BITTEN Omnibus Edition (Books 1-3): The Resurrection Virus Saga

by Tristan Vick

  “I don’t mind,” Kana reassured him. He needed to know she had his back, no matter what.

  Unexpectedly, Kevin turned toward Kana and put both hands on her face. “I just need you to know that all this uncertainty…it’s all me, not you. You’re perfectly fine.”

  “Oh, yeah? How fine?” Kana teased, batting her eyelids at him.

  “Some days, I could just kiss you,” Kevin blurted without thinking. Instantly he regretted having said it. Pulling his hands away, he looked down at the ripples dancing about in the water. He hadn’t intended to lead her on, but now, without expecting to, he was sitting right next to her, flirting with her, enjoying her company. And the only thing that was certain of was how damn confused he felt.

  “So you’ve thought about kissing me?” she asked.

  “A few times,” Kevin replied. He looked up and stared into Kana’s brown eyes, searching for what she might be feeling, but he couldn’t gauge her reaction. She merely stared back at him with an almost vacant expression on her face.

  “Do you want to kiss me now?” she asked.

  Kevin took his time and thought about it. His feelings about her were so mixed up that he was already beginning to feel annoyed by his own uncertainty. Maybe it would be best just to try it and see how they both felt afterward.

  “Yes,” he finally admitted.

  “Well, why don’t you?” Kana asked, prompting him to act.

  Unexpectedly, Kevin felt a panic attack brewing inside of him, and he turned away. “Sorry, I can’t,” he said. Then he got up, grabbed a towel, threw it across his waist, and then rushed out of the room.

  Feeling utterly rejected, Kana folder her arms across her chest and wallowed in her disappointment. Served her right for falling for a man fifteen years younger than her, she told herself. He was still, basically, just a child entering manhood. But she’d make a man of him yet. Smiling, Kana leaned back in the piping hot water and let the steam engulf her. As she sat ruminating, she began to devise a cunning new trap that would make Kevin hers once and for all.

  31

  No Turning Back

  Midtown Tokyo, Spa LaQua Bathhouse

  A couple hours after his stupid panic attack, Kevin returned to the bathhouse to find a note waiting for him. He picked up the slip of paper and read: Come here. Let me wash away all the darkness that haunts your soul. Let me help you feel whole again.

  Her words cut to his core. The terrible darkness that was haunting him—could she sense it too? The bath was empty, so Kevin headed down the hall to the siesta rooms, a popular feature of most spa resorts which included rooms with beds, massage chairs, sofas, and relaxing music. Rooms meant for catching up on some much needed beauty sleep or to simply rest after a hard day’s work. They’d turned one of these special relaxation rooms into their own personal bedroom. Which they shared.

  Kevin made the beds and turned down the sheets and covers. Just as he was finishing up the door suddenly opened and in came Kana, wearing only her bathrobe. She stopped and looked at him and then, without saying a word, marched angrily over to her side of the bed and climbed in. Still hurt, she pulled the covers over her and rolled over, putting him to her back to make the point that she was still angry with him.

  “I owe you an apology,” Kevin said.

  “Forget it,” Kana replied. “You obviously don’t feel the same way about me as I do you. I get it. I do. So don’t worry, I’m not going to force you to like me.” With her two cents shared, she pretended to go to sleep, but the truth was she was still pretending to be too irritated to sleep.

  Kevin felt terrible. He’d crushed her, and for no damn good reason either. He felt like scum.

  “If you don’t mind,” Kana said, “Could you please put out the candles? I’d like to get to sleep now.”

  “No,” Kevin answered.

  “No…what? You’re not going to put out the candles?” Kana asked, puzzled by his response. Getting up, she went over to put the candles out herself, when suddenly Kevin grabbed her by the wrists and stopped her.

  “Let go of me!” she demanded, trying to pry herself free.

  “No,” Kevin answered, holding tight to her. “Not until we talk this through.”

