by M. D. Massey
“We need to go to the end.” Her voice dripped with fear.
“I’ll get ’em.” Thomas handed Claire the axe, pulling the gun out of the back of his pants. He pushed past Claire, making it about halfway down the hall before shooting all of them one by one, not missing a single time. Claire shined the flashlight on them to make sure they were true dead.
“Nice work!” she shouted, giving him a high-five.
When they got to Nick’s door, Claire turned the knob, hoping it was unlocked. No such luck. “Shit. Now what?”
Thomas tucked his gun in the back of his pants, then grabbed the axe from her.
“Stan’ back.” He raised the axe, bringing it down on the door handle. The metal on metal sound was deafening in the heavy silence around them. He hit the doorjamb a few times before the door popped open. Quickly, he pulled out his gun, and Claire pointed the flashlight around the apartment.
“Good god. What a slob. We’ll have to talk about this,” Claire said as they stepped inside, Thomas looking around at the mess. Moldy dishes, piles of dirty clothes, and at least a dozen pizza boxes stacked on top of one another littered the floor.
“He left it like this?”
“Looks like it. There’s one thing I want to find. Be on the lookout for an acoustic guitar.” They slowly worked their way through the tiny, chaotic apartment. “Looks like a tornado ripped through here.”
“There!” Thomas pointed over by a barstool.
“Yes! That’s it!” Claire couldn’t wait to see the look on Nick’s face when she showed up with it.
“Is tha’ all?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we can get—”
They heard the telltale click behind them. They turned around and saw a man pointing a gun at them. Claire and Thomas both raised their guns in response.
“I suggest you put that down.” The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it.
“This is my boyfriend’s. I’m bringing it to him.”
The man laughed. “Your boyfriend’s? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that one over the past few weeks.”
“Listen, asshole,” Thomas growled. “Do you really think we’d go through a pitch black stairwell, walk down a pitch black hallway, shoot six undeads, and bus’ open this particular door just to steal a fuckin’ guitar? Don’ you think if we really were just lootin’, we would have just hit the apartments closest to the fuckin’ entrance?” Claire couldn’t believe her own ears. She was pretty sure that was the most Thomas had said in her presence.
“Thomas, shut up!”
“Claire?”
She hesitated, not knowing if she should even acknowledge that he knew her name.
“Yeah…?”
“Holy shitballs! I can’t fucking believe it!” The man came closer. They still had their guns up. “It’s David!”
“David!” Claire wasn’t too sure who he was, but she was going to play along.
“Who the hell is this?” David asked, looking at Thomas.
“He’s a friend of mine. We’re staying together.”
“Are you…?” He pointed back and forth between Claire and Thomas.
“Oh. Oh no! He’s a little too young for me. Family friend.”
“Right. Are you still with Marc?” It hit her then. David was one of Marc’s co-workers.
“Uh…” There was an awkward silence. “Well, our ride is waiting so we’ll get going now. It was nice to see you, David. Glad you’re faring well.”
Thomas still had his gun ready and watched David carefully as Claire started walking toward the door.
“Wait a sec. You said the guy that lived here was your boyfriend.”
“Uh, yes. Yes, I did.”
“But I thought—”
Claire snapped. “Marc’s dead! Okay! Is that what you want to hear?” Claire’s voice rang out, echoing in the darkness. “He’s fucking dead! I had to shoot him!” She collected herself. “Is there anything else you need, David?” Clare stood stiffly, holding her cries in.
“No. I’m, uh…sorry to hear that. Marc was a good man.”
“Thank you,” Claire choked out. “Let’s go,” she directed Thomas, but David wasn’t finished talking yet.
“My girlfriend’s gone, too. She lived three doors down. I came here to find her, and she was one of those…things. A zombie. I’ve been hanging around here, wallowing in self-pity. I haven’t left her apartment in a week because those zombies in the hall appeared, so I guess I owe you a thank you. I only have two bullets left.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” Claire was all business. She took another step toward the door.
“Uh, can I ask one last thing?” Claire stopped and took a deep breath. “Do you have any smokes? I haven’t had a smoke in weeks, and I really could use one.”
