Jessi nodded. “She’s got a point.”
Dani looked at the half of the Nell sticking out and tried to assess the situation. “Okay boys, you push from down ‘ere, an’ we’ll pull up here.”
Alexander motioned to Charles. “Get your ass over here and help. You ain’t anyone special.”
Charles walked over, rolling his eyes. “Damn, I didn’t think it was going to take the three of us to push her through.”
“I heard that,” Nell said. “Boy, don’t you make me have to knock some sense into your head. You see a big ol’ woman and a little bitty hole, you know damn well it’s gonna take all y’all.”
“What if she took off her pants?”
Vince looked around, nodding. “If all else fails, she might have to take off her pants.”
Nell shook her head. “I’m not taking off my pants, y’all bunch of perverts. This is just your way to get a woman out of her drawers.”
Charles rolled his eyes. “Trust me. We aren’t trying to get you out of your pants.”
“It sure sounds like it to me!”
“Well your hearing’s off.”
Dani prepared to pull. “Concentrate Nell. Get ready. Okay guys. We’re in place so tell us when you’re ready.”
The three men positioned themselves under the big hulk of the woman. None of them looked happy. Charles planted his hands on her butt, Tyler, and Alexander put their backs against the other sides.
Tyler took a deep breath. “Everybody push!”
The boys pushed as hard as they could. Dani and Vince pulled and Jessi held on to her purse, cheering them on, encouraging them that they could do this. No matter how much they pushed and pulled, she didn’t budge an inch. Even Jessi stopped cheering because it looked hopeless.
Nell twisted. “Quit squeezing my ass. Y’all gonna give me a damn wedgie!”
Tyler grunted, yelling out in pain. “Gotta… get… you… up!”
“And y’all are about to pull my arms right off!”
After ten minutes of pushing, pulling, and Nell griping, they finally pulled her through the hole. It was such a sudden jolt that the men fell backwards, over the seats, and on to the floor, while Vince and Dani almost fell off the bus.
“Whoa,” Jessi said, watching the two scramble to stay on.
Charles sat up, looking through the hole. “Oh thank God! Can we take a ten-minute break? I swear my arms are about to fall off.”
“Whew, and you pulled me up with my pants still on!” Nell said happily, retrieving her purse. “Thank you, baby.”
Alexander growled. “It might’ve been a lot faster if you’d helped out us out a little sooner. It was like moving a killer whale out of a puddle onshore and back in the ocean.”
Charles shook his head. “No, that might’ve been easier because we could’ve rolled her over.
“I heard that!” Nell yelled. “Don’t think I won’t whoop your ass once we get where we’re going.”
He shook his head, climbing through the roof. “I don’t doubt that one bit.”
Once everyone was out, Vince closed the hatch, leading the way down. He helped each one with the jump to the floor. Nell just slid down.
Dani looked at them. “Okay, I know ya have a lotta questions. God knows when I first found out, I did. However, let’s wait till we get up to safety.”
Everyone nodded in agreement and slowly moved through the store. Dani led the way while Vince checked behind them, making sure nothing followed. They ran to the back stairs and up onto the roof as quickly as possible. Soon enough, they piled through the door, looking around like scared children.
Charles looked around. “So, what are we supposed to do now just hang out on the roof? I mean, how long can we do that?”
Alexander nodded. “Yeah, who’s gonna find us up here?”
Tyler glanced around before turning back to Dani. “How do we call our family and let them know what’s going on when there’s no cell service? Do you have one of those satellite phones?”
Jessi nudged him. “I think it only works with other satellite phones.”
“Oh yeah, I guess so.”
Nell looked at the door. “Who the hell is gonna clean up that mess down there?”
Vince dropped the backpack off to the side. “Look folks, I realize you’re all afraid, confused and just pretty messed up right now. However, we’re going to make this building safe again. We’re going to bring up supplies and turn this roof into your camp. It will be safer than the store, but we’re going to fix that too.”
