CHAPTER 22: A CHANCE ENCOUNTER
BELLA
"I think this is the closest town to where we are now," Emmett said, pointing at a red dot on the map. "But we also aren't very far from this larger town over here," he said, dragging his finger across the map to another town a little further away.
I looked down at the map in concern.
The thought of leaving the farm petrified me, but I knew it had to happen. Every day we saw small groups of the dead wandering the area from our lookout on the roof.
It wasn't safe here anymore.
For weeks, we'd been pouring over the map of towns and cities nearby where we might be able to find a safe place.
At first, Emmett suggested the military base that was three towns over. It would take a while to get there, but it would be loaded with weapons and supplies and have fences to keep out the dead.
But Edward shot down that idea.
"Jasper's father worked at that army base and he said that the place was overrun," Edward said. "His father got Jasper and his brother and sister out just before his hometown was completely taken over."
Edward never spoke of Jasper anymore. I knew it still wore on him how Jasper had abandoned him. It had taken him a while, but he'd gotten over the fear that he'd been a danger to Jasper and Alice's family. It was joining up with Rosalie and Emmett that finally convinced him that he wasn't a danger to others. We'd become a family depending on each other for safety and comfort. We trusted each other with our lives.
Since the first thaw, all of us had been helping Rosalie get over her fear of weapons and killing.
I taught her how to use a gun. I'd learned from Charlie who'd been a stickler for proper weapon use. Emmett and Edward had just learned through trial and error, so we all thought I'd be the best choice.
Edward was the best at hand to hand combat, so he taught her how to use a blade. It was the hardest thing for Rose to get used to because it just brought up too many memories of killing her parents.
Day after day, Edward took Rose out to hunt and kill the dead. There were dead everywhere, so it was easy for them to find one or two stragglers that Rose could kill.
She would probably never be as adept as the rest of us at killing the dead, but she could defend herself.
"Well, we need to find a place where we can guarantee supplies. We're running out. If we knew how to grow food, we'd be set. But have any of you grown anything before?" Rosalie asked.
We all shook our heads.
"What about a gated community? There have to be some around here. Maybe on the outskirts of that city," I said, pointing to a larger city named Camden on the map. "Those places often have their own community gardens where each person can rent a plot to grow food."
My grandmother had lived in a garden home in Jacksonville. When she'd passed away six years ago, I'd gone with my mother to pack up her home. It was a quaint little community that was practically a town all on its own surrounded by a tall brick wall only accessible through a security gate.
Rosalie tapped the map slightly above the red dot for Camden. "I went to school near Camden and the north side is the rich area. There are a few gated communities with mostly seniors living there," she said.
"That's quite a distance to travel for a possible safe haven," Edward said, matter-of-factly. He wasn't arguing. He was just saying out loud what we all were thinking.
"We'll need to stick to less travelled roads. Looters and raiders will expect people to travel on the pre-disaster roads. Normally, getting there would take around three days by highway, but if we take the back roads and take into account the possibility of being cut off by the dead, it might take us around a week," Emmett said.
"Is there any other possibility that might be closer?" I asked.
"If there were, I think we would have found it by now," Emmett said, running his hands over his face.
"Okay. We need to start packing. We'll take one of the RVs. It'll be a tight fit, but I don't trust either of you driving," Emmett said, with a faint smile as he gestured towards Edward and me.
Both Edward and I nodded. We'd had our fill of driving on our own too.
The next day was full of activity as we packed essentials and took stock of supplies that we'd need to restock on. As we made our way towards our destination, we'd have to take the chance and stop in towns or even the city to find supplies.
We didn't have a lot of room in the RV for non-essentials. Four people took up a lot of room. So, we pared down on the amount of clothing that we'd collected for the winter. They weren't necessary when there were abandoned shopping malls everywhere.
We had very little fresh food left, but what we had we packed. We even packed the potatoes that were sprouting roots. Rosalie read somewhere that we might be able to plant them and get new potatoes.
It was decided that we'd leave in two days' time.
That night was quiet in the house. I knew it was because we were all sad about leaving. The farmhouse had become our home over the winter which was something none of us had had in a very long time. At times, it was hard to even remember life before the dead started to rise. Two years seemed like a lifetime.
