Awakened Desires

by Rissa Blakeley

  “Motherfucker!” I pushed the undead back with the branch. He was much heavier than I expected. He gave a new meaning to “dead weight”. “Shit!” I screamed. He was doing his damnedest to take a bite out of me.

  I heard more leaves crunching and twigs snapping around me, and I knew my time was up. I could only think of Quinn and Josie, fearing what would happen to them. How ironic was that? I finally figure out the whole love thing and I was about to bite the dust.

  Chapter 26

  Eve stopped in her tracks. “Did you hear that?” The group had been walking at the edge of the woods, looking for a safe place to camp for the night.

  “Yeah. Did it sound like a scream?” Mitch said as he took off toward the sounds. Eve, Levi, Janny, Reid, and Shannon followed closely behind. When they approached the sounds, they realized there was a commotion up ahead. Mitch pulled out his handgun and switched off the safety. “I’m going to continue to go forward a little. Be ready.”

  “Be careful,” Eve said to her husband.

  “I will be.”

  Mitch rushed through the trees. At first, he saw that the ground was littered with a few undeads. He heard the unmistakable sound of a struggle on the ground just feet from him. He aimed his gun at the moving targets, then pulled the trigger.

  I heard a few gunshots around me. Suddenly, I felt pain shooting up my left leg. “Fuck!” I roared. I thought maybe it was Quinn or Josie that came back, but then some wooly arseface pulled the undead off of me. Another gunshot startled me as I rolled around on the ground, holding my leg.

  I attempted to get up, but my body wasn’t cooperating. “Motherfucker!” I yelled. I had many things done to me in my life, but I had never been shot. I’d trade that pain for the brass knuckles any day. The arseface squatted down and grabbed my arm, rolling me onto my back.

  The next thing I knew, there were six people surrounding me. One of the blokes started arguing with the wally that just shot me. “Christ, Mitch! Why did you do that?”

  “I thought he was a zombie!” Mitch yelled back.

  “You need to be sure before you pull the damn trigger!”

  “Well, what the hell is he doing out here in the middle of the night?”

  “Probably the same thing we are!”

  “Can I get some help, please? Some dickwad just fucking shot me!” I growled.

  “Yes, sorry.” A kinder, gentler voice said. I forced open my eyes to see a thin, gray-haired man with wire-rimmed glasses trying to grab my leg. I thought I heard Quinn yelling for me, but the pain was like nothing I have ever felt before, so I wasn’t paying all that much attention. “Are you camped around here?”

  “Yes…,” I groaned. “Fuuuck.” Then I heard the yell again, and I knew it was Quinn. “Quinn…,”

  “Is that other person who is yelling with you?”

  “Yes…,” I growled out.

  “Mitch, go run and find her.”

  “He better not shoot her, too, or I’ll kill him…regardless of my situation.” Shot or not, if he even thought about hurting my Quinn, he would be lying on the ground along with the undeads. I’d find some way to summon all that was left of my strength and gut the wally.

  “I’m Levi, by the way. I’m a doctor. Just try to settle down a little so I can see if we need to put a tourniquet on. Janny, grab me the lantern.”

  “Pleasure,” I growled. “Gunther.”

  An older woman, maybe in her sixties, ran up to us, a bright light leading her way. I was still growling in pain and breathing through my teeth. I continued to writhe on the ground, not allowing the doctor to get his hands on me.

  With her flashlight and Sig out, Quinn sprinted through the woods with zero regard to what could have been lurking around her. Her chest was pumping up and down, and she felt the burn in the back of her throat. She had to get to Gunther. His bellow scared her beyond her limits.

  “Gunther!” she yelled between breaths. Her panic doubled when he didn’t respond. “Gunther!” she yelled again as she came up to where she thought she left him. She looked all around, seeing and hearing nothing. “Gunther!” The longer he didn’t respond, the more she thought he had put a bullet in his head. Quinn sucked in a sharp breath, filling her lungs with agony. She grasped at her chest and bent over, trying to catch her breath.

  She dug deep within herself and found the courage to continue to walk around in the dark, looking for him. She shined her flashlight in the distance. Then Quinn faintly heard her name through the darkness.

