around the back of the car we’re hiding behind and shoves a dagger through the kidney of the nearest dreg, then lowers him to the ground without a sound. He strips him down, slipping into his pants and jacket that are clearly too big for him, but I like the idea. Then he repeats the process with the second closest dreg who isn’t paying any attention, but this time he brings the pants and jacket back behind the car. “Hold out your arms and turn around.”

“Did you really need to kill them?”

He thinks about it for a moment and then shrugs. “Dunno. Now turn around.”

Raising an eyebrow, I do as he says. He places the jacket on me but then looks at the pants with a frown. “What is it?”

“There’s no way you can wear these. You’re too tiny.” He tosses the pants into the mud behind him and rubs his chin while he thinks.

“Hey, I could’ve used those,” William whispers from the other car.

“You two can pick out your own kills. I’m only treating the lady.”

I roll my eyes, but then he snaps his fingers.

“What was that?” someone calls out. Dammit, he got the attention of another one.

Max’s eyes widen, as does his grin, and he holds a finger to his lips before peering around the back of the car. Footsteps approach, and when they get close enough, he goes in for the kill. He’s so fast that even though I knew it was coming, I almost miss it.

He appears behind the car again and grabs all of my hair together before stuffing it into a beanie and pulling it down. He beams down at me. “There, that should do it.”

Max kisses my cheek before looking around the car again. William is putting on the clothes of the third dreg that Max killed, which he’s rolling his eyes at, while Griffin lowers a fourth dreg to the ground before stripping his clothes. He and William push the four bodies beneath the cars.

“This one’s still alive,” Griffin says, hauling him inside of the car instead. He glares at Max and then at the three bodies he’s kicking beneath the car.

“She needs the pants, even if they’re too big,” William says.

“She’ll trip in them,” Max says.

“And you think walking around in those shorts is a better idea?”

Max thinks it over. “Hmmm, you might have a point. Come on pet, we’re not done playing dress up.”

“What are you—” before I can finish the question, Max is taking a knife to the pants he’d tossed, slashing them up a bit before handing them to me. They still have some mud on them, but I’ve worn worse.

He waits patiently while I step into them, and grins when he sees the surprised look on my face that they’re the right length this time. They’re still huge, but he pulls on some of the slashed pieces and ties them together so they’ll stay in place. “Much better.”

“Let’s go, princess.” Griffin motions for us to follow.

“I’m not a damn princess,” I grumble, but I take my spot behind William and follow anyway.

We make our way through the hideout undetected. Dregs nod at us as they pass, and I have to keep myself from jumping out of my skin every time one of them looks at me. William reaches his hand back and laces his fingers with mine. It’s oddly comforting, and it helps.

“Don’t worry, pet, we won’t let anything happen to you. You’ve got the trio surrounding you,” Max says, resting his hand on my shoulder while we walk. Releasing the death grip I had on my knife, I take calming breaths. I never thought I would feel this safe and comforted by being with these men, when all they’ve done until now was stress me out. Still, I would also feel a lot safer if we weren’t in a dreg hideout, but right now I’m really glad they’re here. There’s no way I would’ve gotten in undetected if I was on my own. Damn Griffin always being right.

Griffin keeps looking back at me and each time he does, his eyes linger either on William’s hand in mine or Max’s hand on my shoulder for a moment before looking forward again. Buddy is by my side, and a wall is on my other. My free hand rubs the top of his head now and then. I’m realizing how ridiculous I was when I tried to run away and find this place on my own.

We check every room as we pass. Most of them are empty or have dregs sleeping in bed. One door I open is a restroom and I lock eyes with a man at a urinal. I would’ve rather faced a horde of rotters. Griffin shuts that door pretty quickly.

Another dead end door.

And another.

Max’s idea to blend in works perfectly. The building used as the hideout is dark inside, due to a lot of lightbulbs that are burned out. I don’t know how they’re running power here, but they are. It seems to be a better setup than my colony has. I wonder if we have time to figure that out before we leave.

Men walk by without paying us even a single glance, and I have to keep myself from gagging on the body odor. I know that it’s the apocalypse, but that doesn’t mean we always need to smell like it.

A few women walk by, too. Their eyes remain downcast while they follow the men leading them. I stare at the back of Griffin’s head. He didn’t try making me stay in the car a couple of days ago because he’s an asshole. He really tried to help. That realization annoys me even more, and if I let him know, then he’ll become even more insufferable.

I’m growing anxious. We’ve checked behind a lot of doors, and so far nothing that could hold medical supplies. I pick at my nails and William reaches back and grabs my hand again, forcing me to stop. His warmth radiates through me. How are these guys not freaking out like I am?

A door opens in front of us and a man walks out, talking into a walkie-talkie. “Front entrance, respond that you understand. I need an update.”

William’s hand slides out of mine when he leaves us. He claps a hand on the man’s shoulder and plasters a smile to his face. “Hey, I’ve been looking for you. I was told to come find you to see where you wanted me.”

The man looks at William through slitted eyes. “Who are you, again?”

“George, remember?” William shakes his head. “Those guys were right about you. Your memory is going. We’ve met three times already.”