Edward and I would have been graduating high school this summer. With Edward's birthday in May and mine in September, we were months away from turning seventeen. I would have already started making plans to go away to university. I'd always wanted to study English Literature and Edward had wanted to major in music. All of that was gone now, but the only consolation was we had each other. We had a family, albeit a strange one. In our old lives, the four of us would have never crossed paths. Now, I couldn't imagine life without them.
We all decided to go to bed early. I went up to bed first, feeling sad that this was one of the last nights in our bed.
Curling up under our thick blankets, I buried my face in my pillow.
I didn't even notice Edward come in the room until he slipped into bed.
Immediately, he pulled me to him and kissed me.
"Edward!" I gasped, pulling my mouth from his.
"What?" he asked innocently, as his hands inched up my legs.
"Your hands are freezing," I complained.
"Then help me warm them up," he said with a growl to his voice.
I squeaked and tried to roll away from him as his hands traced up the outside of my legs, my hips, my waist, before landing on the sides of my face.
"You're not getting away that easily," he said, pinning me to the bed with his body.
Then, his lips were on mine in a feverish kiss.
I responded to his kiss with urgency, feeling both playful and needy.
Most nights we explored each other in the dark, enjoying the time we had together. However, tonight was something different, something more.
I grasped at his broad muscular back as he pressed himself against me. I loved feeling the strength in those muscles as they flexed under my hands.
Our mouths separated as we gasped for breath, but his lips didn't stay away from me long. I soon felt them trailing along my jaw line and my neck, his hands moving south as well.
Grabbing a hold of the bottom of my tank top, he pulled it over my head.
There was no hesitation anymore as he bared me to him.
I trusted Edward more than anyone that I'd ever had in my life, including my parents. He'd become a part of me.
Once I was free of my clothes, I rolled us over so that I was straddling his hips.
I leaned down and kissed him gently and then with more pressure. My hair fell forward creating a curtain around us as I dragged my lips down his neck to the dip just below his throat where I licked and nipped, in the way I knew he liked.
He was panting now as I pulled his clothes off and wasted no time kissing down his chest and abdomen.
With our time in the safety of our home slipping away, I felt desperate for him. Once we were in the unknown, every day could be our last. I wanted him in every way possible because we might never have the chance again.
Even though we were young, I knew that Edward was it for me. I'd never be with anyone else and I didn't want to be.
"Do you want to have sex?" I asked him, having made the decision earlier that I was ready. I didn't pause in pressing open-mouthed kisses up his chest until I reached his jawline and then his lips.
"What?" he gasped, pulling his face away, so that he could look at me.
"I'll never want anyone else. I want to share this with you while we're still safe. Once we leave here there's no telling what could happen to us. Any day could be our last. So, I want you, all of you," I said, breathlessly.
"Oh God Bella..." was all that he could choke out.
"Is that a yes?" I asked, with a smirk.
"Absolutely," he said with his mouth quirking into his crooked grin.
I was nervous and so was he from the way his brow was furrowed, but we both wanted this.
Lying on our sides, facing each other with our legs intertwined I made the first move.
Sliding my fingers into his hair, I pulled his mouth to mine.
Edward groaned into my mouth, his hand gripping my hip pulling me flush against him. Taking over, he kissed me hard.
Our kissing became more frenzied as we pushed against each other skin to skin.
We rolled over and over, each taking control as we kissed and licked every part we could reach.
Our bodies seemed to move of their own will.
However, when his body fell into place between my legs, we froze.
Staring into each other's eyes, Edward spoke in a soft voice.
"Are you sure, Bella? Is this really what you want?" he asked me, his voice shaking with nervousness and need.
I stared at him for a minute, completely enthralled by the hungry look on his face.
With a kiss and then a small nod, I gave my permission.
With a moan of pleasure, Edward slowly entered me.
His eyes widened in what could only be described as shock as he pushed forward. However, when he was completely inside of me, his eyes clenched shut and a shudder wracked through his body as he held himself still.
"Oh my god…" Edward gasped, his head falling forward until his forehead was touching mine.
"Shit, shit, shit," I gasped at the pinch of sharp pain, squeezing my eyes shut.
It hurt. It hurt a lot, but I took in long slow breaths through my nose and tried to get my body to relax.
Edward's hands were on both sides of my face as he spoke my name.
