One

Everything hurt.  The steady throbbing in my skull penetrated my disoriented mind, creating a dark dreamscape filled with terrors I didn’t believe real.  Skeletal black bodies with glowing red eyes swarmed around us.  A single flashlight and four spear-bearing men with grey skin kept them at bay.  A man with a mangled face whispered that I would have no second life, that I needed to cling to the first.

I didn’t want to cling to anything.  Pain enveloped me when I tried.  So I let go, but I couldn’t drift.

The clamor of sound, echoing howls and incomprehensible shouts, tormented me almost as much as the jolting cadence rocking through my body.  I wanted to escape into an abyss of darkness.  But every time I came close, something jostled me.  Then, the whispers would start again.

The words began to change, along with the light.  A brightness crept in that made me whimper and turn my head, despite the pain.

“It’s the only safe place,” a voice said.

“It will likely house humans,” another answered.

I wanted to tell the voices to stop.  To be quiet and just let me sleep. But, opening my mouth only produced a mewling whine.  Something brushed my forehead, hurting me further.

“Good.  They might be able to help her.”

“We don’t heal the same here.  We need to watch for those guns.  Do not let them touch you.”

“I know,” yet another voice said.  “You stay.  We go.”

“Do not kill them.  Mya will not like that.”

Frustration and confusion got the better of me.  I opened my mouth, again, to yell.  Nothing more than a groan emerged.

“Shh…my Mya.  You are safe.  We will find help.”

After that, things grew blissfully quiet, and the light faded.  I floated in the void of nothing, the pain gradually easing.  In its absence, a chill crept in.  Even though I couldn’t see, I could imagine my breath misting in the air and ice forming on my skin.  I shivered uncontrollably, each shudder punctuated by a rapid series of muffled bangs.

“We need to cool her off.  She’s too warm.”

I wanted to cry.  Why couldn’t the voices just leave me alone?  Or say something that made sense.  Who would want to cool off when it felt ready to snow?

More pops sounded then silence returned.

“They are angry,” a voice said.

Fingers grabbed me with bruising force, and I cried out.

“I don’t care,” another said.  “They will help her.  Where are they?”

“Barn.  Tied to chairs.”

“Take her to the house.  Find a bed that is soft.  I will be there in a moment.  And do not touch her or try to look at her pussy.  She will be angry if you do.  And so will I.”

The rocking started again.  I groaned, hating this dream and wishing I could wake up.  Instead, I pulled away from the light, the voices, and the pain and found a dark, quiet corner to hide from their persistent presence.

*    *    *    *

Something gently smoothed over my hair, and the warm wetness on my forehead left only to be replaced by a cooler wetness.  I sighed and snuggled deeper into the pillow.

“I’ve sent Ghua back to the hole.  He will wait for the others,” a familiar voice said.

“Good.  What about the ones in the barn?”

“They still only swear and spit at us.  Are you sure they are intelligent and not infected?”

“I am sure.”

Groaning, I tried to roll away from the voices.

“Shh…Mya.  Do not move so much.”

“Then shut up,” I mumbled.

Arms wrapped around me suddenly and squeezed me too tightly.

“Stop,” I panted, my head starting to throb again.  “Hurts.”

Lips brushed my cheek and the corner of my mouth.

“You’re awake,” a voice said.

“No.”  If I was, I sure as hell didn’t want to be.

A clank came from nearby.  The arm under my shoulders lifted me slightly as something touched my lips.

“Drink, Mya.”

I did, gratefully.  The water slid down my dry throat.  The first swallow hurt, but the ache left by the third gulp.

“Good,” the voice said, taking the drink away.  “Are you hungry?  I have chicken noodle soup.”

“No.”

The arm eased me back to the bed, and I slept.

*    *    *    *

Awareness came in slow increments.  The low murmur of voices.  The soft pillow behind my head.  The clatter of dishes.

The smell of chicken noodle soup had me opening my eyes.  I blinked twice, not sure if I still slept.

Blankets covered the room’s two windows, muting the light.  I could still see well enough.  I lay on a bed in an actual bedroom.  A ceiling fan hung above me, its blades unmoving and the light off.

The memories of the last few weeks crawled through my mind.  Earthquakes, hellhounds, people becoming infected, looking for my family, finding Drav, the bombings, going to Drav’s world.  All of it swirled in a confusing jumble until the memories settled and clicked into place to complete a big picture.  I’d almost died trying to get to the surface.  Not just me.  Drav.

A man walked into the bedroom.  He bore healing scratches on his face and arms.

“Molev,” I said.  Panic and worry started to rise.  “Where’s Drav?  Where are we?”

“I’m here,” Drav said from behind me.  A weight moved on my waist.  I reached down and touched his arm under the blankets as I turned my head to look at him.

“We are in a house on the surface,” Molev said.

I barely heard.  I couldn’t stop staring at Drav.  He still bore signs of his hellhound attack, but his eyes were no longer swollen, making it easy to see the earnest worry with which he watched me.  A scar ran from the top of his left eyebrow, over the bridge of his nose, to his right cheek.

