Breathless Bodies (11 page)

Chapter 15

H
e was there
again, pinning my arms above my head so I couldn't fight him. I screamed and kicked, trying to get away from him.

"I will have you. One way or another, you will be mine." His face came closer to mine then dissolved into water. I woke up sputtering. Kato and Malcolm were next to me, both bloody with torn clothing. They looked at me like I had been possessed and weren't sure they could trust me. Sitting up, I felt like I had been kicked in the head by a mule. Malcolm spoke first.

"Was it him again?" I looked at him and nodded, drawing knees to chest smoothing wet hair out of my face. I looked at the men and realized the damage I had inflicted. Kato had fingernail scratches going diagonally across his face and the neck of his shirt was torn. Malcolm had a swollen lip, scratches all over his arms, and his nose was bleeding a little. I felt terrible for mauling them.

"I'm so sorry guys. I can't stop dreaming about him. I don't want to keep hurting you, thinking its him." I pressed my eyes into my knees and tried to stop the tears. The bed creaked and I heard them untie the door. Good, now I won't hurt them in my dreams. Keeping my eyes closed, I stretched out and buried my face into a pillow. I didn't want to keep hurting them but couldn't control my dreams. I sobbed into the pillow, then screamed and pounded it. I beat the pillow with everything I had, pretending it was Darius. In a burst of anger, I tore the pillow in half. Down feathers went everywhere, tearing me from my hate-fueled frenzy. They drifted all around me like an un-melting snow. I held up my hands to catch the feathers as they drifted around. I had the most childish urge to jump on the bed. You know what, screw it. I giggled, then stood up and started jumping, the feathers flying all around. My giggle turned into a full laugh as my vision was blurred with white. Giving one final jump, I tucked my legs and plopped down on my rear end. Stretching full length, I watched the feathers floating and falling. It took me a moment to notice Malcolm by the door, failing to blend in with the wall.

"How long have you been there?".

"I never left. I was going to try and talk to you but you looked like you needed to destroy something." He walked forward and gestured to the white flurries. "I wanted to leave but I didn't want to stop you from getting it out. May I sit?"

"Of course, please." He didn't sit at the edge of the bed like I thought he would. Instead he crawled onto it, sending white poofs everywhere, and sat by my hip. My stomach tightened as I remembered the couch. No, no its wrong. I tried to speak but he did first.

"Look, I know you love Sean. I'm sorry about what happened on the couch. I haven't had a woman that close to me in a long while and my body wouldn't listen to my brain. But pulling you up me was payback for you teasing me, I won't lie about that. But it was wrong and I'm sorry." He nodded like he was satisfied with what he had said and turned to get off the bed.

"Wait." He turned to look at me. I was still laying on the bed with my arms stretched above me. Propping myself on my elbow, I looked up at him. He had feathers in his hair and stuck to his stubble. I started to laugh and plucked a feather from his cheek. He saw it and smiled.

"If you think I look funny, you should see yourself. He reached for my hair and pulled out a feather. I blew it out of his fingers and it landed on his nose. I tried to get it back but as my hand touched his nose, Steven came bursting into the room. He stopped short and looked around in confusion.

"Whatever. We're going to be stopping for gas soon. I thought you would like to know." He turned and mumbled to himself as he left. My hand was still stretched towards Malcolm's face. He took my hand and kissed the inside of my wrist, all while staring me straight in the eyes. His breath tickled as his lips closed onto that sensitive pulse point, his tongue flicking out for a quick taste, finishing the kiss with a slight suck that promised so much more. He was a walking contradiction, apologizing for the very thing he continued to do and I told him as much.

"I can't help it. You smell good." He sniffed my arm and crawled towards me on his knees. "You look good." He touched my face while still holding my hand in his other. "And you taste good." I thought he was going to kiss me but instead scared the crap out of me. With a perfect zombie imitation, he lunged at me and made nom nom noises at my ribs. Unfortunately, it was at the broken ones so instead of laughing, I cried out in pain. Malcolm froze as he tried to figure out what was wrong. He lifted the left side of my shirt and the bruising was visible above the binding.

