“Little girl, you better stop while you’re ahead, believe me when I say, she’ll kill you,” Mack says harshly. She grabs her mouth crying, but doesn’t say anything. He turns to Sal and he just walks away. Mack takes me into the kitchen and gets me a drink. Taking it from him I open it up and take a long drink.
“Mack, what room are we taking? I don’t want to be around the others.”
Nodding, Mack grabs a few drinks and some meat and cheese, he takes me by the hand and takes the stairs two at a time. We go to the only door on the right and go in. It’s the master bedroom with a bath off to the right. I hear him shut the door and turn the lock. He walks over to the bed and throws our gear down at the bottom. Finding a chair, I sit down and look outside. It feels good to get all the bottled stuff out. Hearing water, I get up to see what Mack’s doing. Heading into the bathroom he’s filling up the Jacuzzi tub. A bath would be wonderful, causing me to raise my eyebrows and smile. He smiles, walking over to me he slowly bends down and kisses me gently on the lips. “For you,” he says as he slowly walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
Walking over to the tub, I sit down and watch the water fill slowly. Moving my neck around, I feel the sore muscles there. Standing up, I slowly take my clothes off. It’s chilly in the room. Stepping in the hot sudsy water, I cannot believe how good it feels. Looking down I run my fingertips over the bruises on my thighs. Slowly lowering myself in the water, I put my head back and relax. Finding a razor I make quick use of it. I also make quick work washing my hair. When I am finished, I lay back and close my eyes.
I do not know how long I have been like that when the door slowly opens and Mack walks in. Opening my eyes, I watch him take off his clothes. Moving forward, I make room for him to get in with me. Mack settles behind me, so I lean back against him. He is all hard muscle, closing my eyes he starts rubbing my shoulders. Groaning, “My God does that feel amazing.”
We stay in here for about twenty minutes. “Egypt, you need to eat and we need to get to bed. It’s going to be an early morning and a long day. I’m going to get you home tomorrow night,” he whispers in my ear. He moves to stand up behind me, stepping out of the tub. Looking at him, that man has a body to die for and it is all mine. He is not shy at all and does not seem to care about me seeing him this way. Standing up, I wait for him to bring me a towel. I notice him looking at my wet body. I know when he sees the bruises. He doesn’t say anything, but I can see the anger in his eyes.
"They’ll heal, Mack,” I say softly, looking away from him. He walks over and wraps me gently in the towel never taking his eyes off my face.
“I know they will. We will get through this together." He kisses me on the forehead and we head into the bedroom. He digs around in his bag and throws me a t-shirt of his. Walking over to my bag, I grab my undies and slide them on. Letting the towel drop, I put the t-shirt on. I leave my hair down. It is just damp so it should be dry by morning. Sitting on the bed he brings over the food and we eat in silence. Once we are finished, I grab everything and put it on the dresser. Mack is pulling the blankets back when I walk over and I slide under the covers. Mack is not too far behind me. He turns off the lights and we just lay there listening to the other guys downstairs. He moves me a little so that I am cuddled up next to him with my head on his chest.
“Mack, can I ask you something?” Moving my hand to rest on his abs.
“Shoot,” is all he murmers.
“Do you think I went overboard today?” Looking up at him it is kind of hard to see his face.
“No, I think you needed to do it. Egypt, they need to know who is in charge now, not later,” he says. He tightens his arm around me. Snuggling in closer I feel my eyes close and sleep takes me away.
Chapter 17
I start to wake up from someone running their hands down my rib cage. Opening my eyes, the sun is shining through the window. Groaning I pull the covers over my head. I hear chuckling and know Mack is having fun with this.
“Baby, we need to get up and out of here. We’re going home,” he says sleepily. He pulls the covers halfway off us. Getting up on my elbow I bend down and kiss him. He chuckles. “What’s that for?” he asks.
Sitting up, I smile. “Thank you for last night, Mack.” He looks at me kinda funny. Getting up, I walk across the bed and hop down. Walking into the bathroom, I turn the shower on and take a quick shower. As I’m getting out, Mack comes in. “Egypt, hurry and get dressed. There’s tons of zombies outside and they’re trying to get in,” he says. Looking up at him I can see he’s really worried about this.