"Bella?" he croaked, causing my eyes to open.
He was looking down at me with a look of half-pleasure half-pain on his face.
"Are you okay?" he choked out.
I didn't speak because I couldn't say yes, but I didn't want him to stop either.
"Do you need me to stop? I will if you want me to," he asked me gently, but I could feel his whole body vibrating with the need to continue what we'd started.
"It's okay babe. If it's too much, I'll stop," he groaned as I flexed around him trying to get comfortable.
"Bella, you gotta tell me, sweetheart," he said, pushing my hair off my forehead. "It's okay. We can stop… but just… just don't freak out if I cry."
I giggled at his words, which broke the tension.
As I shook under him in laughter, Edward let out a soft "oh" followed by a moan as the muscles in his abdomen flexed involuntarily.
My eyes closed at the feeling. However, when I felt him pulling away, I grabbed his hips and held him in place.
"Don't go," I said, "just give me a second."
"Anything, babe. I'll give you anything," he practically whimpered as I moved slightly under him, trying to get used to the feeling.
Once I felt relaxed enough, I opened my eyes and lifted my head up to kiss him.
"Okay," I said, with a trembling smile.
"I love you…" he moaned, his eyes falling shut as I moved slightly under him again.
As he began to move, the pain turned into a deep ache inside of me. At first, I didn't like it as the pain seemed to go deeper with every thrust. But when I looked up into Edward's face, I began to forget about the pain as I enjoyed the way his face contorted in pleasure as he thrust inside of me again and again.
Looking down at me, Edward's mouth turned up in his lopsided grin that I loved so much.
"You're amazing…" he said, followed by a groan. "I can't believe…" he began again, but then trailed off.
With our bodies pressed tightly together, I felt the way his body was trembling. It made me feel powerful and so very loved. It wasn't so much a physical pleasure as it was an emotional one.
However, when Edward shifted position and began to thrust a little bit harder, I discovered that I was able to push past the pain and find pleasure in the way he moved inside of me.
The familiar tension began to build and grow inside of me bringing me closer to the edge.
As if sensing it, Edward began to speed up, his thrusts becoming more urgent. I began to bring my hips up to meet his faster and more forcefully as together we found our release.
Edwards's warm body collapsed on mine in exhaustion, letting out an explosion of air next to my left ear.
For a few moments we lay there still connected, catching our breath.
"That was fucking intense," he said after a while. "Too short, but intense."
I couldn't help but laugh weakly at his words, which caused him to hold me a little tighter.
After a while, he rolled to the side so that he was no longer on top of me, but still keeping as much of our bodies in contact as possible. His arms threaded around me and pulled me close, so that my head rested on his chest. After a few moments we both fell into a deep and dreamless slumber.
In the middle of the night, I woke to Edward kissing me. This time we were gentle and tender, not rushed in the slightest.
Just before dawn, it was my turn to wake Edward up. I was insatiable now that the pain had diminished, and Edward was only too happy to oblige.
We didn't get up until very late the next day. We expected to be harassed by Rosalie and Emmett about it. However, beyond a soft smile from Rosalie, they left us alone.
Together, we finished up packing the house.
Being on the road was a terrifying experience. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to always be on edge, to know that danger lurked around every corner.
There were many times when we'd had to back track and find alternate routes to Camden because suddenly a swarm of dead would be converging on us.
We'd stopped in towns along the way to try to find supplies. Most of the towns had been looted quite thoroughly, but we were able to increase our supply some which was enough to risk going into zombie territories.
However, there was one reoccurring argument amongst the four of us that was never quite resolved. In order to get in and out of towns as quickly as possible, I insisted that we split up.
Edward was adamant that it wasn't going to happen, but I'd insisted. Rose and Emmett were not totally convinced of the plan, but eventually they agreed that it was worth the risk.
I'd never seen him so angry at me. For one whole day, he wouldn't speak to me.
When he'd finally given in, the only way he'd do it was if we were partnered up.
After a few successful trips, I knew he accepted that we were able to get more done split up, but he wouldn't admit it out loud.
Near the end of our trip, we passed through the downtown core of Camden on our way to the north side. The city was surprisingly empty of the dead. Usually, cities were the places that they congregated, which had to mean that there were still at least a few people left in the city to feed their hunger.
