One Hour to Live

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One Hour to Live Page 14

by Gary M. Chesla


  Her back was to Kevin, and her butt was sticking up in the air, swaying from side to side as she rubbed at the floor.

  Kevin couldn’t resist.

  He moved quietly up behind Lisa, bent down and pinched her butt.

  “Aaaah, Kevin, you scared me!” Lisa laughed as she stood up, turned and gave him a kiss.

  “I missed you,” she smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed her body into his.

  “But I’ve only been outside for a few hours,” Kevin replied.

  “After all the attention you have been giving me the last two days,” Lisa grinned. “Three hours feels like an eternity. I was beginning to feel neglected.”

  “We can’t have you feeling neglected, now can we?” Kevin smiled as he slid his hands down to her bottom.

  “That’s more like it,” Lisa grinned.

  “Hey,” Kevin said. “When I pinched your butt, you didn’t even look up. You immediately said, Kevin. How did you know it was me? There are two other guys here besides me. It could have been one of them.”

  Lisa grinned, “It might have appeared that I said your name right away, but I went through a detailed analysis before I decided it was you.”

  “You did?” Kevin replied as he continued to stare down into Lisa’s eyes.”

  “I did,” Lisa smiled as she looked back at him and shook her head up and down.

  “First I thought, now who could that be that had just accidently bumped into my butt. Bob and Bill can’t get around very well, it could have easily been either one of them. Bill seems to have the hardest time getting around, so at that point I figured it had to be Bill that accidentally stumbled into my butt.”

  Kevin grinned.

  “But then I thought, with three guys around, I bet whoever did it might have meant to pinch my butt. At that point I was ready to just throw my hands up in the air. That could have been any of you three,” Lisa grinned up at Kevin.

  “I can see your dilemma,” Kevin laughed. “Who wouldn’t want to pinch that butt.”

  Lisa’s grin widened, “I had to narrow it down somehow, but the problem was how. I said to myself, think Lisa. Do you know anyone that hasn’t been able to keep his hands off your ass the last two days?”

  Lisa pushed up on her tiptoes and gave Kevin a quick kiss.

  She smiled, “And at that point, I was pretty sure it was you.”

  “You did all that in just one second?” Kevin grinned.

  Lisa nodded her head as an ornery grin appeared.

  “I’m fast. You want to go have a quickie?”

  Kevin looked into Lisa’s eyes for a long second, then scooped Lisa up off the floor and headed out on the porch.

  “Hey, our bed is back that way.” Lisa giggled.

  He set her down in the grass and took her hand and pulled her towards Bill’s house.

  “Dad needs my help today,” Kevin laughed. “If I would have looked at you in there for one more second, he might not see me until tomorrow afternoon sometime.”

  “God, don’t tell me that,” Lisa laughed. “I won’t be able to think of anything else for the rest of the day.”

  Bob looked at Kevin and Lisa and laughed when they walked up on Bill’s porch.

  “If Lisa didn’t want to come over for a beer, you didn’t have to pick her up and carry her over to make her come,” Bob smiled. “Drinking beer around here is completely voluntary. Old Bill is more than happy to drink any extras.”

  “Beer?” Lisa smiled. “Kevin didn’t say anything about beer.”

  Lisa looked at Bob, “He told me he needed me to crawl up on the roof and pound in a few nails. I tried to tell him I was afraid of heights but he just grabbed me and swept me off my feet.”

  Lisa grinned at Kevin as he sat there and shook his head.

  “It looks to me like there could be more to that story than I’ve been told,” Bob smiled.

  “Well,” Lisa smiled, “there might be a few parts I left out.”

  “That’s OK,” Bob smiled, “I don’t think I need to know any more than that.”

  Bill came out on the porch, admiring the new braces Kevin had put on the door frame.

  He had a six pack tucked under each arm.

  Bill then turned and walked over to the others.

  “We’re in luck,” Bill grinned, “I had two six packs left. I thought I drank the other one, lucky I was wrong.”

  He sat the two six packs on the table in front of Bob.

  “I guess my mind has been preoccupied lately,” Bill added.

  “What mind?” Bob joked. “You killed off your last brain cell ten years ago.”

  Bill grabbed a can and popped the tab.

  Bob pulled two cans off the plastic rings and handed them to Lisa and Kevin.

  He took another, popped the tab and sat back in his chair.

  “Bill, maybe you should put one of these six packs back in the house for later,” Bob said. “Just in case we can’t get any more beer for a while.”

  “What if something happens?” Bill replied, “I’d hate to see this beer go to waste.”

  “It’s not going to go to waste,” Bob replied. “We’re going to get through this. There will be plenty of time to drink beer.”

  “I think we should drink it all,” Bill replied.

  “It’s your beer,” Bob sighed. “Don’t go bitching to me when you don’t have any beer tomorrow.”

  “Since we finished everything earlier that we expected,” Kevin interrupted. “Why don’t we check around town and see what we can find?”

  “We ate all you corn flakes, maybe we can replace your cereal,” Lisa added.

  Bill’s eyes lit up.

  “We can go to the VFW in Seward and get more beer,” Bill said.