"Holy crap. I'm so sorry, I completely forgot..." I cut him off

"Just get off of me you big oaf and help me to the galley. You can fix the binding in there. I don't trust you alone with me and no shirt." I smiled when I said it so he would know I wasn't angry. But wait, I should be angry. Shouldn't I? Yes, I should be angry. I'm married and in love right? Right. But why wasn't I? I shook my head and slid off the bed, heading to the galley.

Liz and Niobe were sleeping on the couches at the back, all the men crowded up front talking, while Ragnar drove. Picking the middle ground of the RV, I took the painkillers Malcolm handed me and tried to lift my shirt. That really didn't work and I hissed with all the fury of a wet cat.

"Darn it woman, let me help you." He folded the shirt so it just covered my breasts. As he unwrapped the binding, we hit another bump and Malcolm's hand jammed into my ribs. Inhaling sharply to keep from crying out, poor Malcolm looked at me apologetically.

As the gas station came into view, Malcolm finished wrapping my ribs. He grabbed my shirt and unfolded it, his fingers grazing my stomach as he slid it into place.

"Getting a little touchy feely there, huh?" Samuel asked as he walked over to us.

"I was fixing her bindings." Malcolm shot back in a defensive tone. Samuel smirked then nodded. He turned to me.

"We're at the station. You and the other girls will stay here while we get gas and such." He turned and walked away like the matter was over.

"Oh hell no. I'm not staying here. I'm going in." Samuel turned back to me with raised eyebrows.

"And what are you going to do when a zombie comes after you? Let it tie you up or drug you?" That was too far. I stood up and gave him an icy stare.

"Don't ever talk to me like that again." I brushed past him and walked towards the front of the camper. There was a compartment under the couch behind the captain's chair where I stashed my weapons. I went to it now to arm myself for this little excursion. I grabbed my hand guns, two throwing knives and a longer knife. Closing the compartment, I placed them on the table and began to arm myself. Samuel walked over to me and tried to talk. I cut him off before he could start.

"Anything else that comes out of your mouth right now is at the cost of your tongue." I looked at him. "Got it?" He looked startled, like he couldn't believe I had just said that. Truth be told, I couldn't either. But zombies, killer squirrels, sadistic opportunists, and continually banging my head on various things will either kill you or toughen you up with the side-effect of overly dramatic sarcasm.

The RV pulled to a stop and Ragnar stood up. He made certain everyone was ready before heading out the door. Kato and I followed, with Samuel and Malcolm bringing up the rear. Steven stayed behind with the other girls to keep them safe. The parents had pulled up on the other side of our camper and waited for the 'all clear' before getting out.

Splitting into two groups, Kato, Ragnar and I went through the front door; Samuel and Malcolm circled around the building and entered through the rear. At the 'all clear', those outside started siphoning gas. I was grabbing items from the shelves when I heard a can get kicked. Turning around, there in the doorway was a child, maybe ten or eleven. She had beautiful blond hair and a sweet white dress. But that was all that was cute. Missing a hand and an ear, her torso was ripped open showing things that shouldn't be visible. She slowly staggered toward me.

God, no. No, not a child. Please not a child. I backed into a display rack, knocking it over with a clatter and a rustle. The child kept coming, closer and closer. My back touched the counter and I had no choice. I lifted my pistol with a shaking hand and pointed it at her. The first shot went wild, hitting a bottle with an explosion of glass. The second shot was true and someone's daughter collapsed, laying still. I turned and retched. When I was done I went to look for some mouthwash.

"I'm sorry." It was Samuel. I didn't turn to look at him. continuing to look for mouthwash.

"Sorry for what?" I asked, not quite believing that he was. Found it, fumbled it open and took a healthy swig.

"For what I said. I didn't realize how you felt about that." I turned and spit out the mouthwash. Recapping it, I walked over to Samuel.

"You will never realize how I felt about that. No one in this group will. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to the camper. I just killed a child, I think that deserves a drink." I tried to walk past him but he didn't move

"I really am." He said, looking straight ahead. He moved to the side and I left. In the camper I found the whiskey, plopped down on the couch and took a long pull. Bea came into the camper then and I smiled.

"How are you Bea?" I asked her. She sat down next to me and held out her hand for the bottle.

"I'm sick of this. I never believed this sort of thing would ever really happen." She shook her head and took a drink. Ernest and my mom came in and sat opposite us. She handed the bottle to my mom who took a generous drink.

