Dylan laughed as they walked up the steps of this infirmary. “If only it were that easy.”
They found Amanda without too much trouble, and she took them to her and Brenda’s apartment. “Amy’s been waiting for you, and I bet Jenny will love her present.”
“I bet she will,” Dylan said.
Nick rolled his eyes. “Until he pees all over your house.”
“Not a chance. We’ve got a garden and grass and stuff,” Amanda said.
“Good luck picking up his poop,” he added.
“Ignore him. He’s in a grumpy mood,” Dylan said.
“Am not,” he complained.
“There he goes again. A real little crybaby,” Dylan said with a smirk.
“Argh!”
“Men. You can’t live with them, and you can’t live without them,” Amanda laughed.
Amy was busy sorting through her and Jenny’s stuff when they arrived, but she jumped up when she saw them. “Nick! Dylan! I’m so happy to see you. Oh, what’s this? A puppy?”
“Yup. It’s a surprise for Jenny from Brenda,” Dylan said.
“That’s so thoughtful,” Amy said. “Let’s give him to her right away.”
As predicted, Jenny was ecstatic over the new addition to the household. “A puppy? For me?”
“It’s a present from Brenda,” Dylan confirmed as she handed the wriggling canine over to Jenny’s eager arms. “He’s all yours.”
“I’ve always wanted a dog, but Mommy said they’re too messy,” Jenny said, giggling as the puppy crawled all over her.
“Well, they are messy,” Amy said. “But I’ll teach you how to look after him. Deal?”
“Deal!” Jenny said before dissolving into another fit of giggles.
“He needs a name,” Amy said. “What are you going to call him.”
Jenny thought about it for a brief moment. “George. His name is George.”
“George?” Nick asked, taken aback. “Why, George?”
“I don’t know. He looks like a George to me,” Jenny said.
“No, he d—” Nick broke off with a cough when Dylan elbowed him in the ribs. “George is a lovely name.”
“It suits him,” Dylan said with a deadpan expression.
Amanda and Amy likewise agreed, and the pup was officially named George.
“Well, this was nice, but I’ve got work to do,” Amanda said, excusing herself. “Brenda will pop in later with something to eat for you guys.”
“Don’t forget about George and Rufus,” Jenny called after her retreating back.
“I won’t,” Amanda replied, flashing them a smile across her shoulder.
After she left, Amy made them each a cup of tea which they drank on the porch. Jenny played ball with George on the grass while Amy and Dylan caught up. It was a pleasant experience and a novel one for Nick. Sitting still for long wasn’t something he was used to. Especially with the soothing sounds of children’s laughter, dogs barking, birds cooing, and wind chimes singing in the background. This is…weird. But in a nice way. I could get used to this.
But, time waited for no man, and he had a base to command while Dylan sorely needed to rest before she went on her mission with Saul. Clearing his throat, Nick said. “Well, I guess we should get going. It’s getting late.”
“Why so soon?” Amy protested. “You just got here.”
“Oh, sweetie. I almost forgot to tell you, it’s been such fun catching up,” Dylan said.
“Tell me what?” Amy asked.
“We’re leaving tonight to rescue Tara, and I need to get ready.”
Amy’s face lightened up. “You are? I’m so happy to hear that. I’ve been so worried about her all this time.”
“We all are. Saul, especially,” Dylan agreed.
“It must be terrible for her. King is an awful man, and so is Bannock,” Amy said. “Every second she’s with them, she’s in terrible danger.”
Nick listened to her words and wondered for the hundredth time if he’d made the right decision not to support Saul. But no, he stood by what he’d said earlier. They needed a solid plan backed by reliable information. Rushing into things was a fool’s errand, and he could only hope Saul and Dylan returned alive and well.
He looked at Dylan while she laughed and talked, once again struck by the animation in her features. She was more alive than any other person he knew. She grabbed every second she got and devoured it in a way he found both astonishing and tiring. She had an appetite for life few others could match, and it was one of the things he loved the most about her. It was also the one thing that might make him lose her.
