“You poor thing, you must’ve been starving,” my mom said to her, in a voice full of pity. She stood and retrieved Vicki a cold bottle of water.
“Thank you ma’am. Yes, I was very hungry,” she claimed, taking the water and guzzling it down.
“Oh nonsense. Call me Grace.” my mom told her, waving off the “ma’am” comment.
“I’m so happy to find this place. Thank you, Leland and Autumn, for saving my life out there,” Vicki said, with a grateful look on her sweet innocent face.
Benji came up and wrapped his arms around me, falling into my lap. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Autumn,” he squealed, squeezing me tight around my waist with his tiny arms. I lifted him to sit in my lap and hugged him back, ignoring the pain in my body.
“I’m glad I’m okay too, kiddo. What have you been doing since I was sleeping?” I asked him, swooping his golden blonde hair away from his eyes.
“Me n’ Daisy found some rope over there and played tug o’ war, she won of course. Me n’ Vicki sat by your bed and read you a story from the book she had in her backpack, then your mom made us lay down and take a nap.” he told me, smiling big and goofy. He jumped down and took off down the next aisle with Daisy chasing after him. Daisy never had this many people to play with, she acted so happy to extend her family. The thought of my best friend being such a trooper during this horrible outbreak made me feel like I did something right in raising such a loving and caring dog. I sure did love that pup, and she sure did love everyone here.
Chapter 21
“So have you had a chance to call home yet, Leland?” I asked, sipping my own bottle of water now and nibbling on some saltine crackers Mom handed me.
“Yeah, I talked to Dad and he said everyone is fine. Him, Mom and my grandparents are all on their ranch in Arizona and said they haven’t had but a few biters come through. My grandpa is pretty good with a gun though so he took care of them with no problems. Only thing they’re worried about is they still haven’t heard back from my sister, Leslie. She’s in the army and it’s chaos right now so they can’t seem to locate her. But Sis is a fighter so I’m sure she’s fine,” he replied, a distant look in his eyes as if his mind was a million miles away. I could see he worried for her, any good brother would. I squeezed his hand again hoping to lend some comfort and reassurance.
“Well, if she’s anything like her brother then she will be fine and survive this thing. The army is well equipped for disasters like this, so she’s in the safest place possible. I’m glad everyone else is okay. Are you going to try to make it to them soon?” I asked him. Deep down it would break my heart if Leland left us now because I grew so close to him within a matter of days, but I know he wanted to make sure his family was safe and be with them.
To my surprise, he said, “I think for now, I’m good right where I’m at. When things settle down, and they hopefully find a vaccine or cure… or whatever, I’ll try to get to them. But I’m safe here and they’re safe there, so I think it’s best I stay put.”
“Well, I won’t complain if you stay,” I joked, smirking at him. Thankful that we found each other at the Colonial Inn, I know it sounds cliche, but I think everything happens for a reason. Maybe meeting Leland was my fate. He already saved my life at least twice and was the sweetest person I’ve met in a long time, and ridiculously gorgeous. I know he probably had a flaw in there somewhere but it remained unseen. Until then, I’m just going to thank my lucky stars that we were brought together in this disaster.
“I hope not. I kind of like it here… with you,” he admitted. His bright turquoise eyes twinkling with a flirtatious look in them. “Plus, even though Autumn is pretty good with an axe, you guys might need a strong, young man, like myself, to do your dirty work. Sweep the floors, board the windows, take the dog for a walk, bash a zombie brain in. You know, the usual stuff.”
We chuckled at him, shaking our heads. Mom grinned from ear to ear at me and I didn’t want to know what was running through her mind at that moment. I left her to her thoughts. The two kiddos and Daisy were laughing and playing a few aisles over. That made me remember about Benji’s Aunt Heather
“Did Benji’s aunt call yet? I haven’t heard the phone ring. Then again I’ve been out cold for hours,” I questioned.
