Chapter Four

 

 

 

Jerrica walked beside Calan—now in his human form—as they headed for his cabin. The day at the fields had gone faster than it normally did. That mostly had to do with the fact that she’d spent it with the Werewolf Defender.

They’d talked quite a bit, and Jerrica had come to get to know Calan a lot better. He acted like any boy her age would. Even though he was supposed to have been around for nearly a hundred years, it was as if he’d been frozen in time, forever a teenager.

“The arrows are inside,” Calan said when they arrived at his cabin. “Do you want to come in?”

“Okay.”

Jerrica followed Calan through the door. She looked around. The cabin hadn’t been lived in for quite some time. The previous owners had been an older couple. The wife had died and six months later, the husband followed. They hadn’t had any kids to take over their land, so it had sat unused until another family had need of it.

Calan walked to the table then collected the arrows on it. He turned to her. “I cleaned them for you too. There were only two that had broken shafts from the zombies landing on them.” He handed them to her.

“Thanks. It’s time-consuming to make new ones, so it’s great you were able to save these for me.” She shrugged off her quiver before she put the arrows inside it with the others.

“I wouldn’t have a clue how to make them, and I’m not very good at using a bow. I tried to learn, but considering I was teaching myself, I sucked at it. I eventually gave up.”

“I can show you, if you want. After we eat, I can take you out back where my dad set up some targets.”

“I’d like that.” Silence grew between them before Calan said, “I guess we’d better go. It’s getting late, and we don’t want to hold up dinner.”

Jerrica smiled. “No, we don’t. My mom hates it when people don’t show up when the food is ready. Plus, you haven’t eaten. You must be hungry.”

Calan shrugged. “A bit, but not the same as you’d be. I’m immortal, so I can go without food for days and not have it affect me. I’m pretty sure I could stop eating altogether and still live. I might thin out, but I can’t die from starvation.”

As they left his cabin then walked down the road toward hers, Jerrica asked, “What’s it like?”

“What?”

“Being the Werewolf Defender? Being immortal and living for as long as you have?”

Calan turned his head to stare in front of him with a faraway look in his eyes. “It has its good points and bad. I love being able to shift to my wolf form, especially going for a run through the trees. The immortality part can be rough. In the beginning, I stayed in one place, made friends and all that. Then I watched them all grow older, and I didn’t. I realized that if I stayed, they’d eventually die, one by one, and I’d still be the same. That’s when I decided to never remain in one settlement for very long.”

Jerrica turned her gaze on Calan. “Sounds pretty lonely.”

He looked at her. “It can be, but I’m used to it now.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you become the Werewolf Defender?”

“That’s a story I don’t usually tell.”

She felt her face grow red. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

Calan put his hand on her shoulder, stopped her and turned her to face him. “I know. And it’s fine. I want to tell you. You’re someone I want to know where I came from, but it’s a long story, and we’re at your cabin.” He gave her a crooked grin. “I’ve been able to smell your mom’s delicious cooking since halfway here.”

Jerrica chuckled. “I guess being what you are, you can smell better than me, because I couldn’t.”

“Yes, and right now my stomach is growling.”

 

As they walked into the yard, Jerrica couldn’t help but hold close that Calan wanted to tell her something he’d rarely told anyone, just like he’d shared his telepathic ability while in wolf form. It set her apart from everyone else, but she told herself not to read too much into it.

Once they’d walked into the cabin, Jerrica’s mom greeted them with a smile. Her dad was already there, setting the table. The smell of venison stew was heavy in the air.

“The two of you can take a seat,” her mom said, as she bustled around the kitchen area, dishing up food onto plates.

Jerrica shrugged off her bow and quiver then set them in the corner near the door. “Do you need any help?” she asked her mother.

“No, I’m fine. Go sit down.”

She motioned for Calan to follow her as she headed for the table. Jerrica told him which chair he could sit in then took the one directly across from him. Her father sat in his at the end as her mom carried over two plates. Once everyone had one in front of them, her mother finally sat.

“How did it go today at the fields?” her mom asked, after everyone started eating.

Jerrica swallowed her mouthful of food before she answered. “Good. Calan and I didn’t see any zombies on our patrols.”

“I’m glad.”

Her dad turned the conversation to Calan, asking him what the settlement that he’d stayed at before theirs was like and how they fared. Jerrica ate her food as she listened to Calan talk. It was interesting to hear how others lived their lives. It also made her hunger to travel grow. There was so much more out there beyond the walls. Calan was lucky to have the freedom he had. If the zombies all of a sudden ceased to exist, she’d leave her settlement in a heartbeat.

After everyone had finished eating, Jerrica said, “I’m going to take Calan out back so we can shoot some arrows.”

“All right,” her mom said. “It was nice having you over for dinner, Calan.”

Calan stood, as did Jerrica. “Thanks for inviting me, Mrs. Barnes.”

“You’re welcome. And you’re welcome to eat with us anytime you want.”

“I might take you up on that offer,” Calan said with a smile.

After grabbing her bow and quiver from the corner, Jerrica led Calan outside then around to the back of the cabin. Two targets made from straw bales that were raised off the ground stood a short distance away. Each one had a circular piece of leather with bull’s-eyes painted on it. She stopped them when they reached shooting distance.

She held out her bow to Calan. “How about you shoot first? That way I’ll be able to see what you’re doing wrong.”

He took it from her, along with the arrow she passed him. “Okay. Don’t be surprised if I don’t come even close to hitting a target.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll work on it.”

Calan took up position, nocked the arrow, pulled back on the string then let go. The arrow landed a few feet away, skipping across the ground. He shook his head. Jerrica chuckled as she retrieved the arrow.

“I told you I was terrible,” Calan said, as Jerrica came to stand at his side once more.

