Daisy and the Dead

by Bale, Sarah

  “Daisy, when I close my eyes I can imagine how sexy you’d look pregnant with my kid. And it fucking kills me. It’s sweet torture.”

  A tear slid from my eye. “I know, Elijah. I know.”

  “I love you.”

  His words sent me over the edge and I cried out as I came. He buried his face in the crook of my neck and then he pulled out, shooting hot spurts on my stomach as he came. And for one moment I prayed his vision could be true – that I could carry his child one day.

  “One day when this is over we’re going to revisit this conversation, Elijah,” I said softly.

  He didn’t reply, but kissed me.

  “I’m going to shower. Try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”

  He padded to the bathroom. When the door closed I let my tears fall. He didn’t think he was going to make it. Damn him! He needed to fight for us and the future we could have!

  When he came out I said, “I want you to remember one thing tomorrow.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’ll be here, waiting for you. So you better do everything in your power to get me or else I’ll find a way to come to you.”

  His eyes widened. “Daisy-”

  “I mean it. I don’t care what happens to me. But I care what happens to you.”

  He was across the room in an instant.

  “You are fucking amazing, you know that.” He kissed me. “I swear to god I’ll do everything in my power to get back to you.”

  The heavy feeling in my stomach lifted a little.

  “That’s better,” I said, kissing him back.

  He was going to fight for me as I’d fight for him. He fell on top of me and we both found sanctuary in each other’s bodies throughout the night. There was no predicting the future, but tonight we had each other.

  16

  I tried not to cry as Elijah dressed the next evening. I’d stayed in our room all day while he’d taken care of business with his men. And now it was time for him to pay the other property a visit.

  “Daisy, you have to stay calm.”

  How could I? He’d admitted he thought he was walking into a fucking trap.

  “Can’t we run? Take the car and not look back?”

  “You know I can’t do that.” His eyes took me in. “If I’m not back by three in the morning then you take the car and get the fuck out of here. Understand?”

  I nodded. “I already said I would.”

  “Good girl.”

  We stared at each other and then I threw myself into his embrace. This was happening too fast. We needed more time. I wasn’t ready-

  He pulled away and kissed my forehead. “Lock the door when I’m gone. Try to sleep. This might be the last time we’re safe for a while.”

  I nodded and he grabbed his pistol, tucking it in his waistband. His jacket hid it, but we both knew they’d expect him to come armed. He gave me one last look before leaving. I locked the door after him and went to the closet, pulling my bag out. I needed to stay busy or I’d be tempted to go after him.

  He’d thought of everything when he packed it. I shoved an extra blanket inside as well as my notebook and photos. If things went downhill then I was ready to flee. Going to the bathroom, I grabbed the medicine from the cabinets and my toothbrush. My eyes filled with tears and I held the items to my chest. He’d given me more than a home. He’d given me safety. I sniffled and went back to the bedroom. Now all I could do was wait.

  I’d dozed off when there was a series of loud pops coming from the hallway. Gunfire? I leapt from the bed and threw my boots on. Thank god I hadn’t undressed. The popping sounds were getting closer and I could hear footsteps stomping down the hallway.

  My heart pounded and I put the backpack Elijah had packed for me over my shoulders. Grabbing my pistol, I waited by the door. Though it was locked I knew it could be forced open.

  A voice on the other side said, “He’s not here. They said he left a few hours ago.”

  Had it really been hours? It felt like he’d just gone.

  “Bet his woman is inside. Let’s get her and teach him a lesson that way.”

  A whimper left my lips and I aimed the gun toward the door.

  The first man replied, “Fuck that. I don’t like hurting women. Come on. Let’s take what we can and get out of here.”

  I waited until the footsteps faded. Did I open the door or wait? That was the million-dollar question. If I waited there was no telling who would come by next. If I left then I might be walking into a hellish nightmare. A woman cried out and I opened the door without thinking.

  A man I didn’t recognize a few doors down pushed Aunt B against the wall.

