by M. D. Massey
It was getting later in the day, the moon lurking in the sky. I hoped Henry decided it was enough for the day. He grabbed a bottle of booze, cracked it open, and took a long pull from it. Then he opened the map.
“There are three buildings here, like we discussed before. I want to clear the storefronts on the left, or at least as many as we can before the sun sets.”
And there you go. My wish was not Henry’s command. I had to speak up.
“Henry?”
“Yeah, love?”
“I’m kind of thinking we should hang here, going out again in the morning.”
“No. We need to clear areas as soon as we can. The less undeads roaming, the better chance of our survival. We have already wasted too much time.”
I blew out a breath. “Okay. Well, I think our team should go out. You have already been out twice today, and I think you should rest.” Nate looked at me like I was a crazy woman. I had a feeling he just wanted to be protected, but not have to work for it.
“I think that’s a brilliant idea. Sophie, your team will take the next shift. Clear as many buildings on the left side of the street before the sun sets. We’ll do our best to keep an eye on you through the windows. I have a couple sets of binoculars in the closet.” I got more nervous by the second and chewed my thumbnail. “You okay, Elaina?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m just thinking.” Thinking about death, or undeads, or true death. I shivered. Everyone stared at me, waiting for me to freak out again.
“All right. You three make sure your guns are loaded. I want each of you to carry an extra mag and some sort of knife or axe in your packs.”
Sophie and I grabbed our packs, and loaded them up. Nate didn’t move, which Henry noticed immediately. I hoped “Angry Henry” wasn’t going to make a comeback. I wasn’t a fan of that guy.
“Is there an issue, Nate?” His voice was curt.
Shit.
“Uh, well…”
“Yes?” Henry barked. He seemed to be a little impatient. I could feel it coming. The Henry storm was about to hit, and it looked bleak.
“I really don’t want to go out there.” Nate’s voice was quiet.
Henry laughed, really laughed, then grabbed the bottle and had took another drink. Sophie and I looked at one another, then at Henry. We knew what was about to transpire.
“I’m sorry. I thought you just said you really didn’t want to go out there.” Henry jumped up and grabbed Nate by the collar. “Listen here, you little prat…”
Sound the alarms. “Angry Henry” had returned. His face was a mere inch from Nate’s, who looked like he was on the verge of pissing himself. Nick stood there, giggling.
“You will go out there, and you will help Sophie and Elaina! None of us want to be doing this! None of us!”
I decided it may be time to save Nate from his wrath. “Um, Henry?” I nervously grabbed his chilly arm.
“What?!” he screamed, not even turning around.
“Henry, I think we need to calm down just a teensy bit.” I tugged on his arm. “Come on. Let’s go chat for a minute.” Finally, he looked at me and let go of Nate’s shirt, but not without a quick shove first. He shook my hand free from his arm, taking another pull from the bottle. “Come on. Let’s go down the hall.”
Everyone watched with apprehension as we walked by. Henry was so angry, his body trembled.
Once we got to the kitchen, he pulled open the cabinets until he found another bottle of whisky. Then he stormed down the hall. We walked into the bedroom, Henry slamming the door behind us.
“Henry, listen. If he doesn’t want to go, don’t make him.” I tried to keep my voice level. He drank what was left of the nearly empty bottle, then chucked it against the wall, causing me to jump. It dented the wall and shattered.
At some point, we needed to talk about managing his anger. Preferably sooner rather than later since he could no longer go to the gym. He opened the other bottle, taking a long pull from it. Nothing like a Southern Comfort chaser after Walker.
“He can’t just chill here, like he’s hanging with his mates! This isn’t a swanky fucking lounge!”
“Let me finish, please, and keep your voice down. We don’t want him out there if he’s going to put us at risk. You saw what he did when he thought that boy bit me.” Henry took another swig. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to accomplish with drinking.
Whenever we went out, before all of this madness, it always involved booze in some way. I had seen him drink more than everyone I knew. And whenever we had dinner at my apartment, it generally involved a bottle, or two, of wine. He fully stocked my kitchen with booze.
