Alex empathized with the young man’s plight all too well, as did everyone else, judging from the expressions on the gathered faces.
We’ve all lost someone. More than one, in most cases.
“Go,” Phil said to Selina after a few minutes passed. “Get what you need and get back here, okay?” She nodded, and then she and Alex headed off toward the ambulance. They climbed inside and then looked sympathetically to one another in silence, sharing in James’ sorrow.
Alex pulled away looking in the side mirror back toward the others, seeing Nick helping the young man to his feet and walking him off, arm around his shoulders.
“Nick’s very good at sensing when someone needs help, advice or tough love,” Alex said, tapping the mirror. Selina nodded her agreement, quite assuredly understanding his reference. She was wiping tears from her eyes, identifying with the pain that Jim had just shown there.
“I know it’ll only continue,” Selina said, wiping more tears from her cheeks.
“Yeah, but we can make it,” he said.
“It sucks, ya know,” she said through sobs, trying to get herself back under control.
“Jim’ll be okay. And so will we,” he said reassuringly. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, holding it tight for the next several miles.
They passed a few straggler zombies that raced after their vehicle, but eventually were left far behind.
Soon after, the home-improvement warehouse was in sight. The parking lot was all but empty as they neared, and the lights on the outside of the store were lit.
“Looks a bit creepy, eh?” Alex asked rhetorically.
“Which entrance you wanna try?” Selina asked, unbuckling her seat belt.
“Well, we’ve had some luck coming through the back, so let’s try that.”
As Alex pulled the vehicle around the side of the building, he saw movement in the back and jammed on the brakes.
“Jokers in the back,” Selina said, pointing to movement in the distance. “There’s a bunch of ‘em.”
“Front door it is,” Alex said, waggling his eyebrows which drew a deadpan expression from Selina.
As they got closer to the entrance, a straggler zombie in a partially torn miniskirt raced toward the vehicle.
“You wanna skewer that one?” Alex asked, pulling around so that the zombie was on the passenger side of the ambulance. Selina said nothing, removed her sword and rolled down the window. She braced it against the door and looked at him coyly. He got her meaning and sped toward the zombie, which in turn, was racing toward them.
Seconds later as the two met, Alex heard a sickening sound and looked at Selina’s blade, which was covered in gore. In the rear view mirror, the majority of the zombie’s head was laying several paces from where its body landed.
“Feel better?” Alex asked mockingly. She laughed out loud in response at the absurdity of what had happened, and he joined her. They let it all out for several minutes, clearly needing the brief respite of levity that had afforded them.
He pulled the vehicle around to the side of the building where several other abandoned trucks were situated, empty though they were, but also providing excellent cover for them.
They exited the vehicle and started to retrieve their weapons and backpacks, when Alex saw a metallic green hook key chain on the ground.
“Score,” he said as he bent low, picked it up, tossed away the set of keys that were on the hook, and slid his key ring on, hooking it to his belt loop. As they slowly began making their way toward the entrance, Alex removed a piece of paper which he had scrawled upon, and tried to make sense of the words.
“Okay, I think I got it.” Selina looked at him funny for a minute.
“You wrote it down, didn’t you?”
“Well, I wrote in chicken scratch before the apocalypse hit…now it’s just worse.”
“All right, but you can read it, right? Never mind, I remember most of it anyway.”
“I can read it!” he refuted. “Let’s go….”
She followed him as he took the lead. As they approached the door, it slid open on its own, the sensor clearly still operational. As they gingerly stepped inside, it appeared that most, if not all of the lights were working, too.
At the counter, Alex saw one of the items—a pair of short to medium ranged walkie-talkies. “Jackpot,” he said, grabbing them and tossing them into his pack.
They headed down another aisle, finding the tool section, and grabbing a moderately sized pair of bolt cutters, a compact screwdriver set and wrench set, and tossing them into Selina’s pack.
