They nodded. “We saw a small pack of them earlier today, when we lost our car. They’re incredibly smart. I didn’t expect for them to be working together, but they did, and they had a plan of attack. Luckily the three of us are hunters, and we took them down, but not before they had made quick work of our car.” Memphis coughed slightly. “We’ve been walking all day.”
“Have you seen any of them?” the woman, Julia, finally spoke up. Her voice was soft, in sharp contrast to her large figure. She was tall, definitely taller than me, maybe nearly as tall as my dad’s six-foot stature, and had large hands that were clasped in front of her.
“Not since we left home,” Ash said. “I didn’t know they’d be out this far.”
“We thought the bombs had taken care of them,” Memphis admitted. “But then I realized that there must have been Awakened released in the smaller cities as well.”
“Released?” I asked, confused.
He met my eyes, and there was something there in his eyes that made me feel comfortable. It felt good to see other people after two days on the road and days of near solitude back in New York. “Well, the way I figure it, the bodies of all these virus victims were stolen, right? And they all came back to life, as these Awakened, at the same time, right? Seems to make sense that it was done on purpose.”
The three of us looked down taken aback at this statement but it actually sort of made sense to me. How likely was it that every single victim of the virus had magically awakened at the exact same moment, even though his or her times of death had been so drastically different?
“But why would someone want to do that?” I asked, thinking of the viciousness of the Awakened. They were an abomination, even worse than the zombies we had portrayed in books and movies for years. They were smart, and frightening. They worked together, and they were incredibly fast and strong. “Why would someone create something like that?”
“Think about it,” Liam said, catching my gaze and staring at me intently. I felt my heart slam a couple times in my chest. He was good looking, even under all the dirt and grime. He had an all American look to him, blond hair and blue eyes, and was very tall and lanky. He seemed to take after his mother in that respect. He smiled at me, slightly, and I ducked my head. “What does one gain by releasing millions of incredibly fast, intelligent and strong beings into the world?”
Ash shrugged, but my father’s lips grew thin, in a grim line.
“You’re assuming that there is someone actually behind these Awakened,” my dad said, sharply. “We don’t know enough to assume that.”
“But say they did. Say there is someone behind it,” Liam insisted, passionately. “Why? What do they gain?”
“An army,” I spoke up, softly. I shook my head. “None of this makes any sense.”
“Well, whatever it is, we have to be sure to find someplace safe to be,” Memphis said, digging through his pack. He pulled out a bag of trail mix and offered it to the group before chowing down.
“Where are you headed?” my dad asked carefully.
“Colorado,” Memphis said, firmly. “To Sanctuary.”
Ash and I exchanged bewildered looks, but my dad scoffed loudly.
“You’re talking about the place near Mesa Verde. It’s not real,” my dad, a slight chuckle to his voice. “You won’t find anything there. It doesn’t exist.”
“So says who?” Memphis asked, casually.
“So says me,” my dad said, sounding irritated.
“Well you’ll forgive me, sir, if I don’t take that as solid truth,” Memphis said, agreeably. “I think there’s a place for us, a sanctuary in Colorado. There’s been talk of it for years, and we’re determined to find it.”
My dad opened his mouth to say something again, and I knew it wasn’t long before it turned into an argument. He was a practical, logical man, and he wouldn’t believe in something based on rumors and heresy.
I started to interrupt, to intervene before it got further than it needed to, but Liam spoke first. “I’m parched. You folks wouldn’t have any water to spare, would you?”
The two older men turned to look at him, almost surprised that he was even still there. My dad’s eyes met mine, and he said, “Will you get him some water?”
I nodded, standing up and brushing the dirt off my jeans. I knew it would only be another day until I would look as dirty and careworn as these three. I walked over to the car, reached into the back and pulled out a water bottle. I turned around, and bumped right into Liam. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
He smiled, a crooked grin that didn’t quite seem to fit the rugged good looks of the rest of his face. It was endearing though, charming. “I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”
A small smile twitched at the corner of my lips. “I can take care of myself.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
I held the water bottle out to him. “Here you go.”
He reached for it, his fingers brushing lightly against mine as he took it. “Thank you…?”
“Zoey,” I supplied.
“Zoey,” he repeated.