Page 55 of Resurrection
“All clear, baby.”
I jump, turning to find Jax in the busted-up doorway and nearly falling on my ass in the same motion. “Fucking hell, you scared me,” I gasp.
He grimaces, lending me a hand. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.” With a seamless maneuver, he pulls me up, checking behind me to the long road directly in front of the gates, and then to the left and right, seeing everything that just happened. “Holy shit! I thought I might have heard something.” He looks back out to the five I took care of. “Fuck, baby, are you alright?” He takes my face in his hands, looking everywhere for signs of trauma. Luckily, I think I somehow came out of everything unscathed.
I nod in confirmation, my words still a little jittery as I come down from the rush. “I’m fine. I’m ok. Just a little shaken up, that’s all. It was just these guys, though. Not a live douchebag in sight.” The declaration should calm me, but I can’t help but seem worried. Apart from the five zombies currently dead at our feet, it’s been eerily quiet here, unnerving. It’s been months of having to run. Having to hide. Having to fight. It feels like something’s wrong. But, then again, it also feels like this is the first time I’ve actually been able to breathe since we left the cabin back at the lake. It’s strange, the battle of emotions running through me. The fact that a lack of any substantial zombie presence seems unnatural just goes to show how fucked up I’ve evolved over the course of the apocalypse. I’m elated...andanxious.
Maybe it’s just the adrenaline running through my veins. All I know is we finally made it, reached thefinish line. This was where we were meant to be this entire time.
Jax nods approvingly, a tiny smile gracing his lips as his eyes fill with relief rather than the terror that originally eclipsed them. “That’s our girl. I’m so proud of you, Aly. You’ve come so far... So far.” With a kiss to my forehead, he takes my hand, leads me into the house, and out the back door to where Cole and Hawk are waiting in the courtyard, huge smiles covering their faces. “So, pretty girl, which one would you like us to clear next and call home?”
Chapter Thirty-One
Aly
I’m stiff all over as I stretch my aching body, the past few days—let’s face it, the past year—reminding me that even though I’m comfortable in a bed once again, it wasn’t accomplished easily. The gentle snores and deep steady breaths of the three giants next to me confirm that Hawk, Cole, and Jax are all still fast asleep, lost in their dreams. I smile and muffle my laugh when I see Cole spooning Hawk, his arm wrapped around Hawk’s waist as his hand grasps the chest of Hawk’s shirt in a tight grip.
It's our first full day since we arrived. The first day of reestablishing our lives and making Tryon Palace our new home. It’s been absolutely wonderful.
While the grounds have overgrown—the gardens way beyond normal maintenance—the houses themselves have weathered the end of days pretty well, and we’re slowly but surely working ourselves into them.
Jax spent the better part of the day we arrived here inspecting and reinspecting the entire perimeter, including reinforcing the door they barged in through at Daves House. At the end of it all, he was decently content with his findings. Especially when he realized Tryon Palace is surrounded by not one, but two fences. The outermost line, which includes Daves House, Dixon house and the Craft & Garden shop, surrounds the entire property, including the gardens and some of the other buildings, while the interior fence line creates a fortified barricade for the three central buildings: the Governor’s Palace, the kitchen, and the stables. The tall iron fence, as well as the large buildings and high-walled walkways on either side of the palace, offers safety and protection in addition to the outer rim. While there may not be ten-foot behemoths spanning the entirety of the property, the combination of the two types work. At leastfor now.
Jax has already decided to upgrade some of the outside border as quickly as possible. Traps, such as ditches with fraises—logs with sharp pointed ends that you'd ordinarily see protecting a castle—bear traps, razor wire, and other such contraptions designed to prevent any trespassers, dead or alive, are planned to be added as soon as Jax is able to gather the required supplies. He’s also decided, rather quickly to all of our delights, where he wants to set up his new gardens, maybe even an orchard. Before the outbreak happened, there was an area directly behind the kitchens that was a potager garden—one whose only purpose was to grow all kinds of food. Although, it’ll take a little bit to actually reap the benefits of having fruiting trees within our immediate vicinityonce again, Jax is determined to restore it to its former glory.
