by Lilly Black
"What the actual fuck?" Dani wondered aloud, and though Olivia was just as confused by it, when she saw the cache, she smiled from ear to ear.
"Lock and load, motherfuckers," she said as she went to work filling the magazines. Before Olivia passed out the rifles, Dani opened her suitcase and handed her friends clothes and shoes. Hers was the only luggage they had, but since they were wearing fuck-me pumps and mini dresses, she figured it wouldn't really matter if her jeans were a little loose on Olivia's narrow hips and a little tight on Liana's curves. At least they all had the same size shoes. June, who's idea of dressing sexy already meant jeans, didn't need anything beyond the rifle Olivia gave her, but Dani tossed her shirt away.
"What are we going to do?" June asked. "We can't just go on that bus and start shooting people."
"We'll shoot them in the leg if we have to," Olivia said.
"Why don't they just crawl out the bathroom window?" June suggested.
"They already tried, but Jax said the window is too small," Dani said.
"Does anyone know if there's a bedroom at the back of the bus?" Alek asked.
"Let's shoot out the window and see," Olivia said.
"You could hit someone!" Dani protested.
"I'll aim high," she promised, then she shot at the window, pointing the barrel upward so the bullet exited through the roof. It left behind a small hole surrounded by spider-webbed glass, but it was large enough for Alek to look through. When he peeked inside, he found that there was indeed a bedroom, and it was vacant with the door closed. He had Olivia fire two more shots to make a triangle, then they were able to push on the glass, causing it to shatter into the bedroom.
"I need something thick to cover the bottom edge before we can climb in," Alek said, and Dani grabbed a Kevlar vest out of the trunk. With the butt of a rifle, he removed as much of the remaining glass as possible, then put the vest in place. "Who's going in?"
"I am," Dani said.
"I will," Olivia offered, but Alek shook his head.
"I get the feeling you're the best shot. I need you out here in case the noise draws any infected from the outside," he said, but they were in the middle of nowhere. It felt more like he was saying he wanted to keep her safe. That wasn't necessary, but she was flattered as she helped him hoist Dani into the bus. Then Alek gave Olivia a smile and climbed in.
Once inside, they looked for something to use as a battering ram to push the door open and force the infected down the hallway so they could release Jax and the girls from the bathroom and retreat through the bedroom window, but as the sound drew the infected to the door, Alek realized there was a problem with their plan. On the other side, they knew there were at least six men, and the door was hinged to swing inward. If they were to open it, the infected could easily force their way in before any battering ram could push them back. Already outnumbered, they really needed physics on their side.
"Okay, what if we do this," Dani said. "You climb back out, sneak around to the front of the bus, and then I'll open the door and lure them all in here. I'll jump out the window, and then you should be able to just slip down the hall and lock them in the bedroom."
"I think it sounds like a great plan except for one thing," Alek said. "There's no way in hell I'm going to let you stay in here by yourself. You climb out, and I'll lure them in. Then you can be the one to rescue Jax Bonham."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"I'm sure. It'll be safer for me to jump out the window. I'm taller. I don't have as far to fall," he said with a wink, and Dani smiled. This guy was famous, wealthy, and sexy as hell, but he was also a genuinely good person. She couldn't believe the risks he was willing to take to rescue others from standing up for Olivia back at the Kemp Hotel to everything he was doing for Jax.
He helped her back out the window, and waited for the signal. When Dani was at the front entrance to the bus, she motioned for Olivia to let Alek know, and he took a deep breath and unlocked the door, slowly turning the knob and releasing it. Then he jumped back, letting the infected who had been pressing against it fall onto the bedroom floor. He climbed up on the bed and stood in the middle taunting them as they clambered to their feet, and he was surprised by how they ran into the bed then stood around it grasping at him as if they couldn't figure out how to climb onto it. There were seven of them, including Gino, and as they gnashed their teeth and moaned, it was terrifying to know that if just one of them fell onto the bed, they might all realize they could crawl toward their intended victim.
