Chapter 44: In a Heartbeat.
They were all split up into small groups. Ally had Nathan strapped to her chest with a baby carrier that had been in the farmhouse. Jess was rubbing her tired eyes, and Nevil was sleeping in Austin's arms. Ally was holding a torch and shinning it around the dark woods.
Jaime had been gone for so long, and Gregory had disappeared to. They were all split up in search teams to try and find the pair, but Ally had a sickening feeling in her stomach. She didn't want to find them dead.
Mimi had decided to contribute to the search team, but Mike didn't want to go. Ronny had stayed behind to watch him, and everyone else was out looking for them. Wayne was a nervous wreck. Everyone was a nervous wreck.
Ally kissed the side of Nathan's head, whilst he played with her necklace. Jess was stumbling about in the dark, but Ally made sure she was in arms reach. She didn't want to lose her out here.
"MOMMY!" Jess screeched, and Ally jumped, reaching out for her. Jess launched herself at Austin's legs, and held on for dear life.
Ally stared down at what had spooked Jess out of her skin. On the ground was a human arm, chunks of the skin had been removed with a knife, poorly. The stench filled her nose, and she recoiled from it. Austin came up behind her, and grabbed her shoulder. Then a memory flashed before her eyes:
"It's not that...he's just cautious about who to trust," Ally said. "We've met a lot of bad people."
"So have I, doesn't mean I've stopped trusting people. I've met rapists and cannibals," Jaime explained.
Every single alarm bell went off in Ally's head, and she looked at Austin.
"We need to get back to the farm," Ally whispered.
"We need to find them," He reminded her.
"I-I know," She whimpered. "But, we need to get the kids back to the cabin, it's not safe."
"Nowhere's safe."
"I know, but this is worse," She whispered. "Austin please, I want to go back, everyone else is still out looking, but I want to get them back to the cabin."
"Okay," He said. "C'mon lets go."
They trekked back through the woods, and after twenty minutes they returned to the farm. Ronny was walking around the farmhouse, and Mike was sat on the porch steps. They made their way down to their cabin. Austin placed Nevil down on his bed, and Jess padded over to hers, pulling the covers over her head. Ally unstrapped Nathan from her chest, and put him down in his crib.
Ally walked into the bedroom, and Austin was taking off his boots.
"What's going on?" He asked, and she sat down on the bed.
"Jaime once told me that she ran into cannibals when she was alone...that arm wasn't from a creeper, it was human, and it had chunks of its flesh missing...I freaked out," She looked at him with teary eyes, and Austin cupped the side of her face.
"It's okay. The others will be back soon," He said.
"I know," She whispered. "Jaime will be okay, won't she?"
"Yeah," He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "She always is."
"And Gregory?"
"They'll both be fine," Austin kissed her forehead, and she smiled.
"Thank you?"
"For what?"
"For just being you, I love you," She kissed him quickly on the lips, and he smiled.
"I love you too," He whispered, then he rested his hand on the side of her neck, bringing her lips back onto his.
His tongue slipped into her mouth, brushing against hers. Ally groaned, and fisted his shirt. He began to push her down, so she was lying on her back, and his body came down to cover hers. She slowly moved her hands up his chest, then buried them in his long thick hair.
Austin kneaded the flesh on her hips, then moved his hand underneath her top. His warm hands moved up her skin, but he still managed to leave a trail of goosebumps on his way up to her breasts. He sucked her bottom lip in his mouth, then cupped her through her bra.
Ally arched her body against his touch, and a moan came from the back of her throat. He kissed the corner of her mouth, then pressed sloppy kisses along her jawline, then down her neck. He sucked on the skin of her pulse, and she continued to massage his head with her fingertips.
He pulled her top up her body, and discarded it onto the floor. He removed her bra after, then kissed his way down her neck and down to her breast. He brought up his hand to cup her left breast, then he kissed his way to her right breast, he flicked his tongue against her budded nipple, and she bit down hard on her bottom lip.
He towered over her, and kissed the corner of her mouth. She grabbed the hem of his top, and pulled it up over his head. She pressed her lips against his, and buried her fingers into his hair. He undid the button on her trousers, and pulled them down her legs.
Her whole body was pulsing with desire, and her blood pulsed with heat. She ran her hands down his hard chest, and she unbuckled his belt, and began to push his trousers down. Austin kicked them off the bed, then looped his fingers around her panties, and took them off her.
Ally needed him really bad, and it had been so long for them, so much had gone on and gone wrong. Austin removed his boxers, and his hardened self sprung free. Ally wrapped her legs around his waist, and pulled his lips back down to hers.
His tip pressed against her centre, and he slowly pushed inside of her. Ally moaned and her head rolled backwards into the bed. Austin rested his hands on either side of her head, and stayed still for a few seconds, just savouring the moment.
He began to move inside of her, and she bit down hard on her bottom lip, trying to contain her moans of pleasure. Her fingers dug into his biceps, and he grabbed her hips, and moved quicker inside of her.
Ally's breathing quickened, and she cried out as she got closer and closer to her peak. She groaned as Austin brought her closer and closer to the edge, and she finally let herself go, and soon after Austin released himself inside of her. He collapsed on top of her, and she buried her face into the crook of his neck
...
Ally was carrying a wailing Nathan in her arms, as she walked across the fields, and headed towards one of the barns on the other fields. She bounced him on her hip, but he continued to cry and cry. She kissed the side of his head, and hummed to him.
It was very hot, and she knew he couldn't stand the heat, and she assumed that a barn would be relatively cooler than being outside. Most of the group was out looking for Gregory and Jaime, but there was no sign of them. Ally refused to think that anything bad had happened.
She opened the door, and she froze when the door shut. Wayne was sat on the floor, leaning against the wooden horse stall. He had the handle of his gun resting against his forehead and she could see the tears in his eyes. He looked over, and Ally flashed him a smile.
