RU in? - 1st novel in the Ruinsaga series

Chapter 4 .

Lily

"Put this jacket on," Hunter said as he handed Arthur a pink, puffy jacket. Arthur took it without question and put it on, but he was clearly not happy about wearing pink. Hunter was back sorting through the things he had just brought in. "Here." He handed two smaller, black matching gloves to Arthur. He put them on.

Hunter handed two matching blue gloves to Mackenzie. She took them and put them on even as she said, "It's not that cold out there."

"It's not for the cold," I said before Hunter could answer. "It's to protect you in case the zombies try to bite you."

"Yes," Hunter said. He handed me a pair of black leather gloves. I put them on and tucked them under the sleeve of my jacket for - hopefully - extra protection. Mackenzie and Arthur did the same when they saw me. Victory came back into the room with her arms full with bike helmets.

"Here," she handed the smallest one - again pink - to Arthur. He frowned but took it. "Sorry, it's pink," Victory said. "I used to really like pink."

"It's okay," Arthur said. "Pink isn't that bad," but his expression said otherwise as he slipped it on the top of his head. Hunter helped him buckle it under his chin.

"What did you do with Grace's bow and arrows?" Hunter asked Victory.

"I put it in the back of the van," she said. "You said we were going to get mom and dad." I hadn't seen their van in the driveway so I assumed it was safe in the garage. There was a door directly from the kitchen to the garage so we wouldn't have to go out among the zombies to get to the van.

"We are," he said.

Victory now had on a leather jacket of her own and picked a pair of gloves from the pile on Hunter's bed.

"I wish I could retrieve the arrow in that zombie's head," Victory said. "We are going to need as many as we can get."

"We can't risk ourselves to retrieve it," Hunter said. He gave her a warning look.

"Fine," she said.

I took a black bike helmet from the pile and put it on Mackenzie's head. She didn't protest as I clipped it on her head.

Hunter went back to his closet and pulled out his usual black, leather jacket. He put it on quickly and his gloves. The three kids now all wore bike helmets.

"Victory," Hunter said, "go down into the kitchen and get food and water to put in the back of the van. Nothing that needs to be frozen or refrigerated."

"Sure thing," she said. She grabbed Mackenzie's hand. "Let's go."

"Come with us," Mackenzie said to Arthur as Victory pulled her out. Arthur silently followed the two girls.

I was left alone in the room with Hunter. The thought sent my heart racing which was stupid. Stupid heart. Didn't it know we were in the beginning of a zombie apocalypse. Now was not the time for unrequited crushes.

He put on a black beanie and pulled it down low so it completely covered his ears. Then he put a blue baseball cap on over it. He handed me a red beanie and a black baseball cap. I put on the beanie making sure it covered my ears and then put on the cap. He stared at me.

"What?" I asked as my heart fluttered again even though he wasn't looking at my face as he stared at me.

"Your hair," he said. He took a step closer to me and reached up. "The zombies can grab it if it's out like that." He gently stuffed my hair into the back of jacket.