Alive Like Us Read online

“Well, I don’t like waking up naked with a stranger. Where’s Haven?”

  “When the Infected attacked we got separated from the other guy in your village. Simon took Haven with him, and I brought you here. You had a bad fever and your clothes were soaked so uh...they’re drying over there.” He pointed to a chair by the fire, where her tunic, pants and wool socks were thrown over them. “I won’t look.”

  The guy turned around. Odd choice for a kidnapper. Sanna glanced at her clothes, then back to him. She would tackle him to the ground if he caused any trouble while she got dressed. “You said the Infected attacked?”

  “It all happened pretty quick. Those guys. The twins—" he paused. “I’m sorry. They didn’t make it.”

  Jace and Trevor. Sanna’s heart squeezed. Two more deaths to add to an already gruesome year. She pulled on her pants. “I hope Haven made it.”

  “I wish I could’ve told them about this place. But everything happened so fast..."

  “Simon knew—knows—about it.” She pulled on her old sweater. “These cabins are used by Erling’s hunters and scouts all the time. He must have thought he could make to the Kill Zone.” This man had to have a motive. No one risked their life for a stranger. “I don’t know what you’re plans are, but if you so much as touch me—"

  “I won’t! So...uh...I take it you’re decent?”

  Sanna snorted. Decent? The guy sounded like a granny.

  He stepped into the pool of light. His boots were scuffed and mismatched, his legs long and lean. Ragged, dark clothing hung off his gaunt frame. His shoulders were far too broad for the rest of him, probably thanks to the hunger that had carved his face into sharp angles and deep hallows Rich black hair fell past his shoulders, and his ebony eyes glittered with a deep intelligence that intrigued her far more than it should.

  “Kai Merrick.” He shoved his hand between them, his tanned fingers long and elegant. He was no colony farmer or soldier. An air of refinement clung to him like tattered silk. He reminded her of the fancy merchants who rolled into her village a few times a year, telling tales of faraway places where trees sagged with heavy citrus and powdery beaches hugged vast, shimmering oceans.

  She squeezed her hands into fists. Her own palms were rough with callouses from years of training. “You’re wasting your time—I have nothing worth stealing. My parents aren’t rich either.”

  He stared at her for a moment. “Is this how you treat everyone who rescues you?”

  “I guess I don’t know.” Her initial rage melted into healthy apprehension. She straightened her shoulders and gave him a leveling look. “I’m usually not the one being rescued.”

  The corner of his mouth quirked. “Imagine that.”

  Sanna felt the slightest twinge of a smile. She sat down on her cot, wrapping the dusty quilt around her. “So, do you just spend your days roaming the Deadlands, looking for strangers to rescue?”

  “Strangers?” He scoffed. “No. I heard your name being called and knew who you were from the rumors.”

  “Rumors? I never knew I was so interesting.”

  “It’s not everyday someone outruns a horde.”

  “It wasn’t a horde. Just a few Infected.” Her eyes narrowed. “You dodged the question again. What are you doing in Erling territory?”

  “What do I have to do for you to trust me?” His expression was serious, but humor glimmered in his eyes. “I know—how about breakfast? I’m starving.”

  Sanna smothered a laugh with her hand, then froze. Oh God. She was flirting. She never flirted. She didn’t know how.

  Walking past her cot, he grabbed a backpack. The fresh scent of his skin lingered in the air as he headed back to his chair and started rifling through it.

  He’s a snake. Kill him. A sharp pain shot through her forehead. She doubled over, pressing her fingers to her temples.

  Kai rushed to her side. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” She jerked away, not wanting him to know the truth. She was going crazy. That she heard a voice no one else did—one that now demanded she kill.

  Something deep and awful began to shift within her, unfurling like the wings of a newly hatched insect. A strange, foreign power uncoiled in her abdomen and slithered through her limbs. She looked down, terrified, and saw the skin of her forearms quiver as if a hideous worm was slithering beneath the surface.

  A niggling twinge in her brain now became a full-fledged hammer.

  A heavy wave of nausea crashed over her. She crumpled, falling off the cot and onto the cool, hard floor. The cabin spun. Her mouth tasted of salt.

