CHAPTER THREE
As usual, the next few days fly by with work around the ranch, feeding the animals, fixing broken things, making meals, cleaning, etc. It never fails to amaze me how much work goes into keeping it running, and I learn something new around every corner. Just this morning, Jan walked me through repairing the fence line along the north side of the property.
By the time we finished wrestling the wire into submission, my fingers practically wept and I walked away, both proud of my efforts and weirdly sad about my future.
Another trip out to Flag is in order because there’s no other way of knowing if we missed anything, especially with several sporting goods chains, grocery stores, and even, apparently, a Sam’s Club that no one mentioned to me before. All that effort on the Target, and there was a Sam’s Club there for the pickings?
We decide to head back out the following day. Jase and Michele elect to stay behind this time. I offer to go, so both Manny and Cole also volunteer, neither willing to let me go alone. Lorenzo, Sofia, and another guy from their group make up the rest, and I’m a little uneasy with the thought of trusting strangers to have my back without knowing their abilities or even if they should be trusted.
We set out bright and early in two trucks with Manny, Sofia, and their plus one in one, and Lorenzo, Cole, and me in the other. From the tension radiating off Cole, I can tell he’s no more pleased about the arrangement than I am, which means we will both be on our guard.
We drive the truck, stolen months ago from a team of hillbillies who tried to kill us outside a gas station en route to Flagstaff. They didn’t meet a good end, and it was the first time I killed someone, but I don’t regret what I did.
The others commandeer a truck that the ranch had around before the end, and we set out quietly. I observe Cole and Lorenzo from the backseat, the seating arrangement purposeful on my part to ensure Lorenzo isn’t behind one of us and therefore putting us in a vulnerable position.
Cole pulls along the drive and at the last second, I spot Caleb coming around the corner of the barn. With a tentative smile, I raise my hand, but he looks away, and my spirits sink. Caleb was part of my teenage crew when we first settled in Flag. I failed him and Rachel when I hid the secrets of my past. Rachel ended up dead at the hands of my uncle, and Caleb, although thawing, is still cool toward me. I have hope that with time, I’ll be forgiven.
As Cole drives, Lorenzo gazes out the front passenger-side window. We’ve been down this road many times now, so for me, it’s all the same, but perhaps for Lorenzo, the scenery is new and exciting.
Dry fields fly by, the untamed grass higher than ever, and an occasional car sits along the road, long since abandoned. If you look hard enough, you can see one or two lone zombies wandering aimlessly afar.
“So, Lorenzo, what was Phoenix like when you left?” I ask. I lived in Phoenix for many years. It was home, and I’m curious about how it’s changed since we left the day of the outbreak.
Lorenzo turns in his seat and shoots me a glittering smile, and not for the first time, I remark on his similarities to Sofia. His thick black brows wag when he speaks, and he has a distinct twinkle in his eye as if he knows the effect he has on women. It’s annoying but true. I’m not immune and stare at his face, dumbfounded.
“Call me Enzo. It’s a wasteland; the dead roam everywhere. Those who survived fight each other for whatever is left. Some gangs banded together; others stand alone. You name it. It’s not safe, not anymore.”
My heart aches for those stuck behind, either too scared or too stupid to leave. I’m sure there are still many resources to be found, but the sheer amount of the dead makes it a foolish endeavor to stay. We were lucky to have found each other and left when we did, finding like-minded people along the way. This would be a whole lot harder without them.
“How did you meet up with Sofia and the rest?”
An indefinable expression crosses his face before it smooths out into his customary schmoozing grin, and I fight a frown, weirded out enough to think I shouldn’t give my thoughts away.
“We were all trying to survive on the streets, you know. Nothing special. We just found each other over time,” Enzo replies.
I nod my head because the story is simple enough, but my gut twists at what I believe to be a lie or omission of some kind. I don’t know what he could be lying about, but my bullshit meter is off the charts.
“How about you?” he asks.
Shrugging noncommittally, I search for a way to respond, now hesitant to share anything of value with him, and maybe he feels the same way about me. Perhaps it’s as simple as that.
“I’ve known Cole and Michele for years. We picked up his friend and headed north almost immediately.”
Cole nods his head in assent from the front and meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. His face is noncommittal, but I see the same caution in his eyes and I nod my head infinitesimally.
“Good, good. To have friends at an end like this is a good thing, eh?” Enzo says with a smile.
I smile in return, but I’m not feeling the gesture, which may be why he searches my face before changing the subject. “So, we’re heading to Flagstaff? What are we hoping to find there?”
Cole responds rather brusquely, “Any food, water, weapons, and medical supplies we can find. We don’t know if they’ve all been picked over, but we need to check because winter will be here soon.”
“Ah, yes. Good idea,” Enzo says, casting me another pretty smile.
As handsome as he is—and yes, my heart picks up a little because he’s that beautiful—another part of me is disgusted by his assumption that he can charm any woman with a stretch of his lips, even though he is half successfully doing it with me. Despite my distaste, my lips stretch into a smile anyway. Ugh.
Cole harrumphs from the front seat, and I look his way, smiling for his benefit, but his gaze only hardens a little before he turns back to the road.
The rest of the drive is made in silence, and I wonder how Manny is doing with Sofia, considering the weird feelings he expressed just days ago.