Twenty-Five Percent (Book 3): Vengeance
Page 33
“You’re sure her shift ends now?” Alex said.
“I got Claire to check. She finishes at two.”
Micah came to a halt and stared at the entrance to the Castle Hill Leisure Centre a little way along the road. The sprawling building had been converted into something of a central hub for supplies and people were coming and going through the open gates. It was also a base for those who were re-establishing the infrastructure of the city, as well as the teams who regularly went outside the barriers to forage and find anyone who might need help. It was one of, if not the busiest place in Sarcester now and many people worked there.
Including Beth Cutter.
“What if she says no?” Micah said, looking uncharacteristically insecure.
“You sound like you’ve never asked a woman out before,” Alex said.
“I’ve asked plenty of women out. Dozens, maybe even hundreds, since I asked Esther Landers out when I was thirteen. She was fifteen, by the way, and she said yes. I totally nailed it. I’m very good at asking women out.” He touched his fingertips to his nose. “Just not since...”
“Stopping stressing about your nose,” Alex said. “It’s fine.”
“Are you sure it looks okay?”
“You can’t even tell it was broken. Pauline did a great job fixing it. Of course, it does have the disadvantage of being attached to the rest of your face, but you should be used to that after twenty-seven years.”
Micah threw him a withering glance and started walking. As they approached the gate, Beth walked out.
Micah stopped again. “Okay.” He drew in a deep breath and smiled. “I’d ask you to wish me luck, but let’s face it, what sane woman could resist this?” He waved a hand at himself like he was presenting a prize on a game show.
Alex chuckled and gave him a small push in Beth’s direction. “Stop with the self-love and go and ask her.”
“Okay, I...”
Micah froze as Ben walked through the gates and jogged up to Beth. He leaned down to kiss her and they strolled away, arms draped around each other.
Micah’s shoulders slumped.
Alex winced in sympathy. “I’m sorry.”
“When did that happen?” Micah said, still staring after Beth and Ben.
“Probably while we were away. We did stay at your parents’ place for two weeks.”
Micah turned to face him. “Yeah, but, but...” He threw his hands into the air. “We were healing! We almost died heroically saving the city from Boot. We needed that time off. She could have waited for me. And, and, and... that is so uncool of Ben, stealing her while I was incapacitated. You just don’t do that to another guy. And how on earth did he get past her father?”
“Did she know you were interested in her? Did Ben?”
Micah planted both hands onto his hips and looked at them again. “That is so not the point. She obviously just prefers muscles over brains.”
“I thought Ben had a degree in...”
Micah held his hand up to stop him. “Don’t. Just don’t. I need this.”
“Sorry.” Alex placed one hand on his shoulder. “You’re completely right; she’s always had a thing for the big, dumb ones.”
“Thought so.” Micah puffed out a breath. “Well, now we’re here I might as well pick up some supplies. Lucy is eating me out of house and home.”
They resumed their walk towards the leisure centre.
“I told you, Survivors have higher metabolisms,” Alex said. “We have to eat more.”
“Yeah, she gave me that excuse too. I still don’t believe it. I asked her if she’d been talking to you. She said no. I didn’t believe that either.”
Alex tried to hide his smile. He wasn’t entirely successful. “She needs guidance. I like being a mentor.”
“Yeah, well... for some unknown reason she looks up to you, so do me a favour and tell her to do what I say. I love her to bits and I’m glad she’s with me, but looking after a sixteen-year-old is a nightmare. I don’t know how many teenage boys survived the outbreak in Sarcester, but I swear every single one of them wants to date my sister. You’d think her eyes would put them off, but oh no. Apparently having white eyes is in now.”
Alex grinned. “Really?”
“And it’s not like I can stop her from doing what she wants, now she’s, like, twice as strong as I am.”
“It’s probably closer to three times as strong.”
Micah gave him a look. “Not helping. At least I don’t have to worry about her being safe since she can beat any one of them to mush, but she’s still driving me crazy. I used to be the cool big brother, now I’m the big brother who has to tell her to pick up her clothes and clean up after herself. The sooner I find our parents and they take over, the better. I’m seriously considering leaving the flat to her and moving in with you.”
“You’re only across the hall. You practically have moved in with me.”
Micah heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Does the sofa miss me? Tell me it does.”
“I hear it sobbing during the night.”
