Gabriel wanted to find how the mayor got information about him but the moment wasn"t right. Once he drained the bag of blood from the fridge, he picked Alyssa up and flew up into the sky once he looked around to make sure people were not watching them. It wasn"t that Gabriel didn"t want to hear what happened, it"s just that on the roof wasn"t the place to do it. He didn"t want the mayor to mosey his way back into the conversation, and this was a two stop trip so there was no point wasting time if they were going to have plenty of it the next day to discuss it further. The city they were traveling to was so far, that he needed to crash somewhere when the sun came up, which confused Alyssa greatly when they arrived at their first stop hours later. It was a small cabin near a batch of mountains, and there was even snow where they had landed. Alyssa was amazed by it but the wanted to go inside to get warm. Gabriel said nothing to her and started a fire. He didn"t need the heat but understood that it was something he"d had to take care of for his guest. When he returned with some extra fire wood, Alyssa began to explain what had happened, that someone had recognized her from St. Louis, and that she had to do some quick thinking and talking to avoid her mayor from finding the full truth instead of that half truths she fed him. Gabriel paced the room as he heard Alyssa explain everything, especially the part about him being a love-sick scavenger rather than a vampire that fed on her blood."I think you did the right thing," Gabriel finally replied, "If you didn"t tell him everything, he would have badgered you and nosed around a lot more until he figured things out for himself. By pretending to open up, at least you can control the narrative. It allowed you to leave out certain details while at the same time satisfying his curiosity."
"I can"t believe he came by like that," Alyssa confessed.
"He doesn"t know how I"m getting in and it concerned him." Gabriel informed her, sighing. "He"s just worried, and with what"s out there I can"t blame him."
"I get it, the undead are unforgiving." Alyssa conceded, cuddling into her blanket on the couch. "I wouldn"t want his job, which basically is the protection of everyone in town."
"I wouldn"t wish it on my worst enemy," Gabriel agreed, "But that doesn"t change the fact that he sent you and other people he didn"t like out to their deaths. I don"t trust the guy, and I certainly don"t trust the Lycans."
"It was weird seeing them in my town," Alyssa confessed, "I don"t know how they found my town, but now we"re trading with them."
"This is very peculiar," Gabriel admitted, continuing to pace the room. "I"ve never known them to reach out that far to trade."
"It seemed legit," Alyssa said, thinking about it. "But I was lucky that I managed to talk my way out of it without our secret getting out."
"That was smart thinking," Gabriel said, smiling. "I"ll do my best to play my part. I think as long as we collect things for your mayor, he won"t bug us as long as we continue to deliver."
"I agree," Alyssa said, shifting to make herself comfortable. "He won"t do something that would jeopardize something that benefits him, but that doesn"t mean I trust him."
"After what you"ve told me," Gabriel added, "There"s no way I would either."
"I also don"t think he"s ready to know what"s out there," Alyssa continued, "If he knew what I knew, he"d freak out."
"Most people would," Gabriel agreed, "The world is far scarier than it used to be, and even more than when Humans had the ability to end the world. Now some are wondering maybe that is what they should have done."
"I"m not sure about that," Alyssa replied, "I don"t think having radio-active zombies would be ideal, since we don"t know what started their reign."
"Fair point," he conceded, "But there"s no saying that couldn"t have prevented the apocalypse. We"d still have less humans, but no undead to run from."
"I get your point," Alyssa said, "But not much we can do about it now."
"Get some rest," Gabriel said, pacing around the living room. "You"ll want your energy when we go into town tomorrow."
"You never told me," Alyssa reminded him, "What city are we visiting?"
"Denver," Gabriel answered, "They decided to use the high alt.i.tude hoping the cold would fend off the undead. It doesn"t affect them much but slows them down, which makes them much easier to kill. They used the winter to build some rather big walls, and it"s now one of the better fortified cities. Unlike some of the bigger cities, Denver is aware of what"s out there. The wolves, the Vamps and witches... everything. We"ll have a better time finding what we need there. I"ve got contacts that can help too."
"Fair enough," Alyssa said, looking outside. "Sun"s coming up, so I"ll get some rest. We"ll take off at nightfall?"
"Yes," Gabriel confirmed, "When we get there, we"ll stay a few nights, depending on how long it will take my friend to gather what we need. You"ll have a chance to roam during the day, but I still want you to be careful."
"I"ll be fine," Alyssa said, but still excited about the idea of being able to roam a human city all by herself. "Would you be able to give me some money so I can buy some things during the day?"
"I can"t see why not," Gabriel said, grinning. "You are help me a great deal so it"s only fair I return the favor. Chances are you can go shopping with Dani and the kids when we get there."
"I"m sorry, who?" Alyssa asked.
"I have a friend who lives there, his name is Sean." Gabriel explained, "If we land on his roof, we can enter the city undetected and not have to register. He"s got a few guest rooms so I can pay him under the table, harder to track our movements. He owes me a few favors, but might call in a few chips when he sees I"m not alone. Dani is Sean"s wife and she"ll probably be happy to take you shopping so you won"t have to roam about alone."
"Sounds good," Alyssa replied, "It will save time to have a guide. Less time wandering around, looking for things."
"We"ll be in town a few days," Gabriel informed her, "So if you want to roam around on your own, you"ll get a chance. I just prefer you do it during the day, when it"s a little safer for everyone."
"I get it," Alyssa said, understanding his position. "I"ll try not to give you something else to worry about, but I can a.s.sure you I can handle myself out there."
"Fair enough," Gabriel said, walking to the door, "I"m going to check the perimeter before sunrise, I suggest you try to sleep."
