BLOODLINE The Last Sanctuary | A Novel | By @WendyyWolfe

[32] The Next Three Days

A moan escaped her and he brought his lips down, barely brushing her mouth. He loved her kiss. It drove him. But as he promised he let her go and put an arm around her waist and they walked a little more.

Lara's heart thudded against her chest but she was determined not to be put off. "Well Nathan, I'm waiting."

"I know. I just want you to listen before you make any prognosis. Agreed?"

"Agreed, but it must be terrible then," she projected, thinking the worst.

"Ah. . . you're already doing it," he warned.

"Okay, okay, sorry. Go ahead," she looked at the ground and kicked a lump of scrub grass.

"Len is concerned."

"What about?" she blurted.

"I'm going to tell you, if you'll be patient."

She sighed. "Right. Go on. I'll shut up."

Nathan looked off into the distance, thinking of a way to explain without upsetting her, but it only caused her eyebrows to knit together in concern.

She opened her mouth to say something, but he held up a finger. She walked away and came back. "What is it already?"

"When Len and Buck were out on the hunt, they saw some things."

"Well what was it? What did they see, my God, Nathan, tell me!" she demanded furiously. "Are we in some kind of danger?"

"Yes." His lips formed a tight frown.

Lara searched the green depths of his eyes, momentarily speechless, but quickly finding her voice. "Why would you keep it from us!" she shouted. "I can't believe you would do that! You tell me everything. Right damn now."

"Before I get started, I need you to understand, things are never going to get better. What has happened, its not going away Lara. The sooner you accept it, the easier it will be when we have to leave."

"Leave?" she whispered vaguely.

"Yes leave. We're going to have to leave. Len has been planning it with us to make it as easy as possible, but he's going to need everyone's cooperation Lara. We're going have to pack up and get the hell away from here, because headed this way is a huge, a hoard of the sick. Len and Buck said there were thousands, all coming this way."

"I want to talk to Len. We can't just leave, Nate, how can we not be safe here, we've spent weeks working to make this place a fortress. It is a fortress! Maybe Len exaggerated," she trailed off, looking away from Nathans probing gaze. Tears welled up in her eyes and she angrily brushed them from her cheek.

"Lara, since when have you ever known Len to exaggerate?"

"But we have worked so hard here," she cried weakly. "And what about Haven, she's barely prepared to travel, Nate. Where will go? Have any of you even thought about that?"

"There isn't time to plan a vacation getaway Lara. Len said today that we have about three full days left before some of them start to get within our perimeters. We can't begin to protect this place from an onslaught like that. These are desperate monsters, Lara. Sick, starving, continuously dying, zombies, Sleepwalkers, call them what you want but don't think they won't kill you or Deag's kids, or Haven's baby to get at us. They won't give a damn about any one of us, Lara."

Lara shook her head in denial. "This is madness." With that said, she stalked off back toward the hotel.

Nathan watched her go and didn't try to stop her. He just hoped the rest of their group wouldn't share her misgivings.

〰️

Lara found Len in the Metate dining room right off the lobby. He was seated with Keith, Monica and Cole, Hollis, Verbena, and Deaglan. He stood up when he saw her, and she walked straight up to him. Her blue eyes, dark and stormy, told him all he needed to know.

"Nate said he wanted to tell you himself." Len immediately told her.

"Well Nathan isn't the one who saw it. You were," she pressed a finger to his chest, "and I don't like being the last to know about a problem that should have been discussed with everyone."

Deaglan stood up. "Lara---"

She turned to him with a furious glare and thrust her finger toward him. "No. This is bullshit! There is no way in hell we can pack up and leave. This place, this place will withstand a bunch of weak, sick people. People who need our help. I can't believe your ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble."

Len took a deep breath. "If I could," he hesitated to search for an explanation, "if it were that simple, I would be the first to do whatever I could. But Lara, these are not simple times anymore. I know we have done well here, hell, I like it here too, but the nightmare headed towards this place now, is beyond our help. If we do not go, none of us will survive. I know what I saw, what Buck saw, it would fill five hotels."

"They're just people," Lara said trying to convince him to see her logic.

Len shook his head. "No Lara. They are animals. There is no humanity left in them. Many millions of people here were not as lucky as us. Our world has been thrown into mass confusion. The sickness attacked their immune systems, their minds. They found death, these Sleepwalkers, but now, death travels with them."

By now Nathan had made it back and stood in the doorway.

Len acknowledged him and Lara turned to face him.

Her expression was aching, begging almost.

"We break it down today and leave in the morning," Nathan went ahead and announced with finality.

There was no sense in codifying the situation any longer.