“You good with that? Nott too heavy?” he asked, tapping the pack. She shook her head and then shoved him forward.
Turning the corner down the next aisle, Alex found a shovel, which he grabbed, shouldering his bow in the process. At the end cap of that same aisle, he found a quart of bleach and a package of zip ties and tossed them in his pack, holding the bleach in his other hand.
As he rounded the next corner, he tripped over something lying in the middle of the aisle.
He landed on his side, the bottle of bleach sprawling away as he fell. He quickly got to his knees, staring down at the remains of a dead body, which had been torn to pieces. Not all that far from where he was, he saw a pair of zombies, feasting on what was clearly someone’s arm.
They stared up at him, got to their feet, and raced toward him.
He couldn’t even make it to his feet before they had covered the ten paces to him.
He fell onto his back and kicked out, catching the closer of the two in the side, sending it to the floor to his left. The second one never made it to him. Alex felt a smattering of something warm and wet splash him as the zombie’s upper torso fell to Alex’s left, while the lower half of its body fell to his right.
He looked up to see a grim-faced Selina, sword in hand, ready to make short work of the other one. Alex remained on the floor and watched her work the weapon with a high level of expertise—she was getting very used to it, he acknowledged.
The zombie quickly recovered, getting to its feet, charging toward her, seeing her as the closest meal.
As it got to within arm’s reach, Selina side stepped it and sent its head flying away with a downward chop, severing it cleanly. Alex got to his feet, retrieved the bleach bottle, and rubbed her shoulder.
“Thanks, hon.”
“Don’t mention it,” she said intensely, standing over one of the two and wiping her blade on its soiled jeans.
The first one, its head still connected to its partially severed torso, chomped and moaned still. Alex strode over to it calmly, and slammed the pointed end of his shovel between its eyes, cracking the rotted skull and silencing the undead creature’s moaning.
“What else we need?” Selina asked, her sword grasped in both hands, ready for a fight. “I got a feeling there’s more of ‘em.”
“Just wanted to get chain for the ride south, just in case—“
“I don’t think so,” Selina whispered, pointing to movement coming from the adjacent aisle. “We need to go—now.” Alex nodded, grabbed her hand, and ran directly away from the zombies that were now sprinting their way.
They ran toward and then out the door, not looking back, climbing into the ambulance. Alex unhitched the keys from his belt loop, put the key in the ignition, turned the key, slammed it into gear, and backed out into the open lot.
A dozen zombies barred their way.
“Hold on,” Alex said calmly, jamming his foot on the gas. He kept the ambulance moving, gaining speed, and bracing for the inevitable impact.
Zombies went flying away as several sickening thuds were heard. The ambulance shifted and rocked up and down as it plowed down and overran the undead.
A few remained on the outskirts of the impact, hurdling into the ambulance and trying to get at them through the glass, but Alex kept going, still in reverse. He got up to about forty miles per hour through the lot when he finally slammed on the brakes.
&
nbsp; More zombies and their various body parts were scattered all about the asphalt, intermingling with their undead brethren as Alex spun the ambulance around, getting the vehicle under control once more.
He and Selina looked to one another, shaking their heads and sighing, relieved that they had gotten out of the store alive. Alex slowed down, turning the ambulance back onto the main road and staring back in the mirror behind him, seeing some of the undead continued to race after them.
“That was closer than I’d like to see,” Selina said, stating the obvious.
“Well, at least we got our things, right?” Alex said, peeking in the backpacks that rested on the seats in between them.
“Yeah. Worth it!” she added with a chuckle.
“It’s good that we don’t let these little life threatening encounters affect our mood,” Alex added, staring at her.
“It’s exciting to me,” Selina said. She held his gaze and Alex watched the transformation as her expression changed to something altogether seductive. He’d seen that look before.
“Now!?” he asked incredulously.