Chapter 13 - Dylan
When the alarm went off, Dylan groaned. It felt like she’d only slept for a couple of hours even though she’d crawled into bed at four in the afternoon. It was now half-past eleven at night, and she needed to meet up with Saul and the convoy at twelve sharp. Midnight. Such an auspicious time to go on a dangerous mission.
The digital clock blared nonstop until she smashed the button into oblivion before she forced herself to her feet. She shivered when her bare feet hit the cold tiles, and she hurried toward the bathroom. After a hot shower, she toweled off and pulled on her clothes: sports panties and bra, stretch jeans, knee-high woolen socks and leather boots, a long-sleeved shirt, and a polo neck jersey. All in black. It was a simple outfit, warm, comfortable, and easy to move in. The rest of her kit waited downstairs.
After smoothing her hair into a tight bun, she brushed her teeth and jogged down the steps to the kitchen. The house was lonely with only her in it, and the bloodstain on the carpet brought back bad memories, but she’d needed time to herself. Time to reconcile herself to the battle on the morrow, and the fact that she might not return alive.
Nick had wanted her to stay by him, but she couldn’t. He was worried about her and the mission, and that knowledge weighed on her. While she was optimistic about their chances, she was also realistic. Anything could happen. Anything at all.
She quickly donned the rest of her equipment: A leather belt with two knives on either side went over her hips. A third blade rested inside the top of her right boot, the sheath strapped to her calf. Each knife was as long as her hand, slim-bladed, and needle-sharp, meant for stabbing. She’d spent hours practicing on a dummy under Saul’s watchful gaze, learning where to sink in the blades for maximum damage. She didn’t possess the brute strength of most men, but she was fast and lethal.
A double shoulder holster with a fully loaded Beretta on either side clipped onto her torso. The harness fit like a second skin and boasted space for extra magazines. A short warm jacket went over this, the pockets loaded with a basic first-aid kit, a utility knife, a flashlight, and handheld radio set to the correct frequency. A bottle of mango juice and a protein bar waited on the counter, and she grabbed them to have on the go.
A glance at her watch told her she had ten minutes left to get to the rendezvous point, and she still needed to say goodbye to Nick. “Time to go. I’d better hurry.”
She stepped onto the front porch and paused as her eyes adjusted to the night. A hunter’s moon shone brightly in the sky, eliciting a feral grin. The perfect night to look for prey.
As she shut the front door, Dylan realized that she’d never come back. That part of her life was over. She’d either return from the mission triumphant and ready to take on a future with Nick, or she wouldn’t come back at all. Let’s hope it’s the former.
Dylan jogged toward the meeting point, allowing the exercise to warm her muscles and sharpen her mind. She was in great shape thanks to Saul’s merciless training ethic, a fact she was grateful for now. She made it to the rallying point with five minutes to spare and immediately spotted Nick. “Nick, over here.”
He was pacing up and down, largely ignored by Saul and the rest of the group. He looked up when she called, and disappointment washed across his face. “Dylan, you made it. I wish you hadn’t.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked with a frown.
“Did you hear something about King? Did Grissom say something?”
“No, but I have a bad feeling about this,” he said after a moment’s hesitation.
Dylan sighed, relieved. “Look, I know you have reservations about this mission, but everything’s going to be fine, I promise.”
“You don’t know that. You’re running blind into a fight with a cunning and wily enemy. King is not to be underestimated,” Nick insisted.
“I know that. Saul knows that too. We won’t rush into anything, I swear it,” Dylan replied. “Besides, we’re not going in blind. We have all the information Grissom gave us.”
“Old information,” Nick said. “He hasn’t been there himself. Everything he knows is hearsay.”
“Even so, King isn’t expecting us, and we’re all experienced fighters,” Dylan said.
“I know that, but—”
“I’ll be fine, Nick, and I’ll be back before you know it. I’ll be driving you nuts again in no time,” Dylan said, though it felt like a vice was closing over her heart. Don’t do this to me. Not now. Don’t make me choose.
