And Hell Followed: A Horror Novel

by Tatiana Xavi

  “You need to get a good night’s sleep,” Sherry said, reaching up to give Leo a kiss on the cheek.

  “I just hope you don’t snore,” Zippy told him as she pulled me toward the stairs.

  Our bedroom was without a fireplace, so I stripped out of my heavy boots and left on my sweater and sweatpants. My body felt fuzzy again and my joints throbbed. While I thought to say something to someone, I worried they would just worry. It wasn’t like they could fix what was wrong with me anyway.

  After taking aspirin, I crawled onto the airbed. As exhausted as I felt, Leo looked worse while fighting to stay awake.

  “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  “You always say that,” he whispered, pulling the blankets over us.

  Ignoring his comment, I cuddled against him. “I’m cold.”

  Studying my face, Leo brushed my wild waves away from my neck. Daddy and Zippy switched out of their heavy clothes but left on their long johns.

  Studying them, I kept looking for signs of a real relationship. I was a hundred percent sure they slept together back at the townhomes. I also knew Daddy cared for Zippy more than he did the other stragglers. I wasn’t sure if he simply cared because she was standing next to him or because he found her special in some way.

  Zippy’s feelings were harder to read. She played her roles well like when she played the mom role for Ryan. Zippy knew what people wanted, and she gave it to them, but was any of it real?

  Returning my gaze to Leo, I found his dark eyes half open. He looked less sexy stud, more lost little boy. I could have wept at the misery in his eyes.

  “I’m real,” I whispered.

  Nodding, Leo fought to keep his eyes open. “Just in case you’re not, I want to look at you a little longer.”

  “Then I’m going to look at you too.”

  “If you two plan to be cutesy like that all night, can you whisper quieter?” Daddy said, causing Zippy to laugh.

  Rolling my eyes, I smiled at Leo who just sighed. He still believed he would wake up to find me gone. Cuddling closer to him, I hoped the feel of me would help him sleep all night.

  “Good night, Daddy and Zippy,” I whispered.

  “Good night, baby,” Zippy said from the other side of the bed.

  Daddy laid facing away from Zippy so he could keep an eye on Leo and me. How could Daddy think if he turned his back Leo and I would get hot and heavy four feet from him? The idea of such a scenario made me laugh.

  Leo leaned his forehead against mine. “I missed you, Sami,” he whispered, eyes closed now.

  “I missed you too, but we don’t have to miss each other anymore. Now we can get on each other’s nerves until we’re desperate for time apart.”

  Eyes still closed, Leo fell to sleep with a little smile on his face and his forehead pressed against mine. Tugging the blankets higher over our shoulders, I closed my eyes too. Wondering if I could sleep with Daddy watching Leo and me sleeping an inch from me, I learned the answer a few breaths later when I dozed off.

  Dreaming of Bellamy sitting at an outside deli with me, I thought the dream took place before the plague because of the casual feel of our moods. Then I noticed zombies staring at us from up the road. I also realized the deli was mostly destroyed even as someone approached with a tray of food.

  Snake Eyes walked outside and set the tray on the table in front of us. He glanced at the zombies then looked at the two other girls sitting with us. Recognizing them from the other dreams, I saw they were teenagers now like Bellamy.

  “Let’s get a little meat on those bones, Famine,” Snake Eyes said, handing her a sandwich with bloody meat inside.

  A dark-haired girl took the sandwich and smiled. Snake Eyes then handed a plate to a redheaded girl with big eyes. Famine poked Bellamy who smiled. Everyone smiled including me, even though I didn’t know why we were smiling. The redhead’s smile faded at the far-off sounds of jets flying toward us.

  “Oh, this won’t do at all,” Snake Eyes said.

  Looking at me, Bellamy sighed. “This is where everything turns to crap, Sub Sami.”

  The explosion didn’t wake me. I remained in the dream, trapped under rubble. Thinking how I preferred to spend the day not crushed under a building, I also wanted to find the pilot and feed him to Death’s pets. Then I heard someone calling my name. Not my name in the dream, for I was Pestilence. Someone was calling for Sami.

