Nine

Ghua took off running, the rush of wind robbing me of breath and forcing me to take cover in the shelter of his shoulder.  Not that I really wanted to press my face against his bare chest with his words still ringing in my ears.  Did he honestly think I wanted to look at him more?  The image of Dongzilla was already burned into my brain.

Just as quickly as the buffeting wind started, it stopped.  I lifted my head and looked around.

We stood at the edge of the trees beside a garage.  Across the driveway, a white two-story house looked like it had endured a war.  Bullet holes riddled the siding.  Jagged panes of glass partially filled most of the front windows.  The ones by the front door had no glass at all.

The barrel of a shotgun suddenly protruded from one of those windows.

“Get the hell off my property.”

Ghua growled, turned, and set me on my feet.

“Stay here,” he said.

Before I could turn toward him or the house, the gun fired, and I dove for cover behind the garage.

“Shooting hurts,” Ghua yelled a moment before I heard something crash.

I peeked around the side of the building in time to see the gun go flying out the window.

“Eden is here to talk to you since you do not like me.  You will not hurt her.”

Ghua strode from the broken front door a moment later.  I stood up and glanced at the trees, wanting to kick myself for not immediately running.

“No, Eden,” Ghua said softly, his voice sounding much too close.

When I looked back, he was only feet from me.  He didn’t say anything, just held out his hand.  I crossed my arms, refusing to touch him, and started toward the house.  I only made it a step past him when he swept me into his arms.

I glared up at him.

“I can walk.”

“Yes, but if he has more guns, I can run faster.”

He had me there.

Ghua walked right up to the house and stepped inside.  An older man stood in the dated sitting room.  The pallor of his skin and tremble in his hands sent a tiny bit of pity welling up inside of me.  I knew what he was feeling.  It seemed a pretty reasonable response after seeing Ghua for the first time, having him take a gun away, and getting scolded for shooting it.  I was surprised the man was still standing.

“You might want to sit for a minute,” I said, “until the shock passes.”

The man didn’t move.

“My name’s Eden.  This is Ghua.  He took me a few days ago.”

“I saved you, Eden.  I killed the infected and stopped the men from taking you, and I untied you.”

Something about Ghua’s words had the man focusing on me.

“Men?” he asked.

“Yeah.  There’s a group further south of here.  They found a bunker and have been rounding up survivors to use as workers.”

“Just met them.  They’re the ones who busted up my house.  They took all my food after they shot out the windows.  Didn’t take me because I’m too old to live long.  Their words.  Not mine.”

My stomach sank at hearing that.  The gunmen shouldn’t have been here.  They’d said they had enough supplies and were ready to hole up for the winter.  That meant Oscar and Van were still looking for me.

“Come with us,” Ghua said.

A groan came from outside the house.  Ghua set me on my feet.

“Do not hurt Eden,” he warned the old man.  He looked at me.  “Stay here.”  Then, he disappeared out the front door.

“Do you have any other guns?” I hurriedly asked the old man.

He shook his head, and I swore.  Through the busted window, I watched Ghua grapple with an infected who’d wandered into the yard.

“Listen, he thinks I’m a kid,” I said softly.  “It’s the only thing keeping me from being his sex toy.  Please don’t say anything.”

The man nodded and answered just as quietly.  “Won’t say a thing.”

The infected made a loud sound then everything fell silent.  Covered in fresh infected blood, Ghua came back inside.

“Come,” Ghua said to the old man.  “You cannot stay here.  It’s not safe.”

The old guy shook his head.  “I’m staying.”

Ghua looked at me, and I shrugged.  I had no idea why he thought I’d want to talk the guy into agreeing to leave with us.  I didn’t even want to be with us.

“Familiar places give people a sense of safety, even if that safety is just an illusion.  If he doesn’t want to go, he doesn’t want to go,” I said.

Ghua sighed and looked at all the broken windows.

“Do you have a hammer, nails, and wood to board the windows up?” he asked the man.

