by Mariah Lynde
Then again, at this point, did I really have any other choice? I’d made my bed, now I would have to lie in it.
If this police caravan was any indication, things were already beginning to turn south. Still, one could hope for something different. Much as I wanted to try and cling to that, I knew better than to count on it as the speakers on the lead squad car let out an ear piercing shriek to indicate someone had keyed in. The words that rang out in a tinny, almost robotic way killed any idea I had that things would be returning to normal anytime soon.
“Attention residents! The City of Charlotte and all surrounding towns are enforcing a mandatory curfew where all citizens must remain in their homes after sunset. All persons caught out after curfew will be arrested and fined for trespassing and unlawful conduct. This curfew is a temporary measure for a possible situation involving bird flu. If at any time you beginning to experience symptoms of nausea, sweating, fever, fatigue, and vomiting contact emergency services and inform them of your situation. Anyone in residence with a person who is sick, be cautious and keep yourself a safe distance from them until help arrives. All businesses, stores, and services will operate during the hours of eight a.m. until an hour before sunset. Thank you.”
As far as big blazing signs that the end of the world happened to be at hand, that was a pretty big one. Still, they were trying to give it a cover story in the hopes no one would figure it out. To be honest, I couldn’t tell you if that happened to be an action of brilliant genius or utmost stupidity. What I did know, was that night had already fallen and any hope I had of spiriting all my newly acquired supplies into the house at this time had dropped dramatically.
Flashing lights of red and blue danced in front of my eyes while the motorcade continued its slow rolling advance down the street. I watched as the iron wrought gates leading into my little complex were closed, effectively stopping any of the cars lined up at the gate from leaving.
Ah well, guess people would just have to live without their fast food fix tonight. Turning on my heel, I began walking back towards my apartment. Spending that time to plot my next move on just when it would be appropriate to begin offloading the Explorer.
Shutting the door behind me, my gaze moved to the bow and makeshift quiver of arrows settled across the room near the back door. A frustrated sigh left my lips as I realized just how costly it had been to miss out on target practice this afternoon because of my guest. If things were already progressing to the point of curfews and lock downs, there would not be a whole lot of time for me to get back in the swing of all things archery to be proficient.
Disgusted with just how quickly things were spiraling out of hand, I turned my wrist to look at my watch. I still had a good hour and a half at least before anyone started showing up online for our survival discussion. Still, that could be seen as a god send if I took this opportunity to try and finally choke down some food.
The mere thought of trying to eat anything had my stomach cramping in protest. The acid in my belly turned, gurgling and pushing up to roll up my digestive tract to my throat where I had to choke back the taste of acrid bile. My body had decided to make me aware of the fact that it wanted nothing to do with food right now. In truth, it hadn’t since last night when I cracked Miss Gush and Flow over the melon with a fire extinguisher.
I couldn’t tell you one way or another if my inability to eat was due to mental issues or just stress. One thing I did know was that no matter how much my body protested the idea, I needed to eat and soon.
God knew, I had been cranky enough today to make Scrooge look like a saint. The idea of making that particular trait any worse and adding to it by flirting with the disaster of lightheadedness from lack of nourishment did not happen to be one of the things on my bucket list I wanted to accomplish.
Be that as it may, there were still a million and one things that needed to get done. Not the least of which included taking advantage of the information superhighway while I could. While it could be argued that the internet and all with it would be among the last things to go, that was no reason not to abuse the shit out of it until that time came.
Turning on my heel to make my way towards my little trap door to the nerd cave below, my hands rubbed together with a small sense of glee. I’d spent a majority of my day on preparations and convincing a seemingly reasonable male that it happened to be the end of the world as we knew it. Certainly that called for a little ‘me’ time sitting in front of my computer.
There behind that glowing screen, I could become the master of my little universe. All the things that bothered me could melt away in a sea of games and entertainment.
True, there would likely be less time for the gaming and entertainment, but at least there I could still be in control of everything that happened around me. That particular sentiment was something I needed more than air. Call it an escape, call it fantasy or an illusion, whatever name you wanted to give it – I needed that to still the chaos in my mind from all that had taken place thus far.
Sanctuary was but a few steps away when I heard it, a rapid ‘knock, knock, knock’ on my front door. Confused and startled by the sound, I froze in place, peering across the small expanse of my apartment to glare at the front door as if it had become some form of demon.
Vaguely, I was reminded of The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. That small reminder came from so far out in left field that I realized just how much I must be slipping. A nervous, if not somewhat maniacal, giggle escaped from my throat as I shook my head. Grateful that I’d not yet ‘popped the top’ on my lair, so to speak, I backed away and cautiously moved towards the door.
I’ll admit, there was no small amount of trepidation on just who or what stood on the other side of that door. I knew that I was not expecting anyone and quite frankly a majority of my neighbors were dolts that were ignored more often than not. So, that left very few actual options as to just who or what would bother coming here. Idling up, I quietly moved to hook the chain on the door so I could crack it open a small bit to peer outside.
“Well, not a raven but definitely a damn vulture.” The words slipped free before I could even think about engaging my mental filter. Not that I would have cared one way or another as I undid the chain and opened my door to not one, but both people who had crawled on my last nerve today.