  Snap his neck. Do it. You’re strong enough now. The sensations was inside her chest now, right below her heart, clawing to get out. A sour taste flooded her mouth as her stomach rolled and crashed. Her whole body tensed as she waited for the terrible moment to pass.

  Kill him.

  Kai held out a hand, to hep her to her feet. His lips were moving, but she couldn’t hear his words. She wanted to warn him to stay away. To not get too close, but her tongue seemed frozen to the base of her mouth. Her body was like a puppet, and she was locked inside. Her arms raised a few inches, as if pulled by invisible string. Her fingers ached to wrap around his throat.

  No! She gritted her teeth and tried to force her arms down to her sides, but the air felt like cement. Beads of sweat slid down her temples as she finally managed to force her arms downward a fraction of an inch.

  But it was enough.

  The break was sudden and absolute, a stone hurled through glass. One minute her body was not her own and the next...she was back to normal...apparently. She exhaled slowly, exhausted.

  “What happened?” Kai asked, his dark brows like slashes of ink across his forehead.

  “I don’t—I don’t know.” Shame crashed over her and, to her horror, her words poured out like water from a cracked pipe. “There was this voice, in my head; My arms started moving and—” A sob shuddered through her. Her whole body felt used and dirty and she wished she could take it off like so flithy clothes. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, longing to disappear.

  He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, holding her gaze. She smiled weakly, not wanting him to see how much the incident—and his nearness—jangled her nerves.

  She drew in a deep breath. Get a hold of yourself. The firelight flickered across his face, revealing sharp masculine angles. He wasn’t handsome, not quite, but there was something about him that fascinated her. A plain box hiding secret, glimmering treasure. The air between them crackled. Shimmered. The tension sharpened to a knife’s point.

  “Sanna, I...” His smile faded. He leaned closer. “Stop me if...

  His words faded into nothing as he sat down beside her and his leg brushing against hers. She inhaled sharply. It had never been like this with Nico, longing so urgent that she’d burst into a thousand pieces if she didn’t touch him. Taste him. He reached for her, the world around them fading as he traced the curve of her cheek.

  She leaned into his touch, and his eyes became dark, beckoning pools. He had such long lashes. He leaned closer and crisp scent of pine grew stronger, along with something else. Something forbidden.

  Since when did he smell so...delicious?

  “Are you sure?” He whispered, his breath warm on her lips.

  “Yes,” she answered, her voice hitching. “Please.”

  She’d wilt—she’d die—if he didn’t kiss her. He seemed to expand around her, engulfing her in his scent, his warmth, his heartbeat. And she became so lost in his presence that she didn't notice the beast in the room awaken. Or that it was coming straight for her.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Kai was going to kill that dog.

  One minute, he was about to kiss a girl for the first time in months and the next, Frankie had bounded into her lap and was doing the honors for him.

  Sanna tilted her head, her pale hair cascading behind her and laughed as the dog laved her chin. “Wh—where did you come from?”
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br />   The charged moment between them evaporated, leaving him bewildered and oddly...relieved? He’d wanted to kiss her, sure, but it had almost felt like an invisible force was pushing him. Like he didn’t have a choice.

  Weird. Maybe he was out of practice—he’d spent the past six months in places where the Infected outnumbered the living. Not exactly prime dating territory.

  Frankie’s paws raked the front of Sanna’s blanket, threatening to disrobe her. Kai took that as his cue.

  “All right, buddy, that’s enough,” he muttered, pulling the dog off.

  Sanna grinned. “He’s yours then?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  Frankie’s bulbous eyes stared at her in pure adoration. His fluffy tail swished along the floor.

  “He’s so...” Sanna’s voice trailed off. “Different.”

  That was an understatement. “His name is Frankie. My sister and I found him on the outskirts of a fallout zone. I think the radiation may have gotten to him.”

  She peered closer at Frankie, fascinated. “I guess that would explain why he looks so stunted. I mean, his spine’s half as long as it should be, right? And his eyes—are they...even?” She shook her head, as if to free herself from the dog’s bizarre spell.