My mouth dropped open.  I’d thought the man’s fate would be similar to mine, taken without being given a choice in the matter.

“You’re going to let him stay?” I asked.

“I will not force him if he does not want to leave.”

“What about me?  You’re forcing me.”

“You are a child and a female.  You need protection.”

“I have nails and wood and such in the garage,” the old man said, shuffling in the direction of the kitchen.  He grabbed the garage door opener off the top of the fridge and tossed it to Ghua, who caught it with ease.

Ghua’s gaze shifted to me.

“Come, Eden.  You can help.”

“Nah, I’ll clean up the broken glass in here,” I said, thinking quickly.

“No, Eden.  You will try to leave.  Come.”

“How come you’re not worried about him leaving?”

“Because he wants to stay.”

Annoyed that Ghua wasn’t giving me any chance to run, I had no choice but to follow him outside.  When we got to the garage, though, he moved to break in the side door.

“Wait!  We might need that door.  Push the button on the thing you’re holding.”  He looked down at the opener, pushed the large button, then grinned widely as the bay door started to rise.

Within five minutes, I understood why he’d wanted me to help him.  The garage door wasn’t the only thing he had no idea about.  He understood the use of a hammer, nails, screwdriver, and screws, but he had no idea how to take a door off its hinges or why caulk was useful.

“If we’re going to use these sheets of plywood to board the broken windows, it makes sense to caulk them so the cold air doesn’t get in.”  After I said that, I wondered why it even mattered.  Sure, I’d do it if I was fixing and sealing up my own place, but I didn’t see the old man having much of a chance on his own.

Ghua grunted and added the caulk to the items we’d gathered in the bucket.  While he carried out the sheets of wood, I hauled the other supplies to the front of the house.

Fifteen minutes later, Ghua hand sawed a sheet to fit the first window, using the lines I’d measured and drawn as a guide.  I watched him for a moment, unable to believe how quickly he was tearing through the material.

“How do you know some of this stuff?” I asked.

“Dad taught us when we started putting solar panels on our houses.  He said that a man needs to know how to be handy.”  He finished cutting and looked up at me.  “You’re handy too, Eden.”

“Thanks.”  I didn’t want to be handy.  I wanted to be free.

He watched me apply a bead of caulk then took the board to the window and screwed it securely to the frame in seconds.

We quietly worked together for several hours.  Any time I even glanced at the woods, Ghua was right there to tell me it wasn’t safe.  The infected that kept wandering into the yard and the seven bodies stacked behind the garage proved his point.

While we made progress on the first story, I listened to the old man clean up inside.  He made several trips to empty the glass shards onto the driveway leading up to the house.  I grinned at his cleverness.  If the gunmen returned, they’d hopefully get a set of flat tires for their troubles.

By the time the sun dipped behind the trees, we had the first floor secured.

“Eden, go inside,” Ghua said.  “I will put these things away.”

Of course he’ll let me stay inside on my own now, I thought.  We’d just spent the last several hours sealing up all potential exits.

With zero enthusiasm, I shuffled inside.

“Do you mind if I use your bathroom?” I asked the man.

“No.  Go ahead.  You two ready to leave?”

I looked outside.  “I think he’s going to want to stay here tonight.  Sorry.”

Moving down the hall, I found the bathroom and turned on the light.  With the windows boarded, the old man would need to keep the lights on all the time if he wanted to see anything.  Not necessarily a bad thing given what was likely to come out at night.

After using the toilet and washing my hands, I headed back to the kitchen.

“Are you hungry?” I asked.  “We have some canned goods.”

I grabbed the bag by the door, only slightly surprised the guy hadn’t already checked it.  By the time we had three cans of soup heated, Ghua came in and closed the newly constructed front door.

“Eat, Eden,” he said when he caught me looking at him.

The infected blood he’d ended up wearing throughout the day had acted like glue for the sawdust he’d created.  Instead of looking grey-skinned, he almost looked human-colored, if a person could ignore the tarred and feathered texture.

