The Zombie Zovels (Book 1): Zombie Suburbia

by Lake, D. K

  “We have to eat something. How about a small bowl of Cheerios for breakfast, and we can divide the cookies up for the rest of the day and fill ourselves up with soda. Then we've got the soup and protein bar for tomorrow, and we'll take the rest of the cereal with us.”

  “Okay, sounds good,” He held out his hand. “I want those cookies divided equally, or they'll be consequences.” he said, smirking at me.

  “Oh, really?”

  I divided the cookies and handed Lane a bowl of cereal, and we both sat on the outside decking, eating our breakfast.

  “Let's have a look around today, I saw a shed around back I still haven't checked out yet.” he said. “Don't get your hopes up, it's most likely the owner's fallout shelter. There's probably a group of skeletons sat around a table playing cards... there's nothing else to do around here.” “It's been nice, though.” he said.

  “Yes, but it's a bit lonely down here. I feel as though we're the only survivors left, hiding out in the middle of the woods.”

  “That's not a bad thing.”

  “Minus the part where we starve to death.”

  We finished breakfast, then took turns in the bathroom washing ourselves down at the sink. The shower didn't work because the power was out and there was no way I was going to sit in a tub full of cold water. I left my hair and decided to leave it one more day and wash it tomorrow. I hated washing my hair over the sink. I left my hair down and let it be, it looked like a wavy jungle, but there was no way of containing my hair without the proper products. I found Lane waiting for me on the decking. We walked around and both found suitable tree branches that could be used to bludgeon a zombie if needs be, but I still had my gun tucked inside my jeans for an emergency. “What's behind door #13?” Lane said, raising an eyebrow at me, standing in front of the shed. “I'm still betting on three dead skeletons playing rummy. Possibly a raccoon, or maybe it will be something more exotic, perhaps one of those bats from Mexico.”

  “Not funny, Alex.”

  I rolled my eyes. It was unlikely. Well, I hoped no bats would fly out at us. Lane carefully twisted the doorknob.

  “Boo!” I said, playfully giving his back a push.

  “Shit, Alex, don't do that!”

  “Sorry,” I whispered. “Payback for making me jump in the bathroom.”

  He pulled the door open and we both quickly dived out of the way, scared of what might be on the other side.

  “Nope. No zombies.” I said, peeking inside.

  Inside the shed, there was stacked plastic chairs, a lawn mower, (I wasn't sure why, there wasn't any grass around here to cut), a moldy parasol, and a box of ball games.

  I picked up the baseball bat and glove that was inside the box.

  “Do you wanna play?” he asked.

  “Why not? If I can find a ball.” I said, searching through the box. “Ah, found it.”

  We stayed outside the front of the motel taking turns throwing and catching the ball, we had a go at batting, but neither one of us was too keen on chasing the ball into the trees. We filled up on sodas for lunch and took a stroll back to the abandoned car to see if there was anything else useful inside. I found a lighter and $3 which I had no use for, and Lane found a stash of adult magazines under the front seat (which he quickly put back where he'd found them). We got lucky with some rope in the trunk, which we'd need if we were going to be living outdoors again. I saw a deer ambling amongst the trees but no zombies. I washed all the clothes we would be taking with us and our underwear using the handwash in the bathroom. Lane used the rope to make me a makeshift washing line outside our room. Lane kept bringing up the idea of finding the next town, loading up with supplies and coming back here again, but I knew the gas would run out eventually and we couldn't walk backwards and forwards forever. When the light started to fade I moved all the washing indoors and Lane strung a washing line up across the room for me, so we had to duck around the laundry each time we walked across the room.

  We soon drew the curtains and lit the last of the candles, even if we stayed we had no more candles after tonight. I set the alarm to wake me up early, I wanted to get up and wash my hair and scrub every inch of my body down with the semi-clean water. The next place I would be washing in would most likely be a river. We had nothing, though, everything had disappeared from our bags back at the Lab. No body wash, no shampoo, I was going to have to wash my hair with handwash, which I was dreading. No toothpaste, just the one toothbrush (which we were currently sharing). Even I would be needing some female products soon, we really needed to stock up, I only hoped the next town we hit wouldn't be too dangerous and we could get what we needed.

