Survival Ties (The Outbreak Chronicles Book 1) (17 page)

We were back by the observation
room when a few Red Eyes rounded the corner. Aaron, Micah, and Drew easily took
care of them as Sawyer and I pushed the supplies in the bins along with us.

The way stayed clear through the maze
of corridors.

If it weren’t for Drew, I think
we would have gotten lost. It seemed like in no time we were outside again and
heading towards the van. Sawyer and Micah jumped into the back so we could lift
the bins up to them. They were adjusting the bins to make sure we all had room.

I was shutting the door that
had to be closed first when I got grabbed from behind. I barely turned around
in time to avoid a Red Eye’s teeth. There were more coming, and I wasn’t where
the others from inside the van could see me.

“Ashlyn?” I heard Drew call; he
must have seen the group of Red Eyes coming and realized I hadn’t gotten the
door shut.

“Here.” I called back as I
yanked away from the Red Eye’s mouth again.

I was so focused on keeping
myself from getting bit I didn’t hear Drew walk up. All of a sudden the Red Eye
went limp and fell to the ground. I turned only to find myself pressed against
Drew and looking up into his chocolate brown eyes.

He grabbed my hand and pulled
me back to the van. He practically threw me into the van like I weighed nothing
before jumping in himself. He dragged the door closed behind him as Aaron
slammed the other door.

“Go!” I vaguely heard Aaron
call to Sam.

The van jerked forward and
Drew’s arm wrapped around me as I started to fall. I looked up to thank him as
his lips came down onto mine and I was melting into his kiss. The world stopped
around us, all I could sense was Drew. I felt like he could hear my heartbeat
drumming away in my chest as he nipped my bottom lip. When he pulled back he
placed his forehead on mine, we were both smiling, and he had my hand.

“Wow.” He whispered and I
nodded.

When I glanced around the van,
I came back to reality. Micah was looking out of the back window watching the
Red Eyes we were leaving behind. Sawyer was watching me like she wanted to say
something. Aaron was glaring at Drew, and then it hit me. Drew had kissed me
and he was with Diamond. I felt the happy butterflies in my stomach die. I
untangled my fingers from Drew’s and he watched me as he came back to Earth.

The smile dropped off his face
as I went and sat by Sawyer. I was determined not to cry and she grabbed my
hand as soon as I sat down. Drew went to follow me but Aaron grabbed his arm. I
was fighting back tears as Aaron spun Drew around.

“Leave her be. Don’t screw with
my sister. Just because your snotty piece of ass isn’t here, it doesn’t mean
you can go around playing with someone else’s feelings.” Aaron snapped at Drew
and I could feel the tears starting to fall.

Drew glanced at me and I saw
him go pale.

“I’m not screwing with her.
That may have not been the right moment for that kiss but I thought my heart
stopped when I saw her in the arms of that Red Eye.” Drew said, “I got caught
up in the moment.”

“You’re going to tell your
piece of ass or should I?” Aaron asked, still mad and he still had a hold on
Drew’s arm.

“Ashlyn I’m sorry, please
forgive me.” Drew said as he pulled away from Aaron and crouched in front of
me, taking the hand Sawyer didn’t have.

“Sorry for what? Kissing her?
Having a girl? Or making her cry?” Aaron asked but didn’t come over to where
Drew was.

“I shouldn’t have kissed you.
That doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about it since you stepped off that
bus. I know I’m with Diamond, but I’ve wanted out since before you came along.
I’m not a guy who takes kissing someone lightly and if you let me, I will make
up to you.” Drew was pleading with me; it was in his eyes and in his voice.

“So are you going to tell your
piece you kissed my sister?” Aaron asked.

“I don’t want to hurt Diamond;
I’m not mean like that but I am going to talk to her.” Drew answered as he
continued to look into my eyes.

“Look it happened and I don’t
know how I feel about all this. Do what you want with Diamond, but don’t use me
as your excuse to do it.” I told him.

