Page 34 of Uprising

“Keep close,” Reed tells me, his voice barely above a whisper.

Keeping close to the wall we just climbed down, Reed leads the way, sliding between cars parked along the way. Sweat beads at my forehead as we inch our way forward.

Out of the corner of my eye, something shifts, movement catching my attention. My heart skips a beat, my stomach dropping in an instant. But there’s nothing there, just empty space.

Shaking my head, I continue moving forward behind Reed. I swear I saw something by the strip mall, and it wasn’t the zombies. But no one would be stupid enough to get that close, right?

I should make sure, though.

Against my better judgment, I stop once more and look over the hood of the car. Telling myself I just need to make sure, I can’t have the lives of someone—a human being—stuck there. It’s then I see a man crouched down, his head leaning against the wall. I squint my eyes, trying to get a closer look when someone touches my shoulder. Jerking back, I nearly yell before I realize it’s Reed.

It takes him all of two seconds for him to see what I was staring at and make up his mind. Reed shakes his head, clearly telling me we’re not helping. This sudden urgency hits me, knowing we have to help him. I can’t ignore it, and I won’t. Some people might be able to shed their humanity, but I can’t.

Reed moves to continue walking when I jump forward, grabbing his arm with trembling hands.

“We have to,” I whisper. My eyes dart back to the man, feeling helpless.

“No, Noah. We can’t; he got himself into that mess, he can get himself out of it.” Reed holds no room for argument. Well, unfortunately for him, I like to pick fights, especially with him.

“Reed,” I snapped quietly. “What if it were me?”

He tilts to the side, probably wondering why I asked. And while part of me asked just because that could have been me, but also because I want to know what Reed would have done. That easily could have been me.

“Don’t ask me that.” He finally answers. Something in the air shifts, the world falling away. A fragile pause stretches between us, but it’s the subtle rise and fall of his breath. The way he holds my gaze, a softness in the way that tells me I have him. It’s the flicker of vulnerability, showing me he cares.

I try to catch my breath, not stop my heart from skipping a beat, everything feeling too quiet.

“It’s not you,” he whispers.

“But it could have been,” I tell him. “Those zombies could have killed me with Jamie, or that man right there, that could have been me.” The realization that Reed has been saving me from the start. It’s then I know I have him. Reed's eyes flutter close, his shoulders dropping.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he mumbles under his breath. Reaching back, he takes off his backpack and unzips it. My brow furrows together when he sticks his hand inside and pulls out a gun.

“You’ve had this the entire time?”

Reed doesn’t bother looking up at me when he says, “Yeah.”

“Why haven’t you been using it?”

“Guns are too noisy; they attract nearby zombies.”

“Huh.”

The more I’m with Reed, the more it dawns on me that I have no idea who he is. While that should scare me, I’ve always been one to jump headfirst and ask questions later.

“Stay behind me,” he orders. Reed swings his bag over his shoulders, and I believe he checks his gun for bullets. Somehow watching him handle a gun makes him seem so much hotter. It’s like he has bad boy written all over him.

Reed stands up, waiting for me to follow. Once I do, I stand behind him as he raises the gun, and the first shot goes off.

I’m not sure what I expected, but the moment the gun goes off, my hands slam over my ears. I slam my eyes closed, my forehead hitting Reed’s back. Each time the gun goes off, my body jerks on its own accord. Even if I know what’s coming, I can’t stop.

I hold my breath, waiting for another shot when I feel Reed move. Blinking my eyes open, I’m immediately drawn to a zombie a few feet in front of us.

“Throw your mallet,” Reed nods towards the thing in my hand.

“What?”

“Throw it like you did at me; just use more force and try to aim for its head.”

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