As the two men drew closer, my mind went blank. I had no idea what to do. I hit the gas again, but the car stayed in place. One guy shouldered his weapon and put his hands up in a “we mean you no harm” gesture. Roy and I exchanged a look.
“You think he’s one of the mercenaries?”
My mouth was dry, making it hard to answer. “I don’t know. It’s not like they have a uniform.”
The two I’d dealt with back at the apartment hadn’t dressed or looked similar. The guy got close enough to drag away a couple bodies from the driver side door, hauling them by their legs. I jammed a full magazine into the Berretta as the man approached my window.
He reached for the door handle, and I pointed the gun at him. He held his hands up then motioned for me to come out.
“I got your back,” Roy said, his M4 in his lap.
I wanted to tell him that his words were less than comforting, but I decided against it. Instead of opening the door, I rolled down the window, with the gun still pointed at the man.
“Dere, dere, dawlin’,” the man said in a heavy Cajun accent. “We ain’t here ta harm.”
I couldn’t tell whether I believed him. Hell, I couldn’t tell if I’d heard him right. I was having a hard time understanding his accent. He must’ve been in his thirties, and he looked like he was permanently tanned under his tank top, which showcased his slim, but muscled physique. Brown stubble outlined his face and he had the widest grin I’d ever seen.
“Now put down ta gun, you.” He set his own arms down. His shouldered rifle was jostled, reminding me that he could still shoot us in a matter of seconds.
“I think I’ll keep it here for now,” I replied. “Who are you?”
The man took a deep breath. “We’re from da Hargrove place. A scoutin’ group lookin’ for other survivors and supplies.”
I tensed. If they thought they could rob us, they had another thing coming.
“Prove it,” I demanded.
His eyes narrowed. “Not sure how ta do dat without takin’ ya back. How about ya follow us?”
He could be leading us into a trap.
“I have a better idea. How about
you
follow
us
,” I countered.
We had the map from Ethan leading us to Hargrove. If these guys were legit, then everything would be okay when we arrived. If they weren’t, then we’d have backup. The man’s eyebrows shot up, and his grin widened.
“If dat what it takes, cher. We just around da corner.” He jerked his head toward the end of the street.
“After you then.”
The grin never left his face as he nodded and headed toward his ride. The others followed him, sparing us a couple glances.
“Oh my God.” Roy let out a huge breath.
I rolled up the window, my fingers trembling. I stuck hands in my lap, my fingers resting on the Beretta until the adrenaline left my system. The others didn’t need to see me shaking.
“They didn’t do anythin’. That’s good, right?” Chloe asked.
“All I know is that once we get the car unstuck, we don’t get out again until we hit Hargrove,” I said. “Come on, Roy. Let’s get this over with.”
We got out and cleared the pile of bodies from underneath the car. I pulled on a leg and it came off, the hipbone jutting out of the socket. I grimaced and flung the appendage away from me. I got back inside the car while Roy stayed outside and pushed. Once the car cleared the biggest hump, we were finally able to move again. I steered around the mass of bodies, stopping just long enough for Roy to get in. I didn’t want to risk stopping and getting stuck again. These guys must have been well stocked with bullets to have taken out this many infected.
We rounded the street corner, the other men waiting in their old Suburban ready to follow. Once we passed them, they pulled out from the side of the road, keeping a few car lengths behind us. Chloe and Amanda peered out the back window and waved at them. The Cajun man waved back.
“Sit down, you two,” Roy commanded.
“How far do you think we are?” I looked at the rearview mirror. I was getting cold feet. Maybe leading them to Hargrove wasn’t such a good idea.
After scanning the map, Roy answered, “I’m no expert, but I’d say maybe an hour?”
After another turn, we found the main road we needed, and then all we had to worry about was dodging infected. I kept hoping the guys behind us would accidentally hit one and wreck their truck so they couldn’t follow us.
They hadn’t tried anything. They kept up the pace and maintained the same distance behind us the entire time.
“I think we’re here.” Roy’s words brought me out of my thoughts. It turned out Roy’s timeframe of an hour was pretty accurate.
