“As always.” Henry rolled on his back and was rubbing his face with his hands, trying to figure out how to get Elaina back. Then Sophie asked, “Do you think this has spread down the coast?”
“By now, I think it’s more than a safe assumption to say that it has spread across the country. Obviously, we don’t have the ability to contact Gunther or anyone else. I wonder how he is faring, the asshole. I hope we can find him.” There was some disdain in his voice.
“I don’t know, but we need to get out of here. We have only secured a few spots around us. Roger will be pissed.” She realized what she had said the moment she said it.
“Fuck him!” Henry snapped. “I don’t give two bloody fucks what he thinks.”
“I didn’t mean that.” Sophie recoiled. “I’m still in program mode, I guess.”
“We’re doing what we can with what we have. I should have never rescued Nate and Nick, but I felt horrible for Elaina and Claire. It tore me apart, seeing the pain they were in. I wish I could have just come back, grabbed my supplies, and then took off with them.”
“I understand. This is why we cannot get invested in people. They will be with us one minute, and the next, they will be trying to put a bullet in our heads. It will compromise us. We cannot afford to be taken by surprise by a group of undeads.” Sophie stood up and headed for the door. She looked back at him.
His sorrow-filled face made her heart ache. She wanted to get him back and make him feel loved again, but she knew he would refuse her advances. She still held onto some hope that he would run back to her at some point.
“Are you heading out now?” His voice cracked.
“Yeah, I have to. We can’t trust the blood bank now, can we?”
“No. Definitely not. I wasn’t there for the week prior to my wed...” He stopped himself. “Besides, the power has been out for an extended period of time. Any blood would have gone bad.”
“I was hoping to get there and check it out. There must be backup generators.”
“There are, but it’s simply not a good idea. We don’t know if they’re working, or if they held up the coolers. I had electrical issues. I was prepping for a major overhaul to the circuitry on the back end for all the coolers. And besides, we don’t know what’s lurking behind the doors.” He knew there was no stopping her once she made up her mind, much like himself.
“Tell me how to get there and give me a quick layout. I want to check it out anyway.” Henry let out a heavy sigh. Then he reluctantly gave her directions, and how to navigate through the blood bank.
“Please take Nick and Nate with you. I don’t want you going on your own.” Sophie acknowledged his request and walked out, leaving him to deal with his sorrow on his own.
Chapter 11
S
ophie went out to the living room, where Nick and Nate sat quietly staring at each other. Nick’s jaw was clenched, and he cracked his knuckles as he stood up, anger written all over his body. He was ready to beat Henry down if need be. “What the hell is going on?!” he barked at her.
Sophie sighed. “Oh, you know, dealing with love in this crazy, mixed up world.” Nick narrowed his eyes at her. That stung, considering he lost the love of his life.
“Seriously. What the fuck is going on? That’s my baby sister. And if he did anything…”
“Ugh, not you, too. Elaina is just having a hard time dealing with everything.”
“Right.” He was skeptical. He was worried when he heard her yelling, but he figured it was some sort of quarrel between her and Henry. Unless he knew Elaina was in harm’s way, he wasn’t going to interfere, but hearing her so upset made him irate.
“You are much like your sister, aren’t you?”
“You should have known their mother. Mega-controlling bitch,” Nate said with annoyance.
Nick snapped his head around and his lip curled up in a snarl. “Fuck you!” Nick jumped toward Nate and grabbed him, picking him up by the throat. “You little pissant!”
“Ladies, ladies, ladies…” Sophie stood right where she was with her hands on her hips, watching Nick choking the little bastard. “Let’s calm down a bit, shall we?” Nick glowered at her and let go of him. Nate fell to the floor, coughing and rubbing his throat. “I need both of you to come with me.”
“Where?” Nick and Nate said in unison.
“Where do you think?”
“Now is not the time for your psychotic games!” Nick yelled.
“Oh my, did I hurt your feelings some?” No response. “Good. Get a couple of packs. We’re going out.” Nate didn’t argue. He got up, still coughing from Nick’s hands being wrapped around his neck. They both grabbed the packs off the table, and checked them and the weapons in silence. Sophie put her pack on.