Keeping his distance, Alek looked down the hallway and saw Dani creeping along with her back against the wall. She made it almost all the way to the door when her hair got caught on a dimmer switch, startling her. She let out a yelp, barely even audible, but they heard it. Two of the infected at the foot of the bed turned and began walking back toward her.
Alek knew he had to do something. He held out his hand to tell Dani to freeze, then he knelt down on the bed and started yelling, calling the infected back to him, reaching out and waving in their faces, giving them hope that they could catch him, and once they all were focused on him again, Dani grabbed the knob and pulled the bedroom door closed, slamming it loudly, hoping to lure at least some of them away from Alek. It caught the attention of one, who quickly lost his balance and fell onto the bed.
Growling and groaning with his head right by Alek's thigh, he tried to sink his teeth through the thick denim of his jeans, and Alek abruptly propelled himself backward, landing on his ass against the back wall on the pile of broken glass. As he scrambled to his feet, the others discovered that they could crawl onto the bed, and suddenly they were all encroaching upon him. Panicked, he turned away and tried to dive headfirst out the window when he realized one of them had a hold of his shirt and would not let go.
"Alek!" Olivia screamed, terrified. "Get out of there!"
She reached for his arms, but he was being pulled back. He fought hard, kicking them in their faces as they bit at him, yet they were undeterred, one even taking a chunk out of the rubber sole of his combat boot. They seemed to have no pain receptors, and as they tried to grab his legs, he twisted and squirmed until he finally managed to slip his arms through the holes in the t-shirt and let them yank it off him. Once it was gone, he jumped out the window and straight into Olivia's arms. She was so relieved, she nearly burst into tears.
"Are you okay? Did you get bit?" she asked as she hugged him tightly before she realized what she was doing and let go with an embarrassed laugh.
"I'm fine," he assured her, looking down into her eyes and smiling, pleased by her reaction. Then Dani came around the side of the bus with Jax and two girls who looked like they couldn't be a day over eighteen. Jax had one arm around Dani, and in his other hand, he was carrying a katana. His manager had bought it at the comic convention the day before as a gift for his son. It was a real steel replica from some anime series he was crazy about, and Jax had used it to protect himself and the girls as they fought their way toward the bathroom earlier. Wearing a deep red, silk shirt with black pants, he made Dani think of a sexy pirate on the cover of a romance novel, but he gave a much different impression to June, who went instantly from muttering a prayer under her breath to quoting scripture.
"Behold," she said when she saw him. "A red horse, and he who sat upon it carried a great sword to take peace from the Earth."
"Shut the fuck up, June," Olivia hissed under her breath as she led the way back to the car.
Olivia pulled the limo onto Highway 51, following the course that Mitch had given her to get him to the hospital, and while they talked in the back seat about what had happened leading up to Jax being locked in the bathroom, Olivia struggled to watch the road as the glow of the dashboard illuminated the muscles of Alek's core. For a fleeting moment, she forgot about everything - the crazed cannibals, the distance between her and her child, her marriage - but all of it quickly came crashing back down on her, racking her with guilt and anxiety. She didn't even know if Reid was safe, and she was
sitting next to the only other man on Earth who could tempt her. It was certainly uncanny that she ended up right beside him in this situation, but she wasn't willing to admit that she and her friends had caused this. It was coincidence.
"Here," June said, luring Olivia out of her thoughts as she passed Alek a t-shirt. "The less skin you have exposed, the safer you'll be."
"Thanks," he said as he wondered where it came from, then when he slipped it over his head, he realized it belonged to one of the women because it was extremely tight. Dani had pulled it out for June in case she wanted to change out of the frilly blouse she wore clubbing, but she wasn't willing to do it with the men in the car, even if they promised to look the other way.
"So where are we going?" Jax asked, catching Olivia's eyes in the rearview mirror.
"To a hospital in Morgantown to get Mitch's leg looked at," she answered.
"Not anymore," Liana said, her voice haunted.
