Dead Living (34 page)

“Aaron? Is that you back there?”

“Uh, yeah, it's me.”

“You've seen me naked before.”

“Yeah, but it was dark. And now there's
water, and sunlight, and, wow.”

“This water is freezing. Turn around so I can
get out.”

He did so, holding out the sheet for her to
grab. He kept his eyes clenched shut.

“Hurry up before I lose my willpower.”

She smiled as she wrapped the sheet around
her. It felt silly to brush her hair, but she took the brush from
his hand. Things felt different between them now, more playful.

“You can open your eyes now.”

He didn't make eye contact with her. He kept
his gaze focused on the clothes he held. ”I've got some tee shirts,
shorts, some mismatched socks.”

“My jeans are fine. It's my sports bra that
got ruined. Aaron, you can look at me.”

He lifted his head up. Even in a white sheet,
she was a gorgeous woman.

She stepped forward and gave him a hard kiss
on the lips. She smiled and took the clothes from him.

He pulled his shirt off and splashed water on
his face from the river. She watched him with a grin. She didn't
know what the future had in store for them, but she knew they would
be together.

Aaron turned to look at her. She was already
dressed in her jeans and a tee shirt.

“Should we take the kids with us?” she asked.
“Derek and Amanda are at the school because of you. And we're both
pretty close with Nikki.”

Aaron smiled. It was amazing how far Sam had
come. When he first met her, she wanted nothing to do with
anyone.

He thought it over. “I think the safest place
for them is Lexington. But we can ask. If they want to come, I
won't stop them.”

They went inside one of the old houses to
kill time and lay low. They threw another sheet on top of a couch
and laid across from each other with their legs intertwined. Both
their bodies hurt, but they never felt better.

They took naps and watched each other. Aaron
didn't think Baltimore was a good idea, especially if the children
came along. He wouldn't have a problem, but corpses would be a
constant danger to everyone else.

He smiled as he wondered if Uncle Frank's
cabin was still in good shape.

“You've never been in any danger, have you?”
she asked. “Baltimore, all the way back to here.”

“Well, I wasn't exactly having a fun time in
that slave truck.”

She was happy, knowing she did save his
life.

“Why did you stay in Baltimore?”

He didn't expect that question. “After my
family was murdered, I just had enough of people. So I found the
place I was sure I wouldn't find any.”

She wanted to share something with him, but
there wasn't much about her life he didn't already know.

“I'm, uh, glad I found you,” she said.

It was getting easier to say, but she still
felt foolish. She always kept her feelings bottled away.

He laughed at the memory and rubbed her leg
under her jeans. She liked that.

“I found you, actually.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You get what
I mean.”

“I know. Listen.” He lowered his eyes. “Are
you sure you want to come with me? I don't have much to offer.”

She couldn't believe what she was
hearing.

She was quiet, just watching him. He looked
up slowly, almost afraid to meet her eyes.

She caught him by surprise when she dove
across the couch. She was on top of him in a second. She pinned her
body against him and kissed him. It didn't take long for Aaron to
respond. He kissed her back as their hands roamed all over each
other. His ribs throbbed from the beating Garrett gave him the
night before. Sam's shoulder and eye hurt. Neither one of them
slowed down.

Sam sighed quietly as Aaron kissed her neck.
They'd been dancing around each other's feelings for a long time.
Something always got in the way, but not anymore.

“You've got plenty to offer,” she whispered
in his ear.

She pulled her shirt over her head. She
helped him out of his shirt, and he caressed her sides gently. It
felt wonderful to touch her, but he was nervous.

“It's been a while for me,” he admitted.

She held his face and smiled. “Me too,” she
said. “But we'll be fine.”

Aaron and Sam did better than fine, several
times.

She lay asleep in his arms on the couch. They
were both still completely naked, only covered by a sheet. Her
rhythmic breathing threatened to put him to sleep as well. He
smiled as he looked down at Sam's beautiful face. Now he could
finally understand what his father felt, all those years ago, when
he looked at Denise.