I lifted my hand and gently caressed the new mark.  My eyes watered for what he’d endured to save me and for what I felt for him.

“Hey, handsome,” I said softly.  “Don’t throw me like that again.  I thought you’d died.”

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my temple.  I frowned at the vague memory of a dream.

“Did I have a washcloth on my forehead?” I asked.

“Yes.  You had a fever.”

“Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Would you like this soup?” Molev asked, reclaiming my attention.  “I warmed it on the stove.”

My stomach growled, answering him.  I shifted my feet under the covers and wrinkled my nose.  They’d tucked me into bed, fully clothed.  Shoes and all.

As much as I didn’t want to leave Drav or our warm bed, the shoes bothered me.

“How about we go to the kitchen?” I asked.

Molev retreated toward the door as I pulled the covers back and sat up.  The abrupt change from laying down to sitting up caused my head to swim, and I waited a moment for the sensation to pass before swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.

“How do you feel?” Drav asked.  His warm hand soothed my lower back.

“Weak, but my head doesn’t hurt.  Ugh!  Why do I smell like puke?”  I stood and looked down at my stained shirt.  I vaguely recalled throwing up during our race from his world.

“Do we still have my bag?  I need a new shirt.”

“There are some in here,” Molev said, opening a door to a small closet.

An assortment of men’s button up shirts mixed in with several lady’s dresses.  Not in a position to be picky, I took one of the long-sleeved dress shirts from the hanger.

“Your bag is here.”  He pointed to the bag on a nearby chair.  “I did not touch your things.”

“No one did,” Drav said.

“Thanks.  Can we meet you in the kitchen?” I asked Molev, hoping he’d get the hint and leave.

He smiled slightly and retreated from the room, taking the mug with him.  My stomach rumbled again, and I hurriedly ditched the dirty shirt and put on the clean one.  I briefly thought of washing myself up, but just standing was taking more effort than I cared to admit to myself.

Yawning, I went to my bag and checked for my phone.  It was there but dead.  I pulled out the charger and plugged it in.  As soon as I could, I needed to try my brother’s number.

When I turned, I found Drav sitting on the edge of the bed and watching me.

“You worried me,” he said as he stood.

He wrapped me in a loose hug.  The feel of his strong arms gave me a sense of peace.  Of safety.  I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes.  He held me closer, his hand pressing my lower back so we were flush, front to front.  The contact made me shiver and remember our time at the lake.  Had that only been a few days ago?

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and loosened his hold slightly.

“You stopped breathing several times,” he said, quietly.

Holy shit.

“I did?”  I looked up and met his tormented gaze.

“Yes.  You moaned and cried once we brought you up here.  I wanted to take you back.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.  I do feel better now.”

He leaned in and brushed his lips over mine before setting his forehead against mine.

“You are still the best thing here.”

His quiet confession made me ache for all the worry he’d endured.

“And you make my heart race in the best way,” I admitted.

My stomach growled again.  This time he released me fully and took my hand.

“Come.  You need to eat.”

I almost told him that I’d changed my mind and wanted to go back to bed, but I didn’t want him to worry more.  Instead, I let him lead me from the room.  The short hall led past another bedroom with twin beds.  Blankets covered the windows in that room, too, leaving just enough light to see Kerr and Shax each laying on a bed, their eyes closed.

We quietly continued along the hall and down the steps.  At the bottom, Drav turned left.  I followed a few more steps to the kitchen.  My hands shook, and my legs felt weak.

The mug of soup waited on the table along with a multitude of open cans.

“How long have we been here?” I asked as I sank into a seat.

“Several hours.”

“That’s it?”

I looked at the cans again.  Food remained in some of them.  Like the can of peas.  Others, like the tin of quail eggs and the cans of tuna, were completely empty.

“It looks like you guys ate well.”

Molev walked into the kitchen just then, followed by the others I recalled running with Ghua.

“Thank you for keeping me safe and bringing me to the surface,” I said.

The men nodded in acknowledgement and continued to watch me.

I lifted the mug of soup and took a sip, not as uncomfortable with their scrutiny as I once had been. My stomach cramped greedily with the first swallow

“This is really good.  I needed to eat.”

They remained quiet as I consumed the rest of the soup.  Once I set the mug aside, Molev sat next to me.  I fought to stifle a yawn and lost.

“What’s the plan now?” I asked.  “Are we safe from the infected and the hellhounds here?” I no longer felt safe in a house after seeing how the hellhounds had brought down the men in the caverns.  I looked around the kitchen, wondering what, other than blankets, they’d done to make this place safe for us. 

“We wait for the others to join us then help you search for your family,” Molev said.  “Do you think there are more women who are still healthy like you?”

“I hope so.”  I yawned again.  “How long will it take them to get here?”

“Another day, perhaps.  Your skin’s color is changing,” he said.

The abrupt change in subject had me glancing at Drav.  He looked worried as he studied me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“It is losing its pinkness,” Drav said.

“You mean I look pale?”