  “Where are the guns, bitch?”

  “I told you, they’re all gone. Boss took them.”

  The man spit at Aunt B and she tried to get away. I raised the pistol and aimed at the man, pulling the trigger. His body jerked as the bullet hit his chest and then he fell forward. Aunt B shoved him and dodged out of the way as he fell.

  We ran toward each other and embraced.

  “Daisy, you need to get out of here. They’re looking for you and know what you look like.”

  Probably courtesy of that cunt, Marianne, if I had to guess. It sounded like something she’d do.

  “But Sir’s not back yet. I can’t leave without him.”

  “Honey, he might not be coming back.”

  Fuck. She was right. I nodded.

  “We need to get to the cafeteria. Juan knows a way out.”

  I didn’t doubt that. That sweet, sweet man knew the ins and outs of the hospital better than anyone. Another round of gunfire made both of us jump and we took off.

  “We forgot to stab him in the head,” Aunt B said, glancing over her shoulder.

  Which meant he’d be turning soon. Which also meant the dead were now inside our safe place.

  “Don’t think about that right now,” I said. “We can take care of that later.”

  But we couldn’t if there were too many of them. If Elijah waited too long then these assholes shooting up the hospital wouldn’t be his only problem. We reached one of the sections where the hallway broke off in four directions. Voices came from the direction we needed to take and my heart pounded.

  “I’m going to see who it is,” I said in a low tone.

  Squatting, I looked around the corner and saw four men I didn’t know.

  “There are four of them. I-I don’t know if I can shoot them all before they retaliate.”

  Aunt B met my gaze and pulled out a gun from the waistband of her jeans. “We’ve got this.”

  Her bad-assery gave me strength and I nodded. I stayed crouched and she stood above me. She counted down with her fingers and we fired at the same time. Two of the men fell and the other two looked around to see where the gunfire came from. They lifted their own weapons, but that was as far as they got before they died.

  We ran down the hallway before more of their friends showed up. As we got closer to the cafeteria I heard more gunfire and men yelling. My heart pounded. What if we were walking into an ambush? Aunt B’s face grew pale and I knew I had to be strong for both of us.

  “We should go through the kitchen; Hopefully Juan was able to lock the door by the hotline.”

  If not then we’d really be in trouble. I peered in the small window on the door, but didn’t see anyone inside of the kitchen. Slowly, I opened the door, cringing when it creaked.

  “Who’s there? I’ll shoot.”

  “Juan? Thank god! It’s Daisy and Bertha.”

  Juan looked around the corner and sighed audibly when he saw us. His normally tan skin had a grey tinge to it.

  “I thought it was those monsters. They’ve already been through once and said they were on their way back.”

  Aunt B asked, “How much did they get?”

  His face fell. “Too much.”

  “We’ll be okay. As long as we have each other.”

  My words weren’t reassuring b
ecause we all knew the truth – we might not be okay. Shouting from the cafeteria made us jump. I went to the door to listen. Maybe we’d get a little warning if they were about to come back to the kitchen.

  I pressed my ear against the door and heard a man with a raspy voice speak.

  “Well, well, well… look what we have here. Smith, pull that bag off his head. I want him to see me before I kill him.”

  There was scuffling and someone groaned in pain.

  “Wyatt, you don’t have to do this,” Elijah said in his deep voice.

  No! I cried out and stumbled away from the door.

  “He’s out there!”

  Aunt B and Juan exchanged a wary look.

  “Did you hear me? He’s out there! We need to do something.”

  Aunt B took a step forward and touched my arm. “Honey, there’s nothing we can do for him. Boss wouldn’t want us to try to save him either.”

  I knew she was right, but I shook my head. “I can’t leave him. Not when-”

  Not when I loved him more than my own life. I squared my shoulders and ejected the magazine from my pistol. I had twelve rounds left and two backup magazines.

  “Where did you get that double stacked forty-five,” Juan asked in awe.

