Suckers Page 5

  Dizzy and nauseated, I'd sprinted for at least a half-mile, foolishly increasing the volume of blood flowing from my palm; but I'd just felt a desperate, wild urge to run for help. No matter that the world had all but ended and there was no place to get help from. Clearly, I wasn’t thinking logically at the time.

  Ultimately, I collapsed in a ditch, winded, dizzy, and nauseated, and eventually passed out, whether from blood loss or simply my extreme squeamishness, I had no idea. When I came to, feeling someone or something holding my arm, I was pretty sure I was going to see a Husker about to sink its fangs into my flesh, having been lured by the smell of freely-flowing human blood.

  50But instead, I saw the heart-shaped face of a young man with honey-brown eyes filled with concern. He seemed to be holding my arm so that he could examine my palm. Behind him stood no fewer than seven men, a few of them quite large and muscular, which instantly filled me with dread.

  "Don't worry," the man examining my palm said right away. "I'm not going to hurt you. I was a hair away from becoming an MD before the virus hit, and I just want to help you if I can. And as far as the men behind me...rest assured that we're not the kind of men who desire the company of women in the way you might fear."

  This kind, brown-eyed man, whose name I soon learned was Chris, ended up cleaning my wound, stitching it, and giving me a supply of antibiotic pills as a preventative measure against infection. After I camped overnight with this group, enjoying homemade vegetable barley soup that they made over a fire, the group's leader, a man named Anton, invited me to continue on with them as they traveled. They were heading east, to Pennsylvania, where they'd heard there was a fairly large community of survivors somewhere near Pittsburgh.

  It had been a tempting offer. Very, very tempting. Observing the group, as well as hearing various sounds and quiet groans overnight, I'd become certain that Chris hadn't been trying to run any kind of a game on me. It had become crystal clear that he and his friends probably wouldn't be making any attempts to sexually violate me. And even after only a few months on the road, I was tired. I was lonely.

  I enjoyed the company of Chris, Anton, and the other men, and felt like they might become my friends and help protect me from other men. And then maybe, once we all reached the Pennsylvania community, providing that there really was one like the group had heard, I could establish some sort of a normal life living among many other survivors.

  I'd really only had to think things over for a few seconds, though, before thanking Anton for the offer, but telling him that I had to decline with regret. My sisters were waiting for me, and if I was ever going to have any kind of a normal life ever again, I knew it had to start with them. Only when I knew that all three of us were safe could I even think about rebuilding any kind of a normal life.

  The group expressed regret that I wouldn't be joining them, but said they understood, and after checking on my hand one final time, Chris gave me a big hug and then had pressed a four-leaf clover into the palm of my non-injured hand.

  "For luck. Spied it while drinking my coffee this morning, and I figure you might need it more than me. Keep it in your pocket until it disintegrates."

  I had, putting my hand in my pocket and just feeling it every so often over the next couple of days before it crumbled into dust.

  Currently, I could have used a whole pocketful of lucky clovers. After removing the knife from its sheath, I got a good grip on the handle, slammed the glove box shut, and looked up to see what was going on beyond the windshield. And at the same time that I did, I heard roaring coming from two wild animals charging at the horde of Huskers.

  There was a lion and a tiger, both of them racing out from the direction of the truck. Stunned, I just stared, realizing that Nick and Blaine were apparently shifters. And in the few seconds since they'd left the truck, they'd already shifted.

  Now things made a bit more sense. I'd thought that them trying to take on the horde, just the two of them, had been a suicidal mission, and I hadn't been able to understand their seeming confidence while flying out of the truck. Now I kind of got it. Shifters were many times stronger and faster than normal human men. Shifters were many times stronger and faster than normal wild animals.

  I hadn't encountered many in my travels. However, the same day I'd seen the smaller horde while atop the high hill in Ohio, I'd also seen three tigers and a bear racing through that same valley. Later on in my journey, I'd occasionally spotted other shifters at a distance. Then, two members of Chris and Anton's group had been wolf shifters.

  At least two or three seconds ticked by before I recalled hearing a roar before I'd been knocked unconscious earlier, when I'd hit my head on whatever hard object I'd hit it on. After regaining consciousness, I'd been too preoccupied by conversation with Nick and Blaine to recall hearing that earlier roar and connect it to them. I really wasn't sure quite what I'd thought had happened earlier, and what part they'd played in it. I just hadn't really had time to think over the day's events yet.

  I supposed in the back of my mind, I'd kind of been thinking that they'd somehow dealt with all my sixteen or seventeen would-be attackers, possibly using a gun, so that they themselves could kidnap me. And I still kind of thought that, though without the gun part. Now I knew that they'd probably been able to deal with all my would-be attackers at once because of their increased speed and strength while in their respective animal forms.

