Page 47

CHAPTER 46

Noah

M y head hasn’t hurt this bad since before I had my first hangover. It’s not even a dull throb like I’m used to—this is a relentless pounding, a drum pounding in my ear. I can hear my heartbeat in my skull. I blink my eyes open, the sun shining down in an unforgiving glare. My entire body aches as I try to gather what happened.

“Let me go!”

“Get your hands off him!” Reed ? —

I jolt up; nausea washes over me as the content in my stomach threatened to come up my throat. Panic grips around me like a vise, setting in like a lightning strike. I try to catch my breath, but the pressure tightens around my chest. Where is he? What happened to him?

Searching around the hill, I find nothing but footprints and a single drag mark. They dragged him.

Everything tilts; my stomach twists violently, a cold sweat breaking out over my skin. My breath catches in my throat as my eyes lock onto the mark. Terror grips me, raw and unrelenting. This can’t be happening; I can’t—I just got him back.

I just?—

This isn’t helping. I need to calm down, but nothing stops the shakes. My body won’t listen to reason. I’m drowning in air, the world closing in, pressing against me with an unbearable amount of weight. Chaos and fear spiral out of control. Nothing feels real, the ground beneath me, not the wind brushing against me. Everything tilts on its side, and I’m slowly slipping away from reality.

God, why won’t it just stop? The fear feeds itself, leaving me desperate and losing control. And the worst part of it all, I know who took him.

My father’s men.

I just don’t understand why. They said he was infected, but there’s no way. We’ve barely come across any zombies since the barn.

I shake my head, tears slipping down my cheeks. My mind is a chaotic stone, clawing at the edges. But I can’t afford to fall apart— even if I already am. I need a plan. I need to get him back.

I force myself to inhale slowly, steadying the tremor in my hands. Pushing the lingering panic away, I clench my jaw and climb to my feet. Peering out into the open, I zero in on the island, sitting there perfectly on the water.

I never thought I’d come back, even while it was in my plans to. But it’s different to think about it than to actually be here. This wasn’t my idea of coming home, but they hold the person I love. And I’m going to get him back.

Without hesitation, I bolt down the hill, my heart pounding in my head with each footstep. Each second feels like a million, exhaustion threatening to pull me down. Adrenaline spikes as the main road to the boat dock comes into view.

I’m not sure what my plan is; I just know?—

Out the corner of my eye, I barely notice an RV heading straight towards me. My eyes widen as I try to stop my feet from moving. Only I’ve never been a very good athlete; I trip over my foot, falling flat on my face. I feel the dirt and rocks against my chin, the skin splitting open.

“Oh fuck,” I cry out, tears springing to my eyes. Tires squealing reach my ears as I blink up, trying to see where that stupid RV is. “OH SHIT!” I scream, my life flashing before my eyes. Slamming them closed, I bury my head in the ground, waiting for the ending of my life. Of course I wouldn’t die at the hands of zombies or even good dick; it had to be a fucking RV to take me out.

I’ll never get to see Reed’s face again, especially not him witnessing me being murdered by this stupid fucking thing.

“Are you out of your fucking mind, you dumb ass?” A man's voice growls at me.

Blinking up, a set of intense brown eyes meets mine. His lips form in a straight line, hands on his hips. In a way he reminds me of my father, angry with me for doing something stupid.

“Are you deaf? Get the fuck out of the road, or don’t. I’ll just run you over.” He snarls at me like I’m some kind of bug. He turns on his heels, truly making me feel like some kind of insect.

“Well, fuck you too, buddy,” I grumble under my breath. Climbing to my feet, I brush my hands over my jeans, trying to dust the dirt off.

“N–Noah?” Have I died and gone to heaven? I must have, because there’s no way that?—-

Two pairs of blue eyes stare at me, one with black hair and peek-a-boo faded pink hair and the other blonde. My breath catches in my lungs, my mind struggling to process and accept what my eyes are seeing.

