Lawrence perks up at that. “How so?”
“Briggs found our camp. At first I assumed he was just another asshole but he set fire to the camp and then broke me free. We’ve been surviving together ever since.”
“What about you, Briggs?”
Briggs swallows thickly and I can hear the way his throat clicks. “It was me and my brother at the beginning,” he starts to say, touching the dogtags he wears around his throat. “I lost him to a zombie while he was protecting me. I decided right then and there that I would use this new chance at life to help other survivors as much as I could. I was on my own for a long time before I found Wade.”
“I was alone too,” Devin says, my eyes darting over to him. “I was in a town not far from here when I ran into one of those damn zombie werewolves. The thing almost ended me but Lawrence was there to save me.”
“What about you, Lawrence?”
Lawrence suddenly looks sheepish. “My story is far less interesting. I was turned into a vampire before all this started. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Once shit really hit the fan, everyone here had already left so it was just me. I put up the gates and kept to myself, only interacting when I ran into people while scavenging or foraging. Compared to you guys, my life has been way easier,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “The worst I faced was the loneliness.”
“That’s hard too,” Briggs says with a frown. “Just because your pain wasn’t the same as ours doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Devin looks at me. “You being a werewolf gonna be a problem?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. I can help with hunting and I can run fast enough to scavenge towns far from here.And you don’t have to worry about me becoming one of those things,” I say, pulling my sleeve up, showing them my bite marks. Lawrence gasps while Devin’s body goes rigid. “When I was captured and forced to fight those zombies, I didn’t always come out on top. No matter how many times I let them bite me, I never turned.”
“Remarkable,” Lawrence says softly.
“I don’t know how to feel about that,” Devin confesses, his eyes glued to my arm. “You’re immune. Does that mean if someone drank your blood, they’d be immune too?”
“I have no idea,” I say with a shrug. “I don’t think my blood has the answer to humanity but even if it did, it’s not like there’s a government or health department to help make use of it anyway.”
“I’m already immune,” Lawrence says to Devin. “Vampire trumps undead.”
“Right,” Devin says, looking over at Lawrence. “Which is another reason you should turn me.”
“Don’t ask me in front of our guests,” Lawrence says back.
Briggs looks over at me, raising his brow in my direction. I can’t believe we’ve found ourselves in the middle of a lover’s spat. It’s comical. We’re in the middle of the zombie apocalypse and somehow, we’re listening to a couple argue over whether or not one of them should turn the other into a vampire.
I can’t help but chuckle, the noise breaking out against my permission. Devin and Lawrence freeze, turning to look at me. I cover my face with my hands.
“I’m so sorry! I’m not laughing at you, I’m really not,” I say between wheezed air. “This just feels so incrediblynormalafter the last few years. It’s like we’re on a double date instead of discussing if we’re going to team up during the end of the world. It’s obscene!”
There’s a moment of stillness before Lawrence starts laughing, followed quickly by Briggs and then finally Devin. We all laugh and laugh and laugh at how ridiculous the situation is until there are tears in my eyes. Briggs’ hand stays steady on my thigh, holding on, filling my entire body with warmth.
Finally, the giggles die down. We all look at each other, waiting for confirmation or denial.
“Trust is something earned with time,” Lawrence finally says, “but I’m willing to take a chance on you guys. I know we’ll all be uneasy at first, especially as we’re so used to doing this whole thing on our own, but I vote that you can stay.”
Devin nods his head. “Yeah, I vote that you can stay too.”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. My shoulders unclench. The hand on my thigh squeezes and I look over at Briggs, finding him smiling at me.
Lawrence shows us the backyard where the well is located. He shows us his pasture with milk cows and his coop filled with chickens. He guides us over to his beehive and then gestures towards his garden.
“Once the ground thaws, we’ll start working on a well for your plot over there and we can get a second garden going. You and I can also start making supply runs just the two of us since we’re both so fast. We’ll be there and back in no time without these slow pokes,” he says, gesturing at Devin and Briggs.
My chest feels ready to burst. We’re already discussing plans for when the snow melts. I could see Briggs and I staying here for the long haul, making a life together, here with Lawrence and Devin. Surviving doesn’t have to be so lonely anymore.
Briggs lets out a big yawn beside me and I turn towards him, only just noticing how exhausted he looks. He’s still recovering from everything that’s happened.
“I think we should turn in so that Briggs can rest some more.”
