18. Griffin

18

GRIFFIN

M y side feels like it’s on fire. My injury throbs with each step, but my worry about Emily overshadows any concern for myself. I hate that she’s in there alone. Sure, it was her only condition to let us come this far with her—not that I’d have left her on her own anyway, but it seemed better to let her think she had some control over this. Yet my frustration builds with every passing second. I’m half-tempted to march in there myself and take control of the situation to handle whatever’s happening, but knowing her, that might make things harder for her. Besides, I’ve already caused her enough issues as it is.

If I had a watch, I’d be wearing out the second hand by now, watching it tick away the seconds, minutes, hours. I can’t tell if it’s been ten minutes or five hours, but either way, it’s too long. I need to see her walk back to us. Now.

My side throbs again, and I wince, resisting the urge to check if the bleeding started up again.

“Would you stop fidgeting? It hasn’t been that long,” William says, glancing over at me with an exasperated look from where he sits against a large rock. He picks up small stones and tosses them, one after another, at the tires of our car.

“Would you stop trying to damage our only ride?” I snap back.

“There’s a whole graveyard of abandoned cars down the road. I’d call those options,” he retorts.

Emily had told us about that when we drove by. About how the colony had moved the wrecks off the road to keep the main route open for themselves. “Easier scavenging,” she’d explained. I’d argued it also made it easier for dregs and rotters to get to them, but she’d shut me down, saying if they were looking for trouble, a few abandoned cars wouldn’t stop them. She had a point, so I had shut up. Now I’m waiting anxiously for her to get back. I don’t know how I went most of the night without her. I can barely even handle a few minutes with her out of sight right now. All I want to do is to go in there, drag her out, and keep her safe with us; my injury be damned.

A sharp pang lances through my side again, cutting off my thoughts. I draw in a breath, almost yielding to the temptation to finally check under my shirt, but before I can, a figure appears at the top of the hill.

William is on his feet in an instant. Max stops his pacing. We all move forward, standing in the middle of the road, looking at the woman walking toward us and ready to reach out for Emily.

My heart sinks when I realize it’s not her, but the momentary disappointment turns to tense suspicion. Protectiveness soars through me. Why is it not Emily?

Where I hoped to see Emily’s wild brown hair blowing around her face since she gave her hair tie to Max, this woman instead has short blonde hair tucked behind her ear, and startling blue eyes.

The woman draws closer, and we don’t move. She isn’t surprised by our presence .

“Where is she?” William demands, getting straight to the point.

The woman gives a slight nod in understanding. “I’m Zoey. Emily sent me.”

“You’re the friend she’s risking everything for,” I say, watching her closely. Truth be told, I wasn’t too fond of Zoey, considering everything Emily was putting herself through for her. She almost died for this girl. No one else on Earth is worth losing Emily over.

A small smile breaks across her face. “I see she’s talked about me.”

“Well, yeah. She had to. We went through hell getting your insulin, and she nearly died getting it to you,” Max says, his tone a bit too blunt. I see I’m not the only one who feels this way. Good.

William rushes in to smooth over Max’s implication. “What he means is we were more than happy to help.” Max glares at him. “We’re glad she has someone looking out for her inside the walls, too.”

Zoey seems unfazed. “I understand. It’s a rare thing to find these days. I’m grateful to all of you, not only for the insulin, but for watching out for her. Emily is my best friend, and I can’t imagine going through this apocalypse without her. I’m relieved she had someone looking out for her when I couldn’t be there.”

“Wish we could’ve more.” The words slip out before I can stop them. What I really mean is I wish I’d been less of an ass. That I would have done better by her, not failed her when she needed me most. That’s all going to change now. I know she didn’t believe the promise I made her, but I intend to spend every waking moment proving that I meant it.

Zoey’s gaze settles on my side, where a red stain has soaked through my shirt, and I try not to flinch under her scrutiny. “I take it you’re Griffin? ”

“Yeah. Why?”

She shrugs the bag off her shoulder and gestures for us to step into the shade of the trees with Max. “I came to look at your wound and help as much as I can. Emily told me you’d need it, and I don’t know when you’ll get another chance. Especially with how stubborn I hear you are.”

Hesitating, I look past Zoey and up the road that disappears over the hill that leads to the colony Emily is in. I’m even more concerned now. “Emily said she was going to talk with the leader. If it’s going badly…is that why she sent you?”

I can’t help wondering if I should waste time letting this woman heal me when I could be going after my own woman. I would rather risk bleeding out to get to her than to stand here and worry about her without doing anything to help.

