by Eden Darry
“I had no idea. I’m sorry,” Lane said. “You could have asked me for help, you know.”
“Seriously? After I’d just dumped you? Besides, I’m not good at doing that. It’s too hard, for too many reasons.”
Lane nodded. “I know. Must be lonely though.”
“You get used to it,” Meg said and tried not to think about how right Lane was.
All she did was work and sleep and dream about her bar. She had no real friends, just customers from the Pig. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken a vacation or spent money on something. Every penny went in the bank. She’d barely lived a life at thirty-two years old, and now it might end here in Provincetown. The only thing she’d have to show for it was thirteen thousand dollars.
Truth was, she didn’t know if she and Lane had any kind of future together, but she realized now, all her assumptions about Lane were wrong. Badly wrong. And if Lane wasn’t the person Meg had thought she was and was, in fact, everything Meg wanted, what did that mean?
Meg looked up at Lane. She’d never realized before what kind eyes Lane had. Warm and welcoming and open. She rose up slightly from the chair and watched Lane’s eyes widen in surprise.
“Meg, are you—”
“Just shut up and kiss me, Lane.”
Lane obliged, and the feel of her lips on Meg’s was incredible. Meg remembered those kisses. How gentle Lane could be. How soft her lips were.
Meg deepened the kiss, dipped her tongue inside Lane’s mouth, and heard Lane groan. Then Lane took control of the kiss. Meg felt herself being lifted out of the chair and turned around so that her back was to the desk. Lane stood between her legs and pressed close.
Their kiss became more demanding, and Lane’s arms came around her waist, slid down her hips, and grasped her ass. Lane pulled Meg tight against her, and Meg tilted her pelvis into Lane’s.
Then Lane’s hands were on her breasts over her shirt. Lane’s thumbs brushed over her nipples, and it was Meg’s turn to groan. Meg reached down and pushed her hands beneath Lane’s jeans. She slid her hands inside Lane’s underwear and ran her fingernails over Lane’s ass.
“Shit.” Lane groaned.
In one swift movement, Lane reached beneath Meg’s shirt and unhooked her bra, slid the straps down. She pushed Meg’s shirt up and pulled Meg’s nipple in her mouth. Meg held Lane’s head against her breast and leaned in to her. She’d forgotten how good Lane’s mouth felt.
Lane moved to the other breast, and at the same time Meg felt Lane’s fingers on her jeans. Were they really going to do this? Have sex right here? Was it a good idea? And not just because of the whole zombie apocalypse thing. Meg didn’t want to hurt Lane again. Her emotions were all over the place. Did she want to be with Lane? Did it matter? The chances of them making it out of this alive weren’t good.
Now Lane’s fingers were inside Meg’s underwear, and all thought and reason went out the window.
Meg helped Lane pull down her panties, impatient now. She spread her legs as much as she could with her pants around her ankles and leaned back on the desk.
Meg sighed when Lane’s fingers eased inside her. It had been so long since she’d let someone touch her like this. The last person had been Lane, she realized.
“You okay? Should I stop?” Lane asked, obviously sensing her start.
“No, no, don’t stop.” Meg pulled Lane close and kissed her.
Lane’s fingers began to move inside Meg, and when Lane thrust her hips against them, Meg groaned at the sensation. Meg tightened her arms around Lane’s neck, kicked one leg out of her jeans, and wrapped her legs around Lane’s waist. It felt so good. Sex with Lane had always been good. The best.
Lane’s movements sped up, fingers curling inside her to stroke her G-spot. Meg knew she wouldn’t come like this, but it felt incredible all the same. Lane must have remembered too because she pulled back and out of Meg and dropped to her knees.
Lane slid one of Meg’s legs out of her jeans and panties and parted her legs further.
“Is this okay?” Lane asked.
Meg nodded. “Yes. Please, Lane.”
And then Lane’s mouth was on her, and Meg closed her eyes and let her head drop back. She reached out and held Lane’s head to her as she moved her hips against Lane’s mouth. Within moments she was coming. The orgasm washed over her and ran right through her. Meg felt boneless and drowsy and better than she had in months.
