by Lowry, C. L.
“I feel so safe in your arms,” she whispered, resting her head on his broad shoulder.
“You are safe bae, I will always protect you,” Marcus replied. He leaned in to steal another kiss from the love of his life. He stared into her blue eyes, and for a second they forgot about all of their worries. It was just them, and no one else existed on the planet. They locked lips again, this time more intimate as their tongues intertwined and worked their way down each other’s throats. Marcus carefully placed Candice on the bed and kissed her neck.
“But what about —, what about dinner with your parents?” she asked, trying to stay strong while Marcus began licking on her neck. Her concerns about meeting his parents slowly began to fade into the back of her mind.
“We can be late,” he said while he snickered. In the back of his mind, he knew that once he started making love to her, he had no intentions of stopping to get to the restaurant.
“Oh great, now your mom is really going to hate me.” She laughed before letting out a loud moan as he worked his way to her ear lobe.
“Ok, I will be quick so we can make it there on time.”
The couple quickly removed their clothing and Candice wrapped her legs around Marcus, to keep his body pressed up against hers. She ran her hands across his wavy hair and down his cheek, before bringing his face into hers for more kisses.
“Promise me you will always be here to protect me.”
“I promise bae,” Marcus muttered as he began to make love to her.
CHAPTER 10
Marcus slowly opened his eyes to awaken from a horrifying nightmare. He dreamt he was attacked outside his home. Sweat beads quickly turned to waterfalls. To his surprise, the setting he woke up in was familiar; it was his living room. As he tried to sit up, he felt an excruciating pain coming from his back and his head was throbbing. “Ah shit,” he yelled out as the pain became worse once he sat back on the couch he was on.
“Take those pills next to you.”
The sound of Kyle’s voice startled him, as he looked over to see an unknown man armed with a rifle peeking through the blinds at the front window. “Who the fuck are you?” Marcus asked, attempting to scooch away from Kyle. “Ah fuck,” he howled as he began grimacing in more pain.
“Listen, man, take those pills because your body is fucked up right now.”
Marcus looked over at the three white pills that rested next to a tall glass of orange juice. He was reluctant to take them because he had no idea what they were or who Kyle was. Kyle noticed the reluctance immediately and continued to focus on the street. “It’s only Excedrin asshole. We couldn’t find anything stronger, so I just slid you an extra dosage.”
We? Marcus thought, quickly surveying the room for an accomplice.
“Baby, you’re up,” Candice yelled as she ran over to him and gave him the tightest hug she could imagine. The pain was unbearable, so he had to push her off quickly. ‘Oh my, I’m so sorry. I’m so happy you are awake, I was so worried that you were going to die on me.”
Marcus slowly realized the nightmare he woke up from was actually reality. He had a ton of questions, but he could not help but stare into Candice’s blue eyes. They left him speechless, appreciative to be alive.
“Here take your pills,” she instructed.
He looked over at Kyle, who was still focused on the exterior setting. He didn’t know the disciplined soldier had glanced over at the earlier encounter, which made him reminisce about his deceased family. His eyes were focused outside, but his mind was on Jacqui and Chloe. He missed his family so much but knew he had to stay strong in order to survive in this new world. Marcus took the pills and gulped down the entire glass of orange juice. He looked back over at Kyle who was still focused at the window but was now grinning.
What the hell is he smiling at? Marcus thought. He wondered what Kyle’s connection was to Candice “What’s his deal?” he asked Candice, trying to be discrete so Kyle wouldn’t know he was inquiring about him.
“Oh, that’s Kyle babe. He’s the one that killed that skinny asshole from last night,” she yelled out. She was so excited to finally introduce the two men.
Both men looked at each other and exchanged friendly head nods. Kyle finally stood up and grabbed a bag that was on the floor. He reached in and grabbed a jar of peanut butter. He handed the jar to Marcus and regained his position at the window. The last thing he wanted was a group of thugs or one of the creatures to creep up on them.
“How did you find us, Kyle?” Marcus somehow was able to mutter out the question in between stuffing his face with the expired, crunchy peanut butter.
