A service led by a man that killed Bradley. A man that stood there watching his son chop him into pieces.
It was disgusting.
I couldn’t be there.
I didn’t want to be there.
I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to hold it together. We should have been miles away from this place. It would be better to die fighting for our lives against the creatures than stuck inside with murderers.
I sat down on the steps and stared at the road. It wasn’t that long ago cars would have been parked there to come to mass.
I could almost see the elderly women in their pressed pale blue skirts and their hair freshly done. The men would have nice suits and smile as they took the arms of their wives and guided them up the stairs. Families would arrive a bit late and the mothers would look around praying their children would behave.
Never in a million years would they have guessed what would have happened inside the walls of the church. Never would they have imagined a man would get chopped to bits in the garden at the side of the church.
“Hey,” Austin said cautiously stepping in front of my line of sight. “You okay?”
“I felt sick,” I said.
His face dropped with panic as he reached out and touched my forehead. “The food? Did you see powder in your water?”
I shook my head. His concern for me warmed my heart and I remembered why we needed to fight. I couldn’t let them take another of us.
We’d agreed we wouldn’t eat much. Just enough so that they wouldn’t be suspicious and since we were grieving, we hoped we’d be able to get away with it, although it wouldn’t work for long.
“It’s not that. I’m just sick from what I saw,” I said keeping my voice low.
The visions of losing my mom and dad still haunted me, now I could add another to the list.
“I’m so sorry you had to see that,” Austin said sitting down next to me. He put his arm around my shoulder and held me close.
“Aren’t they going to wonder where you are?” I asked.
“I told them I was going to check on you,” he said.
“We should just go,” I said. “Get the others and leave.”
Austin cocked his head to the side. “What about the service?”
“Argh,” I groaned. “I don’t know. How do we even do this? You know they aren’t going to just let us leave. I just need a break away from all this to clear my head.”
Austin placed a light kiss on the top of my head. “We’re going to get out of this.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because we’re armed. I’m ninety percent sure they’re not,” Austin said.
I shook my head. “We don’t even have a plan.”
“We’re just going to walk out. We’ll go to the SUV and drive off.”
“Before night? Did you move the SUV?”
“No, never got a chance. Do you want to wait until morning?” Austin asked.
I lowered my face into my hands. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
“Go back inside,” Austin said. “I’ll go check the SUV.”
“You can’t,” I said grabbing his arm. “They’ll see you. It’s too risky.”
Austin pressed his fingertips to his temple. He knew I was right.
“Okay,” he said. “We’ll leave at dusk right before the creatures come out. They won’t want to follow us. It’ll be too risky for them.”
I thought over his plan. We’d be driving through the night again which wasn’t ideal but it probably would be our best chance to escape.
I sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. “Okay. Let’s tell the others.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lucas led us out toward the cemetery in the backyard of the church. The headstones were crumbling and some of them looked like there were about to sink into the ground. Maybe the creature’s tunnels below were pulling them downward.
It was an old cemetery. Based on the years on the headstones, it hadn’t been used in years.
There was a casket on the ground next to a hole that wasn’t even close to six feet deep. Someone had decorated both the ground and the casket with flowers, many of which were wilted.
A headstone made of wood had been stuck into the ground at the top of the hole. They hadn’t even bothered to ask how to spell Bradley’s name and had gotten it wrong, not that I was going to say anything.
“We’re all gathered here to celebrate the life of Bradley,” Lucas said holding his hands up at his sides. “Please, gather around.”
Everyone was there. None of them looked as though they wanted to be except for Lucas.
I scanned the area as he began reading from the bible. It felt like Lucas didn’t know the first thing about conducting a funeral and listening to his voice was only making my insides boil.
“Does anyone have anything they’d like to say about our beloved, Bradley?” Lucas asked shifting his gaze toward me.
I moved my head slightly side to side. If I even tried, I’d break down into tears for so many reasons.
Mallory stepped forward and a lump lodged itself in the back of my throat.
“I do,” she said pressing her palms against her thighs.
“Go on,” Lucas said taking a step back.
“Um,” Mallory said keeping her eyes down. “I loved Bradley. He was an asshole, but he didn’t deserve this. This is not how it should have ended. He donated money to Humane Society and for the most part, he was kind to me. Much kinder than others have been. He wasn’t verbally abusive like my last boyfriend.”
Mallory’s shoulders dropped and she wiped away her tears. She pressed her fingertips to her lips for a moment before clearing her throat.
“Anyway,” she said reaching out to touch the casket even though she knew he wasn’t inside. “I love you, Bradley. Rest in peace.”
He wasn’t going to rest in peace in this graveyard. In fact, I hoped he would find his way to haunt both Lucas and Samuel for the rest of their lives.
“Very touching,” Lucas said. “Anyone else?”
Lucas concluded the ceremony by making the sigh of the cross. He folded his hands in front of his chest as he pasted a gentle smile on his face.