  Waking to find Leo moaning in his sleep, I realized he was more whispering than fully moaning. I smiled at how even asleep and panicked, he kept to his training.

  “I’m here,” I whispered, caressing his face.

  Leo opened his eyes which looked to take great effort. He stared at me then glanced around, piecing together what was real.

  “She’s alive, kid,” Daddy mumbled without opening his eyes.

  Leo smiled then studied my face. Exhausted, I had to work to keep my eyes open.

  “Don’t leave,” he whispered, closing his eyes.

  Following him into sleep, I hoped to dream of something besides Snake Eyes and Bellamy’s dead sisters.

  Dreaming of Kayla and me sitting on the school bleachers, we talked about my crush on Leo. As she gave me advice with a good dose of teasing, I heard a door open, and a male voice ask if Kayla wanted to hang out.

  “You’re too old for me,” Kayla said, “and I can’t get hot for a dude with a mustache.”

  Frowning, I turned to find the zombie that bit me. He showed me his broken teeth then gave me a wink. Turning back to Kayla, I saw my best friend the way she looked after Daddy and Nick killed the zombies who attacked her. Kayla winked at me too and then sighed sadly.

  “Death sucks, Sami, but you won’t have to worry about it for a long time.”

  Kayla attacked the mustached zombie who bit into what was left of her throat. Wishing to wake up, I couldn’t until I shot them both. As the dream faded, I found Leo next to me on the bleachers with his finger pressed to his lips, shushing me.

  “You’re making too much noise,” he warned.

  The sun was just coming up when I finally awoke to find the real Leo watching me. Glancing over at the bed, I saw Daddy and Zippy sleeping soundly. Turning my attentions back to Leo, I smiled even if the nightmares clung to me.

  “Bad dream?” he whispered.

  Nodding, I touched his face, my fingers brushing over his dark stubble.

  “I’m still here,” I said.

  A smiling Leo glanced at Daddy then looked at me. “We must be very quiet.”

  Not understanding until his lips met mine, I stayed attached to him until we heard the springs on the other bed groan.

  “Don’t make me get the hose,” Daddy warned.

  “There’s no running water,” I said, pretending I wasn’t embarrassed to get caught.

  “If I must walk to the lake and fill a bucket to cool you two off, I’ll do it.”

  Daddy said this all while lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. Zippy lifted her head and looked as if she had been awake for a while. Now I was embarrassed.

  “Today we start convincing these people to come with us to the townhomes,” Zippy said, stretching next to Daddy who looked like he was sleeping. “We’ll skip all the Overton details. No crazy slaves of bloodsuckers. We’ll barely mention the bald dogs and instead, focus on Bellamy’s wondrous zombie controlling powers.”

  Daddy sighed. “They’re paranoid about the south because of Grant.”

  “Who?” Zippy said.

  “The prophet,” I muttered while Leo squirmed under the covers and tugged me against him. “He said the south was too dangerous.”

  “Everywhere is dangerous,” Daddy said with his eyes still closed. “With Bellamy, we could get to the townhomes in two days. By the time spring is here, we’ll have gardens planted in the hippy commune. Get Sami her tomatoes.”

  Smiling, I leaned my head against Leo and imagined fresh tomatoes. I wondered what other foods we could grow. Daddy must have been imagining it
too because he sat up and yawned.

  “I’m hungry.”

  Daddy climbed out of bed and pulled his jeans over the long johns. “Some of them won’t want to go. They’re scared of Bellamy and don’t trust traveling by car. In their minds, we’ve stayed safe with our system of bouncing back and forth between the enclaves. Except we didn’t all stay safe.”

  When Daddy glanced at me, I saw the pain of the last few weeks in his eyes. There was so much pain I looked away.

  “Anyway, we’ll need to change their minds quickly because I don’t see Bellamy hanging around here for long. She seemed restless last night and didn’t like all the cornfields. Said something about evil children coming to kill us. Crazy or not, she’ll want to return to the townhomes in a few days. A week at the most.”

  While Zippy got dressed, Daddy looked at Leo and me. “If I leave you two in here to rest, don’t do anything you wouldn’t do with me sitting right there.”

