Running Wild

by Kristen Middleton

  He turned around and eyed my shorts. “Do you need help buttoning those?”

  I nodded.

  As he stepped closer the look in his eyes and the way he was breathing sent chills up my spine. Instead of buttoning my shorts, he grabbed the back of my head and crushed his lips against mine.

  “Austin!” I yelled, trying frantically to move away from him. “What are you doing?”

  His breath was ragged and he stared at me with such longing, it was frightening. “I’m sorry…I just…I couldn’t help myself.”

  It was then that I had a light bulb moment. Trying to smile as provocatively as I could, I said, “What I mean is, why is it that you’re allowed to kiss me, when I can’t even touch you? It doesn’t seem quite fair.”

  He eyed me skeptically. “Are you saying you want to touch me?”

  I smiled and ran my tongue slowly over my lips. “Oh yes, definitely. If you’re going to kiss me like that, I just have to touch you Austin,” I replied breathlessly.

  He stared at me hungrily as he grabbed a knife from his pocket, which I hadn’t even noticed before. When he cut the ropes I felt a twinge of guilt for what I was about to do.

  “Austin,” I murmured as the ropes fell to the ground and he tossed the knife aside.

  He looked into my eyes and smiled eagerly. “Yes Cassie?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Before he could respond, my foot came up and I kicked him hard in the jaw. He fell to the ground and I took off running towards the truck.

  Chapter Nine

  “Crap!” I hollered when I got into the army vehicle. The keys were gone and it was indeed a manual transmission; even if I had the keys, I don’t know if I’d be able to drive it.

  A loud growl interrupted my thoughts and I screamed in horror as a zombie leaned into the truck and grabbed my arm.

  “No!” I yelled as her broken mouth opened and she tried to bite into my flesh. I kicked her in the head with my foot and she fell backwards, onto the ground.

  I slammed the door and locked it as the zombie tried coming after me, again. Her face was so rotted that her skin looked like string cheese and there was no flesh left on her eyelids.

  Looking around frantically, I located my war hammer under the seat of the truck. I picked it up and decided it would be wise to leave on foot before Austin came back or more zombies arrived. Plus, I didn’t have the keys and it was pointless to remain in the truck, a sitting duck.

  Scrambling to the passenger seat, I opened the door and jumped out. From there, my situation became worse.

  “Going somewhere?” growled Austin, stumbling towards me with a crazed look; emphasized even more so by the dark shadows under his eyes. A loud howling from the female zombie broke his concentration and as Austin raised the gun to shoot it, I took off running towards a field of corn.

  “So that’s how it’s going to be!” he snarled after his gun went off. “You’re going to be a bitch, after everything I’ve sacrificed for you!”

  The corn stalks weren’t quite as tall as I would have liked and I had to run, hunched over. I glanced back and noticed that Austin was having a hard time moving with his injuries. As long as I stayed hidden, he probably wouldn’t even catch me.

  With a new burst of confidence, I turned my head forward, ready to leave him in the dust. Instead, I tripped over something on the ground and fell, landing flat on my face.

  “There’s… nowhere… to go!” huffed Austin from somewhere in the distance. “Quit… wasting time!”

  I stood back up and moaned in pain, I’d twisted my ankle and it was now on fire.

  “Shit,” I gasped, trying desperately to trudge forward through the stalks. All I could do was limp and pray that he’d pass or zone out before he had the chance to catch me.

  “Cassie!” he yelled, closing the gap between us, with every step he took to my two. “Stop moving. I’m not…going …to hurt you!”

  Then, just like in one of the many horror flicks I’d stayed up late watching, a rickety old farmhouse came into view. It had to be well over a hundred years old, conveniently available, and more than likely, a death trap.

  I pushed myself forward, my ankle screaming in pain the entire way. Just as I made it to the porch, Austin broke through the cornstalks, grinning madly.

  “Well,” he said bending over, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. “If you… wait for me, I’ll carry you over… the thresh-hold… darlin’.”

