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The wind hissed softly through the grass. It twisted around the bent and battered fencing panels that lay at all angles around the loading chute. The skeletal structure jutted from the land near the side of the dirt road they'd been following all afternoon, a outcropping in the ocean of grass. A metal panel rattled, and Joel flinched, just a little. Tall clusters of enthusiastic sunflowers bobbed their heads, gilded golden by the setting sun.
Tommy smiled and shook the short, dark-haired man's hand, casting his eyes around the ragged little group. The grass around them was trampled down a bit, the summer stalks breathing their bright green scent into the air. A slight breeze cooled Joel's face, lifting the curls that were getting close to being unbearably long over his forehead, tickling his skin. The urge to grab Tommy and run was nearly overwhelming.
"Sure is good to meet some folks," Tommy said. "Y'all heading north? That's where we're goin'."
Joel bit his tongue.
They'd stumbled onto the other group just as they'd started looking for a place to hole up for the night, finding them circled up by an overgrown cattle loading station. They'd used the fencing and chutes for cover, and if they had vehicles they were well hidden elsewhere. Joel had been trailing behind, counting on Tommy to cover for Jeremy and Lucy, since they were just about useless. They'd still blundered right into the heart of the other group, alerted by Lucy's shriek only when someone had stood and pointed a shotgun at them.
They needed to leave those two behind - they were going to get him and Tommy killed. At least Tommy's charm had smoothed things over quickly.
Maybe finding this new group wasn't so bad. He and Tommy could offload their unwelcome companions, since this new group didn't seem inclined to kill them where they stood. The woman standing next to the guy called Albert seemed jumpy, though, her dark eyes darting around, and her rifle never dipping low enough to let Joel relax. Albert called her Gemma. She and Joel stared at each other.
"Well, alright," Tommy said, cheerful. Too damn cheerful. Fuck. What had he just agreed to? Joel snapped his head over and Tommy grinned at him.
Albert nodded, and Joel wondered if he was leading the group. Albert said, "We were just going to make some food. We did pretty good in the last town. Come on," he gestured, walking forward. Gemma gestured, too, with her gun, and Joel's skin prickled as he walked in front of her.
Fuck Tommy so much if this lady shot him in the back.
Tommy fell in beside Albert, trailed by Jeremy and Lucy, making introductions that didn't matter because they'd be leaving in the morning. Joel followed silently, skin crawling the whole way. The woman's steps were measured, and he caught the scent of cigarettes and sweat when she brushed past him into the little camp.
"Found some friends," she muttered.
A woman with steel gray braids stood near a camping stove, eyeing the newcomers warily. Something dripped from the spoon she was holding, falling back in to the pot. The smell of food lifted into the air, something meaty and starchy, like pasta, and Joel's stomach grumbled.
They hadn't done very well in their last town. They had lost the majority of their group in the last town, leaving them with only Jeremy and Lucy. They'd lost most of their supplies, too, and had gone several days with not much food.
"Albert." There was more force in her voice than he'd expected, and her sharp, dark eyes fixed him with a look that made him want to duck his head and shuffled his feet. Not to be fucked with, he decided, and revised who he thought was leading this group.
"It's alright, Marta," Albert said, smiling widely. "It's fine."
His hand lingered on the shoulder of a man crouched by the stove, patting gently as he passed. "Daniel, we've got enough for a few guests, don't we?"
The other man nodded slowly, and frown creasing his face. He rubbed his hand over his short, graying hair, scratching his fingers into the tight curls, then slid his hand to hold the back of his neck. "I suppose we do." He cast a look of annoyance toward Albert, then sighed, fondness for the other man evident on his face. "Make yourselves comfortable."
"We really appreciate it," Lucy said. She was tucked right up to Jeremy's side, eyes wide and fearful. Her eyes were always wide and fearful. Joel thought maybe if she wasn't cozied up to such a fuckin' creep she wouldn't be afraid all the damn time, but she wasn't his problem. He quashed the pang of guilt that churned in his stomach, and turned to look toward the little camp the other group had made.
The last three of the new group were brushing themselves off, nodding in turn as they were introduced. A tall young guy with dark stubble covering his head and a scowl. A wiry man with dark, curly hair. A stocky blond guy with round cheeks and watery blue eyes. Connor, Tony, and Christian respectively. Joel looked away, not bothering to try to remember their names. They didn't matter.
"What up, dudes?" the tall guy asked. "And lady." He pushed the other two of his group over and made room where they'd been sitting, gesturing. He brushed grass from the front of his tank top absently. His shoulders were covered in a tattoo of spikes and swirls that crawled up one side of his neck. "We got some blankets if you wanna sit on one of those?"
