Page 8

Linda

Axel kicks the car, sitting uselessly in the shrubbery. We have not one but two flat tires and we’re lucky to have even made it to safety without one of us catching a bullet.

“How far away are we?” I ask, dreading the answer.

“I don’t know, about fifty miles,” Noa answers, chewing on her lower lip.

I’ve never seen her display any kind of coping mechanism like that before, and it stresses me out so much that I snap the elastic band on my wrist three times before her hand envelops it.

“We can do it in two or three days if we follow Choctawhatchee Bay,” she soothes, pulling me against her body with an arm around my waist. For a moment, I’m too busy blushing and processing this new nearness to worry about the long and dangerous hike.

“How many bullets do you have left in that gun of yours, Winnie?” Axel asks darkly.

“Ah. Four.” My neck gets itchy thinking about where the missing bullet went.

In all the excitement, I forgot that I’m now a murderer.

Noa must be reading my mind because her hand comes up to my back to run soothing circles over it.

The urge to melt into her touch is so strong.

Why is it so easy with this girl? Even with boys, whom I’m meant to like, it took me a few weeks of dating before I felt comfortable with casual intimacy.

“We’re gonna need them,” he growls, opening the trunk with more force than necessary.

“Shh,” Noa hisses. “I know you’re frustrated, but keep it down. We don’t know who or what’s in the shadows. ”

Great. Just what I needed to hear. I reach for my elastic but encounter Noa’s hand instead.

I peer up at her awkwardly and get a lopsided smirk in return.

I feel an echo of what she did to me last night, phantom fingers caressing my pussy.

When I clench my thighs together, I lose my balance and transfer most of my weight onto her.

As my face heats up, her grin widens, and she lowers her head to give me a peck on the lips.

Once she pulls back, she gazes into my eyes so deeply, I feel like they’re hugging me.

“If you’re done with the smoochy, smoochy shit, we have to pack our stuff.” Axel’s voice brings me back to this planet.

“Right,” Noa purrs, patting my butt and then moving to the open trunk with an extra pep in her step.

Axel pulls out the lightest backpack and hands it to me.

I take it and gulp at its still-considerable weight.

How am I going to walk fifty miles, over perhaps uneven ground, with a heavy backpack?

But I don’t say anything, of course; I’m far too grateful to the siblings to express my fears and maybe come off as a whiny little girl.

Even though I feel like dropping to the ground, smashing my fists against the soil, and bemoaning the situation our planet found itself in.

Instead, I shoulder the straps and hop a bit to distribute the weight.

Noa, her own taller backpack already on, approaches me again and starts tightening my straps.

“Did you pack the toy?” she murmurs near my ear.

It takes me a moment to catch the meaning, but when I remember the purple rose sex toy, I bug out my eyes at her. “W–why?” I ask with a trembling voice.

Noa winks at me sassily. “We’re going to need it tonight.”

I hesitate for a second. “I… did,” I finally admit.

She bites her lower lip and my clit tingles at the sight. “Good girl,” she breathes.

I’m going to walk around wet, aren’t I?

***

I swat away another mosquito. At this point, I think I fed an entire extended family of the buzzing insects. This is not the kind of bloodsucking I meant when I fantasized about having a vampire boyfriend back in high school.

“You hanging in there, Pooh?”

Axel’s voice is gentle enough that I double-check he’s talking to me. But, of course, I’m the only one he’d call by a fictional bear’s name.

“Do you want the truth?” I mutter, blinking the sweat out of my eyes. We’ve been walking for hours and have only taken a few breaks to eat and use the bushes’ outdoor bathroom facilities. Bushrooms?

Axel scoffs. “You don’t have to sugarcoat it. I’m itching down to my ballsack too.”

I wrinkle my nose at the imagery. I don’t want to think about Axel’s chafing balls.

“No one wants to think about your balls, doofus,” Noa voices my thoughts out loud, and I can’t help but giggle despite my exhaustion.

Something tickles my palm and I look down to see Noa’s fingers grazing against the skin.

It’s almost like she’s asking for permission to hold my hand.

An ember lights in my chest and it feels a lot like happiness.

How can I possibly feel happiness when the world around us is going down the drain?

I don’t know, but I go with it. I splay my hand until our palms overlap and our fingers intertwine.

Feeling almost as shy as when she had that same hand between my legs, I look up at her from underneath my lashes.

One corner of her lips is up and her flashing silver eyes are on my face.

When she notices me peeking at her, she squeezes my hand once.

For a moment, I worry whether my palm feels as swampy as the greenery around us, but the doubts are quickly forgotten when she continues displaying that smug smirk.

Is she actually proud to be holding my hand?

A lump forms in my throat at the thought.

I don’t think anyone’s ever been proud of me, except for my parents and grandparents.

Axel looks back and rolls his eyes when he sees us holding hands. “You two are going to get eaten by an alligator together.”

“I’m more worried about the cottonmouths,” Noa mutters, and I freeze, tugging on her arm as inertia keeps her going forward.