The man’s face turns a light shade of red. “Who said that? I never—fine,” he lets out a sigh. “George, right, I remember now. Why don’t you go find out what’s happening at the front entrance? I have something else to take care of.”

“Don’t worry about it. You can count on me.”

He turns away but then stops and looks back at William again, and then at the three of us who are standing there waiting for him. I press my back against the wall. Why didn’t we keep moving? We’re going to blow it.

“Who are all of you?” The man brings the walkie up to his mouth but William spins him around and pushes him through the door he’d come out of, before following in himself.

There’s a grunt and something heavy falls to the floor. William reemerges with a spot of blood splattered on his chin. I pull my hand into the sleeve of my jacket and step up to him, reaching up to wipe off the blood. He gives me a soft smile. “I had to do it.”

“I know,” I whisper.

“Willie-boy having all the fun,” Max grumbles.

“It’s William,” he responds in a bored tone.

Laughter rings out from a room up ahead where a door is ajar. We pass by, peeking inside, but see only a group of dregs sitting at a table and playing cards. I’m passing by it next, then I catch part of their conversation. One of them talks about how he left his family to die in order to save himself, then he laughs as though it’s the greatest punchline to a joke.

Before I can finish my thought, wondering how someone could be so cruel, something brushes against me and I look behind me to see Max striding into the room. I tug on William’s hand, who gets Griffin’s attention, but it’s already too late. Max walks up to the dregs with a chilling grin, then pulls his morning star from his back and swings it around. They never stood a chance. It happened so fast.

Light shines down from the skylight above and Max tilts his head back, so the light illuminates the fresh blood that’s splattered across his chin and jacket, still shiny and wet. His tongue runs along his bottom teeth and he lets out a laugh before putting his head upright and meeting my gaze. His grin widens even more when he sees me, and he strides back to my side and licks my cheek. I let out a squeal and use my oversized jacket sleeve to wipe it off, hoping that he didn’t just get blood all over my face.

“Relax, pet. Let’s keep going.”

“Are you alright?” I ask. It was an instant bloodbath, and no one stopped it. Not that we had any time to do anything about it. I look at the other two, but Griffin is already walking forward again. I know Max is on a level all his own, but this isn’t normal. Yet they act as though it is.

“I’m perfectly fine. What a beautiful day for a massacre.” He flips the lock on the inside of the door before closing it. “There. Now they can stay preserved like that until someone breaks down the door.”

“Or has a key,” I point out.

“Quiet, you two. Stop walking around and talking about all the guys we’ve been killing here.” William chastises us, then nods at another dreg who turns a corner and walks past us without sparing us a glance.

“We need to hurry. Take opposite sides of the hall, but no less than two people together. Max, you’re with me.” Griffin turns into a room a couple more doors down and Max takes the one next to him, disobeying his order without guilt. William walks into a room across from them and motions for me to follow before heading through, but I look through the door of the next room and have to swallow a squeal. I walk into that one instead.

Endless shelves of medical supplies fill the room. The first thing I do is head straight for the fridge and throw open the doors. I don’t have time to look inside before the door slams shut in my face and a man with a scowl is staring back at me. My fingers barely avoid getting caught in the door before I jump back with surprise. I didn’t realize there was already someone in this room.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“I—I…um, I was looking for some medicine.”

“Why?”

When I stumble for an answer, he spits on the ground and wraps his hands around my throat, pushing me until I’m bent backward over a table. Buddy barks and bites his leg, but then sails across the floor when he kicks him away. The man rips off my hat and when my long brown hair tumbles out; he calls out for his friends through his walkie.

“Looks like we’ve got ourselves an intruder. We’re going to have fun with you.”

“Can’t…breathe…” My words come out as a rasp with the air leaving my lungs. I scratch at his arms, but he only laughs. His laugh cuts short when a knife lodges into his eye socket and he lets go, air filling my lungs while his screams fill the air.

Griffin lunges in front of me and pulls the man’s head around, snapping his neck before getting into a knife fight with the other two who came to the dead man’s aid. One of them stabs Griffin, who stumbles back against the fridge and falls to his knees, but he reaches up and stabs one man straight through the groin. Griffin pulls him down and slices his throat to silence him before doing the same to the last one.

I’m choking on the sudden rush of air, but I crawl toward him. “Griffin,” I rasp and move until I’m kneeling in front of him.

Griffin reaches out and touches my face, his gaze dropping to my throat. “Are you okay?”

I cough and then swallow hard, trying to soothe my throat. “I’m fine, thanks to you.” Buddy comes crawling over and licks my face. I burry my face in his short fur before kissing the top of his head and pulling away. I’m relieved that he doesn’t flinch when I press my hand against where he was kicked. “Thanks, Buddy.”

“You shouldn’t have come in here alone. We move in teams. I told you that. Why did everyone split up?” His voice turns angry. “Every single one of you split up.”

“I know. How hurt are you?”

He hisses through his teeth when he tries to move. “I’ll be fine once I get up.” His hand falls to his thigh where blood seeps through his pants. His eyes droop, but only for a moment before they open and stay focused on me. “Now, do you believe me when I say I’m only trying to help you?”