  “Yes, sir,” Leo said quickly.

  “In a week’s time, we’re leaving site four, even if we can’t get everyone to come. I’m not losing Bellamy over someone’s childish fears,” Daddy said then looked at Leo specifically. “Think you can talk your mom into coming? She didn’t seem keen on the idea last night.”

  “I’m going with you, even if they don’t,” Leo announced, tightening his grip on me. “Once she knows Sami is going, she’ll know I’m going. Once she knows I’m going, there’ll be no question whether she’ll come. It’ll be fine.”

  Nodding, Daddy followed Zippy to the door then called to us over his shoulder, “Behave children.”

  “You heard him,” I whispered. “Let’s keep this make-out session squarely in the first base territory, young man.”

  Grinning, Leo cuddled closer and studied my face.

  “I’m going to need you to stay close to me. Those dreams were so real, and I still doubt this right now isn’t another dream. I don’t want to get clingy, but I need you to be patient with me.”

  Wrapping my arms around Leo, I felt more like the girl I was the day before the zombie showed up and made things more complicated. My heart raced as he tightened his hold on me then kissed my neck gently. Feeling him sucking harder, I knew without a doubt I was getting marked. After all the monsters claiming me with bites lately, a little hickey felt like a gift.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next few days were relaxing, nearly festive. At first everyone in the old group stuck to training, refusing to talk outside without whispering. Daddy teased Paul how with Bellamy around he could use his loud voice without drawing a swarm of zombies. Paul would laugh, but he laughed quietly, distrusting Bellamy’s powers.

  The “moms” Sherry, Molly, Hazel, and Tess cooed over Morgan’s belly, giving her more advice than anyone could ever need. Morgan promised everyone makeovers once we arrived at the townhomes. She even planned to give Kiko her missing pink stripes back. Ava had no interest in hair, but she was very interested in Kei. They often disappeared behind the house for quiet time.

  Haley worked to arrange alone time with Ryan. Even without me suggesting anything, she stole glances at the hunk. Morgan pushed her brother to sit near Haley whenever the group was outside. By the third day, Ryan automatically sat next to Haley. While they weren’t sneaking off like Ava and Kei, they were inching that direction.

  Ryan mellowed out a lot those next few days, playing soccer and football in the big front yard. Bellamy played too, even tackling Ryan on a few occasions. Somehow, she took down a muscular guy weighing nearly a hundred pounds more than her. Bellamy even pinned Ryan and refused to let him up unless he said the magic word.

  In Bellamy’s world, please was not the magic word. When Ryan grew frustrated, and maybe a little embarrassed at being pinned by a girl, Bellamy leaned down and gave him an Eskimo kiss. I didn’t know what she told him, but Ryan laughed like I’d never heard him laugh before. For the first time, I could imagine what he was like before the burden of protecting his sister in a hostile world.

  The best part was Ryan stopped glaring at Leo. He still hated him for sure, but he was subtler about it. If he gave Haley a chance, she could make him happy, and he would forget about me. While Ryan said he bonded with me at camp, he also felt guilty about how the night played out. With Haley, he could look at her and never apologize for how they met. He deserved this chance even if he couldn’t see it.

  Leo didn’t notice Ryan most of the time or anyone really. By the third day, he finally accepted no dream could be this detailed.

  Relieved by Leo’s improving moods, Sherry and Paul were also happy to have Daddy back along with the addition of Abner to the group. Though Abner enjoyed hanging out with the men and Sherry, he quickly bonded with one of Leo’s college buddies. Noel’s parents were on a cruise when the plague began, and their ship was never allowed to dock. Sometimes, I imagined all those zombies wandering around on the huge party ship. Did they jump off eventually and head for shore? Would they drown or be eaten by sharks? Noel probably wondered the same things.

  When the plague ravaged the world, Noel left college with his friends Leo and Zack. Sherry and Paul adopted the two orphaned college students. Noel, though, was raised in a lenient way, making Leo’s parents overbearing in comparison. In contrast, he nodded at everything Abner said, and I suspected Noel found the soldier’s demeanor more to his liking.

