Breathless Bodies (10 page)

"Look, it's nothing personal. You deceived and lied to me, Ragnar stole from me. If I let you live, then my men wouldn't think I was a strong leader. My men are scouting the area. Soon all your men will be either dead or captured and then you can either join me by my side," he leaned in close and grabbed my hair "or on the hood of my truck. Your choice." He let go of my hair to turn and walk away. "Grab the children and shut her up." He shouted.

"No, no you can't take my children!" I shouted and screamed, begged for him to let me hold them for a little longer. The last thing I saw before I was knocked out was my daughter and son reaching for me, terror in their eyes.

I was getting really tired of being hit in the head. I opened my eyes and saw I was still in the same spot I had dropped. I sat up and an older man was behind me, helping me to stand.

"I'm sorry about that ma'am. If I didn't do it, then someone else would have." I took his hand and he helped me hobble over to the fire pit.

"How long was I out for?" I really didn't feel good.

"About twenty minutes. Niobe came down after they knocked you out. She's in the camper with Darius." Speaking of the devil, they both came out of the tow behind camper smiling. He looked out direction and his smile widened. Sauntering over to me, he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

"I was wondering when you would wake up, little Alex." He lit the smoke and offered it to me. I took it without thinking. Might as well smoke it now that I had it. He reached out a hand and took my arm, leading me towards the trailer he had just left. "I've got something special planned for you, my sweet." We were getting closer to the trailer when the sound of gunfire echoed through the hills. On the other side of the camp, Ragnar smashed a man in the face and took his gun. Three were dead before anyone could react. I broke free from Darius to start looking for the kids before the entire camp erupted in shouts and gunfire. They weren't in the trailer; I ran looking for them. The older raider shouted at me.

"They're in the yellow truck!" Darius had already gotten there and was climbing into the cab with his remaining men.

"You should have taken my offer while it still stood! Now, you'll have to search for me to see your kids again. And don't worry little Alex, I'll keep them safe until we meet again." He slammed the door and the sped off down the mountain, my kids screaming for me in the rear window. I couldn't stand, I couldn't breathe. I collapsed into a panic attack. I would never see my children again. In the distance, I heard a noise of something primal and beastly. It was the sound of every mother that had lost her babies. The sound grew louder and I realized that I was the one wailing. I screamed and growled at the sky until my throat was raw and sore. Familiar arms wrapped around me and held me tightly as I died inside.

The arms picked me up and sat me on the log by the fire pit. Sean came running up from the other side of camp, sliding in his haste to get to me. I grabbed onto him like he was a life raft.

"We can save them. Jeff, the raider, knows where they're going. He and I are going to go after them. We'll get the babies back." I lifted my head. He was getting ready to leave again.

"No," I clung to him in panic. "Don't leave me here, I have to go with you." He shook his head.

"It's too dangerous and you are in no condition to travel, let alone fight. No, you'll stay here and I'll get the kids. We'll meet in Hartsel, Colorado" I screamed and clung to him.

"No, I can't lose you again!" He grabbed me into a rough hug and kissed me hard.

"Take care of her Malcolm." Pushing me toward Malcolm, he jumped into the truck with the raider, Jeff, and sped out. I would have run after him but Malcolm grabbed me before I took two steps. I turned and pounded on his chest, screaming for him to let me go. He let me beat my fists until they were out of strength. When I finally ran out of tears, he picked me up and cradled me to him. As he walked to the log, I looked up and saw everyone was gathered there. Not able to face anyone, I turned my face into Malcolm's shoulder to hide from the pain.

Chapter 14

I
was having the
most wonderful dream. I was in my old house, in my old bed. Lying next to the man I loved. I couldn't see him, but I felt him. I could feel his heart beat under my hand. He was so warm and firm I never wanted to leave the bed, especially with his arm wrapped around me. I curled my hand into his chest hair happy to feel it again. I felt his heart beat quicken, heard his breath come faster. I played lazy circles on his chest as I kissed his shoulder. The arm that was wrapped around me tightened and I heard a low groan escaped him. I smiled to myself. I trailed my hand lower and came against a pair of jeans. That's odd, he never wore pants to bed. I was enjoying my dream too much to give it much thought. I tried to slip my hand under the band but he grabbed my wrist. I made a sound of protest. The hand brought mine back up and he started to kiss it. I used my other hand and legs to pull him towards me. I was straddling his hip when he finally kissed me. It was soft and light, like a first kiss would have been. His lips were so soft, his stubble tickling my nose. I whimpered for more and he deepened the kiss. He was like a man dying of thirst and I was his well. He rolled me over and pinned me to the bed, breaking the kiss to follow the curve of my neck with his mouth. I writhed beneath him wanting so much more that what was being offered.

I felt his hand tracing the curve of my breast moments before he freed it from my bra. His mouth covered mein a wash of hot breath while his tongue traced the tightened bud. I arched my back, grinding my hips against his, trying to get closer to him.