Nick nodded. “It’s just…I don’t want to lose you. You make me happy, Dylan. Happier than I’ve ever been or thought I could be.”
“That happy, huh?” she asked with a teasing grin, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yup. Whenever I see you, my stomach flops all over the place like a fish out of water.”
Dylan laughed. “For real? That’s so—”
“Stupid, I know,” he admitted.
“I was about to say sweet, but okay,” Dylan said with a chuckle.
“I’m serious, Dylan. I know you have to go, but everything inside me is screaming at me to hold you back. To make you stay.”
Dylan sighed, her shoulders drooping beneath the weight of his confession. “I’m sorry, Nick, but I owe them. I owe Saul and Tara. I owe them my life.”
“I know, but do you also owe them your death?” Nick asked. His hands reached up to cup her face, and he gazed into her eyes. “Do you owe them your future?”
Dylan’s breath hitched in her throat, and unshed tears burned her eyelids. “I…don’t make me choose, Nick. I can’t. You know I can’t.”
“I know, and that’s why I’m so afraid to let you go,” Nick said. “I’m scared we’ll never get a second chance.”
“A second chance at what?” Dylan asked with a frown of confusion.
“A second chance at us. The real us. The us where we choose each other above all else, no matter what,” Nick said. “The us where not even the needs of the people on this base can outweigh yours. The us where you stay by my side forever.”
Dylan blinked, his words evoking a vision of a future she’d never thought possible. A tomorrow where their connection was so strong, that nothing and no one could break it. Ever.
That glimpse settled into her heart and sent out tendrils of hope and determination. With a sharp breath, she drew on all her inner strength. “I’m coming back, Nick. I swear to you. I’m coming back.”
He stared into her eyes for several seconds, searching until he was satisfied with what he saw. “I believe you.”
His hands tightened on either side of her face, and he drew her in for a kiss. It wasn’t a soft or loving kiss, but hard and relentless. It was the kind of kiss that demanded fealty, and she gladly gave it. When their lips broke apart, she whispered, “Whatever it takes, I’ll come back to you, Nick.”
“I’ll hold you to that, my beautiful monster,” he said before abruptly letting her go. Without another word, he disappeared into the night, leaving her awash with a mixture of emotions she struggled to control. But one rose above the rest, and that was her determination to survive whatever lay ahead on the morrow. For she had made a promise, she dared not break—an unbreakable pact.
The crunch of boots on gravel tore her from her thoughts, and she turned to face Saul. He stared at her with dark eyes. “Have you changed your mind?”
“No, I haven’t,” she said with a quick shake of her head.
“I’m glad. I need you on this, Dylan. I need people I can count on for Tara’s sake,” he said.
“I know, and I’ve got your back,” she replied. “Let’s go save Tara.”
He nodded. “Let’s do it.”
Chapter 14 - Saul
Saul climbed up the steep hill, carrying his full kit plus a set of binoculars. His breath puffed out in clouds of white, and a chill breeze swirled around his collar. Dylan grunted when a pebble rolled beneath her boot, and she fell to one knee.
“Crap,” she muttered, regaining her footing.
“You okay?” Saul asked, but it was a rhetorical question. His attention was fixed on the trees around them, alert for danger among their stunted trunks and limbs. This high up, the wind prevented tall growth.
“I’m fine. It’s just a graze,” she answered, wiping the dirt from her skinned palm off on her shirt.
They continued further upward until they reached the top of the hill and settled down in a clump of dry bushes. Digging into a shallow ditch, he reached for the binoculars and panned over the campus below.
“Do you see anything?” Dylan asked.
“Not much,” he admitted. “Visibility is poor.”
“The sun’s almost up,” Dylan replied. “We might as well wait. Besides, the other scouting parties won’t be back yet.”
“I know,” Saul said, dropping his head to his forearms.
After leaving Fort Detrick at midnight, they’d stopped a few miles away from the campus in a clearing off the road. After resting for a few hours, Saul sent out several search teams to check out King’s hideaway and the surrounding streets. They were to report back after dawn while he and Dylan climbed the hill for a better look.