  “I don’t think we should try going to Seward,” Kevin replied. “It’s too late in the day. If we ran into another mob like the size of the one we saw out near the motel, it could take a while before we would be able to get back. I think going to Seward should wait until tomorrow morning when we have the whole day to work with.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Bob said. “There are a few things we could use. With just me living here, I never kept much in the house.”

  “Where are we going to go?” Lisa asked.

  “I was thinking that my dad and I would go check out some of the neighbor’s houses,” Kevin replied. “I was hoping you would stay here and keep an eye on the house until we come back.”

  Lisa looked disappointed.

  “Just this time,” Kevin said reading Lisa’s mind. “Give us a chance to determine the lay of the land before we all go rushing out there and end up getting in trouble.”

  “Yeah, unfortunately, I’m afraid we all might find ourselves running around out there more than we want to,” Bob said.

  “I was thinking we should be back in an hour,” Kevin said looking at Lisa. “Keep an eye out for us so you can unlock the door to let us back in.”

  Lisa perked up.

  “I know what we can do,” she said. “You can use your new cell phone to stay in touch and tell me what you find. If there is any trouble, you can call me and we can be ready to let you back in the house.”

  “When did you get a cell phone?” Bob asked.

  “Lisa and I picked one up when we went to the carnival,” Kevin replied, “so I could call her when she goes back to school.”

  “Since it looks like we won’t need it for that for a while,” Lisa said. “We may as well put it use. It could come in handy.”

  “Good idea,” Kevin said.

  “I’ll go get our phones,” Lisa said, jumped up and ran across the yard and disappeared through the doorway.

  Lisa returned a few minutes later.

  She had a bounce to her step as she walked across the yard and up on the porch.

  She stood on the porch behind Kevin and opened the pink cell phone.

  “I’ll power it up for you, then I’ll call you with my phone to test it o
ut,” Lisa said. “Do you remember how to answer it?”

  “Yeah, I push the green button and say hello,” Kevin replied.

  “Is that your phone?” Bob asked. “Really Kevin. Pink?”

  “Yeah, I know,” Kevin replied. “It was the last phone they had. I didn’t want the damn thing, but Lisa wouldn’t leave until I bought it. Thank God it only cost me five dollars.”

  “I knew if we left without it,” Lisa smiled, “He might never buy one.”

  “That might have been the better choice,” Bill laughed. “The damn thing hurts my eyes.”

  “Well I guess it is OK if you need to make a call in a pinch,” Bob added, “But I wouldn’t pull that thing out in a bar. Someone might try to kick your ass.”

  “Don’t worry,” Kevin sighed. “I didn’t plan on using it in public.”

  Bob laughed at Kevin’s embarrassment.

  Lisa finished pushing some buttons then handed the phone to Kevin before walking to her chair to sit down.

  “Watch the screen and wait for the phone to ring,” Lisa said. “I’m dialing your number now.”

  Kevin held the phone up to his face and looked at the screen.

  He almost fell off his chair and he could feel his ears turning red.

  He glanced over at Lisa to see her trying to hide that ornery grin on her face as she dialed her phone.

  On the little screen of Kevin’s phone, he watched as a very shapely woman’s bare ass filled the screen.

  Kevin knew it wasn’t just any woman’s bare bottom, it was Lisa’s.

  That image had been permanently burned into his mind.

  Kevin watched as the shapely bottom walked away from the camera until he could see her entire naked body.

  Lisa turned, smiled and blew a kiss at the camera.

  Then Lisa looked startled for a second.

  She waved at the camera and then laid down on the bed on her back.

  Kevin then saw his own naked form come on the screen, walk over to the bed and crawl on top of Lisa.

  Kevin quickly snapped the phone closed.

  It felt unnatural as hell to be looking at this with his dad sitting only two feet away from him.

  “Something wrong with your phone?” Lisa asked.

  She had a serious look on her face, but her eyes looked they were about to burst into laughter.

  “Are you going to call me or what?” he asked.

  “You should be getting my message any second now,” Lisa grinned.

  “I already got your message,” Kevin grinned. “Now I’m waiting to see if my phone still works.”

  Kevin’s phone started playing music.

  Lisa had programmed a ring tone into his phone but hadn’t told him what is was. It was going to be another surprise.

  Kevin quickly opened the phone and hit the green button, ending Madonna’s song, “Like a Virgin”.

  He held the phone up to his ear and said, “Hello.”

  The receiver crackled in his ear for a second then went dead.

  “It was just static for a second, then it went dead,” he said.

  “Let me try it again,” Lisa said as she punched

  Kevin’s number back into her phone.

  Kevin quickly hit the green button as soon as he heard the first note of the song.

  He looked at Lisa with an expression that said, “Really Lisa?”

  Lisa grinned as Kevin said, “Hello.”

  He closed the phone, “The same thing happened.”

  “Let me see your phone. You take mine and I’ll call you using your phone,” Lisa said. “Maybe it’s just your phone. It might have a problem receiving calls.”

  “Yeah, probably half the damn circuits have been burned out of this one,” Kevin smiled. “No, I think you need to keep your hands off my phone. I’ll call you.”

