Nate looked back and saw where she was staring. The look on her face must have betrayed her thoughts, because he quickly grabbed a knitted black sweater and pulled it over the T-shirt.
“It looks worse than it really is,” he said.
“Do they hurt?” she asked, feeling stupid as soon as the words blurted out of her mouth.
He didn’t look offended, though. If anything, she had the impression he had been waiting for this conversation.
“Not anymore,” he said. “In the beginning, yeah. Back at the pawnshop, when I was still conscious. I could feel their teeth breaking skin.” He seemed to drift off a bit, maybe flashing back to that night. “But after a while, I blacked out. When I woke up, they told me that was how it usually worked. Once they put you under, you don’t feel anything anymore.”
“Usually?”
“Some of the guys had stories…”
“What kind of stories?”
“You know all those scary stories people tell about how some coma patients in hospitals are still awake when everyone else thinks they’re asleep? But in reality they’re trapped inside their bodies and can still see, hear, and feel everything? But they just can’t move or talk? I think there’s a medical term for it, but I can’t think of it right now.”
“Maybe Lara knows,” she said absently.
“Probably. Anyways, some guys said they could still feel the ghouls drinking them when they were unconscious.” He shook his head. “But I didn’t, so I can’t really say for sure either way.”
“Then you woke up…”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry, Nate,” she said quietly.
“What for?” he said, smiling across the room at her. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Gaby.”
“You wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for me.”
“Oh, come on. It’s not like you forced me to. Or even asked me to. I volunteered, remember?”
“I know. Still…”
“Gaby,” he said, and there was a forcefulness in his voice she hadn’t heard before. “You didn’t do this. Understand? Those things did. Everything else was my choice. Okay? You don’t ever have to apologize for what happened to me. I don’t blame you. I never did, and I never will.”
She didn’t know what to do or what to say, so she just did what felt right at the moment, and that was to walk silently to him. Nate opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, she slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him down and kissed him. His arms slipped anxiously around her waist, and he pulled her body to his and ground his mouth down against hers with a hunger that momentarily took her breath away.
They kissed for the longest time. Or maybe it was just a few seconds. It wasn’t until she couldn’t breathe anymore that she pulled slightly back, but she was still so close to him that she could feel his warm breath against her face. He was, she noticed, breathing harder than usual. Maybe even harder than her.
“You wanna see this wicked scar I have on my back?” he asked with a grin.
She gave him a confused look. “Why would I want to see that?”
“I dunno, but you saw the scars on my arms and I got this. I figured, scars must turn you on.”
She shook her head. “They don’t.”
“Wow. Totally read that signal wrong, then.” He glanced at his wall clock. “We still have a few minutes—”
“Not nearly enough for everything I want to do with you,” she said, and pulled him down and kissed him again.
*
She sent Nate to the lobby ahead of her to join the others while she made a detour to the infirmary first. Carly had given them a quick tour of the new rooms as they were walking through earlier, so Gaby didn’t have any trouble finding it again. It was also close enough to the lobby that she could hear voices on the other end of the hallway. Muted conversations, part anxious and scared, but there was a determination among them that heartened her.
The only person in the infirmary was a blonde woman sitting on a stool at a counter, her back to Gaby. When she entered and knocked on the open door, the woman turned around and Gaby smiled at Zoe.
“Long time no see,” Gaby said.
Zoe smiled back, which was something Gaby found amusing, since the last time they were in the same room, she had threatened to kill the other woman. More than once, actually.
“Gaby,” Zoe said. “Welcome home.”
“Glad to be back.” She walked over and sat down on a stool. “You look pretty healthy. Will told me you were shot.”
“Yeah. Word of advice? Don’t get shot.”
“Good advice.” She looked around the room. “Not bad. Beats working out of a tent in the woods.”
“I know, right? It only took the end of the world to get my very own medical practice. And on a tropical island, no less. I still don’t know where they got those palm trees from, though.”
“They were here when we showed up.”
“That’s what Lara said. This place was supposed to be a resort for the rich and famous. I bet they didn’t expect it to become a refuge for humankind’s last holdout.”
“Wow. I never thought of it quite like that.”
Zoe laughed. “What, too ominous?”
“Just a bit,” she said, pinching her fingers together. “You’re not going to the lobby for the big powwow?”
Zoe shook her head. “That’s just for the badass warriors like you. The rest of us already got our marching orders. I’m just finishing up here before heading off. Lara’s got it all figured out.”
Gaby had seen the way Lara took control of the island, giving orders with the kind of authority she’d only seen Will exert.
You would be proud of her, Will. She’s like you—only prettier.
“I spent most of this afternoon following Lara’s orders,” Zoe was saying. “She’s got me running back and forth from the yacht.” She looked thoughtful, adding, “I can see why Will likes her so much. She’s the female him.”
Likes her? Will doesn’t like Lara. He loves her. We should all hope for something close to that at least once in our lives.