  “Gunther?!” She took a couple steps forward and spun around, shining the flashlight in all directions. She heard her name again, but it sounded weak. “Gunther?” She kept walking toward the direction that she thought she heard him. Then she began to hear a set of unfamiliar voices. “Oh god…Gunther!” she screamed.

  The sound of panicked footsteps rushed toward her. She held her Sig straight out, ready to defend herself. A man, maybe in his late twenties, appeared out of the darkness. He had an overgrown beard and was about Gunther’s height, but nowhere near his build.

  “Stay back!” she commanded with the strength of the Sig in front of her. “I will shoot you without hesitation!”

  He held his hands up in front of his chest. “Are you Quinn?” She wasn’t sure if she should answer, so she stayed silent, clenching her jaw. “Do you know a Gunther? Big British guy?”

  “I might,” she said indifferently while still pointing the Sig at the man’s head.

  “He’s been shot.”

  In an instant, her body shook from her core to the surface. Her eyes grew wide and her breath stopped. “What did you say?” she whispered.

  “I shot him. It was an accident. I swear. I thought he was one of those zombies.”

  “Oh god. Where is he?”

  “Just that way.”

  “Quinn…” She heard Gunther’s distressing moan carry through the night air. She took off running, leaving the man behind her.

  “Gunther!” She ran another fifty feet until she saw Gunther writhing on the ground, an older man hovering over him. “No!” She dropped down next to him. His hands were covering his eyes.

  “Quinn…,” I moaned in relief that she was there with me.

  “Tell me where! Get out of my way, asshole!” She shoved Levi out of the way and was frantically feeling around my body.

  “My left leg…,” I moaned out. “Fuuuck…it hurts.” As careful as she could, she reached down and pulled up my pant leg, which was saturated with blood. I was going to need at least a half-bag after this ordeal was over.

  “Oh, Jesus…,” Quinn gasped when she saw my wound. “Gun…we need to get you back to the house.”

  “Is it bad?” I asked through gritted teeth. “He said he’s a doctor.” I nodded toward Levi.

  Quinn jumped up when Levi touched her. “Let us help you get him to your house.” She saw the half-dozen people standing around, including the wally who shot me. I was feeling weak, and there was no way I could walk back to the shack under my own power.

  Quinn pointed. “The place we are staying is in that direction.”

  The wally and another bloke squatted down and pulled me up. They wrapped my arms around their shoulders and bore my weight. I tried to keep my eyes fixed on Quinn because I needed something to help keep me from passing out.

  She shuddered every time I moaned in pain. “If you need to stop and rest…,” she murmured.

  “No. Please. The quicker, the better,” I said as I ground my teeth together.

  Minutes later, she blew through the door. They carried me in so I wouldn’t have to climb the dilapidated stairs. I was thankful for that.

  “Back there,” Quinn ushered, waving toward the bedroom.

  “What happened?” Josie was panicked as she stared at the four strangers standing in the doorway.

  “They shot him.”

  “What?!”

  “They said it was an accident,” Quinn muttered. I groaned when they pushed me back onto the bed. �
�It’s his leg.”

  The wally and the other bloke left the bedroom, but the doctor stayed. “My name is Levi,” he said as he approached Quinn. She looked at him with skepticism. “Please, allow me to help. Do you have a pot and water?”

  Josie was lingering around the door. “I’m on it,” she said and ran off.

  Quinn sat down next to me on the bed, and it was quite obvious that she was scared out of her mind. “Gunther…” Tears rolled down her cheeks and she took my hand. My breathing was rapid and I had my hand over my eyes. “It’s going to be okay.”

  Sure as fuck didn’t feel that way. I reached down and pulled my leg into my body again like it was going to alleviate the pulsating pain in some way.

  “Do you have something with which we can cut his pants off?” Levi asked. Quinn jumped up and ran out to our supplies. In seconds, she came back with my hunting knife. She sat back down on the bed and started cutting up my pant leg.

  I hissed a few times when she nudged my leg. My vision wobbled and sounds were echoing in my head. “Quinn…I don’t feel so well.”