  Kana slapped him hard across his jaw and made sure it stung. Stung enough to make him let go. Then, shocked by what she had done without thinking, she immediately felt remorse. “I’m so, sooo sorry!”

  “It’s fine,” Kevin said, rubbing his jaw. “I kind of deserved it.”

  “No, it’s not fine. I should have never done that.”

  Kevin grabbed both of her wrists this time, and forced her to look him in the eyes. “Never mind about that. That’s not what is important now. What’s important is…I mean, what I’m trying to say is…”

  “Yes?”

  “Look,” Kevin said, “I have something I need to tell you.”

  Before he spoke his mind and spilled his heart to her, he weighed the pros and cons of getting into a relationship with her. Especially so soon after having lost Saeko. Also, although a trivial matter, she was almost fifteen years older than he was. Not that it matters. After all, she was loyal and would make a great companion. She was pretty, which was a huge bonus. And whatever other reservations he may have about them as a couple, the pros definitely outweighed the cons. “I don’t know what this thing between us is exactly, but I think we have to explore it and find out where it’s taking us.”

  “I agree,” Kana said.

  “Good.” Kevin took Kana in his arms and tried kissing her. But, still defiant, she turned her face away.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  “I just want you to be sure of what you’re getting yourself into. I’ve made my intentions perfectly clear. You know I want to be with you. As a couple. But if you’re not ready for that, then you’re just toying with my emotions, and I don’t know if I can handle that right now. I don’t know if you can handle that right now.”

  Kevin reached up and cupped his hands around her face, leaned in, then kissed her on her lips. This time his kiss melted through her cold exterior, and before he knew it her fingers were tangled up in his hair and she was kissing him back as passionately as he’d ever been kissed before.

  “Does that answer your concerns?” he asked, gazing into her eyes. Feeling every ounce of her longing to be with him.

  “Yes,” she whispered, gazing into his deep blue eyes, sending him the answer that it was alright to be with her.

  Before Kevin knew it, her hands were under his clothes, and his were under hers. Without saying a word, he grabbed her by her waist and pulled her into him and together they laid down upon the bed.

  As he bent down and kissed her neck, he peeled off her robe. At the same time, she pulled his shirt up over his head. Just as soon as she took off his shirt, he began kissing her chest. His lips found their way to her breasts and he swirled his tongue around her purple nipples.

  Kana let out a lust filled sigh and arched her back to better situate herself under Kevin. His legs slipped in between hers and suddenly her hands were racing to tear off his shorts.

  Unable to resist, Kevin impulsively took the rest of her in his arms and pulled her in tightly into his body, her enormous breasts pressing tenderly into his firm chest. As soon as he kissed her mouth their tongues began a fiery, passionate pirouette—sliding and twirling about as they danced in and out of each other’s lips. Together, the couple slowly sank into the sheets and into each other’s arms.

  “I want you to imagine that I’m, Saeko,” Kana said.

  “Are you sure?” Kevin asked, hesitantly. It sounded a little bit morbid to him, and he didn’t know if the lie was worth making her feel bad all over again, like she wasn’t desirable enough unless he pretended that she was somebody else.

  But before he could make up his mind about what to do, Kana took his face in her hands, pressed her forehead against his, and decisively said, “Close your eyes and think of her. No questions. No hesitating
. Just do it.”

  Spinning her around, Kevin pulled her hips up and forcefully entered her from behind.

  Kana squeaked with pleasure as he took every ounce of pent-up stress out on her, pounding her like a jackhammer. Her eyes beamed as he ravaged her from behind, and a devious smile formed on her lips. She’d finally seduced him in just the way she had planned, and he was never the wiser.

  With one final thrust Kevin climaxed and let out a finishing grunt. It seemed as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and although he knew he’d miss Saeko with every fiber of his being, he no longer was haunted by her spectral presence.

  Wrapping his arms around Kana’s waist, he pulled her close and laid his head upon her breasts, then drifted off to sleep.