“Ashlyn, you are not an
excuse.” Drew said, standing up. “I will prove that.”

I could feel the van stop and
Aaron threw open the doors ready to be off, he seemed to need some space. I
stood up and realized too late how close Drew was standing to me. His hand came
around my waist to keep me from falling. I was blushing as my eyes darted away
from him and instantly found Diamond’s. I could see her take in what was
happening. Her jaw clenched as her attention turned to the dark-haired guy
standing next to her.

“Who’s the kid?” Aaron asked,
his tone implying something.

“My younger brother, Denver.”
Drew answered as he released me and gave my hand a quick squeeze.

“Oh, here I was thinking maybe
she found someone else.” Aaron hissed at him, his vice low.

Diamond’s eyes followed me as
Drew helped me down from the van like she was sizing me up. I followed Sawyer
back to the dormitory since we did still have to stay there for now. Drew
looked like he wanted to come and talk to me more but Diamond had a grip on his
arm and was trying to get his attention.

“What was that about?” Sawyer
finally asked me.

“I don’t really know.” I told
her and she grabbed my hand nodding for Micah to go on ahead.

“Do you like him?” she asked
me.

“I do, he’s hot and that kiss
was amazing, for a moment there everything else was gone.” I told her.

“Maybe he’s serious; if he’s
anything like Sam, then you know he’s a good guy.” Sawyer said. I knew she was
trying to cheer me, and I hoped she was right.

I wondered if Drew was really
going to break up with Diamond. Or if he was just trying to make himself sound
like a better person than he was.

The dormitory looked different
when we walked into it. Looked like everyone who had stayed here had been hard
at work, making it look less like a room full of beds. They had arranged the
beds into a closer arrangement. They had also gotten hold of a TV, a DVD
player, and a whole pile of DVD’s. As soon as we walked in we were greeted by
everyone in a big group hug.

“Welcome back.” Evan was the
first one to say followed by a chorus of echoes saying the same thing.

“Hey.” Micah was the only one
to respond.

“Did you run into any Red
Eyes?” Axel wanted to know.

“Yeah we did.” Micah responded
and they went off so Micah could tell him all about what had happened.

“You guys want to relax and
watch a movie with us?” Sydney asked as she pointed to the TV and the pile of
DVD’s. Sawyer went over to check out what our options were. When she started
laughing I had to go and see what she found so funny.

“What’s up?” I asked her and
she held up a box. It was
The Walking Dead
. I started laughing.

“We have to watch this one.”
She said as Sydney came over to see if we had picked anything. Sawyer held up
the box and Sydney read it and looked at us.

“Really?” she asked.

“We can call it research.”
Sawyer said as she laughed.

“Research?” Aaron asked as he
came over, Sydney handed him the box and he started to laugh, “Let’s do it.”

Sydney sighed but she got the
TV on and started playing the first DVD. Everyone gathered around and seemed
like they were excited about our choice. There was a lot of laughing and joking
around as Drew walked in. He watched the screen for a while.

“You guys picked this to watch?
With everything that’s happened and you have gone through?” He asked.

“Yes, we call it research.”
Sawyer responded as Aaron glared at Drew.

“Where did you find a TV and
DVDs?” I asked as I looked through the pile. There was
The Princess Bride,
The Lost Boys, Arrow, Doctor Who,
as well as all the marvel movies.

“One of the nurses brought them
in.” Axel answered. A throat being cleared had us turning to look at Drew.

“Well, I came to see if you
guys want dinner delivered here, or if you want to join us in the dining room.”
Drew said as he watched the show ignoring Aaron.

“Delivered.” Sydney decided for
all of us with no argument from anyone.

“Okay, I’ll be back with food.”
Drew said. He smiled at me as he left the room to go and get food for us.

We were expecting Drew when
Diamond walked in. She came right up to me and waited till I acknowledged her.

“I want to talk to you.” She
said.

“Okay,” I told her and waited
for her to talk.

“Can we go in the hall or
something?” she asked when I didn’t move.