The minutes ticked by, and a restless Dylan shifted in the ditch next to him. A cloud of midges appeared out of nowhere and descended on the two watchers. Saul’s neck stung when one of the critters zoomed in, and he smacked it with his free hand.
Dylan slapped at the biting insects that circled their heads. “Stupid bugs. I can’t stand the things.”
“Then you don’t want to visit Africa,” Saul murmured.
“Probably not,” she countered. “I’ve heard a couple of Tara’s horror stories. Besides, I’ve got enough to deal with right here.”
“Yeah, which parts did she tell you about?” Saul asked, his interest tweaked.
“Well, the Congo doesn’t seem like a picnic,” Dylan said.
“It’s not.”
“By the way, how did you get infected?” Dylan asked. “You never told me, and neither did Tara.”
“It’s a long story,” Saul replied.
“And we’ve got nothing but time on our hands.”
“Maybe another day,” Saul said, reluctant to get embroiled in the past.
“Come on. You’re the first person to survive a zombie bite. How did that happen?” Dylan insisted.
Saul sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but only if you promise to keep quiet.”
“Deal.”
Saul closed his eyes and thought back to the day he got infected with the Vita virus. “When I was bitten, it was the first time I thought I was going to die. Even as a soldier, I never truly believed I could get killed. I never thought this is it. I’m a dead man.”
“Never?”
“Never,” Saul confirmed.
“That’s strange. There were lots of times I thought I was a goner,” Dylan mused.
“Are you going to let me tell the story or not?” Saul asked.
“Sorry. My lips are sealed,” Dylan said, running her fingers across her mouth.
Saul sighed. “Anyway, we were at Fort Knox, and we were safe, or so we thought. Tara was working late that night.”
“What’s new?” Dylan asked. Saul shot her a look, and she ducked her head. “Oops, sorry.”
“I was on guard duty. Even as a foreign soldier, they still had use for me. I didn’t mind as it kept me busy,”
Saul continued. “But that night, we had a breach. The first of many.”
“Yeah?” Dylan breathed, leaning closer.
“They came out of nowhere. Hundreds of them, their eyes and teeth flashing in the spotlights. They stormed the fence, clawing, crawling, and pushing their way through the wires. I shot as many as I could, killing until my ammunition ran out.”
“What happened then?” Dylan asked, her eyes wide.
“I reloaded and kept shooting. Rat-tat-tat. Rat-tat-tat. I dropped them like flies, one after the other, but they kept coming. Some of the other soldiers lost their nerve and ran. They didn’t get far.”
“They got eaten?” Dylan asked, her face like that of a little kid during storytime in class.
Saul suppressed a smile and nodded, his expression serious. “Exactly.”
“Cowards,” Dylan muttered, pulling her face.
“When I ran out of bullets again, I picked up their guns and kept fighting. I never stopped. Me and a few of the others. Not even when we got surrounded.”
Dylan gasped. “No.”
“Yes. They were all around us, pushing and pulling to get to us. The sound of their howling still haunts my dreams. They stomped each other into the ground in their haste to get to us. Now and then, I’d hear a scream as more of us fell. We were losing, but I still didn’t think of death or dying. Not yet,” Saul said in his most dramatic tone of voice. “Then reinforcements showed up, and the night exploded as grenades decimated the ranks of the undead. Boom, boom, boom. Dust, dirt, and body parts rained down upon us.”
“You were saved?” Dylan prompted, grabbing his arm.
“We were,” Saul said, ignoring her use of present tense. “But as we began to clear away the bodies, I noticed it.”
“What?” Dylan asked.
“The bite mark on my upper arm,” he replied.
“No, when did that happen?” Dylan asked with ghoulish horror.
“I don’t know. Somewhere, somehow, during all the fighting, I got bitten,” Saul said. “That’s when I knew I was going to die.”
“What did you do?”
“I went to Tara. I wanted to say goodbye, because the moment I realized I was a dead man, I figured it out.”
Rise of the Undead (Book 5): Apocalypse Z Page 8