“Yes, she called a few hours ago to say she still didn’t have a ride up here. The bigger cities are overrun with biters and going out into the streets for anything is like signing your own death sentence. I told her not to worry, that Benji is holding up fine here with us and to wait until things are under control before taking the chance on coming for him,” Leland told me. Poor Benji, I know he’s missing his family, especially his dad. The sight of his dad, sprawled out on the gas station’s dirty floor with his brains blown out, flashed into my mind. I’m just glad we got there when we did.
“Okay, well I think he’s doing great for a kid that just lost his dad and doesn’t have any family around. Guess that means we’re doing our job, right?” I said. “I think I need a shower and to change out of these filthy clothes. I can feel a layer of nasty all over me.” Thankfully, after Mom, Dad and I got snowed in here a handful of times during the bad winters, he decided we needed a full functioning bathroom, shower and all. I sent him up a huge thank you for that.
“Here, I’ll help you get your stuff together and get you to the bathroom,” Leland offered, standing and giving me his hand to help me out of my chair. I stood up slowly, still a little light headed and shaky but I managed to get my feet going, and we started for the back of the store.
“You two kids be good back there,” Uncle Andrew called after us, him and Mom chuckling like two high schoolers.
“Don’t worry about us, we won’t do anything you guys wouldn’t do at our age,” I yelled back over my shoulder jokingly.
Leland got me back to my cot and sat my bags beside me. I dug through them until I found what I wanted: a comfy green t-shirt with my college logo, my favorite yoga pants, underwear and clean socks. I gathered everything up and slowly made my way to the bathroom, stopping by a small metal cabinet that held clean towels for those emergency situations. I grabbed one off the top of the pile and went into the bathroom, Leland close behind me to make sure I didn’t fall making it back there. I sat my stuff on the sink vanity and turned to him.
“I think I can get it from here, thank you, Leland,” I said, embarrassed that I needed help to the bathroom. I made eye contact and instantly blushed, thinking of how much I’d love for him to “help” me a little more than that, but I was a lady and didn’t want him to think otherwise.
“You sure? I’ll stay right here close to the door so I can hear you if you need anything,” he responded, standing very close to me now. His warm breath caressed my face, it smelled like peppermint, probably from the little mints that come in the MRE’s. I stared longingly at his full pouty lips, so tempted to lean over and press my own against them, to see if they were as soft as they looked. My eyes rolled up to meet his as I felt a pull deep down in my stomach. My heart fluttered from the excitement I felt for him. He stood there, looking absolutely irresistible and staring into my eyes like I was a life line. His breathing became labored and he licked his lips.
“I’m sorry if this is out of line, but I can’t hold back anymore,” he said. Before I could say anything, he pressed his lips against mine. Time came to a screeching halt, and my body tensed. Then I finally relaxed into him and his silky soft lips to return his kiss. My arms went around his neck and I pulled him closer, our bodies pressed tightly to one another. I felt something inside me finally let go. So relieved that he was kissing me, I let out a small moan and started kissing him with more charisma, almost eating at his luscious mouth. I could feel his heart beating so fast against mine. He groaned and pressed me into the door behind us. His hands stroked down my sides, grasping me everywhere he could, almost frantic to touch me. My head pressed back into the door and the pain from my wound made me snap out of this frenzy. I started to pull
away from him to catch my breath, before I drowned in the feel of him kissing and touching me. I haven’t felt this kind of passion with someone in a long time, things between Luke and I had become very routine after we got engaged.
Gasping for air, I looked up at him, his lips red and swollen from our makeout fest. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow. Um… yeah,” I whispered, unable to find words to describe how I felt in that moment. He had a frenzied look in his eyes like he would go crazy if he didn’t get to kiss me again. “I think we need to slow it down a little bit.”