She walked over, and slid down next to him. Nathan began to calm down, and he nuzzled his face into her neck. Wayne looked at her, and Ally reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Lucas said we should consider the possibility that they both ran off together," He said, his voice flat. "Why would she run away?"
"We don't know that," Ally assured him. "We both know that she can handle herself out there. She was alone for years, and Gregory will be with her."
"I just got her back," He whispered. "Michelle doesn't give a crap that her daughters missing...Harriet cares more and she's not even her daughter!"
"They'll both come back. I know it," Ally squeezed his hand, and he flashed her a weak smile.
Ally felt something wet on her top, and she looked to see Nathan was chewing the fabric, and it was now drenched.
"I think he might be teething, it's probably why he's been crying," Wayne said, and Nathan hiccuped.
"Thanks," She replied, and she kissed the top of Nathan's head. "I best get back to the kids, Grace is watching them."
"Okay," They both got to their feet, and Ally quickly kissed his cheek.
"They'll be fine."
...
"Do you see that?" Trish stepped up behind Austin, and Dez appeared at his side. The three of them had been grouped together to search for Jaime and Gregory, but they weren't having any luck, until now.
"Is that, blood?" Dez stepped closer, and Austin placed his crossbow on the woodland ground, and crouched down in front of the pool of blood. He reached out and touch it with his fingers, it wasn't completely wet, but it was still fresh.
"Is it human blood?" Trish asked, and Austin nodded his head.
"Look there are some footprints," Dez pointed out, and Austin stood up straight. "Can you track them?"
"Yes," Austin grunted. "Let's go."
Austin led the way, and he began to track the footprints. There was only one set, but there was dragging marks along the dirt, which suggests that someone was being pulled along by the other person. Austin didn't see that as a good sign. He didn't know if it was them, but someone was clearly in trouble.
They ventured further into the woods, and the footsteps led them onto a gravel path, then the footprints stopped, and there was just two lines of someone being dragged along the gravel.
"What if it's not them?" Trish asked.
"Whoever these footprints belong to are carrying a dead weight body, and there feet are dragging along the floor, someones obviously hurt," Austin explained.
"Look," Dez nudged Austin's shoulder, and they all looked ahead and saw a cabin in a clearing. The trail led up to the cabin, and there was blood on the porch. Dez pulled out his gun, and he placed his hand on the door handle. Austin nodded his head, and Dez opened the door. Austin walked in, crossbow raised, and they all scattered inside the cabin, checking all the rooms.
They were all empty.
Austin walked into the kitchen, and saw blood on the tiled floor, there was bloodstained cloths scattered on the floor, and a bloody knife. Austin brushed his fingers against the blood. It was still fresh.
"They have only just left. The blood is still fresh," Austin said.
"Its beginning to get dark," Trish sat down on one of the chairs. "We should head back."
"They'll be long gone by the morning," Austin replied. "We have to get going."
"Austin, we don't know who else is out in the woods. It's to dangerous at night," Dez explained. "I know you want to find them, but we have to think about our safety as well, and I'm sure Ally is missing you right now. You've been gone all day."
"Whatever."
...
"Can you believe them!" Austin snapped, and Ally looked over at him from the kitchen. He stormed in, and sat down at the table. "The longer we leave it, the likelihood of us find them is almost zero!"
"Austin-"
"We were right on their tail, but because it was getting dark we had to come back!" He shouted, and slammed his fist against the table. "I'm trying to do what I do best, but they only care about their safety!"
"Austin the kids are asleep," Ally placed a plate of food down in front of him. "Eat."
"I need to go back out there!"
"Austin, no!" Ally snapped, and she walked over to him. He glared at her, and she sat down on his lap, resting her hands against his chest. "What if someone has taken them...you can't go out there at night, because what if you don't come back-"
"There's a lot of what if's in that sentence," He growled, and she thumped his chest.
"Austin..." She sighed. "I know that you care about everyone in this group, but sometimes I think you care too much...you're putting yourself at risk without even giving it a second thought-"
"I'd do it for you!" He hissed.
"Austin, that is completely different!"
"How?" He whipped back.
"Because I'm your wife!" She shouted, and her fingers curled around his top. "They're going to be okay, and we will find them, but I know that the last thing they'd ever want is you putting your life on the line for them. Both of them can handle themselves, both of them can fight, creepers and humans! I don't want you to be putting your life on the line, and then something bad happens and you don't come back!" Tears poured from her eyes. "We have a family to look after! The same goes for me! You have to think before you do things! It's not the same as it was years ago! It's not you and me alone! It's you, me, and our kids! How do you think they would feel if you don't come back? Huh? You saw how they were like when I got stabbed, it almost killed them! And it would sure as hell be the same if it was you! Because they love you, and so do I, and the thought of you getting hurt, breaks my heart, and I can't even begin to imagine what you went through when I had been stabbed! I don't want to see people carrying your body back, because you didn't think about your actions, and you did something reckless!"
Austin reached out and wiped her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. She sighed, and rested her forehead against his.
"I'm sorry," She whispered. "Nathan hasn't stopped crying all day, and I'm just really exhausted."
"You're right," He said. "Being reckless is only going to get me dead...but, when it comes to your safety, or any of the kids, being reckless is always going to be a major factor, and I'd do it in a heartbeat."
AN: Hi, sorry about the wait. I found out my exam results, and there has been a lot of celebrating especially for my English Literature, as I got an A, and can now to the course I want to do in college :) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and a lot of you have been asking for a sequel, but I'm not sure. I have another story in the works at the moment and I wanted to get that out there after I've finished this, but I promise you all that it will be a happy end, personally, myself I hate sad endings, so don't you guys worry:)
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