They could have at least tried. They had a great place here.They might have survived. They could have scrounged for food, lived off the fish they would catch from their pier. Why would they throw away their lives like this?
Romeo walked up to the two bodies and took the gun from the man’s hand, then he took a blanket that was thrown over the back of a chair and draped the dead couple with it.
“I hope they found their peace,” he mumbled and then turned promptly and began inspecting the property.
We found a few canned goods, flashlights, fishing poles and crab nets, along with a good bit of small tidbits like can openers and notebooks that were always needed at the compound. One of the rooms held two twin beds and a dresser, which we grabbed for Baby and Lani.
In another room, we found a shitload of alcohol that was quickly packed up and moved out. The bathroom also produced needles, a ton of medications, everything from blood pressure medicine to pain pills and a prescription for Glucophage, which I recognized as something diabetics took to make their muscles absorb the insulin better. That explained the needles that I found and the reason they would have chosen to take their lives. If one of them was diabetic, it was only a matter of time. Modern medicine was the reason someone with diabetes could survive, and their medication, the insulin that was injected into them needed to be refrigerated or at least kept in a cool place. Even if a person raided every pharmacy in the vicinity to get their hands on insulin, it would lose effectiveness within a month.
I packed up the needles and all the medication and met everyone on the pier. It was a good haul.
“Thanks for the supplies,” I whispered and shut the door on the two people under the blanket. I don’t know what was worse, finding them like this or if they would have turned.
THIRTEEN
Supply Run Salaciousness
Another day, another hunt for supplies, this was my life. At least now I got to go home and curl up next to Zach. It made things a little more bearable. Our usual Wednesday supply run was a large team of six. We were going to split up in teams of two and hit a strip mall that had a variety of stores. Each of us would take a shopping cart and we would fill it up and bring it back to the trucks, then run back in and get more until the trucks were hopefully filled. Post-Z Supermarket Sweep, or whatever that lame-ass 90s show was called.
Zach and I went in quick. Our target was an urban clothing store. Our goal was tees, boots and jeans. The door was wide open and the store looked looted, but from what I could tell the looters had gone for the expensive shoes and jewelry at the back of the store. Gotta have priorities.
We banged on the door to attract the attention of any zombies inside. Nothing came moaning out from behind clothing racks, so we pushed in. We each went at it, pushing the carts down the aisles and throwing in clothes that were good to work in and sturdy enough to protect from a bite.
“There isn’t much here. It’s all novelty. Let’s check the back and then move on to the next store,” I told Zach.
Zach took point and pushed through the door. We both came alert from the smell, but we had very little time to prepare because they were immediately on us. Someone must have locked a group of them in here. Just our luck.
They would have been young. They were dressed in trendy styles, probably shopping on the weekend. The first one I noticed was a boy, no more than fifteen from his small size and clothes. He was a mess, half his head looked caved in and his jaw was unhinged and hung loosely from his face. Zach dispatched him quickly with a blade to the forehead, pushing him hard and onto the other two to buy us some time.
Where the fourth came from I couldn’t tell, but it was on me in an instant. I took the fall like a big girl and brought it down on top of me, keeping it off of me with my legs. One of the other zombies got away from Zach and fell forward, joining me and my new friend on the floor. The weight of the two zombies was almost too much to take and I was trying not to hyperventilate from the smell and the fact that I had two snarling former humans dripping gore and blood onto me, their rotting faces so far gone I could see bone.
I managed to slip my tomahawk out of its holster, but I didn’t have enough room to swing, so I used the end spike and forced it through the first one’s skull. It was hard to get it through the skull, so I had to really work it in there. They make it look so easy in the movies. My blade was damn sharp, too, fucking lying movie pricks. Something else they don’t show in the movies, head wounds bleed a lot even on zombies. The blood from the wound exploded all over me. I shut my eyes and mouth so I wouldn’t ingest the liquid. The body of the zombie collapsed on top of me and I used my legs to force it off of me, but the second zombie was making things a lot harder as it was still pushing and grabbing for me. I kicked out again and this time got enough momentum to force it a few feet back and I scrambled to my feet, rushing the zombie and impaling it right through the side of the head.
When I tried to move toward Zach to help him, something snagged me and I couldn’t move. My jeans were caught on something. I looked down to see that they were caught on some kind of shelving system and no matter how much I yanked it wasn’t coming off. It would take a bit of finesse to pull it off the hook, and I didn’t have time for finesse. I slipped a knife out of my pocket and sliced down my jeans, yanking them off. It took me two strides to get to Zach and slam the tomahawk into the zombie’s head that had him from behind. Now that he had use of his arms, he took out the one in front of him and then swung around to assess me. Corpses littered the floor.
“Bites, scratches?” He looked me up and down raising an eyebrow at my state of undress.
“No, you?” I asked taking in his rustled attire.
“No, c’mere.” He pulled me into his arms and held me tight. “You were amazing.”
“So were you.” I pulled away from him and dug into my pack, pulling out wet wipes and quickly began cleaning him up. He grabbed a few of his own and began reciprocating. It didn’t take much for us to start cleaning parts of our bodies that didn’t need to be cleaned. He pressed me against the wall and kissed me. Our brush with death fueled our passion.