When Gabriel took off, Alyssa decided not to wait up for him and went to sleep. She went into one of the guest rooms and checked it out before calling it a night. She didn"t tell Gabriel, but she had brought a gun with her. It was a small 9mm handgun, nothing huge but enough to take out a zombie if one got too close when Gab wasn"t around to help her. She kept the gun in the night table beside her bed before crawling into bed to sleep for the night. She locked the door but a.s.sumed Gab has a key. The point was to keep everything else out long enough for her to grab a gun and think of a strategy before all h.e.l.l broke loose. She didn"t need to apologize for being cautious and planned to take a similar approach in Denver as well. After what happened with the wolves in St. Louis, she wasn"t willing to take chances during extended trips with Gabriel. She as determined to have back up plans, and that"s what Alyssa was thinking of before she finally nodded off to sleep.
When she woke up hours later, she felt refreshed and grabbed the gun and stuffed it in the back side of her jeans and covered it up with a t-shirt. She went down the stairs and looked around to see there was no sign of Gabriel, so she went to the kitchen to make something to eat. The fridge was surprisingly full, so she grabbed some eggs, cheese and mushrooms, things she normally didn"t have access to in her town for obvious reasons. She put on a pot of coffee unaware if Gab would even have any, but if he didn"t that just meant more for her. She was plating her eggs, and the toast had just popped when she thought she saw someone moving out of the corner of her eye. Alyssa slowly put down her coffee mug as she pretending to react to the toast, but instead pulled her gun out it and pointed it at the other man in the room. The man also had a gun and he was pointing it at Alyssa.
"Holy c.r.a.p," the man, who clearly wasn"t Gabriel said, impressed. He looked to be mid-forties, so around the Max"s age. "That is one h.e.l.l of a draw you got there!"
"I"ve had lots of practice." Alyssa replied.
"I believe you." The man acknowledged, never taking his eyes or his gun off of her the entire time they talked. "What are you doing here?"
"Just pa.s.sing through," Alyssa answered, "I put coffee on."
"That"s how I knew you were here," the man told her, "It smells great."
"I brought it with me," Alyssa said, still holding up her gun.
"Who are you here with?" he then asked.
"What makes you think I"m here with someone?" She retorted with a question.
"Only three people know of this place." He continued, "I"d prefer it stay that way, so I"m hoping you"re with one of them."
"I might be," Alyssa said, hoping for the best. "Would Gabriel happen to be one of them?"
The man sighed and stopped aiming the gun at her. "Yes. Is he sleeping?"
"As far as I know," Alyssa said, still pointing her gun at him. "How the h.e.l.l do you know him?"
"He and I have an arrangement." The man said, putting his gun into a holster on his left hip that was attached to his belt.
Alyssa thought about it, "You"re feeding him?"
"I am," the man confirmed, "Are you one of those blood suckers too?"
"If I was," Alyssa said, gesture to the breakfast she just made, "Why the h.e.l.l would I need any of this?"
"Good point," the man replied, "I"m Pablo."
"Alyssa," she said, putting the gun down on the counter. "Want some eggs and toast? There"s enough for two."
"Sound great," Pablo said, sighing again. "I"m sorry, but I"m not used to seeing anyone here... especially during the day."
"I understand," Alyssa said as she grabbed the toast and an extra plate. "Take a seat at the table. What do you take in your coffee?"
"Just two sugars, please." Pablo said, not resisting as he walked slowly to the table and took a seat. He watched as she made his coffee and then walked over with both the plate with scrambled eggs and toast and his coffee. She walked back to the island counter in the middle of the room and used it as a barricade between her and Pablo, eating her breakfast from there with the gun lying on it.
"Keeping your distance?" Pablo asked, already aware of it.
"Sorry," Alyssa called back, "Experience has made me a creature of habit."
"No need to explain," Pablo said, digging into his breakfast. "This is really good! Thank you."
"Thank you for not freaking out about me using your food." Alyssa replied.
"Gabe can resupply me anytime I need it," Pablo informed her, looking up at the surprised look on her face. "Can you really be surprised he has more than one donor?"
"I guess not," Alyssa answered, "Doesn"t it make sense to have backups? I mean what if one of us dies, even accidentally? He"d be scrambling if he didn"t have a backup in place. Makes more sense now that I think about it."
"You and me both," Pablo concurred, "I knew there were others, which I"m happy about. The more he"s got out there, the easier it will be for us to donate. This is just the first time I"m meeting one of them. How long have you known each other?"
"Not long," Alyssa said, not willing to tell him exactly how long. "You?"
"Years," Pablo answered, "If you take care of Gabe, he will move mountains to help you out if he hasn"t already."
"He has, yes." Alyssa admitted as she seemed to ease up a bit.
"Good to hear," Pablo said, holding up his mug to do a mock toast. "Can you cook anything else this good?"
"What did you have in mind?" Alyssa asked.
"I bagged a buck yesterday," Pablo told her, "I"m going to clean it up and chop it up. Normally I put all of it in the freezer, but if you know how to cook any of it I can leave a piece out."
"Leave out one of the legs," Alyssa said, smiling back at him. When her mother was still alive, she had shown her how to cook various meats for hunters coming back with wild game for the town. She was determined to get her a job in the kitchen so that she"d never be sent out to salvage for anything. It was her mom"s way of trying to make her too valuable to be sent out. It didn"t work as her talent for handling guns and other weapons stood out too much after her mom had died.
"A whole leg?" Pablo replied.
"Yup," Alyssa replied, "Get me the biggest roasting pan you have and even if we split it, you"ll still have enough to feed you for a week."
"Yes Ma"am!" Pablo said, smiling back at her. "Would you like me to save another leg for you to take home? I a.s.sume you"re heading into Denver so you"ll be back here in a few days. I"ll leave it in the bottom of the fridge for you, all papered and tied up for delivery."
"That sounds like a fair bargain," Alyssa said, smiling back. "You sir, have yourself a deal."