AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Then don’t let them pile up on you,” I said.
His lips twitched.“If I don’t let them think they have a chance, they would chase after you.”
“Well, Sid’s getting bored anyway and won’t mind if he has to shoot a few.”
“The gunfire will carry farther than the sound of the engines.This way is better.”
“For us, not for you.It’s going to be worse in town.Don’t use everything up before we get there.”
His smile widened.“Yes, Andie.”
“Are they flirting?”Roland asked Sid.“It’s hard to tell.”
“Keep Andie safe, Roland,” Molev said before jogging ahead again.
“Should have kept your mouth shut,” Sid said.“One scraped knee, and he’s going to have a problem with you.”
Mentally rolling my eyes at them, I continued to scan our surroundings.Any humor I felt faded when I spotted the overgrown elementary school.We all grew somber as we passed the reminder of what we’d lost.
The homes were more frequent after that.We didn’t see more traps, but we started accumulating a following of infected that were too slow to catch us when we passed.Molev purposely lagged behind a few times to thin their numbers.I didn’t let myself think about how much effort he was exerting already.Instead, I kept watching for signs we’d reached Loveland.
The official outskirts crept up on us slowly with the majority of the houses hidden by trees and set back from the road in rural subdivisions.But once we hit the first set of lights, the city opened up, and I understood why the main road was still intact.
Loveland’s sprawled layout had saved it.Farther back from the main road, I saw evidence of the bombings in a barren expanse of rubble glimpsed between still-standing buildings.I also saw movement.The charred remains of the few undead who’d survived the bombs faltered toward the sounds of our engines.
Molev continued to remove the heads of those that gathered.The nonstop work didn’t appear to have depleted his energy in any way, and I recalled Roni’s comment about Molev’s stamina.His current level of effort was probably nothing to him.But I wasn’t only thinking of that moment.I was thinking of the hours ahead of us too.
Patrick had said we should be in our own beds again by tomorrow night.That meant a night here, in the city.It would be nothing like the nights we spent in the field.It would be worse.Much worse.
While I watched Molev move, I thought of our last true night in the field.The night the hounds had attacked.
Molev caught my gaze and ran up to our vehicle.I knew what he was going to do a second before he vaulted on top and landed in a squat beside me.As covered in grossness as he was, he maintained a careful distance as he leaned toward me.
“What are your thoughts?”he asked.
“I’m wondering why you’re letting me distract you.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, and I huffed out a breath as I looked away to scan for infected.
“The last time we were out in the open, things didn’t end well for you.And that was in the middle of nowhere.What do you think crept into my thoughts just now?I told you this wasn’t a good idea.Distractions are—”
He growled.
At me.
We stared at each other for a long moment.
“I think this is something we should discuss when you’re not covered in goo and can grab my hair the way you want to,” I said.
The corner of his mouth quirked.
“You are smart, Andie.And keep caring about what happens to me.No one else will.”
“Hey,” Roland said.“We care.”
Molev grunted and jumped off the top, sprinting toward the back of the line where the infected were gathering again.
“You might care,” I said, “But we both know you’re not ready to be Molev’s little spoon.”