It was shocking how much towns and cities had changed in two years. Nature had started to take over with overgrown parks encroaching on city streets and grass growing through cracks in the sidewalks.
But it was the destruction that humans and the dead had left behind that was the most shocking. Burned out shells of buildings and storefronts, half of them falling down, were everywhere.
It looked like a war had taken place, which in a sense it probably had.
Now, the streets were chaotic messes, but at the same time eerily silent.
After scoping out the area for a few hours, we decided to split up.
We'd found a soup kitchen for the homeless that still had some food packed away in boxes in the kitchen. Rose and I were going to load it in the RV and then search out the other small stores in the area. Edward and Emmett were going to go the hospital. It was the more dangerous of the two scavenging jobs, so it was better for it to be them. If there were any survivors or the dead, they would probably be in or near the hospital. That's where people usually congregated when a crisis happened.
Rosalie had become a fairly good shot and when push came to shove, she didn't back down from a fight, so Edward gave in.
Once we'd cleared out the soup kitchen, Rose and I crept from store to store, filling our backpacks with anything we could find that was useful. We moved as quietly as we could because in the empty streets every small sound echoed.
As we were leaving one store, I felt a wave of relief when I heard the sounds of talking.
It was a necessity to split up in order to get supplies, but I felt anxious without Edward with me.
Moving towards the sound, I thought about calling out to them, but something held me back.
"Oh come on now, little lady. Don't be like that," said an unfamiliar male voice just around the corner of the building I was next to.
I came to a standstill at the sound. I hadn't heard another human voice besides Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward in over two years.
But instead of making me excited, I felt dread. Edward's stories of other survivors put me on alert.
"I don't think she likes you very much, Paul," another male voice said. "Let me have a go."
I felt Rosalie tense next to me as we leaned against the building.
I knew the name Paul. Edward had mentioned him as one of James' gang. Could it be the same guy?
I looked at her in concern, but her face was hard, not fearful like I'd expected.
"Keep your hands off me," a high-pitched voice responded from around the corner.
The woman's words were firm, but I could hear the underlying panic that she was holding at bay.
"Okay, little one. Put the knife down. We're not gonna hurt you," one of the men said, trying to sound gentle but it came out sounding menacing.
"Back away," the woman responded.
The tone of distress in her voice resonated with me, making it impossible for me to walk away. I looked at Rose and saw the same look on her face.
I had to see what was going but turning the corner of the street was a bad idea because it would put us too close to them.
We needed to get higher up, so we could see them.
Looking around, I realized that we were standing next to a Toys R Us store which in such a tense situation seemed really out of place.
I knew from past visits to Toys R Us stores that they mostly had the same layout, with the front of the building mostly glass. It would be a great vantage point to see what was going on.
Silently, I looked at Rose and nodded towards the building. In my head, I prayed that the door would be open as I grabbed a hold of the handle to the side door.
With a sigh of relief, I pulled the unlocked door open and stepped inside.
The bright colors and shiny floors were overwhelming at first. I'd become so used to the faded dirt covered surfaces of the new world that it was like stepping into an alien one.
It looked like the store had just been closed for the weekend. Nothing was out of place and everything was shiny and clean. During a zombie apocalypse, the last things that people were thinking about were candy and toys, I guessed.
Quickly, we made our way through the bulk candy section and ran up the stalled escalator to the second floor.
We hurried through the doll section, heading towards the large windows. However, a few feet away from the window, we dropped to our stomachs and crawled forward until we reached it.
Peering over the window ledge, I saw the group of people immediately.
There were three men surrounding a petite woman. At first, I thought she was a young boy because of her clothing and short black hair, but her voice had given her gender away.
The three men were looming over her, far too close for comfort. She kept turning in order to look for a way to escape, but they were blocking her way.
I watched as a large native man ran a finger up her arm and then through the back of her hair. One of the other men was using the butt of his rifle to lift the back of her shirt.
When the men laughed as the woman jumped in fear, anger filled me.
I had to do something. This woman was moments away from getting hurt.
I turned my head towards Rose and saw a fury in her eyes that I didn't expect. I'd half expected to see tears as the trauma of what had happened to her came to the forefront, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
Grabbing her hand, I squeezed it.
