Love in the Time of Zombies

by Cassandra Gannon

  The zombie in the meat case gave a hissing sound of fury, its attention swinging towards the police. It sprang from the case and went lurching towards the new threat. It charged up the main aisle and was cut in two by gunfire. The top half of its body kept pulling itself towards the police.

  “Path is clear.” Zeke started crawling towards the emergency exit, tugging Scotlyn along by the collar and keeping them behind large displays of soft drinks. “Let’s go.”

  She swatted him away, staying low to avoid the bullets. “I’m coming, alright? Don’t rip my dress.”

  “Who cares about the damn dress?!”

  “Me! I’m still paying for it.”

  “Well, nobody’s opening their VISA bill again for loooong time, so don’t worry about it.”

  Somehow that didn’t cheer her up.

  Scotlyn edged along behind Zeke, her attention on the front of the store. She could see through the shattered front windows out into the parking lot. It was a scene straight from a war movie. The bright flashes of muzzle flare lit the night like a strobe light. The zombies and the police were fighting between the cars and shopping carts. Something exploded in a huge fireball that took out a row of SUVs and at least a dozen people and zombies. Even with their skin burning, the monsters kept moving.

  Zeke reached the emergency exit and leaned up to shove it open. An alarm blared. He ignored it and peered out into the darkened rear parking area. The back of the store and the gas station behind it seemed deserted, the firefight in the front drawing all the zombies’ attention.

  “We’re –what?-- two blocks from your apartment?”

  How did he know that? He’d certainly never come visiting. “Yeah. Go left and you’ll run right into the luxurious Green Palms.”

  “Good. So, start running and don’t stop until you see the tacky neon sign. And throw those ugly shoes away before you break an ankle.”

  “These cost me eight hundred dollars!”

  Zeke squinted at them. “You’re kidding me.”

  “They’re Christian Louboutin.”

  “I have no idea who that is.”

  “That’s because he doesn’t advertise on the SyFy Channel.” Scotlyn hesitated at the doorway, listening to the fight rage in the front of the building. “You’re right behind me?” He’d already promised her, but she needed to hear it, again. A childhood spent in foster care left her with an undeniable sense that everyone was going to leave her and she’d be all alone.

  Zeke gave her a strange look, like he was exasperated and amused and deadly serious all at the same time. “Scotlyn, where else would I ever be? You’re the only person I have in the world.”

  Well, she couldn’t argue with that. No one else was going to help either of them out of this mess. It was Scotlyn and Zeke standing at the edge of a parking lot and looking into oblivion.

  Scotlyn’s eyes narrowed. If she was going to die today --which seemed damn likely-- she wasn’t going out playing it safe.

  “Alright. We’re a team.” She tugged the air mask off her face and then reached over to pull Zeke’s down, as well. “I just need to do this first.” She barely processed his confused look as she grabbed his shirtfront and yanked him down.

  “Scottie, we need those masks…”

  Her lips found his and he stopped arguing. For half a second, Zeke froze as if he couldn’t believe she was actually kissing him. Scotlyn’s mouth opened against his and Zeke gave a low animalistic growl. His hands suddenly seized her waist, dragging her against him, and he took control of the kiss. His tongue surged into her mouth, plundering and claiming and taking everything she offered and more.

  Scotlyn was swept under by the passionate force of his response. He kissed her like he’d been dying with want. Like he’d been dreaming about it forever. Like she really was the only person in his world.

  God, she’d known it would be like this.

  Scotlyn went up on her tiptoes and kissed him back with everything she had. Every straight-A-student, home-by-midnight, nice girl molecule of her body wanted to ravish him right there in the doorway. What the hell had rule following ever gotten her except for regrets? All her life, she’d been patiently waiting for the kind of man you’d marry. She’d leave this world kissing the completely inappropriate, selfish, immature jackass who she wanted more than she’d ever wanted anyone.

  “Wait…” Zeke pulled back, panting. “Trix, it’s dangerous. We gotta…” Her teeth nipped his lower lip and he gave up arguing. “Oh, Christ, you’re sweet.” She dragged his mouth back down and his hand found her hip, urging her even closer. The hard length of him pressed against her and she rubbed against it. This time it was a deliberate invitation.

