Rotting Rage

by Gayle Katz

  “Why would you want to marry me? I’m the source of so much pain for so many people. Plus I have something disgusting and vile inside of me now that’ll be there forever.”

  “Just get better. Give it some time and you’ll be in a better mindset,” Jack smiles.

  “There’s someone else who wants to say hello,” Jack says.

  “Who’s that?”

  Jack opens the door and grabs the leash that’s tied to the doorknob. Rocky comes running into the room. He jumps onto my bed and licks my face. I pet and hug him.

  “It’s nice to see you too,” I say.

  Jack carefully hops onto the other side of my hospital bed and puts his arm around me. His other hand is in his pocket. When he pulls his hand from his pocket, I see a fuzzy little blue box.

  “So you’ll marry me?” Jack hands me the box. I open it and see the sparkling ring hiding inside.

  “Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you, Jack.”

  One Month Later

  “How do I look?” I ask Jack as we’re walking Rocky around the neighborhood.

  “You look gorgeous, as always,” he replies, staring at me. “How do you feel?”

  “Much better,” I happily reply.

  “That makes me happy.”

  “Me too. I know Rocky and I missed our walks. I thought it was about time we got out of the house. We’ve been cooped up there enough.”

  “I was thinking… since you’re feeling better, I thought we could make it official tonight. I have the preacher on standby. Are you ready?”

  “Tonight? Totally. I’ve been ready to marry you since I met you all those years ago.”

  “So then let’s do this.”

  Excitement surges through my body as I think about marrying Jack. The emotion I’m feeling is overwhelming. I can barely contain it and get a little lightheaded. My vision starts to get a little cloudy and I need to stop walking for a minute. Rocky keeps going until his leash and harness tug on his neck and he stops too. My hands shake a little and I accidentally drop the leash. Jack grabs it with his right hand and touches me with his left one.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m fine. I promise. It’s... just... excitement.”

  “I’ve never made anyone shake and almost pass out before.”

  “Ha! Don’t let this give you a swelled head, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I can’t wait to marry you. I’m just feeling a little euphoric. You know, dreams coming true and all.”

  “You sure?” Jack looks at me with concern.

  “Yeah. Positive. I’m good.”

  “OK. I’ll feel better when we get you home. Maybe we should call the doctor?”

  “No. No. I’m OK. It’ll pass. Just give me a moment.”

  “OK, but if we’re gonna do this tonight, you’re gonna need your rest.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Jack continues holding Rocky and we head back home. As soon as we enter the house, I go upstairs and lay down.

  “Can I get you anything?”

  “Sure. Maybe a sports drink, if we have’ em.”

  That Night

  “I can’t believe this is finally happening,” I apply the final touches of makeup to my face. Rocky is sitting on our bed, watching me.

  A huge glass of water sits on my vanity alongside a regular-sized sports drink. I always keep hydrated. It’s important, especially for someone in zombie sickness remission.

  I touch my fluffy brush into my blush and start applying it to the apples of my cheeks. Despite the treatment I received in the hospital, I still sometimes experience residual side effects, but I’m pretty sure they’re nothing. They come out of nowhere. The doctors assure me it’s completely normal and that I’ll live a long and healthy life.

  Staring into my mirror, my dominant, right hand is still holding the makeup brush. It starts shaking again. I grab it with my left hand to steady it. I’m just excited. Gotta chill out and relax. Rocky starts barking.

  “Don’t worry, Rocky. I’m good. See?” I say to him.

  “Calm down, Jane. Breathe. In and out. In and out.” Talking to myself sometimes helps.

  I inhale deeply, hold my breath for a second, and exhale. That feels better. I do it again. Deep inhale, hold, and exhale. My hand stops shaking. There we go. Much better.

  I put the finishing touches on my face when I spy a visitor at the bedroom door. He’s dressed in a spiffy suit.

  “Jane,” Jack peeks his head into the bathroom. I’m still in my underwear. “You look so beautiful.”

  “Aw. Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”

  “When do you think you’ll be ready?”

  “I still need to get dressed, but I should be good to go in about five more minutes max.”

  “Are you nervous?”

  “I don’t think so. Why? Are you?”

  “Maybe a little.”