“OK Mack, give me 5 minutes,” I say over my shoulder as I run into the bedroom. Grabbing my bag, I pull out the clothes I will need and start putting them on. Once that is done, I stop dead still. Listening, I can hear screaming and moaning. I hurry to get my boots on before Mack is beside me handing me my knife and gun. I tuck them in my jeans. Throwing the pack over my shoulder, I make my way to the door. Mack throws it open and lets me go first. We run down the steps and jump the three steps remaining. The others are packing their stuff up fast. Tara runs over to me and throws her little arms around me. Looking over at Mack, I don’t move. Mack just shakes his head. Unwrapping her little arms, I bend down. Looking her in the eyes, she’s been crying.
“Tara, what’s wrong?” She wipes her eyes and leans forward a little.
“Don’t let them get me,” is all she says. Looking up at Mack I can tell he has heard what she said.
“Tara, honey, I won’t let them get you.”
“You promise?” she asks.
Looking at her, I gently push the hair out of her eyes. “I promise, now go to your mommy and stay close to her, you hear me?” She nods her head and runs over to her mom. Looking over at Sally I see the fear in her eyes. Good! It needs to be there.
“What’s going on?” I look out the window and see we are really in trouble. They are all over the trucks and are headed here. No one says anything. “Someone better start talking! Who was on watch?” I ask angrily. Everyone looks at the ground. Getting pissed I walk into the center. “WHO THE FUCK WAS ON WATCH?”
Todd steps forward. "Sally was, but, Egypt, wait…”
"Don’t tell me to wait.” I turn my focus to Sally. “You might've very well signed our death warrants," I say looking at her with contempt. Walking back to the windows we’re going to have to fight our way out of here.
“OK guys, listen up we are going to have to get to those trucks. Sal, go up and look out the windows so you can see further that way, I have a feeling it’s going to be bad. Mack, make sure everyone has their gear and ready to move out when I say.” Running my hands down my face, I look over at Mack and he’s got a huge grin on his face. Rolling my eyes, I look at Tara. “I want Tara in the middle of us and for God sakes give Sally a knife or something.”
Looking over to Mack I motion to the kitchen. Dropping my pack by the door, I make my way into the kitchen. Grabbing a pop out of the cooler, I toss it to Mack and grab one for myself. Cracking it open, I take a sip leaning up against the counter. “Mack, what the hell we going to do. We have to make a run for it, but I have a feeling we’re going to lose someone.” I continue to look at him. “We’re going to make a run for it, that’s all there is to it.”
“You’re right, Egypt. I don’t see any other way. You should be able to think of something. You watch all them zombie movies,” he says shaking his head laughing. Punching him in his arm he grabs me and holds me tight. “I’m proud of you, Egypt. You’re taking charge the way you should be and can I add it’s sexy as hell,” he says grinning. Lifting my head up, I kiss him.
“Go make sure the others are ready. I’ve got some thinking to do.” Mack heads to the living room, I holler to him “Hey Mack, send Sal in when he comes back down.” Turning, I look out the window above the kitchen sink. I can see zombies coming from the back towards us. It is like they know we are here. Maybe they smell us? So many questions and no one to ask. I have got to t
hink of something that can help us. Moving over to the table, I sit down rubbing the bridge of my nose, I rack my brain.
“Hey Egypt, Mack told me you wanted me. What’s up?” Sal says walking in and sitting at the table. He grabs my pop and takes a drink. Same old Sal. It’s nice for the moment.
“Do we have anything to blow up away from the house? Something that will give us a fighting chance to make it to the trucks,” I ask grabbing my drink back. One day I am not going to have this.
Sal thinks for a few minutes. “Yeah, I got something,” he says grinning.
“What? Oh, screw it I don’t want to know. We just need something to draw them away from us. That way we don’t have that many to fight off,” I say laughing under my breath.
“By the way, how did it look further out?”
“The streets are thick with them, Egypt. It’s like they know we’re here,” Sal says.