  His answering snarl of lust was absolutely beautiful.

  The police were still shooting. People were still screaming. The world was still ending. But, for and handful of seconds Scotlyn was kissing Zeke and it was better than she’d even imagined. And she’d had a lot of wrong and interesting fantasies about him. Lying alone at night and thinking about his smile and body and his hands touching her as she cried his name. The man…

  …still had the gun.

  Scotlyn jolted out of her sensual trance as Zeke raised his revolver and shot a zombie without even lifting his head. She staggered back in panic as its body toppled over next to the egg cartons in the dairy case. “Jesus, Zeke!”

  “Well, it didn’t give me much choice.” He retorted. “It was getting too close.”

  “And you couldn’t have warned me?!”

  “You were busy.”

  “I’m never so busy that I don’t want to know a zombie’s about to attack!”

  Lavender eyes glowed hot. “Don’t worry. I can protect you and make out at the same time. Multitasking. Don’t they teach that in business school? You should be happy.”

  “I should have my head examined.” Scotlyn pulled her mask back down. “Let’s just get out of here.”

  “Really?

  “Really.”

  He wasn’t convinced. “Because, you could go back to kissing me if you…”

  “It was just the stress of the situation! I’m over it.”

  Zeke arched a brow. “Uh-huh.” He turned and headed out the door. “The next time you feel stressed, just let me know, because I am always willing…”

  The attack caught Scotlyn completely by surprise. Arms grabbed her, pulling her backwards into the dairy section. Scotlyn screamed as a zombie knocked her to the ground, its hands clawing at her skin. The gun skidded out of her hand. Scotlyn struggled against the creature’s grasp, trying to avoid the teeth that were inches from her face. It tried to bite her and hit the plastic of her gas mask.

  Jesus, she was going to die at Wal-Mart.

  Zeke couldn’t shoot it without hitting her, as well, and it wasn’t like he physically could wrestle it away without getting bit himself. The creature was too strong and Zeke was nobody’s hero. He wasn’t stupid enough to jump on a grenade for her.

  It was the end.

  The zombie pinned Scotlyn to the ground, looming above her. It had once been a normal guy dressed in a polo shirt. Now, dead eyes met hers and Scotlyn knew there was no way she could fight the monster off. It was going to rip her apart and make her bleeding corpse into a zombie and she’d never even seen the ocean…

  Wham!

  Scotlyn couldn’t see what happen, but she felt it. A massive force slammed into the zombie, ripping it away from her. The terrible, barbarous sounds of a life and death struggle filled her ears. Scotlyn instinctively scrambled away from the fight, staggering to her feet. Her head whipped around and she spotted…

  A werewolf.

  Fighting a zombie.

  A wolf-like creature had its jaws locked around the zombie’s throat. The zombie let out an inhuman scream and clawed at the thick black fur, but the wolf wasn’t letting go. Scotlyn cringed at the terrible sound of the bones in the creature’s neck snapping in the wolf’s jaws. The zombie’s head rolled free of its twit
ching body, coming to rest at Scotlyn’s bare feet.

  Blood pooled all over the linoleum floor.

  Bullets continued flying.

  Shouting from the parking lot filled the air.

  Scotlyn didn’t even notice. All her attention was on the animal staring back at her. It looked like a wolf, but it wasn’t. It was too… human. The animal’s lavender eyes met hers and her day got even weirder. Scotlyn’s head tilted, so deeply shocked that she couldn’t say anything beyond… “Zeke?”

  The wolf was Zeke.

  He regarded her with something like sadness. Like he knew he’d never see her again. The giant animal took a step towards her and staggered to the left. He seemed as if he was having trouble standing.

  Scotlyn’s racing heart started pounding even faster as he fell. “Zeke!”

  He collapsed in a huge, furry heap. Those beautiful eyes closed and he went still. The wolf form faded like something out of a Hollywood effects studio and he was Zeke, again. Naked and unconscious, but unquestionably Zeke.

  Scotlyn stood there frozen for a moment.

