[Teen and New Adult Zombie Apocalypse Romance]
"If you would've told me the last day of our peaceful existence would be a boring Tuesday in November, I would've called you an idiot."
High school senior, Casey Whitmore, is about to discover her life...
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A branch snapping in the distance made both of us freeze.
"Crap," I whispered as I quickly pulled my gun up, aiming toward the sound.
Another sound from a different direction forced Thomas to whip around with his gun raised. We were back to back.
"What do we have here? I think this is my lucky day." A stocky man with a gray beard stood at the edge of the trees with a crossbow pointed directly at Thomas.
"I suggest you lower your weapon. We're not here to harm anyone, we just want some water." Thomas pressed his back to mine as I examined the trees for Gray Beard's companions.
Was I supposed to shoot them or let them live? Human life was important, but I knew I would have to kill them if they posed a threat.
Gray Beard let out a thunderous laugh, causing both of us to stiffen. "Boy, there ain't no way I'm doing something so stupid. How about you lower your gun?"
Thomas didn't falter. "I don't think I've seen you before. You from around here?"
"That's none of your damn business. Where are you from?" Gray Beard chuckled when Thomas didn't answer.
Crunching foliage stirred in the trees as I watched for the culprit.
A group of four men emerged, spreading out in front of me. They looked semi-normal. One was missing teeth, but they were all filthy with horrible body odor.
"This one will work." A husky man with a black eye assessed me like I was for sale.
"Terry, we gotta go they're coming." A young guy with wild eyes twitched and glanced into the trees.
"I'll tell you what, boy, you hand over the girl, and we'll be on our way." Gray Beard suggested like it was an entirely reasonable request.
Thomas's tense back muscles were flush to mine. "Over my fucking dead body."
I knew that I had to mimic Thomas's movements since I was relying on him to be the eyes in the back of my head.
The four men didn't take their eyes off me as they assessed how to take me down. Two held handguns, one had an aluminum baseball bat, and the last one gripped a hunting knife like the one strapped around my ankle. I had them beat no matter what.
"I was trying to avoid killing you, but I guess we're gonna have to fight this one out." A small pop came from Gray Beard's direction.
Thomas swiftly ducked and moved to the side, pulling at my coat. I mimicked his actions.
The arrow missed us by an inch, impaling the stomach of a man with blackened teeth. He yelled in agony as the man with the bat rushed to his aid.
That bastard tried to shoot Thomas.
"Trees," Thomas said only loud enough for me to hear.
We took off into the cover of the forest.
"Kill them," Thomas whispered once we got behind a bush.