“Well, we’re alone, and I’m kinda horny. Besides, you almost got yourself killed. Not sure if you’re smart enough to stay alive much longer, so I'm gonna need you to satisfy me. Right now,” she ordered, unbuttoning her shirt. Alex could see her nipples bulging from beneath her bra as her shirt came loose.
She slid closer to him, and put her feet up on the dash. Her hand slid between her own legs and she started to moan as she worked herself over for a few moments.
Alex barely kept his eyes on the road, glancing back to her as she grabbed his hand and started sucking his index finger while she continued to pleasure herself.
She stopped suddenly, slid even closer to him and he swallowed hard. He watched helplessly as her hand slid down between his legs. He was very firm beneath his jeans when she found the mark.
She kissed his neck and rubbed him slowly over his jeans as he tried to safely pull the vehicle off the road, barely stopping right before a cropping of bushes along the road’s edge.
She removed her bra, and climbed into the back of the ambulance, sliding everything to the side and dropping her shorts, and then her underpants.
“Fine, but we gotta make this quick,” Alex said, giving in to the lust. He locked the doors and glanced around, seeing no one outside and climbed into the back after her. She unbuckled his belt, removed his gun that was tucked there, and pulled down his pants.
“I love it when the soldier salutes,” she said, wrapping her hand around him, grabbing his backside. She moaned and so did he until she shoved him away, all but tackling him to the ground, before climbing on top of him.
“You sure like to be in charge, huh?” he asked, grinning up at her.
“You know me. I know what I want and I take it,” she said, grabbing him and guiding him inside as she lowered herself onto him.
She guided the course and he let her go, thoroughly enjoying the experience for what it was. She leaned over him, staring into his eyes, and he could not help but get lost in her gaze, which seemed to change in intensity every time he looked up at her. He stared into the green, again admiring the detail of the tiny starburst of yellow and orange that accented the pupils, and admitted that they were the most beautiful things he’d ever seen.
She kissed him deeply for a long minute or more, then threw her head back, speeding the progress until finally she yelled and shuddered at the same time, Alex losing himself in the orgasmic ecstasy as he, too, let go.
She lay on top of him for a long time until finally, she pushed herself up and stared into his eyes.
“Tell me that wasn’t worth it,” she commented, smiling wide at him and raising an eyebrow. He returned the smile and nodded, licking his dry lips and clearing his throat.
“No complaints from me,” he agreed.
“You really know how to charm a—“
The sound of something slamming against a window outside interrupted her retort. Alex rolled over, retrieving the gun on the floor and chambering a round.
He crawled up to the front to see that a lone zombie, a female at one point, vomited blood onto the driver side window that was closest to the underbrush. It pounded its fists on the window, trying to get at him.
“That’ll kill the mood,” he commented. Alex, still naked, climbed into the front seat and shoved the door open halfway. The zombie stumbled backward enough to where he could safely roll down the window to fit the muzzle of the gun outside. He fired, the slug penetrating its skull and exiting the opposite side, dropping the zombie to the ground where it disappeared into the bushes.
“What’s the matter, you didn’t want a threesome?” Selina said jokingly, pulling on her underpants and then her shorts.” I thought she was kinda pretty.”
Alex furrowed his brow and felt the bile in his stomach coming up at that ridiculous announcement.
She was thoroughly relishing his reaction and laughing, trying to get it under control.
“I threw up in my mouth a little. That’s fuckin’ disgusting!”
Again, Selina laughed, slapping him on the shoulder as she climbed into the front seat and refitted her bra. He stared back at her while she dressed, helplessly admiring the tone of her body, drinking it in and appreciating her in the moment.
“Let’s get this stuff back to the boat. They’re probably waiting on us by now,” Alex said, practicality once again ruling his thoughts. He looked back to Selina who regarded him with a sidelong stare and then turned to gaze out the window.
“You don’t get women, do you, Lancelot?” she said absently, buttoning her shirt back up and kicking her feet up, then crossing them over one another on the dashboard.
Alex had no idea what she was talking about this time, as he pulled the rig onto the road, and headed back to the rendezvous point.