“Bev has prepared a lovely lunch,” Lucas said gesturing at the church. “If you wouldn’t mind, please follow her back to the cafeteria.”
My feet didn’t move. I stared at the casket. Lucas’s unblinking eyes were on me.
“Is there something else?” he asked.
I swallowed hard. “Aren’t you going to lower him into the ground?”
“We will,” Lucas said. “Later.”
“Why later?” I asked.
I just couldn’t keep my mouth closed even though Austin was pulling on my arm. Lucas gestured at the others to keep going. Apparently, everyone had stopped and waited for his response.
Lucas stepped up next to me and looked down into my eyes. I saw nothing but ice cold emptiness.
“It’s difficult to watch a loved one being lowered into the ground,” Lucas explained. “Especially, when we don’t have the tools to do it smoothly.”
“Oh,” I said biting my cheek so I didn’t say anything more.
“I know this is a difficult time for all of you,” Lucas said placing his hand on my shoulder. I flinched ever so slightly but I was sure it was enough that he’d noticed. He let his hand fall away. “It’s a different world now, though, isn’t it?”
I nodded. It was different because of the creatures but I wasn’t sure if that was what he was referring to.
“Everyone has to do what they must to survive.” Lucas flicked his eyes in my direction. “We all must make sacrifices to help one another, don’t you think?”
A tight-lipped smile was the most I could muster for his words that made my stomach swirl like a washing machine. Sacrifices. Lucas made me sick.
I was counting the minutes until dusk.
After our quiet meal, Bev poured us each a cup of coffee
and passed out a single brownie to each of us.
Samuel quietly announced they’d be going on a supply run. He walked over and asked Noah and Marty if they were up for joining him.
Neither Austin nor I had gotten a chance to tell them our plan. My heart sank when they both accepted.
Perhaps it didn’t really matter because they’d be back before dusk. Samuel patted them both on the back before walking around the table and stopping behind Austin.
“Austin,” Samuel said. He sounded like a snake the way the name slithered out between his lips. “I was wondering if you’d be up for joining us on a run today.”
“Not today,” Austin said barely turning to look at him.
“Hmm,” Samuel said. “We could really use your help out there.”
The muscles in Austin’s face tightened. “I’m sorry. It’s not a good day.”
“You sure? Might help take your mind off of things.” It didn’t seem like Samuel was going to take no for an answer and I knew Austin wasn’t going to back down.
My body tensed worrying that this might be the moment we’d need to make our move.
“I’m positive. Tomorrow,” Austin said.
Samuel opened his mouth but snapped it shut when Austin turned and met his eyes. He wanted him to see that he wasn’t going to be changing his mind.
I bit back my smile when Samuel held up his hand and took a step back. He’d gotten the message.
“Okay,” Samuel said pushing back his shoulders. “Tomorrow.”
“Yeah, tomorrow,” Austin said unable to hide the tinge of sourness to his tone.
Noah shot him a strange look. He knew something was up but he was smart enough not to draw any kind of attention to that fact.
After everyone cleared out of the cafeteria, Austin told Mallory the plan. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as if he’d just told her she’d won the lottery.
“Thank you, Austin,” she said taking a quick step back. Mallory lowered her voice. “Sorry. I’m just so happy to hear that. I hate it here.”
“Don’t thank me just yet,” Austin said.
Mallory frowned and shook her head. “If anyone can get us out of here, it’s you.”
“I appreciate your vote of confidence,” Austin said his face blank.
Mallory smiled. But her fears had resurfaced. She could tell just as well as I could that Austin was nervous about what was going to happen. He seemed afraid… worried… that something was going to go wrong.
“You should go get some rest,” Austin advised.
“Right,” Mallory said. “What about you two? Shouldn’t you rest, too? We don’t get enough sleep out there.”
“We should,” Austin said. “But I’d like to talk to Lucy first.”
Mallory raised a brow. “Oh,” she said flashing me a wink, “I get it.”
“Oh, no,” Austin said.
“Yeah, it’s not like that,” I said even though I had no idea what it was like. It just felt awkward with her thinking what she was thinking.
Mallory leaned closer. “There’s a coat closet right next to the restroom.”
She bounced on the balls of her feet as she turned away from us. After six steps her shoulders dropped and her pace slowed. It was like she remembered the horrible reality we were trapped inside.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked turning to Austin.
Austin’s head lowered but his eyes shifted to meet mine. “Mallory was right. I just wanted some time to be with you.”
“What?” I asked looking around as if someone was watching us.
“Well, it’s just that shit might hit the fan and I don’t want to have any regrets,” Austin said. “I’m stressed and worried and I just want to be alone with you. Is that so wrong?”
Austin took a step closer and my heart skipped a beat. There were too many emotions running through my body that the only thing I could feel was just how overwhelmed I was with everything.
What if something went wrong? What if this was the last chance I would get to be alone with Austin?
I grabbed his hand and smiled. There wasn’t anything that could stop me from leading him to the coat closet.