“I can never lose you, Alexis,” he whispered as he ripped my panties away. I fumbled with the buckle of his belt and his zipper until he was hard and in my hand. He pulled my legs around him until he was bracing me against the wall and entering me, taking me in a desperate pace of heated coupling.
We were in a storeroom, in some busted up strip mall, zombies milling about in the streets waiting to eat us and I couldn’t have been more content.
“Never, Alexis, I love you, I can’t…” His thrusts became hurried and I shushed him with a kiss.
We joined together, our bodies synced to each other, programmed to bring maximum pleasure. Our orgasms rocked over us at the same time. We came shivering in release, our mouths buried in each other’s necks to hush the shouts of pleasure. I was seeing little black dots in my peripheral vision when he placed me back on my feet and kissed me gently.
“I meant that, it wasn’t just some sexual stimulated confession. Alexis, I love you.” He pulled back and looked into my eyes, his face earnest and expecting a response. I didn’t know what to say. I knew I looked like a fool just standing there, but I didn’t want to tell him I loved him back and regret it the moment after. I had been aware that Zach’s feelings for me were deep, I hadn’t realized how deep. And I might even have strong feelings for him, but could I say that out loud? Confirm it? Jinx it? Love was just another way for us to get hurt. One day Zach would be taken from me, probably sooner than later. We were one bite away from the big end. I was barely hanging on from my earlier abandonment. I don’t know if I could live through actually watching the man I loved die. If I didn’t say it, if I didn’t confirm it, then it wouldn’t matter as much. I couldn’t say it back and he understood. He kissed me and threw his big arms around me as if he was reassuring me that everything would be okay. I didn’t know if it ever would.
FOURTEEN
&nbs
p; Lover
The ride back to base was a quiet one. We were all wiped. It was a tough run. There had been a lot of Zs around the mall and it always took a lot out of you, the killing and stabbing. Fit to make a girl’s arms sore in the morning.
“I got you something,” Zach leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“What?” I said, confused. When would he have had the time to grab something for me?
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little brown and black fluffy thing and set it on my thigh, which was now covered in jeans that were way too big for me. It was a tiny stuffed German Shepherd.
“Aww, it looks just like Charlie,” I exclaimed and picked up the squishy little thing. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Where did you find this?”
“It was at the dollar store. I just thought of Charlie when I saw it, so I grabbed it. I know you can’t eat it or kill zombies with it, but it made me smile.” He gifted me with one of his charming grins and I grinned right back.
“Fuck, that is so sweet. Isn’t that sweet, Ito?” Lucas Marquez elbowed the driver, Vance Ito, and turned back and grinned at us.
“I wish someone would get me a stuffed animal,” Ito said whimsically.
“I just wish I could find that special someone,” Marquez sighed loudly and dramatically.
“Thanks for ruining my awesome, thoughtful moment, Marquez,” Zach growled from the backseat, kicking the back of his seat. I couldn’t help it. I dissolved into a fit of giggles adding to the immaturity of the whole thing.
“Aww, boss, I’m sorry. If it makes you feel better, I won’t be getting any tonight either.”
“Just his usual date with his right hand,” Ito quipped.
“Oh, like you ain’t hiding in the closet with that 1996 copy of Hustler that Duke found.” Marquez mimed exactly what Ito was doing in the closet and my giggles turned to hiccups.
“Y’all are disgusting,” I hiccuped.
“Ignore them. Where were we?” He pulled me closer to him, until I was almost sitting on his lap, and I nestled the little stuffed dog on my knee. “Aren’t I a very thoughtful and kind…er…what are we?” He looked at me and winced.
“Manfriend,” Ito supplied.
“Beau,” Marquez snickered.
“Lover,” Ito said in a very suggestive voice.
“Fuck off, pricks.” I slapped both of them in the back of the head and they moaned in exaggerated pain.
“Whatever you want to call yourself, Zach, just as long as you know you’re mine,” I whispered so the idiots in the front couldn’t hear us.
“When we get home, I plan to show you just how much I belong to you.”
“Well, we better unload quickly, lover.” I accentuated lover and broke out into another fit of giggles.
“Nice,” he sighed.
FIFTEEN
Dollar Store Dumbass
Days ran into weeks and soon a month had passed. It was a Thursday, or at least I thought it was Thursday, it was hard keeping track of days now that last year’s calendar was gone and no one was printing up calendars for the new year. All I knew was it was January and the bitter cold of the wet New Orleans winter had taken hold. It was also a supply run day andy I was on the run with Romeo and Cole Peters. Cole’s wife was in a panic because she had missed her last period, so Cole was on the hunt for a pregnancy test and tons of vitamins just in case. Romeo and I were there to round up any food and pharms if we could locate them.
We had decided to push up the main drag along Chef Menteur Highway. I knew there was a dollar grocery somewhere up here and hoped that it wouldn’t be too looted.
