A guttural cry ripped Louie from her dreams. Her eyes shot open as her body tensed. Darkness pushed in on her from all sides. She reached out, searching for Peyton's warmth and strength. But she found only cold air and unyielding stone. Adrenaline coursed through her as she sat up, panic knotting her stomach.

Another inhuman sound pierced the night, sending shivers down Louie's spin. She forced her eyes to adjust to the darkness, searching for any sign of Peyton. Eventually a jagged domed space took form around her. Hunched in the entrance to the cave was Peyton, his body tense with energy. Clouds shifted and shafts of moonlight illuminated the determined scowl on his face. A knife was in his hand and more lay at his feet.

"Peyton," Louie said, her voice choked with relief.

Peyton looked back to her. On whisper treads, he moved to her. With a gentleness that contradicted his appearance, he cupped her face and kissed her. His lips barely inches from her's, he spoke.

"It's about a pack of twenty," he said, his voice low, the warmth of his breath caressing Louie's face. "They haven't discovered our cave. Something has them excited. I fear that there might be others traveling."

He pulled back to look into Louie's eyes.

"If we move now, we can take them from behind. Save whatever encampment they are headed for," he said.

Louie placed her hands over his and nodded.

"Alright," she said. "Let's go."

Peyton kissed her again. A kiss they had shared over the last two months. A kiss that said everything that needed to be said. A promise of love. A goodbye...

Louie gripped Peyton's shirt, leaning into the kiss, pushing away the familiar wave of dread. They pulled apart. For a heart beat of a moment, they looked at each other. Then without saying a word, they turned away and packed up. Louie strapped on her holsters and stuck two knives in.

"Leave the packs?" Louie asked.

Peyton nodded, but lifted a smaller pack, full of medical supplies, over his head. Soundlessly, they stepped out of their cave. Moonlight bathed the world around them in cool, blue light. A few feet pass the entrance lay the edge of a hill. A rocky slope curved down into valley covered with thick bare trees. From their vantage point they could see for miles. For a moment the world looked peaceful with silence draped over them.

A screech shattered the stillness. At once Peyton was moving, Louie just behind him. They hugged the edge of the hill, their footsteps holding the confidence of hours, days, weeks of traveling on unfamiliar terrain. Orange light flickered in the distance and Louie felt her heart pound harder in her chest, picturing the group of unsuspecting travelers. A shriek cut through the night and Peyton paused. He scanned the area beneath them, looking for the pack of Crawlers.

Disfigured forms staggered out from a cluster of trees. Peyton turned to Louie.

"We'll take them from behind," he said. "I'll cut across to the left side. When I give the signal, attack."

Louie nodded and they moved down the hill, cautious of dislodging rocks and breaking branches. A cold night wind whipped around them, stirring their clothes and dragged with it the pungent odor of rotting flesh. Their descent drew no attention. Down in the valley, they crept through the trees, weaving in and out, their movements soundless. The foul smell clogged Louie's nose as they approached the pack of Crawlers. Howls and shrieks filled the night sky, the sound ringing in Louie's ears and raking down her skin.

Peyton reached for Louie's hand and squeezed it once. Their eyes met and Louie nodded. Peyton broke away and moved further left, into the forest. With one last look, Louie turned away and edged closer, a knife gripped in her hand. With practiced movements, she wound her way through the trees, close enough that her arms brushed the rough wood.

Ducking behind a wide trunk, she stopped as a guttural cry cut through the air a few feet away from her. Taking in a deep breath, she slowly peeked out. Gnarled faces, blood red eyes and razor sharp talons filled Louie's vision. She pulled back and took in another deep, determined breath.

A low whistle, that could be mistaken for the wind, reached her ears. Peyton's signal. Louie gripped her knife and crept out from the protection of the tree trunk.

Clouds slithered in front of the moon, darkening the sky and casting Louie in shadow. The wind blew at her, drowning her in the smell of decay. She paid this no attention, only knowing it meant the Crawlers would not pick up her scent. Her eyes darted from twisted form to twisted form, waiting for her opening.