“Yes.  Very pale.”

“Yeah, I think coming downstairs might have been pushing it.” 

“Then we will return,” Drav said.  Before I could protest, he picked me up and moved toward the stairs.

“You’re limping.  I can walk up the stairs on my own.  Or have someone else carry me.  I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

He reached the top step before I finished speaking.

“Stubborn,” I mumbled.

“Desperate to hold you.”

I set my head against his shoulder and sighed.

“Ditto.”

He set me on the mattress, and I quickly kicked off my shoes.  I felt a twinge of guilt that we’d messed up the sheets but knew we’d be moving on soon enough anyway, and no one would likely stay in the house again anytime soon.  Before I lay down, I checked my phone.  It had a charge, but no signal.  I hadn’t really thought it would.  Turning it off, I settled into bed.

Drav snuggled in beside me and covered us.

“Sleep, Mya.”

I closed my eyes.

*    *    *    *

When I next woke, the light from behind the blankets had faded considerably.  Drav lay beside me, sleeping peacefully.  I reached up and gently touched his healing cheek.  His fingers twitched over my bra clad breast, and I smiled.  Even looking like a homeless woman and smelling faintly of vomit, he wanted me.  I melted a little knowing just how much.

Wanting him to rest, I eased from the bed and tucked the covers back around him before sneaking from the room.

My growling stomach led me down the hall, past where Shax and Kerr still rested.  At the bottom of the steps, I turned to the right and peeked into the living room where Molev lay sleeping on the couch.

As I looked at the fading light sneaking in from behind the blanket covered windows, vague flashes of memory intruded.  Images of hounds chasing us and only the flashlight from my bag keeping them at bay.  I shook my head and focused on the growing dusk.  Night approached, and that meant the hellhounds would return if they were still around.  Blanket covered windows wouldn’t be enough to keep them out.

The men looked like hell and needed more rest.  I could give them another hour before I needed to wake them.

Heading to the kitchen, I jumped in surprise at seeing two fey men sitting quietly at the table, studying closed cans of food.

“Hey, guys,” I said quietly.  “Are you hungry?”

I reached for one of the cans.  Another tin of spam.

“You guys like meat more than the vegetables, so you’ll probably like this one.”  I popped the lid open and handed it over before taking the empty cans to the sink.  Underneath, I found a garbage bag and started throwing the trash away while the two men shared the spam.  It felt good to move.  To do something useful even if there wouldn’t be any garbage man to pick the bag up.  I figured it didn’t hurt to tidy up.  Cleaning beat just leaving a mound of used cans on the table for the duration of our stay.

When I finished with the empties, I looked at what remained.  The fey hadn’t wasted too much.  Dumping an assortment of vegetables into a large bowl, I stuck it into the microwave, for the first time noticing the rumble of a generator coming from somewhere outside.

The microwave beeped, and I sat at the table with the guys and started eating the mix of random canned veggies.  It didn’t taste the best, but given the number of closed cans still on the table top, I wasn’t going to be a picky brat.  The food was cooked and not going to kill me.  Down the hatch it went.

Before I finished, the stairs creaked.  Drav’s worried gaze found mine.

“Why did you leave?” he asked.

I lifted my spoon.  “Hungry.”

“You need meat.”

“Heck no.  I know how you serve up meat.”

“I will bring more cans so you can choose something you like.”

“That’s okay.  I’d rather you sit down and tell me what’s happened since we reached the surface.  I think I might have been awake for some of it, but I’m not sure.”

He sat in the chair beside me, resting his hand on the back of my neck.  His fingers teased my skin as he spoke and I ate.

“We ran north.  A pack of the hounds caught up to us just after we left the broken buildings of the city behind.  There were too many to keep away with just our weapons and hands, so we used your flashlight until we saw more light in the distance.  That light led us here.”

“Yeah, I can hear the generator running outside.  Were there people here?”

“Yes.  Four.  With guns.”

Surprise lifted my brows, and I struggled to swallow my mouthful of veggies.

“Really?  You didn’t kill them, did you?” I asked.

“No.  They shot at us, but we ignored their challenge and did not remove their heads.”

One of the other men said something, and Drav grinned.

“Yes.  We are regretting not removing their heads.”

“Why?  Where are they?  I hope you took away their guns.”

“The men are tied to chairs in the barn,” he answered.  “The guns are hidden there with them.”

More of my scattered memories solidified.  Gunshots.  Worried whispers.  Swearing.

“I want to talk to them,” I said, setting my food aside.

“Are you sure?  They usually don’t say more than ‘fuck off’ and spit at us.”

I stood.  “I’m sure.  Let me shower first so they don’t mistake me for one of the infected.”  Other than the clean shirt, I looked like hell.  Blood still spattered my jeans.

“Do you need help?” Drav asked, standing.

Although the last time we’d been in the water together had been fun, I knew I didn’t have the strength for that.

“Nope.  Just my bag.”

I expected a frown of disappointment.  However, he only nodded and threaded his fingers through mine before leading me back upstairs.