As they neared the gate leading into the car park, they saw Sam and Claire heading for the front entrance. Alex waved, but neither of them noticed as they walked arm in arm, staring adoringly into each other’s eyes. Sam walked her to the doors where they kissed for a little longer than was publically acceptable before she went inside. He watched her until she was out of sight then wandered back towards the gate and Alex and Micah, a dopey smile on his face as he gazed into the sky.
“That look can only mean one thing,” Micah said as they watched him. “You are off the hook for relieving Sam of his V-card.” He sighed. “At least he’s getting some.”
Sam was almost on top of them before he noticed they were there. He grinned and ran over.
“So,” Alex said, “looks like things are going well with you and Claire.”
A huge smile stretched Sam’s cheeks. “I... she... we...” He breathed out a sigh. “She’s amazing.”
Micah looked at Alex with a mock serious expression. “He’s practically glowing, he’s smiling like a Cheshire cat, and he’s lost the power of coherent speech. I’d say he’s in love. What do you think, Doctor MacCallum?”
Alex pretended to study Sam for a few seconds, nodding slowly. “The signs are definitely there, Professor Clarke. All evidence points to it.”
Sam’s face turned scarlet as he pushed his hands into his pockets and looked at the ground.
Micah slapped him on the back, grinning. “We’re happy for you, Sam. Claire’s cool.” He looked at Alex. “I’m going to check the wall.”
He headed into the building. ‘The wall’ was how people had come to refer to the place they’d cleared in the reception area for notices and photos of lost loved ones. Someone had organised it, alphabetising the display, providing space for any news to be written, and keeping it tidy. In the middle of the C section was the photo of Micah’s family and every day he checked it, in case any among the trickle of refugees entering the city had left any news about his parents. He was still hoping they would make their way to Sarcester somehow.
“What’s going on over there?” Sam was looking past Alex to the end of the building.
Alex followed his line of sight to see Janie, Penny, Carrie and Patrice all facing in the same direction, staring at something around the corner. He and Sam strolled over to the huddle of women.
“What’s up?” he said.
No-one answered. They seemed to be in some sort of trance. Alex moved forward to see whatever had their undivided attention.
Fifty feet away, in an area by a set of double doors where supplies were moved in and out of the building, Brian was loading boxes into one of the pickup trucks they were using for food distribution.
He’d taken his shirt off.
“Seriously?” Alex said, appalled. “What if a group of us men were standing around watching a half-naked woman?”
“Did someone just say something?” Penny said, not moving
her gaze from the muscle-bound man.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Janie replied.
Alex heaved an exasperated sigh. “I am so disappointed in you all.”
Micah walked up to the group. “What’s going on?” He spotted Brian. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“Why do girls like big muscles?” Sam said.
Janie glanced at him. “Why do men like big boobs?”
Sam turned bright red, looking like an animal caught in the headlights. “I... um... because they look like they can feed babies well?”
Micah stifled a chuckle.
“Well done,” Janie said, returning her attention to Brian.
The big man stopped and stretched, arching his back and pushing out his ample chest. A sigh rippled through the group of women. Alex saw Brian’s gaze flick for a split second to his audience before he went back to work.
“He knows they’re watching,” he muttered to Micah. “The exhibitionist.”
“I don’t know who’s worse,” Micah replied, “him or them.”
“Honey?”
Alex turned at the sound of Hannah’s voice, smiling as she approached.
Finally, someone who appreciates the man she has.
He slid his arms around her waist and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. When they parted, she gave him a smile that made his heart thud.
“The new equipment is arriving from the hospital,” she said, her arms still draped around his neck, “so I’m going to the lab before Dave grabs all the cool stuff for his workstation. I love him like a brother, but that man can be so obsessive about his gadgets. What’s everyone looking at... Whoa.” She stopped, her eyes fixed on Brian.
“No, please,” Alex said, “not you too.”
It was as if he’d suddenly ceased to exist. She let him go and wandered over to join the other women.
“I knew he had a rather well developed musculature,” Hannah said, “but that is impressive. The recti abdominis are particularly fine.”
“I don’t know what that is,” Carrie said, “but I totally agree with you.”
Sam lowered his voice. “I’m glad Claire isn’t here.”
“How is he still single?” Patrice said.
“If it wasn’t for Logan, I totally would,” Carrie replied, then winced as she looked at Janie. “Sorry.”
Janie shook her head and smiled. “If it wasn’t for Kenny, I totally would too.”
