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  When one of them got too close, Elise ran up close behind it, kicking its legs out from below. Its head banged loudly against the shop window. When it tried to get up, Elise finished it off by slamming the steal bat into the things head. Black blood exploded from the impact spattering the thick glass window. She must have slammed her all into that one hit, because the sorry suckers head gave through, forever mid-stuck in between the glass.

  “The heck are ya’ waitin’ for? Get in the blasted truck!” Elise sprinted towards the driver’s side and yelled at Nika to get in. I looked at Samantha who shook violently, her knuckles white from gripping my arms. I blinked, Evan was already shoving me out the door.

  “C’mon”.

  Minutes passed, then hours. The blazing morning day sun turned into a cooling night. Nika’s still form breathing silently in the back seat. Her head lolling from side to side.

  “She’s dead to the world now”. Elise spoke. Her eyes weary yet trained ahead.

  “Yeah, it’s been a long day”. I lifted my hand to inspect the healing pinky. The bandage red around the nail.

  “What happened there?” Evans voice, was an odd change in the trucks atmosphere, he was so quiet I hardly knew he was there.

  “Oh, I uh...I broke it”. Because Elise decided to be a hot shot.

  “How did you break you’re pinky finger of all things?” I leaned back in my seat, and instantly regretted it. I felt his hot breath at the base of my neck. Why did I have to go and sweep my hair to the side? And why is he so blasted close I could feel his freakin breath?!

  “Well, it was due to... someone’s idiotic thinking. It wasn’t so bad, it only hurts a little now”.

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  “Who’s this someone of whom you speak of?” his voice a low timbre against my ear. Okay, now I’m getting suspicious. Dude quit now or you’ll find your own black boot shoved up you’re-

  “I said I was sorry. You’re never gonna let it go, huh?” Elise glanced my way, a small enough smirk working its way up her lips unnoticed unless you were really looking.

  “Sorry’ ain’t gonna cut it, no matter how many times you say it.

  It was a stupid idea and now you have to bare the consequences of said action”. She sighed and drummed the steering wheel with her fingertips.

  As I eased my hand back down, Evan gently took hold of it, pulling my hand closer to his face.

  “Isn’t it about time you...redress this wound, the blood will seep through and the scent might attract unwanted attention”.

  I sucked in a breath, and exhaled shakily. Don’t touch me right now. .I swear- I nod instead, not trusting my voice. He asks Elise for the first-aid kit, she looks at him through the rear view mirror and tells him it’s underneath the seat. Still holding onto my hand he bends over and sit’s back up with the case in his other hand.

  It’s a bit uncomfortable to sit straight ahead, so I turn my body sideways, and lean against the armrest.

  He opens the case and takes out a roll of bandage wrap and antiseptic wipe. I didn’t realize I was goggling at him until Elise poked my cheek. I blinked once and turned my head slowly in her direction. She gave me one of her signature smirks that says, you can’t hide it Jade, it’s showing all over your face. I reply with my own little smirk, Nothings showing. And yes he is one fine specimen of a man but I can’t.

  She frowns in response and shakes her head. I guess that’s the end of that, great chat.

  “How does this not hurt like heck?” I swing back my attention to the man behind me. He is staring at my pinky in worry. Worry?

  Bro, you just met me and you’re worried?

  “Like I said, it doesn’t hurt anymore”. He looks at me and it takes all of my will power not to turn into mush from his stormy

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  gaze. In all my 17 years, I never thought I’d meet a guy; well, technically he’s not the first I’ve noticed. I’ve been in a couple of relationships in the past but they’ve never been...what’s the term— real? I mean, it always starts with the friendship stage, then moves on to the development of romantic feelings stage, then at the end we get together just because we’ve become interested in one another. They don’t always last long. Sure, we had fun and did all those cliché couple stuff, but in the end we’re both looking the other way, finding new people. So, relationships don’t work for me; and I’m sure they never will. Still, it doesn’t mean I can’t browse around candy store now does it?