“So,” Zoe said, “what can I do for you? Or is this just a friendly visit?”
“I was hoping to stock up on something for tonight.”
“What kind of something?”
“You have any painkillers you can spare?”
“Is it your nose?” Zoe leaned forward slightly. “Does it hurt? It looks like it was broken recently.”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
She thought about complaining to Zoe about her shoulder, which still bothered her if she sat around in one place for too long, but decided the occasional numbness wasn’t worth mentioning.
She said instead, “I want to make sure I have something to fall back on if I need them. Maybe a field first-aid kit. Just in case.”
“Just in case,” Zoe repeated. “You sound like Lara.”
Gaby smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
*
By the time she reached the lobby, the only people left were Danny and Lara. They were talking quietly next to a large granite table in the center of the room, which looked cavernous with just the two of them inside at the moment. There were extra gun belts, magazines, and two ammo cans on the table between them, along with a pair of M4s and shotguns that hadn’t been claimed yet.
“Where is everyone?” Gaby asked. “I didn’t know I was that late.”
“You’re not,” Lara said. “Everyone’s where they should be.”
She looked at Lara, then Danny, and realized they had stayed behind on purpose. They were waiting for her.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Lara picked up one of the M4s. It looked like the one she had left behind in her room except for the long and slightly bulky scope mounted on top. She took it from Lara and turned it over under the harsh lobby lights.
“Night vision,” Danny said. “You’re going to need it. It doesn’t h
ave the range of the ACOG, but it’ll do in a pinch.”
“How many of these do we have?” Gaby asked.
“Not nearly enough,” Lara said.
Danny held up his M4A1, the same rifle he had been carrying around ever since she had known him, though it had gone through plenty of fixes and replacement parts. It was also equipped with the same scope as hers.
“Just you and me, kid,” he said. “Keo’s going to have to make do with a laser pointer and NVD.”
“NVD?”
“Night-vision device. Basically, goggles with glowing green beer cans for lens.”
“The laser sounds cool.”
“This is cooler.”
“I feel so special.”
“That’s because we are special. Special snowflakes in an ocean of dripping crap.”
“Oh, nice vision, Danny.”
He grinned. “I’m here to serve.”
“How’s the leg?”
“How’s the nose?”
“Still busted.”
“There you go.”
“Wise ass,” she said. Then to Lara, “What about Nate?”
“Don’t worry about your boyfriend,” Danny said.
“Shut up, Danny.”
Danny chuckled.
“Benny and Nate have everything they need,” Lara said. “They’ll be fine.”
“So who’s going to be in the Tower?” Gaby asked. “I thought Danny and I were the best shooters on the island.”
“Long-range isn’t going to get it done tonight, kid,” Danny said. “We’ll be on the beach. Up close and personal. When those little buggers show up and ring the doorbell, we’ll be the ones to greet them. With a face full of lead.” He grinned. “I always wanted to say that. Did I get the tone right?”
“I got chills,” Gaby said.
“Awesome.”
“So how is this going to work?” Gaby said to Lara.
“I’ll fill you in on the way over,” Danny said.
He picked up an ammo pouch and tossed it to her. It was a lot bigger than the ones she was used to, with two slots already filled with two magazines each, for a total of four.
“Shove what you can carry into your pack,” Danny said. “Just pretend you’re a really well-armed pack mule.”
She strapped on the pouch, then begin grabbing extra magazines for the Glock in her hip holster. “Silver bullets?”
“Nothing but,” Danny said.
“Are we expecting ghouls tonight?”
“We’re not expecting them, but we’re not not expecting them.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Of course it does. Think about it.”
“I’d rather not.” She sensed Lara watching her and looked over. “What’s wrong?”
Lara smiled. “You’ve grown up.”
She grinned back. “That’s a good thing, right?”
“Tonight? Absolutely.”
“What if they don’t come tonight?”
“Everything points to it happening. I wish I was wrong. But they’re coming.”
Gaby glanced reflexively at the wall clock. 6:46 P.M.
“The funny part is, they know that we know they’re coming, but they’re coming anyway,” Danny said. “If I was a betting man, I’d say they’re a lot more scared of not attacking than they are of facing the Wrath of God, a.k.a. Danny and Gaby’s Shoot-o-rama.”
Kate. He’s talking about Kate.
“Meet me outside when you’re done getting all dolled up,” Danny said. He slung his M4A1 and headed across the lobby, whistling as he went. He still had a noticeable limp, but he was either doing his best to hide it or the contraption on his leg was actually doing its job.
“Here,” Lara said, handing Gaby an LED flashlight. “It’s going to get really dark out there.”
“No moonlight tonight?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Gaby shoved the heavy Maglite into her pack, then slung it. “How long have you been thinking up tonight’s plan?”
“Since noon. But I’ve been considering it for a while now. I call this Plan D.”
“Plan D?”
“Will has his Plan Zs, but I never liked that name. It’s too…”
“Last resort-ish?”
“Yeah.”