  Lane sat on the floor building a tower out of the deck of cards. I walked over and sat down next to him and we divided the rest of the cookies between us.

  “I want a McDonald's,” I said.

  “I want a beer,” Lane said, carefully placing another card on top.

  “I want some toothpaste,” I said, scrubbing my teeth with my finger “and mouthwash. I'll just add it to the shopping list.”

  Lane laughed and I went to pick up my soda and accidentally knocked the bottom of his tower, and the whole lot fell down.

  “Whoops... Sorry!”

  Lane didn't look annoyed, he just picked all the cards up and started again.

  “We should get to sleep soon, we have an exciting adventure ahead of us tomorrow, maybe the road will lead us to a town soon.”

  “Did you check the map?” he asked.

  “Yes and this section is torn away.”

  “Bummer!”

  “Yeah, so I don't know where we are or which way will take us to the nearest town. We could be in the middle of nowhere.” I said glumly, not looking forward to tomorrow.

  “We'll be okay, Alex.” Lane reached over and moved a wild strand of hair away from my eyes. “So this is our last night of luxury.” he said.

  “Luxury? We don't even have electricity.”

  “No... but we have a bed. We probably won't be sleeping in a bed for some time after today.” “Or until we find the next town and it's not overrun with zombies.”

  Lane looked at me like I was missing something.

  My eyes flickered to the bed then back to Lane. He suddenly leaned toward me, taking my face in his hands, kissing me. I accidentally knocked his tower down again as I moved my leg, trying to pull away. I quickly stood up and Lane dropped his hands to the floor and looked away from me. I walked to the other side of the room and ducked under Lane's hoodie that was hung up, I pushed the pile of clothes off the chair and sat down. I pulled off my boots, and went to look at him, only all the clothes hanging down blocked my view of him. I pulled my socks off and shoved them inside my boots, then saw Lane ducking under the washing line, coming toward me. He stopped in front of me and held out a glass to me.

  “Do you want a drink?” he asked.

  I ignored his outstretched arm and was about to stand up, but he stepped closer, stopping me. He placed the glass on the nightstand then dropped to his knees in front of me, placing both his hands on my legs, looking up at me.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  He picked up my hand and kissed it. I melted a little on the inside. I stroked the side of his face, and looked into his eyes, becoming powerless under his intense gaze. The longing in his eyes probably matched that of my own. He laced his fingers with mine. His hands were larger and his fingers were longer and my hands looked miniature next to his.

  “Alex, I want to be with you-”

  “Lane...” I started shaking my head.

  “Please, Alex, let me finish.” I chewed my lip and sat still.

  It took a moment before he spoke again, and when he did he held my face in his hands. “I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but just for tonight can we pretend it's only us. Can we forget about everything else for a few hours? If you want to ignore me tomorrow and go back to pretending you don't like me then fine, but tonight can you not hide from me.”
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br />   “How much have you had to drink already?” I asked, wondering where all this was coming from. Sure I knew Lane had a thing for me, it wasn't like we could avoid it forever. We lived, ate, played, survived, and slept together most nights except when we weren't allowed to at the Lab. I had been trying to avoid it, though. I had a crush on him... okay more than a crush, I was falling for Lane big time. But I'd never been in love and this wasn't the way I imagined falling in love for the first time. I tried to hide my feelings from Lane, I tried to be strong for the both of us, but he was making it increasingly hard. I didn't want to fall for him... it would only end in disaster.

  “None, yet.” he replied.

  I looked at the glass, picked it up and tipped it back, downing it. Lane grinned at me. “Do you want another?”

  “Are you trying to get me drunk Mr. Walker?”

  “Maybe. I thought maybe with a few drinks inside of you, you'll let your guard down and stop pretending you don't have feelings for me.”

  “I don't.”

