“Fuck, I missed you,” he whispered in my hair as his whiskers brushed my cheek lightly.
“I knew you’d find me,” I wanted to say more, but found that for all the things I had played out in my head while trapped in that cell, no other words came to mind.
Relaxing my arms from his neck enough so that I could slide down his body, I let my feet touch the ground and leaned back to look at him. He didn’t look any different, save for the deep circles lining his eyes; a tell-tale sign he hadn’t been sleeping. My mouth was apparently on strike, and words just weren’t going to happen, so I did the next best thing. I leaned up and kissed him. He met my lips with an eagerness that told me he meant it when he said he missed me.
Neither one of us came up for air for at least a solid 2 minutes, until I reluctantly pulled back. “Are the kids ok?” I searched his face for any sign that tragedy was still looming ahead of me, and found none.
“They’re getting the Hummer ready,” he answered while letting me slip out of his arms. “What do you say we get the hell out of here, Kitten?” Winking, he reached up to his non-injured shoulder and removed a harness full of weapons.
I felt my face light up with the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning; “You brought my arsenal!” I couldn’t keep the excitement off my face as I took it out of his offering hand and hastily began strapping it around me. It was like putting on a favorite jacket; snug and right. Say what you will about flowers and candy, but in my estimation a man who brings weapons is the real keeper.
I snapped the last buckle and reached into the holsters at my waist for the handguns he had stashed there. Both guns had full clips, and there were extras in the other pockets along my waist. “Ok, let’s go,” I smiled up at him as I started back down the hall he had come from.
“Angie, what happened to your face, and what is this place?” He turned to look at me as he asked, concern in his voice.
I toyed with how much to tell him. I knew I would tell him the whole story eventually, but figured now wasn’t the time to get into it. “It’s a lab, Ian was experimenting on zombies, and a very dead guard happened to my face.” It was as much of the truth as I wanted to let out at the moment. “How did the zombies get in?” If there was one thing I was good at, it was subject changes.
“I’m not sure,” his words were halted between his breathing as we ran down one corridor after another. “The alarms went off and everyone started running all over the place. We’ve spent the last 2 days trying to figure out where they took you but as soon as a breach was confirmed, I sent the kids to the truck and followed some soldiers down here,” Jack finished on a pant as we finally reached a heavy set of double doors.
“Seems legit,” I answered noncommittally. My heart skipped a few beats knowing that they had been planning to rescue me since I’d been taken, but knew now wasn’t the time to get mushy. I’d get the details of what else they had been up to later, but first we had the nasty business of our escape to worry about. I reached out and pushed the bar on the door, throwing it wide open. Apparently all the alarms had been disabled now that everyone was fighting off the infected.
We were met with the horrifying sight of people and zombies everywhere. The sheer number of people in all directions blew the town of zombies on our last gun run out of the water. I knew the dome was huge, but didn’t know quite how many survivors had been holed up here. Although at this point it was hard to tell who wasn’t infected to begin with; it was anarchy to say the least.
Jack and I shared a look as we both gunned up before we threw caution to the wind and hauled ass in the direction of the parking garage. The door we had just come from had spit us out into the main thorough fair where the main gates and shops were, but we still had to pretty much lap the building down the ramps to get to the parking garage and even being on the ground level, we still weren’t close enough to the car for my comfort.
Turning left, we started to leap over fallen bodies as we ran, some of whom were busy chewing on others. We dodged a few zombies devouring some poor souls when a bright pink jumpsuit caught my attention from the corner of my eye. I looked over, and not 10 yards from where we were standing, a zombie was tearing into none other than Nancy Wells like she was a Thanksgiving turkey. I grinned and chuckled at the timing, and thanked the gods of karma that I was here to witness it.
I slowed slightly to take in the sight when Jack grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. “We have to hurry, this crowd’s getting thick and I’m relatively certain I heard something about a ‘Code Red’,” the urgency in his voice caught me off guard.
I looked up at him questioningly as I proceeded to shoot at the infected heading in our direction. “What’s a Code Red?”
“Beats me, but it sounded like they’re going to level the place.” He steeled a grim look back at me and fired a few shots at a soldier missing both legs crawling towards Jack’s calf.
Huh. I guessed it made sense that they would have a backup plan for when shit hit the fan but had hoped it would be less “kill everything” and more “kill what needs to be killed”. I agreed with Jack that ‘Code Red’ likely meant they were about to blow the whole place sky high and I definitely didn’t want to be stuck at ground zero for that. I snuck another look at Jack, shaking my head. He just shrugged back at me and grabbed my hand not holding a gun, pulling me along.
