“Not handling stress can get you killed now. Being overwhelmed isn’t an excuse any more,” Micah said, low enough for the rest of the group not to hear.
I didn’t know what to say next, so we fell into another long silence the rest of the way to the Oasis.
My eyelids kept drooping shut, and I was more than grateful for Nathan’s sturdy hold on me as I leaned against Micah because without them, I wouldn’t be able to keep myself upright.
They may have been strangers, but was it bad that I felt more comfortable with them than during the two years I had been with Jay?
Feelings were subjective, sure, but it didn’tfeellike this was a bad thing.
A low, guttural growl echoed through the trees, and my body barely responded—exhaustion clouding my responsiveness.
“What was that?”
“That’s Bane. He’s the dog I told you about,” Micah answered, and relief poured into my muscles as I relaxed between them again.
“We’re here?” Spencer asked, and they both made small noises of agreement.
The horses moved their walk to a trot as we sped past the muzzled and chained zombie dog that growled at us.
“That should be impossible,” Dad muttered. “All of this should be.”
Nathan chuckled, his chest vibrating against my back. “You were really sheltered at that ranch, huh?”
“Everything happening in the world is impossible—virus or not. You can’t convince me otherwise,” Micah added.
Micah pulled on the reins, and Trigger came to a halt along with the rest of the horses, and another shot of grief spread through me when I remembered Kovu wasn’t with us.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I forced my head to move up off Micah’s back and look around.
My gaze widened as I took in what the Oasis actually was, and a pleasant humming vibrated in my chest.
It was the middle of the night, and yet the area was bathed in slivers of moonlight. I’d assume the Oasis would be beautiful and lit up on a full moon rather than the crescent in the sky.
Thick pine trees held up four treehouses that rounded in a circle around the small clearing the horses stopped in, and the cool air skimmed through lazily.
The treehouses weremassive.I mean, not like a large house but more like an apartment. They were much bigger than I imagined a treehouse to be, and they looked well maintained.
There was a small wooden shed in the clearing between two of the houses, and between the other two houses sat a larger wooden shed almost the size of our living room back at the ranch.
“Micah, Nathan,” a male voice hissed through the night as a man with blonde hair and black framed glasses came walking upwith a flashlight. “What’s going on? Where’d you get the horses and extra hands? You’re back three days early.”
“Good to see you too, Dad,” Nathan grumbled as he got off the horse and helped me down before Micah jumped off. “Long story short, there’s a horde only about half an hour behind us—if that. We had to run back, but we ran across their farm and told them about the horde and offered them sanctuary with us to ride it out.”
I reached up and stroked Trigger, ignoring the grief swirling in my chest as he blew air from his nostrils and nudged me with his nose.
Spencer walked up next to me and bumped my shoulder with hers.
“Thirty minutes?” Nathan’s dad ran a hand down his face. “We’ll have to warn the rest. We usually have procedures for new survivors, but since there’s a horde coming, we have little time to talk about things.”
“We appreciate the hospitality,” Dad stated, walking over and holding his hand out to the man.
He shook Dad’s hand firmly, and they shared a brief smile. “We have an empty treehouse your family can stay in. It’s stocked with everything you need. We’ll have to go over more after it passes, but someone will come get you when it does. I’m Benjamin. Welcome to the Oasis.”
“I’m Tom. This is my wife, Grace.” Dad wrapped an arm around Mom and glanced at my sister and me. “These are our daughters, Spencer and Tori. Daisy and Jay are… Well, they’ve been staying with us.”
“Good to meet you.”
Benjamin cleared his throat. “Hordes are intense. I don’t know if you’ve been through one, but we’ll probably be stuck up in the treehouse for a few days before we can come out.”