Sam was simply an incredible woman. Strong,
tough, gorgeous, and whether she wanted to admit it or not, sweet
and caring.

She stirred and gave him a squeeze. She
flashed that amazing smile and ran a hand down his chest.

“Hi.”

He kissed her.

“Is it late?” she asked.

“The sun's still up. We've got some more
daylight before it gets dark.”

She strategically rested her hand on his hip.
“So we've got some time?”

He smiled as he held her tight and shifted
under her, not bothering to fight the arousal he felt.

Aaron stopped when he heard something
outside. Sam saw his expression and stiffened.

It was a walker moan, followed by dragging
feet.

They both quickly got dressed, staying low to
the floor the entire time. He grabbed her hand and they crawled to
the shattered living room window.

Aaron stood up, and Sam felt a flash of
panic. She had forgotten that Aaron was entirely safe from the
undead. She stayed low, leaning against the wall next to the
window. She watched Aaron's face, and saw his jaw drop.

She didn't utter a sound. She grabbed Aaron's
hand and gave it a light pull. He looked down at her, and she
questioned with her eyes.

What the hell is going on?

“Peek very slowly,” he said in a normal
speaking voice. “Don't make any noise.”

She carefully moved just enough so she could
see out the window with one eye. She didn't like what she saw.

Corpses slowly moved down the street toward
Lexington High. There were so many Sam couldn't get a good count.
She had never seen that many bunched together all at once, except
in Baltimore. They moved with a purpose, slow and steady. It was
the most terrifying thing she'd ever seen.

“The school,” Aaron said. “They have to be
heading there.”

Sam pulled him down close to her and leaned
forward to whisper. “We have to go help.”

Aaron was proud of her. “Yeah, we do.”

He grabbed his bow and quiver from the floor
and led Sam through the house to the back door. Aaron kept Sam
behind the house with his arm as he stood in clear view for the
walkers to see. It was strange to watch Aaron move. She had to keep
reminding herself he was different.

Aaron watched as the horde of corpses kept
marching down the street. He knew it had to be a thinker leading
them. His eyes went wide as he realized which thinker it was.

“Oh shit,” he said.

“What's going on?”

He grabbed her gently by the shoulders. “You
make your way back to the school. Keep to the backyards. They're
all slow, so you should be able to beat them there. Warn everyone,
get them ready. I'll slow them down as much as I can.”

“Be careful.”

He kissed her on the lips.
“I'll be fine.
You
be careful.”

Aaron watched Sam as she sprinted away.
Richardson told Aaron he feared this day, the day the walkers came
in force. He knew the easiest thing to do was go in the opposite
direction. But that wasn't in Aaron's nature, and not in Sam's
anymore either.

A horde of corpses destroyed Allister's camp
in minutes. He couldn't let the same thing happen to Lexington.

He ran to the street and joined the corpses.
He shoved as many to the ground as he could while making his way to
the front of the horde. There were so many he didn't feel he was
slowing them.

He finally pushed his way to the front and
saw Sweatpants. Aaron felt a twinge of anger as he realized he was
outsmarted by a corpse. Sweatpants had climbed out of the Pit, and
simply left the school to gather more undead.

Aaron stood on the sidewalk and let loose an
arrow. The arrow pierced the thinker's head through the ear. It
fell to the ground, tripping up other corpses.

The corpse horde didn't slow down.

His spirits fell. The corpses already had the
scent of flesh in their noses. They didn't need a thinker to guide
them the rest of the way.

“Oh no.”

Aaron could see the high school up ahead.

He tripped a few more in the front before
sprinting away. He killed a few more as he gained ground, but there
were at least two hundred walkers. He didn't have two hundred
arrows.

As he ran toward the gate he could see two
trucks moving in position to block it from the inside. Travis and
Larry parked the trucks nose to nose, tight against the gate. He
scaled the fence as Richardson ran across the field carrying guns.
Sam was right behind him.

“Aaron!” she shouted as he jumped down.

She gave him a hug. He saw the stunned look
on Richardson's face as the older man stared at Aaron's wrapped up
arm.

