Page 40 of Resurrection (Devil Dogs of the Apocalypse #3)
I force myself into a more upright position, squaring my shoulders and readjusting my pack—and let’s be real here.
..my pants as well—as I mentally try to muster up whatever gumption I have left in order for us to find a place to stay for the night.
That is, before we all fall into a ditch and call it an extremely rustic bed and breakfast.
Mile after mile, we push ourselves past the point of comfort.
Backs aching. Legs trembling with exhaustion.
Even with Hawk’s quiet singing offering a cadence to our journey, my mind crumbles into nothingness—a barren wasteland apart from reaching a safe point.
Occasionally, movements from either side of me catch my attention.
I feel Sadie panting next to me, her nose nuzzling my hand with reassurance.
A moment later, Jax steps closer to mutter, “Atta girl ,” next to my ear.
From the corner of my eye, I see Hawk as he subtly lifts the hook at the top of my pack to relieve my aching bones for a second or two.
Then, there’s Cole, offering a canteen of water, his eyebrow lifting dramatically to remind me to listen.
I drink greedily, soothing my throat and reawakening my body even for just a few more moments.
A soft “ Good girl” barely reaches my ears, but causes my pulse to thrum wildly at the praise.
Our march has become forced, slow and diminishing in progress as the night progresses, while the occasional grumble of dead things lingers out from the tree line.
“Up ahead. Let’s set up camp there tonight.” Jax calls out, pointing to a dilapidated wooden barn off in the distance made to fit hay and maybe a tractor. I can just barely make out its shape in the moonlight but, thankfully, it doesn’t look too far away.
The sudden news lifts our spirits enough to pick up our pace and head straight for it.
As we get closer, we see just how rundown the barn is, with bits of siding missing and a roof that I can guarantee won’t keep out the rain.
It’s definitely not home, but it’s better than a ditch or a freaky American Horror Story town, so it’ll do for the night.
“Get ready,” Jax says to Cole, who, with a single nod, lifts his weapon and aims it at the barn’s entrance.
The door’s hinges squeak and screech in protest as the guys push and pull on them, the weight of the wood evident by the strain on Hawk’s and Jax’s faces.
After a few heavy shoulder rams and well-placed kicks, they finally pry them open, allowing Cole to shine his flashlight into the darkened space.
As predicted, it’s filled to the rafters with bundles and bundles of hay, pitch forks, and other various farm equipment.
A few rodents scurry away as we enter the building, causing me to jump right into Jax’s arms as one races across my feet .
“Oomph,” he grunts, catching me easily in a bridal sweep but never taking his eyes off the barn’s interior. His hold on me adjusts, lifting me higher before he finally tears his eyes away from whatever else may lurk inside. “All good?”
“Yeah... stupid mouse.” Jax chuckles quietly under his breath as I wiggle out of his arms and back onto my own two panicky feet, resituating myself and lifting my rifle once again.
If a few tiny mice are going to have me go all scaredy cat, I’m not going to last at all. This is fucking embarrassing.
“At least it’s not fucking clowns.”
In the darkness, Hawk and Cole stalk further into the building with Hawk taking point.
Slowly. Quietly. They each hold a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other, the long-ranged weapons they originally were armed with now strapped across their backs.
Bright beams, shining from a mounted flashlight affixed to each of their pack’s shoulder straps, illuminate the area.
Suddenly, Hawk lifts a fisted hand, a silent call for all of us to freeze where we are.
Bending down, he lifts something from the ground and tosses it into a corner.
The sudden noise and movement stir the area to life, the distinct groans of the infected echoing around us.
Out of the shadows, three zombies emerge, slowly at first but then in an all-out sprint as they spot Hawk and Cole.
Vicious snarls and snapping jaws race towards them, but are quickly vanquished as Hawk lifts his knife, stabbing the first through the underside of its jaw, before turning and swinging his arm wide, decapitating the next in a move I’ve only seen in anime films. At the same time, Cole rushes the other, his seven-inch Kabar piercing its skull right through the top, halting the zombie in its steps.
