Chapter 22

The voice sounds familiar, but I can't place it at first. We all jump up quietly and grab our bags that were set by the couch in case of a quick exit. I toss the soap I had set down in mine as quietly as I can before looking at Mikayla and Jackson. Mikayla's eyes mirror my own, fear and exhaustion. All this running and never catching a break is getting old. Jackson's eyes look worried as he motions for us to enter one of the bedrooms. We can hear the footsteps of whoever is in the house sweeping the downstairs, searching for us. The steps are getting closer as I get an idea. I look carefully out the window in the bedroom, not seeing anyone. This bedroom faces a patch of woods near the house. I check the lock and begin to slowly slide the window open. Grabbing a computer chair from a desk in the corner of the room I place it in front of the window. I gesture wildly for the others to come over and mouth for them to stand on the roof with me. We don't have a lot of time. There's not a whole lot for the man downstairs to look through before moving up here.

Mikayla climbs out first. The chair almost spins her but with me and Jackson holding the sides she makes it out and sits with her knees to her chest against the siding of the room. I motion for Jackson to go next. Once he is next to Mikayla, I push the chair back so that it isn't obvious what we have done and I'm just about to have myself up onto the window sill when the door slams open. The sudden noise catches me off guard and I fall to the floor, spinning around to see our surprise guest.

My breath catches in my throat. It's Samuel. One of the men that took Mikayla and I before we met Jackson. The look of utter shock on his face matches mine but is gone within a second, replaced by a look of satisfaction.

"Well, Daddy didn't tell me his sneaky little girl was a raging bitch." He smirks and stalks closer to me.

His words throw me off guard and he catches it in my expression.

"You don't know?" He looks pleased and laughs at that. Walking closer he gets down to my level, his dirty hand caresses the side of my face roughly. I flinch but it doesn't deter him. "Your daddy has a little arrangement with us."

I look at him emotionless and silently. I won't give him any more satisfaction than he has already been given. My heart is racing but I keep my expression stony.

This doesn't seem to faze him, instead, it spurs him on. He twirls a piece of my hair in his fingers as he continues talking.

"You see, we protect your precious mommy and daddy and they give us something in exchange. They find people needing shelter, bring them home. They keep the males, and we take the girls. It's a nice trade for some simple protection. I came to see if we had some new goods when daddy told me his little girl came home and ran away. We knew she couldn't have gotten far. It only took us a couple of hours. I would have figured you were smarter."

He laughs again just as I headbutt him again, just like our last encounter. Then I launched myself in a roll to the other side of the room, bringing myself a crouching position. I have to ignore the urge to cradle my head. I don't want to believe what this freak is saying but it's not that farfetched. I mean, they were feeding my undead sister for God's sake.

I hope Jackson and Mikayla got out already.

He grabs his face, a look of agony crossing it briefly. His nose is noticeably crooked now as a thin line of blood escapes his nostrils. His eyes hold murderous intent.

"Go ahead. Take me back. I'll just get away again." I jut my chin at him defiantly, no longer able to keep my mouth shut.

He grins widely at my statement. His uneven yellow teeth gleaming at me. "Oh honey, I never said anything about taking you back. I'll tell the crazy old fucker we couldn't find you. Tell him that it's likely you didn't make it out of the neighborhood with all the sick ones roaming around. He probably won't even mourn. I'll have much more fun with you than they will." He begins to step towards me.

I can feel my throat closing as I realize I likely won't get away again. This is it. Before I can panic though I see Jackson about to jump back through the window. I made the mistake of looking towards him and Samuel notices. He turns right as Jackson slinks into the room and slides a small blade right into his throat and out again at an angle. His eyes match the murderous rage I had seen in Samuel's just moments ago.

The look of surprise on his face as he falls to the ground clutching his neck, blood pouring through his hands that are unable to seal the wound. Jackson leans over him, the knife in his hand dripping blood down the blade onto his hand but he doesn't notice.

"You'll never touch her again."

He begins to laugh, even as he's bleeding out, the hellish from returns to his mouth. This angers Jackson even more and he grabs the meager hair on Samuel's head, eyes cold as he slides the knife harshly across his neck where his hands aren't holding it.

His body drops when Jackson releases it. I hadn't even realized I was holding my breath until Jackson steps towards me, the knife dropped and forgotten. I flinch when I feel his arms wrap around me. I'm shocked at what I just witnessed, and it takes me a moment to warm up to his embrace. I can't even cry because I don't know whether to feel relieved or scared of Jackson's new side that's been revealed. I can't help but think about the fact that I haven't known him long. On the other hand, he just saved my life, saved me from something far worse than death.

I turn the thoughts off and throw my arms around him, burying my face in his neck. We are silent except for the heavy sigh he releases when I return the embrace. After a moment he pulls back from me, concern in his eyes.

"We have to go. We don't know who else is in the neighborhood."

I nod. "Where's Mikayla?" My voice is so quiet I'm surprised he understood me.

"I helped her off the roof and she went to the car to wait on us when I heard the guy come in."

The relief washes over me, knowing she didn't have to hear or see what just happened.

We grab what little supplies were left in the house before booking it to the car. We have enough canned food and water for a few days, and I grabbed some blankets from one of the closets for when things cool off. I also raided the master closet for some fresh clothes that I guessed might fit us. Nothing fancy, just some jeans and regular shirts. I also found a couple of pairs of sneakers to try on. Wouldn't hurt to keep clothes in mind next supply run.

Mikayla is excited when we like into the car. She is in the back and I take the passenger side so that Jackson can drive. We get everything situated to leave and look around the immediate area. He starts up the car and pulls out onto the road, heading away from my parents and hopefully their guests. I try not to think about everything, reclining my seat slightly to relax a little bit. The adrenaline has worn off and I'm starting to feel drowsy from the rush of excitement. Now we just have to make it out of the neighborhood undetected. I'm gazing out the window, listening to Mikayla and Jackson talk about their lives before the apocalypse when I feel him reach over and lace our fingers together. I glance at him, but he keeps his eyes on the road, still making conversation with Mikayla. He gives my hand a small squeeze and I return it, a small smile gracing my lips. The warmth and weight of our hands entwined is comforting and I keep the smile on my face even after I drift to sleep.