Chapter 6

Croc gave Julia and I the loft, and while I didn't feel comfortable leaving the children alone, Julia pointed out how small the shack was; we were practically in the same room. She thought Croc was harmless. I wasn't so sure. He confused me. Hell, the whole place would confuse anyone. Croc had the social skills of a caveman. I'd expect something like him to sooner feast upon our flesh than offer us a place to sleep. But, so far, that wasn't the case. He didn't need a deal. He didn't require it—not yet, anyway. He'd watched us climb the ladder with the saddest expression I'd ever seen on a grown man's face, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was beginning to agree with Julia.

I twisted in the tight space. A thin mattress offered little cushion, but the sleeping bags Merle had packed helped. We'd found three tightly rolled inside one of the duffle bags, and I'd stared at the third, chest tight and eyes watering, until Julia took it from me and draped it over the children.

I looked over at her, lying stiff and flat beside me. Every part of her was parallel to the ceiling, her arms at her sides, legs straight and toes pointed up.

"Julia," I whispered.

"Yes, Willow."

I bit my lip. A woman her age must be exhausted after the hell of a day we'd had, but I had to pee, she was on the outside, and I hadn't remembered seeing a bathroom anywhere since we'd arrived.

"I gotta pee."

"Of course, you do." She heaved a sigh. "If I climb back down that ladder, I'm not going to make it back up here." She cracked an eye open at me. "You've gotta crawl over me."

"But where? Did you see a bathroom?"

She was quiet a moment. "No. Just...look for one, and if worse comes to worse, ask Croc."

"Oh, that's a great idea. I'll just ask the man who wants to knock me up where I can go to drop my pants. Brilliant."

"I'll admit, the man doesn't know proper etiquette for shit, but I don't think it means he'd try to force anything on you." She tilted her head, pondering her own words. "It's like he's..."

"A kid?"

"Yeah, but...no. He's definitely a man." Her brows furrowed. "Think about it. I provide. I hunt. I'm strong. It's like he's going off what he's learned from animals. Hell, if that man had feathers, he'd have probably spread them out and did a chicken dance across the front porch."

I snorted at the image. "It does seem kind of sad. The way he reacted when you mentioned us leaving..."

Julia nodded. "I'm not sure what led to him being out here, but I've got a feeling he needs us just as bad as we need him." She patted my cheek, then flattened herself as best she could and motioned me over. "Go pee. I'm exhausted, and it's not like we've got anywhere else to go. We'll ask questions and figure it out tomorrow."

I scrambled across her, ignoring the bundle of nerves in my stomach. Julia was the wisest person I knew. She'd always, since the day I'd met her, known the right thing to do. I trusted her judgment more than my own. The woman was a matriarch, old enough to have seen it all and tough enough to have survived it. Even now, tonight, she didn't weep. Tight lipped, she held it in, refusing to grant herself the privilege of worrying about her husband. It kept me from breaking down. Who was I to cry over Merle when Julia couldn't? No. She was being strong for us, and in turn, I needed to be strong for her.

The ladder rungs creaked as I made my way down, and I sighed when I found the living space empty. I'd expected him to be laying on the worn-out couch, but even in the dark, it was clearly empty.

There were only four doors in the room, and I already knew one led out front. I tiptoed and peeked in on the children. They slept soundly, huddled together, drawing comfort from each other. The other two doors were catty-cornered side by side and, thankfully, wouldn't require me to have to walk around anymore than needed. The last thing I wanted was to be heard and approached, alone, vulnerable, and too exhausted to think straight.

I opened the first and gagged. It was a bathroom alright, but every surface was covered in a grime so thick, the white porcelain looked black. I pushed it closed and pressed my forehead to the door, swallowing convulsively until my stomach calmed.

The second door gave way to something far more beautiful. I stepped out and peered around. A patch of ground spread out fifteen feet before the water cut it off. The cypress trees looked silver as the moon lit them up and painted ripples in the canal. Fireflies blinked in and out of focus, swarming like magical spells being cast by some invisible wizard. In the daylight, it'd just looked like muck, but at night...

I studied the area for a private place to go. It was just like camping. I'd get it over with quick and go right back inside. No harm. No foul.

I headed toward one of the trees, then—with one final glance around—lowered my pants and squatted.

The water stirred.

"Shit." I jolted and lost balance, and with it went the control I had over the steady stream of piss I'd already begun. It sprayed my legs, my jeans, my shoes. "Shit!" I hissed again, trying to right myself, or at the very least, stop the flow, but a dam had been opened, and I was trapped on the other side of it.

Another splash, and I didn't care. I scanned the darkness, heart still, breath held, and ears primed for sound.