  Lying in bed next to the man she had longed to be with and had obsessed over for what seemed like forever, Kana felt things were finally turning around for her. As he rested his sleeping head on her bosom, she took him in her arms and cradled him, rocking him as she ran her fingers through his soft golden hair. Smiling to herself, she marked this night as a great victory. She had finally vanquished the ghost-bitch who wouldn’t let go of Kevin’s heart. Kana had finally won. He belonged to her now.

  PART 5

  AMERICA

  BUFFALO, NEW YORK

  NEAR LAKE ERIE

  32

  A Fool’s Gamble

  Joey’s Meat Market, Near Buffalo, New York

  “Grahhh!” Jared Barnes ducked the swipe of the butcher zombie who practically blindsided him as he stepped out of the back of the butcher’s shop. Maybe this poor sap was Joey?

  The butcher had on a leather butcher’s apron, smeared in red blood, with built-in knife holsters that ran across the front waistline like a utility belt. In his right hand he had tied a large butcher’s cleaver. Jared assumed he must have tied the knife to his arm to keep hacking away at zombies but got overtaken in the process. Now he was a butcher zombie that looked like he’d steeped right out of a Silent Hill video game.

  Following Barnes out from the store, Noble immediately drew his sidearm. “Whoa! Where’d this evil-as-fuck cracker-ass motherfucker come from?”

  Joey the zombie heard Noble’s smart-ass comment and turned toward the sound of his voice. Sounds meant meat. Meat was good. Eat meat, Joey. Eat, eat, eat.

  Reaching up with both pale arms, fingernails splintered and blood-encrusted, Joey staggered forward with a groan.

  BLAM!

  Joey’s head hit the ground in front of Noble’s boots as he casually holstered his weapon. Then Noble knelt down and took out one of the pristine carving knives from Joey’s knife belt and used it to slice off one of the leather apron’s overly long tie straps. Wrapping the strand of leather around his combat boot a few times, he fashioned a makeshift leather sheath and strapped the blade to his boot. “This may come in handy,” he said.

  “Holy shit!” shouted Barnes, throwing up his arm and shielding his eyes.

  Noble looked up just in time to see a hot white flash that enveloped the sky and then receded back to a white-hot glow that burned the retinas. The blast was a good three hundred kilometers off.

  “That was a motherfucking nuke,” Noble said in dismay.

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Barnes grumbled, rubbing his eyes. “I was looking right at it when the damn thing went off.

  Noble waved his hand in front of his partner’s face. “Can you see? How many fingers am I holding up?” Slowly he lowered all his fingers except for the middle one.

  “All I can see now is a large, stupid dark spot that thinks he’s way funnier than he actually is.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t quit my day job.”

  Barnes rubbed his eyes again then turned back toward the direction of the flash. “Well, shit. There goes Newcastle.”

  “What’s the plan, Staff Sergeant?” Noble asked.

  “If they nuked the city, then failsafe measures are already in effect. That means we head west and put as much distance from us and the blast site as possible. There maybe be more bombs dropped before the day is done. We’ll regroup at the first base we come to en route. That’s about all we can do.”

  “What about the kid?” Noble asked, thumbing over his shoulder back toward where they’d left Alyssa.

  “We’ll come back for her when time allows. I have to hold out hope that she’ll make it, but given this cluster fuck,” he said, pointing out at the glowing sky, “I think things are looking rather grim…for all of us.”

  33

  Strangers

  Crescent Beach, Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada

  “Bark! Bark!” The woman looked down at the small excited Corgi who wagged its bobtail frantically and turned in a circle at it greeted her.

  “Yeah, I know,” she answered, speaking to the dog. “That flash was an atomic bomb. I’m afraid Newcastle City has been decimated.” Looking back out at the sky, the woman added, “I used to live there, you know.”

  Suddenly a vivid memory flashed in her mind, of toppling over a table only to get up to see the snarling face of a small boy who had turned. It was so vivid, so realistic, she jumped back out of fright.