A flash of metal cut through the air. The Crawler at the back crumbled to the ground. Peyton's knife was buried in its throat, silencing any sound it would have made. Louie kept her attention trained on the pack. When one of them titled its face to the sky, Louie acted. She released her knife. The blade lodged into the skull of the nearest Crawler. Its death cry was swallowed up by its companion's howl. Another Crawler took up the war cry and two knifes were sent spinning. Two more Crawlers collapsed to the forest floor.

The pack moved onward, their decrease in numbers gone unnoticed. Louie crouched over to the fallen creatures and pulled her two blades free. Peyton appeared from the darkness and collected his knives. With a nod, they moved forward. Staying low to the ground, they followed after the Crawlers. One by one they picked off their prey, always waiting for the opening.

The light of the fire had grown dangerously close by the time the number of Crawlers was cut down by half. Peyton looked at Louie, his face a mask of determination. It was a look Louie knew well. A look that said he was about to do something very dangerous.

Peyton pointed to a tree and Louie nodded in understanding. She moved to it and crouched behind the base of the trunk. Peyton took shelter behind a tree opposite her.

Their eyes met across the clearing and Peyton nodded once.

He then tilted his head back and howled.

Crawler screeches broke off in discordant sounds. For a single second the world was terrifyingly silent.

Then the ground began to shake as the Crawlers turned and charged back towards Louie and Peyton's direction.

Louie peered around the tree, her hand poised. As the first Crawler came into view she let her knife fly. It found its target and the Crawler tumbled to the ground. Peyton's blade found the next victim and silenced it.

A Crawler raced towards Louie's position, its skeleton arms flailing. Louie stepped out from behind the tree and threw her knife, as Peyton did the same. Her blade became buried in the forehead of the Crawler.

Before the Crawler had time to fall forward, Louie yanked her knife free. A Crawler swiped at Louie, but she ducked and rolled to the side. Rising onto the balls of her feet, she stabbed the Crawler in the back of the neck. Pulling her knife free, she spun around and dodged a talon hand. Leaving the Crawler cutting air, as she plunged her blade into its chest. As it collapsed, Louie tugged out her knife.

Suddenly the world spun and the breath was forced from Louie's lungs as she was slammed into the ground. A Crawler was on top of her, it's rank breath slipping over her. Trying to fight for air, Louie struggled with the creature. The Crawler raised a talon hand as she gulped in a breath. As the talon raced for her, Louie brought her knife up, turned her face away and stabbed the Crawler in the head. Blood burst from the wound onto the side of Louie's face, as the creature crumbled on top of her. Spitting, Louie forced the Crawler off of her.

Pushing herself to her feet, she heard a cry that made her blood run cold with fear. Before her Peyton staggered back and fell to his knees, blood seeping from his chest.

"Peyton!"

The Crawler turned soulless eyes to her. Before Louie registered what she was doing, the knife had left her hand and was lodged in the final Crawler's eye socket. She rushed to Peyton, dropping to her knees as he fell back.

"Peyton," she said, her voice frantic.

His blue eyes met her's. His breathing was strangled, his face contorted in pain. Louie bunched up his shirt and pressed it to the cut on his chest. Hurriedly, she placed one of his hands over the material. With tears clouding her eyes, Louie cut the pack from Peyton's back and ripped it open. Medical supplies flew into the air.

"Stay with me. You hear?" Louie said, as she searched for what she needed.

"Louie..." Peyton said, his voice weak with pain.

Louie found what she was looking for and moved back to Peyton. She wiped away her tears and forced herself to go emotionless.

"You're going to be fine. You got that!" she commanded.

Peyton closed his eyes, his mouth a tight grimace. Louie removed his hand and leaned over him. With both hands she tore the blood soaked shirt in two, revealing a muscular chest smeared with blood. The cut crossed from his left collar bone down to the top of his right rib. Louie wound up what was left of his shirt and wiped away the blood.

When the shirt became useless, Louie tore off her jacket and removed her own shirt. She placed it on Peyton's chest, before quickly slipping back into the warmth of her jacket.

Peyton let out a weak moan, as Louie pressed on the wound, her hands coated in his blood.

"Peyton," Louie said, her voice controlled. "Stay with me, alright. You can't leave me. You got that?"

Peyton fought against the pain, his face betraying the agony he was in.