“I don’t smoke, but Nick does. Feel free to look around, take what you want. I’m sure he won’t mind.” Hoping it would get David off their backs, she was happy to allow him to loot Nick’s apartment.
“Oh, cool! Thanks, Claire. I hope you, well… I hope you survive.”
“You, too, David. Come on, Thomas.”
They calmly walked out the door, stepped over the fresh true deads, and ran down the hallway. Thomas opened the door to the stairwell and they stepped over the bodies, ran up the stairs, and back out the front entrance. They stopped once they got to the truck, Sophie jumping off the roof.
“Who was tha’?” Thomas’s breathing was still labored.
“I have no idea, but we need to get out of here.” She opened the truck door and pushed the guitar in the back, deflecting the question. She just wanted to get home to Nick. Sophie and Thomas looked at one another and shrugged.
“What about Elaina’s flat?” Sophie asked.
“Bad idea. Let’s just go back to the house.”
“Skipping yours, as well?” Sophie asked.
“Yes! Let’s just go!” insisted Claire. Everyone got in the truck, Sophie slammed it in gear, and they sped off.
They had driven for about ten minutes and Claire was still acting rather odd, chewing her nails, whispering to herself. Sophie thought maybe she could get her to talk about it.
“So what happened back there?” Claire dissolved into a puddle of tears. Sophie looked back at Thomas, and he shook his head. “Claire talk to me.”
“We ran into someone in Nick’s apartment. It was David Tasker. He was one of Marc’s co-workers, and a royal asshole. Marc said he was shady…a smooth talker and a scammer. I just wanted to get out of there, in case he tried to pull something.” She pulled off the shirtsleeve, which was draped around her neck, and covered her eyes with it.
“Did he say something unkind? Because we can go back and I’ll take care of it. I’m quite ready for a fix.” Sophie had a sadistic enthusiasm that only she could pull off.
“No! Jesus, Sophie. He asked me about Marc. I don’t want to talk about it, all right!” She covered her face and put her head against the window, trying to block out her thoughts.
“All right then.” Sophie gripped the steering wheel. “I still need a fix,” she mumbled.
“Dammit! Thomas, give me her pack!” Thomas grabbed Sophie’s pack and tossed it up to Claire. “Thank you!”
“Sure, no problem.” He was leery of the attitude in the front of the truck. Claire pulled out the needle and vial, tied off her arm, and began a draw on herself.
In less than a minute, Claire tossed a vial at Sophie. It was as silent in the truck as it was outside on the streets. She pulled the vehicle over and threw it into park. After she tossed back the vial, she laid her head back on the headrest, closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and let the mini high whisk her away for just a moment.
“We had better get moving. It’s going to be dark soon.” Sophie popped open her eyelids and she looked over at Claire, eyes shiny and bright. Claire thought of Nick when she saw them.
“Right. So much for that high,” she drawled. Sophie thought that if t
hey didn’t sleep so long, they could have completed the travel that day. “I’m not too keen on driving through the night again.”
“We need to get back. I don’t want them to worry so much that they leave to try to find us.”
“Claire, I’m not driving through the night. Period.” Claire was ready to throttle her, curling her hands into fists.
“Okay, Queen Sophie. Where are we going to camp out then?”
“I don’t know!”
“Well, maybe your royal bitchyness should fucking decide!” Claire really wanted to get back to Nick. She wanted to feel his cool arms around her body, wanted him to whisper in her ear that everything would be okay, even though she knew it was a lie.
“Really, Claire? Are we going to get snippy?”
Thomas looked between Sophie and Claire.
“Yes! Yes, I will get snippy if I damn well want! Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I don’t want to do this anymore?”
Sophie laughed, then grabbed Claire by the collar. “Has it ever occurred to you that you have a choice, and I don’t?! This is my life! So shut the fuck up before I kick you out on the curb!” Sophie let go of her shirt, shoving Claire back into the seat.
“I can’t believe you think I have a choice.” Claire crossed her arms.
