Thirteen

Once we left the last of the city lights and infected behind us, Drav walked beside me.  We didn’t talk.  Noise carried too far in the dark.  Even the soft brush of our passing through the dried grass worried me.  However, Drav didn’t seem as tense now that we’d abandoned the city.  He walked with fluid ease, taking slower steps so I didn’t have to jog to keep up as we traveled the countryside.

Before the hellhounds invaded, we would have seen headlights on the roads we crossed or heard the distant hum of engines on the highway we passed.  Instead, there was silence.  Not even the chirp of crickets or chatter of small animals could be heard.  The silence was the one unsettling, continuous reminder of just how much the world had changed.  So, I focused on the slight sound of our passing until something distracted me.

In the trees to our right, I saw a dot of light.  White, not red.  It disappeared, but I kept my eye on the spot and saw the light again a few feet later. A distant yard light to a house nestled in the trees.  I wondered if the people who lived there had escaped the notice of the hounds and the infected.  I hoped so.  If they could survive this close to the city, my family had an even better chance at our cabin.

Drav grabbed my arm without warning, jerking me to a stop. The aggressive way he angled himself in front of me and growled had my pulse spiking.  I froze and peered ahead, trying to see what had provoked him.  However, beyond the shadowy shapes of trees, shrubs, and grass, I couldn’t see a damn thing.  I moved closer to Drav and wished for my flashlight.  I should have walked with it in my hand instead of stuffing it in my bag.

Drav growled again.  From the darkness came a faint, answering growl.  Something was definitely out there.

Slowly, Drav straightened and said something.  It wasn’t English, just a bunch of garbled nonsense to me.  However, the same sounds came back from the dark.  Another shadow man.

“Crap.”

Drav loosened his hold on my arm and looked at me.  Gently, he ran his fingers over the area he’d grabbed.

“I’m sorry, Mya.  Arm fall off?” he questioned quietly.

I almost told him it wouldn’t but reconsidered as I thought of the easy strength he’d used to pull the heads from all the infected bodies.

“Not yet.  Who’s out there?” I asked, looking into the darkness again.

A distance ahead of us, a shadow moved, steadily growing bigger.  Big like Drav, confirming my suspicion.

“Is he going to want to kill me?” I asked, unable to stop myself.

“No.”

Drav looked away from me and spoke to the approaching figure.  I heard my name thrown in with the gibberish.  When Drav quieted, the shadow answered in a growly voice.  Drav listened then looked down at me.

“Ghua good.  Ghua family.”

Ghua?  Based on the tone of their conversation, I didn’t feel reassured.

The new shadow man had finally walked close enough that I could see the subtle differences between the two men.  While the dark loose shirt and pants seemed similar in style and color to what Drav had worn when I’d first met him, this shadow man’s skin shone even darker than Drav’s, almost black.  The same reptilian like eyes blinked at me.  However, Ghua’s seemed more yellow than green and much creepier because of the coloring. His long black hair hung in a single braid that didn’t quite match Drav’s in length but still extended well past his shoulders.

Ghua said something more then started to crouch.  Drav laughed, a first.  The deep, soft sound unnerved me.

“What’s going on?” I asked quietly.

“Mya, stay,” Drav said, taking my shoulder and guiding me back a step.  He let go and turned back to Ghua, whose white teeth flashed in the dark as he grinned.  Drav crouched low and tensed.  My stomach dipped and twisted sickeningly as I grasped what was about to happen.

They flew at each other. The impact made a deep thud in the dark.  A growl escaped one of them as they grappled.  Seeing the way Drav’s muscles bulged in effort made me swallow hard.  In all the head ripping he’d done, he’d never exerted himself the way he did now.  Just how strong was he?

I had my answer when he laughed and flipped Ghua over his back.  Ghua landed with a thump. Drav reached out with one hand and picked him up by the neck.  Ghua punched Drav in the ribs, drawing a pained grunt from him.  Drav didn’t let go, though.  With his other hand, Drav gripped the top of Ghua’s head in a familiar move.

“Drav, no,” I said, far too loudly for my own comfort.

Drav paused, and Ghua stopped trying to hit Drav to look at me.

“I thought he was your family.  Family don’t kill each other.”

Drav grunted, let go of Ghua, and said something I didn’t understand.  Ghua laughed in return.

Drav started talking again, and Ghua stared at me the entire time, his gaze shifting from my face to my hair then back to my face.  His barely discernable brows started to sink lower on his forehead the longer Drav spoke.  I didn’t like not knowing what they were saying, but I wasn’t kept wondering for long.  Drav said a familiar word, and Ghua’s gaze dropped to my chest.

Ghua made a noise of disbelief and tore his gaze from me to stare at Drav.  When Ghua spoke, the tone seemed rough and demanding.

Drav began speaking once more and gestured with his hands near his chest.  When he said “boobs,” I cringed but kept quiet.  My difference had kept Drav from killing me.  If being an oddity kept me safer with Ghua, too, then Drav could explain away.

Ghua said something and they stopped talking.  Both turned to look at me.

“Ghua want Mya to show boobs.”

I crossed my arms over my chest.

“I am not showing my boobs to anyone, Drav.  I told you, it makes me uncomfortable.”

“Yes,” Drav said before speaking to Ghua.

Ghua listened quietly until Drav gestured between his legs.  Ghua made a choked sound, grabbed at his package, and spoke a few syllables.  Drav grunted acknowledgment, and my cheeks turned red when Ghua’s attention whipped to me.  His gaze swept my face, then my chest, and finally he ducked his head a little as he tried his best to see through my pants.

Even clothed with jeans and a hoodie, I felt completely naked and exposed to his inquisitive gaze.

“Yep.  No penis,” I said.

