by Gibb, Lew
Jerry flinched but didn’t do anything more to defend himself. Neither did Kodi or Mandy, who would normally growl and bark when someone was the least bit aggressive with him or Rachel. Now, they looked at him being abused with their happy dog grins as if they agreed with his punishment. He did deserve it. Looking back, he could see that going off on his own had been a selfish move. It was easy to see now when Rachel was safe by his side and making him feel whole again.
The door thumped closed, and the truck rumbled forward. Holly pulled back and looked at him. “I was so worried about you.”
Rachel gave him a few shots in the other arm. “What she said.”
“Okay,” Jerry said, laughing and trying to protect both arms at once. “I won’t do it again.”
Holly pushed away from Jerry and settled into the seat next to him. “Sorry about that.” She shrugged, looking at Rachel. “We’ve been through a lot together.”
“Not a problem.” Rachel was smiling and nodding. “You go ahead and punch the shit out of him whenever he deserves it.”
Olivia spoke up as she extended her hand from her seat on the other side of the MRAP’s crew compartment. “I’m Olivia,.” Rachel took her hand and shook it. “And don’t be too hard on Jerry. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Well, okay,” Rachel said, letting go of Olivia’s hand and giving Jerry one last punch. “I’ll let it go this time.”
epilogue
Rachel put her arm around Jerry’s waist and looked up at the sky. A few stars peeked through the blanket of clouds hanging low over their building but provided no illumination. Kodi and Mandy lay at their feet, taking up most of the free space on the tiny balcony. The dogs hadn’t let her out of their sight since they’d gotten back from rescuing Jerry earlier that evening.
“Man, it’s weird how dark it is now,” Jerry said. “I can’t even see anything past this intersection.”
Before the apocalypse, the city’s light would have reflected off the clouds and made it almost as light as daytime. The two of them used to eat dinner on their little bistro table and talk about their plans for the future while watching people moving up and down the busy street.
Rachel snuggled closer, still not sure of the best way to start the conversation. “There’s going to be a lot of new things to get used to. That’s for sure.” Every fear and misgiving she’d had since realizing she was pregnant suddenly raced through her head and froze her vocal chords.
“I hear that,” Jerry said. “No more internet, no more cell phones. Antibiotics are going to be a huge problem once they’re all gone. I wonder if we can figure out a way to make them. Probably not without the internet. Or a seriously good chemist. Maybe Bob knows. Although, depending on how many people are left, we might be able to just scrounge what we need for a long time.”
Rachel nodded and made noises to indicate she was listening while Jerry went on babbling the way he did when he was working something out, just sort of thinking out loud until he got things organized in his head. It was usually a sign he was happy. When he was unhappy or worried, he would just shut down, get completely quiet.
Being together was what she’d been working toward and something she hadn’t thought was possible until she and the rest of his group had found Jerry at that warehouse. But there were still so many unknowns. So many things that could go wrong. So much danger. And it was only going to get worse. And it would only get more complicated with a baby.
“I’m pregnant,” Rachel blurted.
Jerry stopped talking in the middle of something about vertical farming.
He turned to face her. “Seriously?”
“Well, we always said we wanted to wait till the time was right.” Her eyes were tearing up like the hormones were already fucking with her emotions. She’d been trying to make light of it so he’d see she wasn’t freaked out. “And I thought, since we’ll be running from zombies and tweakers and crazy cult leaders for the foreseeable future, now would be the perfect time to have a new human growing inside me.” Her voice was so tight, it was barely audible. Then she was full on crying.
“Hey, hey.” Jerry rested his hands on her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. “It’s all right.”
“I know.” Rachel was hugging him back. Her tears were soaking his shirt. Some of them were about the baby, but a lot of them were about knowing they’d made it. All four of them. There probably weren’t many people still alive who could say that.
And they already had a solid group of people that could help them. She was pretty sure that perky fencer girl Holly, who was a fucking bad-ass like no teenager she’d ever met if even half the stories the rest of the group had told her were true, was the reason Jerry was still alive. And the Vigils seemed awesome, too. She and Maria had meshed in the kitchen and knocked out dinner for the group like they’d been working together for years.
“It’s just a lot to process. Especially with everything else we have to do. Like tracking Bob and Alicia down. We need to get going on that right away because winter’s going to be here before we know it. And—”
“And,” Jerry interrupted, leaning back and meeting her eyes with a big smile on his face, “I knew I should have bought more of those MREs. Now that you’re eating for two, you’ll need to keep up your strength.”
Rachel’s palm made a hollow thunk on his chest. “You’re going to go there, are you? Just because you were right about the apocalypse doesn’t mean I can’t divorce you for being a wiseass.”
“I never said I told you so. But…”
They were both laughing now. Rachel felt like things would be all right in spite of all the challenges facing them.
He pulled her close and spoke into her ear. “But seriously. This is awesome news. I mean, the timing could have been better, but we’ll get through it, just like we always do.”
They stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying being together and being alive. Then Rachel felt Jerry’s body tense. She pushed back and looked at his face.
His brow was furrowed, and he wasn’t talking, so he wasn’t thinking happy thoughts. She could already see he was getting all overprotective and trying to figure out how to keep her safe.
“Don’t even say it, Jerry.”
“What?”
“You know what. I’m telling you right now, there’s no fucking way you’re going out looking for Bob without me.”
“But the baby—”
Rachel held up her hand. “First, I don’t want to put him or her at risk any more than you do, but you know the baby is probably smaller than your fist right now, and anyway, a woman doesn’t become helpless just because she’s pregnant. I made it all the way from Boulder during the fucking apocalypse, if you recall.”
“I know, but—”
“And second, I just found you.” Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him close, and kissed him on the lips. “There’s no way I’m letting you out of my sight for a long time. So, you stop thinking about how to protect me and start thinking about how to make this work.”
* * *
Thank you for reading my novel, I hope you enjoyed the book as much as I did writting it. I would be forever in your debt if you wrote a review, even giving it just a star rating is helpful.
If you find typos or anything else I got wrong, please let me know on my web site.
authorlewgibb.com
Acknowledgement
There are so many people to thank for helping make this book a reality. My Wife Beth who knows all my procrastination techniques and how to circumvent them. You really pushed, or should I say dragged, this one to the finish line. The Quillers, my first writing group. In spite of knowing little to nothing of the genre--and learning way more than you bargained for along the way--you guys taught me so much about writing, and helped turn my initial pile of pages into a coherent narrative. The apocalyptioneers, thank you all for reading with compassion, and curiosity, and for giving such useful feedback. My family, who mostly r
ead out of their comfort zones, but still persevered to the end. Your support and encouragement have been invaluable. My friend Erin, your courage in reading a revised draft after being subjected to the unreadable first one is very much appreciated. Your kind words about all of my scribblings and your friendship are inspirational. Thanks to all of you for your patience and support.
About The Author
Lew Gibb
Lew Gibb left his career as a Paramedic in favor of pursuing his lifelong passion of writing. Since then, he's completed two novels and graduated from The Book Project at Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, Colorado.
When not writing, he's spending way too much time doing research on YouTube and diving deep into the internet. Two years ago, he and his wife left Colorado in a 38 foot travel trailer. Now they spend their time looking for farmers markets, good coffee shops, and new places to explore with their two dogs.
Visit him at
www.authorlewgibb.com