Nodding to each other, and then back at Jax and me, Hawk and Cole continue their search, meticulously sweeping through every nook and cranny in an attempt to flush out any other threats.
“All clear,” Hawk calls out a few moments later, returning to the dispatched zombies with Cole.
Together, they maneuver the decaying corpses out of the barn and spread hay over the floor to cover any bodily fluids that may have gotten left behind in the fight.
Once done, they reach for their sanitary wipes, ridding themselves of the blood that managed to splatter on them as well.
Hawk’s in the middle of wiping down an arm when he juts his chin to the far side of the building.
“Let’s set up right over here. There are high walls of hay for warmth and it protects us on three sides just in case something tries to get in.
” Without another word, he goes over to where he indicated, setting his bags down with a thud as his body slumps to the ground after it.
Cole follows, mirroring Hawk’s exhaustion as he, more gracefully, places his bag down before settling in next to him with a groan.
Jax and I follow, moaning our relief as we lose a good fifty to one-hundred pounds of weight from our backs. My muscles are tight and ache painfully, but more importantly, my stomach growls angrily at my neglect to its needs today .
“Alright, hungry girl, come sit over here and I’ll get you some food.
” Cole waves me over as he pulls out a couple of bags from his pack.
I go to sit down next to him on the hay-covered floor, but before my butt can hit the ground, he pulls me into his lap and continues to prep our dinners with his arms around my waist. Every so often he plants a kiss to the junction where my shoulder meets my neck before refocusing on his task, almost like he can’t help himself and needs to kiss me to keep going.
And I am one hundred percent, A-OK with that.
He has one of the comfiest laps… ever! Plus, ever since he scared the shit out of us by almost turning, he is perfectly capable of making me sit where ever he wants. Lap, floor, bed, on his dick, on his friend’s dicks, I don’t care.
He picks.
I sits.
Moments later, Cole hands each of us an MRE bag, the warm components already heated using the magic rocks they came with.
I don’t even look at mine, too hungry to care.
We haven’t eaten since we left the halfway house this morning.
It seems the guys are in the same boat, tearing open the packages and devouring the contents blindly.
Once we finish, Hawk grabs all of the garbage and seals it in a plastic bag before stowing it away in his pack for now. “We’re in enough shit as it is. Don’t need bears hunting us too,” he informs me with a crooked smile. “Come on, sweets. Time for bed.”
During cleanup, Jax helpfully laid out all our sleeping bags in a line. I crawl over to the bright blue one in the middle of the others, open the zipper, and crumble in a heap as I settle in. Cole takes the one on my right, while Hawk falls onto the one on my left. But Jax...
“Y’all go ahead and get some shut-eye. I’m gonna stand watch for the first shift.
We’re still within a walkable distance, and I don’t trust those assholes not to have followed us.
Plus, with what you were saying earlier about seeing something, I don’t think I can fall asleep just yet.
” He places a kiss on my forehead before turning and taking a seat just inside the entry doors, peering through the cracks, his handgun prepped and resting on his thigh, his rifle positioned strategically at his side.
Sadie trots over to him and plops her happy butt right at his side, ready to stand guard throughout the night if she needs to.
“Dude, I ain’t even gonna fight you for it this time.
You want first watch? You got it. But fucking wake me up for the next shift, alright?
You need sleep too,” Hawk calls out as he pulls me further into his arms, prompting Cole to follow and shift closer behind me.
Despite my nerves and anxiety from the day, I feel surrounded and secure—safe with them around me—even in the middle of nowhere.
Even with zombies lurking everywhere just waiting to take a bite out of us.
Even with the town full of happy, peppy, looney bin escapees just hours away. I’m safe.
It's not the best accommodations, by far, but between the nostalgic sound of crickets chirping, the occasional hoot of an owl, the heat of Hawk and Cole surrounding me, as well as Jax standing guard, doing everything and anything to protect us, I’m lulled to a contented sleep.