A Fox Among Wolves

Chapter Thirty-Two

Every passing day has been hell. The rain slowly turned into sleet, and now the sleet has turned into snow. If that wasn't bad enough, we have been walking constantly, all of us too scared to stop for long. The beasts have been everywhere, the human and hybrid infected. The only thing keeping them away from us is their animosity towards each other.

According to Alex, the human infected tend to be more territorial, staying in one place their entire life. The hybrid infected, though, are wanderers. They travel into new territories in search of food. This usually ends in the infected hybrids and humans clashing, ripping each other apart until one of them is dead.

It is even worse when there is a baby involved, apparently. It makes me a little sick to the stomach to think about either of those creatures breeding. I did not even think it was possible, but since they are not technically dead, just changed, they still have the ability to produce offspring.

Luckily, we have not come across any of those yet.

Shivering, I pull my tattered coat tighter around me. The snow is starting to stick to the ground, making the ground crunch with every step I take.

A warm arm wraps around me, and looking up I see Braeden watching me with concern. I don't blame him. These past few weeks have been vicious. Alex almost got offed by a wandering infected hybrid, and we had to leave camp in the middle of the night when we heard a group of humans getting too close for comfort.

Suffice to say, my body is hating me right now. At thirty-four weeks, my stomach is getting heavier and it is becoming harder to continue walking. Exhaustion is ever present, but I refuse to let that put the others in danger. Braeden and Link both want us to rest longer, but after our incident with the infected human, it makes me anxious to stay still for long.

We have started a new routine, where we walk for four hours and rest for four hours. This has forced us to travel faster, and I am happy to do it, despite the cramps that have started up.

Usually, pregnancies last for forty weeks, give or take a week, but I have a feeling that I am not going to make it that far. Every night before bed and every morning after waiting, I feel to see if my scrotum has pulled back. For a while, feeling everything remain the same was a relief. But this morning it had been different. Baby is going to be here soon, very soon, and it is terrifying.

Braeden had tried to conceal his fear when I told him, but it was easy for me to see. I am just as scared. We are out here, completely exposed to the elements and to the beasts wandering through the woods. There is no way a child could survive out here.

The map says we are almost to the compound, about two weeks away, but at the rate we are walking, we should get there sooner. There is only one more check point between us and the final destination.

This time, I hope that it isn't completely trashed like the last two. We have gone over a hundred miles without a check point, and I know that the others are getting anxious. Our food ran out yesterday morning, and we are all feeling the pain of an empty stomach.

Something warm settles over my back, startling me out of my thoughts. Braeden is wrapping a blanket around me, creating a sort of hood to guard my head against the falling snow. Once satisfied, he pulls me closer to him, his hand rubbing along my side.

I don't bother to argue with him, despite how much I want to. Because this is the blanket he had been wearing over his coat, and I am already wearing one. But, I know that he is worried about me, and trying his best to take care of me, so I just pull the blanket tighter against me, the warmth quickly leaving as the snow starts to turn the material damp.

"I think that's the place," Link says from in front of us.

We all stop behind him, looking over at the little cabin he is pointing at. There is smoke curling from the chimney and a hummingbird wind chime still in the snow. As per usual, Link and Braeden walk ahead, leaving me and Quinn to huddle together while Alex keeps an eye on the forest behind us.