Free Save Me by L J Baker Page A

better boy to have around. I thought about how hard I tried to get rid of him at first and how mean I had been to him. And when the cousins had taken me, I blamed Will for not stopping them. Of course, it wasn't his fault. He didn't abandon me as I had first thought. He saved me. He really was my hero. Even if he didn't have his pink pony t-shirt anymore. Okay, I needed to get over this concussion because it was screwing with my head. Next thing you know and I'll be thinking about Will's soft red lips and how much I wanted to...
    Sleep came whether I wanted it to or not. In my dreams I was running through the woods yelling for my father. I couldn't understand why I couldn't find him. There was an old woman standing near a fire holding on to a tall cane, too tall for her short stature. I stopped to ask her why she was out there all alone and she just laughed wildly at me and pointed to the fire. In the fire was a number of human heads. They were screaming voiceless horror through the flames. The faces looked familiar but I couldn't quite place them. The old woman tried to pull at me, still pointing to the fire and laughing. I managed to break free of her and ran until I came up to a river. I had to decide whether I was going to go back or try to cross the river. It looked deep and the current was moving at a fast pace. I turned to go back but the sound of the old woman cackling in the forest reached my ears changing my mind. I knew my only real choice was to cross the river, but I couldn't bring myself to step into the frigid water.
    "Andi?" Will nudged me gently.
    I opened my eyes slowly, trying to figure out where I was. Nothing looked familiar at first, only Will. His concerned face peering down at me gave me comfort. My head thumped along with the beat of my heart. Slowly my surroundings came into focus and my brain sorted out the details of where I was and why. I reached for the water bottle to moisten my dry throat but Will leaned over and handed it to me before I could get near it.
    "You okay? You were saying something about not going forward or back." Will felt my forehead like a parent does to check for a fever in their child.
    "I'm fine." I managed to sit myself up a little easier this time. My head still hurt but it was noticeably better than earlier. I looked at Will sitting there keeping watch at my bedside. I could tell he was exhausted. "Why don't you get some sleep? You look like crap."
    For the first time since we met up with the cousins, Will laughed. I hadn't realized before how much I loved that sound. It was contagious.
    "Thanks a lot."
    I patted the bed next to me, trying to entice him into getting some rest.
    "Okay, okay, I'll take a short nap but you have to promise to wake me if you need anything or if you feel any worse." Will eyed me skeptically.
    "I promise," I said, giving him a sweet smile and trying to be convincing.
    Will looked over at the bed beside me then turned to check out his other options. He got up from his bedside vigil and walked over to the bunk beds across the room and climbed into the bottom bunk. I shot him a confused look. He could have just slept here with me. It was the biggest bed in the room and after he had slept next to me in the cabin I wondered why he wouldn't just climb into my bed and sleep there.
    It took Will all of about 30 seconds to fall into a deep sleep. The poor boy must have been exhausted. I sat for awhile watching him sleep. Instead of the peaceful, little boy look he had that first night I saw him sleep, he looked older, concerned, like something within him had changed. His eyelids fluttered and he gripped the pillow tight. It made me sad to see him like this. I know he had been upset, especially after he had seen me in the cabin all bloody and bruised, but it wasn't as bad as it looked, at least on the outside. I'd be fine. I missed the happy, carefree Will. Even in a zombie apocalypse, he was able to laugh and make jokes. That wasn't something you saw often