Page 27 of Cora

Begrudgingly, I agreed and followed them out. We spent the rest of the day in the woods, laying down traps according to Isaac’s book and hoping for the best. When we finished that task, we went to the start of our lines and checked them. After about ten traps, we found our first rabbit. Isaac handed the carcass to me, and I stuffed it into my bag. He cleaned up the trap and reset it.

We ended up finding about five rabbits, which Isaac took to the slaughter shed to dress while the rest of us went back inside. We stepped into the house slowly, hoping to avoid spooking Ghost Girl if she was out and about. Unfortunately, I didn’t see her anywhere.

I went straight to the kitchen and started tapping on the wall, looking for the door switch. I knew there had to be a way to open it from this side, and I was dying to find out what was back there.

“Hey, D?” Trent said behind me.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“You have a message.”

“Oh, yeah?” I asked, only half listening to him as I continued my inspection of the wall. “Who’s it from?”

“I’m going to go ahead and say, Cora,” Remi replied.

“Who the fuck is Cora?” I asked, finally stopping to face them.

Trent held up a sheet of paper with one sentence written.

My name is Cora.

I snatched the paper from his hand and read the flowy words a few times. Cora. I liked that name.

“Nice to meet you, Cora,” I said more to myself than anyone else.

Isaac came in with the rabbit, and we all pitched in to make the stew and mashed potatoes. When dinner was done, we served up five dishes and then sat at the table, looking at the wall.

“Cora?” I asked, “Would you like to join us for dinner?”

We held our breath as we waited for a response. Maybe she wasn’t even on the other side of the wall watching us. After nearly a minute, Isaac cleared his throat to repeat my request when I heard a click, and the panel in the wall swung open.

Cora emerged from the wall slowly, her bright blue eyes darting around, not settling on any of us for more than a few seconds as she searched for any danger. Her blonde hair was neatly brushed into a ponytail, and she was wearing different clothes than she had been wearing earlier. I hadn’t realized how small Cora was during our initial meeting. Her clothes hung on her body, proof of the weight she’d lost since the apocalypse started. Cora was pale, frail, and still one of the prettiest things I’ve seen in a long time. In her hands, she carried what looked like… an iPad?

“We won’t hurt you, Cora,” Trent assured her, patting the empty seat between us.

Her eyes darted around nervously again before locking with mine. A pretty pink blush spread across her cheeks, and I smirked in response. Making a girl blush with eye contact was always a good sign.

Cora took another step forward. I admired her bravery and was humbled by her trust in us. We outnumbered and overpowered her. It would take little effort for us to confine her, go through that wall, and take what we wanted. A foreboding chill spread across my skin—what would have happened to her if we hadn’t been the ones to find this place?

Chapter thirteen

Cora

Nervously, I leave my safe haven and venture into the kitchen. All four men are staring at me with varying excitement and interest. I try to remind myself that while I’ve known of them for what felt like ages now, they only just confirmed my existence. This is new for them. My eyes raced around the kitchen, making sure I wasn’t walking into a trap. I knew I wasn’t. I had been watching them the entire time. Even so, I began to feel a little self-conscious as they studied my every move, and a warning tingle went down my spine. I stopped and was ready to dart back behind the wall and forgo the offer to share their rabbit stew with them when Trent patted the empty seat between him and Derrick.

“We won’t hurt you, Cora.”

His sincerity felt genuine, but my eyes bounced around again to assure myself it was safe. When they locked on Derrick’s, I felt my cheeks warm at the memory of our scuffle, and his body pressed against mine. Inwardly, I winced at the two black eyes he sported, though I didn’t feel the least bit guilty for giving them to him. He smirked at me, oozing sexual confidence, andmy knees nearly buckled. Holy hell, what was I getting myself into?

Clutching my iPad tighter, I took another step and then another until all there was left to do was sit. I slid into the vacant chair, and the second the smell of the stew wafted beneath my nose, I dropped the iPad onto the table and scooped up the bowl, shoveling the stew into my mouth at an embarrassingly fast pace. When I set the empty bowl back down and looked up, I turned bright red again when I realized they were all staring at me in amusement. That wasn’t very ladylike. I grabbed the towel beside my bowl and wiped my mouth daintily in an attempt to course correct. I knew it was futile, but a girl could try.

Derrick reached for my bowl and moved it out of the way before sliding his in its place. I looked at him in confusion. Didn’t he want his stew?

“Go ahead, Ghost Girl, eat,” he urged.

I shook my head, pointed at him, and then pushed the bowl back toward him. I wasn’t going to eat his food.

“I’m not hungry,” he said, pushing it back.

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