Live Another Day by Baileigh Higgins (reading in the dark .txt) 📗

which seemed intent on destroying her peace.

He leaned over the pot on the fire and scooped out a ladleful of stew. After jabbing in a fork, he handed it to her. “That depends.”

“On what?” She blew on the hot food before taking a tentative bite. It tasted like shit, but Logan had never been much of a cook, and she was used to it.

“On what we encounter along the way,” Logan said. “There might be any number of problems on the roads.”

“Yeah, I know, but what’s next?” she persisted.

“From here it’s a straight shot to Bloemfontein. After that, Welkom. We’re about halfway, I’d say.”

“Why do I sense there’s a but coming?”

“We don’t know if we can make it through Bloemfontein,” Martin said. “It’s big.”

“So it’s bound to be nasty,” Jed finished with a dry look in her direction.

“How big?” Donya asked. “I don’t know much about that area.”

“Quarter of a million give or take.”

Donya opened her mouth but closed it again after a second. Her shocked expression matched that of Caleb’s, and Nadia was sure, her own. She focussed on her plate and swallowed, sobered by the thought. A quarter of a million zombies? That’s crazy. “What if we can’t go through it?”

“Then we go around. It’ll take much longer, though, and I don’t want us to be out in the open for too long,” Martin said. He rinsed his plate before packing it into a box next to the fire. “Get some sleep, all of you. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

“New rule,” Jed said. “If we’re out another night or so, I’m cooking.” He pulled a face. “No offense, Logan, but this is awful.”

Martin barked out a laugh. “Who’d have thought beans and corned beef could taste like mud?”

Logan grinned. “It’s my signature dish. Enjoy.”

Nadia snorted. “You should try his spaghetti. Holy crap.”

Caleb shot her a faint smile, and despite herself, warmth stirred in her breast. It didn’t override the anger, though, when he graciously took and washed Donya’s plate along with his. The other girl’s eyes glittered when she spotted Nadia’s unhappiness, a triumphant smirk twisting her lips. Screw you, Donya.

Nadia finished eating and took Martin’s advice to go to bed. She lay with her back to the fire and stared out into the night, wondering what the day would bring. Her body was too tired to entertain such thoughts for long, however, and soon she fell asleep.

***

A rough hand shook her awake, and she sat upright with a gasp. “What? Who?”

“Shh, it’s me, Jed.”

Nadia dragged a hand through her mussed hair. “Yeah?”

“It’s your watch; I’m turning in.”

“Oh, okay.” She pushed back the bedroll covering her. “It’s three already?”

“Yup.”

She fumbled around for her things before getting to her feet. “Thanks, Jed.”

“See you in the morning.”

He turned away, and she took up her post at the edge of the camp. After the deep sleep she’d had, it took awhile to wake up properly. She yawned and stretched before staring into the night with one hand resting on her trusty screwdriver.

The sky was patterned with millions of stars, a veritable carpet of twinkling silver lights. This time of night, even the nocturnal animals had gone to rest with only a few faint rustles and murmurs to disturb her watch.

Behind her, the fire crackled as a log settled into the flames and faint snores emanated from Josh’s sleeping bag. It was cold outside her warm blankets, and she rubbed her arms while she stared into the darkness. “Man, this sucks.”

Her voice sounded loud in the quiet air, and she regretted it the moment she spoke. A faint rustle caused the hair on her arms to rise. She cocked her head. It came from the right and slightly behind her. Nadia whirled in a tight circle and raised her hand in readiness to strike.

“Whoa, there. It’s just me.”

Caleb’s whisper reached her ears, and she relaxed with a sigh of exasperation. “Caleb? What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you.” His figure materialized out of the deep, and she regarded him with a mixture of joy, fear, and anger.

She suppressed her emotions with an effort. “You couldn’t wait until morning?”

“With your bodyguard around?” He snorted. “No way.”

She allowed herself a small smile and turned back to her watch. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Us.”

He moved closer until he stood next to her. Their shoulders brushed, and she sucked in a breath at his nearness. “There's no us, Caleb.”

“Isn’t there?” His voice was as calm as if he were discussing the weather. “Are you still fighting it?”

“Fighting what? There's nothing between us.” She ground on her teeth until her jaw ached. “Besides, shouldn’t you rather be talking to Donya?”

“Donya? What for?” He sounded surprised, and she dared a quick glance at him. He seemed perplexed, but she wasn’t about to be mollified so quickly. “You seemed pretty cozy earlier.”

Caleb chuckled. “Oh, that? That was nothing.”

“It didn’t look like nothing.”

“Are you jealous?” He turned to her with an infuriating smile.

“No, of course not.” Her hands balled into fists, and she longed to punch him.

“Relax. You’ve got no reason to be jealous of her.”

“I’m not jealous!” Her voice had risen to a furious whisper, and he laid a finger across her lips.

“Let me explain.”

She glared at him through narrowed eyes. “You’ve got five seconds before I stick you through the eyeball like a zom.”

“I like the new you. Or is it the old you? I always thought you were holding back, suppressing your true self.” He leaned so close to her that his breath washed over her face raising goosebumps on her arms. “Guess what? I like the real Nadia more. She’s strong, brave, and sexy.”

She rolled her eyes. “Two seconds.”

He turned away from her and looked into the brush. “Donya is planning something.”

“Planning?” Nadia echoed.

“She’s got it in for you, and I know she’s got something up her sleeve. I’m trying to gain her trust so I can prevent whatever it is from happening.”

“You are?” Nadia cursed herself for sounding