  I moved as quickly as I could to the door and breathed a sigh of relief to find it unlocked. I went inside of the house quickly, then slammed and locked the door. As I backed away staring at the only thing keeping Austin from me, my heart stopped. I inhaled something that was now too familiar; the undeniable stench of rotting flesh.

  I whipped my body around and stood facing two previous residents of the farm; a giant zombie in torn overalls and his horrifying bean-pole wife. They stared at me with cannibalistic glee.

  “I’m sorry,” I said in a strained voice. “I should have knocked.”

  I raised the war hammer just as the male staggered towards me, catching him squarely in the skull. As I tried to dislodge my weapon, two things happened at once; the front door burst open and the female flew at me.

  “Zombies!” I screamed at Austin while I attempted to kick the festering female with my tender ankle, which was more painful than anything I could have possibly imagined.

  Austin snickered and fired a bullet into the zombie’s skull. “See,” he said. “That’s why you need protection. You really don’t make the wisest decisions.”

  My war hammer was now free from the zombie’s skull and I held it firmly in front of me. “Austin, just leave me alone. Please.”

  He looked hurt. “You’re not thinking of using that on me now, are you darlin’? I thought we were friends.”

  It was then that I noticed how infected his hand was. “What’s wrong with your hand?” I asked him.

  He looked at it and shrugged. “That little zombie freak, Brooke, she scratched my hand back at the park, remember?”

  “Let me see it,” I said moving closer.

  He glared at me and raised the gun. “Right, like I’m going to go and fall for that again.”

  I released a deep sigh. “Look, I’m sorry, but you’re the one who kidnapped and put me in this situation. You can’t expect me to be passive about it.”

  Austin stared at me for a few seconds then his eyes softened. He offered me his hand and I examined the wound.

  “This looks really infected,” I said. There was a lot of puss and a redness that was beginning to extend up his arm. “Does it hurt?”

  He nodded. “It hurts more than my shoulder, now. That reminds me, we need to get back to the truck so I can take some more Vicodin. Please, hand over your weapon before one of us gets hurt.”

  I raised my chin defiantly. “I’m not letting you hold me prisoner, Austin.”

  His mouth curled up into an angry scowl and he took a step closer to me. “You’re mine and I’m not letting you go,” he growled.

  I knew he was crushing on me a little heavily, but the way he said that was enough to send anyone over the edge. I took a step back. “Austin…”

  Before I could finish my sentence, his face went slack and he toppled to the ground, unconscious.

  Chapter Ten

  I hesitated about getting any closer to Austin, even though he appeared to be sleeping, but I really wanted his gun. As I leaned over him to pick it up, he grabbed me and pulled me to the ground.

  “Looking for something?” he sneered, taking the war hammer from my grasp and tossing it aside.

  “Let me go!” I demanded as I struggled to free myself. He was incredibly strong, even with his injuries. Before I knew it, he was on top of me, pinning me firmly to the ground.

  He smiled nastily. “Now, let's see how “Wild” you really are.”

  I turned my face away as he tried to capture my lips with his and attempted to k
nee him between the legs, but his heavy weight made it difficult. “Please Austin, don't do this!” I pleaded, my heart pounding madly in my chest.

  “Not so courageous now, are you?” he whispered. His eyes burned into mine, shocking me into silence. Ruptured red capillaries lined the whites of his eyes and the skin on his forehead was beginning to get that same mottled look I'd seen on the zombies.

  Either he’s turning into a zombie or one of us is completely losing their mind, I thought. Tears of frustration burned my eyes as I struggled to get away from him.

  “You're all mine, now,” he growled. Then his mouth found my neck and he kissed me roughly, even grazing the tender skin with his teeth. When something warm began sliding down my neck and he moaned with pleasure, I shuddered in horror as I realized he was reveling in the taste of my blood.

  Then, miraculously, he rolled off of me.

  I sat up and watched, paralyzed in horror as Austin had some type of major seizure.

  “Help me,” he gurgled as his head thrashed around and white foam bubbled out of his cracked lips.

