Shit. Putting my knife away, I grab my gun and make sure the safety is off. I really do not like the way this feels but it is the fastest way to get out of here and on the road. Looking behind me zombies are coming into the alley. Shit.
“Mack, behind us,” I say. Picking up my pace, I pass Mack. I hear him swearing behind me, but I keep going. Looking around the alley, it is really not that bad. There is not garbage all over the place like you see on TV. Making our way to the end of it, I slow down and lean up against the wall of the building. Slowly looking around the corner to the left I see zombies, some are bent over their meals. Looking to the right there is fighting going on, but I see the truck. And it is clear over there.
“Mack, we need to make a run for it. There’s hundreds of zombies to the left and fighting to the right. But it’s a clear shot to the truck. We’re going to have to be fast. It’s going to go to hell quickly, have your keys ready,” I say, not waiting for him to say anything. I take off towards the truck. My boots hit the pavement hard and fast, I can hear Mack behind me mumbling something. Grinning, I keep going. I slam into the truck and run to the passenger side waiting for Mack to unlock it. He does and we jump in. Mack starts it and goes to take off. Zombies are in our path. Shit.
“Hold on, Egypt. It’s going to get bumpy in here,” he says as he turns the wheel to the right and smacks right into them. I slam forward and catch myself before I hit the windshield.
“Damn Mack! I almost sucked face with the window,” I say, looking over at him.
“Well, we can’t have that Egypt, get your seatbelt on,” he says laughing.
Rolling my eyes, I put it on and settle back into my seat. Grabbing two drinks from the back I hand one to him.
“Mack we still getting my mom’s meds?” Looking out the window, I see the little town go by and along with it, all my troubles. We're safe for now I think.
“Yep, we got a two-hour drive and we’ll be there. We will hit it in the afternoon. Don’t think we have time to wait. We will stop tonight and find a place to stay on the way back. I want to be outta Atlanta before dark,” he says.
Nodding, I make myself comfortable, for the two-hour drive. Mack grabs my hand, laces his fingers through mine. Looking out the window, I watch the houses go by and wonder just how many people are left, and if so are they all like Lane and Jake.
Chapter 11
Waking up slowly from the rocking of the truck going over something, I stretch and look over to Mack smiling.
“Hey, how long did I sleep?” Mack hands me a bottled water, taking it from him, I look to see what kind it is. I know I shouldn’t be picky, but I love spring water and low and behold that’s what it is.
“Just a few hours, we’re almost there,” he says looking over at me. “Keep an eye open for trouble as we get closer to the city it’s going to get crazy.”
Looking out the window, I notice that the houses are getting closer together. Some are boarded up, the bottom windows anyway. Looking up at the top windows, I see what looks like a little girl looking out the window. When she notices me looking she moves quickly away.
“Mack, there’s people in that blue house over on the left, let’s stop I have to pee anyway. Maybe we can talk to them if they come out. See what they know.”
Mack looks around and pulls over on the right. He shuts off the truck and gets out of the truck. Coming over to my side, he opens up the door. Getting out, I take a good look around. A few of the houses are burned down while others are broken into. There are some zombies on the ground walking over to two people, I notice that they have been shot with a bow. Those arrows look familiar, I just can’t place where I’ve seen them. Mack is doing the same thing—looking around at the boarded up houses. He does not go up to any. Walking over to him, I lace my fingers through his. He squeezes them gently.
“Mack, I have to go to the bathroom,” I say, looking up at him.
“Don’t go far, Egypt. Keep me in view,” he says. Looking at him as I walk away, he looks uncomfortable here. I know I need to make it quick. Walking over to an enormous tree in a front yard I look around and do what I have to. Standing up I move to the other side of the tree. The hairs on the back of my neck stick up, tensing up I slowly look around, something is not right. I feel like I am being watched. Slowly my hand goes to my knife. I do not pull it out, but I am ready.