"What should we do?" I asked her in a whisper even though the likelihood was that the men wouldn't be able to hear us.
Rose didn't answer for a few minutes.
"We kill them all," she finally said in a cold voice.
I stared at her in shock. I'd never killed a person before. I'd killed tons of zombies, but they weren't people anymore. They were just monsters. However, after a few seconds, I realized that the people down there tormenting the woman were monsters too.
I nodded.
We had to distract them. If they knew we were coming, they could overpower us easily.
A plan, albeit a reckless one, materialized in my mind.
"I'll get their attention Rose. When they come after me, you shoot them. Stay hidden in the alleyway next to the building. I'm going to lead them away from the girl and down the street. They won't notice that you're there until it's too late."
She needed to be the one to take them out. Once their attention was focused on where the gunshots were coming from, I would help kill them. However, Rose deserved to take the first shot.
Rolling back onto my stomach, I crawled away from the window with Rose at my side.
I desperately wanted Edward to be here with me, but he wasn't. It was just Rose and me.
Dashing down the escalator and out the door, we slid along the wall until we reached the corner.
I didn't have much time. I could tell that things were escalating with the men, so if I was going to act, I had to do it now.
Taking a deep breath, I held my mouth against my arm. Slowly, I exhaled moaning deep and long like the dead.
The silence from around the corner told me that I got their attention.
"Man, did you hear that?" one of the men hissed.
"I think it was just the wind," another man said.
I waited a few seconds and did it again, making the sound rife with need.
I was even convincing to my own ears.
After a few more seconds, I made my move.
Running around the side of the building, I faked being out of breath.
"Help me!" I cried, pitifully. "They're coming!"
I pretended to gasp for breath as I closed the distance to them.
All three of the men, spun in my direction. Their eyes widened in surprise at my appearance, but then one after the other their eyes narrowed in a predatory look.
"Now, now, now, sweetheart," one of the men said, stepping forward. "What's got you all shaken up?"
He casually walked towards me with his hands out in front of him.
The look of him made my stomach heave. He was big, too large for me to ever get away from him if he got a hold of me. He had black slicked-back hair gathered in a ponytail and a pockmarked face that was covered in grime. His coal black eyes raked over my body as he got closer.
"There's so many of them. Help me," I sobbed, taking a small step back as he stepped a little closer.
The native man, who I knew was Paul, started walking towards me too as the third man gripped the small woman's arm and started to drag her with him towards me.
"It's okay, sweetheart…" the black-haired man said with a leer. "Just let Uncle Caius help. We can chase away all your worries. The zombies won't hurt you. Not while we're around."
"Are you alone little girl?" Paul asked as he approached me. "Caius and I, we'll take good care of you."
"I… I… I…" I began, but then with a cry of fear I turned and ran away, but at a slow pace.
I knew they'd follow me. They wouldn't be able to resist a defenseless girl.
"Hey, what's the rush?" Caius asked, as he rushed after me.
I heard the sound of the two of them running, so I turned the corner and passed the alleyway where I knew Rose was hiding.
I stopped in the middle of the street a few buildings down and looked around as if confused about where to go.
But as I stood there, another form materialized out of the dark of an alleyway further down.
The man came towards me and whistled.
"Where you goin, baby?" he asked, sauntering up to me.
I didn't know what to do. I'd never expected for there to be another one who blocked my path.
A gun shot rang out, so loud that it hurt my ears.
I spun around and saw Paul drop to his knees.
Then, another shot rang out, striking Caius in the shoulder. However, beyond a cry of pain, Caius remained on his feet.
He lifted his gun and aimed it towards the alleyway where I knew Rose was hiding.
"No!" I shouted and tried to swing my shotgun off my shoulder to fire at him, not noticing the fourth man was right behind me.
Before I could pull the trigger, the gun was ripped out of my hands and my shotgun clattered to the ground. The man grabbed me around the waist, pinning my arms to my sides.
I watched helplessly as Caius took aim towards the alley and fired.
I let out a cry of despair when there was no answering gun blast.
Suddenly, I was spun around to face the stranger who had a hold of me.
"This girl's a live one," he said with a chuckle. "I do believe that she set a trap for us."
Letting go of me with one arm, he grabbed my chin and turned me to face him. He was an older man with thinning brown hair and glasses.