"What do you mean?" Olivia asked as all the eyes in the backseat turned to Mitch.
"He's dead," she whispered. "I was just talking to him. I looked away for a second, and...he's gone." She started crying, and Dani put her arm around her as June moved to sit beside Mitch and check his pulse. She couldn't find anything.
"What should we do?" Olivia wondered aloud as she pulled to the side of the road.
"Are you sure he's dead?" Alek asked, and June nodded. She was a nurse, sort of. She didn't have a nursing degree, but she had worked in a doctor's office since she left college as the receptionist and was eventually moved into a role where she took vitals and performed other nursing duties. She was definitely the closest thing they had. Dani had a doctorate, but her medical training was restricted to fixing what went on inside the brain. Liana had planned to go into medicine when she joined the army to pay for college, then she ended up making a career out of the military. She was tough as nails and had seen actual combat, but she had never lost the part of her personality that desired peace above everything and considered all life precious. Mitch dying in her arms was more than she could bear.
As she mourned him, June went into action, asking Alek and Jax to move him to the ground outside the limo so she could perform CPR. Olivia was impressed as she watched her fight to revive the man, taking charge of the situation in a way the usually meek woman never did, and though it seemed like it was no use, just as June was about to call it, Mitch's eyes flew open. They were glassy, and he seemed disoriented, like he couldn't focus at first.
Then he grabbed her by the shoulders and started to sit up, his mouth open, his teeth bared as they lunged for her face. Alek quickly pulled her off of him, and before Mitch could get to his feet, they all hurried into the car. He staggered after them, banging on the window, clawing at it as if he didn't understand that he couldn't tear through glass.
"Oh, God!" Liana cried to see him like that. He was so different, so inhuman, that it seemed death would have been a preferable alternative, but even though she was the best shot despite Alek's assumption about Olivia, she couldn't bring herself to do it because she was still thinking like Jax. He held out hope for his band mates, believing that our society was too powerful and advanced to be taken down so easily, and certain that there would be a cure for the sickness, neither of them thought any of the infected should be killed if it could be avoided.
"Drive," she begged Olivia, and Olivia looked at Alek for guidance, feeling terrible about the idea of taking off in Mitch's car and leaving him to whatever fate befell the infected. Alek nodded. He didn't know if it was the right choice, but it was the only choice. Olivia pulled back onto the road.
"So where are we going now?" Jax asked.
"Home," Olivia said. "We're going to my compound in Summers County, West Virginia. There's plenty of food, solar power, clean water, and a fence. We'll be safe there until the government gets a handle on this."
Neither Alek nor Jax argued. It was more about wanting to spend the time with Olivia and Dani than believing it was necessary to hole up in a solar-powered compound, but neither of them saw the harm in it...unless, it suddenly occurred to Alek, the man who wore the match to that ring he had seen on Olivia's finger would be there.
"Are there infected there?" he pried. "Have you spoken with your family?"
"My daughter's on our mountaintop near Pipestem, so they haven't seen anyone infected yet, but it's definitely in Charleston already."
"It's everywhere," June said, holding up her phone. She had been trying to call her husband since the beginning, but he wasn't answering. He had finally responded by text, saying that there were hundreds of incidents reported in Asheville and Charlotte, the cities nearest to the little town where they lived. She replied that she was going to stay at Olivia's with the children until they knew what was going on, but the outgoing message was still spinning its wheels.
"Has anyone else heard anything?" Olivia asked.
"Our phones were left on the bus," one of the girls who came with Jax said. Her name was Penny, and she was a petit redhead who looked like June might have when she was younger if she had worked out and wore sexier clothes. Of course, at the moment, Penny just looked like a scared, little girl who had been playing in mommy's closet.
"Do you have someone you need to call?" Olivia asked, offering the use of the satellite phone, and though it made the rounds to almost everyone in the car, since they were trying to contact landlines and cell phones, very few actual connections were made. The girls, Penny and Brittani, texted their parents to say that they were safe since they had been on the bus travelling with the band through several cities, and as Olivia navigated the backroads toward her old college town, one response came through confirming that Syracuse, New York was not immune to the outbreak.
