Faisal is hiding something flashed before me. I glared at him. What are you hiding Faisal? Who are you?
Sounds surfaced not too far. The sounds were close, too close for safety. It pulled all attention from Faisal.
“Where is that coming from?” Deema whispered.
“Hang on,” Rakan said, jogging to the end of the aisle. It took him a second to process the situation before jogging back. “Listen, stay calm, but we got company. There are too many, and they are heading this way.”
“Can we make it back to the room?” Malak asked.
“No.” Rakan dropped his gaze down, then up to the shelves. “They’re too close. We won’t make it.”
“What’s the plan?” Faisal asked. “Stand our ground?”
“Negative.” Rakan pointed at the shelves. “Up there. We can climb the shelves.”
“Good idea,” Deema said. “They can’t climb.”
“As far as we know,” Faisal said. “Are you willing to put that theory to the test?”
“No time to argue,” Rakan said and knelt. He extended both hands and net his fingers together, creating a step. “Faisal, climb up and pull them up from the top.”
Faisal nodded at once, but stated how he clearly disliked this idea. He holstered his gun and placed his foot in Rakan’s hands and grabbed his shoulder for support, then reached out to the edge of the shelf and pulled his weight up. It looked high from down here, but he made it look so easy.
“Ready?” Rakan asked.
“Ready,” Faisal replied, planting his foot for support and positioning himself.
“Let’s go,” Rakan said, looking at us.
“Malak, go,” I said, pushing her gently. She stepped in Rakan's hands awkwardly and hesitantly extended her hand to Faisal. Malak placed her foot on a loose shelf and slipped.
“Malak,” I said and took an involuntarily step closer.
Faisal took her hand. He reached out and pulled her up, her feet dangling in the air for a few seconds before she pulled herself up on the shelf.
“Go,” I said and gently tapped Deema forward. She leaned in and stepped in Rakan's hands, apologizing as she did so. She offered her hand to Faisal, and he pulled her up over the edge.
“Your turn,” Rakan said with a slight smile. His expression told me he was going to enjoy this. My hand shivered slightly. I lifted my foot and placed my hand on his shoulder. I found my balance and lifted my other foot off the ground.
“Rakan,” Faisal screamed, “hurry, behind you,”
I tilted my head to the right, and zombies come into view. My jaw dropped as my eyes widened, and my heart sank in my stomach. There was no time. They were closing in on us. We were outnumbered. I looked up at Malak; her eyes were glassy and her mouth opened in worry. She saw them coming.
Chapter 38
Rakan tilted his head, disappointment across his features. In a blink of an eye, he wrapped his arms around my legs and placed me on the ground. He enveloped himself around me, lifting me off the ground. My heart raced for two different reasons. Everything around me was moving so fast, my stomach turned and my throat went dry. It was too fast for me to process. I shut my eyes. He loosened his grip on me and lowered me back down till my feet touched the solid ground. I opened my eyes; a rusty door stood in front of me. He reached out for the knob and pulled it open. I rushed in without an explanation. He followed me in and shut the door behind us. It was dark.
“There’s a shelf behind you,” he whispered in his deep voice, “watch your head.”
I said nothing. And that was all he said verbally. His presence and subtle movements spoke volumes. It was pitch-dark in there. No light entered the space, so our eyes were not allowed to adjust to the darkness. A shiver went through my spine. My hearing was heightened. The sound of a zombie stampede echoed, feet being dragged, limbs clumsily hitting objects, moans that could drive a person insane, growling that did not coincide with the hitting and smacking as they stumbled past. I placed my hands on my lips as if I couldn't trust my body to not make a sound.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said. A sudden comfort washed over me. He saved me. Again. Twice in one day. What do I owe him, I thought. What is it about you, Rakan, that makes me feel this way? At that moment, I wanted to softly say “touch me,” because I needed a distraction. But then everything went flat quiet. The sound was so quiet it placed pressure on my ears. I became aware of my breathing as it slowed down and a tingle sparked under my skin, sending the hair on the back of my neck still. The thought of him standing so close to me. The thought of us being together. Just him and me alone. I couldn’t see him. But I knew he was there; I sensed him, I smelled him, I felt him, but we both stood still. Not saying anything.