“Your little girlfriend here was making so much noise in the damn house, and it interrupted what I was doing. I was able to get some weapons and ammo off those fools that tried to kill you, and I knew you would be dead if someone heard you guys inside. You were in pretty bad shape dude.” Kyle looked Marcus up and down and laughed, “Well you still are I guess.”
Marcus chuckled as he was introduced to Kyle’s wittiness and sense of humor. Little did he know how much pain was hidden behind all that humor. “Well man, I am grateful and truly indebted to you. You saved our lives.”
“Speaking of that, what was up with you and those guys last night?”
“Stupidity, that’s what happened. With all the nonsense going on with the government, I figured I’d keep a little humanity going. The skinny dude knocked on the door, claiming his van broke down and I opened up to offer my assistance. As soon as I opened the door, the big guy clocked me over the head with something. Everything else is a blur. I can’t believe I let my guard down like that.”
“That was the scariest moment of my life. I don’t know what has gotten into people, but we won’t be doing that again,” Candice said, chiming in on the conversation.
“Once again man, I want to thank you. If you hadn’t come along, we definitely wouldn’t be here having this conversation. Once I get better, I’m gon’ to have Candice whip us up a nice meal, and we are gon’ kick it.”
“Why didn’t yall evacuate like everybody else?”
Marcus hung his head low before answering. “Stupidity once again. I honestly thought this was one of those dramatic moments in U.S. history to scare everyone. They did it with the Zika virus and Ebola, so once they mentioned this other virus or whatever it is, I figured it was just to have everyone panicking. I didn’t expect the bullshit from last night.”
“Trust me; I know the feeling. My family begged me to leave, and I stayed like a fool.”
“Your family, where are they?” asked Candice. The excitement in her voice was noticeable. She felt there would be strength in numbers and if they were anything like Kyle, they would definitely be strong.
Kyle didn’t answer and turned his attention back to the minivans that blocked the street and the two bodies that lay nearby. A grave reminder of the dangers that lurked beyond their little safe haven. Marcus immediately noticed Kyle’s reaction and gave Candice a piercing stare. The last thing he wanted to do was strike a nerve and push Kyle away because they asked too many of the wrong questions. Suddenly there was an awkward silence in the room.
Sweat beads were starting to form on Kyle’s forehead, as the summer heat began to reveal itself inside the home. Seeing as though the energy resources were nonexistent, he wiped his forehead with his wrist. Kyle reached down and grabbed the lukewarm bottle of water that was on the floor next to him.
THUD!
The loud noise startled the group and Kyle went right back to the window. He glanced around, but could not determine where the noise came from. Maybe it's just people in their homes trying to gather material or maybe some thugs ransacking a place. The streets remained silent. Everything appeared in the chaotic order it was in, sixty seconds prior. There was no movement at the row of homes on the Southside of the block, the vans were still in the street, and the bodies were still on the —. THE BODIES WERE GONE. Kyle jumped up and warned the others of the new discovery. T
hey continued looking out the window, hoping the bodies would reappear.
“Where the fuck did the bodies go?” Kyle blurted out in total confusion.
“Maybe it was that werewolf I saw,” Candice stated to Marcus.
“Come on Candice, please don’t start with that again. Especially not in front of other people.” Marcus replied.
“Werewolf?” Kyle asked.
Candice walked over to the window and pointed out the house directly across the street from theirs. “It was in that blue house right there.” Kyle peeked through the blinds at the home she was referring to. It did not appear out of place besides the obliterated front door and a few broken windows. The distance from the vans to the home had to be around twenty to thirty feet, so it would not take much for someone or something to drag the bodies inside without being seen.
“Listen, Kyle, there are no werewolves out there. Candice was just trippin’ that night. She’s crazy.”
“Oh she isn’t crazy. Trust me, it might not be werewolves but there are definitely some types of beasts roaming around.”
CHAPTER 11
The black Dodge Durango turned the corner like a bat out of hell and pulled up on the abandoned street. Music was blaring through the speakers, and the odor of burnt rubber polluted the air. The drunk driver parked his vehicle like a true professional. He was proud of his accomplishment: not tapping the cars in front or behind him during the parallel parking attempt.
“Marcus, I can’t believe we just did that. That was so much fun.”