“That’s what you’re worried about right now? Being right?”

“Hey, I could’ve died trying to my point across.”

“You’re a fool.” I reach for his belt buckle.

“Woah, I guess my invite to the party must’ve gotten lost in the mail,” Max says, rounding the table to get to us. He kneels down and tears open the worn fabric of Griffin’s pants leg. “Flesh wound. You’ll be fine. Think you can stand?”

“You’re an ass,” Griffin responds, then turns to me. “I still didn’t get my answer.”

“Yeah, Max isn’t the one who’s the ass here. But if it makes you happy, these are my first encounters with dregs, and it’s so much worse than I expected. I’m sorry for being a stubborn shit like you, and not listening.”

I don’t realize how tense Griffin’s shoulders are until they relax. As much as I don’t want to have this heart-to-heart right now, I’m relieved to see that he’s about to bleed out.

Well, I’m not actually relieved. That would be horrible. But at least it grants us the end of this stupid conversation.

Grabbing the hem of my shirt, I lift it over my head when Max stops me. “As much as I’d love to sit back and watch the show, you’re going to need to keep your clothes on or we’ll never get out of here.”

He pulls off his shirt instead, and I have to avert my gaze to keep from gawking. I had no idea he had all those ripped muscles. Almost like William’s that I got an eyeful of a couple days ago, but on a more athletic frame.

“Why couldn’t we have used the shirt off this dreg? Why are you and Emily trying to strip down at a time like this?”

Griffin has a point. Max and I look at each other, and then Max slides the shirt off the first guy that Griffin killed and he puts it on himself. “Ah, this one is more bloody. I like it. Here, you can still have mine.”

Griffin grumbles something that I can’t make out.

After wrapping his leg with the shirt, Max wraps one arm around Griffin and helps him stand up. “There you go. We’ll steal some extra bandages, too. You’re going to need them.”

“I’m fine. Did you find what you need, princess?”

“Don’t know, I didn’t have time to look.” Turning back to the fridge while Max and William kick the bodies out of the way, I open the door.

Disappointment flows through me with such potency that I could pass out.

Right there in front of me is the great big nothing that I feared. There are a few things, but nothing useful. Nothing that Zoey needs.

“How much do we take?” William asks, looking over my head.

“None of it. There’s nothing here.” I reach in, grab the vials, knowing nothing about what they are other than they’re not the insulin I need, and I throw them to the ground. Glass shatters around my feet and I scream with frustration.

Arms wrap around me, pinning my own arms to my sides as I’m brought in against a hard chest. William’s lips brush the cuff of my ear. “Shhh, it’s okay. We won’t stop looking. We won’t give up.”

Water collecting in the corner of my eye threatens to fall, but I hold it back. I don’t want to explain. How the reason I’m out here on my own, searching for the one thing that could save Zoey’s life, is because all of my colony people think I’m a failure. Because I made a mistake they could never forgive, looping Zoey into my shame circle as well, all because she remained my friend. And after dragging these three men into the heart of a dreg’s hideout and nearly getting them killed, I’ve failed again and put even more lives at risk.

Guilt can be a bigger bitch than karma.

Shaking my head and blinking away the tears before they can fall, I swallow hard and force my breath to even out. “You’re right. It’s not over yet.”

“And it won’t be over until we find it,” William adds. “Is there anything else here that you want to get, Emily?”

“Over there.” I nod toward a shelf with bandages and ointments, and William drops his hold on me. “We should get some to treat Griffin’s leg once we get out of here.”

“My leg’s fine.”

“And see if there’s anything that could make him less of a stubborn ass while we’re at it,” I add.

“So duct tape, suppositories,” Max counts things off on his fingers.

“Suppositories?” Griffin looks dumbfounded.

Max grins. “Yeah, to loosen you up.”

“I ought to strangle you myself.”

“Ooh, foreplay.” Max waggles his eyebrows before jumping out of Griffin’s reach and darting around the table.

“How much do we take?” William asks, ignoring the other two while studying the supplies and holding out a bag for me.

“All of it.” I swipe the bag from him and begin filling it until every bandage and ointment is inside and it’s bursting at the seams. I sling it over my shoulder.

Griffin walks over to me, slides the strap from my shoulder, and places it over his. I stare at him, dumbfounded. “Is this your way of keeping me with you, withholding the supplies?”

His eyes narrow at me. “I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

“You’re the one who’s hurt here. And gentlemen don’t handcuff women.”

“Some do.” Max raises his hand. “But if it makes you feel better, you can carry this one. You’ve been anxious enough.” He slips the bag of random medical supplies from his own shoulder and slides it over mine, then presses his forefinger to the tip of my nose. “Boop.”

Lights flash all around the room. An alarm sounds out, punctuating the flashing lights. The words “Intruder Alert” fill the air.

Max raises his hands into the air. “Fine, fine, I’m sorry, I won’t boop you anymore. Actually, yes, I absolutely will.” He boops me again, grabs the morning star, and swings it around in the air. Drops of blood fly off from its most recent kill. “Looks like we’re the guests of honor. Come on, fellas, it’s time to party.”

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