Concussions make for really great dreams, I thought to myself. The dream didn't feel like it was over and I wanted more. I hadn't had that in so long, I never wanted it to end. I reached for him and I assumed he had the same idea as he ran his fingers through my hair. We kissed and touched, tickling each other's senses. He grabbed my breast in a painful grip and that's when it all went wrong. I remembered Darius, his bruising kiss, and that's who I saw now. I started to panic, swatting at the hands and body that were above mine. I broke our kiss and managed to hit him in the nose.

"No, please no Darius. Just let my children go. Just let them go." I sobbed. I woke up to Malcolm calling my name and shaking me.

"Alex, wake up, you're having a bad dream. Come on now, wake up." He sat next to me holding my arms above my head so I wouldn't hit him. From what I could see in the faint light, I already had.

"Oh Malcolm, I'm so sorry!" I said. He let me go and touched his nose

"It's not that bad. Never mind me, how are you feeling? That was quite a dream you had there. Well at least it seemed that way. Your ah, your ..." He pointed to my chest and I looked down. My bra had moved out of place. I fixed it quickly and stood up to get some water. We were the only two in the RV so I turned asked him what had happened.

"You fell asleep almost as soon as we sat down at the fire pit. Neither of us had eaten all day so I tried to wake you up and get you to eat, but you wouldn't open your eyes. So I brought you in here to put you to bed. Your shirt was pretty messed up with blood all over and ripped so I cleaned you as best I could without getting too...personal... and laid you down. I went back out to eat and about thirty minutes later we heard you screaming. Ragnar and I came in and you were tangled in the sheets screaming for Darius to let your kids go. I tried to untangle you but you just fought harder. I tried to hold you but you ripped my shirt pretty bad and gave me a few scratches. I had to lay on top of you to finally get you to quiet down. Then every time I tried to get up you would cling to me. Eventually I fell asleep and you know the rest." He had turned on a light and was pulling a bottle of water and a bottle of whiskey out of the cabinet. He handed me the water and opened the whiskey, taking a long drink from it. He wasn't wearing a shirt and it was a fine sight. He wasn't rippling with muscles, but very well defined. His shoulders were broad, his waist narrow, and his chest had hair. I was imagining running my hands through that hair when he looked at me. My breath caught at the look of tenderness in his eyes. But why was he sliding sideways.

"I'm not feeling so hot." Dizziness was kicking my butt and I barely managed to hit the couch as I fell. I looked at him as he rushed over. He was so full of caring and warmth and then he slapped me.

"Alex, wake up!" I blinked and there was Malcolm. But instead of tenderness in his eyes there was panic. I blinked again and he hung his head sighing.

'Woman, you hit your head more than anyone I know." I glanced around and noticed I was on the floor in front of the sofa.

"I didn't make it to the sofa, did I?" He looked at me and chuckled. Placing his hands under my shoulders, he helped me up. I touched his chest to get my balance and felt his heart beat, strong and steady, when my fingers curled slightly, his heart beat sped up. He grabbed my hand and took it off his chest.

"I think you need to go back to bed." He said gently. "I'll sleep on the couch in case you have any more nightmares." He pulled me in front of him and gently pushed me by my shoulders back to the bed. As I lay down, I wondered what parts were real and what was the dream. Malcolm left and I assumed he was going to go lay on the couch so I wiggled out of my jeans and got back under the sheet. He came back in with the bottle of water I hadn't drunk.

"Thank you Malcolm. For everything." He smiled and turned to leave.

"It's no problem. Get some sleep." I drank the water and laid down to sleep. But I couldn't stop thinking about my dreams.

The pounding on the door is what woke me.

"Come on little sis, can't sleep all day." I groaned and turned over. I was only in my underthings so I didn't open the door.

"I'm up, i'm getting dressed." I shouted at Ragnar. I heard him turn and walk away. The night had been filled with crazy dreams and I was thankful it was over. Getting up to get dressed, I realized how badly I needed a shower. Instead of getting my clothes, I went to clean off all the accumulated funk. That shower was probably the best one of my life.

I was stepping out of the bathroom went I noticed Kato was in the bed room. He turned his back quickly.

"We were worried your head wounds had made it hard for you to stay awake. I'll go now." Kato started to walk through the door but I stopped him.

"Wait, please. I want to know why you guys didn't come down sooner. Why didn't you stick to the plan?" He didn't turn around to answer.

"Darius drugged you. If we had stuck to the plan, you would have been useless and it would have taken a man away from the fighting. It was hell to sit there and watch, not being able to do anything. We had no choice. We tried to go in at night and kill the raiders but half of them stayed up guarding you. If we had gone in, you would have died." I pulled a clean shirt over my head, angry that things hadn't gone the way we wanted, but that wasn't Kato's fault.

"Thank you Kato." He nodded and left. I finished getting dressed and stepped outside to see everyone by the pit. If it weren't for the zombies terrorizing the planet it would be a great camping trip. My mom looked up from whatever was in her hands and smiled at me. My in-laws were sitting across from the camper and were talking between themselves. Malcolm was talking with Scott and Daniel about something while Liz and Steven sat under the tree on the bench. That bench. Suddenly I had a sudden vision of Darius there, sitting on top of me. I felt the panic all over again keeping me from breathing. Then Kato was there, putting my head between my knees and telling me to breath. When did that happen? There was dirt at my feet so I assumed I hadn't fallen over again.