Running my hands through my hair I stand up. Sal looks up at me with a grin.
“Let’s get everyone ready to move out. Sal, you’re responsible for Sally and Tara; I suggest that you keep the kid in the middle. Honestly, you can use Sally for zombie chow for all care." With that, I make my way to the other room. The others are stuffing their bags and talking amongst themselves. “OK guys, listen up we’re outta here. Sal’s going to get their attention elsewhere and we go for the trucks. Take out only the ones that you have to. There is more on the way, so we need to be outta here and on our way.” Looking around the room I see everyone with determination on their faces. Sal runs up the steps and out of sight. Looking around the room I really hope we all make it. “OK, guys get ready,” I say, making my way to the door.
Mack is right behind me, bending down to my ear whispers, “Stay close.”
I nod, grabbing my gun, I click the safety off and pull the slide back. Looking behind me, everyone is doing the same. Looking down at Tara, I see she’s crying and Sally is trying to calm her down. “Egypt, will you take her?” Sally asks.
Nodding, Tara comes running over and hugs my leg. I look up at Sally, she nods and I nod back. Bending down “Tara keep hold of my shirt no matter what stay with me,” I tell her. She smiles up at me, the poor girl so afraid it makes my heart hurt. Looking at Mack, he nods and I know that nothing will come up from behind us. Hearing a huge boom big enough that the floor shakes we wait till the zombies clear out. Opening the door a little bit, I peek out and see that they are doing just that. “Let’s go.”
Moving as fast as Tara will allow me, we run out into the morning light. The smell of the rotten flesh is making me gag and my eyes water. Looking to the right where the explosion went off I see hundreds of zombies, to the left the new horde is closing fast. Making it to the truck, I throw the doors open and lift Tara in telling her to stay put. Turning around, I watch as the others make their way towards us. Mack is in front of the truck watching the first horde; but they are still heading to the blast. I look at the new crowd and some of them are running fast. Yelling for Mack, he comes around to my side and watches. The look on his face is almost as scary as what is coming at us. “Get a move on, we got incoming,” I yell. The others turn and see what I’m talking about.
Aiming, I take out two that are getting too close, but they still keep coming. Looking towards the blast, some of those are turning around and heading back. We are surrounded and they are coming fast. Todd makes it over and throws his stuff in the back of the truck, firing off a few rounds. Dan, Sally, and Sal are just about to their truck when Sally falls. Mack puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me from running over there. “No, they’re too close now just keep shooting,” he says. Aiming my gun, I pick off a few that were just about to slam into the back of Sal. Sal picks up Sally and runs the rest of the way to the truck. Once they are in, I hop in and Mack does the same. Zombies start slamming into the vehicle, making me jump. They are sliding their hands and mouths all over the windows. Turning around, I tell Tara to cover her eyes that everything will be okay. She does what I ask of her with no questions.
“Mack.” He’s trying to start the truck and when it finally does he is moving so slow because there are zombies everywhere.
“Hold on guys, I’m going to have to drive right through, or they’re gonna tip this truck." Holding on, it is very bumpy. The truck leans to the left and I fall into Mack. He puts his arm around me and holds me into place. Once we are clear, I move back to my seat checking on Tara. Todd is holding her and whispering something to her which makes her laugh. Looking at my watch it’s only 6:21 am. Looking out the window, I wonder what happened to make this many zombies come this way.
“Mack, how long until we’re in Ohio,” I ask as I look over at him. He always gets a stern face when he’s thinking.
“About nine hours on a good day, but you saw how 77N was yesterday. So I say longer. By the time we get there it will be dark.”
“I really don’t want to stay anywhere overnight until we’re home.” Todd taps my shoulder and passes me two pops. Smiling at him, I look over at Tara she’s drawing on some paper.
“We will need to stop in a few hours to clean off the truck,” Mack says.