"We're fine," Jeremy said. "Aren't we, babe?"
Lucy nodded, and stayed glued to his side as they sat on the flattened grass.
Tommy looked around, utterly pleased with himself. He smiled at the woman who was cooking and asked, "You need help with anything, ma'am? We don't really have much food, but we've got some sodas we can share with y'all."
She gave him a measured look without responding, then frowned, looking around them. "Where's Tess?" she asked.
"I'm right here."
The low voice behind him nearly scared Joel out of his skin.
He turned sharply, and met light hazel eyes made luminous by the low sun.
She was thin and lanky, tangled brown hair tied back from her face with a bandana, falling past her shoulders like a thicket of thorns. Her hand rested on the butt of the gun that was stuck in the waistband of her jeans. The expression on her sharp face was one of barely contained fury. She shifted her weight and came forward a few steps, the strength of her body evident in her movement. When she tilted her head, and he could see the softness in her cheeks despite how thin she was, the knobby elbows that showed past the rolled up sleeves of her shirt.
She was just a kid, Joel thought. A scrawny teenager.
She glared at him.
She flicked her eyes toward Albert. "We don't need anymore people," she said. "We've had this fucking conversation."
Not a kid, he realized. The timbre of her voice, the soft authority there was far older than he'd initially thought. Who the fuck was leading this group?
"Tess." Albert sounded weary. He pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing his forehead with his fingers. "We can talk about this later."
She snorted, then glared off into the distance. In profile she was even more striking, sharp cheekbone and strong jaw. A little muscle jumped there as she clenched her teeth together. Strands of her hair had worked their way lose from her bandana, and clung to her neck and forehead, plastered there with sweat and grime. The length that spilled down her back was thick with knots and tangles.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
Joel felt a jolt of wanting shake through his body, hot and instinctual, followed by a wave of disgust. She was a kid, he thought, although that wasn't exactly true.
When she looked back at him, her gaze was unflinching, chin tilted up in defiance. Then she wavered, just slightly, brow furrowing as she faltered. Her eyes drifted across his form, a slow sweep downward followed by a start that twitched through her body. A blush bloomed on her freckled cheeks.
"Whatever," she muttered, and brushed past him.
The scent of her filled his nose, and he fought back a delighted snuffle, wanting to draw the smell in deeper. Sweat and dirt; the stink of many unwashed days in the hot sun. Faint, reeking copper; the smell of bruises, both healing and fresh. Below all that, the musk of her skin, sweet and tempting. He could taste her in the back of his throat.
He stared after her, dumbstruck, then followed, shaking his head at his response, forcing the animal response away, appalled. Staring at a kid like some kind of fuckin' pervert, what the fuck was wrong with him? The full moon was weeks away; he should be able to control himself better. He hoped she hadn't noticed, but got the feeling that she noticed a lot.
It didn't matter anyway. Him and Tommy were leaving in the morning.
He murmured thanks when he was offered a bowl of stew, ate quickly, then kept himself out of the conversation. He didn't want to know where people were from. He didn't want to know how long some of them had known each other. He certainly didn't want to stare at the girl no matter how much he wanted to.
He just wanted to sleep, and they'd leave in the morning, early, before anyone else was even awake. He listened to Tommy talking and laughing, his voice relaxed and relieved, the sound of his brother's voice calming him. Joel let his eyes stay unfocused, not looking at anything in particular. He kept himself quiet and numb.
Something at the edge of his awareness made his skin prickle with a sense of danger.
He snapped his attention back to the group, frowning, then went still.
Across from him, Jeremy stared intently at something, the expression on his face so predatory and hungry it made Joel want to growl, to bare his teeth in warning. He dropped his head, studying his clenching fists before he darted his eyes around to see what the other man was watching so intently.
Who he was watching, Joel realized, because he was staring at Tess.
Her head was bent toward the guy with the stubbly head as they talked quietly to each other. She laughed at something he said, a lopsided smile pulling at her lips briefly. Joel looked back at Jeremy, just to be sure, and the other man's lips were parted in rapt longing. The hairs at the back of Joel's neck lifted, goosebumps peppering his skin. He looked down again, a sick feeling settling in his stomach.
Was he any different? He'd been staring at her too, just as enraptured.
They weren't the only ones either, he was sure. How many men had stared at her like that, and how many had acted on it? How long until Jeremy did?
They were leaving. It wasn't his problem. She wasn't his problem.
Tommy nudged him, and they shared a look, dark with worry.
Joel glanced back at Tess, then sighed.
It was enough confirmation for Tommy, and his brother asked, "So, y'all mind if we stick with you for a while?"