Dark Realms (64 page)

With my heart pounding frantically, I
released a shaky breath.

Bryce opened his eyes and licked his lips.
“You know, you’re pretty amazing,” he whispered, staring at my
mouth.

“Bryce!” yelled Bobby again.

Bryce groaned with frustration and then
stood up. “Coming, buddy!”

When he left my bedroom, I felt a mixture of
disappointment and relief. I wasn’t sure how I would’ve reacted if
he would have kissed me passionately right here, in my bed.
Normally I would have been paranoid about my parents walking in.
But things had changed, and at this moment, I didn’t have anyone to
answer to.

I got up, slipped a hoodie over my tank top,
and pulled on a pair of shorts. I’d slept for almost eight hours;
it was well after midnight, and I was starving.

Sara was feeding Megan dry cereal when I
entered the kitchen. “Hi,” I said. Goldie sat at their feet waiting
for bits of food to drop.

She looked up and smiled wearily. “Hi.”

“Where’s everybody?”

“Kristie and Hannah are on watch duty, to
make sure none of the zombies make it into the house. Kylie, Paige,
and Eva are sleeping, I believe.”

I nodded and then sat down next to her at
the table. “I’m sorry, Sara; I haven’t even asked if you’d gotten a
hold of Kevin.”

She paused for a moment and her eyes filled
with tears. “No, my cell phone doesn’t work.”

I covered her hand with mine. “It’s possible
he’s getting the medical attention he was promised by the
military.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she replied
looking away.

“If you want, we can go look for him later,”
I said.

She wiped her eyes. “You’d come with
me?”

“Of course I would.”

“Mommy, I want to play with Bobby,” Megan
demanded.

I tickled Megan’s tummy. “Isn’t it a little
late for you to be up playing?”

Megan giggled and shook her head “no.”

“Her schedule is totally messed up,” said
Sara.

“I’m sure. Mine is too,” I replied. “I can
watch her if you want to get some sleep. You’re pregnant and need
it more than anyone.”

She released a deep sigh. “Would you? I
could use some sleep. I’m so exhausted.”

“It’s settled. Go to bed and get some
sleep,” I replied with a smile.

Sara gave Megan and I both a hug, then left
the kitchen.

I had a peanut butter sandwich, gave Goldie
some fresh water and dog food, then took Megan downstairs so she
could play with Bobby, who I figured was probably still awake. What
I actually found stopped me cold. Eva was dressed in a skimpy
nightgown with her arms around Bryce’s neck and her lips pressed
firmly against his.

“Hi, Megan!” cried Bobby who was on the
floor playing with Legos.

Bryce turned towards me and sighed.

“Um, I’m sorry,” I said, backing away.

“Cassie,” said Bryce, pushing Eva away.
“It’s not what it looks like. She was just thanking me for getting
a painful kink out of her neck.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, really?”

Eva’s smile was smug. “Yes,” she said,
putting her arm through his possessively. “He has such an amazing
touch.”

Shame and humiliation twisted inside of me
as I saw them standing together, both of them so damn good-looking.
I turned around and left quickly.

“Cassie,” said Bryce, following me up the
stairs. “Can you just wait a moment?”

“Listen,” I said turning
to him. “You don’t have to explain anything to me, okay? Even if
she
was
coming on
to you, there’s nothing going on between us. You’re free to do
whatever you want.”

Bryce grabbed my hand and pulled me towards
him. His eyes searched mine. “Really? If I’m free to do whatever I
want, then this is it.” His lips came down on mine before I could
protest and then the world stopped moving. I felt myself go limp in
his arms and as he pulled me in closer, I couldn’t help but kiss
him back. A rush of desire swept through me as he held me against
the hardness of his body. He moved his tongue into my mouth,
caressing and exploring with an urgency that made my head spin. I
slid my hands up behind his neck, into his hair and he groaned
against my mouth, lighting flames inside of me that I hadn’t known
even existed.

“Excuse me?!”

Kristie and Hannah stood at the top of the
stairs scowling at us. We were in the entryway of the split-level,
our hands all over each other. I’d never been so embarrassed in my
life.