Looking over to where Mack is, I see that he is watching me. He has seen me go for my knife. He starts over to me. I slowly shake my head no to him. He stops but is looking around behind me. I know Mack and know this is killing him not coming to me. Looking to my left I see what had me on edge. A young woman is making her way to me, she doesn’t seem to be up to no good either. Well, let us give her an opportunity to come to me. Walking forward towards Mack she is now slightly behind me. Stopping I bend down to tie my shoe. That is when I hear it. Feet running towards me. I stay how I am. Looking over at Mack I just grin, I see him nod his head. He stays where he is at.
I know she is just about to me, just a few more seconds. I feel the cold steel of a knife sliding against my throat, tensing up I do not move. This girl has a death wish that is for sure.
“Listen, lady, take that fucking knife off me and I won’t have to kill you!” Moving my head a bit, I can see her out of the corner of my eye. Shit! She’s young.
“I don’t think you have any room to be telling me what to do bitch! I’m the one with the knife on you,” she says.
Shaking my head. “Have it your way then.” Moving around, I grab the arm that’s holding the knife and flip her on her back onto the ground. Taking the knife out of her hands I throw it off to the side and take a step back.
"I don’t want to hurt you, are you done being an immature little bitch?” Keeping my eyes on her, she lays there for a few minutes not saying anything. I take the chance and quickly look over to Mack. He’s got his gun out and watching behind me. I know that he won’t interfere with this. Looking down at her she starts to stand up. I take a few steps back because I can see it in her eyes this isn’t over. Oh, you have got to be kidding me. She rushes me and grabs me by my throat screaming like a banshee.
Grabbing her left arm, I rip it away from the neck. Pulling back I punch her in the face, grabbing her by her long blonde hair I pull back exposing her throat. Sliding my knife across her neck. She stops moving. “Listen, I don’t want to hurt you.” I do not get to finish before I hear feet coming up behind me. Looking out to Mack, I see him coming to me from the other direction. Tightening my grab on the girl I brace for what’s coming from behind.
“SAL!” Mack screams. “Don’t! That’s Egypt!” What the fuck is Sal doing here and with this girl? I better keep my grip on her. I see the look of anger on Mack’s face. Well shit, that cannot be good. I know he’s right behind me. The girl tries to scream for Sal.
“Don’t,” is all I say. Looking Mack in the eyes, I can see that he’s about to shoot his friend.
“Sal, what are you going to do, shoot me?” I ask. Slowly keeping hold of the girl in front of me, I turn around keeping my back to Mack. Well, I sure wasn’t expecting to see Sal holding a gun on me, but there he was doing just that.
“Egypt,” Sal whispers. Shaking his head as if he’s clearing it. He seems to snap out of it. “Sally, what the fuck are you doing attacking Egypt?” he asks. He looks up to me. "Can you please let her go? She’ll behave," he says.
Looking behind me I see Mack shrug his shoulders, but he still has his gun out. UGH, my decision. Tightening my grip, I take the knife away from her throat and shove her towards Sal. Backing up, I make my way closer to Mack, I feel him put his hand on my shoulder and squeeze. I put my knife back where I had it and stand there watching the two.
Sal is arguing with her. I cannot make out what is being said, only a few words here and there. Something like ‘she could have killed you’ and ‘are you stupid.' Looking up at Mack, he just shakes his head.
“So I see you found her Sal. Why are you holed
up here?” Mack asks him. Watching them makes me wonder what’s going on between the two of them. I can tell that she has got a crush on him. But I don’t know how he feels about her. Shaking my head, I just wait and see what’s going to happen.
“Yeah, two days ago. I caught up with them, I killed the other guy and we had to hole up here; there was a horde of zombies,” he says. Looking at me, I see him looking where Mack’s hand is. I just stare back to him but say nothing. To be honest, I do not know what to say to him. He did hold a gun to me and I do not doubt that he would have shot me had Mack not said something.
“Hey, I hear a lot of moaning. Do you have a place to wait it out?” Mack asks. Sal looks over our shoulders and nods “Follow us, but hurry they're coming,” Sal says.
We start jogging to keep up. We go around to the back of the blue house and in the back door. Looking around, it reminds me of an old couple’s house. It is neat and tidy, walking into the family room, I walk to the window and look out. Up the street, I see a bunch of zombies coming this way. Hearing something behind me, I look over my shoulder and see that girl Sally making her way upstairs. Watching her for a minute I look back outside. They are getting closer, I cannot tell how many because the windows are boarded up. Hearing the guys talking, I make my way into the kitchen.