"This is getting really old." I said to Kato. He rubbed my back and gave a chuckle. I heard someone walk over to us.

"Is she okay?" It was Ernest. I felt another hand on my back

"Yeah, she just got a bit dizzy. Is there any meat on the fire?"

"No but her mom found some Oregon grapes. I'll go get them." I sat up and looked at Ernest.

"No, I'll come join you all by the fire. We need to make a plan anyway." Walking over to the fire, Ernest handed me the grapes and, at the sight of them, my stomach growled loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"I think I hear another bear" Malcolm joked.

"So Sean said to meet him in Hartsel. Does anyone know where that is?" Everyone shook their heads, but Ernest jumped up.

"I have an atlas in the truck." He went off towards his truck.

Mom was an expert list maker and soon we had a supply list for the trip. When Ernest handed me the atlas, we found the town. It was situated in the mountains but sited on a plateau with streams which fed a small lake. A single main street and few buildings but, for our purposes, ideal.

"This place looks perfect on the map. Let's get to it then." We rose and began breaking camp. While I was folding chairs, Scott came up to me. He looked shy, like he wasn't sure I would to talk to him.

"What's up Scott?" He made several attempts before finding the words.

"How do you live with it?" His eyes teared up and his chin shook, reminding me of Kenny. I knew what he was talking about though. Turning my gaze back to the chairs, I spoke.

"I don't. I want to forget that I've had to kill my uncle, a soldier that protected this country for us, people that I never even knew. I want to forget that this world has gone insane and almost everything is trying to kill us. I wish I could forget it all. But look around us. No one here is infected and we are all good people. I know you're hurting for your friends, and that pain won't fade for years. But working together so we can all live is more important than any pain we might feel. I would kill a thousand zombies if it kept them safe and that is what helps me." I looked at him and he seemed to be considering my words as he was looked thoughtfully at the fire pit.

"Hey, wanna give me a hand with these?" I asked him. He turned, nodded and we got the chairs stored. It took some time, but we were all seasoned campers and the pack up went smoothly. Once the truck was loaded onto the dolly, we stood together to plan our drive.

"We'll fuel up at the bottom of the hill, then head north on the 25. Colorado Springs is the turn off. Hartsel is small, so every time we stop, we grab supplies. Let's get going." Bea, Ernest, my mom, Scott and Daniel were all riding in the truck with the camper. The rest of us were in the RV. Kato offered to drive the first shift and I didn't complain, I definitely needed more sleep.

As I settled in, I looked at the faces around me. Liz and Steven sat on the couch all lovey dovey, curled up together against the world. Ragnar and Niobe were on the couch farther back. She had her legs on Ragnar's lap and they spoke in low tones. Malcolm sat on the farthest couch, his back to the rest of us as he stared out the window. I got up and was walking toward him when Niobe spoke to me.

"You were very brave. Not many people can face what you did and not become useless." I think she was complimenting me. I was so stunned it took me a minute to reply.

"Thank you." She nodded and I continued to the back. Malcolm was wiping his face as I sat opposite him.

"Hey there. How's your head?"

"I'm fine. I came back to see how you are." He looked at me for a while and I noticed his eyelashes clumped together. "Malcolm, what's wrong?" He laughed and looked away.

"Have you ever eaten something you really love and it doesn't agree with you? Well, bear meat doesn't agree with me and is giving me terrible gas. It hurts so bad I can't move." He gave another chuckle and I knew he was lying. But I wasn't going to pry if he didn't want to share. I stood to go when the RV hit a large rock, sending me flying into Malcolm's lap.

"Hang on, this is going to be bumpy for a while" Kato shouted from the front. I landed with my head on his chest and breasts on his groin. When I tried to get up we hit another bump and Malcolm grabbed me before I could go flying again. He held on as we hit several more bumps. I wrapped my arms around his torso to keep myself anchored. After about two minutes of bouncing along, there was another bump - between my breasts. I thought maybe his knife had slipped between us but when I shifted to look, there was no knife. He was straining against his jeans. Looking up at him, his eyes were closed and he was muttering something while his face turned bright red. I don't know what made me do it but I laid over him and rubbed. He inhaled sharply and his eyes flew open. He looked at me with naked hunger and I was scared. He grabbed me by my arms and drug me up his body, making sure I felt him every inch of the way. When my face was above his, he gently pushed my head into his shoulder and wrapped his arms around me. To everyone else it looked like we were seeking comfort from each other in a hug. But to me, it was like foreplay. I wanted to get away, to hide in the bedroom because this was wrong. I was married to Sean and we were falling back in love, right? He had left to find our children and would possibly die. I couldn't betray him like this. But to be held in such an intimate embrace was intoxicating. I couldn't do it, I had to get up.

"I'm sorry." I whispered in his ear as I moved to stand. I pushed myself away from him and staggered to the bedroom. The door was tied open and I didn't bother to undo it, merely lay on top of the blankets and let the rocking of the camper lull me to sleep.