  “Hey now, he has a great personality,” Kai said, scratching the crown of Frankie’s wide head. Frankie tilted into it and gave Kai a toothy, walleyed grin, his long tongue spilling out the side of his mouth.

  Sanna smothered a laugh. She looked different. Before, when Kai was about to kiss her, he’d seen her through a shimmering curtain. She was pretty, in a wholesome meet-my-mother sort of way. But she wasn’t the sort of girl that made his head turn to mush, which was what had started to happen before Frankie ruined everything. All the more reason to keep his distance. He had enough to worry about between his sister and Iris.

  She glanced out the busted window and gasped. “It’s morning, isn’t it? How long was I out?”

  “All night.” He walked back to his pack and pulled out the makings of breakfast. Frankie stretched out by the hearth with a groan, while Sanna studied the floor, running her finger along the edges of the boards.

  “Did you uh...lose something?” Kai asked.

  “We hide a few weapons in the cabins, just in case.” She tried to pry up a board with her fingernails.

  “I brought your axe from the lake, I think. Or maybe it was Simon’s. It’s by the fire.”

  “I know, I saw it. But you’ll need something too, won’t you? All I see is that knife on your belt. Ouch!” She shook her hand, frowning, then looked over to him. “It’s stuck. Let me see your knife.”

  Kai passed it to her, and she jammed the tip into the plank and wrenched it up in a few places. The board popped up and she set it aside. Her lips curved into a small smile as she lifted out a quiver of arrows. “You know how to use these, right?”

  He shrugged. “Sort of.”

  “Good. The bow has to be around here somewhere.” Her feet padded across cabin as she felt along its paneled walls. “Aha!” She lifted off a sheet of paneling that Kai never would have seen. A bow was tucked into the space. “Perfect.”

  Kai made a mental note to search the rest of Erling’s emergency cabins when he had the chance. His fingertips brushed the smooth, waxy spheres he’d been hunting for in his backpack. “Catch.”

  He tossed her an orange. She caught it with a gasp, turning the rare fruit around in her hands. Seeing her so enraptured was worth the trouble it had took to steal them.

  “Where’d you get this? I haven’t seen on in years.”

  “I found some,” Kai said, taking out his own. He reached for the knife Sanna had left on the floor and sat back in his chair, his legs stretched out in front of him. He began to peel the rind into a long curl. The bright scent of citrus enveloped him. His mouth watered. It’d been years since he'd had one—he couldn’t believe his luck when he found them on merchant outside Sorenson.

  Kai watched as she ate the sections in reverent silence, pausing to savor each one. Heat crawled up his neck. He busied himself with finding the last bundle of elk jerky in his pack, also courtesy of that merchant. The man should've paid his guards better.

  “My parents must be so worried,” Sanna muttered once the orange was gone. “I’ll be lucky if they don’t kill me. I really should be heading back.”

  “It’d be suicide this time of night.” Kai popped a segment into his mouth. “I’m sure they’ll just be thrilled you’re alive.”

  “My mom, maybe. My dad...mostly just scowls.” She glanced at the window. “I suppose you’re right though. It’s too dangerous to travel now.”

  Kai bit back a grin. “Ready for your second course?”

  He handed her a bundle of jerky. She stared at the bundle for a split-second, as if debating whether to take it. “Is there enough for you?”

  “I had mine while you were sleeping,” he lied.

  “I’m fine, really.”

  Was that pity in her voice? Heat crawled up Kai’s neck as he dropped the jerky back into his bag. He knew he was thin—the hollow ache of hunger reminded him nearly every hour of every day—but he hadn’t noticed the difference between him and Sanna. She was healthy. Strong. He probably looked like a warmed-over skeleton. And to think he’d thought she was flirting with him.

  “Just so you know,” Sanna began, a pretty blush stained her cheeks, “what happened earlier...I don’t—” she caught her bottom lip with her teeth and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I-I don’t know what came over me. My head’s been a little...clouded lately.”