We stood in silence, looking into each other’s eyes for a minute.
“I think you’re right,” he said in a normal tone. I was in shock. He actually agreed with me. “I’ll go with you and Sophie.”
“No! Absolutely not! You’ve already been out two times today!” I was so angry, I forgot about trying to speak in a soft voice.
“I’ll be fine.” He clenched his jaw.
“Henry. Please. I don’t want you to be too tired.” Or drunk.
“I’ll be fine.” He sounded like a machine.
“Then who will lead here?”
“I will put Nick temporarily in charge.”
“You’re not a machine, Henry. Regardless of your training and what they did to you, you are not a goddamn machine. Besides, I wouldn’t be able to shoot you. You’re right about that.” I choked back a whimper.
“If need be, I trust Sophie will take care of me. I’m going, and that’s final.” He moved me away from the door and stormed out, taking another long pull from the bottle. I followed behind, stunned. I don’t like “Angry Henry”, but now I had to deal with the possibility of “Drunk Angry Henry”?
“Sophie!” I yelled. “Henry said he’s going with us. You have got to talk him out of it.”
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?” I mocked her accent, causing her to scowl at me. My maturity shone bright again. “He won’t listen to me. You could at least try!”
“Once he makes up his mind, that’s what’s happening. I can’t change it. I’ve never been able to.”
“But he’s already been out twice today!”
“I know!” Worry dripped from her voice. Looking at Henry, I thought how convenient it was for him to ignore our conversation while he readied himself.
“I don’t want him to be too tired. Plus, he has had a lot to drink.”
She touched my shoulder. “Trust me. He will be fine. He’s an adrenaline junkie, if you haven’t figured that out yet. If anyone can handle this, it’s him.”
I didn’t like it one bit, but what choice did I have? It was settled. Henry was going with Sophie and me, whether I wanted it to happen.
“Fine,” I snarled. I glared at Nate, pointing at him. “You win. You get to stay. Are you happy now, Nate? If something happens to him, I will come in here and fucking kill you myself! I won’t hesitate!”
He didn’t say a word. As a matter of fact, he looked terrified. Good, he ought to be. He thought Bridezillas were scary? Well, he had better hope Henry came back in one piece, or he would find out how fucking mental I could really be.
I wasn’t pleased one bit with how it all unfolded. I didn’t intend for Henry to take Nate’s place. I was angry with myself, as well. I needed to learn to keep my big mouth shut.
Chapter 9
Henry, Sophie, and I made it to the front door of the apartment building without incident. He paused, scoping out the area.
“Coast is clear. Stick together, and be ready to shoot.” Sophie and I both nodded. We opened the door and walked out.
The first building was the shoe store just down the street. As angry as I was at him for leaving on his own to get clothes and supplies for us, I have to admit that I was pleased I didn’t have to wear his clunky boots anymore. I hoped we would have time to grab a few pairs of shoes for future use.
&
nbsp; Henry stopped about a foot away from the door. Sophie stood behind me, covering our rear. I kept my eye on the street in front of us as he looked through the door. “Two visible,” he said. “Elaina, same routine as when we picked up Nate.”
“Got it.” I took a deep breath, Henry moving to the other side of the door. I put my hand on the handle. Peering over my shoulder, Sophie scanned the street. Sweating, I tugged at my shirt to free it up from my tacky skin.
“Now, Elaina.” I pulled open the door, Henry jumping into the store. He fired once, taking out one. He went to fire again, but nothing happened. “Shit! I’m jammed! Fire, Elaina! Fire!”
I aimed at the female undead coming toward us. Her name tag said “My name is Marion. How can I help you?”
“Damn it, Elaina. Fire!” he yelled again, fiddling with his Sig.
“Sorry. You can’t help me, Marion, but I’m here to help you.” I pulled the trigger, dropping Marion to the tiled floor like a pile of wet laundry. Henry pulled another Sig out of his pack.