I slowed as we turned onto a long paved driveway and approached a giant gate. The entire neighborhood was surrounded with tall brick walls that had to be over twelve feet high with added barbed wire on top. We passed a worn wooden sign that read,
Hargrove Retirement Community
. This was a senior’s village after all, but I doubted the barbed wire had been there before the outbreak. I could see the peaks of houses beyond the brick fence and the tops of leafy trees.
“Smart. Those brick walls look sturdy,” Roy muttered.
The metal gate at the front was solid, except for a thin slot cut into the middle. I stopped the car and a pair of eyes peered out at us.
The truck stopped behind us, and the Cajun man yelled from his window, “Bruce, open da damn gate, you!”
The groaning of metal on metal answered the Cajun man’s call. Flecks of rust rained down from the hinges like autumn leaves from a tree. The large door swung inward, leaving an opening big enough for vehicles to pass through. I didn’t realize how long I’d been staring at the open gate until Roy cleared his throat.
“We going in?”
I shook myself out of my trance and drove through slowly. We passed by two men holding the gate and some others just standing around. A woman with brown hair and an eyebrow piercing stood in my way, holding her hand up, indicating she wanted me to stop. Once I did, I looked around.
Hargrove appeared about the size of a large, round cul-de-sac. All of the houses were single-level condos with a one-car parking pad out front. Every building looked similar, except for the obvious variations in colors to make the place look less generic. People were on the street, bustling around. It looked like a commune. The minute anyone offered us Kool-Aid, I’d hightail it out of here.
“It seems like a real community,” Roy commented.
The guard closed the creaking gate behind us. On the inside of the brick walls, small watchtowers had been erected on either side of the gate with ladders leading up to the platforms. At least they had a decent lookout. As far as I could tell, only the guards who had opened the gate carried weapons.
“Well, shall we?” I said as I turned off the engine and got out, the others following.
“Welcome to Hargrove!” the woman with the eyebrow piercing said, acting like Hargrove’s version of a Walmart greeter. She flashed us a warm smile. “Wyatt will be here soon to give you an official welcome. I just need—”
Chloe squealed and then screamed a few decibels more than necessary, “Ethan!”
Ethan was coming out of a house a few yards from us, along with a couple other people. He stalled in his purposeful strides, a look of utter bewilderment plastered across his face, but then he snapped out of it and threw down the armful of linens he was carrying. Chloe and Ethan ran to each other, and he scooped up her small form. Chloe’s legs flailed behind her as she hugged him with all her might, still squealing.
I stood frozen beside Roy, and for the briefest moment, I felt like an outsider.
“Oh my God! Bailey!” a familiar voice yelled.
I whipped my head to the side to see Zoe sprinting at me full speed. I barely had time to brace myself before she collided with me. We started jumping up and down as we hugged excitedly like a couple of teen girls meeting at school after summer break. “Zoe, you’re alive!” I yelled.
I couldn’t stop smiling. Relief was a bucket of ice water dumped over me, soaking me down to my bones. I’d found my best friend again and gotten Chloe back to her brother. All the trials of the past two weeks had been leading to this, and to see it come to fruition was almost indescribable. Even against the odds, I’d gotten us here.
We separated, her still grinning like an idiot. I was sure my smile matched hers.
“Not just me. Everyone else made it too!”
That meant John and Darren were around here somewhere. I couldn’t wait to see them—even Darren. I finally noticed all the other strange faces gathered around us. Some were smiling at our reunion, while others looked apprehensive.
The Cajun man came up beside me, his grin in place. “Told ya I meant no harm.”
Once they finished twirling, Ethan carried Chloe over to us. He put her down and practically tackled me.
I hugged him back with a laugh. “Careful with the ribs, eh?”
The faint scent of soap clung to him, making me self-conscious. I hoped I didn’t smell from spending the day trapped in that small car with three other people.
With his lips to my ear, he whispered to me, “Thank you so much, Bailey. I can never repay you for keepin’ her safe.”
He placed his hands on my face and kissed me square on the mouth. I wasn’t expecting him to do that, as we hadn’t even talked about our previous make-out session from a month ago. People cheered and whistled nearby.
“Eww.” Chloe scrunched her face up, but I could tell she was suppressing a smile.
“Uh,” was all I could come up with when he pulled his face away.
“Markin’ ya territory?” the Cajun man said to Ethan.
Ethan laughed. “Gotta make sure you keep those hands away from her, Byron.”