More infected spotted us were coming from the direction we needed to go, forcing us to stop. I started taking shots at heads, and was pleased as I watched the bodies start to hit the ground. I couldn’t stop myself from grinning when ‘Let the Bodies Hit the Floor’ started to loop through my head and it felt good to have an outlet and a target for the rage I had been holding in over what I’d been through. The targets weren’t the ones I was hoping for, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
Each zombie I hit was a solid shot in the forehead, and one by one, they all went down. It didn’t surprise me I was hitting them, but more that my aim was flawless. We were still running, they were still running, and yet each shot went exactly where I aimed. I didn’t know if it was because my vision had been corrected or because I felt stronger and faster than I ever had in my life, but I certainly wasn’t going to complain.
We dispatched that group easily enough, and before the next group could get too close, finally reached the doors leading to the garage. Jack ran for the door while I turned and started taking out the remaining zombies on our tail. He got the door open and pulled me through it backwards and still firing. Before I could fully turn around, a zombie grabbed my arm and pulled me back through the door. My harness got caught on the jamb, and I couldn’t shake its hold. “Jack I’m stuck!” I yelled to him while trying to rip the harness off me.
I continued to kick the fucker latched onto my arm to prevent him from getting any closer, and turned to see if Jack was coming back. I glanced over and my stomach dropped when I saw him caught in hand to hand with 2 of his own infected. I was gonna have to get myself out of this on my own.
Turning back to my own attacker, I started to shimmy the harness, attempting to free it. The zombie was starting to gain ground on me, and I was losing my distance from him. It wouldn’t be too much longer before his teeth would be sinking into my flesh. “Well, fuck.” I thought as I started to lose faith on getting myself out of this alive. It seemed fitting that after everything I had survived up to this point I would be taken out by my own fucking weapons harness. Priceless.
Still trying unsuccessfully to rip the nylon strap, I looked up just in time to see Austin turn the corner, and seeing me, started in my direction. He was covered in bits of gore speckling his combat gear and my heart sank when I saw the giant gouge in his arm. He had been bitten.
Austin reached me and using his gun, head-butted the zombie in the face, causing blood and teeth to go flying. The zombie fell to the ground and I watched wordlessly as he flipped the gun around and took off the zombie’s head with one shot. He looked up at me, surveyed the damage to my face, and
I was pretty sure the full range of human emotion flashed across the guy’s face in a matter of moments. He opened his mouth to speak, and before he could, I shook my head, effectively cutting him off. He didn’t need to say it; I knew he was sorry for what had happened and I just didn’t have the energy to placate the guy right now.
He reached over and yanked the strap off the door jamb, freeing me. I let my gratitude bleed onto my face for a second before I turned around and started at a dead run for Jack, who was still trying desperately to ward off the group of infected that had him cornered.
I heard Austin’s boots pounding the pavement behind me as I took aim for one of the bastards that was trying to leap onto Jack’s back. Nailing the back of his skull, I watched as brain matter painted the pavement and he fell with it. Austin stepped slightly in front of me and hit the other one trying to take the first’s place, freeing Jack up to put the barrel of his gun under the chin of the last one; creating another abstract for the parking lot.
Jack turned to us panting, and looked surprised to see Austin there. “Hey man, where you-“
“No time,” Austin interrupted Jack’s question while throwing his automatic complete with empty clip on the ground. “You guys need to get gone.”
We watched on with shock as he pulled a grenade out of a pocket on his belt and reached for the pin.
“Austin, no, there has to be another way,” I started to say, putting my hand on his shoulder.
Smiling down at me, “Angie, we both know there isn’t, and I plan to take as many of those bastards with me as I can. Besides, I activated the detonation sequence and this place is gonna disappear quick.” His expression morose, I knew he accepted the fact that he wasn’t leaving here alive, and had reasoned that being blown to bits was better than being the walking dead. Can’t say I didn’t agree with him.
Leaning onto my toes, I kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” I turned and started running in earnest into the heart of the garage towards where I remembered leaving the Hummer. I didn’t look back when I heard the grenade go off; I knew there wasn’t any point. Austin was gone, and on his way out had effectively cleared out the garage to the point we could focus on getting to the car.
There weren’t many cars parked and it didn’t take any time at all to spot our big, black behemoth waiting for us. As we approached, I could see both kids and Roscoe sitting inside; engine running and ready to go. My vision was temporarily blurred at the sight. I knew I had missed Jack like crazy, but hadn’t realized how much I had also missed Ty and Chloe.
Upon seeing us, I watched the kids climb over the seats into the back, just in time for us to yank the doors open and dive in. I jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door, catching the hand of a zombie who had gotten here as I had and successfully crushed it in the door. I pushed the door open just enough to shove the hand back out and slammed the door again with finality. I was pulling on my seatbelt as Jack was putting the car in reverse and I almost lost my balance as he pulled a hard U-turn and aimed us towards the exit.