  Now that I realized what had likely happened after I'd hit my head, another realization was dawning on me. Regardless of their motivations, Nick and Blaine had saved me from probable gang rape and possible death. That was a fact. However, at the same time, maybe they'd only done what they had because they had ideas of violating me and keeping me as some sort of concubine. After all, Blaine had pretty much said that they were calling the shots, not me, in regards to whatever was going on, and then Nick ordered me to remain in the truck against my will.

  It made perfect sense that what had happened was that they'd just swooped in and abducted me from would-be abductors. Which kind of negated any moral virtue that one could find in the fact that they'd saved me. If they'd saved me only to violate me themselves in the future, that really didn't seem like much of a save.

  Although I figured that if a person was going to be subjected to rape, just two attackers was better than a small army. Though as far as I knew, Nick and Blaine had a small army of men waiting back at wherever they camped or lived.

  All this made sense, but at the same time, it didn't. Even though I barely knew Nick and Blaine at all, and even though they'd both been irritating and maddening in different ways, and even though Blaine was clearly more than a bit rough around the edges, I couldn't deny that I didn't get a really strong rapist vibe from either of them.

  I definitely had questions about the two of them, specifically regarding what their motivations were, but something in the back of my brain made me doubt it was rape. But then, I had no idea why they might have done what they had, and why they seemed intent on holding me against my will. Maybe they decided that they needed to determine if I was a spy or not.

  Another possibility was that maybe they thought that if they took me back to stay with them, even by force, that I'd eventually give my body to them voluntarily. Maybe that was far preferable to them than taking what they wanted sexually by force. Although holding a woman against her will and accusing her of being some sort of a spy didn't seem like a great way to set any voluntary intimacy in motion.

  It didn't even matter what they wanted. Or, it wouldn't within seconds, when I made my escape into the woods. Then, I'd soon be far away, sprinting through the trees. I'd never have to find out just what the hell Nick and Blaine wanted. I'd soon forget about it all, heading south toward Nashville, and Jessica and Ebony.

  After a glance behind the truck told me that the Huskers all seemed to be going around it, heading for Nick and Blaine, I turned my attention back to the front, just in time to see each of them decapitate a rotting Husker with m
ighty snaps of their jaws.

  There were a lot of Huskers for them to contend with, though. A lot. In addition to the ones that had been blocking the road ahead, and the ones that had been shuffling out from the woods behind, there was now an additional wave coming out from the woods to the east.

  All this wasn't my problem, though. To the west, the woods looked pretty clear, almost completely free of Huskers. The woods even looked kind of beautiful and serene, with the sun's very last rays painting the trees in brilliant shades of orange and gold. I'd soon be heading into those woods. Needed to. So, I couldn't figure out why I was now hesitating in executing my escape plan.

  I supposed it was because despite the fact that Nick and Blaine were both obviously very strong shifters, it was equally obvious that they were almost comically outnumbered. They were now both furiously charging and biting at the Huskers, decapitating them in what almost reminded me of an exceptionally gruesome game of whack-a-mole.

  I could see what they were trying to do. They were trying to clear a path heading north, probably not intending to attempt to kill every single one of the hundred-something, or maybe even two hundred, Huskers all around. I figured they probably planned on getting back in the truck and hitting the gas the moment an adequate section of roadway had been cleared.

  The only thing was, it was looking like there was a chance they could be bitten by Huskers before they could ever accomplish that task. And all it took was a Husker swallowing a single mouthful of blood for them to give their victim the fever that would turn them into a Husker, too.

  "Dammit."

  I repeated the curse, not sure why I cared that Nick and Blaine were so outnumbered and might get bit. I supposed it was simply because they were human beings, shifter-human beings anyway, and ones who I was kind of sure they probably wouldn't try to rape me. And I wasn't at all sure that I could just flee the scene, knowing that I was leaving two men who certainly needed help without any available. After all, I'd met many people on the road who could have easily just walked away instead of helping me.

  "Damn."

  I knew it now. I had to help. Maybe I could help clear out some of the Huskers and then escape, but I doubted it. By the time they were thinned out enough for me to feel like Nick and Blaine didn't need help anymore, they'd probably be thinned out enough for Nick and Blaine to see me dashing away and chase after me. It seemed that if I was going to help, and I was, I was probably going to give up any chance at escape, at least for now.

  Clutching the knife, I took a few deep breaths, then flung open the truck door and jumped out into the fray, almost immediately stabbing a moaning Husker through the heart, making it drop to the street the moment I withdrew the knife blade. In rapid succession, I killed two more, but not long after, things took a turn. Specifically, most of the Huskers suddenly took a turn toward me.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Maybe it was because they'd suddenly caught the scent of a human in the air. Maybe they'd all somehow heard my quiet little grunts above Nick and Blaine's roars while I'd been stabbing their fellow Husk People. But no matter the reason, it was happening.

  Most of the Bloodsuckers were heading straight at me, hissing. They were all moving pretty fast for Bloodsuckers, too, indicating that many of them had probably fed on blood sometime fairly recently. If deprived of blood for a long period, Huskers didn't die, unfortunately, but it was said that if they had fed sometime recently, they were a bit faster than usual. I wasn't quite sure how this had been determined, since I'd never met anyone who'd ever followed a Husker around for an extended period, observing their feeding patterns and actions, but this was the anecdotal word on the street.

