“Don’t stop,” I gasped. He picked up speed and I screamed his name as I came.
When he was finished he rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. He was asleep in seconds.
“I guess that’s as much of a wedding night as I’m getting,” I muttered.
He was always tired when he came off missions. On the rare occasion he got a couple of days leave, he could go for hours.
I lay on my back, twirling my wedding ring between my fingers. I glanced at Gabe who was snoring softly. I was stuck with him now. He had his uses, but I never wanted to be tied to him like this.
I only hoped that something would come of this antidote and I could leave here someday soon. For now I would have to play the role of wife. I slipped the band back on.
Gabe stirred in his sleep. He opened his eyes and pulled me against him, then closed them again. I lay there for a few minutes before slipping free of his grip.
Scooting to the edge of the bed, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.
Fourteen
Gabe
“So what’s it feel like being a married man?” Jackson asked, as we loaded the truck.
“Got a hot wife. What’s not to like?” I replied.
“Seems a bit unfair,” Cortez said, “You get her all to yourself when you could share her with your buddies.”
I slammed the jeep door shut and forced a smile.
“There’s two problems with that Cortez. One, I’m not your buddy.” I backed him up against the truck, “And two, I don’t like to share. If you go anywhere near my wife I’ll feed what’s left of you to the zombies. Are we clear?”
He lost the stupid grin from his face. “It was just a joke,” he said.
“Well I hate to break it to you, but you’re not funny. Now get in the truck.”
He did as he was told. Whether he liked it or not, I was his commanding officer.
We drove down to the gate. Cortez’s comment pissed me off. There weren’t many women on base and Rachel was definitely one of the more attractive ones.
Every time I went out on patrol I wondered what would happen to her if I didn’t come back. And every time I went out I searched for some sign that we were winning. That the spread of the virus was slowing down. It wasn’t. At least not as far as I could see. Patrols were limited to surrounding areas for the time being.
The gate opened and we drove through. Once it was sealed behind us we moved to the second gate. This was the tricky one.
As it moved back, zombies surged forward. I floored it, running a bunch of them down as snipers took out any who made it inside. We had taken out a lot of them already.
Once we were clear of the compound it was a downhill drive to the next town. The streets were deserted as we drove through. We had already cleared the town of the undead and raided it for supplies. I stopped the truck by the side of the road.
“Let’s do a sweep, check it’s still clear and see if we can pick anything up,” I said.
I knew it was a long shot, but I had hopes that if we could keep this place clear, then maybe at some point we could expand into it.
The base was crowded enough. We needed to start thinking long term.
Keeping our guns at the ready, we did a sweep of the local stores. All I managed to find was a bag of rice and a dented can of tomatoes that rolled under the counter.
“Yay, we eat tonight,” Jackson drawled.
“Put them in the truck,” I said.
Cortez was in the back looking through storage.
A gunshot rang out and I ran outside expecting to find a zombie. Instead I found Jackson hunched behind the jeep clutching his arm.
A bullet struck the window of the store, shattering the glass. Someone was shooting at us. I ducked behind the jeep with Jackson.
“You hit?” I asked.
“Flesh wound. Who the hell is shooting at us?” he said.
“Hang on, I’ll ask them,” I snapped.
I saw Cortez sheltered in the doorway.
“What do you see?” I called.
He chanced a glance then ducked back down when they started shooting.
“Three bogies.”
No other teams would be shooting at us, which meant they were civilians.
“Hold your fire!” I yelled.
Silence. Then, “We want your supplies. You can hand them over or we can take them from your dead bodies.”
Male voice, obviously well-armed.
I signaled Cortez to get behind them. He disappeared into the store.
“We don’t have any supplies,” I called.
“Bullshit. Throw out the food, your weapons and any spare ammo.”
I resisted the urge to get up and start shooting. The whole country was going to hell and they were turning on us, when we were trying to fix this mess.
“We can’t do that,” I said.
“Then I guess we’re going to…Hey!”
There was a grunt followed by gunshots.
I moved around the side of the jeep to see Cortez fighting one of them. The other two ran forward to help their buddy.
I put a bullet in the leg of the nearest one. Before I could take down the other one, he shot Cortez in the chest.
Jackson shot him in the head and we ran over to check Cortez. I kicked the gun away from the one with the leg wound.
The other was on his knees with a bleeding head wound. He was skinny with blonde hair.
All three were in their thirties and carried handguns.
“Watch them,” I said to Jackson while I checked on Cortez.
Considering we spent our time going after zombies, Kevlar wasn’t always mandatory, especially if it slowed you down.
The round had struck his upper chest and he was losing a lot of blood. I applied pressure to the wound.
“Is it bad?” Cortez asked.
“You’re losing blood,” I said.
“Aren’t you supposed to lie to me?” he said.
I knew how difficult it would be to get him back to base and we really didn’t need another wounded solider. I unconsciously reached for my gun.
Cortez saw me do it. His eyes widened.