Before me, were none other than Cal Mitty and the pretentious Teena Hawthorne herself. It shouldn’t have surprised me to see her next to him. Even in plain clothes the man standing before me reeked of self-confidence, position, and money. Leave it to the middle aged divorcee’ extraordinaire to lock in on a new target.
Maybe a fraction of a second had passed where I felt bad about my unintentional babble, at least until Cal laughed. The sound caught me off guard as those rich baritone notes reverberated in the air and caused the woman beside him to flush red with anger. Beneath that cheap spray-on tan, Teena Hawthorne’s skin was heating to a degree that would likely have made volcano’s seem like a cool dunk in a pool.
It was easy to imagine dear Ms. Hawthorne’s head was about to pop right off her scrawny little neck with the amount of fury I could see in her eyes. While I found the idea to be an amusing one, I seriously didn’t want to be present for the aftermath. Drawing in a slow breath, I scowled out at the pair standing on my stoop and arched a brow.
“Can I help you?” As lines of dismissal went, it happened to be a pretty pathetic one. Still, the less I had to deal with either of these two the better. Dismissal was preferable to some kind of drawn out, exhaustive fight with Ms. Hawthorne blustering about her perceived power over me.
There it was…that creeping feeling in my gut that the whole of my world had just been turned on its axis. Honestly, I knew what they both were about to tell me. God help me, I should have prayed for the zombie horde, it probably would have been preferable.
“Yeah, um…listen this curfew means they shut down the roads and I was just telling Mrs.-” Cal began only to be cut off the second he began to say her n
ame.
“Ms. Hawthorne. I’m afraid marriage is not something I’m currently engaged in.” Teena’s voice interjectedin an attempt to assert her place in society. It had all the effects of a shrew, at least to me.
Of course, it happened to be very entertaining to witness the deer in the headlights look that crossed Cal’s face. He’d become her newest target and seemed to be very aware of that fact, so much so that gray eyes peered at me in earnest.
At that moment I decided to take my vengeance. True, I wouldn’t be cruel enough to subject him to a whole night in Teena Hawthorne’s company, but the sheer thought that he might have to endure it would likely be torture.
My personal dislike aside, the woman was a viper. Well, more like she was a Queen Xenomorph sending her face sucking offspring to infest and infect the world one pithy remark at a time. Anyone who has watched Aliens knows what I’m talking about, one face suck away from a chest burster that haunts your nightmares.
While I normally keep my opinions on people to myself, this woman brought out all the vile angst within me. Her poison, in the form of lies and half-truths spread like a sickness through those around her. Worse than that she used her faux position of power to manipulate matters to her own ends and cause trouble for others.
I was under no illusion that I was the only tenant to have issues with the woman. There had been a few before me and I’m sure if the world continued on its merry way there’d be many more to come. In this moment however, I happened to be one of the few that had been side-stepping or outplaying the woman at her own game. More than that, I’d done so without spreading gossip and lies.
Now, with Cal Mitty looking for an out and Teena Hawthorne trying to play the simpering and sweet divorcee’ I had an opening. True, I could end up paying for it in the end, but the idea that they both might get a serving of Humble Pie out of it amused me.
“Well, I suppose if you want to beat the curfew you should head out then?” I batted my eyelashes with a healthy amount of feigned innocence before smiling sweetly up at him.
“Miss Warren, can’t you see your lovely boss here is saying he can’t leave? They cordoned off the roads so he needs a safe haven for the evening. Can you think of anyplace he might be able to stay?” I watched as collagen infused lips pressed into a leering smile and shuddered. A part of me was really thinking that when Teena’s lips drew back over her teeth like that she looked like Mr. Skullhead from Animaniacs which had me backing away in almost gruesome horror.
Fuck zombies, they had nothing on divorced socialites with stuffing for brains and a monthly budget for fake tans. Given the circumstances, she was far more dangerous than flesh munching heralds of the apocalypse.
“Yeah, Miss Warren…you couldn’t possibly think of any place I might stay for the night, could you?” Pleading gray eyes looked down at me and for a moment I almost caved in. Nope, he could suffer a little longer.
“Um…well I was just straightening up in here…Ms. Hawthorne, you don’t think you could possibly help Mr. Mitty out? I mean, it wouldn’t be right for my boss to stay the night in my apartment. That would be almost unseemly. I’m sure your accommodations would be far more suited to his liking.” Oh, yes. Vengeance thy name be Angel.
For a good long minute, both of them stared at me with a mixture of shock and anger. On the one hand, I’d just thrown Cal to the man-eating she-wolf ripe for the opportunity to latch onto a bone. In the case of Teena Hawthorne, I’d just blatantly thrown her from the frying pan and into the fire by opening the door for her to accept this man into her home when she had literally zilch in the way of furniture and pleasantries thanks to her new position in life.
Sure, I can admit that the whole situation could be classified as playing dirty but I really didn’t care. Both the people standing in front of me had caused me a considerable amount of grief in their own way. I’ll admit to a certain childishness in my actions, especially in the midst of what happened to be going on in the world around me, but one should take time to enjoy the little things. At this particular moment, watching these two squirm in front of me was one of those small but needed little reprieves.