  “I know, Gun. Just try to hold on.”

  She hit my calf while she cut the pant leg further up. “Ugh, fuck,” I moaned.

  “I’m so sorry. I’m trying not to hurt you any more than you already are.”

  “I know, love. Just hurts.” My jaw was clenched so tight, I was sure they could hear my teeth grinding together. The weakness was taking over and I was beginning to feel faint. “Quinn…,” I whispered, then the lights went out.

  “Shit!” Quinn barked when Gunther went limp. Josie brought in the boiling water. Levi pulled his pack off and searched through it, pulling out a smaller kit.

  “We need the cleanest towels and sheets possible,” Levi ordered. In a snap, Josie ran out of the room again and came back with several towels. “Thank you.”

  He rolled up a towel and put it under Gunther’s ankle, another under his knee. With the gentlest of movements and a sob, Quinn removed Gunther’s grimy boot.

  “I’m going to do the best I can to help him,” Levi said with a small smile.

  “Yes. Thank you.” She wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve. When she heard Gunther moan again, she crawled up to his face. “Hey,” she said, touching his cheek. His eyes flickered. “Let me see your eyes. Focus on me so we can work through this pain together, okay?” Gunther knew what she was trying to do. She was checking the color of his eyes—noting a faint green. He saw her worry and nodded. Then he cried out in pain. Quinn looked down as Levi was sliding a towel under his leg.

  “Mitch!” Levi called out.

  “Yeah?” He peeked into the room.

  “Grab me a lantern.”

  Seconds later, Mitch rushed back into the room and handed Levi the lantern. Quinn looked toward the door and locked eyes at the man who shot him. Her teeth clenched while white hot hatred for him barreled through her. He turned away, feeling Quinn’s anger, and went back out to the common area.

  “Is he going to be all right?” Josie asked from the doorway.

  “Just go sit down out there and I will let you know.” She nodded. Gunther growled again as Levi examined his leg.

  “Okay…it’s still in there. No exit wound. I’m going to have to cut it out. And from its positioning, I think it should be an easy removal. You are a lucky man,” he murmured.

  Quinn looked back at Gunther and his eyes pleaded with her for comfort. She leaned down to his ear, lying across his chest. “It’s going to be okay. I love you.” He nodded as he cringed.

  Levi pulled a small knife out of his kit, dropping it into the steaming pot of water. It wasn’t going to be the most sterile of operations, but it had to be done. “Are you ready?” Levi murmured from the end of the bed.

  “Listen to me.” Gunther found Quinn’s eyes as she spoke. “You are so strong. You’ve been through much worse than this.” He nodded, the sweat beading up on his forehead. She grabbed one of the smaller towels that Josie had brought in and wiped his brow. “Take my hand.” He wrapped his big mitt around her slight hand.

  “Mitch. Reid. I need you.” They both came lumbering into the room. “He woke back up. I need you both to hold down a leg. I don’t feel like getting kicked in the face tonight.” They took their positions: Mitch at Gunther’s wounded leg, Reid on his good leg.

  “Breathe, Gun,” Quinn spoke softly in his ear. “I’m right here with you.” He nodded and locked eyes with her. Fear ran through her, seeing his eyes were grayer than before. “As soon as you are done, Levi, I need you all to leave the room immediately. He will need a few minutes to work through this.” Levi looked at her questioningly. “He’s been through a lot and, when he’s dealing with intense pain, he sometimes flashes back.” She paused and cleared her throat. “Ex-special forces.”

  “Ah…yes. I understand. All right, making incision.” Levi held the knife in his hand and nodded at Quinn. She laid back across Gunther’s chest and began talking to him.

  Levi couldn’t hear what she was saying, but he knew they must have been loving words. He was grateful for her being there to help keep him calm.

  He sliced through the tissue and Gunther yelled out. Mitch and Reid pressed their weight onto his legs when they started stiffening. Levi touched the bullet with the tip of the knife and slowly pulled it out. Gunther was panting through his teeth.

  “Got it,” Levi announced. “Now I need to sterilize the wound.” He pulled a bottle of vodka from his kit. “This is going to burn. Fair warning.” Quinn braced herself and held his arms down. She knew she was no match for his strength, but she had to try.