She reached down and lifted Lane’s head where it rested on her thigh. “I forgot how good you were at that,” Meg said.
Lane smiled. “I forgot how much I liked doing it with you.”
“Come up here,” Meg said.
Lane stood and Meg wrapped her in a hug. “That was fast, even for you.”
“It’s been a long time.” Meg laughed. “Actually, you were my last.”
Lane pulled back and away from her. “Are you serious?”
Meg nodded. “I wouldn’t lie. I take it that I’m not your last.” She knew she had no right, but Meg was a little stung at the thought of Lane being with other women. A little stung and a lot jealous. She had no right, but she couldn’t help how she felt.
“Actually, you are,” Lane said. “I told you—I love you. I wasn’t interested in anyone else.”
Meg felt a surge of warmth somewhere dangerously close to her heart. What was she doing? This was the worst possible time to be getting involved in all the Lane stuff again. Dragging up the old feelings.
“We can talk about us when this is all over,” Meg said. “I just don’t think now is the right time.”
“We just had sex,” Lane said, and Meg could see the hurt in her eyes. Great. She’d done it again.
“I know, and it was great. But I think we need to focus on getting out of here. We’ve been away from the others for too long already.” Meg started to stand, and Lane backed off. She pulled up her underwear and her pants.
“Fine. Whatever, Meg,” Lane said.
“Lane, wait. I’m not trying—”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re right, we should get back to the others.”
Lane walked out of the office before Meg could say any more.
Meg shut her eyes. She rubbed her forehead. What the hell was wrong with her? Once again, she’d acted like a total bitch to Lane.
Despite everything she’d realized about life being short and Lane not being the person she’d thought she was, Meg still couldn’t allow herself to let Lane in. Once again, she’d panicked at the thought of lowering her walls, and once again she’d hurt Lane. How many times was she going to do that before Lane had enough? Meg wasn’t a stupid woman, so why was she repeating the same mistakes? It was time for that to stop.
This time, she wouldn’t leave it. They did need to talk. “Lane,” Meg called. She walked back into the bar. Lane was standing by the bench where Lois slept.
“She’s gone,” Lane said.
“What? Who?” Meg moved to stand beside her.
“Lois. She’s gone,” Lane said again.
“Maybe she’s in the bathroom.” Meg swallowed down the panic.
“I don’t think so. Look, some of the boards have been moved from the window. The loose ones. I think she’s gone.”
Chapter Thirteen
Outer Cape Echo
15 minutes ago
BREAKING: Word coming out of the Outer Cape is that there’s a siege in Provincetown. Heavy machine gun fire and loud explosions could be heard coming from the vicinity of the seaside town. Officials are keeping tight-lipped, but the word is the army has mounted some kind of operation. As we reported earlier in the day, large numbers of military vehicles were spotted making their way along Route 6. Just what is going on over there? If you know, tell us in the comments below.
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Mike Finkel: Terrorists. It’s always terrorists.
Jane Birch: My niece who lives over in Provincetown hasn’t been able to get back in. She got a call
from her father, who told her to stay out. He says he’s boarded up his house and he’s just waiting it out. He’s got Alzheimer’s, so I don’t know if he’s a reliable witness, but my niece said he was talking about zombies.
Grant Richardson: That’s the biggest load of crap I ever heard. Zombies? Come on.
Dale White: I heard it’s zombies too from my cousin who lives down that way. He said he saw someone chewing on a body like it was a juicy burger. I’m staying up in Hyannis until this blows over.
* * *
When Lane checked the bathrooms, she knew with certainty they were both gone. Lois and Wendy. What the hell was Wendy thinking? Fair enough, she wanted to keep the Viking treasure for herself, but why take Lois too?
“She took Lois because she knows we’ll go after her. Lois is a bargaining chip,” Meg said.
“Surely not. How do you know that?” Lane asked.