Still, I wouldn’t be cruel. Both Cal and Ms. Hawthorne (I know, even in my own mind I use that peevish Ms. Title) seemed like they wanted the ground to open up beneath them to swallow them whole. While a joke was innocent enough, allowing both of them to suffer for too long would have just been out and out crude. Sighing a little, I looked up and met Cal’s gray gaze, giving a small sigh before pushing off the door frame and moving to step aside.
I swung the door open a little further and sighed, so much for peaceful solitude. Looking up at the shaded window of the back of the Explorer, it dawned on me that this could be a godsend. After all, giving Cal a place to stay during the curfew meant an opportunity to have someone present to help me with the pedantic slave labor aspect of this whole fiasco. While such a thing would allow him to see just what all I had in the way of supplies, I seriously doubted he’d bother making his way back to this part of town once he could leave. Then again, at that point it’d likely be too dangerous for him to make it this way and I’d be half ready to make my sojourn back towards home to link up with my own support system.
Turning my head to look at Teena, I arched a brow. That seemed to spurn her into action as she turned on that fake smile. I’m pretty sure she thought it made her look like the cougar bombshell that all guys fantasized about in their early teenage years, but in reality it was more like seeing an emaciated vampire mummy.
“While I’d love to offer our guest a place in my home, sadly I already have others taking up that space. My lawyers and our owner were here today for inspections.” That particular explanation had me smiling like the cat which had caught the canary. If what she said were true, she’d spent today trying to rally for her position of power and likely get me thrown out of the complex. Judging by her rather stilted wording, things had not gone her way.
The idea that my snarky remarks this morning had sent her in to such a tizzy brought a sense of rightness to my world. While I didn’t normally consider such childish rivalries healthy, the fact that I’d won a round against Teena Hawthorne had me doing an inner dance of glee.
“Oh, well I see.” I began to speak, turning my head to look at Cal and then back to Teena with a small frown. “Well, I suppose he could stay here, on the couch of course. Who knows? It might give us a chance to finish working on that proposal you were talking about.” Finishing off with that phrase and letting my voice roll with a kind of low purr just to irk the woman in front of me, I smiled up at Cal.
Instead of anger, I found gray eyes sparkling with mirth. Something told me he was well aware of what I had just done and why. Honestly, I enjoyed it. I was happy to see him immediately fall into the role and become my partner in crime, at least for this part. What I hadn’t been prepared for was just how well he slid into the role and his actions in selling it.
Before I could think to protest, his hand had moved to cup my elbow, pulling me in beside him as he nodded. I had to give him credit, that move made it nearly impossible for me to back away without breaking the charade. I could either play along and make Teena Hawthorne fuming mad, or back off and give her the pleasure of thinking she had an advantage.
Sometimes, you just need to swallow your pride and accept what is happening around you if you want to secure the win. For the months of having to deal with her bitching and lying, there was no way in hell I would back out of an opportunity to shame her now. It was a sham but that wouldn’t be something she’d ever know.
“I like the idea of that, Miss Warren.” Damn, this man could sell real estate in hell to a saint. His voice had dropped an octave and that smooth baritone had taken on a sultry tone that had my knees threatening to give out. “I’m sure we can come up with a suitable arrangement for the evening…or longer.”
Damn him! That had been uncalled for…and perhaps a step too far! No one would believe such a weak line. My lit
tle plot to knock Teena down a peg or two had just rounded back to bite me in the ass. Of course, Cal seemed to be enjoying himself far too much for my liking; my stubborn pride had me holding myself still while he spoke. In all honesty, what I wanted to do was curl up my fist and slam it right into his perfect nose to bloody his damn face. That grin twitching on his lips was a sure sign he was enjoying this.
Offering what I could only hope seemed to be a genuine smile, I turned my gaze to the she-witch and spoke.
“I’ll handle this, Ms. Hawthorne. Thank you.” Trying to sound as politely civil as I could manage despite the fact I was seething internally.
Standing beside Cal, I had no choice but to smile and make it appear as if his company happened to be something I enjoyed. Mentally, I had already started thinking of about a hundred and sixty ways to make this night a living hell for him.
As expected my little charade would cost me. The belief that she had lost her opportunity to land a big fish like Cal Mitty came out in her normally peevish tone. Her eyes narrowed on me with disdain as she snorted, “I should have known there was a reason you still had your job. Disgraceful that you even bring that kind of work here to our community. No wonder you can’t hold a man.”
I have to admit, I had not been prepared for the viciousness of her attack. God, zombies were looking so much better as opponents. This woman knew, that he-who-should-not-be-named, had left here with his stuff in the company of another woman. While I may not have actively proclaimed he had been a lying, cheating scum-bag people weren’t completely stupid.
While I’m sure much of this explains to you just why I hated the people occupying the upstairs offices at work, I at least admit it’s my own folly. I’d come to hate certain stereotypes based on that actions of a few people. That tends to happen when the person that you love rips your heart out of your chest and does the Mexican hat dance on it and then others take pleasure in the following misery. Be that as it may, I digress.