The gates to the parking garage were still closed, so we all braced ourselves as Jack’s foot hit the floor and we ran straight through them. Amazingly enough, the Hummer barely paused at the impact. Now free from the dome, Jack gunned the engine and drove hard towards the off ramp we had taken when we had gotten here.
With little regard for the laws of traffic, Jack sped towards Montana street, made a hard left, jumped the median, then performed a Chuck Norris worthy 180 until we were pointed south on I-37 N. The five of us were in the car, we were safe, and the nightmare was over. Well, this one, at least.
I turned around in my seat and reached into the back, enveloping Chloe, Ty and Roscoe into a bear hug. Before I could tell them how glad I was to see them, the ground began to rumble and the largest boom I’d ever heard rattled the windows. The road shook so violently Jack was forced to pull the Hummer over.
Once the car stopped, we glanced at each other solemnly and started to open our doors. As we piled out, we were just in time to see a large fireball shoot up from the dome, and the entire building encompassed in a giant cloud of black smoke that billowed towards the sky like it had finally tasted freedom and wanted nothing more than to take over the heavens.
The explosion was so forceful the fireball was like a miniature mushroom cloud and the sound of millions of shards of glass shattering at once was hard to take in, but welcome nonetheless. The fire raged from every window and door of the entire building and took over most of the parking lot before spreading to the surrounding buildings. Apparently they had been dead set on taking out all of San Antonio; not just the AlamoDome.
No one said a word; we just stood there watching the fireworks. Jack walked over to me and took my hand in his, weaving his fingers through mine. I knew he could feel the relief wash over me as I watched my own personal prison go up in flames, but I wasn’t ready to tell him what had happened; not just yet; maybe not ever.
So much had happened in such a short amount of time, I wasn’t entirely sure I would ever be able to come to terms with all that I had seen, and done, and had been done to me. I knew I couldn’t let myself drown in my own self-pity; I had places to go and people to care for, but I also couldn’t lie to myself. I knew I was falling for Jack; probably already had fallen, and I wasn’t really prepared to deal with that. How was it that this man, this amazing man and these awesome kids had become family to me? It wasn’t supposed to be this way; I was supposed to go it alone just like I had always done, and now….everything had changed. I had changed.
I know change is an inevitable part of life; especially when the world falls away; what better time than that to be confronted with all the personal demons we keep locked away? The last few days had been like looking at myself through a funhouse mirror, just to find that what I had come to believe was being resourceful and independent was all just a cop out. I was terribly selfish and had successfully closed the door on the possibility of anyone caring for me. Now I was some sort of mutant, and had likely fallen in love with one of the most famous actors on the planet. And not the ‘kissing posters on my wall before bed’ kind of love, but the ‘he sees how incredibly nuts I am, but digs me anyway’ kind of love. The idea of letting someone else in was still more terrifying than hordes of zombies, but I didn’t really have a choice anymore.
I stared at the fire until I thought my retinas would be scarred from the light of it. It was truly massive and awful, and I was so very glad to see it. Somehow the idea that the place I had been tortured and mistreated was going down in an impressive pile of rubble and smoke was comforting. I breathed deeply of the soot and smoke now lacing the air around us, and the sounds of buildings crashing to the ground, which was setting off enough car alarms to make me long for the door bells I loathed so much.
I wasn’t sure what would happen now; didn’t even know if we had enough supplies to make it to the coast, but there were a few things I was sure of. First, that we had made it; all five of us were alive and together and I wasn’t sure I could ask for more. My confidence had been shaken, and I wasn’t quite as sure I would reach my island as I had been starting out, but standing there, my fingers entwined with Jack’s, I didn’t worry about it too much. The world had already ended and all we could do now was survive it.
After a few minutes of watching the fires burn, Jack turned to look down at me as the late afternoon sun and glare of the fire cast shadows over his face. I noticed bits of ash built up under his eyes but didn’t want to risk touching him just yet. “Hey Angie?”
“Yeah, Jack?”
“I’m sorry I made you stop.”
I smiled up at him and with as much of a wink as my swollen eye and still fat lip could muster, “It’s cool; you’ll figure out a way to make it up to me.” With that, I turned away from the world’s largest bonfire and got back in the car.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End.
Chapter 2: On My Way.
Chapter 4: On the Road Again.
Chapter 5: Gas Run.
Chapter 6: Our New Family.
Chapter 7: Welcome to Pleasantville.
Chapter 8: San Antonio.
Chapter 9: The Alamodome.
Chapter 10: Club Box.
Chapter 11: As The World Falls Down.
Chapter 12: Team: Purple.
Chapter 13: Basic Training.
Chapter 14: Eavesdropping.
Chapter 15: I Don’t Want to Talk About My Feelings.
Chapter 16: Rock Stars and Scotch.
Chapter 17: Taken.
Chapter 18: A Turn for the Worse.
Chapter 19: Breaking Out.
Least Likely To Survive Page 24