Sighing I looked at Jackson, “Prisoners secure?”
He nodded. They both lay on their stomachs with their hands in zip ties.
“Help me get Cortez back to the truck.”
I took his head and Jackson his feet.
“I really was joking earlier,” Cortez said.
I didn’t answer him.
“What do we do about them?” Jackson asked.
“Leave them out here to rot.”
Fifteen
Rachel
The problem with living in an army base is there’s really nothing to do to pass the time. I wasn’t really allowed to go anywhere other than my room and the mess hall.
Most of the soldiers were out on patrol so the mess hall was mostly empty.
I sat in the corner listening to music on my phone. There was no cell service, but we had power thanks to the generator. It was a small part of my old life that I was trying desperately to hold onto.
Someone poked me in the side. I pulled my earphones out and found one of the soldiers sitting beside me.
Rudy?
He was tall and skinny with a goatee and had a habit of staring at me all the time.
I shifted away from him, “What do you want?”
“Just wanted to say hi. I see you’re by yourself today,” he said. He was way too close.
“Gabe will be here in a minute,” I lied.
“No, I don’t think he will. I saw him leave earlier and the jeep isn’t back yet.”
Shit.
“You must be lonely. I could keep you company until he returns.”
“I’m fine,” I replied. I got up and headed for the door. He was close on my heels.
“I’ll walk with you,” he said.
I walked quickly but he matched me stride for stride. I didn’t want to lead him back to my room.
> “What do you want?” I snapped.
“Easy, no need to get nasty. I’m just trying to be friendly. If you let me, I could be real friendly,” he said, moving closer. He took hold of my arm and I tried to pull free. When his fingers dug into my arm, I slapped him in the face.
“You little bitch,” he snarled, grabbing hold of me.
“HEY!”
Rudy was yanked backwards by Gabe. He threw Rudy into the wall then punched him in the gut.
Gabe lost it and started punching him repeatedly. There was no doubt Rudy deserved it, but we could get thrown out of the base.
“Gabe! Stop!” I yelled. I grabbed his shirt and tried to pull him back. “Stop!” I screamed.
He finally let Rudy go, who was covered in blood.
“You stay away from her,” Gabe warned.
I pulled him away down the corridor. We got back to the room. Gabe paced the room while I soaked a cloth in water for his hands.
“Let me see,” I said, taking his hand. His knuckles were cracked and bleeding.
“I knew this was going to happen,” he said.
“It was nothing. Forget about it,” I said.
“It wasn’t nothing. He could have done anything to you.”
“I can take care of myself,” I muttered.
“That’s just it though. You can’t. What if I don’t come back some day?”
“Don’t say that,” I said.
“It could happen. I’m going to have to teach you some moves so you can defend yourself.”
After I finished cleaning his hands, I bandaged them.
“What’s it like outside?” I asked.
“The same. We ran into some looters. Cortez was injured, they’re working on him now. It’s bad enough contending with the zombies without everyone else turning on us too.”
I knew there were other people left out there, but I couldn’t imagine trying to survive beyond the gate, constantly running from zombies. At least in here we had the illusion of safety.
But was I really safe? Gabe was right; Rudy could have done anything to me.
“What are you going to teach me?” I asked.
*
Gabe
“You need to block the blow,” I said to Rachel. We were in the training room where I was trying to teach her the basics, but it wasn’t going well.
I swung my arm again, she brought up her arm to block, but she was too slow and managed to hurt her arm.
She sighed in frustration, blowing strands of hair off her face.
“Can’t I just get a gun?” she asked.
“No, because the soldiers have guns and they’re a better shot than you. Focus.”
She rolled her eyes and I swung again. This time she blocked it a little better, but if her timing was off she could break her arm, making her even more helpless.
“For God’s sake, Rachel, put some effort into it.”
“What do you want me to do?” she snapped.
“I want you to try! It’s like you’ve given up. Don’t think people haven’t noticed that you do nothing around here. You don’t help with chores; you’ve all but abandoned Cady. I’m running out of excuses for you.”
“What do you want from me? I get that I’m useless. I can’t do anything. I couldn’t save my parents; or Adam, I can’t take care of Cady. I can’t do anything.”
“Don’t give me that crap. Adam wasn’t your fault. You got Cady away from the zombie back at the garage, you kept her safe.”
“I drove myself out of there, Cady just happened to be in the car too,” she said. “I’m sick of this. I want to feel safe again.”
“The world has changed; you just have to accept it.”
“Well I don’t want to accept it. You think I want to be here? If I had any other choice…”
“You’d what?”
She scowled at me, “I’d be gone.”
I nodded. “Guess I know how you really feel now.”
“What did you expect?” she sneered, “You think I want to be married to you? You think I have feelings for you? I made a choice because I thought you were the best chance of keeping us alive. If that means giving you a blowjob every now and again then that’s what I’ll do.”
“You’re a real cold bitch,” I said.