"How are the boys holding up?"

"Scott's getting better, he's been a lot more helpful and Daniel is the same as always." The sound of gunfire broke out and I raced to the door. Kato was running out of the garage attached to the store. There were two of the killer bone bags on his heels. I took out my gun and shot one, Samuel shot the other. He hopped into the RV.

"I think it's time to go. Where's everyone else?" I didn't know so I shrugged. The two women were still asleep and the teenagers were in the other truck but Malcolm, Ragnar, and Steven were missing. As we watched they raced around the side of the garage, their guns drawn.

"You're a little late to the party boys. Let's go." I shouted at them. Bea, Ernest, and my mom went back to the truck and the rest piled into the camper again.

As the RV rumbled off, I put all but one knife away. It's not that I didn't trust anyone, it's just... No, I was lying to myself. There were a couple people I didn't exactly trust. I stood by Kato as he drove.

"So where are we?" I asked. We were driving up a mountain, lushly green and topped with clouds.

"We just left Raton. We'll be in Colorado soon." Just then my cell phone rang in the bedroom. I rushed back there to answer it: Sean.

"I don't have a lot of time. Darius is delusional, he thinks he's a fucking Spartan or some shit, trying to make his own empire. The kids are fine; they've been traveling with him in his truck. There's a woman that has been looking after them. We're in Kansas somewhere. I have to go now. I don't want to be found. Be safe." I didn't have time to say anything before he hung up. I wanted to call him back but I didn't want him to get caught.

Sitting on the feather strewn bed, I stared at my phone. Sleep. Yes, sleep will help. Sighing, I laid down in the bed and closed my eyes. There was a knock on the door. I groaned.

"Come in." not bothering to sit up. Samuel came in, closing the door behind him.

"How is he?" He asked. I repeated the conversation and he nodded. "So what do you want to do?"

"Stick to the plan. Go to Hartsel. Build a fort of some kind." I stood up to go wash my face but, once again, Samuel stood in the way. "Can I get by please?" He looked at me questioningly.

"Why don't you like me?" He asked like he was asking about the weather. I sighed and sat back down on the bed.

"I don't like some of the things you say. That doesn't mean I don't like you." He shook his head.

"That's not what I meant. Why don't you like me like you like Malcolm?" That caught me off guard. I frowned at him, but before I could answer him, Ragnar came through the door.

"There's a road block up ahead, looks like its military." Shit

"I'm coming." Getting up to go into the galley, Samuel stopped me with an arm around my waist.

"I'd like an answer to that question when we're done." He let me go and walked away. What is it with men in a post-apocalyptic world? I shook my head and went up front. There were soldiers on either side of the road and a gatehouse set up in the middle. We pulled to a stop in front of the mechanical arm and a soldier opened the RV door.

"Hello there. Can we help you?" I asked in a pleasant tone.

"We need you and your companions to step out of the vehicle ma'am." He was curt and authoritative.

"We'd much rather not. It's been a long day and we just want to get where we're going." I tried to play the simpering woman but it came rather hard.

"I'm sorry to hear that ma'am but you need to step out of the camper." I cocked my head.

"Why?"

"We need to search your vehicle."

"At a time like this? Whatever for? " What the hell could be so important, illegal zombies?

"I'm not at liberty to say, ma'am. Please exit the RV." I looked at everyone and shrugged. We got out of the camper. Everyone in the truck was already standing at the side of the road. We gathered in a huddle and tried to puzzle out what was going on. In no more than fifteen minutes, the soldiers came out of the RV with nothing in hand but covered in feathers from the knee down. I couldn't help but laugh, as did Malcolm and, surprisingly, the soldiers grinned a bit. One of them walked up to us.

"Your vehicles are clear, you're free to move on. May we talk to you for a moment ma'am?" I nodded for the others to go ahead and stepped aside with him.

"We were searching your vehicles for any evidence of a man believed to be a traitor and extremely dangerous. He tried to assassinate the president and is suspected of trying to create a new form of government. Now, even though we are in the midst of an epidemic, that is still treason." I instantly thought of Darius. Trying to keep my face from showing my suspicion, he was instantly on guard.