Maybe it was wrong. Maybe the timing was terrible, but being alone with Austin helped me forget the world around us and that made me feel like I could take on anything. It helped to remind me what I was fighting for.
I opened the closet door and peeked inside. There wasn’t anything in the room except a few empty hangers that had been pushed to the side.
I stepped inside the room, smiling as I pulled him with me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
We didn’t speak.
His arms were around my waist seconds after the door softly clicked closed. I drew in a sharp breath as he roughly pulled me against his body.
“It’s not fair,” he said in a husky voice.
“What’s not fair?” I asked trying to see his face but the room was pitch black. I probably wasn’t even looking into his eyes.
“How things are,” Austin said kissing the side of my neck sending hot tingles over the top of my skull and down my spine.
His touch made my body feel lighter. Just being close to Austin was enough to make me feel intoxicated.
“They feel pretty good to me,” I said as his hand moved up the side of my body and over my breast. I bit my lip. “Really good.”
“But it should be different. We shouldn’t have to sneak off to be together,” Austin said his voice losing a bit of passion as it filled with seriousness. “It shouldn’t be days or weeks before I can do something like this.”
Austin lifted my body slightly and pressed me against the back wall. It was just the right amount of roughness
He grabbed my wrists and held them with one hand over my head. The fingers of his free hand slid down my body until he got to the hem of my shirt.
Austin gripped it so tightly I could feel the fabric wrinkling against my body. He wanted it off but he wasn’t going to undress me in the coat closet when anyone could just walk in.
His hand glided up until he found the thin fabric of my bra and slid his hand inside. I felt so hot I was afraid I was going to stick to the wall.
“Oh, Austin,” I said letting my head fall back into the wall. It felt like I was absolutely under his spell.
“I need you,” Austin whispered into my ear.
“I need you, too,” I said letting all the emotions inside of me fuel my desire.
I tried to move my hands down to undo the button on my pants but he felt my pull and held me tighter. His fingers moved down and he popped the button. My heart skipped a beat as the sound of my zipper being undone filled the air.
I couldn’t stand it. I wanted to move my arms. Touch him. Feel him. But it wasn’t long before I felt him in a very satisfying way.
Austin held me up against the wall as he rocked into me. Pin-pricks of pleasure zapped up and down my body from head to toe sending me to a plane of pleasure I hadn’t ever experienced.
It was strange but exciting not to be able to move. He was controlling every movement and it felt amazing to just let go. I didn’t have to think about anything. All I had to do was feel.
Our bodies thudded softly against the wall. My breaths slipped between my parted lips as I ached for more.
“I love you, Lucy,” Austin said. The sound of my name on his lips scorched my already searing veins.
I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t take another movement.
The pleasure rippled down my neck, over my chest and came together where our bodies met. I exhaled as my shoulders rolled forward.
A soft moan started to squeeze its way out of my mouth but I bit down so hard on my lip I was afraid I might draw blood. I wanted to call out his name but I couldn’t. I couldn’t.
Austin growled as he pressed me harder to the wall for a moment. It was like his body had frozen solid as he enjoyed his own moment of release.
A soft chuckled bounced a
gainst my ear. I couldn’t help but smile into the darkness.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“I’ve never done anything like that in my entire life,” Austin said. “It’s like I’m a different person, but still I’m the same.”
“I know what you mean,” I said as I pulled my pants back on and smoothed my hands over my shirt.
I felt Austin’s fingertips brush feather-soft against my cheek. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, of course,” I said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t want to be too rough. Something took over me,” Austin said.
“No,” I said lighting placing my hand on top of his. “It was perfect.”
The truth was it was more than okay. I could take it. But now that it was over, everything outside the door was flooding back and resting itself on top of my shoulders.
I could handle whatever Austin could dish out. What I couldn’t handle was the world outside. The creatures. The murderers we were staying with.
I couldn’t wait until we were back in the SUV miles away from this place.
We’d figure out what to do. We knew the sound the creatures didn’t like and we already knew they didn’t like the light. Surely we’d be able to build something where we could be safe.
First, we just had to get away from the church.
Austin wrapped his arms around me again squeezing me tightly. “You know I really do love you, right?”
“I do know,” I said resting my cheek against his chest. “And I love you, too.”
“If for some reason something should go wrong—“
“Don’t,” I said placing my fingertips over his mouth. “Don’t even say it. I don’t want to hear it. It’s going to be fine. It has to be.”
Austin’s hand wrapped around my wrist and he slowly moved my fingers away from his mouth. I thought he was going to finish his sentence but he didn’t.
“You’re right. I won’t let anything happen to you,” Austin said.
“And I won’t let anything happen to you,” I said standing on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Or Marty, Noah, or Mallory.”
“If you have to pull the trigger,” Austin said and I wished I could see his expression. “You’ll be able to do it, right?”
Desolation - An Apocalyptic Novel (From Below Book 2) Page 12
