Iris

I COULD sleep without thinking of what would be my death wish. Months of being paranoid and cautious made me sleepless, but this place had been the safest I had been in a long time.

It had been a week since the incident at Gael's office, and I hadn't seen Colt around.

Lois once mentioned the guards, and Colt happened to choose the night shift, so he'd been sleeping in the daytime.

I shared lunch with the group and met some of them. Darick is a wounded Asian guy. He questioned his value to the group when his skill as a computer geek was no longer needed since a group of hackers created a virus, and the entire technology, especially the Internet, collapsed with half of the world.

Then, I met the blonde named Cora, who had an attitude problem, and damn, she hated me. I didn't know why, but she said something that I didn't deserve a place in this camp and that I was not a part of their group or their family.

Lois advised me ahead of time to ignore her because she thought everyone was a threat to her for Colt.

But the thing was, I envied her body even though she had an attitude to loathe for.

"Hey, Iris. How're you doing today?" Dr. Hull spotted me from his cabin. He was the doctor who treated me when I was out. He was in his late fifties and had a small clinic back in a small town.

I went to see him yesterday, and he gave me some multivitamins and did a brief check-up. He had pots of herbs and medicinal plants at the back of his own cabin, where he spent most of his time.

"I'm great, Dr. Hull. Thanks." I smiled and waved at him.

I poked the softened soil and tossed dry tomato seeds. I didn't have any idea about gardening, but I couldn't just sit there, watch them, and be useless. So I asked Anna, who cooked for them, to teach me. For the past week, I took over the garden from her.

When a shadow towered over me, I plucked some decaying leaves off and cleaned the soil of carrots and white radishes.

"Iris." And that voice made me stiffen.

My heart thundered in my chest.

"Twig is fine," I grunted.

"Not a good time to be sarcastic."

"So, the sleeping beauty is finally awake? I wonder who kissed you from your deep slumber, Colton? Is it princess Cora or the evil witch Maleficent?" I lifted my gaze. Still, I couldn't meet his. He was just so tall.

"Will you just stop it?" He sounded annoyed, and that made me snort.

"Then what do I owe the pleasure of your visit to the garden, Mr. Colton?"

He clenched his jaw in irritation before he spoke again. "We're going to scavenge some gasoline. I thought we might find shops or grocery stores along the way. Do you need anything?"

Dusting my hands from the dirt, I stood up.

Colt was strikingly handsome despite his unshaven beard covering his sharp squared jaw. He is the definition of raw, rough, and gorgeous.

His stare alone was deadly, but I knew there was some humane deep inside him. Whatever made him like this-was a part of his survival, or he might lose someone close to him.

I could feel it.

I pushed that thought back to the cache in my head. I could think of it later, but not when he was in front of me.

Colt had an amazing physique, and I would bet he had ripped muscles underneath his rugged shirt and jeans. He looked dark and broody, with his midnight black hair and long lashes surrounding his sharp gray eyes that were always filled with doubt and anger.

Yeah, he definitely has trust and anger management issues.

"Are you just gonna stare at me or tell me what you want?"

I blinked at his irritated voice. "Lois got it covered."

"You might want something other than what Lois had."

I sat down again and plucked some dying leaves. "For someone who doesn't belong to your group or any family tree, I can't be choosy, can I, Colton? So, I'm good."

"You can't be serious right now. Self-pity doesn't suit you. They're waiting for me in the car. How about for a monthly thing?"

What did he just say?

"For monthly thing? You mean tampons?" I tried hard not to burst into laughter.

My comment made him uncomfortable. He shifted in front of me, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, something like that. We don't have the luxury to bring for you the brand you like, but we might find something... like that."

"I will share with Lois. Thanks, though."

"Stubborn," he muttered, and I knew he intended to let me hear it. "Suit yourself." His thuds of footsteps faded as he walked away.

I couldn't help but feel grateful that somehow someone came to me and asked me what I needed despite survival becoming everything for humanity, or was it an order from Gael? Probably the latter.

Anyhow, I took a deep breath and continued working. The sun started to get prickly against my skin, but there was no way to be choosy and apply high-SPF lotion.

I missed the beach.

What mattered to me now was that I was still alive, had a roof above my head, food for my hungry stomach, and the people started to grow on me. Well, except for Cora.

Before I could withdraw my hand from the cucumber vines, a boot stopped me, and I knew who was the ability to do it.

I hissed in pain when I felt the heel dig into my skin. My thumb fidgeted as she crushed my fingers deeper into the dirt.

"Why the hell are you still here, bitch?" she hissed angrily.

"You know why."

"Gael feels pity for you. That's the only reason why you're here. Now, you can stand on your own two bony feet. I want you gone before we come back. Do you understand me?"

"You don't decide if I stay or not, Cora. The last time I checked, you were just like me, who was lost and pitied by Gael. So don't feel so comfy yourself because you never know. You might be gone before me." I blinked, trying to hold the tears that stung my eyes as she increased the pressure of her boot against my hand.

"You'll regret this. Do you think you can fool everyone here with your damsel in distress drama? You'll be gone once I find out who you really are, Iris Clayton."

"Good luck then. I'm sure the corpses of the CIA, FBI, and PD could help you dig into my past," I countered.

"You, bitch!"

"Shit!" Once she was gone, I shook my hand and hissed as the broken skin on my fingers started to throb.

I went toward the cabin I shared with Lois. I just didn't know why. Where ever I went, I couldn't get rid of people who wanted to harm or threaten me.

I cleaned my hands with the water from the bucket, then kicked off my shoes, lied down on my bed, and thought of the gray-eyed angry dude.