  “Do you know how?” Lisa grinned.

  “I’ll figure it out,” Kevin smiled as he punched in Lisa’s number.”

  He sat there for a minute and looked at Lisa.

  “Push the green button,” Lisa grinned.

  Kevin looked at his phone and pushed the green button.

  Lisa’s phone rang, Snoopy versus the Red Barron played.

  She pushed the button and held the phone to her ears, “Hello, this is Lisa.”

  The phone crackled and went dead.

  “I guess it’s not just your phone,” Lisa said.

  “It must be the entire system,” Kevin added. “It’s not down completely but by the sound of it, the phone system needs some serious maintenance.”

  “Just like the radio stations,” Bill said.

  “It kind of tells me what is going on outside of Bolivar,” Kevin added.

  “Yeah, the whole world has probably gone to hell,” Bob said. “I guess we better plan for this to last for a while. I know for damn sure we won’t be getting any help from the government.”

  “Since they don’t work,” Lisa said. “Give me your phone and I’ll take them back inside. Maybe we’ll be able to use them later sometime.”

  “I think I’ll just hang on to mine,” Kevin smiled. “Besides, I think we can still use them. As long as the call starts to go through, we can use that as a signal. If there are any problems, we can still use the phone. If your phone rings, that means it’s a danger signal. If you call me while we are out, we’ll come right back because that will tell us you need help.”

  “And if you call me?” Lisa asked.

  “It will mean that we have a problem,” Kevin replied. “But after the call, I’ll call you right back a second time if it’s not a serious problem and it just means we are going to be running a little late. But if I only call once, it could also mean that something is coming your way so you need to stay alert. After the call, we’ll come back as soon as we can.”

  “That all sounds too confusing for me,” Bill said. “I guess that’s why I don’t use phones.”

  Kevin looked at his dad.

  “We better get going before we start to lose the light,” he said.

  “I’ll get my gun,” Bob said.

  They all stood and started walking back to Bob’s house.

  Lisa and Kevin followed Bob and Bill.

  When they were half way to the house and a safe distance from his dad, Kevin leaned over to Lisa.

  “Have I ever told you that you’re as ornery as hell,” Kevin said softly.

  “Not today,” Lisa grinned. “Did you enjoy my surprise?”

  “Which one?” Kevin asked, then he laughed, “I can’t wait to watch the whole thing, but not in front of my dad.”

  “It has sound too, but I turned the sound off so I wouldn’t embarrass you,” Lisa grinned. “You should see it with the sound on.”

  “I did,” Kevin grinned. “Remember, I was there too. I think we’ll have to turn the volume down a little. If I remember, one of us got a little excited.”

  Lisa grinned, “Just one of us?”

  Bob opened the closet door and took out his shotgun and the vest with his ammo.

  He turned and looked at Bill, “Bill why don’t you go down and get your gun? Maybe Kevin could use it. You did buy more ammo for that damn thing? Right?”

  “Not yet,” Bill replied.

  “Well go get it anyhow,” Bob growled.

  Bill turned and limped out the door.

  “That’s OK Dad,” Kevin said as he pulled his old bow out of the closet. “Leave Bill’s gun here in case they need it. I like my old bow. After watching the way those zombies react to noise, I was thinking the bow might be a better weapon when we don’t want to attract any attention.”

  Bob pulled two shells out of his vest and handed them to Lisa.

  “You hold the ammo,” Bob said, “and don’t give it to Bill unless it’s needed. He is liable to shoot his damn foot off, or yours. Can you handle a shotgun?”

  “No, I’ve never used one,” Lisa replied.

  “You would still do better than Bill,” Bob sighed. “OK, just hang on
to the ammo. You shouldn’t need it in here, but if you do and you don’t think Bill looks up to the task, take the damn gun off him and you use it. It’s not that hard, just aim and pull the trigger. I’m sure a smart girl like you can figure that out. Just don’t hold the gun anywhere near your face. Shotguns have a kick. We don’t want that pretty face of yours to end up all black and blue.”

  “You’re won’t need to worry about using a gun. But if you do, just give Bill the ammo and stay behind him,” Kevin said. “But we’ll only be gone for an hour. I’ll teach you how to shoot the bow sometime. It’s a much better weapon for you.”

  Bill came back in through the door carrying his scratched and battered old shotgun.

  “Here she is,” Bill said. “She’s not much to look at but she works fine.”

  “You hang on to it,” Bob said.

  “I need some ammo,” Bill replied.

  “I gave Lisa two shell but I told her not to give them to you unless she has to,” Bob replied. “I don’t want my damn house shot up before I get back.”

  “OK,” Bill said. “As long as I have ammo when I need it.”

  Lisa pulled Kevin aside.

  “Go back up to my house,” Lisa whispered. “My parents always kept the frig full. My dad kept his beer on the bottom shelf. Look in the cupboards to the right of the sink too,” Lisa said.

  “Are you sure you want me taking things from your house?” Kevin asked.

  “We need what’s there,” Lisa replied. “It wouldn’t make sense to let it go to waste.”

 

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