Read Soulless (A Zombie Erotic Romance) for Free Online

quicker."
    "Oh," I said. "You're
welcome."
    Evan grabbed his crossbow and quiver
and strapped them to his back again, then twisted around and jumped
off the wall into the alleyway below. Standing patiently and
waiting for me, he held out his arms as if to catch me.
    "I'm not letting you catch me," I
said.
    He laughed. "That might be for the
best."
    I jumped fine and landed beside
him.
    "Do you have a place to stay?" he
asked.
    I blinked at him, eyes hazy. "What do
you mean?"
    "I don't actually know how that works.
I assume you go somewhere for the night, though? Or just whenever?
I'm not sure. Do you have a home or, uh... do you wander around the
city?"
    "Oh," I said. "Yes. There's a house
outside the city in the forest. It's off a side road. I usually go
there. It's not too far away and it's quiet and nice. I..." I
paused because I didn't want to say this to him, but I knew I had
to. "I should go now, then. It was nice meeting--"
    He stopped me. "I'll walk you home."
Taking my hand in his, offering me his warmth once more, he smiled.
"It's the least I can do, right?"
     
    ...
     
    After sneaking through the city and
leaving by way of one of the back roads, Evan and I walked easily
the rest of the way to my home. My home, I thought. I was going to
show it to him, but I hadn't expected to ever show it to
anyone.
    It wasn't truly mine, either. I'd
claimed it, as it was, though who knew if the previous owners cared
too much. I hadn't seen them--or anyone--in the few months that I'd
stayed there.
    The driveway was long and winding;
hardpacked dirt surrounded on either side by trees. At the end, in
a clearing, was the house and the yard. Whoever lived here before
probably liked their privacy, and I liked mine, too. I never really
went into the yard, but it was nice, with a fenced in section in
the back and a more open space in the front and sides. A big place,
but not in the grand scheme of things. Just a small cutaway section
in the middle of nowhere, nothing that would ever really catch
someone's eye.
    Or so I thought.
    "Wow," Evan said. We walked side by
side, holding hands, arms swaying back and forth. "How did you find
this place? Was it yours before?"
    "No," I said. "They abandoned it. I
don't remember how I found it."
    "You don't remember?"
    Halfway down the driveway, only a
little more to go. I thought maybe I should've ignored his question
and changed the subject, but the words came out of my mouth,
unbidden.
    "I think it's this way for everyone,"
I said. "Everyone like me; the zombies. We get lost. I don't know
how to explain it besides that. Almost all the time I feel lost and
alone and confused, like I should be going somewhere, but I don't
know where to go. I wander a lot because of that. Just kind of in a
daze, you know? I walked out of the city one day into the woods and
then I ended up here."
    We reached the end of the driveway,
walking the last few steps in silence. I started to head for the
stairs up a tiny hill that led to the front porch and door, but
Evan stopped me. Pulling me back to him, squeezing my hand, he
said. "You're not a zombie, Sadie."
    "I know you're trying to act kind," I
said, taking my hand away; feeling sad when he let me go. "I am,
though. I don't have a heartbeat anymore. I've tried to feel it
before, but I can't find it. I'm dead, Evan. I don't know how to
tell you that and I don't want to be that, but that's what I
am."
    "Let me try," he said.
    "What?"
    "I don't think you're dead. Let me see
if I can find your pulse."
    I furrowed my brow at him,
harrumphing, but decided to give in. Shoving my arm out towards
him, palm upraised, I said, "Go ahead, but you won't find
anything."
    His blazing fingers wrapped around my
wrist. Resting his thumb on the outer part of my upturned hand, he
went about proving me right. I stood there, watching him, knowing I
shouldn't get my hopes up but wondering if maybe I was wrong. I
knew I wasn't, though.
    I breathed in and out, and still
nothing. Evan waited