Page 57 of Uprising

I swallow, wondering how we even got here talking about this. I should’ve pretended I was asleep so he would have just let me be. I don’t like the idea of going outside, not while my shoulder still hurts.

“I thought I was clear when I confessed a few things before. You’re mine. I don’t care if the world is ending or if some long-lost girlfriend of yours suddenly appears. I’ll kill anyone who tries to get in the way.” I don’t have time to process his words as his lips suddenly land on mine. His tongue demands entrance, and I’m too weak to stop him. Reed kisses like his life depended on it. Like there's no end to us. But he ends it all too soon, leaving me chasing his mouth.

“Get dressed and meet me on the back porch.” With that, Reed walks off, leaving me sitting in bed wondering how I got sucked into this.

* * *

We’ve been walkingfor hours, so my legs feel like jelly by the time we reach the end of the property line. After not walking for long distances, my body must have forgotten what it was like.

“Let’s take a walk, they said, it’ll be fun, they said. Bullshit. Absolute freaking bullshit.” I mutter under my breath. It was cold enough that little white puffs of air appeared every time I took a breath. “I thought Georgia was supposed to be warm.” I say it a little louder, purposely trying to get Reed's attention.

But he ignores me like he’s been doing almost the entire walk. The silence feels heavy; only the occasional rustling of the tree branches and the crunching of leaves beneath our shoes.

Reed slows down to a stop, causing me to nearly run into his back.

“Wh–” He shuts me up with a glare. Rolling my eyes, I hold my breath. The man confesses some deep emotions to me and then acts like I’m a nuisance. It’s rather rude, and I’m moments from laying into him when from the corner of my eye I catch something moving.

It only takes me a few seconds before I realize it’s a zombie. I feel my chest tighten as anxiety starts to take over. I thought I was over this, but apparently feeling safe for a few days makes me forget that I can handle a few of them. Let alone one.

“Keep your eye on it; I’m going to check the trap,” Reed orders.

“I don’t think…” My words trail off as he ignores me and does it anyways.

I swear the moment we get back to that stupid cabin, I’m going to tie him down and force him to have words with me.

My eyes bounce back and forth, watching Reed check the traps while the zombie inches closer. The mallet weighs heavily in my hand, and my knuckles turn white from my iron grip.

I practiced a few swings, my left shoulder screaming in protest. Rule one: don’t get shot. It’s not fun, and honestly, it’s a rather huge pain in the ass. When the zombie comes within a few feet of me, I hold my breath and swing at its head. Blood and dead brain matter spray everywhere, causing me to gag. The thing hits the forest floor, twitching. I yank the mallet from its head and slam it down once more for good measure.

Breathing heavily, I stand straight, ready to get a hot shower and crawl back into bed. Only Reed appears in front of me, a large light brown rabbit hanging from his hands.

“Looks like we’re having rabbit stew tonight.”

I wrinkle my nose, silently gagging. He has got to be kidding me, but with the wicked glint in his eyes and the half-crooked smile, I know he’s not.

“What? Never had rabbit before?” Reed asks, glancing between the dead thing hanging in his hand and me.

I shake my head before he can even finish his question. “No, no I haven’t. You just killed some poor bunnies mother.”

“It’s a boy.”

“Fine, you just killed some bunnies' father. He was probably just out trying to gather some food for his children.”

“Well now he’s going to feed us,” Reed smiles, wiggling his eyebrows.

If I'd had an appetite, it would've just disappeared. The idea of touching a dead rabbit makes my skin crawl. And the entire walk back to the cabin, Reed tried convincing me it was going to be the best stew I ever had. Funny enough, it was going to be the first time I ever had stew in my entire life, but I didn’t tell him that.

CHAPTER33

Reed

For the duration of the evening, Noah is acting more bratty than normal, if that were even possible. Whenever I feel like I’ve gotten him figured out, it’s like a new wall comes up. It couldn’t be because of the rabbit. Something else is bothering him. His usual talkative self is too quiet while he stares off at the mountains. Not even one of Viper's books is in his hand. He's in a blank slate, and it doesn’t sit well with me. By the time dinner is done, I’ve almost finished my entire bowl while Noah pretends to eat. Pushing his spoon around before downing the rest of his water.

“Noa—”

“Who were those two guys in the picture downstairs?” Noah asks, interrupting me.

I tilt my head to the side in confusion. Slowly I chew the rest of my food before reaching across and taking a sip of my water. I keep Noah’s gaze the entire time, waiting for the nerves to overtake him. But when they don’t, I know he’s not going to drop it.

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