“We’re headed to the CDC and the pharmaceutical companies for Egypt’s mom," Mack says. Feeling eyes on me as I make my way into the kitchen, I walk over to where Mack is sitting. He smiles and pulls out a chair for me to sit next to him. I don’t have to think twice.
I sit down and grab the pop he has sitting in front of him and take a drink, looking at the guys. “Well, it doesn’t look like we will be going today. There’s a ton of zombies out there,” I say.
It’s quiet for a few minutes “Well, guess we stay here for the night and try and take off first thing in the morning,” Mack says.
“I think that will be a good idea. We will go with you guys in the morning, hit them places up, and then head back to Egypt’s,” Sal says.
Sal gets up and heads to the family room, He hits the stairs and goes up. Turning a bit in my chair, I grab Mack’s hand. He squeezes it and takes his other hand and grabs me by the waist so that I sit on his lap. Looking up into his eyes, I wrap my arms around him and snuggle into his neck. My lips are right there. I can smell him and he does feel good. He smells like home. I know that I am safe with him. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for me. There isn’t anything I would not do for him. We were made for each other.
"Egypt, when I saw, that knife at your throat I knew you can take care of yourself, but I don’t want to ever lose you. Then Sal and the gun. My God I was ready to kill him and not think twice. You know that you need to talk to him,” Mack says. He starts rubbing my back and I let him. His hands feel amazing.
I sigh. “I know I have to talk to him. But, to be honest, Mack, I don’t really trust him.” Looking up at Mack, I continue, “He had a gun pointed at me, and I believe he would have shot me!” Moving, I get up and make my way to the kitchen window. Moving the curtain a little, I look out. Gasping, I can’t believe what I’m seeing. The whole back yard is filled with zombies. Mack comes and stands behind me to look out. I feel his hands go around my waist. “Is this OK?” he asks. I nod and lean my head against his chest and look outside. If they don’t leave by tomorrow, we will be forced to fight to get out. Moving my head a little, I hear them coming down the stairs. There sounds like there is well more than two.
Turning in his arms, I hear him sigh. He kisses my head and slowly lets me go. “There’s four of them, not including Sal. And they all want to come back with us. But it’s up to you, Egypt. Don’t make your mind up yet just think about,” he says. Nodding, I don’t say anything. We will talk about it later tonight alone. Mack walks back over and sits down at the kitchen table. I stay where I am by the window. It is starting to get dark. This is my favorite time of the day. When the sky turns pinks and oranges. I hear them all come into the kitchen. I do not turn around. These are not my friends, I do not have to be nice. Hell, I am tired of being nice. I am just tired of it all. I’m ready to go home and be with my family.
Chapter 12
Everyone piles into the kitchen. There is Sally, a little girl, and two men. I hear Sal making introductions to Mack. Turning around, I watch them warmly greet Mack. He seems happy to see them. Sal makes his way over to me and puts his hand on the small of my back. Stiffening up, I move a step forward. I am introduced to the new guys and they seem to like me.
“We have heard a lot about you, Egypt. I hope we can be friends,” says the one called Dan.
Looking up at him, I shake his hand and smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Dan, I’m sure that we can be.”
Next is the younger-looking one. He comes over and gives me a big bear hug. Laughing, I look at him. “And you are?”
He laughs. “I’m Todd, nice to meet you, Egypt.” He moves a bit closer and whispers in my ear, “I’m so glad you took her down a notch, no one likes her except Sal.” He steps back a bit.
“It’s nice to meet you, Todd, and anytime,” I said, smiling.
Next the little girl comes over and introduces herself. “My name is Tara and I know you're Egypt,” she says, then takes off up the stairs. Well, I guess that all went well.
“You know Sally,” Sal says. Looking over to her, she is giving me a dirty look.
“Yep, sure do,” I said smiling. Walking over to the table I sit next to Mack. I feel his hand slip on my leg and squeeze. Smiling up at him, he gives me a pop. I am not surprised it is my favorite. Opening it, I take a drink. Todd comes over and sits next to me. I see that he is eyeballing my pop. Pushing it over in front of him, he looks at me and smiles. He takes a long drink and then passes it back.