  What did I expect? I'm nothing, remember? A nobody. “Don’t worry about it.” Kai stood up and grabbed the kettle from the mantle. It still had water in it from yesterday.

  “I mean—we don’t even know—”

  “I get it,” Kai thrusted the kettle over the fire, hooking the handle on a nail. Sanna’s stare drilled holes into his back and added with forced cheer. “Happens all the time.”

  Sanna’s eyebrows lifted.

  “Yeah—I mean, c’mon, girls can’t control themselves when they see...” He made a mocking flourish with his hand, encompassing his entire body. “This.”

  “Must get kind of annoying.”

  “It’s a big problem.” Kai continued, nodding like a sage. "You’re just another victim of the Merrick charm, I’m afraid. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

  That had been close to the truth about his life in New Hope. It wasn’t like he gave off wierd pheromones or anything. He had, however, been part of a rich and powerful family, which was practically the same thing. It had been a long way down from that pedestal.

  “And here I thought I was going nuts,” Sanna said, laughter dancing in her too-blue eyes. “You should warn people.”

  Kai feigned solemnity. “I try.”

  He was stupid for feeling hurt by her rejection. It was his own damn fault for thinking this stranger would see him for what he used to be, not for what he was now. Broke. Homeless. Hell, couldn’t even take decent care of his baby sister.

  “Kai,” Sanna hesitated, “I don’t know where you’re headed but...you look like you could use a few days rest. And some food. Why don’t you come to Erling with me? It’s the least I can do.”

  “You should be careful who you invite beyond your precious walls. For all you know, I could be a murderer or worse...an unclean.”

  “Are you?”

  Her simple question hung in the air, reminding Kai of the chasm between them. It didn’t matter how many lives he saved. If the answer was yes, walls would come up and he would be thrown out like so much trash. But this wasn’t about him. It was about Esme, and the fresh start that awaited them.

  “No.” The word left a bitter taste in his mouth. This girl wasn’t any different from all the others who slammed their doors in his face.

  “Good. I’m exhausted, even after sleeping all day.”

  “Get some rest. I’ll take the first watch,” Kai crossed t
he room, not wanting her to see how nervous she made him. How insecure. It wasn’t until he reached the door that he realized he probably should extinguish the fire first. Then again, Sanna could use the warmth. He decided to keep it going.

  “Kai?” Sanna whispered.

  “Yeah?” He looked over his shoulder and found her already stretched out on the cot, her sculpted arms tucked beneath her head.

  “Thanks. For saving me.”

  A smile played across his lips. It was weird, he couldn’t remember a time he’d smiled so much in a single evening. “No problem.”

  Frankie scrabbled across the floor behind him and barreled between Kai and the door. He dashed down the steps and into the darkening forest. Kai followed, taking the mutt’s eagerness as a good sign. He had a nose for the Infected, and the heart of a coward. ☺

  He scanned the woods, wondering where the Infected had gone. Had they chased after Simon and the other girl? Or disbanded after devouring the twins?

  The forest was silent. Waiting.

  The hairs on his neck prickled. Something was wrong. Branches rattled. Frankie bolted out from the dark towards him, his ears plastered to his skull. He raced up the steps and scratched the door, whining.

  They’re here. Kai felt their presence amongst the trees. Their cold, calculating stares. One of them shifted behind a scrubby bush, her gray-white skin perfect camouflage, but her eyes burned like red coals in the gloom.

  He edged towards the door, knowing that if he made a run for it he’d trigger a lightening-fast attack. More shadows shifted amongst the brush. He climbed the steps backward as the twins lumbered into view, long strands of drool dangling from their gaping mouths. Jace’s arm was missing, while the other had a massive hunk bit out of his shoulder. They were both in the earliest and most unpredictable stage of the Infected.

  This was bad. Really bad. Kai’s lungs burned for air, but he didn’t dare take a breath. The doorknob poked into his spine. He reached behind him, his fingers curling around the cold metal. He’d have to be fast...

  He twisted the handle, and fell backward, pushing the door open with his weight. Frankie scooted between his legs. Kai slammed the door and slid the pine beam into place. A powerful force slammed into it. Once, twice.