Page 42 of When the Living Fall

“Should Griffin and I secure the area like you did for us?” Max offers.

“What? No, I’m not—shut it, Max.” William shakes his head and pulls out an object, holding it out to me.

My breath catches in my throat when he opens his hand to expose the compass—my compass—resting in his palm. The one I’d lost while running through the night. I thought I’d lost it forever. “How did you…?”

“Found it when we were searching for you. It was half-buried in the mud next to a rotter corpse. Scared the shit out of me for a moment, before I realized you weren’t the rotter.” His lips quirk up into a half smile.

Instead of reaching for the compass, I throw my arms around his neck and pull him close, causing him to stumble. He wraps his arms around me, and I bury my face against the side of his throat. “Thank you, William. I can’t believe you keep saving me like this. You’re incredible.”

He holds me tight, rubbing his palm up and down my spine. When he pulls back, he pushes my hair to the side and secures the chain with the compass around my neck. It settles into place, and he kisses me before turning around and allowing me to climb onto his back again before hestands. Right in time, so he can’t see the single teardrop falling down my cheek, which I wipe away on the back of his shirt.

We continue moving, and I run my thumb back and forth across the compass. My father’s compass, that William not only risked his life to get back for me once, but also pulled it from the mud while chasing after me for the entire night. I don’t know what I did to deserve these men, but I’m deeply grateful for them.

I tuck the compass beneath my shirt, and it settles against my heated skin. There’s no doubt in my mind this could help guide us to wherever we want to go once this is all over. I don’t know where that is, and I don’t care, as long as we stay together.

As we continue our trek, hushed voices mix in with the quiet, and my ears prick up when I catch snippets of Griffin and Max’s murmured conversation.

“Maybe turning that town into a colony might not be such a bad idea,” Max says.

“Oh, so you’re on board now?” Griffin replies with a touch of arrogance in his voice.

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Good, because I’ve thought about it a lot. There’s a spot there that would be perfect for a garden. We could plant fruit trees, grow vegetables, and even some flowers to pretty it up. It’s a great place to start over in.”

A smile stretches across my lips. I can’t help it. Though, I’m surprised when Josh chimes in. “Can I come, too?”

The casual murmuring stops, and my three men exchange glances. I can feel a rumble through William’s back when he responds. “You know, Josh, it might be better if you stayed with your family here.”

“That’s the thing,” Josh says, his voice small. “I don’t have any family. My sister and I are the only ones who survived the outbreak.”

William’s grip on my thighs tightens. “I’m sorry to hear that. We lost our families, too. All of us.”

Max swings his morning star in a circle, sauntering along. “Yeah, we somehow found each other and became one big fucking family. Literally.”

“Max.”

“Chill, Griffin, you’ll pop your stitches.”

“I don’t have stitches anymore.”

“I can give you some.”

A small laugh escapes me despite how hard I try to hold it back, so I turn my face against William’s shoulder to hide it while I quietly giggle.

“Guys,” William says, cutting them off. “Josh, who are you staying with in the colony? Who takes care of you?”

“A few of us around my same age without families share a house and we take care of each other. It was nice…until it wasn’t.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Richard’s been making us miserable ever since Emily left, telling us things about her we now realize were lies all along. Because with what he said about her, she wouldn’t have come risking her life for mine like she did. Especially not with the strangers she brought in who Richard claims are bad and a threat to the colony.”

William’s grip on my legs tightens and then relaxes. “How has life in the colony been, besides Richard?”

“Miserable still. If he catches you laughing, or having any sort of fun, then he puts a stop to it and reminds you how horrible things were when Nathan happened. Like, we’re supposed to be downright miserable all the time. My friends and I have been talking about running away, that’s why we were really checking out that town. Except, now that town is ruined, so we’ll have to find somewhere else still.”

“Josh, I’m sorry you’ve been going through all of that,” Isay, my head still resting against William’s shoulder. “I didn’t realize anyone else had it bad. I was too busy focusing on my own shit.”

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