Speaking of, Cole has been tinkering in the kitchen—a completely separate building—and loading up on wood and other supplies he’s gathered throughout the various other buildings situated on the grounds. Most of what he was able to find that was sustainable was found in the gift shop, and surrounding vending machines, but there’re still plenty more places to venture for supplies.
Hawk, being Hawk, had other priorities to focus on since we first arrived. It only took him a few hours, but he managed to find every single one of the beds on the property and set up a massive, multi-bed conglomeration in one of the Palace’s rooms. It’s literally a bed room now, with hardly any room for anything else. Even Sadie has her own bed off in the corner, fluffy pillows and blankets piled high for her. But, hey, I’m not going to complain. Not when the super bed has plenty of room for me and my three guys to sleep and cuddle and... other things.
Hell yeah girl! All kinds of room for our filthy activities! Can have a damn rodeo in here and ride all our broncos into the night!
The heavy pressure on my bladder reminds me of why I awoke so early, forcing me to slowly and meticulously make my way out of our dog pile as I try my best not to wake any of the guys. Thankfully, I don’t seem to rouse any of them, their snores and grumbles still prevalent in the shadowed corner. Good. They need theirsleep. This journey, that should have only taken a few days, has left us extremely exhausted.
All of us.
What was originally intended to be a two-to-three-day march north unexpectedly turned into an over-a-month-long journey. The respite at the futuristic lake house helped, but only so much. In my case, I was too weary of a potential change in Cole’s demeanor to fully rest like I should have. Too terrified we were about to lose him. As for the others? I’m sure they weren’t too far off. Their protective natures coming to the forefront of their minds, ever on guard for anything that might change our fate, whether outside the house, or within.
It’s chilly when I step away from them, a shiver crawling up my spine at the early morning temperature. Unfortunately, regardless of their dreamlike states, I do need to wake one of them. They’d kill me if I ran off without a word even if we are fully gated in here. My feet pad across the dusty floor, aiming for my pack and the warm hoodie held inside. One step.... two...
“Nope. No running off. Get your sexy ass back over here,” Jax grumbles low in a voice only early mornings after late nights could provide. I turn back and see that his eyes are still closed even as his hand wraps around my waist, keeping me from leaving the safety of the dogpile.
Well, it looks like we have a volunteer, folks!
“This sexy ass needs to pee!” I whisper shout, smiling as he turns over.
“Ok, ok. Let’s go.” He pulls off the blankets and stands, groaning and stretching as he does, his back and neck cracking unnaturally as his arms lift above his head. Gloriously naked, I’m reminded of exactly what we got up to last night. Hawk said before we even left the bug-out-bungalow that we were going to“christen every inch of that dusty monument.”I’m happy to report, the bedroom we’re currently in—every nook, cranny, corner, horizontal surface,andvertical surface—has been thoroughly blessed as of five hours ago. My contented sigh isn’t quiet at all, nor is my own groan as I realize just how sore I am in the aftermath.
Jax simply smirks in response—proud peacock he is at breaking me—and, after he pulls on a pair of pants and ties his boots, turns to resecure the blankets, tucking them beneath Hawk and Cole with a softer smile.
“Lead the way, baby doll.” He lifts his hand, gesturing to the open doorway as he holsters his pistol on his belt. Sadie perks up just as we’re about to exit the threshold, and decides to follow us out. We chose to take one of the rooms on the second floor, so the three of us lumber groggily down all the steps to the main entry leading out to the court yard.
Jax stops on the stoop, stretching again in the early morning light while Sadie runs off to relieve herself. “You good?”
“Yes, sir.” I lift my hand in a mock salute, making his lips tilt upward.
“Ok. Got your gear?”
I nod, “Always.”