The door opened, and the built-up tension was released with the pressure.
“Are you two okay?” Malak asked, her silhouette veiled the harsh light behind her.
“Erm,” was the only thing that came out of my mouth.
“We’re alright,” Rakan said. “Where are they?”
“They walked by and left the store, just passing through,” Malak said, holding the door open.
“After you,” Rakan said.
“’Kay,” I said. “I mean, thank you.”
I stepped out into the light and mentally smacked the back of my head for being so smooth.
“This is me guessing here,” Deema said, “but I don't think they can analyze a situation. They are not intellectual thinkers.”
“They just walked past us?” Rakan asked. I stared at him, trying to shake off the goose bumps from our closet encounter. I searched his face for any signs that he shared the feeling that something happened in there. How long were we in there?
“Yeah,” Faisal said, holding a basket, “we should head back,”
Rakan smelled good, I thought.
“Sara?” Malak said.
“Yes.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I answered, blushing.
“Everything?” Malak said in code with a look that only I got. The look translated to, I’ll third degree you later, swinging light bulb and everything, and you need to spill it all.
“Everything.” I nodded.
Everyone else stood there looking at us with a confused expression. We picked up our baskets and made our way out. More like ran out. We headed to the back door the way we came. To our newfound home. We entered our suite, and the guys swept the premises again. Locking the doors behind us, we were finally able to breathe once more. We walked into the mini kitchen and laid out the food. Mostly junk food. In the midst of the chaos, I forgot something important. Coffee. After we grabbed a few bags of chips, chocolates, and warm sodas, we went into the living room. We settled down and got comfortable.
Deema was busy emptying the medical supplies out of the basket. She placed some bottles and boxes on the table in the center of the living room and pulled out a pair of white rubber gloves.
“So, who’s first?” she asked while blowing in the glove, making a hand balloon before she forcefully pushed her hand in it. “Rakan?”
“Alright.” He sat facing her.
“I need you to take off your top,” Deema said, spreading her equipment beside her. “I wanna take a look at your arm.”
Rakan did what he was told. He took off the bloody top, and I didn’t object to that action at all.
“I don’t feel any pain anymore,” Rakan said.
Deema took an alcohol pad and gently cleaned the crusty, bloody stain. “What?” she said and stopped. She removed both hands away from the wound.
“Is it bad?” I came close and stood next to her.
“No, there’s… there’s nothing there,” Deema said. She went back in and wiped the entire area with an alcohol swab. “There’s a little scar where it cut through the top.”
I watched Rakan. His gray eyes darkened and eyebrows tense.
“How’s this possible?” Deema asked. “All that blood.”
/> “Maybe it’s not his blood,” Faisal said, taking a step closer.
“It cut right through,” Deema repeated. She stuck her finger through the hole. “That can’t be possible.”
“What’s not possible?” Malak said, walking up standing next to us.
“Cell regeneration,” Deema said. “It could be an explanation.”
“Like lizards?” Malak asked.
“I’m lost,” I admitted.
“Yeah, more specifically, the salamander,” Deema said. “They have this capability to regenerate cells. Like for instance, if an arm or a leg is cut off ,they regenerate a whole new one. However, even with them, the process is slow. This is too fast.”
I stared at everyone else, making sure they were as lost as I was on this one.
“I think that's how the dead are reanimating, and Rakan being immune to the zombie virus gave him cell regeneration,” Deema said.
“So, the dead are regenerating their cells?” Faisal asked.
“Yes. Well, no. It’s a theory, but I think the virus is not creating new cells. It’s merely altering them, and in some cases where the cells are not dead, they are altered in a different way by allowing them to regenerate rapidly.”