  “Uh-huh,” He smiled at me standing back up and fetching the bottle. He poured another drink. “Your turn,” I said.

  He raised an eyebrow at me, then downed the shot.

  “Now we're even. Come on, let's play a game, the loser has to take a shot.”

  “What game?” he asked.

  I placed the other glass on the floor and sat on the bed holding a bottle cap in my hand. “Something tells me you're gonna be trashed in an hour,” Lane said, grinning at me, climbing onto the bed beside me.

  After another hour, we were in fits of laughter on the floor. Lane had had way more than me, turns out I'm a better shot than he is.

  He lit another cigarette and playfully knocked me with his leg.

  I hated to admit it, but, I was having way more fun than I thought possible. The alcohol was helping. In all seriousness though we were both being a bit reckless, but we hadn't seen a zombie, yet, outside the Lab. I was starting to wonder where they all were. I pushed that thought away and remembered I wasn't meant to be thinking about zombies tonight. Our one night of feeling like normal teenagers. Lane walked into the bathroom and I stood up and swayed slightly, the drink was affecting me. I suddenly felt overheated and began tugging my jeans down.

  Lane walked back into the room and came over to help me, I had got my jeans stuck on my ankles. I knew if I was going to do this it had to be now. If I sobered up any more I would be having second thoughts. I quickly went over my reasons for doing this. I wanted to... I didn't want to die a virgin! I liked Lane. A lot! He liked me, and life wasn't going to get any better than this at the moment. I never wanted to go any further with my last boyfriend, it's the reason he had dumped me, but with Lane it's all I had been thinking about, not difficult when he walked around shirtless, driving me crazy.

  I held onto his shoulder being careful of his wound as I stepped out of my jeans. He laughed at my lack of coordination before throwing my jeans on a chair. I wobbled, falling backward, Lane tried to catch me, but we both ended up on the bed, with Lane on top of me.

  I kissed him before I could change my mind, surprising us both. Lane was a little taken back by the kiss but it didn't take him long to respond, running his hand up and under my vest top. His tongue flicked against mine, his mouth tasted of cool mint gum. My hand moved to his belt buckle, but he quickly grabbed it before I could get anything undone.

  “Are you sure about this?” he asked.

  “I thought this was what you wanted? You kept making all those random bed hints.” He smiled sheepishly. “I was only saying those things to make you blush, you're really cute when you're embarrassed.”

  “So you don't want to?”

  “Alex, I don't want to do anything you're not ready for.”

  “I'm... it's not that I'm not ready, I just never imagined my first time like this.” I said, sitting back up.

  “Is it me, did I do something wrong?” he asked, sitting up beside me.

  “No not you.” I smiled. “I thought I'd meet someone, fall in love and it would happen after prom, I know that sounds stupid.”

  “How do you know that didn't happen?”

  “What?”

  “Well, we never got to go to prom.”

  “Yeah and?”

  “You were the last girl I kissed and I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since that time in the bathtub. Even after everything happened and I was placed in the facility I still thought about you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes really. If things hadn't turned to shit I would have probably asked you to prom the next year.” “Eric and his tribe of bitch girlfriends would have loved that.”

  “It wouldn't have mattered what they thought. I didn't plan on spending time with that lot after we graduated.”

  “We still had a year to go.”

  “We would have made it work.” he said, running his hand up my back.

  I laughed at how unrealistic that all sounded.

  “You would have left for college and soon forgotten all about me. I probably would have never seen you again.”

  “No, I didn't plan on going to college. I'd planned to take a lifeguard course and get a job at the gym nearest the mall, the one with the extra large pool. I already worked there and they said I was first in line for the position.”

  “The Riverside Hotel is right next to that place.”

  “So we would have crossed paths eventually. I'm guessing if we had made it back to school the next week after Sean's party you would have ignored me.”

  “Maybe,” I said, matching his smile.

  “And I would have spent the rest of the year trying to win you over. I love a challenge.” he said. “Oh yeah, I remember now, what was it you said... game on, or something like that.” I said smiling. “I would have worn you down eventually.”