“Okay.” I said as I stood up
and followed her into the hallway. Once we were there she just looked at me for
a minute.

“Why did you have to go after
my boyfriend?” she asked me.

“I didn’t.” I told her.

“Drew comes back from a supply
run with you. Next thing I know he’s telling me he thinks we should just be
friends and I should move my stuff back to my own room.” Diamond said.

“Look, I don’t know what’s
going on with you two, but it is his choice and I had nothing to do with it.” I
told her and turned to return to watching the show, but she grabbed my arm.

“You haven’t won. I will find a
way to win him back.” She told me and left. I was still standing in the
hallway, a bit confused on what had just happened when Drew came with a huge
cart of food. He smiled at me as I opened the door for him. I was surprised
when he didn’t leave, but parked the cart and joined us as we continued to
watch
The Walking Dead
. He sat down next to me.

Aaron was the first one to go and
investigate what food was on the cart. As soon as he lifted the coverings the
scent of barbecued chicken drifted over to us. My mouth started to water and I
went to grab a plate with Drew following me.

The cart was set up with an
array of barbecued chicken. There was also grilled asparagus with butter,
grilled tomatoes, mashed potatoes, and Texas toast. Drew followed me all the
way down the line as we both filled our plates up.

He grabbed two bottles of water
and followed me back to where we were sitting. Aaron was still glaring at Drew
as he sat next to me and handed me one of the bottles he had grabbed. Sawyer
winked at me while everyone just seemed curious.

“All the food is farmed here.”
Drew said, getting my attention as I took a bite of the chicken.

“That’s cool and it makes
keeping everyone fed a bit easier.” I said as soon as I swallowed.

“Definitely, plus it keeps
people busy. Gives everyone jobs to do and helps keep their minds off what’s
going on beyond the dome. I’ll have to show you the farms.” Drew responded.

“Diamond came to see me.” I
told him as the door opened and Denver walked in.

“What did she have to say?”
Drew asked, sounding like he was walking on eggshells. Drew nodded to his
brother as Denver went and sat next to Sam. I saw that Denver was looking at
Daisy; he looked away when Hunter sat down next to her.

“Told me that you two broke up
and that she was going to find a way to win you back.” I told him as I tried
the asparagus.

“And that would be because last
time we broke up that’s what happened. She kept coming around and she
eventually convinced me that she had changed and we should try again.” Drew
responded.

“So she thinks if she just
repeats what she did before, you’ll want her back and go crawling to her?” I
asked. A little amused that she hadn’t thought of something else.

“Yeah but she never changes.
She’s your typical spoiled rich bitch who was raised with a silver spoon in her
mouth.” Drew said with venom in his voice.

“Aren’t you rich?” I asked him.

“Yes I am, but it was important
to my parents to raise us to work for what we had. We had money but I still had
to get a job to buy my first car.” Drew answered.

“Where are your parents?” I
asked.

“They died in a car accident a
couple of years ago; they got hit head-on by a guy who got on the freeway going
the wrong way.” Drew responded.

“I’m sorry.” I told him, “I
don’t know if my parents are alive or dead right now.”

“We’ll find a way to find out
what happened to them.” Drew told me and put his arm around my shoulders and
gave me a half-hug.

“So where did the idea for
Paradis Roulette come from?” I asked him, wanting to talk about anything but my
parents.

“I did a bunch of research for
a bio dome project in school, so much so that my dad thought it would be a
great idea for a resort. So we bought this place and built it from the ground
up using my project as our model.” He answered, sounding very proud.

“So what’s so special about
this place?” I asked him.

“Well the bio dome part means
we get to schedule different weather and events for those seasons. Like right
now we have summer weather but soon we will have monsoons.” Drew answered. “We
keep the farms in a separate little dome, like the hospital is. It helps keep
the animals happy and the crops thriving.”

“Sounds like it would cost a
lot just to keep up with. Did you pay for everything by the room rates being
high?” I asked.