So the Cajun man had a name.
Byron put his hands up defensively. “I’d neva. I’m a true gentleman, you.”
“And who’s this?” Zoe cocked her head toward Roy and his daughter.
Damn Ethan. He threw me off with his welcoming. I unlatched myself from him and walked to Roy, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“This is Roy and his daughter Amanda. They’re friends from our previous survivor hideout.”
“Hi,” Roy said and Amanda stood slightly behind him, giving everyone a shy wave.
“Previous survivor hideout?” Zoe asked.
“Long story.”
“We all have one of those,” a new voice boomed through the small crowd.
People parted for the owner of the voice—a man with skin as dark as a starless midnight sky. He wore a green polo shirt and khakis and looked like he belonged in a country club. From the authority in his voice, I could only assume this was Wyatt, the man the other lady had been talking about. I was starting to think I had a problem with authority, because I was instantly wary of him. To be fair, my track record with people in charge hadn’t been “bring home to the parents” worthy since this all began—or even before that.
Maybe my teenage instinct had never really gone away, the instinct that told me no one could tell me what to do. I guess I had some more maturing to do, but I knew that already.
Roy stepped forward. “You got that right.” The man walked up to us and offered his hand. “Welcome to Hargrove, my fellow wanderers. I assume Crystal got your names?”
His accent was lightly southern, as if he’d moved here instead of being born in the South.
Crystal, the lady who’d stopped us, looked irritated. “I didn’t get a chance with all the excitement, Wyatt.”
“That’s fine. We can get them now.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, but she politely shrugged out from under his hand.
We breezed through another round of introductions as Crystal scribbled down our names in her notebook. I suppose it was wise to keep track of all the people coming in and out, but I didn’t like the idea of them cataloguing us.
Wyatt must’ve noticed my scrutinizing gaze, because he said, “We make sure we have everyone’s names when they enter to keep organized. This way, we have a means of accounting for everyone should something happen.”
“Smart,” Roy said, speaking for the both of us.
“They can stay with us, Wyatt. No need to assign ‘em a new house,” Ethan said.
“I had a feeling.” Wyatt smiled. “But I don’t think there’ll be enough beds. These condos are only two bedrooms each. Last thing I want is for someone to have to sleep on the floor. Why don’t you guys take number twenty-two? It’s ready to go.”
Ethan opened his mouth only to shut it.
“I’m stayin’ with my brother.” Chloe planted her feet and grabbed my hand. “And Bailey.”
“I wouldn’t dream of splitting you guys up. You can discuss living arrangements amongst yourselves. Just let Crystal know what you decide. Now, why don’t you go get settled in, and we’ll see you at supper. Hopefully we’ll get to hear that long story of yours.”
The crowd dispersed, returning to whatever they’d been doing before we arrived.
“I’m so glad to see you.” Zoe gave me another hug.
Ethan waved us on. “Come on. I’ll show you to the house he was talkin’ about.”
“What about the car? I’m not leaving it here to get scavenged,” I said.
“Follow behind me,” Ethan said.
I returned to the Mazda by myself, and at a painfully slow pace, followed them to our new condo. Chloe had latched onto Ethan’s hand, her mouth going a mile a minute. No doubt he will have heard our entire tale by the time we reached the house. Ethan couldn’t stop pulling Chloe in for hugs, as if he couldn’t believe she was really here. She happily hugged him back like her life depended on it. I was kind of envious, feeling like I’d been demoted.
Ethan pointed to our new abode, and I drove up the single-car driveway. Gold house numbers confirmed this was indeed house twenty-two. The cul-de-sac must have had at least forty small condos, not including the large clubhouse inside the entrance.
I got out and looked over the one-story home. The outside was painted light blue, and the trimmings were white to match the white picket fence—so suburban that it was creepy. It definitely looked out of place in an apocalypse. The people in the house to our right ran out to their porch and waved. I gave a stiff wave back. Yep, definitely creepy.
Roy whistled. “This is already better than the apartment.”
“And they didn’t confiscate my gun like you did,” I said.
“Hey, I was doing what I had to. You think they’ll want to know what weapons we have?”
“I’d bet on it, with the way they’re cataloguing people at the door.” I looked Roy in the eye. “Just don’t tell them about
everything
we have. Let’s keep some things to ourselves.”