“Um, sorry,” I replied as we broke away from
each other. My heart was still pounding madly in my chest.

“You don’t look very sorry,” Kristie said
with her hands on her hips. “And you,” she pointed to Bryce, “You
definitely don’t look sorry. And please put on a damn T-shirt!”

Bryce smiled and rubbed the back of his
neck.

“Since your parents aren’t
around, I’m appointing myself as your personal watchdog, young
lady. You
both
better behave yourselves and control your…raging hormones,”
she said with a smirk. I knew Kristie though, she wasn’t being
totally serious. Although, if she caught us doing anything more
than this, she’d have a conniption.

“Whew!” she said, turning
towards Hannah and fanning herself with her hand. “After witnessing
part of that little interlude, I think
I
need a cigarette!”

Hannah chuckled and they both walked into
the kitchen.

I glanced at Bryce and the look in his eyes
made me blush.

He grabbed my arm. “Hey, this thing between
us, it isn’t over,” he said softly.

“Um…I have to…get something to drink,” I
said, turning away.

He smiled then released my arm. “I’ll go
check on Bobby.

Chapter
Twenty

Eva strolled into the kitchen as I finished
drinking my water. I tried to ignore her but she started
talking.

“So, I spoke to my mom,” she said, twirling
her hair around her finger.

I turned to her, genuinely happy for her.
“That’s great! Where is she?”

“She’s at a Crisis Unit that’s been set up
at the St. James Hospital. She’s going to send someone for me as
soon as they have things under control.”

St. James is the closest hospital to our
home. My mom would’ve taken the injured soldier to that
hospital.

“Did she mention if there are there many
survivors there?” I asked.

“She said there were less than a hundred
right now, but more keep arriving. They’ve set up a security force
to hold off all the zombies, but they keep coming as well.”

I grabbed her arm. “Can you call her back?”
I had to find out if my mother was there.

Eva sighed. “No, she called me using someone
else’s phone. I didn’t even get a chance to talk to her very
long.”

“I have to get ahold of someone at St.
James. Can you hit redial, and then we can call whoever’s phone she
used last? They might be able to tell me if my mom ever made it to
the hospital.”

Eva shook her head. “Sorry, it’s not working
anymore. I tried texting one of my friends after talking to my mom,
and the battery completely died.”

The fact that there were living people at
the hospital rekindled my hope. It was possible that my mother was
still alive at the hospital.

“Okay, once Sara wakes up, we’re leaving to
check on Kevin. Then I’m going to St. James to find my mother.”

Eva shook her head. “Listen, my mom said
there are hundreds of zombies surrounding the hospital. They
believe the zombies are drawn to the Crisis Unit because the scent
of blood is so strong. It’s going to be next to impossible to get
through.”

“It’s only going to get worse; it’s now or
never. If the zombies are running out of food on the streets, many
more will show up at the hospital.”

“I’m with you,” said Bryce, walking into the
kitchen, followed by Kristie. “We overheard and I agree; if we wait
too long, then we’ll miss our chance to find out if your mom’s
alive.”

“I’m coming, too,” replied Kristie, putting
her arm around me. “If it wasn’t for you rescuing me and my
children from ‘Zombie Dan’, we might’ve never made it out of there.
Besides, I want to help you find your mother because she’s also a
good friend.”

“What about the others? I don’t want to risk
them getting injured. Do you think they’ll be safe here without
us?”

“Hannah, Paige, and Kylie can stay here and
watch the kids until we get back,” replied Kristie. “They’ll be
fine. The zombies haven’t been very aggressive. They’re not even
very smart. Unless someone opens the door and invites them in, I
don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

Eva touched Bryce’s arm. “I should come,
too. My mom’s at the hospital and I’m not spending another night in
a daycare.”

I gave her a scathing look. “It beats being
alone on the streets where we found you.”

Eva had the decency to look embarrassed.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just worried about my mom.
I’m coming, if that’s okay?”

“Just stay out of trouble,” I muttered.

“Is it okay if I leave Chi Chi here, for
now? She seems so happy with Goldie and I can pick her up when it’s
not so dangerous out there.”

“Yeah, she can stay,” I said.