“Oh my God, Noah, it’s you.” Rue’s voice breaks as a choked sob rips from my throat. I’m so fucking tired of crying. But I couldn’t care less, not at this moment. Even if I wanted to stop, I couldn’t. My tears have a mind of their own, and they leak from my eyes, whether I like it or not.

“R–Rue, M–Mallory,” I cry out, my legs ready to give out from beneath me. Before I could hit the ground, they were both at my side, arms crashing around me, pulling me into a tight, painful hug. The three of us collapse together, gripping each other as if letting go would make the three of us disappear. My finger clutched both of their pants, desperate to confirm that I wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating them. Both of them shake against mine, wracked with raw emotion and unbearable relief.

“I–I can’t b–believe you’re both h–here!” I stutter.

“We’re here, we’re here,” Rue breathes, struggling not to let her emotions get the best of her. I let out a laugh, pulling back just so I could see their faces. Rue’s the first one I look at; her ice-cut blue eyes stare back at me. She’s frozen in a lake, cold, almost silver, but behind I can see the emotion—the struggle to think she would never see me again.

I turn my gaze to Mallory; while they both have blue eyes, Mallory's are more of a warm ocean blue. The warmth and openness that draws you in. It’s the way they soften when she finally accepts that I’m here—alive.

“I totally didn’t think I was going to see you again—not that I was hoping for that. The world is just, dude; people are dead. Like the dead are rising and eating people.”

“What she’s trying to say is we missed you,” Rue chuckles, smiling over at our friend.

“Yes! Absolutely, I missed you so much. I needed my talking buddy, these losers,” hiking her thumb up towards the RV and the two men standing there with their arms crossed. One looks like I just kicked his puppy. While the other still looks at me like I'm a bug he’d rather kill, “wouldn't sing Britney Spears with me. I mean, come on, Circus, Womanizer. And none of them would sing with me!” Mallory sighs, looking back at the RV.

“Are we done being sappy little bitches? Cause I’m tired of kneeling on the dirt,” Rue grumbles. I smile as a wave of happiness rushes over me. Going from just thinking of seeing them to having no idea if they were even alive, hits me. It’s different, dreaming about actually living it.

“Yes, let’s get inside; this Florida humidity is not doing it for me. My hair is going to puff up l–like?—”

“A pufferfish,” I finished for her.

“Bitch, you’re from Louisiana; what are you even talking about this Florida heat ?” Rue asks, brushing off the dirt from her black ripped jeans.

“Well, yes, but it’s different. Plus, I don’t have my expensive hair products anymore. All Maverick has been able to find is like dollar store shampoo, and let me tell you, it’s not great.”

I chuckle, shaking my head. Only Mallory would be concerned about her hair while there’s a zombie apocalypse. Hooking my arms in Rue’s and Mallory’s, we head towards the RV.

“Pet,” the man with dark brown hair mutters. He motions for her to come to him before pointing to the ground. Mallory sighs but drops my arm before bouncing over to him.

“Death,” the masked man utters.

“Ghost, this is Noah, our friend that we’ve been trying to find,” Rue waves a hand towards me. My head tilts to the side, a wide smile spreading across my lips.

“Noah, this is Ghost; he’s my kidnapper.”

“Kidnapper?” I mimic, my smile fading.

“Yes, do you remember the last college party, when we saw?—”

“Oh my God, yes! It’s you, you’re Daddy,” my mouth drops open. What a small world.

“And Noah, this is Maverick,” Mallory says. Turning my gaze to her, she places a hand on his chest, pressing herself against his side. It’s different seeing her like this. She used to be uptight, acting like she had a stick up her ass. But now, she relaxes into Maverick; she’s letting herself be free.

For a moment, nothing else exists—just my best friends. Having them stand here in front of me is like a dream come true. Relief crashes over me, drowning out every fear, every dark thought that was once there, suddenly gone.

But it doesn’t last long. Not when I watch Rue slide up to Ghost and Mallory stare up at Maverick like he’s hung the moon for her.

Then I remember that Reed is gone, that my father's men took him away.

“Reed?”

Blinking up, Rue matches my stares, frowning. “Did you hear me?”