Ghua started talking fast to Drav, who started talking just as fast back.  Both fell completely silent again.  Then, Ghua moved toward me.

“Ah…what’s he doing?”  I stepped behind Drav and kept him between me and Ghua when Ghua tried to follow.

“Mya, Ghua smell you.”

“I don’t want to be smelled.  You’ve smelled me enough for both of you.”

Drav caught me in his arms and pulled me to his chest.  I struggled to push away from him, but he held firm.

“Drav, let me go.”  My words were muffled but still clear.  He didn’t release me, though.

Something brushed against my back.  My face pressed into Dad’s old shirt, I listened to Ghua get a good whiff of my hair.  Anger boiled inside me.  Drav held me still so his friend, who’d just wanted to see my boobs, could smell me.  Hell no.  I opened my mouth and bit Drav’s chest.  He grunted and abruptly released me.  I surged back and solidly collided with Ghua.  His arms came around me, and his hands landed just above my boobs.

Eyes wide, my mouth dropped open as his hands drifted lower and he thoroughly groped me.

Before I could yell, Drav stopped rubbing where I’d bitten him and growled.  For a heartbeat, I thought he meant the growl for me.  But when Ghua immediately let go, and Drav silently opened his arms for me without looking away from Ghua, I launched myself at Drav.  He caught me, and his hand gently settled on the back of my head as he held me close.

He spoke to Ghua briefly in their language.  When they quieted, I lifted my head enough to look up at Drav.  He stared down at me in his unblinking way.

“Don’t ever do that again.  I’m not a toy.  You don’t get to share me.”

“I won’t share you.  Ever,” he said.

Not quite the reassurance I’d wanted.  The way his hold had tightened on me just a smidge when he’d spoken didn’t reassure me either.  I eased myself from his arms and put some distance between us.  He looked me over before focusing on Ghua, who watched us closely.

I studied the darkness around us while they started yet another quiet conversation.  Not only were we wasting precious travel time, we weren’t being quiet.

“Is it smart to be out in the open talking like this?” I asked, interrupting them.  “How well do your hellhounds hear?  I really don’t want to get bitten by one.”

Drav grunted and Ghua spoke briefly, gesturing back the way he’d come.  Drav turned to me.

“Ghua go home with me and you.  Keep Mya safe.”

I didn’t want Ghua traveling with us.  He was still trying to see through my hoodie and my pants.  But, standing in one place served no purpose.

“Fine.  But no touching me.”

“Yes,” Drav said.  Ghua answered with a clear, “yes” as well before he turned and headed back the way he’d just come.

Drav nudged me to follow.

“How are you learning my language so quickly?” I asked, walking.

Drav tapped his pointed ear.

“Just by listening?” I said.

“Yes.”

“That’s crazy.”

Since Ghua was leading us, I moved closer to Drav.

“Do we have to stay with him?  He’s giving me the creeps with all his staring.”

Ahead of us, Ghua grunted, which made me worry.

“Does he understand me?” I whispered to Drav.

“Yes.”

After that, I kept quiet.

We didn’t walk very far before Ghua veered into the trees.  I kept close to Drav and tried to walk and breathe as quietly as possible while what little light the quarter moon provided faded even further under the barren branches.

When we stepped into a clearing with a house, Ghua headed straight for it.  I tugged on Drav’s arm.

“I don’t want to go in there.”

“Mya not stay outside.”

The familiar phrase he used to get me inside for the day worried me.

“We’re done walking for the night?”

“Yes.”

“But why?  We have hours of dark left yet.”

“Drav listen to Ghua for the night.”

I frowned trying to understand what he meant by that.

“He’s your boss for tonight or you want to talk to him tonight?”

“I want to talk to Ghua tonight.  We’re walking”—he said something I didn’t know—“night.”

“Tonight we’re going to talk with Ghua and tomorrow night we’re walking again?” I guessed, hopefully.

“Yes.”

“Without Ghua tomorrow night?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.  But no killing anyone in that house unless they’re infected.”

Drav grunted and spoke to Ghua who waited several yards away.  Ghua answered then started toward the already broken in front door, and I realized whoever had been in there was probably already dead.

Following Drav into the house, I stepped into a neat and cozy living room. Drav closed the door behind me and started talking to Ghua.  Unwilling to stand there and listen to a meaningless exchange, I went to the couch, turned on the lamp next to it, and sank into the comfy cushions with a sigh. Having a moment to just relax seemed surreal, and I soaked it up.  Who knew what would happen from one moment to the next in this new world.  I needed to start taking what I could get.

When the conversation stopped, I glanced at the pair and found them watching me.

“What?  Am I not supposed to sit?  We’re staying the rest of the night, right?”

“Yes,” Drav said, walking toward me.  He looked at the couch then sat beside me.  He studied the cushions a moment before running a hand over them.

“Comfy, isn’t it?” I said.

“Yes.”

Ghua went to a chair and sat as well.

Staying here with Ghua made me anxious. He still seemed too interested in the fact that I had boobs and no penis.  Ignoring Ghua’s stare, I turned to Drav.

“So what is he to you?  Your brother?  Cousin?  Uncle?”

“No.”

“Dad?  Grandpa?”  Ghua didn’t look old enough to be either.  “Nephew?”

“No.”

“Oh, come on.  I don’t think I missed any…unless he’s some kind of in-law.”

“No.”

“You’re annoying me,” I said, with a flat stare.

“Ghua is family, but not family.”

“He’s a friend?”

“Yes,” Drav said happily.

I made a sound of disbelief.  But, I didn’t say anything more.  Soon the two of them started talking, mixing English with their words.  The more Drav said, the more Ghua started to say.

“Hold up,” I said, interrupting them.  “Do you really only need to hear a word once to understand it?”

“Yes,” Drav said.

“Holy shit.”