“Fine, we’ll do it your way.” Sophie slammed the truck into drive and roared down the street. She was easily going sixty miles an hour through the city. Thomas cringed, covering his head with his arms. Sophie swerved around herds of undeads, hitting a few in the process.
“You know, you have a blatant disregard for these people!” yelled Claire. Sophie didn’t respond verbally but, instead, accelerated. When Claire looked at the speedometer, it hovered over eighty. “Will you slow down?! You’re going to kill us all, you crazy bitch!”
Sophie laughed. “Kill us all,” Sophie said to herself. “I’m already half-dead!”
“I’m not, and neither is Thomas. And we don’t intend to be any time soon!” Sophie stood on the brakes. The truck screeched to a stop. She threw it in park, opened the door, stomped to Claire’s door, yanked it open, and wrestled her out of the truck.
“You are a goddamned maniac, Sophie!”
“Drive!” Claire glared at her. “I said drive!” Sophie bellowed. Claire turned and strolled to the driver’s side. Sophie jumped in the passenger side and buckled up. Thomas was barely breathing in the back, seriously considering about walking back to the house.
Claire got in, put on the seat belt, adjusted her mirrors, and casually put the truck in gear.
“All right then. You decide. Lead the way, princess,” Sophie snapped.
Claire accelerated, acting oblivious to Sophie’s demand that she was now the leader. Anger rolled out of every pore in Sophie’s body. Claire continued to drive casually, which made Sophie even angrier. Claire smiled. It was something Elaina would have done.
“Just fucking drive!” Sophie bellowed.
“Aye, aye, captain,” Claire said, jamming down the accelerator.
As the night rolled in, so did a thick, heavy fog. Claire had difficulty seeing what was in front of the truck, forcing her to drive about twenty miles per hour. Sophie had calmed down for the time being. She and Thomas leaned out the windows as two extra sets of eyes for Claire.
She held on so tight to the steering wheel, her arms shook. Finally, she asked, “Should we pull over?”
“I think that might be a good idea. We can’t keep fighting through this fog just to risk crashing.” Sophie did her best not to say “I told you so”. “We’re close to the on-ramp. Let’s pull over near it and wait for the fog to lift.” Claire nodded and eased the truck over, even though she was unable to see the side of the road. She was trying to hold it together. Not knowing what could be five feet or less in front of them terrified her.
Claire turned the truck off to conserve gas. “I’ll take first watch. I’m too jacked-up to rest.”
“All right. Thomas, hand me one of those blankets, please.” Sophie curled up against the passenger door, shutting her heavy eyelids.
“I’ll stay awake wit’ you.” That was the first thing Thomas had said for a while.
“Thank you, Thomas.” Claire sat quiet for a few minutes. “You know, when we first met you, I wanted to knock you out, but you have turned out to be an amazing person.”
“Thank you,” he said with a bashful smile.
“What do you miss the most? Besides your family, of course.”
“Hmm…music. I really loved it. Music was my escape.”
“Once we get the iPod to Henry, he’ll have music in his truck.” Looking in the rearview mirror, she asked, “Did you play an instrument?”
“No. We couldn’t afford that.” He frowned, his lips pressed tight together.
“Well, Thomas, if it makes you feel any better, I tried and failed miserably.” They both laughed a little.
“So, Nick can play the guitar?” He ran his fingers over the strings.
“Yes. I can’t wait until we can give it to him. Over the years, I heard him play many times. He’s amazing. And he can sing with the best of them. He has a real gift.”
A rush of warmth ran through Claire. She knew she was making the right decision to fall into Nick’s arms. It just felt like it should be that way. Like it always should have been that way.
Claire and Thomas talked for hours while Sophie slept. Claire hoped she would sleep off her bitchyness.
The morning sun began to burn off the fog. When the warm rays broke through and settled on Claire’s face, she woke with a start, not even realizing she had fallen asleep. She looked at the passenger side. Empty. She whipped her head around, seeing Thomas asleep, lying across the back seat.
“Thomas! Wake up!”