“Because there’s no reason she’d take a little kid with her if she wants to get out of Provincetown with the treasure. No reason except she knows we’ll come after her, and Lois is her insurance. She knows we’ll take Lois and not the treasure if it comes down to it.”
“That’s fucking cold,” Lane said. “Maybe she thought she was helping Lois by taking her?”
Meg shook her head. “No, she wants that treasure and she knows we want it too—for different reasons. She thinks we’ll let her keep it in return for Lois.”
“I don’t understand. Wendy didn’t strike me as a bad person. Why would she do this?” Lane asked.
“Who knows? Maybe there’s something about that treasure? If a Viking is willing to rise from the dead to get it back, it must be special,” Meg said.
“But it doesn’t make sense. I thought she was the kindly local historian? When did she turn into such a psycho?” Lane asked.
“I don’t know. I never knew Wendy all that well. I always got the sense she felt like she was better than everyone else. But maybe that was unfounded—I’m clearly not the best judge of character, am I?”
“So why is she doing this? I mean, Teensy was her friend. They were together. It seems odd that she wouldn’t do everything to help us get out of this situation. Why hoard the treasure? Why take Lois?”
“I told you, Lane, I don’t know. Maybe she got so caught up in her work that she lost her way. She’s been here for years plugging away, trying to make something of her career, with all her exhibitions and papers. Perhaps this treasure was just too good to resist. It proves out her years of research, and it’s worth a ton of money.”
“You sound like you know a lot about her, for someone who says she doesn’t know Wendy at all,” Lane said.
“I just know what it’s like to want something so badly that you lose sight of what’s important,” Meg said.
Lane could see Meg thought she’d said too much. A crack in her wall. And Lane got a glimpse of the regret Meg felt. Or maybe that was just Lane’s wishful thinking. Meg had tuned her out as quickly as she’d let her in back in the office. Classic Meg move. It frustrated Lane and made her sad at the same time. Since they’d been in the Pig, Lane had sensed a thawing in Meg. But maybe that was only wishful thinking too.
Either way, they didn’t have time to talk about their relationship right now. With luck, there would be a later. Meg sighed and Lane couldn’t help herself. She reached out and stroked Meg’s cheek.
“Yeah, I guess you do know what it’s like,” Lane said. Then, before Meg could say anything else, she changed the subject. “Okay. Where would she go? The harbour?”
“Maybe. I guess she might try. I know she can sail a boat.”
“But it’s so risky. We didn’t make it, and we had Teensy with us,” Lane said.
“She’s desperate. She’s willing to die to keep hold of the treasure. And let Lois die too,” Meg said. “I feel awful. While we were in there having sex, Wendy was taking Lois.”
“I know. Meg, we have to get her back,” Lane said.
“Yes. We have to go back out there. It’s dark now—maybe that’ll give us some kind of cover,” Meg said.
“Maybe.” Lane picked up her bag. She took out the hammer and handed it to Meg.
“Lane?” Meg said. “Whatever happens out there, Lois is our priority. If it’s a choice between me and her, I want you to pick her.” Meg tested the weight of the hammer in her hand, and it felt good. Solid. Heavy.
Lane nodded. “Same for me. We get Lois out of here. And we get that treasure. I think it’s the key. I think it’s what will put an end to this. Wendy said it herself—these draugr things want their treasure. If we can give it back, maybe it’ll go away.”
“I don’t know if it’s that simple, but it’s certainly worth a shot,” Meg said.
“It’s the only one we have. Doesn’t look as if the military are going to help us. Maybe the zombies already got out of Ptown,” Lane said.
Shit, what was she saying? Where the zombies might have spread to didn’t bear thinking about, and it was the last thing they needed distracting them right now. “Sorry. Killing the mood again.”
Meg laughed and Lane smiled. She liked it when Meg laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Ready to go?”
Lane nodded. She was as ready as she’d ever be. And how ready could you ever be to face a horde of flesh-eating zombies?
Lane watched as Meg pulled more boards loose so they could fit through.