When we pulled into the parking lot, the broken front window and cigarette boxes strewn along the sidewalk had me doubting there was anything left, but we pushed inside anyway. The pregnancy test was easy to come by. No one was looting that in the end of days, but food was a bit harder. We scrounged up a few cans and Romeo landed a bit of over-the-counter drugs but nothing to write home about. We were about to brave the Winn-Dixie across the street when we heard engines.
They were coming from the west. There was nothing out here. There was no reason for people to be pushing this far out into the swampland. They should have just gone down I-10 and crossed the lake on the Twin Span. This was the reason we were out here.
Yet, there were a few big vehicles coming right for us. Friend or foe?
“Hey, you guys hang back. I’m going to make contact,” Romeo said and like the wuss I was, I hid in the store.
When the caravan spotted Romeo, the first vehicle pulled into the parking lot. It was a rugged looking SUV, followed by an RV and then another SUV. I wanted to see who got out of the vehicles, see if they looked friendly, but the storefront was all glass and I didn’t want to give away my position, so I unholstered my gun and slipped behind some shelves. Cole took point on the other side. If there was trouble, we could make it to the door easily.
I heard the mumble of male voices and the slam of doors as God knows how many people exited the vehicles. I was such a dumbass for leaving Romeo on his own. I was about to just say fuck it and come out, guns drawn, not caring what type of people these fuckers were, until my whole body froze at the sound of an elated shout.
“Romeo, is that you, you son-of-a-bitch?”
Blake.
Blake.
It was Blake.
I would have known that voice anywhere. And who else would have known Romeo on sight?
“Who else is with you? Are you guys still on S-Island? I came home. I fucking came back. We fought our way through Texas, shit…who else is here?” His voice sounded panicked, like he couldn’t believe what was happening.
I guess I had to go out there. It took everything in me to force myself to walk out that door. Cole wasn’t that far behind me, but I felt like there was a spotlight on me as I revealed myself, my gun still at my side, my finger on the trigger.
Blake looked even better than the last time I had seen him, even though he was a bit dirtier and more rough looking. His hair was greasy and his clothes were torn, but he was still so handsome and strong.
Our eyes met and I saw a million emotions flit across his face. I had barely crossed the threshold before he was running to me and wrapping me in his arms, his mouth on mine. I should have pushed him away, but I didn’t. It was Blake.
SIXTEEN
Big Island Blues
“Lex,” he repeated my name over and over again as he kissed my face and cheeks. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again.” And that was the tipping point that had me pushing him back and stepping away from him, trying to ignore the hurt look on his face.
“You just fucking left,” I pushed at his chest and the bastard didn’t even move which pissed me off.
“But I came back.”
“Welcome home.” I turned and walked toward our truck. To give him a warm welcoming feeling I gave him the one fingered salute over my shoulder. I didn’t look back. Fuck him. It might be a goddamn apocalypse, but there was still such a thing as a radio. Maybe the same fucking radio his ex-wife used to get his ass to leave me. I wasn’t bitter. No not me.
“Who’s that?” I heard some shrill female voice ask, and from his murmured, placating response I assumed it was Clara, the ex-bitch. I guess he managed to save the ex after all. Must not have been in that much jeopardy if she was able to hold on long enough for him to cross a state to save her.
It felt like a T-Rex was in my head and roaring if I didn’t distract myself I would start screaming.
Cole jumped in the driver seat of the truck after a quick word with Blake and looked over at me. His pitying gaze made me want to kill something.
“At least you know for sure now.”
“Yeah,” I hissed. And he was right. Not knowing if he was dead or alive had plagued me with all sorts of nightmares. I might have kind of hated him, but Blake meant something to me and I did care if he lived or died. I just might have to spend a few more hours on the punching bag t
onight to work through a few issues.
“He picked up ten people on his trek back, including three children. Our little compound just got a lot bigger.”
“He fucked up our supply run though.”
“I managed to get a pregnancy test. Grace is gonna be pleased.”
“There’s that.” I said through gritted teeth.
“Shut up and look on the positive side of things, Lex. This will make things a bit more interesting,” Cole laughed.
I just rolled my eyes and sulked for the entire ride home, only perking up when we encountered a few zombies in the middle of the road and I got to hang out of the window and shank them with my new and improved knife-stick doohickey that I invented. It didn’t work that well. It made it through three zombie heads, but by the third the knife came off and clattered to the pavement. I guess I would have to come up with something a little sturdier than duct tape.
Blake was back. Fuck me.
SEVENTEEN
Blake the Conquering Hero
Everyone gathered in the barracks to welcome the returning hero. All hail asshole Blake. I noticed a little blonde sticking to his side the entire time. She was diminutive and she twittered when she laughed. I hated her immediately.
Zach stood by my side and took my hand. He leaned down and whispered, “How are you holding up?” He was so thoughtful, a guy I might still love came back, a guy I could have decided to get back with–and he was concerned about my feelings. I squeezed his hand and shrugged noncommittally and looked up in time to see Blake’s eyes on us, a dark look crossing his face. The evil jealous bitch in me wanted to fondle Zach in front of him, but I held back. I didn’t want to ruin Blake and Zach’s friendship, I wasn’t that depraved, yet.
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