“S–snakes?” I ask with a shaky voice.

Axel clicks his tongue. “Now you’ve done it, you broke Winnie.”

I look around in a panic. Every dense patch of foliage looks like the ideal hiding place for a nope-rope. Noa grabs my other hand and steps close, giving me no choice but to look at her.

“We’re sticking to cleared trails, sweetheart. And we’ll find somewhere elevated to sleep,” she says, the endearment momentarily distracting me from worrying about reptilians.

“Right, there’s a campground nearby,” Axel says with a forcefully cheerful voice.

Noa gives him the side-eye. “How do you know that?”

Axel scratches the back of his head, looking away with pursed lips. “Well, I used to bring Jenny here for some privacy.”

Noa sighs dramatically. “I knew you were banging that floozy,” she accuses her brother.

“Hey, throw no stones, Sis, you’re the one who pined over a straight girl for almost three years.” With that, he starts walking again.

I look at Noa and expect to see some chagrin. Instead, she winks at me and says, “Guilty.” I feel my face ignite with… satisfaction?

As we start following Axel, I war with asking her a question that’s been bugging me for a while. In the end, my curiosity wins. “You liked me for that long?”

Noa hums and gives my hand a squeeze. “Yup.”

“And, umm…”

“And, what?” she encourages.

“And… have you been with anyone else during this time?” I finally ask.

Surprisingly, her cheeks start glowing in the late evening light. “A few times. When I’d see you around with a boy.”

Why do I suddenly feel guilty? Until a couple of days ago, I didn’t even know I liked her. Still, I start defending myself. “Oh, well, that must not have happened often. I’ve been busy and the guys here… well, they never know what they want, always want to keep their options open. ”

Noa smirks again and flicks her tongue out to lick her lower lip. The glinting barbell draws my gaze. “Well, their loss is my win.” Her voice turns low and husky. “I know exactly what I want, beautiful.”

My heart skips a beat, the pulse instead going right to my clit. How many times did I fantasize about a boy telling me I’m it for them? That they’re sure about me and want no one else? That I felt safe in a relationship…

“And, just so you know.” Noa’s words jolt me out of my daze. She slows to a stop and, still connected with her by our hands, I follow. When my eyes catch hers, she gives me a languid smile. “I was thinking about you every single time.”

My jaw unhinges at her implication. “I…” I don’t know how to feel about that.

Sorry for the girls because her head was with me and not them?

A bit worried about the stalker vibes Noa’s been giving off here?

If I’m honest with myself, I’m still just feeling…

smug. “Thanks,” I whisper, making her smile turn beaming.

“Come oooon, ladies!” Axel calls from ahead. “We’re almost at the camp, gaze into each other’s eyes lovingly there.”

With a grin, Noa pulls me after her brother once again. True to Axel’s word, we reach the campground in under an hour, just as the evening light starts dimming.

“What’s that sound?” Noa asks quietly.

I strain my ears and catch murmuring sounds in several different cadences. I gasp. “Sounds like people!” Leaving Noa behind, I pick up the pace and head deeper into the campground.

“Linda, wait!” Axel hisses when I overtake him.

“They could be dangerous,” his sister adds.

I slow down and let them catch up. I already forgot about our most recent encounter with the human race. Heck, it seems like everything is out to get us since the invasion. The only people we’ve seen were corpses, other looters, or highway bandits.

“Let me go first and have that gun ready, kiddo,” Axel says lowly.

“I’m barely younger than you,” I mutter, my priorities misplaced.

When we turn a corner, we see a family of four packing up what looks like the remains of their dinner off the picnic table. They’re putting everything into a car. I gasp again and call out to them. They can’t be a threat to us with little kids, right?

“Hey!” I yell, waving my hands. “Wait up!”

They freeze for a moment and gape at us, then spring back into action, taking what they can carry to the car.

“Hey, we won’t hurt you!” Noa shouts. “We’re heading to the base!”

The family doesn’t stop to listen, though, all but throwing everything onto the seats and jumping in after it.

“Please, wait!” I whine, my tired legs giving me their last pathetic amount of strength to jog after the car.

“Don’t bother, Winnie,” Axel grumbles. “They’re too afraid. I can’t blame them.”

“I can,” I grumble, plopping my ass down on the bench at the picnic table and slumping forward until I’m half lying across it.

“Why did they stop this close to the base?” Noa wonders, letting her backpack slide off. Once her hands are free, she reaches for mine. Oh, right. I got so used to the weight, it became a part of my tortured body.

“Maybe they had the same idea as us,” Axel muses. “Finish off the food before they have to share.”

I whine into the weathered wood before straightening so Noa can relieve me of the extra weight.

“Hey, bro, is there a shower nearby?” Noa asks with an even voice. My ears perk up like a Labrador’s at that. It’s only been a week since I had one, but the concept feels like a cherished memory.

“Ah, sure,” he mutters. “They have solar cells too, so it should be warm.”

“Amazing,” I breathe to Noa’s great amusement.

She tugs on my ponytail. “Come on. Ladies first.”