  As my shock wore off, I scrambled to my feet, grabbing both the gun and war hammer. I backed away from him, not knowing exactly what to do. My feelings were so jumbled, part of me wanted to help but the other wanted to get as far away from him as I could.

  When Austin finally stopped convulsing on the floor, he turned to me and my pulse roared in my ears. The look in his bloodshot eyes was of a predator ready to pounce. I knew instinctively that he wanted to devour me, in a totally different sense than before. As I raised the war hammer to end it before he went all zombie on me, he snapped out of it and looked at me in horror.

  “What the hell are you doing, Wild?” he asked sharply.

  I backed away from him, holding my weapon up. “You're... changing Austin,” I said. “A moment ago you were ready to kill me. I saw it in your eyes.”

  He looked at me like I was crazy and shook his head. “Jesus, I'd never kill you Cassie. I admit that I blacked out a second ago, but that doesn't make me a killer.”

  I let out a shaky breath and then motioned towards the door. “Austin, I'm leaving now; alone. Don't come after me or you'll give me no choice; I’ll…hurt you.”

  He sighed. “Look, I'm sorry that I lost control earlier. It was completely uncalled for and I promise that it won't happen again.”

  I snorted. “Lost control? That's putting it mildly.”

  He nodded and rubbed his forehead. “I know...it was pretty bad. I don't know what came over me.”

  “It doesn't matter, I'm not going anywhere with you,” I said raising the gun. “Now, move out of the way.”

  He stared at me for a minute then stepped away from the door. “So, you're just going to leave me in the middle of nowhere without a vehicle or a weapon to protect myself?”

  “Check the garage outside, there's probably a tractor and an old shovel.”

  He smirked. “Very funny, Wild, but I reckon you're not going to get far without these,” he said, holding up the truck keys.

  Damn, I'd forgotten about the keys. “Give them to me,” I demanded.

  He chuckled. “I...I don't think so,”

  I held out my hand. “Cut the crap Austin, give me the damn keys!”

  He sighed then held them out towards me without moving any closer.

  As I stepped cautiously forward to take them, my cell phone began to ring; the one in his pocket.

  “Aw shucks, what do you know? Let me get that,” he said with a smug smile. He took out the cell phone and from the look on his face, it wasn't my mom.

  “Give the phone to me Austin,” I commanded.

  He ignored me. “Howdy Bryce! No, asshole, she's fine,” he said then grinned wickedly “She tastes pretty fine too.”

  I raised the gun and pointed it at his skull. “Give me the phone, now, or I will pull the trigger.”

  Austin stared at me, his eyes cold and calculating. “Sorry,” he said into the phone. “Although I'd love to sit and listen to all of these new nicknames you’ve come up for me, I have much more important things to do.”

  He tossed the phone to the ground, a couple feet away from where I was standing. As I scrambled to get to it, he launched himself at me, knocking the gun from my hands and me to the ground.

  Before I could recover from the attack, he hit me in the head with something hard and I blacked out.

  Chapter Eleven

  I woke up sometime later in a musty bedroom with a splitting headache. Surprisingly, I was alone and my hands were free.

  I tried to swallow. My throat was so dry and scratchy, it had been hours since I’d had anything to drink or eat.

  What I wouldn’t do for even a sip of pickle juice right now, I thought. Well, anything except allowing Austin to grope me.

  I sat up and the springs of the mattress groaned under my weight.

  Great, I thought, with all this noise, he’ll be in here any minute.

  I slowly swung my feet to the ground and stood up. The pain shooting from my ankle was so intense it made me dizzy, but I knew that I had to suck it up and do whatever I could to escape.

  Hobbling to the door, I turned the handle and tried pushing it open, but obviously something heavy was blocking it on the other side. Frustrated, I scanned the room to find something I could use against Austin. There really wasn't much of anything though; just the lumpy full-sized bed I'd woken up on, an old black and white television, and a distressed pine dresser with a matching nightstand, which both were empty.