“Bae, I told you nobody would be around. Everyone left, so I knew there would be no one at the bar and we needed to get out of the house.”
Candice jumped on Marcus’ back and requested a piggyback ride. Her short skirt rose up during her leap, exposing her lace panties and firm rear end. He secured her legs by wrapping his arms around them and gave her the ride of a lifetime, fifty feet to the front door of the house. He struggled to find the key to the front door and attempted several others before dropping the bunch on the top step. Marcus bent over to get the keys. Candice was still on his back, and his current movements exposed her goods once again. When he bent over, her glassy eyes caught a glimpse of a minivan parking at the end of the street. At one o’clock in the morning, it was odd to see anyone else out. Candice unsaddled her stallion and tried to be discreet about her new sighting. She remembered the warnings the government put out about criminals roaming the streets at night, but thought they were all wiped out during the gassings.
“Hurry up and get the door open, there is someone up the street.”
Marcus looked both ways in an attempt to see what Candice was so nervous about, but in his current condition could barely see the keys that were in front of his face. That is exactly what happens when you start downing bottles of Patron as if they are Aquafina. The longer they stood on the front porch, the more vulnerable Candice felt. “Here let me do it,” she said as she snatched the keys from Marcus’ hand. He was still twiddling his thumbs as if the set of keys were still in his hand. Candice finally got the door unlocked and wasted no time entering the home. Marcus immediately face-planted on the couch, while Candice secured the home. Seeing the minivan parked at the end of the street immediately sobered her up, and she could not keep her mind off it. Who the hell was in that van? Did they follow us home from the bar? How long are they going to sit out there?
Candice’s thoughts left her somewhat paranoid as she worked her way to the upstairs bedroom. She opened the window and sat at it, waiting to see what the van was going to do. With all the lights blacked out in the house, she had a great vantage point on the entire block. It was quiet besides the soft sound of an engine running idle. Time was ticking away, and there still wasn’t any movement from the silver minivan. Candice occasionally glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. Thirty minutes went by, and there was still no movement. The cool breeze flowed through the window like central air, and it was just enough to make Candice doze off.
HOWL. HOWL. HOWL.
The high-pitched sound woke Candice up from an unexpected slumber. The clock now read five o’clock and the morning breeze was warming up. Candice surveyed the area from the discreet position, and the streets were still quiet. That was until another howl echoed through the air. It came from across the street. The McBurns, she thought when she realized one of the homes on the block had fresh damage. The front door was demolished as if a SWAT team hit it and the glass from several windows was completely busted out. Candice looked up and down the street, in search of the silver van, but it was nowhere in sight. Those fuckers probably did this. Another howl grabbed Candice’s attention once more. It was much louder than a dog’s and they did not live in Alaska, so she was sure it wasn’t a wolf. Her eyes widened, mouth dropped to the floor, and body froze in place.
First seeing the large snout of the beast, she could not believe what was emerging from the front doorway of the McBurns residence. Its sharp claws dug into the concrete like a small jackhammer, as it crawled out on all fours. Muscles protruded from its back as it rose up and stood on its hind legs, displaying the chiseled muscles on its abdomen. “Oh shit a fuckin’ werewolf,” Candice whispered to herself. The beast’s head turned in her direction, and its red pupils targeted her corner in the window. “Fuck.” The beast seemed to hear that quiet outburst as well. Digging into the ground, it stepped forward and began growling at Candice. The sharp daggers in its mouth were enough to free her from her paralysis as she made her way down the steps. She jumped on top of Marcus, who was still feeling the effects of last night’s rendezvous.
“Babe it’s a werewolf outside, get up. Get the hell up.” Marcus grumbled and turned over, the alcohol still dispersing from his pores. “Marcus, wake up.” Candice shook his body violently, but that had little to no effect on the man that was clearly in a drunken hibernation. Candice ran towards the front door, slamming her palms on the strong wood to prevent herself from running through it. She peeked through the peephole to confirm the earlier visual. She wanted to make sure the beast was still on the front step of the McBurns residence. As she peeked through, Candice saw nothing. She could not even see the houses across the street, which was odd. Peering into darkness concerned her.