  The two men often went hunting in hopes of finding animals which lurked in this area, having so far survived the hungry zombies. Occasionally Zack came along, but the teenager wasn’t the survivalist type. The only reason he survived this long was that he always kept to training. Even after Paul began using his outdoor voice, startling birds in the fields, Zack never spoke outside of a whisper.

  One day when everyone else was in a great mood, Ava cornered me in a bedroom. Blocking my way, she frowned at where Leo marked me. Well one of the spots he marked me.

  “Leo’s too old for you,” she said, arms crossed.

  Ava looked a lot like Leo and their mom. With dark hair and eyes and a warm complexion, she retained muscles from when she was an athlete before the plague.

  “A zombie apocalypse allows for some leniency, don’t you think?” I said when she stared at me. “You dated college guys at my age. I remember the time your dad grounded you, and you snuck out. Then your mom showed up at the frat house and went Rambo on everyone.” Smiling, I remembered how Sherry was the parent the kids feared. “I like that story.”

  “Fine, then you’re too young for him. It’s different, so shut up and find a way to break up with him.”

  “Why do you care anyway?”

  Ava licked her lips then glanced around as if searching for a nice way to word her objections. She didn’t figure one out.

  “You’re a freak, and my brother deserves better.”

  “Your brother loves me. I don’t care what you think.”

  “I’ll tell Leo to dump you.”

  “Go ahead. You’ll just make him mad, and I know how you hate when Leo’s mad at you. It’s your choice to piss him off. Now get out of my way.”

  Ava didn’t move. “You’re diseased, and he could catch what you have. I don’t want my brother dying or becoming a diseased freak because he has the stupid idea you’re his soul mate. He’s an idiot, but I’m not. You need to back off.”

  I’d be lying to say she hadn’t hurt my feelings. Always knowing Ava thought I was annoying, we never ran in the same crowds at school. She also didn’t like Kayla, so I figured Ava had bad taste.

  I still hated to know people thought I was diseased and might infect Leo. While I thought it myself, I had hoped the others would tell me not to worry. Zippy did say to hold onto Leo because I deserved happiness. I wanted lies like hers, rather than cruel truths.

  “If you don’t get out of my way and leave me alone, I’m going to sic Bellamy on you.”

  Getting in her face even though she scared the crap out of me - I’d seen Ava punch people a hell of a lot bigger
than me – I tried to be confident.

  “It’d be sad if one of her zombies lost control and ate your face,” I warned.

  Ava frowned like she didn’t believe me, but I knew she did. Patting her arm, I made sure to wipe my diseased hand on her bare skin.

  “I’m just kidding, but you really should leave me alone. Leo’s your brother, not your baby. Now move out of my way.”

  Ava grudgingly stepped aside, and I opened the door to find Leo waiting in the hallway. He frowned at his sister who frowned back at him.

  “She’s infected.”

  Leo wrapped his arm around me then said something to Ava in Portuguese, their mother’s native tongue. Ava replied with something which demanded swinging head movements and a little hip thrust. Leo responded in a dismissive manner. Whatever he said caused Ava to lift her chin defiantly and storm away.

  “Yah, we won!” I said, and he laughed. “She’s just worried about you, though.”

  “She thinks I’m stupid. In all fairness, I think she’s a bitch. You’d understand if you had siblings. Of course, if you had siblings, you’d have to share your dad, and I’m not sure you’d like that.”

  “No, probably not.”

  “Zippy’s young, though,” he said, giving me a grin. “She could give you a sister or brother.”

  Even rolling my eyes at the idea of Zippy and Daddy being a real couple, I’d always wanted a sibling. Neither of my parents ever remarried or was even serious about anyone. Before I could get too excited, Ava’s words came back to me.

  “Are you worried I’ll infect you?” I whispered, glancing around and thinking someone might be listening.

  Leo’s expression darkened. “After you died, I realized I was only optimistic the last year because I always thought things would get better. Then I lost you and knew nothing would ever be better for me. This makes me weak, but everyone has something in their life that if they lose will destroy them. You’re that something for me. If I have to choose between being infected and losing you, it’s not a choice. Do you understand?”