Fire In Our Bones (NovaHD)

Chapter 22

    Cooper watched the three men disappear through the trees, finally allowing himself to breath. He had almost hoped that he wasn't right about Aleks being with Kyle and the others, even if he was glad that James and him had been reunited. Maybe they could finally figure their shit out. Cooper had enough of his own to worry about.

It had been hard to see Kyle again after not seeing him for so long. He looked the same, if more tired and stressed. Cooper would never be able to understand why he hadn't left with him. He suspected it had something to do with Sam being his brother, but there wasn't much love between them, so it probably had more to do with fear. Cooper couldn't understand that either.

He sat back into the brush, trying to decide what to do. He could leave like he had meant to do in the first place. Go far away and be gone for good this time. That was the most logical choice, Sam didn't seem to be giving up looking for him and if he stuck around, it was only a matter of time before he found him. But something was still holding Cooper back. It was the thought of his little sister and best friend still under the influence of a man like Sam. He knew that he had to do something, but he couldn't do it alone.

Cooper frowned, shifting his leg to keep it from falling asleep. He should have warned James about Sam, but it was too late. Or was it? He could slip over to the camp and try to get his attention, warn him, maybe talk to Kyle or Charlotte...Cooper shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself. He didn't know if Sam was at the camp right now or if he was on one of his frequent prowls through the woods. If he knew about Aleks he wouldn't be happy about it and he wouldn't let him leave if he could help it. That was how Sam was. Crazy and possessive.

Cooper had known for a while that the only real way to subdue Sam and break the hold he had on everyone was to kill him. But as the thought came to him even now, he shuddered, feeling cold. Could he really do that if it came down to it? He had killed so many zombies, but they were already dead. It would be so different to see the light go out of someone's eyes, see them collapse limp on the ground, and know that it was you who caused that. Cooper didn't know if he could do it, but he supposed he would have to.

Gritting his teeth, he stood up. He stepped gingerly, holding back a wince at his sore foot. He had been lucky that it was bruised and not sprained or broken. He seemed to get lucky a lot, but sometimes Cooper wondered just how long until his luck ran out.

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James kept stealing glances at Aleks all through breakfast. He couldn't help it. He drank in the man's appearance as if he was dying of thirst.

Aleks looked tired. The bags under his eyes were darker, his hair was rattier and he looked even more pale than usual. He was beautiful and James couldn't look away.

To his chagrin, the other people around the campfire kept staring at the two of them as well. There was only a few, and most of them seemed normal enough but there was one woman who James had made eye contact with once and if looks could kill he'd be dead. She didn't seem too fond of Kyle either, so maybe she had anger issues or something.

James knew he was being stupid, but Kyle was really rubbing him the wrong way. He caught James staring at Aleks once and gave him a look that he couldn't interpret. James didn't give a damn what Kyle thought, but the man made him uneasy, just like this whole place.

Every now and then, Aleks' eyes would dart over to James, but they never stayed  very long. He mostly kept them on the ground or on Kyle or up at the brightening sky. James itched to get Aleks alone so they could talk. There were so many things he longed to tell him, but at the same time he was terrified. Right now their friendship felt tentative and he didn't want to risk losing it completely.