  “Hmm,”

  We both chuckled.

  “What about your parents, didn't they want you to apply to college? You got great grades, you were one of the smartest students.”

  “Nah, college wasn't for me. I was a lost cause as far as my parents were concerned.” Lane said, half laughing running his hands down his face.

  “Well, I think you're pretty amazing Lane Walker.” I said, climbing onto his lap, straddling him. I half leaned, half fell onto his lips, kissing him. He opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, it was rough and hungry, not in a bad way, and it took my breath away.

  He dug his fingers into my hips and I pulled back, leaving Lane open mouthed. I smiled and lifted my vest top over my head and threw it away.

  “Alex...”

  “I want this,” I said. My eyes dropped to my hands in my lap. “I'm a little scared, though, you're experienced and... well, I'm not.”

  I had heard some scary first-time experiences from other girls, but I still wanted to experience this for myself, only the thought of doing it with Lane made it ten times more nerve racking. “I'm not going to hurt you, Alex... I adore you, and I'd do anything for you. And if you were wondering, no that's not one of the lines I use to get girls into bed. You're the first girl I've ever said that to.”

  I looked into his eyes, I wanted this so much, and it felt right, Lane felt so right. I wasn't just some girl to him, I could tell by the way he looked at me. I brought my hands up and laced my fingers into his hair and pressed my lips against his again. The kiss was slow and gentle this time and made me tingle in places I didn't know existed. Lane was too good at this.

  His hand slipped up my back and unclasped my bra and I stopped kissing him. I bit my lip and covered the front of me with my arms, preventing my bra from falling down. Lane smiled and kissed me again, distracting me while he unhooked my fingers and slipped my bra down my arms, then he pulled away to look at me.

  Nervous was not the word. Lane had seen me naked before, but before I didn't care. Now I was worried about what he thought. I wasn't a supermodel, and I wasn't very tall, my breasts were barely a handful and most days I felt comfort
able not even wearing a bra as there wasn't much to put in it. He brushed his thumb across my nipple, causing me to shiver. Then he kissed me there, I felt his tongue, sucking, teasing, and my nipple responded instantly hardening. He did the same to the other one, and when he was satisfied, he pulled my head back down to kiss him. His tongue pushed its way into my mouth and I dug my fingers into his back, enjoying every second. Not wanting to forget this moment... ever.

  He playfully kissed me back and I had a flashback to Lane kissing me in Lewis's kitchen. I smiled to myself.

  “What are you smiling about?” he asked, sweeping my loose waves over my shoulders. “I was just remembering that time in Lewis's kitchen. Do you remember?” I asked, licking my lips. “How could I forget? It's all I ever think about when I see you lick your lips.”

  He touched my nose with his, kissing me again. Lane knew what he was doing, it wasn't sloppy and unpleasant, it was amazing and perfect, everything I ever imagined a kiss should be. The kiss soon heated up and within seconds, he had picked me up and laid me on the bed. He climbed over me and pulled the covers over us, placing his hand on my hip, where he hooked a finger under the hem of my panties. I tensed and went rigid. He noticed and straight away moved his hand away. He gently pushed me onto my back. I quickly covered myself with the bedsheets making sure my breasts were covered, he smiled, amused by my sheepish behavior. He kissed the side of my neck and nibbled my ear with his teeth.

  “Lane,” I whispered.

  “Hmm,” he murmured against my neck.

  This was all new to me. The only other boy who had ever gotten this close to me had been Mickey, a boy who also worked at The Riverside Hotel with me. During the last winter party, we had both been tipsy and Mickey pulled me into a cupboard where he stuck his hands up my top and forcefully pushed his tongue into my mouth. I had kissed other boys as well, but that's all it had been-kissing.

  “I-I don't know what... I've never done this or anything... I don't know what you want me to do.” He stopped and looked at me.

  “I don't want you to do anything. Trust me, you're doing enough already,” he said, prodding me in the side to prove his point. “I just want you to lie there and try to relax.”