Turning in his arms I’m now facing him. Well, his chest anyways. My eyes are glued there. “Egypt, look at me, and you have to kiss me, remember?” he says. Slowly looking him in the eyes I can see that he is enjoying this, the bastard. Slowly I raise up so that I’m looking down at him. His arms wrap around my waist. I can do this it is just a kiss and then he will let me go. My lips slowly meet his. His lips are softer than what I thought they would be. I try to end the kiss but Jake isn’t having any of it. He works to deepen the kiss. By this time, I am struggling to get away. He just said a kiss. He lets me go, laughing.
“You call that a kiss, Egypt? I can see we are going to need to practice.”
I try to respond but the SUV swerves and goes into the ditch. Jake wraps his arms around me to protect me from getting hurt. I hide my face in his chest and hold on. The SUV jerks to a stop. Shit if Jake weren't holding on to me I would have hit the windshield. I look around, the other two cars that were with us are still on the street. They are getting out of their cars with guns drawn. What the hell is going on?
Jake lets go of me. “Egypt, are you OK?"
Looking down at myself. “Yeah, I'm all right. What the hell happened, Jake?”
“Gus, what the fuck happened?" Jake asks. He grabs the walkie pressing the button. “Sam, give me a report, over.”
“Jake, we need to get the hell out of this SUV, I smell gas,” Gus says.
“Alright, let's move NOW grab what you can! Be careful. We don’t know what’s going on up there.
“Come on, Egypt,” Jake says. Opening up the door I get out. Jake grabs me by the arm. Shit my knee still will not hold all of my weight.
Tripping as I go, this really bruises my ego. “Jake, my knee, I can’t,” I say.
“Shit sorry, Egypt, I forgot,” Jake says. He picks me up and jogs to the trees for some cover. Gently he sits me next to a tree and I lean back. Looking around I try to see what is going on. Shit! I hear guns firing over the hill. Shifting so that I am behind the tree I look over at Jake talking to a few of his men. They are talking too low for me to make out what they are saying. I wonder if it is the zombies coming after us. That would not explain the tires blowing out.
Hearing a noise, I look behind us and see about thirty zombies coming right at us. Looking at the guys I see they have no clue what’s going to be on top if us in a few minutes. Standing up I wobble over to Jakes side. And grab his holstered .9mm and swing around and take aim. “Egypt, what the fuck,” Jake says. But he doesn’t finish because he sees what’s out there. Pop, pop, I take two out. “What the FUCK Jake, you kidnap me, only to get me eaten by zombies!” I say sarcastically. “What a man!!” I say.
“Shit! Gus, Sam, help Egypt. Rick, Tom, come with me! We have to help the others out.” Jake says.
Looking back at the zombies I take two more out. Is it me or are they getting faster? Jake walks up behind me. “I'm trusting you, Egypt, not to shoot my men or run off.” He says, looking down at the gun I hold in my hand.
Looking him in the eyes. “You have my word I won’t shoot them, but I can’t say the same for Hunter, Jake,” I say. “Oh and yeah, where am I going to run off to? Hunter saw to that!” Pointing down at my knee.
I hear the guys laughing. I glare at them and take aim to shoot again. They line up around me and do the same. All you can hear are guns firing. The zombies are dropping left and right. But we are not fast enough. There are just too many and they are faster. "Egypt, we need to move up the hill, and I know your knee is bad. May I carry you?" Gus asks.
Looking over at him laughing. “You’re asking me, Gus?” I ask. At least he has some manners and doesn’t just go and do it. Looking back at the zombies, we are going to be overrun. It does not look any better up the hill by Jake and the others either.
“OK, Gus. Thanks for the help. But honestly, it doesn’t look any better up there. Hell, I don’t know which is worse, getting chewed on or shot.” I say.
Taking aim, I fire my last two bullets and tuck the gun in my running shorts. Looking over to Gus he does the same. Walking over to me, he lifts me up and cradles me in his arms like I’m nothing.
“Egypt, wrap your arms around my neck; I’m going to jog with you up the hill and it’s going to get bumpy," Gus says.
