Break Free The Night (Book 1) (5 page)

His fingers were warm and gentle as they found the hem of her shirt and Kayle
e’
s head spun as he lifted it from her skin.

“
Hey
,”
she protested, attempting feebly to pull the fabric back down.

“
Not now Kay
,”
Emma said, pulling her fingers away and holding her hands to her chest. Kaylee let her head fall back to the hard dirt, sucking in air and attempting to focus on the blurring stars lighting the sky. The strange
r’
s neck was bent now; his face so close to her skin that she could feel his breath warm her.

“
Sh
e’
s got a pretty deep cut here
,”
he said, his eyes traveling over her before looking down the row of dirt in which they were laying. His hand reached out and he dragged a jagged rock closer, the sharp tip of which was coated in a thick, dark substance
.“
Mus
t’
ve fallen on this rock. I could stitch it her
e
—”

“
We have a nurse
,”
Emma interrupted, her voice cold
.“
Though we would
n’
t need that at all if you had
n’
t been sneaking up on people
!
”

“
I said hello! Wanted to be sure she was
n’
t infected
,”
he countered, his face screwed up as he glared at Emma
.“
She must not have heard me
.
”

The stranger threw the rock into the cornfield and Kaylee snorted. But a groan quickly took her as her head throbbed at the action.

“
Hold on a minute
,”
he instructed, swinging a backpack off his back and extracting a package of gauze. He lifted her shirt again, higher this time and Kaylee mumbled a protest. The stranger frowned
.“
Can you sit up
?
”

Kaylee grit her teeth as she pushed against the ground, ignoring the pain as she got into position.

“
Here, lean against your friend. You hold her arms up
,”
he directed Emma, concentrating on the blood seeping from Kaylee
.“
And this
,”
he added, yanking the bloodstained shirt up to her chin. Emma did as she was asked without a word, but Kaylee knew her expression would be less than obliging.

He pressed a thick square of scratchy gauze to her cut and grimaced at the quick breath of air Kaylee inhaled. With gentle fingers he took the roll of gauze and began to wrap it around her, leaning close as the roll disappeared behind her back. The scruff of his dark hair shifted against his neck and the stubble on his cheeks scratched her raised arm lightly.

“
Sorry
,”
he mumbled. 

Kaylee frowned against the blush she knew was spreading from her chest to her cheeks. She hated feeling exposed. And this complete stranger, the same person who had caused her injury in the first place, had now seen more of her than anyone other than her sister ever had.

“
How far
?”
he asked, lowering her shirt gently as he finished and snaking his arms underneath her. Kayle
e’
s brow furrowed.

“
Hmm
?”
she asked, not liking how flustered she had become and getting quite angry about it.

“
The nurse
?
”

“
Not so far that I ca
n’
t walk
,”
she said, though even she could hear how groggy her voice was. She heard Emma protest but the stranger righted her on her feet.

“
If you think so
,”
he said, stooping to pull the large backpack onto his shoulder. The contents rattled as he settled it and he looked down at the girls, ready to follow. Kaylee felt a ripple of agitation wash through her. Andrew would have refused to let her walk, would have insisted he carry her. Could she even walk? She was
n’
t sure. She glanced up at him.

He was attractive. Even through the pain and dimming light she could tell that. He was tall and fit, his arms and shoulders evidencing strength that came from hard work. His skin and hair were dark, or maybe that was the effect of the light and her head pain; she suddenly realized she could
n’
t be too sure.

She scrunched up her eyes as she took her first step, realizing belatedly that with movement, the blood seeping from her wound flowed faster. Her head spun and she felt Emma take hold of one of her arms before she felt her feet being knocked out from under her.

She was in his arms now and she closed her eyes against the stars and his impossibly dark eyes as they swirled together.

“
Wha
t’
s your name
?”
she asked into the darkness.

“
Jack
,”
he answered. He moved forward and Kaylee tucked herself more firmly into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder and inhaling. His was an unfamiliar scent, not the musky aroma of her father or the soapy smell Andrew always had after his showers. He smelt of firewood and clean air, rain and pine trees. Kaylee felt her fingers curl into the folds of his jacket, the pads of her fingertips warming. It felt nice.

“
Are you alone
?”
came Emm
a’
s tentative question from ahead. Kaylee bit her lip, her eyes still shut against the spinning of the cornstalks.