“Let’s head to the back room.” He ran toward the door. I stopped at Marion, apologizing again under my breath.
“Is Sophie going to be okay out there by herself?”
“Yeah. She knows how to handle herself.”
Sophie stood guard outside the shoe store. The door from the apartment building opening caught her attention. With speed and grace, she hid behind a car in the hopes that whoever it was didn’t see her. She didn’t recognize him, but she assumed he was the man from the first floor. Her nerves prickled in excitement. She needed a fix.
He walked up to a true dead woman Henry had killed earlier and touched her hand. He bowed his head for a moment, whispering something. Sophie tucked her Sig in her pants, then tried to grab supplies from her vest. He was quite vulnerable right then, and she felt she could take advantage of it. She figured she could knock him out, then perform a draw while he was out cold. Easy enough.
“Shit. Thanks for fucking up my vest, Elaina,” she snarled as she tried to pull the zipper apart. She fought with it, but it was stuck.
A warm hand covered her mouth. She let out a small whimper when whoever it was grabbed the gun out of her pants and held it to her temple.
“Well, hello there, Barbie,” the harsh voice grumbled in her ear. “Guess what?” Sophie contemplated a smart ass response, but since his hand was over her mouth, it would have been pointless. “Since that crazy fucker you’re hanging out with killed my wife, I’m going to take care of you. Let’s move.”
He grabbed her arm and pushed her toward the next shop…Gemelli’s, the café. He assumed they’d be heading that way eventually since he saw them enter the shoe store. Plus, he knew if she disappeared, they would look for her. He figured he would just sit tight until they arrived.
Sophie felt uncharacteristically frightened. She tried to decide which way she should attack him, but he was as strong as Roger. She feared that strength, but she knew she had to stay tight. It was nearly impossible, panic settling in.
Henry would save her. He always did.
We continued toward the back room, stopping at the door and peeking in. There were shelves and shelves of shoes. Claire would have been in heaven. I thought about bringing her there when all this was over.
The shelving units went up to the ceiling. We couldn’t see past the first row, so I pulled a flashlight out of my pack. “Here,” I whispered to Henry. He shined it down the aisle.
“Clear. Cover me,” he said, stepping in. It was so quiet. No moaning or growling. Relief swept over me. In silence, we crept up and down the ten aisles, finally clearing the store.
We headed back out the front door, Henry stopping short, causing me to run right into his back.
“Sophie?” I looked around him, not seeing Sophie anywhere. “Sophie?!” Henry called out louder. He grabbed the walkie-talkie off his belt. “SJ, location?” Static. “SJ, do you read me? Location!” Worry in his voice, panic ripped through him. “Sophie!” he yelled out. Still nothing.
I worried, as well. I wasn’t her biggest fan, but after we chatted while cleaning up the mess Claire made in Henry’s bathroom, we bonded a little. Henry still cared for her. After all, they had bonded in more ways than one back in the program.
“Do you think she went back to the apartment for something?” It was a stupid question, but I felt it needed to be asked.
“Why the fuck would she go back there?” he snapped.
“I don’t know, Henry. Maybe she forgot something.” In my peripheral vision, I saw an undead staggering off to my right. “Henry, three o’clock.”
He turned. “Got it.” He shot…and missed. He growled.
Missed? I thought. I hadn’t seen him miss since the beginning. I think he was a little shaken up by Sophie’s disappearing act. He dropped the undead on his second shot.
“We’ll find her. Let’s just head to our original destinations. She may have gone ahead into the next store.” Henry nodded, and we moved toward the café. My breath caught in my throat.
Oh, that café brought back some fond memories, but they would be forever ruined. Hopefully, we don’t die going back for another visit.
We frequently went on dates there. It’s where Henry proposed. They had the best cake, and they sold it by the slice. I think I tried every type they served, but the chocolate ones were my favorite. The coffee was pretty tasty, as well.