* * *
Outside, a bitter wind had kicked up. It was already full dark even though it wasn’t yet six p.m. A newspaper twisted and flipped and danced its way down the deserted street. Meg was struck by how quiet it was. There should be people crowding the sidewalks and spilling out from the bars and restaurants. Instead, the place was empty. At least there weren’t a bunch of zombies waiting for them.
This time, they didn’t see any point in heading for the beach. Last time had shown them the zombies would eventually head down there, and at least up on Commercial there were more places to run and hide. On the beach they’d be trapped—just like Teensy was. Meg tried not to think about that. She thought that last image of Teensy being buried by a mass of swarming, biting bodies would stay with her for a long time.
“Stop,” Lane whispered, and Meg realized she hadn’t been paying attention.
Good work, she told herself. Great way to get yourself killed.
“What is it?” Meg asked.
“I can hear something. From there.” Lane pointed at an alley to the right of them. “We should duck down here.”
Lane and Meg moved behind a dumpster sitting in the alley next to them. Good thing about Provincetown—lots of alleys.
They crouched down and waited. Soon, they heard the shuffling and the groaning that seemed to signal a zombie was nearby. Meg chanced a look around the side of the dumpster. Sure enough, there it was, shuffling down the street with a weird aimless determination. Like it was heading somewhere but didn’t exactly know where. Who knew, maybe they still retained some of who they had been, and this zombie was heading to a home it dimly remembered.
They waited until it shuffled past, changed its mind, shuffled back, and headed up Freeman Street.
“Let’s go,” Lane whispered.
When they got to the parking lot at MacMillan Pier, Meg couldn’t avoid looking left to where Teensy had died. It was too far away, but Meg swore she could see a dark pool of blood soaking into the sand.
They made slow progress, ducking behind cars and weaving their way towards the pier. Once they were on it, there would be no real options for escape should the zombies turn up. Really, the water would be their only out, and looking at it, Meg wasn’t sure they’d survive that either. But drowning beat being eaten to death and coming back as one of them.
Suddenly, Meg heard a scream. It came from Commercial. “You hear that?” she asked Lane.
“Yeah. Might be Wendy,” Lane said.
“It could be.”
The scream came again, followed by someone calling for help. Definitely Wendy.
Which meant she was alive. Which meant there was a good chance Lois was too.
“Let’s go,” Lane said and made a break for it.
Meg followed. Jesus, Lane was fast. Meg couldn’t remember the last time she’d done any exercise. She was certainly paying for it now. She thought about promising the universe to do better if they survived, but…nah. If she got out of this alive, she’d probably still not do any exercise, truth be told.
Meg’s lungs burned and so did her legs. She half expected to turn on to Commercial and see Ivar Sigmarsson blowing blue fire out of his mouth, but it was just the usual horde of twenty or thirty zombies.
Wendy and Lois were up on a car roof. Meg noticed the zombies were having trouble climbing, and that was something to bear in mind.
The zombies hadn’t seen her and Lane yet, and maybe they could make that work.
“Lane, you hide. I’ll make a ton of noise and try and make them follow me. That should give you time to get Wendy and Lois.”
“No—”
“That bar there?” She pointed to the building on the corner by the car. “It’s the Governor Bradford. You can hide in there. I’ll circle back and find you.”
“Meg, no.”
“It’s the only way.”
“Then let me lead them off,” Lane said.
“We don’t have time for this. I know Provincetown. I know where I’m going, and you don’t.”
“But, Meg—”
Meg kissed her. It was all she could think to do. She didn’t have the words to tell Lane how she felt about her, and even if she did, there wasn’t time. She kissed her hard. Bruised her lips, probably. Then Meg stepped back, waited for Lane to take cover, and screamed at the top of her lungs.
* * *
At the sound of Meg’s warlike cry, Lane jumped up from where she’d been hiding and rushed up the street.
As Meg had hoped, the zombies turned and took off after her on a cacophony of groans. Lane didn’t have time to follow her progress down the street. She felt sick and proud and terrified for Meg. She didn’t have time for any of those feelings, though.