  Levi poured the vodka all over the wound.

  I nearly came off the bed, throwing everyone off of me. If I wasn’t awake before, I was now. “Fuck!” I bellowed.

  “Shhh…he’s almost done.” Quinn did her best to comfort me.

  “I’m going to stitch up the area.”

  “Fuck me… I can’t do this anymore,” I muttered, shuddering from head to toe.

  “Try to hold still,” Levi commanded from the foot of the bed.

  “Yes, you can,” Quinn murmured. “You can do this. It’s going to be okay.” She wiped my brow as the sweat continued to roll off of it. She leaned down and kissed my cheek. I loved her for everything she was doing for me.

  Levi stitched up my wound, as I panted through my clenched teeth. “Okay, almost done. One more dose of vodka.”

  “Jesus Christ…” I mumbled.

  Levi poured the cool liquid over my leg before he wrapped the wound. “All set. Let’s get out of here and allow him his privacy.” The good doctor, the bloke, and the wally headed out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Quinn jumped up and locked it. She then reached for my pack and pulled out what she needed to perform a draw.

  “Is there a bag in there?” I whispered. “I need at least half or this is going to end badly.” Quinn searched through my pack and, sure enough, there was a bag.

  “Can you hook me up? I’m not sure how.”

  “Yeah.” My body was riddled with pain. I used the rest of my strength to pull myself up to the headboard. Quinn adjusted the towel under my ankle and I let out a nasty hiss.

  “Oh god, I’m so sorry.”

  “S’okay. Motherfucker,” I growled with my head tipped back and eyelids shut. I popped them open again, seeing Quinn inching her way up to me, looking leery. My hands shook and I needed to take a few breathers while I was hooking her up, but I managed.

  We drew a half-bag, then she held onto it while I sucked it back. What an amazing woman I had.

  The high flowed through me and my eyes fluttered. “Doing better?” she asked. Her voice echoed in my head.

  “Yes,” I breathed out. “I need to sleep, though.”

  “Absolutely.” She leaned down and pressed her perfect lips to my forehead. “I love you, Gun,” she murmured as she pressed another kiss to my lips.

  I was too knackered and too fucked up to tell her she was the on
ly person who would ever get away with calling me “Gun”. All that I was able to get out was, “I love you, too.” Then some arseface knocked on the door.

  “Just a minute. I’m helping him change.” Such a good woman, thinking on the spot. I would have just told them to fuck off. “Lift your arms,” she murmured. I wanted to die when they made it above my head. The pain in my torso was so outrageous that I almost forgot about my leg. Almost. “I need to go get a change of clothes for you.” I covered my face with my hands. I wasn’t looking forward to changing my jeans.

  Quinn cracked open the door and was met with seven pairs of worried eyes. She stepped out and closed the door behind her. “Is he okay?” Josie asked, concerned.

  “I don’t know yet. He’s resting right now.” Quinn glared at Mitch.

  “I’m sorry. Really, I am. I didn’t realize he was alive.”

  Quinn stepped up to him and poked him in the chest. “I swear, if he dies because of you, I will drag you out into the woods and leave you for dead! Do you understand me?”

  “That’s not fair! I have apologized a few times.”

  “But you still shot him!” she growled.

  “What was he doing out there in the middle of the night anyway?” Mitch questioned.

  She scoffed at him. “Looking for firewood to keep his family warm!” She turned toward Levi. “Thank you for everything.”

  “You are very welcome. It’s the least that I can do after what Mitch did.” Mitch sighed.

  “I need to get him some clean clothes to change into.” Quinn turned to the bags where Gunther’s clothes were. She pulled out a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt, and headed back into the bedroom. When she opened the door, he was leaning back on the headboard, his hands over his face.

  “Are you okay?’ Her voice was like music to my ears, although it didn’t make me drop my hands. I felt that if I could hide, maybe the ridiculous pain would subside.

  “Better than ever,” I muttered.

  “I’m going to put your shirt on first. Then I’ll finish cutting your pants off and we will put on your shorts, okay?”