“Thanks, Egypt, I haven’t had that in a very long time,” he says.
Laughing, I say, "Anytime, Todd. So do you guys have anything to eat?" I ask.
Sal is the first to speak up “Yep, sure do. Sally why don’t you get something made up for everyone while the guys talk. I’m going to show Egypt to her room,” he says. Looking over at Sally I can tell she does not like Sal around me. Smiling at Mack I get up to follow Sal upstairs. Leaving the kitchen, I can hear the guys starting to talk. Making my way to the steps, I look over my shoulder at Sal.
“Where to Sal?” Starting on the step I head up.
“Go to the last door in the hallway, you can’t miss it, Egypt,” he says. Walking up the stairs one at a time I know this is it. At the end of the hallway, I stop at a door and look behind me. Sal reaches around me and opens the door wide. Stepping in, I look around the room it is the master bedroom. Why would he give me this room? Turning around, I face him.
“Sal, we need to talk.” I walk over to the balcony doors and open them wide. The cool night air rushes in and feels good against my body. It gives me goosebumps. Walking over to the railing I lean against it. Sal walks over and stands next to me.
“I know we need to talk, Egypt. I’m sure you’re wondering why I didn’t come for you. Why I went after someone else,” Sal says.
I look over at him. “I was wondering about that. I’m not going to talk about what happened to me while I was with Jake. If you really want to know, you can ask Mack. He knows it all. I know you like Sally and I’m happy for you, but if I'm honest here, Sal, I’m hurt and afraid of you.” Turning around, I lean against the railing and look up at him.
"Mack is for you, Egypt. Right now, my head isn’t on straight I’m sorry and I do like Sally, but not in the way you think. I just can’t be what you need right now,” Sal says.
I cannot let him think that I have those kinds of feelings for him. That there is hope for us. Running my hands down my face and grabbing his hand “Sal, I think it has always been Mack. I don’t want to mislead you and I think you have the right to know. Mack is just Mack, he never stepped on your toes. He just waited for me to make up my mind.” Looking up into his eyes, I see them w
atering a little bit. I didn’t want to hurt him and I really hate this shit.
“I’m not going to give up on us, not yet anyway. I’m just taking a step back. Anyways this is your room for the night." We walk back into the bedroom. “The bathroom is on the left,” he says. Sal walks out of the room and stops. “Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes” He shuts the door behind him and I’m finally left alone. Walking back outside, I look out over the horizon taking a deep breath. I look down and notice the zombies can’t get in the side yard because of a fence. That is kind of weird. You would think that it would wrap around the back of the yard. There’s a knock on the door and I tell them to come in. Looking behind me it’s Sally. Great just what I want to deal with. She doesn’t come all the way in.
“Sal wanted me to tell you dinner is ready,” she says and heads back out the door, not bothering to close it behind her. I walk back into the bathroom to wash my hands and face. Splashing the cold water on my face, I can’t believe how good it feels. Wiping my hands and face off on the lilac towel, I hang it back up and make my way downstairs. I can hear laughing and shouting from in the kitchen. Turning the corner, I cannot believe how good it smells in here. Everyone looks up as I walk in, so I smile and make my way next to Mack.
“Like the room, Egypt?” he asks.
Smiling up at him, I reply, “Yes, it’s amazing!” Everything starts to be passed around fried chicken, salad, corn and mashed potatoes. Not too shabby for the end of the world. Everyone makes small talk, but it is mostly the guys that are talking. I do not mind. I have tons of things going through my mind. Like, am I going to let these people come back with us to my home and to be a part of the group. I do not know if we can trust them. I guess we will wait and see how they do tomorrow. Looking over at Mack, I see that he is done with eating. I glance down at my own plate it is empty. I guess I was hungry. Getting up, I grab his plate and mine and take it to the sink and rinse them off. Going back to the table I sit down and listen to everyone talking. They are making plans for tomorrow. I now know that Todd is going to ride with us and Dan with Sal and the others.
Outbreak The Living (The Outbreak Series) Page 8