It might be a long shot, but it was the closest thing to an explanation we had, and I was holding on to it. Deema continued checking Rakan but found nothing. He was clean, not a scratch or a cut on him. Malak was next; she was clean too. Now, it was Faisal’s turn. After finishing them all, there was only me left.
“I didn’t even get a lollipop,” Faisal said as he passed me.
“What was that?” I said and turned to him. “Was that sarcasm I sensed?” I smiled and sat in front of Deema. “Hello, my old friend.”
“First, I want to take a look at that cut on your forehead,” Deema said.
“It doesn’t hurt,” I said. The truth was, I had forgotten about the cut I got from slamming my forehead into the steering wheel. I brushed my fingers over it.
“Don’t touch it. I need to clean the dry blood first,” Deema said, moving my bangs away from my forehead. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” I said. She dabbed my forehead with a piece of cloth. A coldness tingled against my skin. I didn’t know how much it would hurt, so I rested my eyes and preoccupied myself with my thoughts. May was all I could think about.
“What?” Deema said. I opened my eyes. Her face was puzzled.
Everyone went quiet. A tense wave passed us. Everyone’s face stepped closer into view. “What is going on?” Deema whispered.
Malak shuffled around and pulled her phone out of her pocket. The back side of the phone had a mirror, and she handed it over to me.
“What?” I repeated. I grabbed the phone. I look at my reflection. My forehead. There was no scratch. Just a small scar. I raised my finger and touched my forehead. Nothing but a subtle line. A sign left behind by a cut. I got up and placed the phone in Malak’s hand.
“There was a cut, right?” Malak asked. “A new cut?”
“I don’t know. I mean I never actually saw it,” I said, “but there was blood, and before that I didn’t have a scar on my forehead.”
“Are you sure it was your blood?” Deema asked.
“Yes, I’m sure it’s my blood.” I rolled my eyes. “I felt it. The pain was real when my head parked into the steering wheel.”
“The cut could be from your scalp, and maybe the blood smeared down,” Malak said.
“And the scar?” I asked.
“Were you bit?” Faisal asked, placing his hand on his holster.
I eyed his gun and looked back at him. “I was not bit,” I said firmly. I did not want to give Faisal my back. I tilted my head and looked at Deema. “Check me,” I said and spread my arms apart.
Deema checked me thoroughly for marks and took her time with it. “She’s clean,” she finally said.
After what felt like an intervention, Rakan changed into a new top, clearly not his; it hung loose. Still good. We settled around the table in the living room, exchanging theories while wolfing down all the junk food we could digest. As much as we wanted to stay up, the pain and exhaustion dictated our limits. A yawn escaped Malak and jumped to us all, one by one. My body was ready to shut down.
“If we don’t get some sleep and soon, we’re gonna join the walking dead. Well not literally, but mindless bodies,” I tried to explain but was too tired to make any logic.
“I agree,” Rakan said. “Faisal and I will take shifts sleeping.”
Faisal nodded.
“You can go first. I can still go for a few hours,” Rakan told Faisal.
“The place is secure, right?” Malak asked.
“I won’t take any chances,” Rakan said.
We got up and walked to our bedroom after saying our good nights.
“Leave your door cracked open. I want access if there were anything to happen. If you need anything, call my name,” Rakan said. “Good night.”
We walked in and left the door ajar. There were two queen beds separated by a nightstand that had a lamp, a phone, and a clock that flashed 12:00. Despite being in an abandoned hotel in an evacuated city, surrounded by bloodthirsty zombies, it felt safe. The smell of fresh, clean linen made it familiar.
“Sara and I will take this one,” Malak said and dropped her body on the bed on the right side.
I took my shoes off and settled in the bed next to her.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” I said, slipping my hand in hers. “You bring the moon and stars closer.”
“I love you too,” Malak replied and nestled her head next to mine.
“I love you guys too,” Deema said. “I feel like a third wheel.”
“You’re not.” I laughed. “You’re family. I don't think I could have done this without any of you.”
