The gun went off, and Tori whipped her head into my chest as she jumped. She let go of my hand and wrapped her arms around my waist.
My throat thickened as I wrapped her in an embrace as she cried. “It’ll be okay, darlin’.”
Getting everything settled for the ride was a blur as I continued to hold Tori in my arms, and the sounds of the dead approaching became louder with every passing minute.
Nathan got the saddle bag off Kovu and gave it to Tom before he secured the golf club to his backpack with his rifle, and then he took our saddle off with Tom’s help.
Daisy and Jay remained silent the entire time, but I could feel their eyes on her. The entire group had been worried about her and the approaching horde.
I scooped Tori into my arms, and she braced her hands on my chest. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Losing it. I know it’s a dangerous situation. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry, darlin’.” I set her back on her feet next to the horse we were riding before hauling myself up on the horse’s back.
She glanced back at Kovu before swallowing hard and getting up behind me before Nathan could offer to help.
Nathan got up with a groan behind her. “Move forward a bit.”
I scooted up as far as I could, and Tori pressed close behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “Better?”
He sighed in relief. “Yeah, thanks.”
My stomach churned at leaving Kovu’s body in the forest without burying him, but we didn’t have the time to waste. Not when the horde could be heard.
“Let’s go,” I stated. “We’ve stayed too long as it is. Stay alert. Who knows what could be in the woods with us now.”
The horses were slower and more skittish than before as we went down the path in the forest toward the Oasis.
Tori had handled the situation logically, even if she’d been overwhelmed by grief. She’d saved her sister, and she’d tried to save Kovu.
There was nothing we could’ve done about the zombie. It had been newly turned, and it had caught everyone off guard. I needed to make sure she understood that once she came to terms with his death.
Her warmth surrounded me as she held onto me from behind, and her sobs mellowed into soft cries.
“I got you, killer,” Nathan murmured, and I felt his arms brush my back as his arms circled her waist. “Relax.”
Nathan was interested in her too, and that didn’t surprise me. He’d always been one to wear his heart on his sleeve. I admired him for that, and it made me wonder how Calix wouldreact to such a stunning woman when he met her, especially with his limitations.
Because after this, I didn’t want to think of saying goodbye to her.
5
TORI
My chest felt like there was a jagged, gaping hole within it as we continued on the path to the Oasis, Kovu left behind with a zombie bite on his leg and a bullet in his skull.
He was a great horse, and we did everything together throughout the years. He tagged along with me for every chore I had at the ranch, and we rode the trails any chance we had. He’d been my best friend, and while I knew we did what had to be done, ithurt.
I appreciated Nathan making it so Kovu didn’t suffer, and it was quick.
We hadn’t known that animals were able to be infected from the virus, and that alone was dangerous. What other knowledge about the world did we lack?
“Anything we should know when we get there?” Dad asked, his tone solemn.
“We have a dog chained up and muzzled on the outskirts of the Oasis itself,” Micah stated grimly. “He was turned the second year into the apocalypse, and I didn’t have the heart to put him down the first couple of days. Sometimes I wish I had doneit, but then we noticed the zombies avoided him and the area around him, so he is a good deterrent.”