“Lift your shirt and let me see what we’re working with here.”

“Not until you answer my question.”

Zoey gives me a no-nonsense look, crossing her arms and tapping her foot like she’s dealing with a petulant child. “We’ll talk while I work. Now lift it.”

Giving in, I tug the hem of my shirt up and wince at the tight pull against my skin. Her breath catches when she sees the wound, and I know by her reaction it can’t be good.

“Whoa.” William leans in and tilts his head to the side. I bet Buddy taught him that.

“Sounds promising,” I mutter before chancing a glance down at the gash that’s now an angry, swollen mess.

“Alright, back up. Griffin, sit down so I can get a better look and see what I can do.” She pushes me onto the nearest rock, puts on disposable gloves, and grabs some antiseptic. “That tree sap was a clever idea, but it’s only delayed things. It’s infected now. ”

“Infected?” William’s eyes widen. “Infected like…no rotter infected, right?”

I look at him with incredulousness. “I didn’t get bit; it was a piece of metal from under a car. That’s not enough to turn me into a flesh-craving nightmare. Chill.”

Zoey shakes her head. “Normal infection. The kind that can take you down if we don’t get it cleaned out. You’ll be fine. I mean, you can still die from it, but no sudden cravings for brains anytime soon.”

“Oh, he’s got cravings, alright.” Max cuts in, a mischievous smirk tugging at his mouth. “Just not for brains.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t think to bring you any food,” Zoey says, pressing a light touch to the clean skin around the sap while she inspects my wound.

“Nah,” Max continues. “More like flesh. Emily’s, to be exact, but in the kind of way where she stays alive in the end…mostly.”

“Enough,” I say in a gruff voice, though I can’t deny it.

Zoey’s smirk says she’s enjoying the banter. She cleanses the sap away before applying antiseptic. “You know, I have to admit. When Emily first told me about you guys, I didn’t know if I believed her. Three men chasing her through rotter-infested land in order to keep her safe? All willing to share her with the other two of you?”

William lets out a small, uncomfortable laugh, shrugging. “None of us planned for it. It sort of just happened. Guess we figured keeping her happy and alive was worth a little compromise.”

Zoey shakes her head and applies more ointment, her movements precise and sure. “It’s a shame there aren’t more guys like you in the world. It would be a better place, rotters or not.”

“Ow, watch it,” I grumble when a fresh sting shoots through my side. I suck in air.

“Sorry.” She gives me a half-smile, patting the wound dry before applying a clean bandage. “You guys don’t happen to have brothers, do you?”

The moment shifts, and Max’s jaw tightens. “Guess she didn’t tell you everything,” he seethes.

Zoey’s hands still. “What do you mean?”

“Nathan,” Max says quietly. “Nathan is—was my brother. Should’ve killed him myself a long time ago.”

Her eyes widen with a mix of shock, sadness, and guilt. “Oh shit, I’m sorry. Does Emily know?”

I let out a short, humorless laugh. “Yeah, she’s well aware by now. To be fair, though, she didn’t know until last night.”

Zoey leans in, her voice dropping. “Don’t tell anyone else, especially within this colony. I’m sure Emily won’t, either. She’s trying to get you guys inside, even if you don’t stay, in case Griffin needs more help than either of us can offer.”

Max scoffs and crosses his arms. “It’s not exactly something I like to advertise.”

“Alright. Well, you should be good to go now.” Zoey finishes applying the bandage, stands up, and glances toward the hill. She lowers her voice to a whisper, so we all have to lean in to hear her. “Listen, I need to warn you of something. Richard’s been twisting the truth and turning people against her. Most of the colony doesn’t really blame her for what Nathan did, but he’s using her as a scapegoat to keep control. He only has a handful of people who are fully on his side. I don’t trust him with her, not for a second.”

Griffin clenches his fists, his eyes darkening. “What’s he telling them?”

“It’s hard to know exactly, since everyone knows I’m her best friend and a lot of people are afraid to tell me for fear of getting on his bad side. There have been whispers, and suspicions, that I’ve overheard. It’s enough that I don’t want to leave her alone with him any longer than necessary.” Zoey grabs her bag and turns to head back. “One of us will come find you soon.”

We watch her walk away until she vanishes over the hill. A tension sits heavy between us as we all process her words.

Max tightens his fist, his mouth set in a hard line. “Fuck this. I’ve had enough.” He starts walking.