“I killed the thinker,” he explained. “But
they're still coming.”

Richardson sighed as more of Lexington's men
and women ran across the field. Not everyone had a weapon. Aaron
wished he had found more guns during his supply run.

“Carrie's with the kids,” James explained.
“We got the bullet out of her leg, but she won't be walking for a
while.”

Richardson gestured to the horde approaching.
“If we don't solve this problem, she won't ever walk again.”

James' eyes grew wide. “Shit. Samantha said a
few corpses were coming.”

“She exaggerated.”

James looked at Aaron. “I heard you were
dead.”

“They exaggerated.”

Richardson held his hands up to get
everyone's attention. He could see the fear in their eyes. They had
about fifty people present, and only twenty guns.

“Okay, everyone,” he announced. “Everyone
with a weapon, get up front. Everyone else get behind and hold
ammo. Aim for the head.”

A voice came from the crowd. “We're all gonna
die.”

Richardson wanted to calm the people he had
known for years, but unfortunately, he thought the same thing.

“No, we're not,” Aaron said. “We've all
worked too hard to get where we are to give up now.”

Sam held Aaron's hand for a moment, then
stood near the fence.

The walkers were twenty feet away. Aaron
heard some cries and whimpers among the crowd. Some of them hadn't
seen a corpse in the wild in years.

Richardson fired the first shot, and everyone
else followed. Nerves and shaky hands were a problem. Only a few
corpses fell.

“The head!” Sam shouted. “You've gotta get
the head! Come on, guys.”

The firing continued, and more corpses fell.
Aaron fired arrow after arrow.

It wasn't enough.

The corpses made it to the fence. They spread
out and pushed against the metal. Sam and the rest continued to
fire. For every corpse they killed, another took its place.

“Reload!” Sam called.

Aaron handed her a clip.

He dropped as many corpses as he could. His
stare passed over two he recognized.

Garrett and Ray.

Even in the afterlife, Ray followed Garrett
wherever he went. Aaron shook his head. They couldn't even last a
full day.

He shot Ray clean through the head. Before he
could kill Garrett, a bullet penetrated his forehead. Aaron looked
over at Sam, who had a tiny smile on her face.

“You don't know how long I've wanted to do
that,” she said.

Aaron grew agitated as he saw Nikki, Derek,
and Amanda running across the field. Their arms were full of knives
and blades. Amanda carried a backpack.

“There aren't any bullets left,” Derek said.
“So we brought these.”

Sam pointed to the school. “Get back to the
storeroom.”

“We want to help,” Nikki said.

A corner of the fence near the gate started
to pull away from the metal framing. Aaron watched in horror as the
walkers slowly forced the fence to the ground more and more. Sam
killed a few, but there was nothing stopping them from getting
inside.

“Everybody back to the school!” Richardson
shouted. “Go to the storeroom.”

Everything broke down as panic began to set
in. Some people ran for the storeroom's outdoor exit while others
ran for the school's front door. Some tried to get off that last
shot, kill that last walker, and paid for it with their lives.

It took Sam a moment to find the children.
She grabbed Nikki's hand and pulled her along. They had a chain
going, as Nikki held Derek's hand while he held Amanda's. There
were screams of death all around them, but Sam kept her eyes
forward, staring at the open doors to the storeroom.

She saw the storeroom was already
compromised. A few walkers trickled inside the open doors. She knew
she couldn't stop. The storeroom was still their safest bet.

“Wait!” Derek shouted.

Sam didn't hear him over the sounds of death
and the undead feasting.

They made it to the storeroom to see three
corpses moving toward Carrie and the children against the wall.
Larry arrived just behind Sam, and the two of them killed them.

“Go over with Carrie,” Sam said.

Derek grabbed Sam by the shoulders. “We lost
Amanda!”

“What!”

Derek was crying. “I don't know what
happened. She tripped or something.”

Nikki made a break for the door. “We have to
get her.”

Sam and Larry both grabbed her. Sam scanned
the fields. Walkers were still pouring in through the fence. They
tackled people within reach and took chunks out of their flesh.