War by Kim Faulks

Author:Kim Faulks [Faulks, Kim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-05-20T05:00:00+00:00

9

They jerked and shuddered, stumbling more than walking, and as they came closer I understood why.

They were thin…too thin. Bones stuck out from underneath saturated clothing. They looked more than emaciated…they looked sick, dying.

Pestilence grabbed my hand as I stepped forward. “Wait,” he urged. ”Let them come to us.”

I wanted to drag my hand from his grip. I wanted to help.

“Careful, Harlow,” War murmured and found my gaze. “You don’t know these people.”

“They were my neighbors,” the young father shoved up from the ground and took a step forward, “before the end of the world happened.”

“Billy!” the older male cried out and stumbled toward the young father.

The weathered and worn older male gave me a careful glance, and then dropped his gaze to my thigh. Loyalty raged in his eyes before he led the others closer. “Show me, Billy.”

But the young father shoved the woman in his arms forward. “Marie’s first.”

Determination raged in the older man’s gaze before he finally nodded. Billy pushed, urging Marie closer. She glanced at me, and then War and Pestilence, as she clutched the torn shirt and advanced. “I’m fine, Seb, honestly.”

But the older man just shook his head. “You know how stubborn he is. Come closer Marie, let me check.”

And then I saw the bump in her belly…and knew the origin of his fear.

She was pregnant.

“No pain?” Seb murmured as he slowly dropped to his knees and probed her belly.

She shook her head as others followed the old guy closer to the battlefield. An older woman…and two more younger ones, huddled close together, but there were some young men, and a little girl.

I tried to count…tried to take them all in.

“There’s twelve,” Pestilence murmured. “If there isn’t now, then there will be.”

Twelve…just like that?

“Seb,” the older woman called and glanced our way. “Are you sure this is safe?”

He gave Marie a nod and a pat on the hand. “If there’s any bleeding, come find me right away, or if the baby stops moving. He’ll be quiet for a little while, but then you should feel him.”

And it was then he shoved up from the ground on scrawny legs and turned to us. There was a second of hesitation before he took a step closer and held out his hand.

But it wasn’t to the two men at my side. It was to me. One glance at Angel, sitting with her paw strapped and my shirt torn to shreds, made up his mind. “Name’s Sebastian, most folks call me Seb. Saw what you did here…took some damn guts.”

I gripped his hand and felt warm fingers close around mine. “My name’s Harlow, and this is…”

“David,” Pestilence answered. “And my brother…Warren.”

Seb glanced at War, gave a nod, and dropped my hand. “They’ll be coming, you know,” he glanced at the dead lying in the middle of the street. “We’ll need to get rid of the bodies, hide the truck, and hope to God they pass on through.”

He lifted his head and stared up at the deluge. “The rains will wash the blood and the scent away.

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