  Her boss was a werewolf. Zombies were real. She was trapped in Wal-Mart with the police shooting outside. What the hell was happening?

  Her life was fucking normal. She had perfect eBay feedback and nothing but Diet Pepsi in her fridge. Her biggest problems were dodging debt collectors and having an unrequited crush on her stupid boss. She couldn’t deal with any of this insane crazy shit. She just couldn’t do it. It wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be. She needed to just take a breath and…

  A spray of bullets cut through the milk case and gallons of the stuff exploded in a geyser. Scotlyn ducked down, her dazed fog lifting as she was drenched in 2%. She gave her head a clearing shake.

  Jesus, Zeke had been right before. Freaking out would have to wait. Whatever she did in the next few minutes was going to determine whether the two of them lived through this.

  Scotlyn crawled over to him, her whole body trembling. “Zeke?” She gave him a shake, trying to wake him up. Werewolf or not, he was still Zeke. Nothing mattered beyond getting him to safety. “Zeke, open your eyes!”

  His eyelashes didn’t even flicker. He didn’t seem physically hurt, but he was out cold.

  Scotlyn’s gaze went to the emergency exit and then back down to Zeke. She couldn’t carry him to her apartment and she wouldn’t leave him behind. She looked around, trying to find some sign as to what she should do next… and spotted the illuminated figure of the ladies’ room at the back of the store.

  Well, that was a sign alright.

  Scotlyn’s jaw firmed and she quickly gathered up the duffle bag, the shotgun, and the gas mask that Zeke had dropped when he’d changed into the wolf. His clothing looked shredded beyond repair. She put the mask over Zeke’s face again and looped the bag around her shoulders. Her purse and that metal box he’d handed her back at the golf course were long gone. She was pretty sure she’d dropped them back in TGW’s parking lot when he told her to duck. Not that it mattered. VannaFan4Eva was probably not worried about receiving that handbag, anymore.

  Grabbing Zeke beneath the arms, she dragged him towards the bathroom.

  It took her ten minutes of adrenaline fueled struggle, but she finally got them secured inside the windowless room. The bathroom lock needed a key that she didn’t have, but there was a rubber doorstop on the floor. She jammed it under the door and then sat back breathing hard.

  Okay.

  Now what?

  Scotlyn’s eyes went back to Zeke.

  The guy was a werewolf and passed out from a zombie fight, but mostly he was just very, very naked. Attractive, distracting, weirdo, liar. She grabbed some paper towels to cover him. Better. Then, it occurred to her she still had the tarps of plastic sheeting and duct tape that Zeke had shoplifted. Okay, that was something she could do. She set about sealing up every crack she saw, so the pink dust couldn’t get in.

  Then, she sat next to Zeke and waited.

  Trying not to think of anything beyond the steady rise and fall of his chest.

  She could hear shouting and gunfire outside, but she was beyond terror, now. Scotlyn had no idea how much time passed. After a while the sounds from the outside world faded. The lights went off, leaving her in the dark. She didn’t process that, either. She just listened Zeke breathe, not even noticing when tears started falling down her cheeks.

  The world of yesterday would be vastly different than the world of tomorrow. How could it not be? There was no going back. Not for anyone. In just a few hours, everything she’d ever accepted as normal and secure was gone. All she had left was Zeke.

  He wasn’t waking up. Why wasn’t he waking up?

  Scotlyn lay down next to him, her head on his shoulder. Her body huddled beside his in the darkened room and she tried to will him back to her. Zeke had to open his eyes. Had to.

  He was the only person she had in the world.

  Even if he wasn’t exactly a person.

  Chapter Four

  Bright side to the zombie apocalypse:

  When the world ended at least you had the newest iPhone.

  That counts as victory.

  A day and a half later, the phone rang.

  At first, Scotlyn didn’t even understand what was happening. She just sat there in a stupor until the sound finally penetrated her dazed mind. She’d been hiding in the bathroom with her unconscious boss for so many silent hours that the sudden sound caused her to jolt.

  Someone was calling her? No. Calling Zeke. She recognized the John Williams ring tone. She blinked and glanced around. Zeke’s phone had been shoved into the pocket of the duffle bag. It took Scotlyn a minute to find the damn thing and, when she finally did, she saw a text message.