**Few Hours Later**
Looking at my watch it’s noon already, we have been on the road for six hours. I have to pee and I am sure Tara does too. She has been sleeping in the back. She is so young to have to see how the world is now. But there is nothing I can do about it. I really wish there was. I heard the two new guys talking about there is no God, or he wouldn’t have done this. I still believe in God, why wouldn’t I? He has kept me alive this long. I cannot wait until Sunday morning when Hank will have a sermon. I need that for my soul.
“Hey Mack, we need to find a place to stop. I’d prefer not to get off the highway.”
“There’s a rest stop in twenty miles, we will hit that,” he says. Mack pulls out the walkie and tells Sal what we are planning. It has been touch and go on 77N. Some spots you can get up to the speed limit and at others we are driving at a slow crawl. Like now, there are cars and semis littering the road. I think it is because of the service plaza up ahead. I wonder where these people were headed to. And if they made it. A few minutes later we see the exit for the rest area. I grab the walkie from Mack and hold the button so everyone can hear.
“With what we saw at the other rest area have Sally and Tara stay in the trucks. While we make sure it’s all clear. I think we need to hit up the gas station if it’s up and running. We’re low and I’m sure you guys are too.”
OK, Egypt,” Sal says. He must have not let go of the button because I hear Sally say something like damn she is bad ass isn’t she. Everyone in our truck roars with laughter. Rolling my eyes I have to admit that was funny. Mack takes it slow as we go by the plaza building. Some of the glass is broke out and one of the doors in hanging at a weird angle. I do not see anyone inside from the truck, but we will still have to be careful. Mack turns the corner and we make our way to the fueling bay. Pulling up to the pumps, he shuts off the truck. Opening the door, I let the cool air rush in. Man, I miss Georgia’s weather. Grabbing my gun, I hop out. Looking around, I do not see anything.
“Mack, I’ll go and turn the pumps on,” I say, walking over to the little glass building. Making it to the door, I grab the handle to my surprise it is unlocked. Slowly opening it, I wait a few seconds to see if anyone pops out. Not seeing anything and not smelling anything I head in and let the door close behind me. Walking up to the registers, I go behind the counter and see that the power is on. Turning on the pumps, I see that Mack is watching me, I give him a thumbs up. Turning around, I see no one has hit this little store. Grabbing a few bags, I go about filling them with smokes. After about six bags, I walk them to the truck and throw them into the back. The guys are still filling the tanks, so I see if Tara wants to come with me. We grab a few more bags and fill them with whatever we want. It is good to see her smile. She carries out two bags and I carry the remaining. We get to the truck and Tara runs over to her mom. I
put the bags in the truck and make my way to Mack. He is done filling the tank and is filling the gas cans just in case.
“Mack, you about done?”
“Yep, we heading to the food court?” he asks. Looking over there, it’s the only place to go to the restrooms.
“Yeah, then I’d like to head out. It doesn’t feel like the other place, but we can’t take the chance.” Looking over there again. “Mack, I’m going to walk on over, I need to walk. “ I leave before he can say anything. Taking my time, I look around. It’s about the same everywhere. Cars left open, parked however they want. This is our new life now. It is something we will have to get used to. Hearing a noise, I look to the left. I don’t see anything. Looking out to the tree line I see two deer playing. Smiling, I keep walking, making it to the sidewalk of the place. I will wait here for the others. They should have been here already but, I think that Mack has kept them back so that I could have alone time.
Chapter 18
Looking over, I see them pull away from the gas pumps. Sitting on the curb I wait. It only takes them a few seconds to get over to me. Mack backs in so if we need to leave fast we can. Sal does the same thing. This time, everyone gets out. Mack comes over to me and laces our hands together.
“Ready to go in?” he asks softly.
“You bet! I really gotta go,” I say laughing. Mack is still laughing as we make our way inside the building. It smells bad so we are careful. We make it to the bathrooms and the guys wait outside while Sally, Tara, and myself, go do what we need to. The bathroom was clear for a change, other than it looking like someone was living in it. I splash water on my face to get the sweat off it. Sally and Tara come out of one of the stalls and go to wash their hands.
“Thanks, Egypt, for watching out for Tara, she feels safe with you,” Sally says.
Outbreak The Living (The Outbreak Series) Page 12