  “Besides the bleeding it looks okay, no signs of infection and the bone’s in place”. Carefully, He starts to wrap a clean bandage around my pinky. He reaches into the case and takes out a small roll of medical tape, taking a small portion of it and sticking it to the loose cloth, he tucks the rest away and sighs. Are you done now?

  “Okay, good as new”. When he let’s go of my hand, I immediately miss the warmth. Stop it Jade, don’t do this to yourself. You need to focus on what’s important right now.

  I have no idea why I feel this way, maybe because I’m usually always nervous around good looking guys? Nah, can’t be.

  “Thanks”. I mumble. He smiles and leans back to put the case away. I turn back around in my seat and face forward. It’s been what? Half a month since shiznit hit the fan, and all the stress is starting to catch up to me. Margaritas by the seaside sounds great right about now. Of course, I don’t plan on drinking by the way that would be dangerous and foolish. I wouldn’t be able to think straight buzzed. Liquor and sharp objects don’t mix ya’ know?

  Bit.”

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  “T ake a right here”. Ooh, am I dreaming? I’ve never dreamed about hot guys before and surely not one who’s voice makes my body tremble.

  “Up ahead, that red building—okay, park here”. The truck rolls to a stop, my body still free floating at the edge of unconscious-ness. I feel a warm hand against my skin.

  “Hey, Jade. Wake up”. Five more minutes. In fact, let me sleep forever.

  “Is she dead?” I hear Nika’s voice in the background, but everything else sounds muffled. I’m so blasted tired. Then a light slap, as if someone hit something.

  “You don’t gotta be violent, I’m just asking cause she looks so still!” My ears flinch from the loud noise. I want to wake up.

  Apparently both my eyes think otherwise. The truck shakes along with the sound of someone shifting. The warm hand leaves my arm, and I am too tired to snatch it back. Then I feel it against my forehead, letting out a soft sigh.

  “She’s a little warm...” The voice is soothing. Don’t take away your hand! It feels good on my skin.

  “A little? What do you mean by a little?” Elise is next to me, concern in her voice. I feel another hand reach me and caress my cheek. Mm, god I hope I never wake up.

  “I mean, it’s nothing to worry too much over. She’s just worn out, and from the looks at the sunken purple bags under her eyes,

  JOHN EDWARDS

  it may be due from over working”. Both hands are smoothing over my hair and down to my neck. Not my neck!

  “I told her to rest so many times before. But, she’d wave me off and give some stupid excuse about how she’s ‘nocturnal’ or ‘doesn’t need a silly thing called sleep’”. Anger and worry are war-ring against each other. I think she wants to be mad at me but, she can’t help but agonize over me. A deep chuckle tremors the air.

  “She just wants to prove to you guys how strong willed she is.

  I could tell that you’re both very important people to her, and maybe stressing over you’re guys’ safety is important to her”.

  The hands stop roaming over my face and disappear. No! Come back!

  “Yeah? Or maybe she’s just being hardheaded”. Ouch. Well, hardheadedness runs in the family so she’s right about that.

  Enough of this. I start to open my eye lids slowly, and flinch at the bright light in my face. I groan loudly and cover my eyes with my hands. I�
��m blind!

  “Easy. .be careful opening your eyes, the suns directly in front of you”. Yes sir! When the sting subsides, I block the suns glare with my hand and peel one eye open. Then the next open. I have to blink a couple of times for the bright lights to stop dancing at the corners of my vision. This sucks.

  “Good morning, sunshine”. Bright green eyes stare back at me. Elise has her elbows leaning against the middle armrest, more stray hairs have escaped her pony tail, and the strands stick to her face like glue. I should tell her to fix that.

  “Don’t start”. I snap. I have a right to be grumpy, I’m beat and I’m debating whether or not I should go back to sleep or get off my lazy arse. “What time is it?”