“No we decided to go with the
solar powering to keep the room rates down to the same as any other resort.”
Drew answered. “Lucky we decided that solar power was the right way to go. Now
it means we have power without having to worry about generators. Or fuel to
keep everything running.”

“True.” I agreed with him.

“So, now you know a little bit
more about me, how about you tell me more about you?” Drew said. “How’d you
grow up?”

“Never really paid attention to
that, both my parents worked. They always made sure my sister and I had
everything we could want. My sister was fifteen years older than me; my parents
had her while they were still in high school. I was another surprise.” I told
him.

“Your sister died?” he asked me

“Yeah she did. She had a heart transplant
and went crazed, Sam saved Sawyer and me. He had to kill her.” I answered, “How
were you able to stay with Denver and keep this place?”

“I was seventeen when my
parents died, Denver was fourteen and I decided that I wanted to get
emancipated and take care of him myself.” Drew answered.

“That sounds hard.” I said.

“Yeah Sam was granted
guardianship over us but he supported my decision. He helped whenever things
got tough.” Drew responded. “Denver was difficult and we had to find our groove
together over the bumps.”

“I don’t think I could have
done it.” I said.

“I almost called it quits a
couple of times. Almost called social services to see if foster care would be
better for him, but I couldn’t do it.” Drew said.

“Why couldn’t you?” I asked,
looking in his eyes.

“He was all I had left besides
Sam. Dad raised us to stick together and I couldn’t just send him away, I
couldn’t give up on him.” Drew said as he watched Denver explaining something
to Sam with a lot of hand gestures. Sam was smiling at him and paying close
attention.

“You’re a good brother.” I told
him and earned a smile.

“Why thank you.” He laughed and
grabbed both our empty plates and brought them back to the cart.

When he returned to his spot he
automatically put his arm back over my shoulders. I decided not to fight it and
just leaned into him. It felt good to be sitting with someone as hot as him and
know he was interested. It was also hard not to laugh at the expression on
Aaron’s face as he watched us. He had really stepped into that big brother
role.

“Are you giggling?” Drew
whispered to me.

“Yeah, look at Aaron’s face.” I
told him and felt him fight back laughter.

“I noticed you didn’t mention
having a brother, so what is his deal?” Drew asked me.

“I was friends with his baby
sister, Emily, before the world went bat shit. We found Aaron with his brother
Wayne, who shot Tone, then Sydney shot him, and he died.” I answered.

“Oh?” He asked.

“Not a real loss, his brother
was a creep. He had two female Red Eyes all tied up so they couldn’t bite or
attack. He was planning to rape them, because one had turned him down while she
was alive.” I told him.

“Wow.” Drew said.

“Yeah, so with Wayne dead Aaron
had no intention of hurting us and helped with Tone’s wound. We bonded over the
loss of family and the fact that we had found a new one.”

“You knew him through his
sister, which makes sense. His brother sounds like he was a piece of work. I
like that you guys are all so close, probably helped keep you all alive while
you drove here.” Drew said.

“Yeah for the most part we did
lose a few people and gained some more as we went.” I responded, “The hardest
loss was this six-year-old boy who got bit.”

“What happened there?” He
asked.

“His sister Angela thought we
were going to kill him and took off with him to save him. By the time we found
them he had turned and he had killed her, there was so much blood.” I told him
and he wiped away a tear I hadn’t realized was rolling down my cheek.

“You saw them?” Drew asked, he
sounded shocked.

“Yeah, I went with Aaron to try
and find them. We found an RV and when we opened the door there they were.” I
told him, “It was one of the worst things I have ever seen.”

“He was six? How did he get
bit?” Drew questioned.

“Yeah, we stopped by Ashurst
Lake, and had lunch outside. He wandered away like kids do. We just didn’t make
it to him in time. Sam and Aaron did everything they could think of to stop the
infection.” I told him.

“I’m sorry you had to go
through that. Although I’m not sorry that it all meant you ended up here.” Drew
said as he kissed my head.