With her face pressed against the door, Candice could hear a loud panting coming from the other side. Her stomach dropped, and she slowly crept away from the door. The panting slowly turned to scratching and Candice was now back by Marcus’ side. Trying not to make a lot of noise, she began shaking Marcus again. His deep snoring was an indicator that her efforts went in vain. The scratching stopped, and Candice was able to regain her composure. She remembered the set of knives Marcus put in the closet to defend against intruders. He definitely wasn’t referring to four-legged beasts, but it was better than nothing. Candice started making her way to the closet when the doorknob began rattling. She let out a loud scream that could have woken every neighbor in a ten-block radius.
Marcus jumped up from the light coma and stumbled over to Candice. “Candy what’s wrong? What happened?” The stench of tequila smacked her in the face.
She stood in place, shaking from head to toe. Her index finger was pointing at the front door that was ironically unbothered at the moment. Marcus looked at her, and then looked at the door. “Did someone try to come in here?” Still no response from his lover, who was now turning pale. He walked over to the door to see what all the commotion was about. He looked through the peephole for a second before turning the key and unlocking the door.
“No Marcus don’t fuckin’ open that door.”
“Why not? I don’t see anyone out here.”
“A were—. A were—wolf.”
“A what?” Marcus burst out in laughter. Unable to control himself, he was almost in tears. “You can’t be serious bae. A werewolf in our neighborhood? You really have to stop watching all that Twilight shit; it has you going crazy. Ain’t no damn werewolf out here.” Marcus unlocked the door and began turning the
knob. Candice ran over to the closet and armed herself with two steak knives, anticipating the worst. Marcus flung the door open, and Candice positioned herself out of sight of the beast. Rays from the rising sun shined through the front door, and the light breeze worked its way in. “See, I told you no one was out here.”
Candice peeked out from the corner and saw that the howling beast had not devoured her boyfriend. She walked to the front door and looked out. The streets seemed undisturbed and quiet. The sound of birds chirping was much more delightful than the howling of the beast that she was now skeptical of seeing. Maybe I had too much to drink last night. Candice walked to the edge of the front porch and stared at the damaged McBurns residence. Pieces of the front door dangled from the hinges and shattered glass was strewn all over the front yard. Despite the sun rising, there was complete darkness in the home. Candice was expecting the beast to emerge from the black abyss. After realizing, her mind was playing tricks on her she walked back towards the house.
“No more liquor for you, you’re going crazy,” Marcus muttered.
Candice ignored his ignorant comment and brushed by him to walk in the house. As she did, her shirt snagged on a protruding piece of wood. Oh great, what else could go wrong. She looked and noticed several deep scratches on the surface of the front door and around the knob. I KNEW IT.
CHAPTER 12
“How much further are we going to walk?” Candice asked, leaning on a fire hydrant to give her legs a slight break. The group had spent days making their way through different neighborhoods, in search of civilization. On some streets, the orange fog was so thick you could not see your hand even if it was held up in front of your face. Their gas masks were the only protection against the deadly chemical. It was a good thing Kyle brought along the extra two. Luckily, the masks only needed to be worn through the thick fog; once the air appeared clear, there were no immediate effects if breathed in. Kyle figured this out by spending a significant amount of time watching one of the blocks on the first day of their excursion. Although he did not know when the gas was disseminated, it took a little over four hours for it to disperse in the air. It started out as smoke rising to the sky, and after two hours lingered in the air like a fog. This gave him an idea of how long they could expect to keep the masks on if they encountered the militia again and the gas canisters were used against them. The air quality was the least of the group’s problem. Kyle knew they would not last long on the minimum food supply they had. The group managed to forage food on their journey, but most of it was expired. Old cans of baked beans, fruit cocktail, and peanut butter filled their bags. Kyle never mentioned his small stash of MREs. They would only be consumed in dire emergencies. Marcus even took it as far as to cut away moldy portions of bread and eat the remainder of the slices. They also had to worry about the thugs and beasts that wouldn’t hesitate to kill each and every one of them, when the opportunity presented itself. On their journey, they scavenged through different homes and were able to shelter in place from inclement weather.