“You got it, big buddy,” I say with a smile. Looking around I see that the other two guys with us start to run up the hill behind us. Every once in a while they shoot at the zombies. One of them runs up to us and hands me another clip. “Here you’re going to need this, Jake just told me that there are guys up there shooting at them, so I really hope you don’t mind killing humans, Egypt. And don’t think about it; they are not going to help you. Matter of fact, I’m sure they will do a lot worse than what Jake has in store,” he says.
I did not get to say anything because he took off running away from us. Wonderful, now I have to protect myself. Well, unfortunately, I think he is right. I look over at the other people and man, they look nasty and even scary. From the looks of it, Jakes team is outnumbered big time.
“Gus put me down I can handle myself, it looks like Jake needs all the help he can get“ I say.
Gus looks down at me and gently puts me down by one of the SUV’s. “Egypt, why do you even care? We kidnapped you,” he asks.
“Believe it or not, Gus, I’m not a total bitch. And guess what, you guys are the lesser of two evils,” I said smiling. I walk to the front of the SUV and take aim and fire. I really don’t know what is worse zombies or asshole people. The one guy that was a passenger in our SUV walks up to me. Rick is his name I think. “Hey Egypt I’m going to give you a shot. It will numb the pain in your knee and you should be able to run if you need to. It’s only temporary, it lasts for about an hour and a half,” Rick says.
Looking at him, I ask, “Rick, if it does anything else to me, once it wears off I will kill you. Got it?”
“Gotcha, Egypt,” he says. He bends down and gives me the shot in my knee. Holy shit did that hurt.
“Damn it, Rick, you really need to work on your bedside manner,” I tell him.
Shaking his head, he walks away to the other side of the fighting. Looking the other way I see that a few of Jake’s men are down. Bending my knee it feels great! It does not hurt anymore! Whatever Rick gave me, it works! I hear yelling to my left. I see that Jake has his hands full. Some woman is trying to kick his ass and from what I can see he is not attempting to hit her back. She is getting some good hits in too.
Damn, I just can’t leave well enough alone, I’m going to have to go over and do something. A few of the guys are standing around watching from both sides. OK knee, do not fail me now! I start to jog over there and the knee is holding up. I push my way through the crowd that has gathered. I am right behind him. I hate to admit anything nice about him, but he did say he would never hit a lady.
“Well, now what do you have here Jake, you need some help?" I ask. With a grin on my face. I slowly reach out and slide my hand down to his hip and grab the knife there. I feel him stiffen up. Laughing, I whisper in his ear, “Don’t worry, LOVER, it’s not for you.” I feel him start to shake and see that he is laughing. I will deal with him later. Two can play, but for now I have to deal with this bitch.
“Why don’t you try fighting someone that will fight back you bitch.” I sneer.
“Oh and you think you can take me, you looking all big and bad sticking up for your man, is he really worth it?” she asks.
Looking at her I know I will have no trouble taking her. Looking Jake up and down. “Yeah, he’s AMAZING in bed,” I tell her. “And you know with it being the end of the world and all, great sex is hard to find.” I hear some of the guys laughing at us.
I don’t let her say another thing. I tackle her to the ground. I punch her in the face over and over. There is blood coming from her mouth and nose. I hear a few guys yelling something, but I really do not pay attrition to them. I stop hitting her and bend down to whisper in her ear.
; “Are you done? I really don’t want to kill you, but I will if I have too,” I tell her. Looking down at her I wait for her to say something.
“I’m done, you win. Please, don’t kill me,” she says. Looking down at her one last time I get up, turning away to walk to Jake and his men. Walking over I can feel that my knee is starting to stiffen up. Jake and Gus are both talking about something, but I cannot make out what they were saying. Hearing a noise behind me I turn around just as that woman tackles me to the ground. Son of a bitch, that’s going to hurt later. She cocks her arm back to punch me. I do not give her the chance. I grab the knife that I took from Jake before the fight. I thrust it up and into her stomach. She stops and slowly puts her arm down. Falling off of me to my left I do not let go of the knife. I slowly get up. Standing up, I pull the knife out and wipe it clean on her clothes.
“I told you to just quit, but you just had to keep going,” I say.