  “It’s ten past nine in the morning”. I look to my left and Evan is even closer than I would like him to be. I noticed a few things I couldn’t have last night in the dark lighting. His dark brown hair frames his face in loose waves, the ends reaching the back of his shirt collar. The humidity making the tips curl having him

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  combing back the waves with his hand every couple a minutes.

  He’s also a lot younger than I thought him to be. Interesting.

  “Oh, that explains why the suns abusing me right now”. I must have slept in a bad position because now, there’s a painful crick in my neck.

  I sit up and stretch my arms up, rolling my head from side to side.

  “The sun is abusing you?” Evan questions with amusement. I yawn twice and rub my eyes.

  “Yes. The sun likes to abuse me with its blasted brightness. I can already feel my energy draining out of me”. I lift my hand and look out the window. And it’s not just me the suns tormenting today, the black cement looks to be boiling, tar is oozing from the cracks. As if one step outside would put you ablaze. I may not be a vampire but this would torch the heck out of my skin.

  “Oh, don’t be so dramatic. It’s not as hot out there as it looks”.

  I glare up at Elise and scoff.

  “Well, not everyone is so gung-ho about the heat as you are”.

  She squints back at me and laughs.

  “Interesting choice of words Jade. “Gung-ho”, and where on Earth did you learn that from?” She sit’s up and crosses her arms.

  “Obviously from movies—and don’t you dare go on about my word choice, I’ve already got the undead on my arse and I don’t need a blasted grammar Nazi chasing after”. I really don’t need this

  at nine in the morning.

  “I wasn’t going to. And no, I’m not on friendly terms with the heat either, but maybe I’m not as sensitive as you are”. She snickers and turns to the front.

  “That...was entertaining!” Nika is laughing behind us, her face scrunched up from the act.

  “Are they always like this?” Evan asks Nika. I’m trying to ignore his presence. I’m practically fighting with my inner demon.

  Demons. Their too persistent.

  “Every blasted day! It’s even better than T.V, I can give you that”. She’s holding her stomach, bending over the seat. Her

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  laughs muffled.

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  “Anyways. .where are we?” I scanned the barren parking lot. Save for a few cars in the distance.

  “Uh, we are at a survivor’s refuge...apparently”. Elise gripped the wheel. A survivor’s refuge? Since when has there been one and why haven’t we heard it on the radio?

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, while you were asleep Evan told us about this refuge that he and a couple other people created a little ways out of town.

  At first I wasn’t sure if I should trust him, but both him and Sam assured me that he wasn’t tricking us”. She cleared her throat. I turned back to Evan, I didn’t realize he moved even closer when the tips of our noses brushed against each other. I flinched back, bumping into the dashboard with my elbow.

  “Careful...wouldn’t want you to break another finger”. He chuckled.

  “Oh yeah, we definitely wouldn’t want that. Also, there’s this little thing called ‘personal space’ you might’ve heard of it?” A grin broke out on his face, and I suppressed the urge to punch it right off.

  “Take it easy Jade”. Nika chirped. She laid her head against the window and looked at me through narrowed eyes.

  “Yeah, yeah”. I shook my head. “So, what are we waiting for?

  Let’s get to this refugee camp thing already. It’s getting stuffy in here”.

  “We have to wait for Danny”. A small voice spoke out. I didn’t notice Sam nestled between Nika and Evan in the back. She had her head on her knees, arms wrapped around her legs. A curtain of light brown hair covered her face.

  “Danny?” I asked.

  “Her brother, he’s supposed to meet us outside once we returned”. Evan answered for her.

  “How would he know you guys got back?”

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  “We planned to go out yesterday, and told him that we would be back around ten”. He looked at the silver watch on his left wrist. Oh, I didn’t notice that before.

  “ We’re a little early. But in the meantime let’s hang in here until then”. He sat back in his seat, dragging a hand through his hair.