  “Why?”

  “We’ve been through so much. I’m just hoping this gettin’ hitched thing goes off without any drama.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” I hold up my sports drink and make an air toast with my soon-to-be husband.

  “I’ll take Rocky and let you get ready. It's bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony.”

  “Don’t go. Stay and talk to me,” I slip into my simple white dress.

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Anything really—as long as it’s happy. I’ve had enough of the sad stuff. Let’s talk about how we’re going to spend our first night together as husband and wife. Our honeymoon. Our future together,” I smile at him before I tip my head over and spritz some texturizing spray on my hair to give it volume.

  “After the ceremony, I’m thinking that I’d like to keep it simple—just you and me together.”

  “Sounds good to me. OK. I’m ready. Let’s go!”

  Jack grabs my hand, holds it in his, and kisses it. I kiss him back and without further conversation, we leave the bedroom, head down the stairs, and exit the house. When I step outside, I see a shiny, black stretch limo parked in front of us. I look at Jack, surprised.

  “I know we’re going basic with the wedding, so I thought I would add a little luxury to it. I hope that’s OK.”

  “Totally. I love it.”

  Jack opens the door like the gentleman he is and I hop in. He follows me in and tells the chauffeur to drive to Scarlet Peak University campus. He agrees.

  “We’re getting married on campus?”

  “Yeah. It still has some of the prettiest views overlooking the town. I thought it would be a nice place for the most beautiful woman in the world to get married.”

  I blush, lean over, and kiss him. He kisses me back. I sneak a peek at the driver and I notice that he’s staring.

  “Is there a way to get some privacy back here?” I whisper into Jack’s ear.

  “Sure.” Jack presses a button on the door and the barrier goes up, erecting an opaque black wall between the driver and us. “How’s that?”

  “Much better,” I mumble as I plant a big smooch on his lips.

  Jack wraps his arms around me and kisses me back. I feel safe in his strong, confident arms. He knew from the beginning that everything would be OK and he was right all along. I lean back and our lips pull apart.

  “What’s up?”

  “Nothing. Everything. I’m just so lucky to have you. I can’t believe we’re really doing this!”

  “Believe it, baby. It’s happening.”

  Minutes later, the limo stops and we hear the driver get out of the car. He opens the door for us. Jack gets out, turns around, and offers his hand to help me out. I take it and smile.

  “I’ll wait right here,” the driver says.

  Jack nods in his direction.

  We walk through the grassy quad area and meet up with someone dressed in semi-religious clothing. Jack shakes his hand.

  “This is the preacher I was telling you about. I met him when I was out chasing a story.”

&
nbsp; “Jane, meet Reverend Collins. Reverend Collins, this is Jane.” We shake hands.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “And you.”

  It’s then that I notice people running over to us. Holy moly. I can’t believe it. It’s Wyatt, Bill, and Logan. Although they didn’t dress for the occasion, I’m certainly happy to see them again. How long had it been?Not since we all survived that first outbreak on campus all those years ago.

  “I thought it would be a nice surprise.”

  I hug them.

  “You look gorgeous, Jane. Jack is a lucky guy.”

  “Thank you. I’m so glad you all could come.”

  “OK. Let’s get this show on the road. We’ve waited much too long to make this happen. That’s your cue, Reverend,” Jack smiles.

  Wyatt hands the rings to Jack and me. With the guys behind us, the Reverend starts the ceremony.

  “Jack, do you take Jane to be your wife? Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

  “I do,” Jack slides the ring onto my finger.

  “Jane, do you take Jack to be your husband? Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

  “I do,” my hands shake ever so slightly as I slide the ring onto his finger.

  “With the power vested in me by the state of New York and the Internet, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride,” the Reverend looks at Jack and smiles.

  I can hear Wyatt, Bill, and Logan clapping as Jack leans in and passionately kisses me. The moment is so perfect; I wish it would last forever. As Jack finally pulls away, we’re both smiling with joy.

  “Thank you so much, Reverend.” Jack shakes his hand again.

  “Glad to be of service. I wish you love birds nothing but the best. Be happy and take care of each other,” he says as he walks away, leaving the five of us to talk.

  “So? How do you feel? Being married and all?” Wyatt asks me.

