Everlasting Love (Stauren) {Book 3: on hold}

Chapter 4

"CLEO!"

Shock and anger flooded through my veins as I stared at the sight before me. Right outside of the window on the fire escape stairwell, a man, most likely in his twenties, held Cleo captive with his arm pressed against her neck. He had a firm, angered look on his face. Next to the man, was a teenage girl around fourteen, a handgun pointed at me with a shaky hand. The expression on her face told me that she didn't want to be holding that gun up to my face.

"Put the gun down," the unknown man growled. Cleo's fingers pulled at his arm that held her hostage, trying to get it away from her neck as she cried.

"How about you put the gun down," Steven replied, his voice just as firm as the man's. Steven tossed me a gun as he and Emmie came up from behind me, pointing their own guns at the two intruders.

Immediately, the terrified girl dropped her gun causing the man next to her to say, "Payton, what the hell?!"

"Let her go," Steven said, and the man hesitantly let go of Cleo.

"Momma!" She cried, climbing back through the window and running into my arms. I gave my gun to Emmie, and she held both of them up at the strangers as Cleo cried into my shoulder.

Steven directed his attention back to the two standing outside the window and spoke up, "What do you want?"

"A place to stay before it gets dark. We stopped this place from across the street, and came to camp out here," the man said.

"You really think we're gonna give you a place to stay after you grabbed my daughter like that?" Steven asked, taking a quick glance back at Cleo and I.

"Look man," the guy continued, his tone more reasonable now. "You're just trying to protect your family, and I'm just trying to protect mine. My sister is all I have left."

Steven pressed his lips together in a firm line, contemplating what to do. Finally, he broke the silence by saying, "Fine. You can stay for the night, but I'm wearing you right now. If you get anywhere near my family, I'll put a bullet in your brain faster than you could yell out."

"Understood," the man said while staring at Steven in the eyes.

We let the two of them in and they introduced themselves as Brandon and Payton.

"You planning on getting rid of the dead that are pounding on your door?" Brandon questioned, looking towards the door where the walkers snarls were audible along with the sound of them pounding their bodies onto the door and walls. "You think that's safe?"

"There's too many of them out there to clear them all out, but it's hard to tell from this side," Steven explained. "We were planning on leaving tomorrow, but the door will hold for another night."

"Okay....I guess my sister and I will stay here for the night and we will part ways in the morning," Brandon finished.

•°•°•°•°•

"Whatcha thinking about?" I whispered to Steven late that night after everyone else was asleep. He didn't reply at first, but I knew he was awake. His breathing was to unsteady and quick for him to be sleep.

I had thought he wasn't going to respond until I heard him sigh. Even though darkness filled the room, I could make out Steven's arm moving up to rub his tired eyes. "I just....I don't know where the hell we're gonna go in the morning. All the places in the area are overrun."

I propped myself up on my elbow, looking down at him with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about that now because we will find a place. Right now you need to worry about getting some sleep."