Once they made it to the outskirts of Morgantown, Olivia knew her way around and was able to get to Interstate 79 South fairly quickly. With Morgantown being home to a famous party school, she had expected to find more traffic because of students staying up and going to the bars, but while they saw several wrecks, emergency vehicles, and infected running around, their route seemed fairly clear. They experienced the same luck as they drove south on 79, heading toward route 19 to Beckley that would take them to Interstate 77 and ultimately to Summers County. Though they could have taken 19 directly to Pipestem, the road first went through Beckley, and remembering the streets of Pittsburgh, she thought the Interstate would be safer. At least in the middle of the night before the whole country had woken up and realized what was going on, they were likely to encounter fewer people, and thus fewer of the infected, while driving ninety miles an hour with no stop lights. If the 79 was any indicator, they stood a reasonable chance of having large stretches of interstate to themselves.
About twenty minutes outside of Morgantown, Olivia noticed that the limo was low on gas. She wasn't looking forward to having to stop to pump it. As they passed through Fairmont, the gas stations that could be seen from interstate had been overrun, but she remembered a station off an exit coming soon where there wasn't anything else but a two lane country road for miles in both directions. As she approached the exit, she told everyone what they needed to do, and once they were at the station, they all got out with their rifles. Liana and Alek stood guard by the limo while one of the girls pumped gas, and the rest went inside with specific lists, including buying all the gas cans they could fit in the limo so they wouldn't have to stop again. The car held a lot of people, but it was a gas hog.
Inside, there was a young Indian man running the register. He was handsome and managed a smile, but it was clear that something was bothering him beyond the fact that in a hostile political climate his store had just been descended upon by an armed group. Dani assumed it had to do with the outbreak, but when she pressed him, it turned out he knew nothing about it at all. He was distressed because his father was in the back complaining of chest pains and the ambulance he called over an hour ago had not come.
"My friend's a nurse," Dani said. "She could take
a look at him."
"Would you, please? It would be very much appreciated," he said, and though it was obvious that June didn't want to do this, when Dani narrowed her eyes in an unspoken threat, she reluctantly agreed. Part of June's problem was that she didn't know the difference between Hindu and Muslim, nor did she know the difference between Muslim and terrorist. On a normal day, Olivia and Dani would have realized what was going on and forced her to learn it, but today, they were preoccupied. Olivia was collecting all of the most valuable items the convenience store had to offer like bandages and medication while Dani was determined to help the attendant's father.
"I'm Ravi, by the way," he said as he led her and June to the backroom and opened the door. "This is my mother. She doesn't speak any Engli..." he trailed off when he saw his mother weeping over his father, who had apparently passed away.
"How long?" Dani asked the elderly Indian woman, and Ravi translated. When she said it had been only a few minutes, Dani turned to June. "Can you try CPR?"
"I don't know if I should," she said, and though Dani gave her an angry look, assuming it had to do with some closed-minded belief, this time it was different. "I gave mouth to mouth to Mitch, and he was infected. What if I'm infected? If I revive him, I could pass the virus to him, and..."
"What virus?" Ravi asked.
"There's been some kind of outbreak, and if it's a virus, she's right. She could be infected," Dani explained quickly then turned back to June. "Tell me how to do it. You do the chest compressions, and I'll give him mouth-to-mouth."
As June began to explain the process, Ravi's mother's face suddenly lit up with joy and she gasped, drawing the attention to her husband, who had begun to blink.
"He's alive!" she cried in Hindi, and as Ravi translated, Dani noticed the glassiness of his eyes.
"He's infected," she whispered, and then just as Mitch had done before, the old man grabbed his wife, gnashing his teeth. Dani pulled at the woman, but she didn't understand. She resisted, leaning in toward her husband whose mouth closed around her nose, biting it off, and Ravi cried out.