“You just need practice”—she looked at him and smiled—“and a better teacher.”

“Tell me something I don’t already know.”

“The biggest mistake you’re making is you’re not letting go of the string all the way when you release it.” She held out the arrow.

“Okay, I’ll give it another try,” he said as he took hold of it.

Calan nocked the arrow and once again pulled back on the string. Just as the first time, he didn’t send it flying toward the target. It hit the ground close in front of him. A wolf-sounding growl rumbled out of him.

“You did the same thing,” Jerrica said.

“I know. It’s as if I have some kind of mental block and can’t get my fingers to let go completely.”

“I think your problem is you’re holding the string too tightly. You need to relax your hand as you release it.”

Calan’s third attempt failed just as miserably as his first two. “I give up. I’m only frustrating myself. That’s why I packed in learning it a long time ago.”

Jerrica shook her head. “We all have to start off somewhere. It took me years to get to the level I’m at now. And I worked hard at it. I wanted to make sure I could protect myself if I ever got a chance to…” She didn’t finish her sentence. She’d been about to tell him her secret dream of leaving the settlement.

Calan lowered the bow to his side and looked at Jerrica. “A chance to what?”

“Nothing. Forget about it.”

“No. Tell me.”

Jerrica met Calan’s gaze and saw he truly wanted to know what she’d stopped herself from saying. She’d never told anyone about her dream, not even her family. He’d told her things about himself that he didn’t share with just anyone, though.

“A dream of mine is to leave the settlement and explore the world beyond the walls. Even though I know that’ll never happen, I still trained to be the best shot I can be with a bow and arrow.”

“Why do you think it’ll never happen?” Calan asked softly.

She snorted. “Because of the zombies. I might be a good shot, but, as you saw yesterday, if I’m outnumbered, it’d be game over. I’m not stupid enough to risk my life by setting out on my own. And I would be, since no one I know would want to join me in my crazy adventure.”

Calan shook his head. “It goes to show how isolated your settlement really is. There are ones closer to what used to be the cities that are much bigger than yours. The people there venture outside the walls for long distances all the time. They even go to the ruins to scavenge for anything they can find that’s still useful.”

“Really? What about the zombies? Wouldn’t there be more of them in the ruined cities?”

“There can be, but most of them have spread out, looking for prey. With no humans in the big cities, there really wasn’t anything making them stay. If they find the living, they’ll follow them.”

“I never knew.”

“As I said, you’re pretty isolated here. That’s also probably why it took me so long to find your settlement. I had no idea there was one so far north. I only heard about it from the last place I stayed, because one of the settlers’ grandparents had originally come from here.”

“We always thought the few who’d left never survived, since they hadn’t returned.”

“They did.” Calan met her gaze. “There’s a whole new world out there, Jerrica.”

She doubted she’d ever get to see it, anyway. Setting out alone wasn’t something she could bring herself to do. It’d have to remain a dream for her.

Jerrica changed the subject. “Well, I can’t ever see me leaving the settlement. Do you want to try one more time with the bow?”

Calan stared silently at her for a few seconds, then nodded. “All right, but I think I want to try something different. I want you to shoot while I stand behind you and put my hands on yours.” He smiled. “I’d suggest you stand behind me, but you’re about eight inches shorter than I am.”

She grinned. “Very true. I’d never be able to see. I don’t know if doing this will help, but I’m willing to try.”

“At the very least, I’ll be able to see how I should be holding the darn things.”

Jerrica took the bow and arrow from Calan, then went to stand in front of him. His arms came around her as he bent and put his one hand on hers on the bow and the other on top of the one she held the arrow with. His body heat seeped into her back, making her very aware of him. Even though she told herself not to react to his nearness, her heart beat faster. She turned her head to look at him and found him intently staring at her, his face only a few inches from her own.

She swallowed and focused on the target. In one fluid motion, Jerrica nocked the arrow and lifted the bow, drawing back on the string. Calan kept pace with her movements, not hindering her. Once she lined up with the bull’s-eye and had the string pulled all the way to her ear, she loosed the arrow. It hit the center with a thud.

“Again,” Calan said. “This time I want to hold the arrow and you put your hand over mine.” He let go of her hand, then took an arrow out of her quiver.

“Okay,” she said. As she’d done the first time, Jerrica lifted the bow. Calan nocked the arrow and pulled on the string as she fixed the aim. “Whenever you’re ready, you can take the shot.”

Calan adjusted his stance, then released the arrow. It flew straight and hit just under the center of the bull’s-eye. “I did it. I actually hit a target.”

“You did. You kept your grip relaxed and completely let go of the string.”

Jerrica smiled and turned her head toward him. Her breath caught in her throat. Calan had shifted in her direction as well. With him bent around her, their lips ended up being a mere hairsbreadth apart. It was then she realized their fingers on the hands that had held the arrow were now linked. She stared into his ice-blue eyes and felt as if the rest of the world had disappeared.

Calan jerked away and released her hands before he stepped back. Jerrica licked her suddenly dry lips and took a deep breath to slow her rapidly beating heart. She told herself to snap out of it. It’d been an accident, nothing more. He hadn’t meant to almost kiss her. If he had, he wouldn’t have let her go so quickly.

“I think that’s enough practice for today,” Calan said.

Jerrica nodded. “I’ll retrieve the arrows.”

She didn’t look at Calan as she walked toward the targets. Once she reached the one they’d used, she yanked out the arrows, then shoved them into her quiver. Jerrica headed back to him. After she reached him, they walked silently to the front of the cabin.

“I should go,” Calan said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jerrica stayed in the yard and followed Calan with her gaze as he left. At the road, a bright light surrounded him, and he took on his wolf form. As if he sensed her watching him, he turned his large lupine head in her direction and looked at her. They held gazes for a few seconds before he took off at a run.