"Louie..." His voice was strained, his head falling to the side as shock and exhaustion overcame took him. "I...love...you..."

Louie glared at him.

"No, you don't! Don't you dare say that unless you mean to stay with me," Louie yelled at him.

She removed the shirt, examining the cut. She pressed against the wound harder, trying to stop the bleeding, the shirt beginning to soak through.

Louie jerked her head towards the trees as the sound of footsteps approached. Mind clouded with panic, she scrambled for Peyton's knife. Branches snapped and boots pounded on the forest floor. Louie spun around and let her knife fly as the first figure crashed through the clearing. The man twisted out of the way, the knife nicking his arm before thudding into the tree behind him.

Louie stared at the man, stunned. Though older he was muscular with a broad face, blue eyes and short graying hair. More men appeared, all heavy laden with weapons and packs bursting at the seams. They all stared at the scene of a girl surrounded by dead Crawlers leaning over a boy's body.

Peyton let out a moan and Louie came back to herself. She turned to Peyton and pressed the shirt to his chest. Fighting back desperation, she looked to the men.

"What are you doing standing there?" she yelled, her voice commanding. "Help us!"

The man at the front rushed forward, sliding off his pack as he kneeled beside them.

"I need all the cloth you have," Louie said. "We need to stop the bleeding."

Without arguing, the man gave Louie what she needed. As Louie exchanged her shirt for the clean material, the man barked out orders.

"Jefferson, and Richard get a fire going!" He pointed to three lean looking men. "Dalton, Travis and Felix check the surrounding area."

The men moved into action as the man turned back to Louie.

"We need to get the wound cleaned," he said.

"I know!" Louie snapped.

The man did not react to her out burst, merely pulled out a bowl of clear liquid from his pack.

"How deep is it?" the man asked.

"Deep. He needs to be stitched up as soon as possible. I have the means to do it."

"I can do it."

"No!"

Louie leveled the man with a defiant glare.

"I will do it," she said.

The man gave her a calm, understanding look.

"I can tell how much he means to you, but you are covered in blood and could do more harm to him than good," he said.

Louie stared at the man, her hands beginning to shake with fear and exhaustion.

"He dies. I die," Louie said.

The man put a hand on her shoulder.

"I will won't let him die." the man said. "After all, he is my son."

***********

Louie rolled over in her bed, her dreams drifting away from her as the sound of voices and footsteps against concrete, pulled her into reality. With a jolt, she sat up, her hands searching for a weapon of some sort. Her hand froze in its search as the world around her came into focus.

Rows and rows of beds filled an enclosed area, three times the size of the Med Wing in the Compound. Woman in white walked among the beds, stopping to observe patients or help readjust their pillows.

As Louie stared out on the scene before her, her memories came back. Watching Peyton's father stitch Peyton up. Telling one of the men where their supplies was and watching him go to retrieve it. Walking along Peyton as he was carried, unconscious, through the forest to the Compound. Entering the Compound. Facing civilization for the first time in what felt like years. Holding Peyton's hand as they took him to the Med Wing. Collapsing into the bed beside him. Falling asleep, her finger locked in his.

A middle aged woman in white stepped over to Louie, a caring smile on her face.

"How are you feeling?" the woman asked.

Louie didn't answer the question, she looked over to bed next to her's. Peyton lay unconscious, his face clean, his chest slowly rising and falling.

"How is he?" she asked.

"He's going to be just fine," the woman said.

Louie nodded, her body heavy with fatigue.

"How does a shower and food sound?" the woman asked.

Louie looked up into the round face, then back at Peyton.

"Alright," she said.

Skin rubbed clean and wearing a new set of clothes, Louie moved back to her bed beside Peyton. The sheets had been changed and the bed was neat as a pin. Louie dragged the bed closer to Peyton's, the metal scrapping on the concrete floor. Settled on the thin mattress, Louie laced her finger's though Peyton's. Gently, she brushed aside strands of hair from his face. She traced a finger over his forehead and down the side of his jaw.

"He's going to be fine," a voice said, from behind her.

Louie spun around and found herself face to face with Peyton's father. Without a word, she turned back to Peyton. Peyton's father grabbed a chair and placed it on the other side of Peyton's bed, settling onto it. He studied Louie, his arms crossed.