Charles looked from one to the other. “We are?”
Vince motioned to Dani and himself. “No, we are. Dani and I will go down and bring up the supplies you’ll need. No one else is going in the store until we tell you it’s safe.”
“Okay, I’m fine with that.”
Dani motioned to the group. “Okay, this is the plan. This is gonna be where we live for a while. We’ll be bringin’ back more survivors as we find ‘em. What I need from the rest o’ you is to make this our home.”
Nell arched a brow. “How are we going to make a roof our home?”
“We’re gonna bring up tents an’ other campin’ supplies. It’s up to you guys to make sure it’s done right. Coolers an’ grills’ll go in the dinin’ slash kitchen area where the picnic table should be located. The bigger an’ medium tents will be for people to sleep in. It’s not gonna be co-ed either, men in one an’ women in the other. We’ll need smaller tents made into bathrooms with buckets an’ toilet seats, toilet paper, an’ trashcans. We’ll make one for peein’ an’ the other for, well ya get my meanin’. The trashcan will be for burnin’ materials such as toilet paper. One tent’ll be for urine since that’s easily disposed an’ the other located far away from the rest o’ us, which’ll be disposed of at another location.”
Tyler raised his hand. “Will one of you are going to fill us in on what we saw when we’re finished?”
“I’ll teach ya everything ya need to know. Now, get ready to be very busy.”
Once they headed back down the stairs to the store, Vince smiled at Dani. “I don’t have to worry about you.”
“What do ya mean?”
“You seem like you got this under control. Once I help you make this place safe again, I’ll be on my way.”
“So soon?”
“You got this. I’ll give you an earpiece so you can get a hold of me. All of your leaders will have one so you can keep in touch with them.”
She nodded. “Okay. I think I can handle this.”
“I’m sure you can.”
They brought the supplies up, which practically emptied the store downstairs. Once they finished, everyone pitched in, arranging things on the roof. Nell took charge, telling them where everything should go. Dani and Vince went back for cleanup. The two of them cleaned house, taking the dead out of the store, as well as off the bus.
Dani groaned after tossing another body into the bed of the truck. “Okay, I’m not sure I can handle this part,” she said, wiping her bloody hands on the towel.
“This is all part of being the leader and keeping your people safe.”
“Yeah, well this part sucks.”
Once they piled all the dead in the truck, Vince drove it around the block. He found a spot well away from the store. While he was gone, Dani grabbed some lumber and began to close off the hole. Once she was finished, she reinforced it with some ready-made concrete she found. One thing about them crashing through the Walmart was that they had everything they needed right there at the fingertips. She covered the wood until there wasn’t even the tiniest of holes, globbing it on nice and thick. When she finished, she grabbed the cleaning supplies and cleaned up.
Vince wasn’t gone long and when he returned he helped with the cleaning. It took a few hours, but once everything was finished the two walked back up to the roof.
He grabbed a bottle of water. “The store is safe again, but I still wouldn’t suggest you go down there unless you ab
solutely have to.”
Nell nodded. “Oh honey, you don’t have to tell us that twice.”
They had done exactly what Dani asked and she looked around pleased. Tyler declared himself King of the Grill and cooked hot dogs and baked beans for the group since they were all hungry.
Grabbing a plate, Dani sat down at the dining table they set up, which was a picnic table and the others joined, watching her. Vince too watched as he slowly ate.
Not one to sugarcoat anything, Tyler took a bite of his hotdog. “Okay, so how did all this start?”
Dani looked up at Vince who winked at her. This was it. It was time for her to start being the leader. Slowly she nodded at him. Setting her plate to the side, she picked up her backpack, pulling out the folder. Opening it, she passed it around; one picture at a time just like Vince had done with her. “Well, believe it or not, it was a flower that started all of this. A flower named Bella Morté, which is Italian for Beautiful Death.”