Glowing green eyes raised up from the water, first one set, then two, then more.

Time slowed, an unearthly quiet settled, and a small voice whispered urgent warnings. I tried to keep my eyes glued to the threat, but there were too many of them. Slowly, I lifted myself up, pulled my piss-soaked jeans back into place, and took several cautious steps backwards. The house wasn't that far, and the last gator hadn't necessarily been threatening.

But these gators were different.

As if choreographed, they all sped forward. Faster than the last had. Faster than any damn thing I'd ever seen. It made no sense. Alligators didn't hunt in packs, but that's what they were doing. Like scaly lionesses, they flew up the bank from every direction.

I panicked, screeched, then flailed until I lost balance and landed on my back.

Something flew past me. Not a gator. It came from the opposite direction, so fast all I could make out was a blurred shadow. Then it stopped, and it was clear. Croc gripped one of the gators by its tail and jerked it high into the air. Like a living baseball bat, he swung it hard into another, then pounced higher and farther than any normal man ever could to tackle the next.

"Oh shit!" one of the gators screamed. "He's got Jo-Jo!"

"Nu-uh!" another bellowed. "She's too damn bony for all this." It turned and scrambled back into the murk, and not a second later, the remaining few scattered and bolted after him.

Croc knelt by the earth; gaze fixed in the direction they'd retreated. Each breath he took shifted his back and shoulders, and each exhale chuffed as if he really were a beast.

He was.

No normal man could move that fast. No human could lift a creature that size and swing it around, and no amount of training could allow someone to jump the way he had.

"How did you do that?" I rasped, throat raw from the beating it'd received by my pounding heart.

He tilted his head, giving me a view of his profile before he slowly stood and turned to face me. He seemed more massive than before, probably because of what I'd just witnessed him do. "Croc protects," he said, voice deeper, rougher.

I nodded slowly, then held my breath as he closed the gap between us and stretched a hand out.

"Th-thank you." I took it and allowed him to lift me from the ground.

Croc stood close, his chest level with my face and chin tilted down. His nose brushed the hair at the top of my head. "Your scent is stronger now," he rumbled. "It drew them."

My body froze. I said the only thing I could think of. "I pissed all over myself."

He hummed, as if that were something attractive. "Your scent is nice." He leaned closer, pressed his nose to the side of my head and sniffed. "Croc noticed it right away."

I cleared my throat and stepped back. "That's not weird at all."

He tilted his head, eyes searching my face as if he didn't understand what I meant. "You shouldn't come out here alone. Croc will protect."

"I had to pee."

"Next time, Croc will watch you pee."

My mouth fell open. "Uh...No, Croc will not watch me pee."

"Croc protect."

"If Croc tries to watch Willow pee, who will protect Croc?"

His chest puffed up. "Croc is strong."

I ground my teeth. "You're not allowed to watch me pee. I said so. It's a rule."

Croc stared at me a long moment. "I don't think I like rules." He bowed his head and kicked the ground, pouting like a little boy who'd been denied a toy.

My annoyance dulled a fraction, and when I spoke again, my voice was less harsh. "How long have you been alone, Croc?"

His head whipped back up. "Croc lost count."

"Since you were small?"

He nodded once, expression somber.

My thoughts veered. They'd been doing that a lot. We'd only been there a day, not even, yet I couldn't seem to keep my judgement on a straight line.   How damn small had he been? How the hell could he have even survived? I'd have thought it wasn't possible, but after spending time with Eve and Eric, I knew that wasn't true. They were wise beyond their years, careful, alert. Had he adapted the same way they had? Had he laid awake at night, frightened and silent? "Who was here before?"

"Pappy." He shuffled again, one foot to the other.

He said it how I imagined he did when he was a child, and his grown man's voice sounding so lost and heartbroken made my own heart forget how to beat. Each thud was punctuated by remorse for a boy I'd never met, and a man I didn't understand. "What happened to him?"

"He got too old and tired to wake up."

My chest constricted. "I'm sorry."

His brow furrowed again. "Why?"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry that it happened—is what I meant."

Croc studied me another long moment. "Okay. Croc forgives you."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. This was impossible. Outside this place, the world had gone insane. Yet, somehow, we'd managed to find a place even stranger. "Goodnight, Croc." I turned away, then stopped. I ground my teeth, and shook my head, hating the way he played on my emotions. His situation was too close to home. No family. No parents. All alone. An orphan, just like I'd been. Only, his had been worse. I couldn't imagine it. He'd had absolutely no one.

I turned back around and offered him a tight smile. "Thank you," I said. "You're a...you're a very good protector."

He beamed.