I forced my gaze away from him and started sipping my soup.  The old man handed Ghua his share then started eating his own.

“How is it that the infected haven’t broken into this place yet?” I asked between swallows.

“Once I figured out the light that was keeping the hounds away was drawing the infected, I stopped leaving the lights on down here and blocked the windows upstairs.”

“The infected are drawn to light?” I asked, stunned.  No wonder I’d been having problems.

“Yep.  For at least two weeks now.  If I,” he stumbled over that word, “keep quiet, the hounds don’t come close either.”

Ghua, who’d been quietly eating while listening to our conversation, suddenly spoke up.

“Come, Eden.  I need to shower.”

I choked on my soup.

“I don’t want to see that again.”

He frowned at me.  “No.  You shouldn’t.  But you need to be upstairs where I can listen to you.”

I heaved a sigh and finished my soup.  While the old man ran water to wash our cups, Ghua took my hand and started leading me upstairs.

“Wait,” the man called.  “There’s a shower down here.”

“Is there one upstairs?” Ghua asked, pausing.

The man paled as he nodded.

“It is easier to listen to Eden upstairs.”

“That makes no sense,” I said.

Ghua’s gaze pinned me.

“I will hear you on the stairs if you try to leave.”

I rolled my eyes at him and said nothing when he started tugging me forward again.  The old man hurried after us to the second floor.  It wasn’t a big second story.  Because of the pitched roof, the rooms were small with slanted ceilings.  The first one fit a full-sized bed.  There were pictures on the dresser, a display of black and whites with a few modern ones thrown in.

“Is this your room?” Ghua asked.

“Yes,” the man answered.  I didn’t miss the quaver in his voice.

Ghua continued down the hall and looked into the door of a cramped upstairs bathroom.

“Here, let me get you a towel,” the man said, opening the hall closet located directly across from the bathroom.

“Thank you,” Ghua said without waiting for it.

He pulled me past the bathroom and stepped into the final room, a small space done in pale pink.  Boy band and movie star posters plastered the slanted ceiling over the neatly made twin bed.

“Eden, you wait in here.”  Ghua gave me a firm stare.  “No looking this time.”

“I didn’t want to look last time.”

The skepticism on his face made me want to throw a punch.  I knew better though.

“Do you have clean clothes that will fit me?” Ghua asked the man when he came into the room, carrying a towel.

The old guy nodded and motioned for Ghua to follow him.

“I have something from my son-in-law in my closet that might fit.”

The way the man hurried away from the pink room struck me as odd, but I didn’t dwell on it when Ghua turned to me.

“Stay, Eden.”

“I’m not a damn dog.”

“No swearing.”

I kept my mouth shut and glared at him.  He grunted and followed the old man. I looked at the room and tried not to let regret swamp me.  A little girl had slept there not too long ago.  How many people had died?  How many still lived who had to deal with the loss?

The water started, and from the sound of it, Ghua hadn’t shut the door.

I shook my head and moved toward the dresser.  Like the old man’s dresser, it had pictures displayed.  I picked one up.

“My daughter and her husband,” the old man said from the doorway.  “And my granddaughter.”

I glanced at him then did a double-take.  Sweat was starting to bead on his forehead.  Why?  He hadn’t been sweating before.  Not even when he first saw Ghua.

The old man’s gaze flicked to the stubby attic door under the eaves.

My heart sank as I once more took in the girly, dust free room and all the pictures of his daughter and son-in-law.  They didn’t age past the picture I held.

“How long ago was this picture taken?” I asked, looking at the infant.

“Twelve years.”

I nodded and set the picture down.

“What happened to your daughter and son-in-law?”

“Car accident.”

He was starting to shake.

“How long ago?”

“Eleven years.”

I nodded again and set the picture down.  The water shut off causing the old man to look at the attic door once more.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Benjamin.”

Ghua walked into the room.  He wore a pair of athletic shorts, and that was it.  At least they weren’t skin tight.

