AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Stay safe.”
“Same to you.” He hesitates before his hand squeezes my shoulder.
“If anything happens to me, take Salem and—”
I punch him in the arm. “Nothing is going to happen to you. Now stop being a pussy and bring me some food before my boyish figure is ruined,” I joke to hide the unease his words cause.
He’s too perceptive, though. He knows I’m worried, but he doesn’t call me out. He nods and heads to the plane.
I turn around and face the tree, concentrating on my breathing for a minute. If Salem wasn’t here, I’d go with him. That’s what we do—we stick together. But having Salem here means we have to change our priorities. She needs me more than Zig right now. I remind myself that Zig can handle himself, but it does little to calm the wariness inside me.
When I turn around, he’s on his way back over. His eyes burn into mine as he approaches.
“All good?”
“Yeah. I’m going to check on our girl.”
He pauses at that and looks over at the plane. “She’s not ours, Oz.”
“We’re here letting our sister and niece think we’re dead, letting Apex grieve for us. We’ve known them all our lives, and yet we chose Salem after knowing her for a day. You still want to tell me she’s not our girl?”
Not waiting for his answer, I walk over to the plane, jumping up onto the tree trunk. I take a running leap, grabbing the edge before using my legs to swing myself up. Looking back down, I stand up and dust myself off. I need to find or make something for Salem to use to get on and off this thing without our help. As much as I like having her in my and Zig’s arms, we can’t pretend we’re all going to come out of this in one piece. If something happens to both of us, Salem will be here on her own. The thought makes my blood run cold, but it also gives me a sense of purpose.
With nothing but time on our hands, I’m going to teach Salem how to fight, how to defend herself, and how to hunt. I’m going to make it so she is nobody’s victim ever again.
When I find Salem still asleep, I decide to run through the rest of the supplies we didn’t go through yesterday and line them up on the table. If I get out of here, no,when I get out of here,I’m buying Greg a fucking Porsche. Looking at the shit we have, I’m convinced we can survive, at least for a while, without panic. If we can source food and water, we’ll be fine for at least six months.
Of course, that’s not taking into consideration all the things that could go horribly wrong.
I turn at the sound of a yawn and see Salem sitting up stretching, the hem of her T-shirt rising, giving me a glimpse of her shapely thigh.
“Hey, pretty girl.”
She turns to look at me and smiles shyly. “Hi.” She looks around the plane, her smile turning a little brittle at the reminder of our situation. “Where’s Zig?”
“He’s gone hunting. We need more food.”
She scrambles to her feet. “Alone? He’s gone alone! What if he gets hurt?”
“He’s a big boy. He’ll be fine. Besides, he has his flare gun. If he gets into trouble, I’ll find him.”
Her breathing is choppy as she chews on her lip, looking like she wants to cry.
“Hey.” I step forward and pull her into my arms. “He’s fine, and he won’t go too far.”
She nods against me, but I’m not sure she’s convinced.
“Okay, how about you help me out? Keep yourself busy.”
“Okay, what do you want me to do?”
“Well, I was going through the rest of the supplies. Honestly, we’re lucky fucks. Most people who end up in situations like this don’t have anywhere near as many supplies as we do.”
I show her the table behind me.
“Whiskey and vodka?” She laughs at the two large bottles of alcohol.
“Two of my best girls, but I won’t be drinking that out here, not in this heat. But alcohol is good for sterilizing shit.”