  Touching the bridge of her nose, she lowered her head as if she had a bad headache and tried to suppress the torrent of emotions that came with the memory. It was painful. That’s how she knew it was her son. She just kept focusing on the child’s face, trying to hold onto the terrifying memory as long as possible. Maybe there was a clue to who she was buried in there.

  The terrible thing was though, even as she knew the boy in the vision was her own son, she couldn’t remember his name. Walking through the trees and coming out of the clearing, the woman and Corgi stepped out onto the soft sand of the beach.

  “Bark!”

  The woman looked up, glanced through the trees at the end of Maple Lane, and gazed out at the lake. There was a boat gently bobbing on the water, and inside it was a cowboy.

  As she stared at the man, he looked up and caught her eye and stared back at them. Obviously, the dog’s barking had caught his attention. The only question was, was he friendly?

  The cowboy tipped his hat, held up a couple of fish he had caught as a show of good faith, and then started the motor of the small boat and headed toward them.

  The woman looked down at the dog and said, “Usually at a time like this I’d tell my son not to talk to strangers. But I’m starved, and he has food. Besides, cowboys are supposed to be the good guys. Who knows, maybe he’ll be able to help us. What do you think?”

  “Bark! Bark! Bark!”

  “You’re right. We still must keep on our toes. A girl and her dog can never be too careful, after all.”

  The Corgi sat at the woman’s feet and looked up at her with its big brown eyes as if it were wondering what she was thinking. Unable to resist, the woman crouched down and scratched the Corgi behind its ears; it began lathering her with wet doggie kisses.

  As she patted the animal’s soft side, she reached over and picked up a piece of broken bottle that was lying on the sand, just in case things took a turn for the worst. She stood up to meet the man who was busy dragging the boat up onto the shore of the beach. She’d know soon enough whether he was a friend or a foe.

  PART 6

  JAPAN

  MINATO REGION, TOKYO

  MIDTOWN: THE RUINS

  34

  Tokyo Tower

  Minato Region, Tokyo

  Vermilion hues faded into hot pinks and oranges that stretched clear across the horizon of the Tokyo skyline. Above the radiant sunset was perched a blue velvet sky that extended high into the darkness—a Cimmerian veil bathed in the phosphorescent glow of distant stars. It was the most beautiful night sky Saeko had ever seen. She was saddened by the fact it would also be her last.

  After her rude awakening, Saeko had searched high and low for Kevin. It took her nearly a full month before she had finally tracked him down. Then, at long last, she found him! She was elated. She wanted to s
cream out his name, run into his arms, and slather him with kisses. But then she remembered that as far as he was concerned she was dead. The shock of her suddenly manifesting in front of his very eyes might prove to be a little too much of a surprise to him. So she held back. Kept her distance, and followed him to an old bath house.

  Of course, when she got there she wasn’t at all pleased with what she found. Saeko wanted to scream and curse and tear the whole godforsaken city down with her bare hands. But instead she lingered a while longer to make sure that he had left her behind. She even snuck up to the window of their love nest to get a clear view of it all. That was a mistake. What she saw caused her heart to wither inside her chest.

  It was bad enough that he was fucking some flabby-tittied cow, but he had to pretend it was her to even get off. What had become of the charming blue-eyed prince she had fallen so madly in love with?

  Disturbed by what she found, she retreated to the adjacent rooftop across the street and perched upon the catwalk of a billboard advertisement for a new Lexus that would never see the light of day. Leaning back against the metal railing, she lit a cigarette that she had fished off a mostly dead corpse she had found in the stairwell on her way to the roof. She was determined to watch the whole godawful thing, from its lewd opening to its final finishing orgasm. Her eyes burned with her tears as she sat silently puffing on her cigarette. She wanted to have the kind of reunion she saw in romance movies when the long lost love finally shows up at the end, but instead she found her one true love banging some metabolically challenged whore instead.

  Saeko couldn’t see what Kevin’s attraction in that woman was, apart from the fact that she had just the right amount of padding, causing her to clap and jiggle in all the right places. Maybe that was enough? How would she know, she didn’t have a dick controlling her mind.