Twenty-Two
It was two days after Vince left that Dani caught the scent of something in the air. She breathed in once, twice, and then a third time before smiling, looking around. “Oh my God! Do you smell that?” She breathed in deeper.
Tyler breathed in, scrunching up his nose. “Yeah, it smells like shit. I wonder if we’ll ever have days where we get to smell that watermelon aroma of freshly-cut grass.”
“My grass never smelled like watermelons. No, it’s almost like the cotton candy they used to sell at the amusement parks. It’s so sweet an’…”
Smirking, he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. “Yeah, I want whatever you had this morning. I still smell the same thing I’ve smelled since this thing started. It smells like some serious shit.”
“I’m drawn to it. It’s like… I want more. I have to find it.”
Turning, he furrowed his brows. “It could be a trap of some kind. Maybe one of the Brainiacs figured out a way to draw out the hunters?”
“How the hell could they do that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but for you to smell something that you’re drawn to that’s sweet that the rest of us can’t smell? I think we should double up on security.”
“Oh stop worryin’. Ooh, then again Vince did say I would know when another person had passed the virus curse.”
Looking down on the street, perched at his security point, Tyler shrugged. “So call Vince and find out what it is and what you should do about it.”
“No, he just left. I don’t wanna bother him with a bunch o’ worthless questions.”
“It’s not worthless. You’re still learning what to do so it could be something important.” He aimed his rifle, pulled the trigger, and one of the diseased walking on the street dropped dead. “There’s no such thing as stupid questions just stupid mistakes.”
“Are you gonna cliché me to death?”
“You damn right, if that’s what it takes.”
Sighing, she put her gun down at her feet, clicking the blue tooth in her ear. “Dani to Vince.”
There was a short pause. “What’s up, Dani? Is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah, everything’s great. We’re still good an’ have a few new members to tell you about when I check in.”
“Good. Glad to hear it, so what’s up?”
“Well, you’re gonna think this is weird. Trust me. I think it’s weird an’ it’s happenin’ to me, but I smell cotton candy. I was gonna leave it alone, but you know Tyler. He just won’t let this go an’ was adamant I should call you.”
Tyler smirked. “Oh yeah, blame me for everything.”
Vince snickered. “Tyler was right to have you call me. In fact, this was probably something I should’ve told you about.”
“Is it a good somethin’ or a bad somethin’?”
“What you smell right now is another one like you who you’re attracted to. Chances are he’s gotten a whiff of you too and is very curiously seeking you out as well.”
“No shit? Should we go an’ find ‘im an’ bring ‘im back here?” Slapping Tyler in the arm, she gave him a thumb’s up and a big grin.
“Yep, you could go find him. Since the smell is so strong it probably means he’s closer than you think. Use your sniffer power.”
“Okay, we’ll get things ready an’ I’ll take a group out to see what’s up.” She motioned to Tyler. “Tell squad A to get ready for research mission an’ tell squad B to take point on roof an’ keep watch. I’ll talk to Squad C.”
“Listen to you! I need a few more like you and we’d have this shit kicked in the balls. Good luck tonight. Keep me posted about what you find.”
“You got it, over an’ out.” She clicked it once and the conversation ended. Walking over to the dining room, she went to seek out the leader of Squad C. “Hey Nell, I think we’re gonna have a few more for dinner tonight.”
Turning, she looked at Dani, but noticed she was alone. Stepping to the side, she peered around her and behind her. “A few more, huh?”
“Yeah,” she watched her curiously. “What are you doin’?”
Standing tall, looking her in the eyes, Nell smirked. “Okay, will your imaginary friends need their own chairs, or will they sit on each other’s laps? I’ll forgive it this time, but imaginary friend night was last night with the imaginary cook.”
Dani laughed. “No silly, we’re goin’ out. We might be bringin’ a few back with us.”
“Having a few more people is a great thing!”
“One o’ the joys apparently to this gift o’ mine is I can smell others like me, an’ I smell one close.”
“Okay, I have to know. What does that smell like?”