  The muscles in his arms stretched the white shirt, the scene did weird fluttery things to my stomach. Elise coughed bringing me out of my stupor.

  I shook my head.

  “How long have you guys been in this refuge?” Elise asked them.

  “Hm, it actually started off as a small group. Me, Sam, Danny, Tony and a couple others just scavenging the nearby towns for supplies. Then we came across this area. We decided to settle down here, make it our base. The amount of skin eaters wasn’t too much, we were able to clear the place of em’. Then more people joined our group and boom, it turned into a refuge”.

  That’s impressive.

  “How did people find you guys? Did they just walk around this area and end up with you or did you broadcast you’re location?”

  Elise asked. She turned in her seat and was facing me, her head laid against the driver’s side window.

  “This area’s a little remote compared to the city, so we got a few survivors checking the place out. We tried to broadcast ourselves on the radio but, the frequencies shot, can’t hear nothing but static”.

  I hate how relaxed Evan is. Honestly, he’s got one hot bod that should have been featured in a World’s Hottest Man magazine.

  But, does her trust us this much? To lead us to a refuge and he just met us? Suspicious. Or maybe I’m too paranoid for my own good.

  “How many people are in your group?” Nika asked him. I could tell Evan was having an effect on her too. Did he notice the gleam of interest in her eyes? And the fact that she was checking him

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  out...and not very discreetly. Elise may be the only one immune to his charms. I applaud her internally.

  “About thirty of us, mostly men than woman”. He looked at me and smirked. “Word of advice, you might want to be weary around them. Everyone’s a little jumpy nowadays and you three are packin’ a lot of heat; especially you jade”. He gestured to the two katanas by my feet.

  “I don’t need your advice. I know how to look after myself. So do Elise and Nika. Like I said before, we won’t cause any trouble unless you give us a reason to”. I crossed my arms and glared at him. His smile grew, showing perfectly straight teeth. His storm gray eyes bore into mine and lowered. I smiled back in mockery, but that too lowered when I realized where his eyes were roaming. I forget that most of the time crossing my arms, was a terrible idea and that I should never ever do it around guys or anyone for that matter.

  Ever since that time so long ago, I decided to grow a pair and wear a deep V-neck t-shirt to school. I never wear V-necks. They reveal too much. And in this moment, a white tank reveals way more th
an a stupid V-neck. My arms gave more lift to my bosom than the ridiculously expensive bra would ever give. I’m well aware that I have a big chest. It’s become a bit of a complex over the years, people tell me that they’re jealous of my huge knockers and that I should be grateful for them. Well, I’m not grateful because, they get in the way of everything. Genetics is a biatch!

  “Yes, You’ve told me this when we first met. But, I’m just warning you to be careful”. He took a while to admire the view and looked back up at me. Blasted, I wanna wipe that smile right off his face so badly!

  “Are you done?” I asked him, and gave him a stern look.

  “What do you mean?” he asked back. I paused and took a deep breath. You are calm, you are relaxed, and you will not stab this son of a biatch in the gut.

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  “Nothing”. I muttered under my breath. I wasn’t about the get into with him. I don’t need more people to argue with about things. The list is getting long.

  “Oh, look!” Nika was up against the window, pointing at the building in front of us. I squinted my eyes towards it. I was only able to pick out two silhouettes. They began walking to us, I tensed for a moment thinking they were Bodies, when they got closer my grip on the katana loosened. I sighed out in relief. The two men were tall, they strode with a sureness that made me a little on edge. I hate people like that sometimes, they appear arrogant and arrogance sometimes meets the ends of my fists. The truck shakes bellow me, the sound of a door slamming shut, Sam is sprinting half way to them and attacks the man to the left. They embrace for a while, the man pats her head with comfort.

  “Break the truck door why don’cha”. I grumbled. Evan snickered behind me and eased open the door, he took care to shut it as slowly as possible. When the thing clicked shut I groaned loudly and placed my head in my hands.