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CHAPTER FOUR

GYRIK

I’d finally done it. After weeks of searching for more survivors, I’d found a female.

Ava.

She was the prettiest female I’d ever seen. Her soft, straight brown hair reached the middle of her back and smelled sweet, like her skin. I watched it sway as she turned away from me.

My gaze swept over her length. Most females had to look up at us. Ava was no different. The top of her head had reached my collarbone when she’d hugged me. I could still feel the way her cheek had pressed against my chest, right over my heart. Had she heard how hard it had beat from her sudden embrace?

I couldn’t believe how she’d welcomed me. She hadn’t been angry or eager to leave. She actually wanted to talk to me even more, and I was glad. I liked the sound of her voice. It was low and soft.

When she’d looked up at me, her eyes had reminded me of the sky heavy with storm clouds, blue and grey. Her gaze hadn’t held any hate. Only a little fear. And I didn’t think it was because of me. She didn’t seem to know what had happened to her world.

Would it be smarter to call Bram, Will, and Zach to talk to her? I listened to how her heart raced and watched her tuck her trembling hands into her pockets as we retraced her steps around the cabin in the dark. I knew she would probably feel more comfortable with her own kind. Yet, I hesitated to get them.

She’d hugged me .

The feel of her arms around my waist lingered. I didn’t want her to hug the others. Perhaps she would hold me again if I was the only one there. I really wanted that. She was the first female ever to hug me.

When she reached the door, she paused and looked back at me. Her gaze held mine then flicked to my ears briefly before sweeping over me from my head to my feet.

Her study made me nervous. Would she grow to hate me like the others? I tried to remember everything I’d learned about women.

Don’t look at her breasts.

Don’t tell her she’s pretty first. Tell her she’s smart.

Don’t ask to see her pussy.

Don’t say the word pussy.

Don’t think of her pussy.

Because I was thinking of her pussy, I wanted to look down even though she was clothed and I knew I wouldn’t see anything.

My pulse raced again, and I fought to keep my gaze on hers.

Don’t show her you’re desperate.

I knew so many rules for what not to do but nothing about what to do when a female looked at me expectantly. I tried to think of something to say, but she turned away and went inside before I could.

She didn’t close the door, though.

She’s welcoming me.

Trying not to move too quickly, I followed her in. Her sweet scent teased my nose, and I found myself leaning toward her a little to breathe it in again. She moved away and shut the door, closing us into her home together.

The inside was warm and small. It reminded me of my home in Ernisi but softer. A chair waited near the fire, and her bed wasn’t far from that.

She sat on the chair and gestured for me to sit on the bed.

I saw two cats sleeping peacefully near her pillow. We had one in Tolerance. It was soft, but it didn’t like to be disturbed. So I cautiously lowered my weight at the end of the bed, away from the cats.

Ava watched me and glanced at the cats.

“Are you allergic to cats?” she asked.

“No. I didn’t want to wake them.”

She smiled slightly. It wasn’t full of humor, though. I saw her exhaustion and fear and wanted to comfort her, but I wasn’t sure how.

“Will you tell me what happened?” she asked.

“It is a long story, and you look tired. Would you like to sleep first?”

“No, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a while.”

I nodded and started from the beginning I knew. I explained how my brothers and I had lived underground for thousands of years, not knowing other people existed on the surface or that there even was a surface until an earthquake made an opening.

Ava listened to my explanation of the hounds that had escaped from my world. How they’d bitten her people and had started the spread of an infection.

“We didn’t know anything about humans. When the first of my brothers came to the surface, they killed many humans by removing their heads. They did not know that meant death here. In our caves, we would be reborn. Mya, the first human female one of my brothers discovered, helped him understand. We don’t kill humans anymore, not even the bad ones who hurt other humans.”

Ava looked down at her hands and let out a long breath. After a long silence, she asked, “Are there a lot of bad ones?”

“Yes. But there are many good ones, too.”

She laughed humorlessly and wiped her hands on her loose grey pants. “Not much has changed in that regard then. So that’s what happened to all the people? They got sick and died?”

“No. They became infected and tried to infect others. Your people evacuated the healthy people from the big cities and bombed the infected that remained.”

“Cities were bombed?”

I nodded. “Many. Initially, the infected were stupid, so they didn’t run away. They ran toward the sound.”

“Biting…stupid…the way you’re describing them sounds like they were zombies or something.”

“That’s what Zach called them. Zombies. Undead.”

Ava’s already pale complexion grew paler.

I began to doubt the wisdom of telling her everything. I remembered how frightened the infected made humans. If Ava hadn’t ever seen one yet, perhaps?—

“Okay.” She nodded. “Zombies. What happened next?”

I hesitated but caved under the weight of her expectant gaze.

