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CHAPTER 20

Noah

T he moment the thing leaves my hand, my eyes snap open. I hold my breath as the mallet flies through the air. Time stops. Everything around me seems to fade away as I wait for the thing to bounce off the zombie's head like it did to Reed's back. Only it didn’t.

The mallet's rubber top imbeds itself into the zombie's forehead.

“Holy shit.” The words fly from my mouth. “I did it.” I actually did something that I was supposed to do. I jump around, facing Reed once more.

“Did you see that?” I pump my fist into the air, jumping. “Holy fuck, I did it. I didn’t think I would, but man.” Tossing my hands on my hips, I scan over the dead things lying around the parking lot. Sure, I only killed one, but I threw the mallet, and it killed him.

The thought that maybe I could survive by myself out here hits me. Once we get to Georgia, to wherever Reed is stopping, I can move on. I can do it alone.

“Good job,” Reed mumbles. The corners of his eyes crinkle, letting me know that he’s at least smiling. It might not be much, but I’ll take it.

I follow behind Reed as he starts to head towards the strip mall. As we pass the one zombie that I killed, I bend down and pick my mallet up.

“Hey, did you see the guy?” I ask, searching around. It’s like he was never there.

“He left while you were jumping in the air.”

“Hmmm,” I hum. Sadness falls over me; it’s the first time we’ve come across another human. I wanted to say hi, or at least get a thank you from him. Not that I needed one, I just wanted to speak to someone else besides myself, especially since Reed hasn’t been mister chatterbox over here.

“Come on, we’ve got at least another two, maybe three days left before we get to the cabin.” Reed tells me as we enter the hunting store.

“Cabin?” I ask.

Reed glances over his shoulder at me. We stop by a row of topical antibiotic ointment.

“Uh, yeah, that’s where we’re heading. It’s in the woods.”

“You do realize that sounds like you’re going to murder me, right?” I raise a brow at him.

If Reed wanted to kill me, I’m sure he would’ve done it already. I’m almost positive he’s at least thought about it. There’s no way he hasn’t.

Reed doesn’t say anything; he just stares at me. While he wears a mask over the bottom half of his face, it’s like he wears another one. A see-through one, one that has no emotions, a colorless void. Not a flicker of joy, sadness, or even anger. If I didn’t just travel with him for over a week, I’d probably tuck my tail and run. But this Reed is a different Reed from the one that kissed me just days ago.

“So, we’re getting some topical antibiotic ointment?” I reach down, grabbing two boxes. “These would come in handy.”

“Yeah, stuff three boxes in your bag.” Reed orders.

Doing what he tells me, I watch Reed walk around the store, shoving things into his own bag. I should probably do the same thing since I’m going to be on my own soon. It’s better to have more weapons and supplies.

I throw my bag back on and start walking through the aisle. Most of the shelves had been ransacked. It’s not until I come across some camouflage sweatshirts that I stop. Taking it off the hanger, I hold it up, debating on taking it. Georgia is normally hot, but with the weather changing, the nights are becoming colder.

“Ready?” Reed asks, coming up behind me.

“Uh… yeah.” Shoving the clothing into my bag once more, I turn towards Reed.

He eyes me for a moment, seeming to come up with some conclusion before he’s leading the way out of the store once more.

* * *

For the next two days, neither Reed nor I speak much. I cough it up to be because we’re closing in on the end of our time together. While Reed is more than happy inside, I’m beginning to dread being on my own. I can also feel him getting more irritated when I make us stop for the night. The days traveling uphill and with the sun beating down on us, I’m beginning to feel drained before the sun even sets.

“Reed,” I whine.

“Another hour, Noah.” Is all he says to me now.

Of course I count down that last hour. And the moment I do, I sit down, claiming this is where we’re resting for the night.

Reed huffs but doesn’t say anything. It no longer surprised me that he had nothing to say. I’m getting on his nerves, and I bet if it weren’t for me, he’d be wherever he was headed.

I watch Reed gather up some sticks lying around and begin a fire. It was our nightly routine by this point. I demanded we stop; he got the lame excuse for a camp set up. We’d both eat, brush our teeth, and then while I laid against my bag thinking of Reed, he’d be passed out.

“Goodnight, Reed.” I mumbled into the darkness that night. It was something I said every night, but this time it felt different. Most likely because it would be the last night I said it. Tomorrow we'll be at the cabin, so this is our last rest together. One last rest, and then I'd never see him again.

It’ll be fine.

I’ll be fine.

I should just get up in the morning and go off on my way. I don’t need to go to the cabin. Florida is in the opposite direction.

Even as I lay there, thinking of reasons I should stay. How do I convince him that I need to stay with him? This partnership was a means to an end.

By the time the sun began to rise, I shoved a protein bar into my mouth and chugged some water.

It’ll be easier to leave him if I can’t see his face. So even while my heart breaks the moment I get to my feet, I walk further away from Reed. One foot in front of the other, I move away. It’s then, when I’m a good twenty feet away, that I turn around.

Reed lays there, one hand over his chest while the other has a firm grip on his bat. I give him a sad smile, even if he can’t see me.

“Goodbye,” I whisper.

The burst of gunfire sounds; my vision blurs for a second before I feel the searing heat of the explosion in my shoulder. In slow motion I watch Reed jump up, his eyes searching for what happened.

“NOAH!”

My mouth opens to say something as my knees weaken, my shoulder burns, and my world fades to black.