Henry took me there so much we were on a first name basis with the owners. The cake slices were the perfect size for two people. Although, I had to admit I could polish off a whole one by myself. I proved that after a dress fitting with my mother.
-September 2014-
The afternoon after the dress fitting with my mother, Henry sat me down and went to the counter. He ordered two coffees and a slice of chocolate cake covered in ganache with a raspberry crème filling. It was so indulgent, I ate every last crumb without an ounce of shame. When I put the last forkful in my mouth, I worried that Henry would judge me and my binge. I apologized, making him chuckle. He said he knew never to get in the way of a downtrodden woman and her piece of chocolate cake. Such a smart man.
We hung out at the table for what seemed like hours. He finally had me laughing, instead of grumbling about my mother’s demands and insults.
That day was when I knew I made the right decision to marry Henry. He was mesmerizing. I could listen to him ramble on for hours about nothing. He always knew what to say or do to make me feel better. And his eyes, his brilliant eyes, had some sort of power over me.
-October 2013-
It was the one year anniversary of my flat tire incident when Henry insisted on taking me to the café. We always made fun of all the public cheesy proposals, but what he did fit the bill. It made me laugh, and won me over. It was so cheesy, but so sweet.
I honestly didn’t suspect he was going to propose. We chatted about it a few times, but never had any heavy conversations about getting married.
“Sit tight. I’ll be right back,” he said.
I watched him walk up to the counter, pick out a piece of chocolate cake and order two coffees. I admired his amazing ass. He waited patiently, looking like he was zoning out. He jammed his hand through his hair, messed with the zipper on his coat, rocked back and forth on his heels. It was obvious he had something on his mind. He brought over our slice of cake and coffees, then sat.
“You all right?”
“Yeah. Why?” He smiled. God, he was so damn adorable.
“You look like there’s something on your mind.”
“Oh, just work stuff. Have a lot stressful, pressing shit to get done.” He spun the piece of cake so the frosted outer edge faced me, handing me a fork. “Dig in, my black-haired beauty.”
I smiled, then took a bite and moaned. I closed my eyes, savoring the rich and creamy taste and the feel of the frosting in my mouth. I opened my eyes to fork another bite, seeing him smiling.
“Promise me to make that sound later,” he groaned, loo
king at me through his long, soft brown lashes.
“Yeah, and many more. I’m going to have to work off these calories somehow.”
He smirked. “I’m quite certain that could be arranged.”
We sat and chatted about nothing for several minutes, and several bites, until I saw something in the cake.
“What the hell? There’s something stuck in here.”
“Really? What is it?”
I stuck my fork around it, realizing it was a huge ring. “Oh, geez. Someone’s ring must have fallen in the batter.” I grabbed a napkin and cleaned off the cake crumbs. “It’s a nice one, too. Christ, it must have cost a fortune.”
“Do you like it?”
“Of course I do. It’s stunning. Looks like Tiffany’s.”
“Good. Let me see it.” I handed it over. He took my hand and made me stand.
“Are we leaving? What are you…?” Immediately, he dropped to one knee. “Oh, my god… Henry…” My body trembled. I looked around, and everyone stared at us in silent anticipation.
“Elaina, you are the love of my life, and I couldn’t imagine one moment without you.” He looked down for a second to take a couple breaths. When he looked back up, he had tears in his eyes. “I know it hasn’t always been perfect with me, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
“Yes! Oh, my god! Yes!”
He jumped up and kissed me, spinning me around. There was an eruption of applause in the café. “Christ, I was so afraid you would say no. I’ve been stressing over this since I bought the ring.” With shaky hands, he slipped it on my finger. Even with chocolate cake on it, the ring was divine.
“Are you kidding me? Of course I would say yes!”
We walked up to the counter and thanked the Gemellis for helping with the surprise. They said they were honored to help, and Henry told them we would be back in a couple months to pick out a cake for the reception.
We got into his truck, and I started laughing. “What?” He gazed at me with that devious smile.
“You are such a cheeseball.”