“Thank you for the shorts, Benjamin.  It is getting dark.  You should lay down, Eden.”  He moved toward the bed to pull back the covers.

Benjamin looked ready to faint.

“Can we use your room, instead?” I asked.

“Yes, of course,” Benjamin said.

“Eden, we are not supposed to take other people’s things.”

“No, no!  I don’t mind at all,” Benjamin hurried to assure Ghua.

“No.  It is not kind.”

“We both won’t fit on that bed, Ghua,” I said, hating myself on so many different levels.

I did not want to sleep in the same bed with him.  Not after what happened that morning.  I also didn’t want to use his name.  He was already starting to seem way too human to me the way it was.  But, I didn’t see how I had much of a choice.  I needed to do something to get him out of the room.

I wasn’t being altruistic or anything.  If Ghua knew there was a girl hiding in the attic, he’d insist on taking her with.  He’d been pretty clear about the whole children and females don’t get a choice thing.  Keeping silent wasn’t to save the girl from the same unknown fate I faced.  It was to keep me safe just a little longer.  Because, if there was a twelve-year-old girl hiding in that attic, Ghua was bound to notice we didn’t look the same, and I feared what he would do if he found out I’d been lying.

“You said I sleep better when you’re by me,” I added.

He moved closer to me and pulled me into his arms.  His large hand stroked over my hair, just missing the lump I still had on my head from Ty’s gun.

“I will keep you safe, Eden.”

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh.  “I know.”

“I insist you take my room,” Benjamin said.  “You’re my guests, and it’s the least I can do after you’ve helped me so much today.”

“Thank you,” Ghua said.  He threaded his fingers through mine and started leading me from the room.

I hesitated at the doorway.

“I’ve never zombie-proofed a house before.  Just in case the wood downstairs doesn’t hold, you might want to close the door.  I wouldn’t blame you if you even wanted to move the dresser in front of it.  Try not to make noise after the sun sets, though.”

Benjamin nodded in gratitude as I left the room with Ghua.

I didn’t feel very gracious when Ghua closed the door behind us, trapping me in yet another bedroom with him.  He strode over to the bed and pulled back the sheets.  When I moved to get in, he stopped me.

“Jacket and shoes off.”

“What if an infected comes in, and I need to run?”

“I will keep you safe, Eden.  Take them off.  You’ll sleep better.”

My ass I’d sleep better, I thought.  He just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t try to sneak away.  The determined look in Ghua’s eyes kept me from arguing, though.

With a scowl, I did as he wanted then tried to ignore him as I crawled under the covers.  It proved impossible because he got in right behind me.

I rolled away from him, thinking he’d take the hint and leave me alone.  Nope.  He took it as an invitation to spoon me again.

His large arm snaked around my waist and pulled me back against the solid wall of his chest.  Heat radiated from him, a reminder of his barely clothed state.

“Why can’t you sleep on top of the covers?”

“Because I wouldn’t be able to hold you like this while you sleep.”

“Good, because I don’t like this.”

“You don’t like anything.”

Sighing gustily, he relaxed behind me.  Each exhale tickled my ear.

I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to sleep.  It wasn’t easy.  I couldn’t stop picturing Ghua trying to cover the equipment that was now resting peacefully against my backside.  I inched my hips forward a little, breaking the contact.

He made a disgruntled sound and snuggled close again.  This time, I was sure I could feel…it.

“Go to sleep, Eden,” Ghua said with impatience, like I was being the difficult one.

I rolled over so I was facing him.  Inches from his face, I shot him a glare.

“I can’t with your penis touching my butt.”

He frowned.

“You should not want it touching your front either.  Close your eyes and sleep, my Eden, and stop thinking about my penis.  It makes me uncomfortable.”

I sputtered, unable to come up with anything to say that wouldn’t somehow get turned back around to me.

His lips brushed my forehead, and his fingers began to stroke through my hair.  Despite everything I’d gone through, I found both gestures comforting and closed my eyes in defeat.