I drove ahead of them as we raced further away from the city. I could feel Alex's presence. I didn't know why; he should have been home with his daughter. I hoped he was with his daughter again.
Eventually we stopped at a small, quaint village. Angela stayed in the truck while Markus, Jackson, and I stood with our guns ready on the main road. Markus set a firework before him and lit the wick. We stepped back and when the loud pop sounded, shooting red smoke into the air to explode across the sky. Dead barreled out of the houses and we gunned each down one by one. When they all laid dead Jackson turned to me and held out his fist. I touched my knuckles to his.
We cleared out the houses together. We then used the leftover cleaning equipment to tidy up while Markus gathered the junk into a home that he claimed as his.
Angela and I took a small two bedroom house with a nice kitchen and a little living room. My bedroom was bigger. It had a walk-in closet, a king sized bed, and a wide set of windows with a view of the ocean.
I took off my bra and pants before falling onto the bed. My body was enveloped by the cushy mattress. When my body was about to give in to my exhaustion I heard a knock on the door. I called Jackson in and he stood in the doorway.
"Come on," He said as he beaconed me and left.
I jumped out of bed and followed him outside. I didn't have time to grab my shoes but luckily I could avoid the gravel.
Our surroundings were shrouded in darkness. The woods circling the cluster of houses hid the thick bushes below from the glow of the moon. As Jackson led me toward a tall tree my eyes began to adjust to the darkness. I saw bright blue eyes. When we reached a dog I looked down to see a group of puppies feverishly drinking her milk. The dog was emaciated. Her tired eyes stayed glued to us. Jackson held back as I made myself small and inched toward her. She was a husky. She looked to be purebred. As I reached her a low growl rumbled from her chest. Carefully I held out my hand. I braced myself to lose each of my fingers but she sniffed me before nuzzling me. I moved closer and ran my fingers through her fur.
"Can you get her some food?"
"On it."
I continued scratching behind her ears. She lowered her head to rest on my lap. It broke my heart to run my hands down her back, her loose skin shifting beneath my fingers.
Jackson returned with Angela who sat beside me and hand fed the dog. She winced each time the mother accidentally scraped her palm with a long fang. When the dogs were ready we brought them inside. We laid the mother on my bed with the puppies. I crawled under the blankets again and closed my eyes. I let myself sleep and I slept deeper and more peacefully than I had in a long time.
When I woke it was with a smile to see my baby sister laying on the other side of the dogs. Her arm was laying protectively over the mother. She yawned and smiled at me.
"Morning."
"We could have put them in your room."
She snuggled closer to the dog as she said, "No, they should stay with you."
"You're the nurse."
"I'm not a vet, dummy."
"Don't call me dummy, you dummy."
She flicked me between the eyes, "Do something about it."
I circled around the bed and high pitched giggles filled the room as I pulled her to the floor. I pinned her arms over her head and with my free hand I tickled her under the ribs. She tried to kick me off of her. When that failed she craned her neck to try and bite my wrist and I swatted her face. She opened her mouth in foux shock.
"You bitch."
I did it again but as my hand swung past her she clamped her teeth down on my pinkie. I tried to wrestle my hand away from her and in the scuffle she managed to pin me down. Sitting on my stomach she stuck out her tongue to tease me.
"I win."
"First time in... nine years?"
"First of many," She gloated, helping me to my feet, "I'm gonna make coffee."
I followed her into the kitchen and grabbed some meat to bring into the bedroom. I set the plate before the mother. She savored the food more this time. I then walked into the kitchen where Angela handed me my coffee. I drank it readily. She always made it perfectly. It reminded me of my college days. She had school and a part time job. I was working, too. I woke every morning feeling like I hadn't slept at all. Angela would come into my room with buttered toast and a cup of coffee.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked.
I smiled down at my cup as I took another sip, "I was just thinking about the old days. When I was still in school."
"That makes you smile?"
"It was hard and I wouldn't go back but... I don't know... I like having those memories."
"Me, too. In an odd way. Sometimes I don't know if I should see you as my mom or my sister."
"You're a big girl now, you can see me as your friend."
"You still look after me."
"Yeah, I can't shut that off."
"You don't have to. I like feeling safe."
I downed the rest of my coffee and placed my hand between her shoulder blades. I bent to kiss her forehead.
"I have to go scavenge with Jackson. Look after the dogs, alright?"
"Obviously," She rolled her eyes, "I love you. Be safe."
"I will. I love you, too."
I set the mug aside and walked out of the house. I saw Jackson waiting for me and we left together.