  “It feels amazing, surreal maybe. I can’t believe it actually.”

  “Well, Bill, Logan, and I would like to take you two out to a little dinner to celebrate, but we won’t keep you long. It’s your wedding night, of course!”

  The five of us head over to the waiting limo.

  Later On

  The wedding festivities end and we retire to our little home. In a playful husbandly display, Jack chases me into the house. I’m running the best I can in my heels and dress, but he catches up to me. He holds me in his arms and kisses me. After smooching, he holds my hands and pulls me upstairs to our bedroom. As we walk up the stairs, I can barely contain my excitement. It’s officially our first night together as husband and wife.

  We get to the top of the stairs. Jack leads me into our bedroom. He’s walking backwards and looking at me with his best come hither face. I can’t resist. I move closer and kiss him. He kisses me back. As I’m unbuttoning his tux jacket, he pulls away and goes behind me to unbutton the thousand or so closures on my wedding dress. Halfway down, the dress is so heavy it falls to the floor. I’m standing there in my underwear.

  “You look delicious.”

  “No fair. I can’t be the only one almost naked.”

  Jack chuckles. He continues to unbutton his jacket and I undo his belt. With his pants on the floor and his tux no longer an encumbrance, we fall onto our bed together. Our bodies are pressing against one another.

  “You feel so good.”

  “Mm Hm.”

  He touches me and I get excited. So excited that I begin to feel tingles in my arms and legs. We haven’t been intimate since I recovered from my illness. I start to get lightheaded. My vision degrades. I close my eyes for a moment. My eyes are probably just fatigued from being overtired.

  “You OK?”

  “I don’t feel so good,” I roll over and lay on my back to catch my breath.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I—I don’t know.”

  Jack wraps his arms around me and holds me tight. The lightheaded feeling gets worse. I feel unsteady. And despite eating earlier, I’m starving.

  “Is that your stomach making noise? Are you still hungry?”

  I don’t respond. I can barely hear what’s he’s saying. I close my eyes to try to focus on his words, but it’s like I have cotton balls in my ears. It’s then that I notice an odd, but warm and familiar taste in my mouth. I open my eyes and see that my teeth are plunged into Jack’s neck. He’s screaming in pain.

  “Ow! What are you doing? Get off of me!”

  Jack pushes me off of him and I roll over. I see him hop out of bed. He touches the bite with his fingers and looks at his hand. Blood. He looks a little dazed and frightened. Blood starts running down his neck and it’s all over his undershirt. He runs into the bathroom and slams the door behind him. I hear a click. Could he have locked the door?

  I manage to get to my feet and walk over to the vanity mirror. I hear a ringing in my ears and stare at myself in the mirror. My skin is a whitish, gray color and I have blood coming from my mouth, dripping down my chin. And I’m hungry and getting hungrier.

  “Who are you?” I say to the mirror.

  “You know who I am,” the reflection says back to me.

  “I didn’t think I would see you again.”

  “You were wrong. I am part of you now. Together forever.”

  CONTINUE THE ADVENTURE

  As Jane begins to reclaim what’s left of her humanity, she joins forces with a rogue military officer to uncover the plot behind the zombie plague. Investigating further, they break the law, go undercover, and discover the players in this deadly game won’t give up without a fight.

  They have one chance to escape the infected, evade the government operatives, and find the cure. Can they find it before time runs out? Or will the sickness consume them too?

  Yesterday Yields is the third book in the Jane Zombie Chronicles, a series of undead adventures. If you like fast-paced zombie fiction with a strong female protagonist, then you’ll enjoy Yesterday Yields.

  Buy Yesterday Yields to experience the exciting adventure today!

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  Thank You

  ________________________________________

  For continuing the journey with me, I can’t thank you enough!

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  Again, thank you so much for buying my books and supporting me!

  Best,

  Gayle

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  About the Author

  Born and raised outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gayle discovered her passion for zombies when her husband introduced her to video games in 2009.

  Gayle writes about the undead because they scare the bejesus out of her and she likes it! She’s also an advocate for always facing your fears as she’s an author of self-help, nonfiction too.

  ROTTING RAGE is the second book in the Jane Zombie Chronicles.

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