“Are you serious,” he laughs, tears welling up in his eyes as he bends over to catch his breath and probably throw up a little. “We’re saved?”
“Not if your outta shape ass doesn’t get the hell on,” I smirk.
“He lied?” Anger and confusion are written all over the wrinkled lines of his forehead. “Whatever it’d take to get to that compound, just so he could be in charge. I’m gonna fucking kill him. I can’t believe he lied to us.”
“Neil man, hop in, shotgun,” Tyrone says, patting the seat beside him. “You ain’t gotta deal with all that right now, not after everything you’ve been through. Sit down.”
Neil hangs his head and climbs into the delivery truck while the rest of us ascend the steps onto Marty’s bus for the last time. We made it.
The rain bombards us through the broken windshield as we pick up speed. The engine creaks and groans but it’s moving, that’s all that matters.
The flames from downtown slowly disappear from the back windows as we put distance between the bus and the battlefield that somehow united us. Two days too late, but we finally stand as one.
“We’ll take 125,” Marty says, turning off Main Street, “it’s a little longer but it avoids the mountains, less winding corners. With my shoulder, limited mobility, someone else will have to drive the truck. Take turns if we gotta. It’s about a five hour drive, get there by midnight. I figure we can switch over in Burningham, should be quiet. Guys, what you pulled off out there, nothing short of a miracle. A normal person woulda died ten times by now. Yesterday, today, the things you’ve done, you’re fucking superheroes. I thank you for that, truly from the bottom of my heart. Go rest for a little, get something to eat and drink. We got about an hour before we switch over to the truck.”
“Hey,” I whisper to Felecia, “can I get a second alone with Caylee?”
“I don’t wanna hurt her,” she says with an adorable pouty face that’s so sincere it breaks my heart. “I don’t want her to hate me. But how could she not?”
“Guys…” Caylee. Did she hear us? Shit, she’s motioning for us to come over, readjusting in her seat. Our seat. I hate myself. “It’s okay.”
“What’s okay?” Felecia asks, cautiously.
“It’s okay. Really, I get it. Noah, you’re the most amazing guy ever, you really are, and I care about you so much. It sounds crazy because we’ve only known each other for, god two days. It feels like forever. I love you, I do, it sounds insane but it’s true, and I know you love me too. But I’m not the one for you. She is.”
“Caylee,” we say at the same time but she continues over us.
“It’s okay,” she repeats through a saddened smile. “If it were any other girl, you better believe I’d be fighting for you. I’m quite skilled at sharpening swords now.” She laughs, wiping her eyes. “But I can’t be mad at you because I’ve secretly been rooting for you two since the start. I know you’re in love, and I’m so happy for you. Can we please, please just all be friends? Nothing has to change, you just, you kiss her instead of me. And you know, me sometimes too, if you want, it’s cool. Call me crazy but I love you both. Even you, you man stealing, amazing, zombie killing whore with the most beautiful soul I’ve ever seen.”
Felecia laughs through her tears and leans in to hug my sort of ex-girlfriend. I stand by it, Caylee is fucking incredible. She’s beyond incredible, she’s perfection. She truly is. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt I would be happy to spend forever with her. And in a different life, the life we knew two days ago, the life we’re staring down the barrel of now, she would be perfect. We would be perfect. But somehow, and I don’t know how it happened, but somehow, Felecia is an even better fit for me.
How lucky am I, to have the two most incredible girls to ever breathe both be in love with me? And I’m even luckier to get to have them both in my life. I never, in a million years could have ever predicted them being friends, but I’m seeing it before my eyes.
We’ve seen the most horrific things imaginable and somehow managed to walk out of it even better than we went in. It’s changed us, I just don’t know how it changed us for the better.
I slide into the seat beside them and wrap my arms around them both. And for the first time since this all began, I feel safe. Everything I would do to protect them, every way I could possibly put my life on the line, they would do the same for me. They already have. I’m safe. We made it. My eyes close.
“Son of a fucking bitch!”
What? What’s going on? Marty’s yelling must have woken me up. I’m pretty sure I dozed off with my head resting on Felecia’s back, my arms around her, resting on Caylee. It’s the first time I’ve really slept since this all began. How long was I out? Has it been an hour already?
The bus tires squeal as we come to a sudden stop, hydroplaning before crashing into something. It’s alright, we’re switching vehicles, doesn’t matter if the bus is too damaged to drive. Besides, the crash doesn’t feel too severe, he hit the brakes just in time.
“You seeing what I’m seeing?” Marty asks, staring at the roadblock.
I rub my eyes, trying to wipe the sleep out of them. What am I looking at? It just looks like a big black bus. It’s tipped on its side. Yeah, it’s blocking the road but we can probably ram through it with the bus, then hop on the delivery truck and pass right through. I don’t see the problem with–
Shit. It’s not one bus, there’s three of them. What the hell happened?
Someone steps off, illuminated by our headlights. It’s a soldier. Blood covers his fatigues. And his neck. It gushes from the open wound in a coagulated river of death and misery. He sees us and runs straight for the bus, mouth open, animalistic howl tearing through the peaceful rain tapping the roof.
He’s not alone, a line of them follow.
This was the convoy. These are the armored buses heading to Shasta Lake. This was our way out. These were the soldiers coming to rescue us. To protect us. To fight the battle that’s left us broken and scarred. This was our last hope. This was salvation. This was a shot in the dark. We knew this was coming. We knew. But we held out hope because it was all we could do. What do we do now? What the fuck are we supposed to do now?
Blood Type Infected (Book 2): Fallen To The Flame Page 19