“Can’t say I would complain
about being here.” I agreed.

“Hey Drew, you going to head
back with me?” Denver asked as he stood up and stretched.

“Yeah probably should.” Drew
agreed, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Well you know where to find
me.” I told him as he kissed my hand.

Denver was saying something to
Drew as they walked out the door together. Aaron came and sat by me. He didn’t
say anything for a while, just sat there watching the TV. After a while, I
noticed he was watching me.

“What?” I asked.

“Do you really like him?” He
asked me and looked like he was trying to read my expression.

“Yes I do. I know I need to get
to know him but we’re staying here. I think the fact that we are in a bio dome
is going to make it hard to not run into him.” I said and Aaron shrugged.

“I guess that’s true, but if he
hurts you I will show him it was a mistake.” Aaron said as he patted my head
and got up.

“Okay, we all had a long day
let’s get some sleep.” Sam called out so everyone in the room could hear him.
There was a chorus of yawns and agreement as we all found a bed to crawl into.

In the morning, the sunlight pouring
into the window woke me. I lay in my bed for a while enjoying the way the light
looked on the ceiling. Sitting up and looking around, I saw that Daisy was
missing from her bed.

I decided to see if I could
find her, so I got up and threw on my new shoes and a hoodie that was lying
near Aaron’s stuff. I headed out the door and was about to head to the nurses
station when I heard Daisy yelling down the hall. I hurried and caught sight of
her yelling at a nurse.

“Daisy, hey what’s up?” I asked
as I grabbed her arm.

“He won’t let me go get my
shoe.” Daisy said and she was practically in tears.

“We can wait, it’ll be fine,
and it’s just on the bus.” I told her, “Let’s go back to the room and we can
call Drew.” Daisy wasn’t moving and before I could say anything else to her
Diamond walked up looking mad.

“You really think you can win
this?” She snapped at me.

“You know what, I can only deal
with one crazy person at a time, and right now it is not your turn, Red.” I
snapped back as I tried to pull Daisy’s arm again.

“What did you just call me?”
Diamond almost screamed at me.

“One at a time… Not your turn.”
I repeated as I got Daisy to follow me.

“Wait, did you just call me
crazy?” Daisy asked and I saw a smile crawling across her face.

“Yes, yes I did.” I told her as
we tried to escape Diamond by quickly entering our dormitory. We had no luck
getting away from Diamond; she followed us right into the dormitory.

“Look bitch, when I talk to
you, you better pay attention.” Diamond said as she grabbed my arm hard enough
for me to feel her nails.

“I am not one of your servants.
I do not have to listen to you, and right now I am helping someone else. So the
line you are calling is currently busy, please place your call again later.” I
snapped at her.

“He is not yours!” Diamond
screamed at me and brought her hand up like she was going to slap me.

“It doesn’t sound like he’s
yours either.” I snapped back. She didn’t realize Aaron was standing behind her
and he grabbed her hand as soon as it was up. She spun around like she was
going to scream at him but was caught off-guard by the look in Aaron’s
blue-green eyes.

“You’re here why?” Aaron asked
her.

“I was trying to talk to
Ashlyn.” Diamond answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Didn’t sound like talking to
me, and she is helping Daisy right now.” Aaron told her, “So why don’t you
leave and try again later.”

Diamond turned and walked out
of the room, like a dog with her tail between her legs. Aaron had scared her
and she didn’t know how to deal with someone like him. He was more of an alpha
then she was and she was used to people doing whatever she said to them.

I couldn’t help but laugh when
the door closed behind her. Daisy joined me and we both ended up on the floor
looking up at Aaron who was shaking his head.

“You are really making some
friends here, Ash.” Aaron said to me.

“You should have seen her in
the hallway, she called me crazy but she completely shot the princess down.”
Daisy told him.

Aaron smiled as the rest of our
group looked at us like we had lost our minds. Drew came in as we were still on
the floor; he gave us a weird look.