“It smells like cotton candy an’ it’s the sweetest thing.”
“Ooh damn! Bring me some of that back! I would love to eat me up some cotton candy.”
Dani laughed. “Yeah, I know what ya mean. Tyler an’ I are takin’ out Squad A to investigate.”
“Okay.”
“You guys go ahead an’ eat without us. We’ll eat when we get back. I don’t know how many I’m bringin’ back with us.”
“You got it, boss!”
Charles rushed over to her. “Tyler said you were looking for me?”
Turning, she nodded. “Yes, I want Squad B on tight formation keepin’ watch tonight. I think you guys need some more trainin’ so tomorrow mornin’ we’re heading out bright an’ early.”
“You got it boss.” He turned to his squad. “You heard the lady. It’s time to get to work.”
“Tyler, tell Squad A we’re rollin’ out in fifteen minutes.”
He nodded. “You got it.” After getting everything ready, he popped into the tent he shared with Jessi. “Hey baby, how are you feeling?”
Groaning, she looked at him. “I’m feeling like shit. What’s up with you?”
“We’re getting ready to head out for a mission. Dani thinks there might be another one like her in the area.”
“What makes her think that?”
He shrugged. “She smells cotton candy. All I smell is shit.”
“I would love to smell cotton candy right now, but I wonder why?”
“Vince said it has something to do with how they find each other.”
She rubbed her belly. “Okay, well just hurry back. The baby’s not happy when daddy’s out there fighting stuff.”
Leaning down, he smiled kissing her belly. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Feel better baby.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Feel better, mommy.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Dani yelled from the roof door. “Let’s get a move on team one while we still have daylight.”
Tyler rushed out to join her and the rest of his squad. “We’re ready. Let’s go find your cotton candy.”
She opened the roof door and rushed down the stairs. “Okay, I figure we’ll take the beast. It offers enough protection should somethin’ happen.”
“What are we bringing with
us; bows, arrows, swords, and grenades?”
“No, not the grenades. We need to save those.”
Squad A consisted of; Dani, Tyler, Liam, and Noah and they all piled into the beast. The beast was an army jeep at one time. They reinforced it with so much steel. It was the beast. Dani drove, Tyler sat in the passenger seat, and the other two sat in the back.
“So, what exactly are we looking for?”
“We’ll know it when we see it, or when I smell it.”
“Of course,” Tyler looked out the window, chuckling. “Stupid question.”
Twenty-Three
The man sat on the ground holding the dying woman in his arms. Arm missing, the empty socket gushed blood. “What the hell do we do, Rob?”
Rob looked around. “Fire stops bleeding, so we need to cauterize her wound or she’s going to die.”
The woman shook her head, choking, spitting up blood. “We can’t do that. It will draw them straight in. I’m dying, so you two just leave me here.”
The man sighed. “Oh hush you. We promised to die together. I’m not ready to do that just yet.”
“I don’t think I have a choice in my day to die.”
The growl ripped through the night as a movement in black tore the woman from the man’s arms. He was attacked as another struck at him biting his neck. His scream was garbled at best.
Rob jumped to action, fighting off the attackers. He tossed them away from the couple on the ground. Falling to his knees, he pressed his hand to the bleeding wound on the man’s neck. “What do you want me to do?”
Looking down at the dead woman, he chuckled, shivering lightly. “I think she was right. We’re going to die together.” The man’s head fell to the side, eyes wide with death.
“No!” Rob screamed. They surrounded him. Holding his hands out to the sides, he lowered his head. “I guess it’s my day to die as well.”
Dani put her fingers to her lips and the whistle pierced the night. Everyone turned to look in her direction, all ceasing their actions. “Well, maybe not today.”
Sniffing the air, he turned, looking at her. She stood with a sword in each hand, while the men surrounding her held guns. Turning, the diseased saw the newcomers and began to spread out around them, though staying clear of Dani.
Beautiful Death (Bella Morté Trilogy Book 1) Page 22