“They were stupid and easy to kill in the beginning. But after a few weeks, they got smarter. They started working with the hounds. They wanted to kill all the humans that were left. Andie, another female who survived, brought scientists who helped us discover how the infected and hounds were linked. Once we destroyed the link, the hounds and the smart infected died. Now, only the stupid infected are left.

“They’re still very dangerous. You shouldn’t let one bite you.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a smart idea.” A pinkish hue slowly tinted her cheeks. “So, you and your brothers live with other human survivors in Missouri? And it’s safe there? None of those infected are around?”

“Some are still drawn to us by sound, but the community has high walls, so the infected can’t get in.”

She wiped her hands on her pants again.

“Are you too warm? Would you like to take off your coat?” I asked.

“I don’t think I’m ready to do that yet.”

I didn’t understand why. Her cheeks were growing redder, and she was sitting next to the fire. I knew humans preferred their living spaces warmer, but Ava’s home was even warmer than Mary and James’ house, which they kept warmer than the others because they were older.

Perhaps Ava had a human sickness called a cold.

“Would you like to lie down?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Why are you looking for survivors?”

I considered how to answer. Angel’s warning not to sound desperate rang in my head.

“You said that you and your brothers came to the surface and that your brother, Drav, discovered Mya, a woman. Are you collecting women?”

My mind went blank. I knew I couldn’t admit we were looking for women and children. Eden said that made us sound like men who only wanted sex. I did want to have sex, though. Eventually. Hopefully with Ava. I wanted to inhale her scent again and feel her arms around me.

“You just blinked like you're trying to send Morse code,” Ava said.

“I don’t want to say anything that will scare you.”

“Too late for that, I think. You just told me I’m living in the aftermath of a worldwide zombie apocalypse. I’d rather know the truth about what’s going on. Are you collecting women?”

Rather than answering the direct question, I told her my group’s purpose.

“I’m with three other humans. We’re looking for survivors. Males and females. We’ve found a few groups. Most of them were males. The good ones, who didn’t try to hurt us or take our supplies, we offered to let them join us. They chose not to. We marked the bad ones on a map so we can come back and check on them later. Will says it’s a way to police them and ensure they won’t hurt others.”

“So you’re offering anyone who’s nice a place in your community?”

“Yes.”

“What about me? Do you consider me nice?”

My cock twitched at how nice I considered her.

“Yes.”

“You gave me a lot to think about. How soon do you need an answer?”

Hope lit inside of me.

“How long would you like to think about it?”

“Can you give me until the morning?”

I nodded and stood, eager to return to the others and share the news with them. When I stood, so did she. She walked me to the door and didn’t close it as soon as I was outside.

Pausing, I turned back to look at her.

“Thank you for welcoming me into your home. I will see you in the morning.”

“See you in the morning, Gyrik.”

She closed the door, and I smiled wide enough that my teeth reflected in the window beside the door. She’d hugged me, talked to me without screaming, and remembered my name.

Turning on my heel, I sprinted away from the cabin.

Our campsite was several miles away, down an unused dirt road near hers. Will had the fire going and a tent set up. The entrance was open, and I could see Will and Zach in their sleeping bags inside. They didn’t like to sleep with the entrance closed when I wasn’t there. They said they felt more comfortable being able to see and hear what was happening.

I jumped over the wire Will had strung around the camp and landed several feet away from Bram, which made him jump.

“Sorry,” I said quickly. “I found a female.”

“Seriously?” Zach asked, sitting up in his sleeping bag.

“Yes. Her name is Ava. She has pretty blue eyes and a soft voice like her body. She didn’t scream when she saw me and invited me into her house.”

“Was it made out of gingerbread?” Zach asked with a grin.

“What is gingerbread?”

“Stop giving him a hard time,” Bram said. “How big of a group is she with?”

“She’s the only one. I watched and listened a long time before I approached. She’d been talking to Pete and Repeat, so I thought there were two males with her, but they are her cats.”

“Seriously? She’s alone out here with two cats?” Will said.

“And she didn’t know anything happened,” I said. “That’s why she drove around Silver Bay. She was looking for people. She has her things packed like she was going to leave. It’s good we found her.”

Zach chuckled. “I bet she’s like Eden and was just playing it cool around you until you left so she can run.”

My stomach tightened at the thought, and I glanced at Bram for confirmation. He patted my shoulder consolingly.

“He might be right.”

I glanced back in the direction of her cabin, feeling a thread of panic. I’d just found her. What if I lost her?

“Go keep an eye on her,” Zach said. “But remember not to act like a stalker. Girls don’t like that.”

“Stalker?”

“Someone who forces their attention on someone else when it’s not wanted,” Bram said. “Don’t overthink it. Just go keep her safe until first light. We’ll join you then.”