"Too bad, you didn't think about a contingency plan. I think you just got your friend killed," he said with a smile.
My eyes filled with tears. I didn't know whether Rose was dead, but it was eerily silent.
"Please, don't hurt us," the high pitched voice of the woman we'd tried to rescue called out.
Letting me go, the man shoved me towards the black-haired woman. I had to grab her to keep her from falling as I collided with her.
She looked up at me with sad blue eyes. Now, that she was close to me, I realized that she was probably about my age. She just looked younger because of her size. I could see and feel how she was way too thin under her bulky clothing.
We were now surrounded by three men. Paul, who was shot by Rosalie, was not one of them. But three was enough.
"Stay away," I growled, whipping out my knife and swiping it in an arc around us to clear a space. But the men circled us, tighter and tighter, closing in.
"This one wants to fight," one of the men said.
"I think you're right, Bruce," said Caius.
Everything exploded inside me. The need to survive and escape combined inside me with the terror-fueled realization that I might not be able to.
I started desperately jabbing with my knife, trying to reach them, but they easily dodged me.
However, suddenly, Bruce was ripped from the circle.
At first, I thought a zombie had gotten him, but through the fury of the attack I saw a blade flash in the air before coming down on Bruce.
"What the fuck!" the man named Caius shouted, forgetting about us and turning towards the attacker.
When the attacker finished with Bruce, he spun towards us. Again, I almost thought he was one of the dead. He was ragged and filthy and there were miscellaneous spatters of blood that covered his gaunt hollowed out face. However, when I looked into his wild blood-thirsty eyes that shone from under a mop of tangled blonde hair, I knew that he was human.
As he approached us, he growled in an animalistic way. The men hauled out their weapons and charged at him. The guy with glasses fired his gun which narrowly missed the attacker, but he didn't even flinch as the bullet whizzed by him. He was too busy leaping on the other and beating his head against the ground with a sickening crunch.
At the sight of his dead friend limp on the ground, Caius bolted.
I sighed in relief for a moment until I saw that our rescuer was coming towards me fast with a snarl of rage.
He lunged at me, grabbing me by the neck and spinning me around so that he was pressing his knife to my neck from behind me.
His left hand was clamped hard around my throat while his knife pressed against me. He held me just slightly off the ground, so that I was left flailing in his grip, choking and scratching desperately at his hand. However, when the blade against my throat bit deeper into my skin, I forced myself to go limp.
"I'm going to cut your throat for touching her," he said in a quietly menacing voice.
"I… I… wasn't…" I tried to choke out, not wanting to anger him, but I couldn't form the words.
I started to gag, as the pressure on my throat was too much.
"Sweetheart, let her go," the petite woman said, tugging on his arm. "She didn't hurt me. She was helping me."
But his grip didn't loosen. He actually squeezed tighter.
My eyes started to lose focus from lack of oxygen.
Suddenly, screaming and shouting erupted around me, but my sole focus was on the cold edge of his knife that was nicking my throat.
A loud scuffling noise came from my left and suddenly the air rushed back into my lungs as I was dropped to the ground.
As my chest heaved for air, I heard the sounds of grunts and thumps behind me.
Rosalie was suddenly at my side, helping me to sit up.
"Bella? Are you okay?" she asked, tilting my face up so that she could see my neck.
"Rose," I rasped, brokenly.
Through bleary eyes, I looked her over to see where the blood that was splattered on her shirt was coming from.
As a stinging pain flared across my throat, I reached up to touch it.
"Did he slash my throat?" I wheezed.
"No, sweetheart. It's just cut a little," Rose said, looking over my shoulder in concern.
"What's happening?" I rasped.
"I'm going to kill you!" a familiar voice snarled, causing me to turn quickly in Rosalie's arms.
It was Edward and he had the madman pressed up against the wall.
While Edward held him immobile, the man growled and thrashed trying to get away.
"Edward! Please don't hurt him!" the petite black-haired woman shouted, grabbing a hold of Edward's arm.
I jolted in shock.
She knew Edward?
"Jasper! Please stop fighting," the woman sobbed, trying to soothe the thrashing man by grabbing a hold of his arm.
Jasper… Jasper?
Then, everything became clear.
The little woman was Alice.