The drive back was undertaken in relative silence. Alex knew that she was a bit irritated that he dismissed the intimacy of the moment. Or at least he thought so. As they got very close to their destination, he offered a stab at the mood.
“Look, I’m sorry for minimizing what we shared, all right? But, I can tend toward the practical…to a fault.” But we need to get back to the boat. They’re probably waiting for us.”
”Well, I didn’t want to snuggle, Alex. But maybe not worrying about the others and what they’re doing so much…? Especially after.”
“Well, I’ll work on that,” he said, pacifistically agreeing with her as not to start an argument, knowing it was something he would need to address—and soon. The fact that she didn’t seem to care about anyone but herself in this very moment was a red flag, and something he would need to discuss with her at length. “Look, I get what you’re sayin’. But, it’s just that, if were leaving these people behind and venturing out on our own, we need to be on the same page. Not just ideally, but emotionally, too.”
Selina stared at him thoughtfully, but did not speak.
Alex said nothing more, but extended a hand to her. The distance between them was great, both figuratively and literally. Alex reached further, eventually finding her hand at her side and grasping it tightly.
She stared back at him and smiled.
“I know you can’t stay mad at me.”
He hoped that she understood his offering for what it was. She returned the grip, squeezing his hand hard and then slid closer to him.
As they got close enough to see Phil standing on the road, waiting for them, she rubbed her hand along his face roughly. “And the beard is comin’ off!”
Alex watched Phil waving them around, and he pulled the ambulance behind the very same cropping of trees as he had before. The vehicle came to a stop and they hopped out, grabbing their gear and following Phil back to the boat.
The remains of a zombie, freshly slain, was lying on the side of the road. Phil kicked it as he went past, waving them to follow.
“Son of a bitch almost got the drop on me,” he said. I was start
in’ to nod off waiting for you when this thing came at me. Luckily I heard it first.”
“Sorry ‘bout that,” Selina said, seeming unapologetic to Alex.
“Yeah, well, it’s fine. I'm still alive,” he said, nodding. Then he suddenly walked right over to Selina and whispered in her ear. He stepped back, Selina blushing, while Phil wandered back down to the boat, disappearing over the crest of the hill.
Selina began unbuttoning her shirt and shrugged.
“Nice. You misbuttoned it, huh?” Alex said, laughing a bit hard. “Busted!”
He walked down the hill after Phil seeing two fuel cans already inside the boat.
“These are the last two,” Phil said, tapping the cans.
“How did Jim make out?”
“Nick seemed to calm him down, when they came back, they were laughing and having a good ‘ol time.”
“Sounds about right. We ran into some trouble, too, at the Home Depot. Narrowly escaped.” Phil stared at him curiously. “I'm serious. We ran into at least a dozen or more inside the store. Just be careful if you head over there.”
“Will do,” Phil said as they collectively saw Selina coming toward them, her shirt buttoned properly now. “You done with the ambulance? Or you guys taking it with you?”
“Nah. I'm thinking we leave this with you guys. There’s medical supplies in there that might come in handy, and besides, it’s a gas guzzler,” Alex said, sliding over and helping Selina into the boat as Phil tugged the cord to start the motor.
“We’re goin’ car shopping tomorrow!” Selina said loudly over the revving noise.
Phil shoved it into the river and jumped in, guiding the boat back to the castle, the ride passing in relative silence.
As soon as they arrived, Selina leaped out of the boat and disappeared inside the castle walls.
“She’s goin’ to check on Hannah,” Phil said in response to Alex’s inquisitive expression.
“Shit, right. Jeez. So wrapped up in everything else, I almost forgot.”
“Yeah. But she didn’t.,” Phil said, tying the rope from the boat around the post in the ground to anchor it. He climbed up onto the drawbridge next and disappeared next inside the castle.
Wake the Dead 2 (Wake The Dead Series) Page 11