  “He gave it to me.” I smiled at them. “I don’t expect you to follow me. I know it’s a death mission. Please take care of yourselves.”

  Aunt B’s eyes watered. “Daisy, please don’t do this. There are too many of them.”

  “I know. But I can’t leave him.” Turning to Juan, I asked, “Are you going to take Aunt B to the roof?”

  He nodded. He’d told me about the access panel that led to the roof. At the time we’d joked that if anything happened that would be our escape plan. Now it might be our only hope.

  “Please leave the door unlocked. Take my backpack, too. If I get him we’ll be right behind you.” I paused. “But if things go badly then do whatever it takes to protect yourselves.”

  Reaching out I hugged my two friends at the same time. This was probably the last time I’d see them, but I was okay with that. Taking a deep breath, I let them go.

  It was now or never.

  17

  I pushed through the door, my gun ready to fire. I assessed the room as quickly as I could. There was about twenty men, some I recognized. Those bastards! Elijah was standing in front of a man I didn’t know with his arms bound behind his back. His shoulder was bleeding through his shirt in the same place as his scar. What had they done to him?

  Everyone jumped when the door slammed behind me, but I kept moving forward.

  “Well, what do we have here? A kitten with claws.” The man pushed Elijah, making him groan. “Is she yours? Because I might have to take her.”

  I wouldn’t allow another man to own me, not when the man I loved was right in front of me.

  “Fuck you,” I said and I pulled the trigger.

  The man stumbled backward and then all hell broke loose. Another man lunged for Elijah knocking him to the ground at the same time two men pulled guns out and aimed for me. Gunfire rang out behind me and I jumped as one of the men fell.

  Glancing over my shoulder I was shocked to see Aunt B. She winked at me and then shot another man. The ones who lived at the hospital and worked for Elijah fled. Cowards! The rest prepared to fight. My heart pounded in my chest, but I wasn’t going to back down. My only goal was saving Elijah no matter the cost.

  I raised my gun and fired round after round, taking down men. They shot back and Aunt B and I took shelter behind a table on its side.

  I dropped my empty magazine and loaded a new one. “How many rounds do you have left?”

  “Not many. We need to get Boss before they try to take him out.”

  I nodded. “Cover me. When I get him I’m going to bring him back this way. Did Juan leave the door unlocked?”

  “Yes.”

  We hugged and I stood. I ran across the room, crying out when something pierced my shoulder. Fiery pain made me gasp and I pressed my hand over the wound. I didn’t have time to dwell on my own injury - man stood over Elijah with his gun pointed at his head. I fired at the same time I heard Aunt B cry out behind me.

  The man fell and I reached Elijah, untying his hands. His face was ashy grey and he reached for the fallen man’s weapon.

  “We need to get out of here. There’s more and I’m sure they’re on their way.”

  We stood side by side and fought our way back to the kitchen door. I cried out when I saw Aunt B’s lifeless body by the table, a hole where her head should be. At least she wouldn’t turn. Elijah and I reached the door as more men entered on the other side of the room.

  He shoved me through the door and locked it when we were safely on the other side. Gunfire rang out and we both moved through the kitchen.

  “We need to get to the closet,” I said, leading the way.

  I threw open the door and began climbing the metal ladder. Elijah gripped one of the bars with his hand and groaned.

  “I don’t know if I can, Daisy. My shoulder’s pretty fucked up.”

  “You have to try, damn you. We’re so close.”

  He couldn’t hide the agony on his face and began climbing. The higher we went the paler he became. Sweat beaded his forehead and he slipped.

  “We’re almost there.”

  I reached the top and opened the panel. Juan stood above me with his gun raised.

  “Oh thank god!” he exclaimed.

  He helped me up and then helped Elijah.

  “Close the panel, Daisy, and lock it.” Juan ordered as he dragged Elijah toward a makeshift cot.

  I did as he said and rushed to their side.

  “Why is there a cot up here?”

  Juan didn’t answer, but tore Elijah’s shirt open and rolled him onto his stomach. I gasped. His skin had been ripped open and was bleeding profusely.