“I hope our families are okay,” Malak said. “Deema, your family is in Spain. Far away from all of this.”
“How far do you think this thing spread?” Deema asked.
“Hopefully not too far,” I said as another yawn escaped me.
An unsettling feeling suddenly passed over me. I could sense the presence of the undead. Everything came to me at the same time. Mom, Dad, May’s death. It all followed me here. I stared at a dent right in the corner of the nightstand. It became my focus as my eyelids grew heavier. Everything around me slowed down. My pupils dilated to the sound of movements around, footsteps invading the silence that hung in the room. Death was around us, over us. There was something walking on the floor above us. They can’t get us, I reminded myself. They can’t open doors. I listened carefully, but the sound was gone. Am I hallucinating? I looked over at Malak, who had fallen asleep already. I turned back to the dent and stared. I crossed the line of vigilance and floated softly as time unwound. The thought of being in the zombies’ everlasting home made me apprehensive. Forever. The word echoed in my head. But everything would be fine as long as my parents were okay and I had my sister. Run, something is coming. Everything went dark.
Chapter 39
Islowly lifted my eyelids, awakening from the semi-coma I had slipped into. A minute passed before my eyes fully adjusted. It took another minute to process where I was. For a brief second, I allowed myself to believe everything that had happened was a confusing nightmare, not real. Lying down, blissfully oblivious to my surroundings. That didn’t last. The events caught up with me soon after, punching me in the head and giving me an instant headache. I squeezed my eyes hard and tilted my head, facing Malak. She lay still, sound asleep. Was she okay? My heart sank lower in my rib cage. I couldn’t help but fear the worst, so I placed two fingers on her exposed neck, searching for a pulse beneath my fingers. A wave of relief washed over me. She’s alive. I rose a little too fast, intensifying the headache. I looked over at Deema who was still asleep. I scanned the room. The blinds on the windows were drawn, allowing only a little natural light to come through them. My muscles ached under the blanket, my body begging for more rest. Ma
ybe I should go back to sleep.
A soft tap came from the door. “Good morning,” a gentle voice said, “can I come in?”
Staring at the brown door, I recognized Rakan’s voice. I cleared my throat. “Come in,” I said.
Rakan entered with a subtle smile. I shuffled awkwardly, temporarily forgetting how to sit. I grabbed the blanket to pull it over my body, but my hand slipped and I accidentally punched my chin.
“Morning,” I said, ignoring the fact that I almost knocked myself out.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” he said, looking down, not at me. “I got you something.”
The smell of coffee was something I would never mistake and I distinctively smelled the aroma as he walked closer holding a cardboard tray with three large paper cups.
“Oh,” I shrieked and released the blanket. “Is that coffee?”
“It is.” His smile widened as he walked up to a table at the end of the bed and placed the tray over it. “I’ll leave you to freshen up. Meet us out front whenever you’re all up and ready. We made breakfast.”
“Rakan,” I said.
“Sara?” He looked up, eyes on mine.
“How did you know I was up?” I asked.
“I smell coffee,” Malak’s cranky voice floated.
His dimple deepened as he turned around, leaving the room.
I waited for Rakan to disappear completely before springing out of bed and asked the question burning a hole in my soul. “How do I look?”
“Like a zombie,” Malak said.
I threw a pillow on her, and she covered herself with the blanket. The pillow bounced off and hit the ground. She grabbed her pillow and launched it at me. Missing her target entirely, her aim swung sideways and the pillow flew straight into Deema’s exposed face. Malak and I both turned our heads, looking at each other, then back at her. She did not wake up.
“Wow, she’s really out,” I said taking one step closer.
“No kidding,” Malak said.
“Is that coffee?” Deema said with her eyes shut.
“Well good morning, sunshine,” I said and headed to the tray of happiness waiting for me on the table. I pulled out my cup, held it close to my nose, and took a sniff followed by a sip. “Ahh. Nothing like a good cup of coffee to start your apocalypse.” I took the tray and walked over to Malak, handing her a cup.
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