“
No
,”
he said, his tone conversational now
.“
My friend Quinto
n’
s with me, h
e’
s searching some of the pharmacies while I was looking for food. I saw this field and could
n’
t resist. I
t’
s been a while since
I’
ve had fresh corn
.
”

“
Where did you come from
?”
Emma continued, stopping at the gate to undo the lock and chain
.“
And how did you get in here, the gate was fine
.
”

“
Yeah, sorry, hopped the fence. I was
n’
t sure how long this had been growing here, whether or not I was taking from anyone, but as we have
n’
t seen a soul for nearly a year and a hal
f
—”

“
A year and a half? I
t’
s been over two years for us
,”
Kaylee murmured, feeling quite warm now and distinctly comfortable as she burrowed deeper into Jac
k’
s shoulder. She felt his rumbled chuckle through her cheek.

“
How hard did she hit her head
?”
came Emm
a’
s voice through a haze and Kaylee realized, belatedly, that maybe cuddling up to this stranger was not the most appropriate thing she had ever done. She pulled away from his shoulder and blinked, trying to clear her vision. But her world tilted as he adjusted her in his arms, encouraging her to use him as a pillow.

“
Not sure exactly
,”
he replied brightly
.“
But
I’
m not complaining if she wants to cuddle. I
t’
s just beyond unbelievable to find others. W
e’
ve been everywhere, started in Georgia and w
e’
ve been pretty much making our way across the states. We came here because supplies are running low. Sure glad we did too
.
”

“
Georgia
?”
Kaylee asked, her brow scrunching up. It was
n’
t right somehow. He was
n’
t from Georgia, though why she knew this, she could
n’
t be sure
.“
Yo
u’
re not from there
.
”

“
No,
I’
m not
,”
he said and Kaylee looked up at him at his tone of surprise
.“
And yo
u’
re not as out of it as I thought you were
.
”

“S’
not true
,”
Kaylee slurred, closing her eyes again as she heard her sister call out. Jack chuckled and Kaylee heard a yell from her father and the tones mixed and blurred before silencing altogether.

~

The light was clear and strong when Kaylee blinked her way back into consciousness.

This is not my room.

The bed was completely wrong, facing the opposite way, and the covers were somewhat scratchy. She focused her attention on the closest wall, brow scrunching as she tried to place it. And as her vision cleared, she realized: the infirmary.

Tha
t’
s what Anna called her room. Whenever anyone had taken too seriously ill, she had encouraged they spend the night with her. Kaylee shifted her gaze across the space and, sure enough, there was Anna, huddled under a mound of blankets on a cot in the corner.

Kaylee realized it must still be very early. Through the soft, sleepy noises Anna was making, she could hear the roaming of the infected: trashcans getting kicked over, locked doors being banged through, remaining windows shattering, the moans and shrieks and gnashing of teeth. Kaylee felt her face scrunch up as she sunk lower into her covers, wanting to block the noise out with the pile of cotton and rough wool. But it was
n’
t doing any good. She was awake now and could never fall back to sleep once she heard their commotion. As though in confirmation, her stomach growled.

Kaylee sighed and pushed her covers off only to pull them back up as she realize her shirt had been cut off and she had laid there all night long in just her bra. There was now a neat line of stitches just under her breastbone, about three inches long and accompanied by a litany of scratches and two or three bruises. Kaylee placed her fingers over the area gingerly, noting the soreness but pleased to find the area only slightly pink and not red and infected looking. Remembering how groggy and confused she had become her hand shot to her head and immediately found a large, tender lump. She winced as she pulled her fingers away.

“
Still hurt
?
”

Kaylee gasped as she drew her bedcovers up to her chin, glaring at the doorway and her intruder. Jack was leaning against the doorframe, chewing the large bite of apple he had just taken despite his lower lip being red and puffy from where Kayle
e’
s fist had connected. His eyes never left her.

“
Your lot sleeps late
,”
he continued, strolling into the room, apparently at ease and oblivious to the glares Kaylee was still shooting his way
.“
W
e’
re usually up and moving by now. Bill was explaining it all to me; I guess I understand it. But I never could get used to sleeping through the day. Much rather be awake myself. So, does it still hurt
?
”

“
What
?”
Kaylee hissed, the covers still clutched to her chest
.“
You ca
n’
t just come in here!
I’
m not even dressed
!
”