The group erupted into giggles. Alex hadn’t seen Janie giggle once in the four years he’d known her. In the past week he’d seen her do it on at least three separate occasions. Things were certainly changing.
Carrie glanced at Alex. “Sorry, Alex, you’ll always be special to me. You know you were my first when I was fifteen.”
Four faces whipped round to stare at him. Hannah raised her eyebrows.
“Crush,” he said quickly. “She means crush. I was her first crush.”
With the final box loaded, Brian closed the truck’s tailgate and picked up his shirt. He looked straight at the women, winked, then strolled back into the building, his shirt draped over one shoulder.
Alex couldn’t help rolling his eyes.
“I wonder if he does that every day at this time,” Penny said.
Carrie grinned. “It couldn’t hurt to come and check.”
Patrice looked at her watch. “Two o’clock tomorrow then?”
“It’s a date,” Janie said. She bent to pick up a cardboard box marked Pampers on the ground next to her. “Better get these back to Kim. I’d forgotten how many nappies kids go through.” She raised one hand as she walked away. “See you later, white-eyes.”
Hannah reached up to kiss Alex. “I’ll see you tonight.”
With the show over, the women disbanded, leaving Alex, Micah and Sam alone. There were a few seconds of silent contemplation.
Alex rubbed his jaw. “Does anyone else have an urge to go and bench press a car right now?”
“I think I’m going to go and see how Claire is,” Sam said. “And if Brian is anywhere near her, I’ll ask him to get dressed.”
“I can’t believe Hannah would be interested in such a shallow thing as big muscles,” Alex said as Sam walked off towards the front entrance.
“Beth too,” Micah said. “Ben looks like the Hulk. Seriously, they wouldn’t even need to CGI him. Just spray paint him green and he’d be good to go.”
“It’s not like we’re hideous trolls. Hannah says she thinks I’m handsome. And Beth would have been lucky to have you.”
“Damn right.”
“And anyway, what does Brian have that we don’t?”
“Muscles the size of beach balls?”
“I meant apart from that.”
Micah shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“We saved the city, for goodness’ sake.”
“Maybe even the world. If Boot had won and got that virus out...”
“Exactly.” Alex nodded, finalising the matter. “We’re heroes.”
“We are.”
There were another few seconds of silence.
Micah turned and began walking towards the gate.
“Where are you going?” Alex called after him.
“To find the nearest gym. There must be something on my body I can still work out.”
Alex gave it a moment’s consideration before going after him. “Wait for me.” He fell into step beside him. “Of course, just because we want to better ourselves physically makes us no less heroic than we already are.”
“How much more of a hero can you be than saving the world?” Micah said.
“We are the ultimate heroes,” Alex replied. “Am I right?”
He held his palm up.
Micah high fived it and smiled.
“This is one of the rare occasions when you are.”
FROM THE AUTHOR
Well, that’s it. I’ve spent over a year with Alex and Micah and friends and I feel the need to take a break from eaters! So after all that non-stop peril and action, and quite a lot of getting stabbed and beaten up, Alex and Micah finally get to put their feet up and relax. Of course, mainland Britain is still crawling, shuffling and lurching with eaters so who knows how long their peace will last? But for now I’m going to give them some time off. I hope you’ve enjoyed their journey and will stick with me for all the other stories I have to tell!
I’m now going to throw all dignity out the window and do some begging. Please, please, please consider leaving reviews on Amazon for Mutation, Downfall and Vengeance. Word of mouth is invaluable for independent authors like me and reviews, even just a line or two, really do help readers find my books. I also love hearing what you think! Here are the US and UK links where you can leave reviews (but feel free to review wherever you are):
MUTATION
US http://amzn.to/1VbuBFK
UK http://amzn.to/1VbuutR
DOWNFALL
US http://amzn.to/1TeNDvW
UK http://amzn.to/1QdNk5A
VENGEANCE
US http://amzn.to/1LHA2XB
UK http://amzn.to/1S3WoJJ
And here’s a big THANK YOU from me in advance!
And finally, if you haven’t already done so, do sign up for my occasional newsletter. You’ll get free, exclusive stories and other good stuff, plus never miss a release, and all in exchange for a very small handful of emails a year. Honestly, hardly any, I’m way too busy writing to keep bugging you. It is totally worth it, I promise! Sign up here: http://bit.ly/1RHl4HK
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