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his hands resting on my hips, standing a few inches from me now. When he opened them, he said, “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry, but I’ve wanted to do that since the moment we met. You are so beautiful, Autumn, and I’ve never known anyone like you. I couldn’t resist anymore. I needed to know you feel the same way I do,” he said to me, a need still apparent in his wild eyes.
“Yes, I do feel the same. I’ve been holding back how I truly feel for you because I felt that it was wrong to like someone so much after just a few days. Plus what I’ve just went through with Luke. You are amazing and so freaking gorgeous, it’s unreal. I’m happy we finally got the tension out of the way,” I told him, still trying to catch my breath, my heart finally slowing down to just a flutter rather than a pounding. “I would love to make out with you all day long but we have company close by and I desperately need a shower,” I admitted with a laugh
“Yes, of course. Go clean up and I’ll try to cool down outside in the hallway. I need to regain my composure before everyone sees me and realizes what we’ve been doing back here,” he said, giving me his million dollar smile and winking at me. “I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.”
“I’m sure you will,” I joked, pushing him out the door and blew him a kiss before shutting it. I sighed heavily and leaned against the sink. Looking at my reflection, I giggled when I saw my hair all mussed like I’d been romping in the sack. My fair cheeks were blushed. I licked my swollen lips and could taste the peppermint from his mouth. Grinning from ear to ear, I shook my head. He made me feel like a schoolgirl again. Butterflies danced in my stomach, and I felt an intense longing to jump up and down with glee. My body tingled all over from his touch, but I wanted more. This guy put a spell on me… and now… I’m his.
Chapter 22
I stowed away my indecent thoughts for a later time and started to undress. When I pulled my shirt quickly over my head, it brushed against the gash on the back of my head. My adrenaline rush left me and I hissed in pain, cursing myself for forgetting about it, but cute guys making out with you seem to make you forget important things. Gently, I took the rest of my clothing off and stepped into the steaming hot water. It felt absolutely amazing against my sore muscles, but burned when it hit the cut on my head. Careful not to get shampoo too close to my wound, I soaped up my whole body and rinsed off. Repeating it about three times to be sure I got the zombie funk off of me. My body was scrubbed down to the point of rawness and I turned the water off then stepped out into the misty bathroom, wrapping a towel around me. I found the first aid kit, from the Inn, sitting on the floor by the sink. With as much ease as possible, I dabbed a fingertip full of antibiotic cream onto my head wound. I towel dried my waist length, auburn hair and ran a comb through it. I was getting my clothes on and all of the other necessities taken care of, when I heard a knock on the door.
“Just a minute, I’m almost done,” I called out to whoever it was on the other side.
“It’s me, Autumn.” Leland said through the door. “We kind of have a problem out front. You might want to see this.”
I opened up to him standing in the frame, looking just as good as he did moments ago. Only now he had a concerned look on his face instead of a steamy bedroom one.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him, scrunching my eyebrows in confusion.
“You’ll have to come see for yourself,” he replied and took off towards the front of the store. We found everyone else already at the front doors staring out at something I couldn’t quite make out yet. I scooted up between Benji and Mom then looked outside to see what all the fuss was about.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. There were fifty or more biters walking around the front of the store. They moved almost shoulder to shoulder, bumping into one another and into the nearby abandoned cars. They kept running into Leland’s black Toyota Camry, setting off the alarm so he had to keep pushing the button on his keyring to silence it.
“They must have heard the gunshots last night and slowly made their way here. I didn’t notice them until just ten minutes ago when I heard them bumping into Leland’s car and setting his alarm off,” Uncle Andrew said to me. We all stood there in a line looking through the glass windows and doors. A couple of zombies closest to us smacked into the other side of the glass, teeth snapping at us, hoping to get a taste.
“What do we do?” Mom asked, to nobody in particular, with a fearful look in her eyes.
