the first to arrive and climbed into the driver’s seat of my truck. This was the first time he’d gone on a supply run with us.
“Looks like you’ll be my co-pilot for this,” he said calmly.
“What’s going on?”
“A herd of infected were spotted six blocks away. Smart ones trying to sneak up on us. Not the first time they’ve tried that, though. We typically pull two trucks back, using them as decoys as we hightail it out of there. The fey will bring the supplies and thin the herd.” Someone banged on his door twice, and he shifted into gear.
“We’ll meet up with the rest of the fey and the trucks a few miles out. Your job is to keep an eye on your side of the road. Let me know if you see anything.”
“Got it.”
Adrenaline pumped through me as I watched the roadside for any sign of infected or traps. A number of fey ran ahead of us as a front guard. Tense minutes passed in the cab before Richard let off the gas and came to a gentle stop near a farm.
“We haven’t checked this one. Might as well have a look around while we wait.”
I turned to look at him.
“That’s it? We’re in the clear?”
He chuckled.
“We’re as clear as it’s going to get. Come on. I love checking farm basements. Never know what we’ll find.”
Following his lead, I jumped out of the truck. A few of the humans from the back of the truck were getting out, too.
“Brenna and I are going to check the house,” Richard said.
Ryan glanced at me and grinned. “Don’t let him talk you into trying anything out of a jar.”
Richard waved a hand at his son and looked at me.
“Don’t listen to him. It was a bad seal. The rest were fine.”
I smiled at their easy banter and followed Richard across the snow toward the house. It wasn’t until we were almost there that I realized Thallirin hadn’t tried to stop me. I looked back and found him a step behind me, his expression grim.
“What’s something you’re craving?” Richard asked.
“At the moment, nothing really. Mom made biscuits last night with the supplies from our first haul.”
“Biscuits are good.” He groaned. “Biscuits and gravy would be better. I hope we find some sausage.”
He stopped outside the house and looked back at the fey following us. Without a word, they went inside while Richard and I waited with Thallirin.
“Julie wants me to find some fresh food. Not an easy task,” Richard said. “If the stores have heat, the produce inside is rotten by now. If there’s no heat, then the slow freeze turned most of it to mush. We’ve had some luck with these farmhouses, though. See over there?” he asked, pointing to a row of gnarled, old trees. “Apple trees. I’m betting we’ll find a bushel or two of apples worth saving.”
The door opened, and the fey carried out two bodies to lay on the snow. Their legs were covered in human bite marks.
“It’s clear,” one of the fey said.
Richard held the door open for me. I stepped inside and leaned my bow against the wall, drawing the knife I carried from the sheath.
“You’re not new to this,” Richard said as my gaze swept the room, lingering on the couch and chair.
“No. Did you check under the couch?” I asked. “The smaller infected like hiding there.” I couldn’t say kids because they weren’t kids anymore.
“Yes,” one of the fey said. “A small one was there. We took him out the back.”
I nodded and stepped farther into the room, sticking close to Richard.
We searched through the kitchen, placing what food there was on the table, then went down to the basement. Richard’s prediction proved correct, and we found some apples in a cool, back corner that I wouldn’t go near. Neither did he. We both had too much experience with infected to do something that risky when there was no need.
“Would any of you mind getting those apples?” he asked the fey. “And all the jars from those shelves? We’ll eventually need to start preserving our own food.”
The whole excursion didn’t take long, and I was outside with my mom’s bow over my shoulder in no time.
Richard clapped me on the back in acknowledgment of a job well done and returned to the truck.
I looked at Thallirin, who hadn’t been more than a yard from me the whole time.
“Why didn’t you stop me this time?” I asked.
“Why didn’t you get mad at Richard for