“You’re a fucking bitch,” she says. Grabbing my .9mm, I point it at her head and fire. The bullet goes right between her eyes. Blood oozes out of the hole. I turn to walk back to Jake's group. All of a sudden, yelling starts up and guns are pointing right at me. Looking over at Jake, he and his men are doing the same but they are pointing at the other group’s leader.
Looking Jake in the eyes, I’ve yet to see him look like he does now. I don’t know the outcome of this, but it is not going to be good. If Jake saves me again, I am going to owe him big time. I just hope it is not something I am not willing to pay. I stand in the middle with these guys all around me waiting to see what happens.
“I suggest that you and your men back up and get the hell out of here. Egypt won fair and square. She even gave the girl a chance to just walk away.” Jake yells over to the other group.
Looking behind me, I see who must be the leader of the other group move slowly towards me. Turning around to face him I slowly reach to my side for my .9mm. The guy walking towards me puts his hands out to his sides. I rest my hand on the gun watching him walk over to me. I hear someone walking up behind me. I don’t want to turn my back on this stranger walking up to me. I just have to hope that it is Jake or one of his men. Who am I kidding? It is Jake.
Jake puts his hand on my hip and squeezes. The other man comes a few feet from me and stops. He looks me up and down, slowly grinning.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
Looking at him, “My name is Egypt. And you are?” I ask.
I hear him mumble my name. “I’m Lane, pleased to meet you, Egypt,” he says.
“What do you want?” Jake asks him.
“I just wanted to meet the woman that killed my girlfriend,” Lane says.
Shit! This isn’t going to go well. Looking him over, I noticed that he is handsome. He’s over six-foot easy, built like a tank with long black hair and piercing blue eyes. I finally stop at his eyes. I see him grinning at me. Shit he was watching me check him out.
“OK, you met her. Now leave, Lane,” Jake says.
Jake put his hand further around my waist and pulls me to him so that I am leaning against his chest. I relax into his arms instead of fighting with him.
I see Lane looking at Jake’s arm around me. “Egypt, you want to come stay with me? You will have whatever you want and then some, I need someone new as you well know.” Lane says smiling.
“Thanks but no thanks, I’m happy right where I’m at,” I say. Taking my hand, I put it over Jake's. Looking over at Lane I see that’s he’s laughing and shaking his head.
“Whatever you say Egypt, for now.” He says.
He looks above my head at Jake. “This isn’t over asshole, and I will get her," Lane says. He turns and walks away.
I hear Jake say, “You can try, buddy, over my dead body.”
Watching Lane, he walks over to his guys and they start to leave. I know I have made the right decision here with staying with Jake. He is the lesser of two evils. I just have to bide my time and wait for Mack.
I hear Jake talk into his walkie. Turning around in his arms I look up at him. I’m tired, cold and hungry and starting to hurt. “Could you please get me out of here, Jake?”
He looks down at me and smiles, nodding a yes, he picks me up gently and starts to walk to one of the running SUVs. “Egypt, we need to talk, but we will wait until we are at the safe house,” he says.
We get to the back of the SUV and Gus opens up the door, Jake gently puts me in and goes around to the other side. My door opens up and the medic guy gets in. Great I’m sandwiched between two guys I really do not know with hardly any clothes on. Rick starts looking at my knees and ribs, I lean my head back and close my eyes. Why fight them I’m really messed up and chances are I will just make the injuries worse. I wonder how everyone back at the house is doing. I wonder if Mack left and where he is at. How much longer will I be with these guys? No, they have not hurt me, but what Jake did was wrong. Taking a deep breath, I feel a prick in my hip. What the hell, I cannot open my eyes and I feel hands holding me down. I feel like I’m floating…
Chapter 4
Mack and Sal
We have been driving for two hours and I still have not gotten to her. Gripping the wheel tighter, I could only guess what he is doing to her. I know I told her do whatever it takes to stay alive. But the thought of him touching her makes my skin crawl, I just want to kill him. Looking over at Sal I wonder what he is thinking. I know they like each other but, I do not believe it is serious. Sal is a good guy really, but he is soft in ways where Egypt needs hard. I need to find out why she came to me this morning and not Sal. And I know he has to be wondering too. He really has not talked to me other than telling me to speed up or turn this way or that.