They both chuckled.
“Plan D,” Gaby nodded. “I like the sound of that. Not quite as last resort-ish.”
“That’s the idea.”
“If that’s Plan D, then what’s Plan A?”
“You, Danny, and Keo,” Lara said, patting her on the shoulder, “saving the island.”
“Oh,” Gaby said.
No pressure. No pressure at all.
*
Danny was waiting for her on the raised front patio when she stepped outside the hotel. “We good?”
She nodded. “We’re good.”
“You ready to kick ass and ignore the whole taking names part?”
“Not so much.”
“That’s my girl.”
She followed him down the steps and they continued along the cobblestone pathway toward the beach. The silence of the island, except for the steady and ever present hum of the lamps, was the first thing she noticed. That, and the blanket of darkness that had fallen around them. Instead of making her anxious, she felt growing excitement.
God help me, I’m ready for this.
There was no activity around them except for her and Danny’s movements, as if the entire island had shut down. Which, she guessed, wasn’t far from the truth. She looked behind her at the Tower, literally a beacon of light shining on the northeast cliff. Two shadowy figures moved around on the third floor.
“Where’s Nate, Danny?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about your boyfriend. He’s doing his job.”
He’s not my boyfriend, she thought about saying, but it sounded too much like something a high school teenage girl would say, so she said instead, “Where are the girls? Claire and Milly and the others?”
“They’re safe and sound and tucked away. Don’t worry about them, either.”
“What should I be worried about, then?”
“Shooting straight and reloading fast.”
She grunted. “Thanks for the advice. You’re full of pearls of wisdom tonight.”
“I aimsta please.”
“So what’s the objective? Besides not dying, I mean.”
“The objective tonight is to put enough hurt on them to convince them to back off.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“Well, that’s what contingency plans are for, kid. Any more questions?”
“Yes.” She glanced around them. “Where’s that Keo guy? Lara said he was going to be on the beach with us.”
“He’s around.”
“What’s your opinion of him?”
“He’s a merc.”
“Merc?”
“Mercenary.”
“I take it that’s not a good thing.”
“A year ago I would have said yes, but these days?” He shrugged. “Times change, pants go out of style, and everyone’s suddenly wearing long johns again. Plus, Carly seems to like him.” Then he added, with what sounded like a slight annoyance, “Just a tad too much, if you ask me.”
They reached the corridor between the woods, with the smell of lake water wafting from the beach in front of them. It wasn’t a full moon tonight, but there was enough to see with. Coupled with the solar-powered lamps that lined the island, it would be incredibly difficult to miss them from any part of the lake.
Men are coming. Men with guns.
So why am I so calm?
“Danny,” Gaby said.
“What’s up?”
“Are we really going to survive this?”
“I’d say the chances are pretty low, but hey, stranger things have happened. Like, say, the end of the world. Who saw that coming? But here we are.”
She frowned. “That isn’t very reassuring.”
/>
“I got a joke that’ll take your mind off it. Wanna hear it?”
“No.”
“A priest, a rabbit, and a horse walk into a bar,” Danny said anyway. “The bartender sees them and exclaims, ‘Whoa, whoa, didn’t you read the sign outside? This is a No-Animals bar!’ To which the priest harumphs, puts his fists on his hips, and indignantly replies, ‘Animals? I’m not an animal, good sir!’”
“‘Good sir’?”
“He’s a priest. They talk old-timey like that.”
“Since when?”
“Since forever. Now shaddup. You wanna listen to the rest of it or not?”
“Are you saying I have a choice?”
“No,” Danny said, and continued. “So the bartender reaches under the counter and pulls out a shotgun…”
CHAPTER 18
KEO
I’m so screwed.
Gillian was so going to kill him. If she was even still alive out there, and if he ever made it to her if she was. There were a lot of maybes. He really was just operating on faith, and had been for some time. Maybe he always knew it, but it took Lara trying to convince him—and herself—that her boyfriend was still alive to bring it home.
She wants to believe it. Badly. Just like I want to believe Gillian’s still out there waiting for me.
We’re both suckers.
Between the two of them, he was definitely the bigger sucker. After all, he was the one stuck on a doomed island. It didn’t get any worse than that. It might have been different if he had a battalion of soldiers fighting with him. Or, hell, he would have settled for some seasoned mercs. But no, just kids and women and…more women. Way too many women. Maybe it was a sign from God that he’d end up surrounded by double X chromosomes. A really sick and perverted sign. He’d be angry about it if he actually believed in a higher power.
So screwed.
He had to admit, when it came to suicidal plans, Lara had him beat by a mile. His friend Norris would have had a heart attack if he’d heard what she was planning. Then again, Keo recognized his own shortcomings when it came to tactical decisions, so what did he know? Maybe this was the only way out. Could he have come up with something better? Probably not. Most of his ideas ended up with him nearly dying anyway.
Purge of Babylon (Book 5): The Ashes of Pompeii Page 24