Roy nodded just as Ethan approached us with a big smile on his face.
“I can’t believe you’re here! We just went back to John’s store yesterday to see if you’d gotten our present and directions.”
“Where
is
John?” I asked.
“He’s still out training some of the volunteers,” Zoe answered.
“Training volunteers for what?”
“How to shoot. You’d be surprised how few people can actually handle a gun.” Zoe smirked. “Kind of like you.”
“She’s gotten way better,” Chloe said, sticking up for me.
“I can vouch for that,” Roy added.
“Awe, you guys.” I pretended like I was tearing up.
“So how are we going to do this?” Zoe asked, a hand on her hip. “All four of us are staying in number seventeen.” She pointed across the street and down.
I didn’t feel right about abandoning Roy and Amanda, so I offered, “I’ll stay here with Roy and Amanda.”
“But, what ‘bout me?” Chloe asked, her eyes darting between Ethan and me.
Ethan looked down at her, surprised. “You’ll be with me, of course.”
“But—” Chloe looked up at me.
“I’ll be fine. Just down the road,” I assured her.
It was kind of nice she was worried about getting separated from me. Ethan gave me a look like he’d just realized this and glanced away guiltily. Chloe removed her hand from Ethan’s and ran to me. She hugged my middle. I messed up her hair, and she shrunk back to pat it back in place.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed, and he tugged at Chloe’s arm, seeing her wrappings for the first time. “What happened to your arm?”
“Got cut on a fence,” Chloe said, yanking her arm back. “I’m fine now. Bailey patched me up real well.”
She was putting on a brave face, but I still remembered her screaming when I’d had to hold her down to treat her wound.
Ethan looked at me, a question on his face.
“Remember when Darren stitched your arm? Well, I recalled him mentioning using superglue, so that’s what I did. The nurse at the apartment building we were staying at said Chloe’s arm was healing on track.”
“Maybe Oscar should give it a look, just to be safe,” Ethan said, and I frowned.
“Better unload some of our stuff,” Roy cut in before I could confront Ethan about him doubting my medical skills. In his defense I didn’t have any, but still, it was rude.
No one noticed the small gash on the back of my head thanks to my hair covering it. The last thing I needed was for Ethan to force me into an exam where the doctor would find out about my scratches and alleged immunity. I resisted the urge to run my fingers over the stitches.
We got to work grabbing what we could from the car and walked into the house. The front door was unlocked. According to Ethan, Wyatt had all the keys and claimed that since we couldn’t cut new ones, he would be holding on to the only copies. This raised a red flag, but then again, I could have been looking for reasons to not trust this place.
The smell of old lady perfume hit me. The small living room had two overstuffed couches and plenty of cat figurines—and cat blankets, and cat pillows, and even cat curtains.
“Totally your style.” Zoe grinned at me.
I chose to ignore her as I walked farther into our new home. A small kitchen with an island was off to the right of the living area, and a bathroom and two minuscule bedrooms occupied the back of the condo. The whole floor had to be no more than eight hundred square feet. I’d been in bachelor apartments bigger than this.
I dropped my backpack in the master bedroom, if you could even call it that. The only difference between the two rooms was that this one was large enough to hold a bed and dresser, whereas the other room could only fit a bed.
“These condos make the cabin look pretty big, huh?” Ethan said from the thin hallway.
“How do four of you sleep in this place?” I asked. There were only two queen-size beds.
“John and I take turns sleepin’ on the couch, while Zoe and Darren share the other room,” Ethan answered.
I walked back to the living room to question Zoe.
“Well no use hiding it now.” She sighed. “Yes, Darren and I are ‘together.’” She used air quotes when she said “together.”
Leave it to Zoe to ensnare a man in the apocalypse.
“Not that I didn’t see that coming a mile away,” I said, copying her words from when she’d spoken about Ethan and me.
She shot me a shameless grin.
“So where am I gonna sleep?” Chloe demanded.
“I’m sure I can convince John to take the couch permanently. Might have to bribe him though.” Ethan ran his hand through his hair, and I smiled. Being back with my old group was surreal.
“Well you better, ‘cause I’m not sleepin’ on the couch,” Chloe said.