Kristie tapped her nails on the counter.
“It’s settled then. As soon Sara wakes up, we’ll leave.”

I nodded. “Okay. Let’s go look through my
dad’s guns and ammunition. Kristie, can you shoot a gun?”

She sighed. “Well, let me tell you; I can
pull a trigger, I just don’t know if I can hit anything with the
bullet.”

I bit the side of my lip. “Okay. How about
you wait until a zombie gets close enough for you to hit it, but
not close enough for it to bite you. Aim right between the eyes and
pull the trigger,” I replied.

Bryce rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Maybe
we should just let her use the bat.”

“What about me?” pouted Eva as she traced
circles on Bryce’s bicep using a perfectly non-chipped fingertip.
“What should I do?”

“Just stay out of the way, so you don’t get
hurt,” I snapped. I really wanted to hurt her myself right now. It
irritated me how Bryce just let her touch him so casually. He was
so clueless.

Eva scowled at me then looked at Bryce.
“Fine, I’ll just stay close to Bryce. I don’t think I’ve ever been
in such capable hands.”

He shrugged. “Considering what we’re up
against, I think it’s wise if we all stay close together and be
prepared for anything. Every one of us should have some kind of
weapon, too, whether it’s a bat, a shovel, or a gun. Which reminds
me; Cassie, let’s go look at your dad’s and figure out which ones
to bring with.”

“Eva, why don’t you get dressed,” said
Kristie, putting an arm around her and guiding her out of the
kitchen. “I don’t think your little nightie is appropriate for
where we’re going.”

Eva was still wearing her slinky baby-doll
nightgown that barely covered her rear. She smiled coyly at Bryce
and licked her lips. “Sorry, I didn’t have anything else to wear. I
wasn’t planning on doing a slumber party when I packed it. I’ll
change it so I’m not a distraction.”

For the love of
God,
I thought.
Why did we have to save her irritating life?

Bryce looked amused but didn’t say anything
as he followed me downstairs to my dad’s gun safe; he almost fell
over when he saw all the guns.

“Wow. Lucky for us your dad loves
firepower,” he said.

“Yes, he’s obsessed with guns,” I replied,
pulling out a semi-automatic rifle. I’d never fired the gun but it
seemed pretty impressive.

“Have you tried all of these?” Bryce asked
picking up different guns.

“Almost; not this one, though,” I said,
opening the chamber. “My dad and I go to the shooting range every
weekend so I’ve had a chance to try many of them.”

He took the rifle from me and examined it.
“I’ve been around guns all my life, my dad was a cop. Wow, this is
an SKS. It’s good for long-range shooting. It will definitely come
in handy. Let’s bring it with.”

“So, where’s your dad now?” I asked.

Bryce sighed. “He died about five years ago,
trying to stop some asshole from butchering his wife.”

I felt terrible for bringing his dad up.
“Wow, I’m sorry. That must have been horrible.”

He nodded. “It was. Good news is that the
wife survived a gunshot wound to her chest. It barely missed her
heart. They both had little kids at the time.”

“What happened to your dad and the
shooter?”

He looked me in the eyes. “My dad made a bad
decision that cost him his life. He thought he could stop the
husband from killing his wife, all by himself. The negotiator had
pissed the shooter off and would no longer answer any phone calls.
So my dad snuck into the backyard to try and get in. What he didn’t
realize was that the man had hidden surveillance cameras and he was
shot before he even made it through the window.”

“I’m so sorry,” I replied softly.

He smiled sadly. “It’s okay. It’s been
awhile and I’ve learned to accept it.”

“What happened to the husband?”

“Well, he thought he’d killed his wife and
blew his own brains out.”

I shuddered. “How…tragic.”

“Yeah it was pretty tough to handle back
then, especially for a fifteen-year-old kid. That’s about the time
I really got into the martial arts, to help me focus on something
other than my old man’s death.”

“And now you also have a passion for guns
like he did?” I asked.

“They’re impressive, what can I say? I still
have my dad’s collection, but nothing compared to this assortment.
But I still go to the firing range a couple times a month, have
friends in the military who keep me up-to-date on the latest
gadgets, and I have a magazine subscription to Gun Digest.”