“Only thing we can do is keep quiet and wait for them to leave. Maybe we should turn the lights off up front and stay out of sight in the back of the store until they move on,” I told her.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea, Autumn. Okay guys, let’s get what we need from up here and get these lights off. Leland, help me move some stuff in front of the doors, just in case they get smart and put a little more effort into trying to come through them,” Andrew said, walking over to a large display table with sale items stacked on it. They cleared the merchandise off and scooted it in front of the doors. Then started stacking ladders, a couple of chairs, a wheelbarrow, and other heavy items they could fit on top of the table.
Mom and I grabbed the kids then went for the back of the store, stopping on the way back to get as many waters from the cooler by the register as we could all carry. We would need to stay out of sight for a while if we wanted the zombies to lose interest in us and move along. Daisy stayed on my heels, whining and jumpy from all of the noise the guys made barricading the front.
“It’s okay girl,” I whispered, reaching down to pet her after I unloaded all of the bottles of water from my hands. She leaned up against my legs, putting all of her weight on me. She always did that when she wanted comfort or attention. I sat down in a nearby chair and she laid her big head in my lap. In all of the mess of this plague, I neglected to spend time with my best friend. The others tried to keep her occupied but it wasn’t the same. We had a lifelong connection that couldn’t be broken with any amount of attention from anyone else. I ruffled her ears and bent down to kiss her between her golden brown eyes. “I’m sorry I haven’t been loving on you lately, baby girl. I know you’re just as scared as the rest of us,” I said, petting her silky fur over and over until she stopped whining and relaxed. Her eyes eventually fell shut in contentment. We sat there for a while like that, her falling asleep in my lap while I ran my hands through her golden hair.
I looked up to find Vicki watching us. “You okay, Vicki?” I asked her.
She nodded, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just wish I had a dog of my own. I used to have a little jack russell, Sparky, but he got hit by a car a few years ago. My parents never would let me have another one after they saw how sad I was from losing him. It would be nice to have a friend like Sparky again, especially now.” She looked lost and sad in her eyes. It tugged on my heart strings and I felt the need to comfort her.
“Well, Daisy is not just my friend, as you can see she loves everyone. So anytime you feel like you need her just show her some affection and she’ll gladly be your best friend. Plus, you have all of us now. We are here for you if you need anything or just want to talk. We’re all in this together now, so we gotta have eachother’s backs, right?” I told her, still petting Daisy. Vicki nodded her head and smiled.
My phone started ringing and I reached over to grab it from the table. It was Jess. Oh crap, I completely forgot to call her back the other day. Some friend I was. I pushed the button o
n my screen to accept the call, “Hello?”
“Oh my God, Autumn. I’ve been trying to call you, I’ve left you messages and texted you about a hundred times. Are you okay? Where are you?” she shrieked at me in a high pitched voice. I pulled the phone away so she wouldn’t damage my ear drum.
“I’m fine, Jess, calm down. It’s been absolute chaos and I haven’t had the chance to call you back, I’m so sorry. We’re holed up at our hardware store. Where are you?” I asked her.
“Me and a few others are still at the hospital. There were a lot of people bitten here and all of the patients started attacking us. It’s only a few of us left and we’re hiding out in the pharmacy. But we’ve been here for two days and there’s nothing to drink or eat and it sounds like there are still a bunch of those things roaming the halls. I’m so scared, Autumn. I don’t know what to do. We can’t survive much longer cooped up in here,” she started sobbing loudly.
“Shhh, Jess. You gotta stay quiet or you’ll draw them to your location. Just calm down and breathe. Right now we’re surrounded by about fifty biters, but if we can find a safe way to slip out, I’ll come for you. Just sit tight and I’ll call you back when we know we can make it there. It’s gonna be okay, just stay calm and don’t leave the pharmacy until you hear from me,” I tried to say in a calm voice, but it was strained from the worry I felt for my friend. She was weeping softly into the phone. I felt tears start to well up in my eyes. I couldn’t lose her, we’ve been friends since high school.
Autumn's Calling (Book 1): The Outbreak Page 10