  Where U @?

  Scotlyn eyebrows soared. Someone named Caleb was looking for Zeke. More importantly, the phones were working, again. Maybe this madness was ending. She quickly answered him.

  Zeke’s hurt. R zombies gone?

  He bit???

  No. Unconscious.

  A pause. She wasn’t sure if the guy was digesting that or if the phone was about to die. Maybe both. There was a strange static-y quality to the screen, like it was flickering in and out. Who R U?

  Scotlyn. I work with Zeke.

  The secretary?

  Scotlyn frowned. Assistant!!

  Sorry. Even though he’d typed the word, he didn’t seem sorry. Where R U? Gonna lose connection.

  Scotlyn wasn’t sure if she should answer that. Zeke had never told her about anyone named Caleb. What if this guy showed up and attacked them or something?

  Caleb must have sensed her hesitation. Hang on.

  A minute later, he sent her a grainy photo of Zeke and a dark haired man standing next to a car. Her boss was much younger, no more than fourteen, and looked extremely annoyed. The other guy was about twenty, his elbow resting on Zeke’s head exactly the way an older brother would to annoy his shorter sibling.

  Zeke had a brother? Scotlyn looked over at Zeke. “You have a brother?”

  Her sleeping boss didn’t bother to answer.

  He didn’t have to. Even with the poor quality of the image, the guy in the photo looked so much like Zeke that they had to share DNA. His hair was a cut shorter and his shirt was buttoned, but other than that he could’ve been Zeke’s twin. Two pairs of identical eyes looked out at her from the screen. Two unnaturally beautiful faces.

  Two werewolves.

  There wasn’t a doubt in her mind.

  Me & Z. I’m the pretty one.

  Scotlyn let out a shaky breath. She didn’t have the energy to be scared of more than one breed of supernatural creatures at a time. Werewolves might be real, but Zeke was one and Zeke wouldn’t hurt her. She knew it at a level that went deeper than logic. Besides, compared to the zombies, his brother couldn’t be too bad.

  Probably.

  R zombies gone? She tried, again.

  No. Need to find Z.

  Of course, they
were still out there. It had been stupid to even ask. Scotlyn rubbed at her temple. Why won’t Zeke wake-up?

  Don’t know.

  Yes, you do.

  WHERE IS HE???

  Scotlyn’s eyes narrowed at the shouted capitals. She set the phone down and waited.

  Several minutes ticked by. She couldn’t hear any noises coming from the store anymore. The silence was even worse than the gunfire and screaming had been.

  OK. OK. Did he look DIFFERENT before he passed out? Caleb finally demanded. He must really want to find his brother. If he was anything like Zeke, he wouldn’t have caved so fast unless he was desperate.

  Scotlyn didn’t have time for his shit. U know what he looked like.

  I can help him. Where is he?

  Scotlyn weighed her options.

  Please.

  Scotlyn puffed out a breath. It wasn’t like she could live here in the bathroom forever. And Zeke didn’t seem to be coming around on his own. What the hell did she know about werewolves? What if he needed some kind of special vet care?

  Jesus, she was losing her mind.

  Scotlyn looked up at the ceiling for a beat. Fuck it. Zeke’s safety was worth the risk. The Wal-Mart by TGW. Bathroom @ back of store.

  2 hrs. DONT MOVE.

  What can I do for him until U get…? The phone died in the middle of her message.

  It never came back on.

  ***

  Zeke came awake with a pounding migraine and with his entire body aching. What the hell had happened? Had he Changed? He must have. Christ, why would he do something so stupid? It wasn’t a full moon, so Changing was painful and dangerous and…

  Scotlyn.

  His eyes snapped open, reality crashing in on him.

  Where was Scotlyn? Zeke jerked into a sitting position, his eyes cutting around. Where was he? A bathroom? What the…? His frantic gaze fell on a familiar dark haired figure sitting on the long vanity, reading People Magazine.

  “Caleb?” Zeke blinked at his pack-mate. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Reading about the Kardashians.” He flipped a page. “I’m thinking they were already zombies. It’s all becoming clear, now.”