“Don’t act like you care. I’m the cold one? Do you even have emotions? God, I’ve seen you against those things out there, you love it. You’re a killer. You’ve no idea how many times I wish it was you that was killed on that ship instead of Adam.”
I moved away from her, if I didn’t I was going to hit her. I closed my hands into fists.
She was glaring at me. Why the hell was I wasting my time protecting her? She clearly didn’t want it. And I didn’t think she was worth it.
“I think you should leave,” I said, as two other soldiers came in.
“Gladly, and I’m not pretending anymore.”
She pulled off her wedding ring and threw it at me. It struck me in the chest and bounced onto the floor.
The two soldiers watched the whole exchange, looking amused.
“Get out,” I roared at them. They quickly ran from the room.
I lifted a dumbbell and hurled it at the wall. I fucking hated her. It was always at the back of my mind that she wanted Adam over me, but hearing it out loud…
Leaving the gym, I headed across the base to the restricted area. It was a low building that used to house supplies. Now it was cordoned off and only top level military were allowed inside and me.
I flashed my ID to the guard at the front, but he knew me and waved me in. At the end of a hallway was a locked door with two more guards outside.
“I need a minute with him,” I said.
“Yes, sir,” one of them said, unlocking the door for me.
Beyond the door was an empty concrete room. It had one window, too small for anyone to get through and covered in bars. It let in some light.
The only furniture in the room was an old chair that used to be an electric chair. He was tied to it, his arms and legs restrained with barbed wire. His head was bent and I could hear him making soft moaning noises.
“How does it feel?” I asked. His head bobbed like he was going to raise it but changed his mind.
“I asked you a question. Aren’t you going to answer me?”
“How…does…what feel?” he wheezed. His voice sounded like that of someone who smoked three packs a day, but I knew it was because of the damage to his throat.
“How does it feel to always be the good guy? To always be the one people turn to? The one they want.”
He slowly raised his head and I winced at the sight of him. I did every time I looked at him. His throat was a mangled mess that had been patched together. His skin was a sickly green color and his eyes were sunken in his head.
“How does it feel Adam?”
His mouth twitched as the skin stretched back across his teeth in a sickly grin.
“Rachel,” he said.
“Yes, Rachel. My wife,” I said, holding my hand up so he could see the ring.
“You…got married?” he said.
I paced in front of him, “I don’t get it. She knew you for five minutes, what is so bloody special about you?”
“I’m not an asshole.”
I stopped and glared at him, “Why am I even speaking to you like you are a real person? The Adam I knew is dead. He died on that boat. They never should have tested the antidote on you.”
“You think I’m not Adam? Three years ago in Greece, you met that blonde girl and disappeared with her for two days. You nearly blew an entire op.”
“Shut up.”
“That car of yours? You like muscle cars because your dad used to work on them. Before he went to prison for armed robbery that is.”
“I said shut up. That doesn’t prove anything.”
He chuckled and the sound was frightening, “I’m still Adam. The only difference is, right now, all I want to do is rip your face off and eat it.�
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I knocked the door to be let out.
“Why don’t you bring the missus to visit next time? I’ve certainly fantasized about eating her more than once.”
As I left the room I said to the guards, “Make sure you gag him.”
Sixteen
Rachel
I watched Lynn play with Cady from the doorway. Lynn was making one of her stuffed animals dance and Cady was laughing.
After the fight with Gabe, I wanted to avoid him. This was the only other place to go. The room was divided in two. One side had a bed and toys and the other was the lab for the tests.
“Hey, Rachel,” Lynn said. She waved me in. I took a seat on the floor beside Cady.
“Have they made any more progress on the antidote?” I asked.
Lynn shook her head, “They don’t tell me much, but I hear them talking sometimes. I think they thought they had it, but it didn’t work the way they hoped it would.”
“So they’re still doing tests,” I said.
“Yeah, for now. That’s why I’m trying to distract her, they’re on their way for more blood.”
Cady looked over at me and grinned. She picked up a stuffed giraffe and came over to me. She handed the giraffe to me.
“For me?” I asked.
She nodded and I took the toy from her. I was shocked when she hugged me.
“See? She doesn’t hate you. She just doesn’t see you very often. It confuses her,” Lynn said.
I hugged Cady back.
“Did you want kids?” I asked Lynn.
“When I was younger, yes we did. But we couldn’t have them. Gerry always said that if we were meant to have kids, then it would just happen.”
“I think you make a great mother,” I said.
She smiled sadly, “I just wish Gerry was here with me. But I love Cady, she’s an angel.”
The door opened behind me and Cady started to cry. She ran to Lynn and clung to her. Two doctors came into the room.
“Time for some more tests, Cady,” one of the doctors, a woman, said. She didn’t even try to sound friendly, no wonder the child was terrified.
Lynn lifted her onto her lap while the woman pulled out a huge syringe. Cady tried to hide her arm away as the woman closed in on her.
Indeadpendence Day Page 6