I grab a rock and hurl it deep into the opposite brush.
They freeze. One curses and rushes toward the noise, while the other spins uselessly in place, trying to locate anything.
He doesn’t see me. He doesn’t hear me.
Too busy scanning the trees, never thinking death might come from below.
I crawl up behind him, silent as a shadow. My blade flashes up, and I drive it straight into his foot.
He screams. Loud. Birds fly from the branches above.
The second guy spins back toward the noise.
He skids to a stop, confused. Idiot can’t even figure out what is going on.
I rise, yank my knife free, and before he can lift his, I shove the blade up under his throat.
He gurgles, blood pouring like a fountain. Gripping at his neck, panicking.
The other one tries to come at me, but I dodge him. Turning, I yank him back by the jacket and throw him to the ground. My boot slams down on his chest as I kneel.
And drive the blade through his heart.
They twitch like fish out of water. Aspen walks up beside me, breathing hard.
“That was… very impressive,” she says with a small laugh.
I look up at her, wipe the blood off.
“Right?” I deadpan, gesturing to the corpses. “And Max keeps saying I need to work on my fighting skills.” I feign annoyance.
She laughs.
A real laugh. Bright. Pure. And for the first time since everything went to shit, I feel something crack open.
Hope.
Her hand touches my chest, warm against the sweat and blood. I glance down; her eyes locked on mine.
She rises on her toes and crushes her mouth to mine.
I wrap my arms around her waist, pull her close, and kiss her back. Tongue sliding past her lips, tasting the sharp edge of her desperation and heat.
Fuck, she makes me feel like there is a chance we can get our life back. Our home.
She breaks the kiss, breath shaky, eyes dropping.
“We’re leaving a trail of dead bodies.” She grins.
I nod.
“Let’s cover it.” I grab one of the bastards and drag him off the trail. Aspen moves the other, slower, but steady. We arrange them like they were headed in the opposite direction.
Hopefully it buys us time if anyone finds them at all.
We start moving again. Faster. Quieter.
The sun is up, and we finally see the farm’s roof coming into view.