"How long have you been together?" he asked.

Louie didn't answer right away, her thoughts tangled up in Peyton.

"About three months," she said.

"Where were you headed?"

"To you." She looked up at him then. "Peyton, wanted to know if you and his mother were still alive."

Peyton's father nodded.

"We are. I'm glad he is."

Louie dropped her gaze to Peyton.

"Thank you," she said.

They sat is silence for a long moment, the familiar sounds of a busy Compound filled the space between them.

"Did you two take down that Soulless group?" Peyton's father asked.

Louie nodded.

"Peyton was worried they were headed for a group of travelers. So we took them from behind."

Mr. Jones chuckled.

"That boy fears nothing," he said.

A quiet smile slid across Louie's face as she reached out and brushed Peyton's cheek.

"No. He fears nothing."

"The fire was us."

Louie looked at him, puzzled.

"We set it," he said. "Added some animal fat to it and moved off, waiting to catch the Soulless. You got to them before we did."

Louie nodded and said nothing else. After a moment Mr. Jones stood, looking down at Louie with a soft expression.

"He's lucky to have someone like you fighting along side him," he said.

Louie tightened her grip on Peyton's hand.

"I'm the lucky one."

****************

Something stirred beside Louie and she blinked her eyes open. The space around her was dark and the world held the silence of sleep. She turned her head, grimacing at the stiffness, knowing it came from sleeping bent over Peyton's bed. She sat up, rolling her shoulders, loosening her tight muscles. A smile spread across her lips as she looked at Peyton. He shifted and Louie moved closer to him, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Suddenly Peyton shot up, his eyes wide with panic, his hand scrambling for something that wasn't there. Louie placed her hands on his shoulders. Peyton grabbed her wrist, his head whipping to her.

"Peyton, you're okay. You're safe."

At the sound of her voice Peyton relaxed his grip and sank back into the bed.

"Louie..."

She took his hand.

"I'm right here," she said.

Peyton looked around, his expression dazed.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"The Compound where your parents live."

Peyton's head snapped to her, his eyes glued to her face.

"They're alive?"

Louie nodded. Relief flooded Peyton's expression and he closed his eyes, sitting in the information. Louie rested a hand on the side of his face. Peyton opened his eyes, meeting her gaze. Slowly, he shifted in the bed and Louie climbed on beside him, laying her head on the uninjured side of his chest. She smiled when she heard the faint thumping of his heart beat. Peyton took her hand and slid his fingers in between her's.

"Can I say I love you now?" he whispered.

The smile grew.

"As along as you mean to stay with me," she said.

Peyton brought their intertwined hands to his lips and kissed her finger tips.

"Crawlers couldn't keep me from you," he said.

Louie pushed herself up onto one elbow and looked down at Peyton. He cupped her face and she leaned in for the kiss, lingering for a long, long moment. Louie pulled back her lips hovering above his.

"I love you, Peyton."

Peyton pulled her in for another kiss. A kiss that neither of them felt like breaking. A kiss filled with a promise.

*************

Hey!

So I wrote this because I felt bad that so many people wanted a sequel and I'm not currently writing one. I know it isn't as good as an entire new book with Louie and Peyton, but I hope that it helped. Thanks for reading!

If you were too absorbed in reading and forgot to vote I would be extremely honored if you would go back and vote!

💥WANT MORE?!?! 💥
If you are looking for something that is a little more romantic, that will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, check out my book, A Second Chance! (COMPLETED)
Or perhaps you want a romance that is drowning in humor and sarcasm, then check out Mr. Write (COMPLETED)!
Maybe A Secret Service (COMPLETED) about a girl raised by a navy seal going to school with the President'a son.
Or Every Second (COMPLETED) a story about a girl drummer working with a famous singer.
Or Celebrity Cruise (COMPLETED) about a famous singer and a cruise worker getting through together and finding a lot can happen in a week.
Or Three Weeks (COMPLETED) about a strange girl who comes to a sleepy, tradition filled town and turns it on its head with the local life guard.
Go check them out because these brief synopsizes are not my best. 😉

Vote, comment, follow! And if you wouldn't mind sharing, then I would be very grateful! 😄 Know I love you just the same no matter what!

Till the next book!

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