He jumped up, nearly knocking himself out on the back of the driver’s seat. “Wha’?” he mumbled.
“Where’s Sophie?”
“Huh?” Thomas rubbed his eyes.
“Oh, my god! Henry is going to kill me if we lose her! We have to find her!” She opened the truck door and jumped out. The fog still lingered, but it wasn’t nearly as dense as it had been overnight. She wasn’t sure if she should call out to her.
Thomas got out, gun ready, standing next to Claire. Her breathing was rapid and loud, so he held his finger to his lips. They both stood still. Suddenly, Thomas held up his hand, signaling he heard something, slowly creeping in the direction of the noise. She was worried he would run into something he couldn’t handle. The sounds became louder and closer. Thomas held up his gun, ready to shoot. When Sophie appeared out of the fog, she let out a short scream.
“What the fuck, Thomas? Are you trying to kill me?”
“No. You shoulda told us you left!” He was angry, scared something had happened to her.
“You were both sleeping.” Claire glared at her. “I had to pee, okay? Geez. A girl can’t piss in these mad times without nearly getting shot. Bunch of bloody mentals.” Sophie continued to mumble unintelligibly as she walked to the driver’s door. Thomas and Claire exchanged shrugs, getting back into the truck.
“If either of you care, there are a shitload of cars about fifty yards that way. Somehow, we missed them. Oh, and I found these.” She pulled out a handful of mini chocolate bars. Claire’s eyes lit up. “Should we share them and not tell?” Sophie’s smile spread wide into a devious look.
“Divide ’em up!” Thomas said, grinning. Sophie passed them out and they sat back, enjoying them. Their tension lifted.
“Mmm… Oh, you know what this makes me think of? S’mores.” Claire smiled, thinking about camping when she was a child, making the sweet treat over the campfire.
“What’s a s’more?” Shocked, Thomas and Claire looked at Sophie. “What? Sorry! I don’t know what that is. I ate rubbish food most of my life, and the stuff back at the complex was bland and nasty.”
“You roast a marshmallow over a fire, then put it in between a chocolate bar and graham cracker. It’
s an ooey, gooey, super sweet treat.”
“Huh. That sounds like it would be good. Maybe we can find the ingredients at some point and make it.”
“Yes! That would be amazing.” Claire popped the last piece of chocolate into her mouth, moaning as she chewed it.
“Christ, Claire, no need to carry on over there. It’s only chocolate, not a dick.” Claire gasped, deciding to ignore her.
“But it’s been so long since I have had anything like this. I was dieting like crazy so I didn’t look like a chunk for Elaina’s wedding.”
Skeptical, Sophie looked her up and down. “I find it hard to believe you could possibly look like…a chunk, did you say?”
“I had a small pooch. I’ve just lost a bunch of weight since…well, you know.”
“Yeah, I was two hun’red pounds before this whole thin’ happened.” Both Sophie and Claire looked at Thomas and laughed. He smiled as he popped the last piece of chocolate into his mouth.
“Thomas, you wouldn’t reach two hundred pounds if you were carrying me on your back!” Claire said. All three of them laughed, enjoying a normal conversation for a change.
“Well, it looks like the fog is lifting enough for us to drive on,” Sophie said.
“Onward, captain! I’m ready to get back to Nick!”
“All right then.” Sophie started the truck and navigated to the on-ramp. A prickle ran through Claire’s whole body. Her excitement was endless, running from her head to her toes. She beamed, thinking of the ways Nick would react to her getting his guitar for him.
Chapter 28
Sophie, Claire, and Thomas still hadn’t returned. I tried to keep myself busy by reading a few of the books that were once my mother’s. Lightweight, written in a box, soft core romance novels… Barf. Nothing erotic about these kissy-kissy, lovey-dovey things. I wanted something with a shifter or vampire and some rather interesting scenes. I tossed the book aside.
Nick was driving me crazy, pacing the floor and constantly looking out the windows. He still hadn’t admitted that he had a thing going on with Claire, but I could see he was worried about her. He was crushed when Jenna became true dead. He loved her so much, but he was always one to quickly move on.