Deadland's Harvest (part 2 of the Deadland Saga)

Lust (Chapter 27)

"I think so," Tyler said.

I noticed the unconscious man Clutch was dragging was Don. But his daughter wasn't with him.

My stomach dropped. "Where's Alana?"

Clutch and Tyler looked at each other.

"Shit," Clutch said. "I didn't see her."

"Where'd you find Don?" I asked.

"The bridge," Tyler said.

I patted Clutch's chest. "Get to the ground. I'll see you guys below!"

His eyes widened. "No! It's too dangerous!" Clutch yelled.

I pursed my lips. Every nerve in my body was shouting to stay with Clutch, but I couldn't leave a child behind to burn. My bottom lip trembled. "Get those two to safety," I said and then burst away before I changed my mind. Clutch yelled after me, but I kept going.

"Alana!" I shouted and coughed. To my right, flames licked at the varnished wood and I flew up the outside stairs, taking the steps two at a time. When I saw no one outside the bridge, I jumped inside. "Alana!"

I could barely hear her whimpering above the noise of the fire, but I heard her. Jesus. Why did kids always have to hide? I bent over and found her hugging herself under the navigator's station. "Come here. I'm bringing you to your daddy."

She didn't move, and I didn't plan on taking the time to encourage her to come out on her own accord. I grabbed her arm and yanked her out. She cried, but I didn't take time to console her. A crying kid was a hell of a lot better than a dead kid. I lifted her into my arms, and ran outside and down the steps. The heat was excruciating. Alana kicked and squirmed, and I nearly dropped her. Suddenly, Clutch was there, and he took the girl from me.

"You're supposed to be on the boat!" I yelled, angry that he was still in danger.

He ignored me, and I followed him down the steps. It was hard to move fast when trying not to breathe. Alana continued to wiggle in Clutch's arms, but he was able to keep a hold on her. By the time we'd reached the deck, fire lapped at the deck boards all around us.

"Catch!" Clutch called out to Tyler, and then tossed the girl.

She flew several feet through the air. Her scream stopped abruptly when Tyler caught her. She sobbed in between coughing fits. He put her down next to her father on the already full platform and she clung to him. Tyler looked up. "We'll see you on the ground."

Tyler worked the pulley system that Wes had built, and the platform lowered. I glanced over the edge to see the hull around the aluminum ladder smoking. I bent over and touched the ladder with a gloved hand. It hissed like a hot iron, and I yanked back. "It's too hot."

Clutch frowned and then squeezed the pulley's ropes used for the platform. "We'll rappel down the ropes once Tyler's down."

Heat seeped through the rubber soles of my boots. I nodded quickly. "Got it."

The wood cracked beneath my feet. I grabbed for the rail, but was too late. The floor gave away, and I found myself falling into a furnace. My hands scrambled to grab onto anything. Clutch gripped my wrists, and pulled me up. The heat sizzled straight through my clothes, and I clenched my teeth against the oven temperatures.

When he pulled me to my feet against him on the deck, my breath came out and I leaned my forehead against his hot neck. I looked up at his burned red face. "You caught me."

His frown was overcome by his intense gaze, and he squeezed me hard against him. "I'd never let you go."

A tear escaped my eyes and I squeezed him right back. "Good" was all I managed to get out.

Flames licked up from the hole. Clutch twisted us around and before I knew it we were sliding down the outside of the hull. I made myself as small as I could and clung to him like a koala bear. I fought to keep from coughing, trying to keep completely still so that he could more easily handle both of our weight. I didn't know how he managed to support both of us, but he did. As soon as I felt his legs hit the wood dock, I stood but refused to let go.

"Come on, guys!" Jase yelled out.

Clutch and I looked around at the same time to see Jase standing alone on the dock. When I didn't see the pontoon, I frowned. "Where's the pontoon?"

"Tyler's driving it back," he replied. "Come on."

Clutch grabbed my hand and we hurried behind him across the island. Zeds reached out to us, but we ran past them. The speedboat came into view behind a thick bush. The motor was already running. We tumbled onto the floor while Jase backed us away from the bank.

As Jase navigated through the debris- and zed-infested water, I looked down at Clutch. He brushed his thumb across my cheekbone as he looked into my eyes. I mean, he really looked into my eyes, as though I was the only thing in the world, and it was perfect. His warm breath tingled my lips. After a while, he smirked. "There's not a single thing I could say right now that wouldn't sound completely idiotic."

I smiled, closed my eyes, and rested my head on his chest. His heart, still pounding from our narrow escape, beat strong. My head rose and fell with each breath he took. "Try it."

He didn't.

"Hang in there, guys," Jase said. "We're coming up on the dock."

I grudgingly rolled off Clutch and sat up. Clutch pulled himself onto a seat. It took several long minutes while we waited for boats to be moved before we could get to the ramp. When we stepped onto the rocky soil, Tyler was waiting for us with a hard look. "Take ten to regroup and load into your Humvee. We're heading out to the first house we find and staying there tonight."

None of us replied or acknowledged. We simply trudged up the rocky bank. At the top, I turned around to see the Aurora lit up like its namesake.

After I reclaimed my rifle from Joe, I headed back to our Humvee with the Charlie Coyote on the hood. Jase already had the engine running.

Two hours later, after the sun had long since set, we lay on the living room floor of an old two-story farmhouse with nineteen seventies decor. My eyes burned from smoke, and my skin still felt hot, even in the cold house. Exhaustion forced me into a sleep that I don't think my mind would have otherwise allowed. Not with all the fresh images of flames, lost friends, and burnt corpses filling my head.

When I awoke some time later, I found Clutch and Jase awake, one sitting on either side of me and leaning against the wall. I pulled myself up, squeezed in between them, and wrapped an arm around each of them. With my "family," I felt safe. But the devil was in the details. Sure, I felt safe right now, but we had no home, no food, and no weapons. Nothing except for what we had on our backs, and outside it was snowing.