  “Who did this?”

  Juan grabbed his own bag and pulled out some medial supplies, including rubbing alcohol and a suture kit.

  “Probably the same man that did it the first time.” Juan met my gaze. “You’re going to have to hold him down. Don’t let him move not matter how much he screams.”

  I straddled Elijah’s back and pressed his shoulders down. He groaned and I blinked back my tears.

  “Good.” Juan patted Elijah’s back. “I’m sorry to have to do this again, Boss.”

  He unscrewed the lid from the alcohol bottle and closed his eyes, as if praying. I inhaled and shifted my weight so Elijah was firmly pinned. Juan nodded and poured the liquid on the open wound. Elijah screamed and thrashed. Tears ran down my face, but I didn’t let him up.

  He shuddered and then his entire body went lax.

  “Thank god he passed out. Last time he stayed awake the whole time so he could guide me.”

  “Last time?” I asked as I caressed Elijah’s face.

  “Yeah. He might’ve been the best surgeon, but even he couldn’t sew his own shoulder up.”

  “Elijah was a surgeon? Here? Did you two know each other before the virus outbreak?”

  Juan’s eyebrows lifted as he began sewing Elijah’s skin together.

  “He told you his name? Good. To answer your question, yes we both worked here before.”

  I had no idea, but it made sense as to why Juan was allowed to run the kitchen. Elijah trusted him.

  Juan asked, “Bertha died, didn’t she?”

  “She was shot in the head,” I confirmed.

  We were both silent as he finished sewing the torn skin. Elijah stirred once, but then passed out again. When Juan was done he cleaned the newly stitched skin again and then stood.

  “We need to wake him up. We’ve wasted too much time already.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “There an access ladder on the other side of the roof. Hopefully it hasn’t been discovered yet.”

  My stomach dropped. “And if it has?”

  “Then we’re going to go dow
n the hard way.”

  He grabbed a bottle of water and motioned for me to get out of the way. When I was standing he poured the bottle over Elijah’s head until it roused him.

  “Juan… thank you.”

  Juan grasped his shoulder. “We need to go, my friend.”

  Elijah sat and I rushed to his side. He winced as I hugged him, but I didn’t care.

  “You saved me,” he murmured, pressing his lips against my temple.

  “Just returning the favor.”

  I helped him to his feet and he swayed before regaining his balance. Juan led the way, keeping low. There was shouting from below and the awful screams of animals being slaughtered. I ignored the sounds, but I couldn’t ignore the scent of fire in the air.

  “They’re burning down the building,” I cried out.

  “They want to make sure that if I live I don’t have a place to rule,” Elijah said.

  Juan motioned for us to be quiet as we reached the ladder. I pressed my head against Elijah’s good shoulder, inhaling his spicy scent. We were so close…

  “There’s too many down there.”

  I bit my lip. “So we take the hard way.”

  18

  Juan led us through a maze of pipes and air conditioning units until we reached a part of the roof covered in Spanish tiles that sloped downward.

  Juan pointed. “This is our last hope. It’s about a ten foot drop if we don’t fall off first.”

  “But Elijah won’t be able to hang on.”

  Elijah gave me a tight smile. “I’ll figure out a way.”

  “I’ll go first. Then Daisy. Boss can come down last.”

  Juan didn’t wait for a reply and sat on his bottom, scooting down the tile. When he reached the edge he turned and grasped the drainage pipe with his hands and lowered his body. He gave me a quick smile before letting go. My stomach churned. What if I slid too fast? I’d fall off and probably break something.

  Elijah grasped my hand and lifted my knuckles to his lips. “You can do this, Daisy. I’ll be right behind you.”

  I nodded and imitated the way Juan had gone down. I wasn’t expecting the tiles to be so slippery and tried to slow my fall. I reached the drainage pipe and held onto it, ignoring the bite against my fingers as metal cut flesh. I swung my legs over and then dropped.