A shiver shot down my spine, and I nodded. “That would’ve wiped the entire population out.”
“This virus is doing a good job at that without the insects,” Nathan muttered, running a hand through his already disheveled hair.
Once we managed to get all the cattle back together, we started our journey to the Oasis again, this time without any zombie squirrels or any other zombie animals. The only infected we ran into were a couple of stragglers on the path that were put down without incident.
It took longer to reach the Oasis than usual, and when we finally arrived, the sun had already started to set, and the cold temperatures had taken a nosedive into freezing.
Bane growled as we passed through, and his gums were rotting away, showing rows of barely hanging on teeth behind the muzzle. I grabbed hold of Micah’s hand, and he gripped it tighter as we passed him.
Benjamin and Sally rushed over from where they were tending to the bonfire in the clearing, and my gaze widened as I took in all they’d done in preparation for us to come back. The Oasis had been amazing before, but now, there was a nice wooden chicken coop below where our treehouse was. Therewas also a new larger structure that was still being built, and it looked like a small barn for the animals.
My heart warmed at the effort they put in for us to be able to live comfortably here.
“Welcome back!” Benjamin said brightly, fixing his glasses on his nose.
“We weren’t able to finish the barn,” Sally said, gesturing to the half-finished structure. “Benjamin, myself, Ava, Charles, and Jack have spent every second available to work on it. The coop went up in a day, but we have maybe two or three more days to finish the barn up.”
“We’ll help,” Micah offered, and Nathan nodded.
“I’m going to go change,” Calix murmured before he made his way back to our treehouse.
My heart fluttered.Our treehouse.It sounded nice.
It didn’t take long to get the animals settled. The horses went into the larger shed without much fight. Sally had moved the supplies into the smaller shed to give them more room. Ava, Spencer, Mom, and I let the chickens and the rooster claim their new coop, and they seemed very happy to be warm and snug in it. We’d brought the blankets and wood chips they had in their old coop along and made sure to make it comfy for them.
I wiped my hands on my leggings and grinned. “Looks like they’re all ready for bed!”
“Stop it!” Ava groaned, shaking her leg, but it did nothing to stop Randy from pecking at her foot. “Go do rooster things!”
Spencer and I giggled as Mom grabbed Randy up and placed him on his little throw blanket that seemed to settle him.
“Randy only does that when he likes someone,” Mom explained with a chuckle.
“Pecking doesn’t equate liking someone, Randy,” she scolded our rooster with a waggle of her finger.
“He usually pecks Spencer,” I told her, and Spencer’s laughs grew louder.
“Thanks for the break!”
We locked up the coop, and we talked a bit more. Ava was so sweet, and she helped around the Oasis so much. It was obvious everyone here was a chosen family, and I loved it.
Calix walked up scratching his neck. The sun had fallen, and he held a candle within a silver candle holder. The flame’s glow flickered on his face, and my chest tightened so hard it was difficult to breathe. “Want to come back to the treehouse with me?”
“Sure!” I loved the way my heart flipped every time he was near—every time any of them were near. “What’re Micah and Nathan doing?”
“Micah’s working on the barn with Benjamin, and Nathan’s helping your dad with the cattle. They’ll be in soon.”
I smiled and glanced at Ava and Spencer. “See you tomorrow!”
“Have a good night,” they called back as Calix and I walked toward the treehouse.
Once we were inside, I inhaled the woodsy scent lingering, and my body relaxed. It was weird how fast this treehouse became home for me.
“I’m honestly shocked that Daisy and Jay actually helped,” Calix muttered as he stripped out of his coat, scarf, and shoes, and I did the same.
“I didn’t think they’d pull their weight at first when it happened, but they’ve actually been doing a lot.” I shrugged, and the cool air of the treehouse gave me goosebumps as I shivered. “It’s better than the alternative though.”
“I’ll start the fire.” Calix made his way toward the wood stove and started it up. “Hungry?”