  I noticed the window, limped over to it and looked out. It seemed like a hell of a long way down, but I was desperate. I’d just gotten manhandled by a madman and the next time he had his hands on me, it might prove to be much worse.

  Hearing sudden shuffling noises on the other side of the door, I hopped quickly back into the bed and closed my eyes, just as the door opened.

  “Cassie?” whispered Austin.

  I pretended to breathe evenly as he moved closer to the bed. He put something down on the nightstand next to me and then sat down on the mattress.

  “Sorry,” he whispered, putting a cool rag on my forehead. “Damn, I didn't want to hurt you, but you gave me no choice.”

  He caressed my cheek gently and then ran a calloused finger down my neck, stopping just above the v-neckline of my black shirt. I forced my breathing to remain steady although I was completely unhinged by his actions at that point.

  “You're so beautiful,” he said in a husky voice.

  His touch made my skin crawl. Resisting the urge to bash in his skull, and not really understanding why I hadn't already, I remained as still as possible.

  Just then my cell phone began to ring again and Austin got up off of the bed. He answered it and walked away.

  “Yes, she's fine...she's sleeping right now,” he murmured into the phone. “What? No, I can't do that Kris. It's just too dangerous. There are zombies everywhere.”

  I listened to him as he explained that my dad was still missing and we were holding up fine at the house. Hearing his lies infuriated me. I ignored the pain, jumped out of bed, and managed to snatch the phone from his grasp.

  “Mom… dad's alive and Austin's… kidnapped me!” I shouted into the phone.

  His pissed off face turned scarlet and he rushed me, slamming me to the ground. I howled in pain as we wrestled for the phone. With my head throbbing and my ankle on fire, I was simply no match for him though, even with his injuries. He quickly took possession of the phone and stood up.

  “Mom!” I yelled, trying to stand back up myself. I was frustrated and in so much pain that I began to cry.

  Austin stepped away, aimed the gun at me and pretended to fire it as a warning.

  “Kris, she's fine,” he said calmly, opening the bedroom door. With one last fleeting glance towards me, he smiled smugly. “She's just very angry with me right now because I won't let her out of the house to search for her dad. It’s for her own good of course. Listen, I have
to go. No, you can talk to her later.” He closed the door behind him and slid the heavy object back, trapping me once more.

  Asshole, I thought. I'm getting out of here whether he likes it or not.

  I stood and limped over to the window. It certainly was a long way down, but I was nobody’s prisoner.

  I removed the window screen and somehow managed to pull myself onto the roof. Then, just when I thought I was in the clear, my ankle exploded in pain while swinging my legs around.

  “Oh God!” I screamed silently. Blood rushed to my head and I was weak with dizziness. I closed my eyes and took a small breaths, waiting for the pain to ease just enough for it to be bearable. When the pain became somewhat manageable, I breathed in deeply and crawled down the side, eventually sliding down to the very edge of the roof. Then I dropped as quietly as I could onto the porch railing and found myself reeling from another wave of intense pain.

  “Leaving so soon?” snickered Austin, who was leaning against the screen door. “Sorry to foil your plans for escape, but seriously, you made enough noise to attract any zombie within miles. Almost like ringing their dinner bell, I reckon. You know, I'd be very careful out there if I were you. You never know what kind of dangerous things you might encounter.”

  Trying not to give in to my growing hysteria, I limped frantically away from him, hoping beyond hope for some kind of miracle.

  The screen door slammed as he began to follow me. “Hey, where are you planning on going?” he yelled. “You're injured and you don't have any weapons. You're easy prey, Wild.”

  I stopped at the edge of the corn field and turned around to face him. “I'd rather have a fighting chance against the zombies or whatever wild animals I might encounter, than be your prisoner Austin.”

  He walked towards me and shook his head. “Why can't you get it through your thick skull that I'm trying to protect you.”

  My jaw dropped. “Since when is taking me away from my family, putting your hands all over me, and keeping me locked away considered protection?”

  His mouth contorted grotesquely. “Damn it girl!” he shouted. “You need me! I'm you're only hope for surviving in this shit!”