“Sal, hey man, what’s going through your head?” I ask.
“There’s a lot going my head right now, Mack. What the fuck do you think I’m thinking about? Why did she run to you, Mack?” Sal says.
“I’m going to be honest, Sal, I love her plain and simple. I told her I’d wait for her until she figures out what she wants, that I have all the time in the world. Tell me something Sal. You don’t love her, do you?”
Looking over at me, Sal runs his hands through his hair. “No, Mack, I don’t, I can’t. I know I should and that is what she deserves. I mean damn, man, she’s perfect in every damn way. But you know me I’m getting antsy, I can’t stay in one place for a long time,” Sal says.
“Sal, you’re an asshole! You need to stop leading her on, that’s really fucked up,” I say angrily.
“Mack, slow down. They’re stopping up ahead,” Sal says.
Looking to where Sal is pointing, it looks like they are pulling into an old house. Pulling over to the side of the road, I stop the truck.
“It doesn’t look like anyone else is here,” I say.
“It sounds like they are checking the house. I bet they are going to stay here for the night. Then meet up with the rest sometime tomorrow,” Sal says.
“I hope you're right, Sal. Let's get out and go take a look around,” I say.
We both get out of the truck and slowly shut the doors so they don’t slam, hoping they don’t hear us. We jog closer to the house, stopping right at the edge of the tree line. “Sal, go to the right and check everything on your side I’ll go to the left. We will meet in the back,” I say. Sal nods and takes off. Jogging to the left, I make my way to the side of the house. Leaning on the side of the house next to one of the windows. I slowly look in. Both of them are in there sitting around a CB. They are talking on it. Looking around I need to get to that open window so that I can hear what’s going on. Bending down I head to that window to where I can hear what is said. Hopefully, I can find out where they are keeping Egypt, or at least where they are going to meet up.
Getting to that window I straighten up a bit so I can look in. I hear over the walkie, “Hunter, you and Alex take different cars. Hunter, you come to us and, Alex, go for the other woman and kid. We will all meet up in four days at the base. ‘over.'
”
“OK, Gus, see ya then. How’s that hottie doing by the way? ‘Over.’“
"She’s with Jake in the bedroom, they had to drug her. You messed her up bad, Hunter. Jake had to carry her. Plus she got into another fight and kicked this bitch’s ass that jumped Jake. She was amazing. Hey got to go, guys are coming in. See ya soon ‘over.'"
Moving away from the window a little bit, I see that Sal has heard the same thing. Signaling with my hands, I start back to the truck. We need to go find another car so that we can follow both of them. By tomorrow morning we will be splitting up. Getting to the tree line I start to run I push my limits as my legs pump faster. What is he doing to her? I am going to kill him.
Making it back to the truck, I get in. Breathing hard, I grab for water and drink it down. Sal gets in to the other side and does the same thing. Starting the truck, I pull away from the side of the road.
“OK, Sal, I know that you heard what they are going to do. I’m not going to argue with you. I’m following Hunter. You can follow Alex,” I say.
I really hope that he doesn’t try to argue. I’m going after Egypt, there’s no other way. She asked me to find her and I need to talk. I need her.
“OK, I take it were going for another car? I will get the woman and kid and meet up with you where? I’m not going to argue with you, she wants you even if she doesn’t know it yet. I’m not stupid. I don’t think I ever stood a chance with her. Sure, she and I had fun fooling around but it was never going to be anything else,” Sal says.
I grip the wheel tighter, so I don’t haul off and punch Sal in the mouth. “We will meet up in six days, as soon as we find a car for you. In the event one of us is late, we will wait three days before we head back to Egypt’s,” I say.
“Sounds good to me. Let’s find a car so that we can get back to the house,” he says.
It takes us about an hour to find a car with gas in it. Sal starts to pack his gear in it. Everything he will need to make it. “Here take this sleeping bag with you, you have a kid to think of,” I say as I hand it to him.
Outbreak The Living (The Outbreak Series) Page 3