  I obviously hadn't planned on this happening, and if I'd thought there was a good chance of me getting swarmed, I would have stayed in the truck. It was too late now. Like oozing quicksand or something, a group of moaning, shambling Bloodsuckers had almost seemed to ooze their way around to the side of the truck closest to me almost as soon as I'd left it.

  Stabbing furiously, I knew that what I was doing was all I could do. For the moment, I was keeping up with the onslaught, dropping a Husker about every five seconds. They were coming too fast, though, not to mention that it was becoming difficult to differentiate their forms in the quickly fading light since the sun had gone down, and soon I was in very, very grave danger, nearly surrounded on all sides by gray-faced Bloodsuckers snapping their sharp teeth in anticipation.

  Sweating profusely, even in the cool air of early evening, I whimpered, still stabbing furiously, fearing that in my desire not to leave fellow human beings without help, I'd forfeited my chance to ever see my heart sisters ever again.

  However, just then, Nick or Blaine, one of the two, roared so loudly that it actually hurt my ears. Seeming to be momentarily startled and attracted by the noise, many of the Huskers surrounding me turned north, in the direction the roar had come from.

  Many of them turned just in time to get mowed down like bowling pins when Nick or Blaine, whoever the lion was, came charging through. Whoever the tiger was soon followed, knocking down more Huskers, who hissed and moaned in response. Shortly after, I found out who the lion was and who the tiger was when Nick, in human form, after having apparently shifted in a blink, suddenly grabbed my arm, leaving Blaine, in tiger form, to continue the fight.

  Roughly, with his hand a vice grip around my upper arm, Nick began half-dragging me back to the truck, though not seeming to be half-dragging me because I actually needed half-dragging. I was moving along as fast as I possibly could, so fast I jostled the knife right out of my hand; and the swarm of Huskers nearby had thinned considerably, now following Blaine, who appeared to be trying to lead them away.

  Nick seemed to be dragging me just because he was angry, maybe even enraged, judging by the look on his face in the fading light. Long gone was the chuckling man of earlier. Now he was actually physically hurting me.

  Just as roughly as he'd been half-dragging me, he guided me into the truck, though one might have been able to say borderline pushed just as easily as guided. He then jogged around to the driver's side, shoving a stray Husker aside along the way, got in beside me, and slammed the door.

  "Buckle up."

  Rubbing my smarting upper arm, I shook my head. "No. Not until you apologize to me for what you just did."

  With his face becoming a mask of incredulity, he just stared at me a moment before responding. "Me? Apologize to you for what I just did? You've got to be-"

  "For grabbing me and pulling me so roughly. You really hurt my arm."

  Hoping there would be physical evidence to prove my claim, I lifted the sleeve of my t-shirt, and sure enough, my upper arm bore fingermarks already turning a faint purplish red.

  "See? You really hurt me. And I think you owe me an apology."

  I had the feeling that maybe Nick hadn't been aware of how hard he'd been squeezing my arm; and I knew that shifters possessed increased strength even in human form, which I thought might have contributed to him not being aware of how hard he was squeezing my arm, if it was indeed the case that he hadn't known.

  But nevertheless, I felt like I really deserved an apology and had every right to demand one. I almost expected my demand to just enrage Nick further, though, and I hoped that his hurting of me wouldn't continue, escalating into one-hundred-percent intentional physical violence.

  However, somewhat to my surprise, he looked from my upper arm to my face, clearly wincing a little, displaying an expression of seemingly sincere remorse. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Evangeline. I absolutely did not mean to do that."

  Just then, before I could respond, Blaine, now in human form, flew in the truck and slammed the door. "Road's clear! Let's go!"

  Without hesitation, Nick whipped out his keys, started the truck, and floored it. Beside him, I buckled my seat belt.

  No one spoke for two or three miles. Then Nick did, sounding as if he was doing so through clenched teeth.

  "I told you to wait in th
e truck."

  "Yes. You did."

  "But instead, you thought you'd go right ahead and attempt an escape, despite the fact that the area was flooded with Bloodsuckers."

  "But that's not what I was-"

  "That's not how our community works. When I give an order, you follow it. That's how we all stay safe. That's how we all survive."

  "I'm not so sure that I want to survive in a community I'm apparently being forced into via abduction."

  That shut Nick up. For about ten seconds, anyway.

  "I give an order, Evangeline, you follow. Same if Blaine gives you an order. You follow. Am I clear? And no more escape attempts. That's done."

  "But that's not even what I was trying to do. I may have...thought about it for a second...maybe...but I got out of the truck because you and Blaine looked like you might be in trouble, and I decided that I had to try to help. I didn't want it on my conscience that I'd just bolted on two human beings in a life-or-death situation."