“N–no, what–what did you say?”

“I said, let’s get in the RV, and we can head to this cabin Ghost owns. I know you said to meet at the island, but?—”

“I can’t,” taking a step back, I continue, “there's someone. I have someone, and he was taken. I–I have to get him back.”

All the joy that I was feeling once before is gone. A sickening drop of fear replaces any good that I had.

“What? Who took him? What happened?” Mallory asks, fear lacing her voice.

“My father, his men. They took him. I don’t even know what happened, w–we were kissing one minute, and the next they were scanning us with some weird device thing.”

Infected.

There’s no way Reed was infected. He wasn’t bitten. That stupid reader was wrong, dead wrong.

“Your father? Why would they take him?”

“I don’t know,” I lied. I didn’t want them to know he might be infected. Rue would tell me it was a lost cause, that it was easier to remember him as he was and not like one of those zombies.

“Let’s get inside; I don’t like being out in the open like this,” Ghost says. He doesn’t wait for anyone to agree before he’s pulling Rue towards the RV. One by one we all pile into the vehicle. Maverick sits down in the driver's seat, while Mallory kneels next to him, his fingers sliding through her hair. I frown at them, ready to say something when Rue grabs my arm.

“I’ll explain their dynamic later,” she whispers, pulling me towards the small table and chair. We sit across from each other while Ghost walks around the Rue’s back.

“Tell us what happened?” Rue lightly orders.

“I told you, I don’t know. We were kissing one second, and the next my father’s guard was surrounding us, the next I’m waking up and he’s gone.”

“Do you have any idea why they would take him?” Rue asks.

“No!” I snap. Rue sits back, clearly surprised by my outburst.

“Noah, we’re not blaming you. We’re just trying to get a better understanding.”

“I have to get on the island.”

“Yeah, and how do you plan to do that?” Mavericks asks from behind me. Peering over my shoulder, I roll my eyes, already hating him.

“I haven’t quite come up with a plan, but it’s my parents' island; they’ll have to let me on.” The moment the words leave my mouth, the air shifts. Silence crashes over me like waves, thick and suffocating. I have to get him back. Every second we’re sitting here, the longer he’s over there. God knows what they’re doing to him.

“Okay, then we’re all going,” Rue announces. While I love both Mallory and Rue, Rue is the only one who understands me on a deeper level. She can see the hurt in my eyes; she knows what I’m thinking without having to be told.

“I need to get him back,” I whisper, my voice cracking. I’m so tired of crying, of hurting.

Rue grabs my hands, squeezing, “You will—we will get him back.”

“We’ll need to come up with a plan.” Ghost sighs.

“Are we even sure this guy is worth it?” Maverick blurts out. Swinging around, I can’t stop the hatred pouring out of me for this guy. Who does he even think he is?

“Reed’s worth everything. Everything! I love him, and I will stop at nothing to get him back.” I hissed.

“Did you just say Reed?” Ghost asks.

Turning around, I frown, peering up at him. “Yes?”

“What does he look like?”

I close my eyes, imagining he’s standing in front of me. I smile. “He’s tall, broad-shoulders, but so perfect. He's got the most beautiful jet-black hair, but it’s his eyes. The most intense, striking bright blue that reminds me of an electric storm. He even has this scar on?—”

“His lip.”

My eyes pop open at Ghost's words, a deep frown etching across my face. How did he know?—

“Ghost, Ghost as in like Wyck, like as in Reed's best friend?”

“No one calls me that anymore. It's Ghost.”

I nod, my brain struggling to process everything that’s happening. Wyck, aka Ghost, is Reed’s best friend, the friend that he thought he lost. What a small fucking world. Too small.

“And Reed’s on that island?” Mallory asks.

“I mean, I can’t say for sure, but I know it was my father’s men. The only place they would take him is to the island. He has to be there; he has to be.”

“Alright, then let’s make a plan.” Rue slams her hands down, peeking up at Ghost.

“We’ll get him back.” Ghost gives me a curt nod. And for some reason I trust him.