Love & the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1, Zombie Apocalypse Trilogy) (16 page)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Rachel’s heart plummeted.
Cage threw her to the ground as the bullet spiraled out of the gun and sailed over their heads. Adam ducked, ran to the man and tackled him to the ground.  The gun slid across the floor.

Cage
fell on top of Rachel, pushing all of the air out of her lungs.

Nicky lifted the man’s rifle and pointed it at him. 
“Let’s see how you like having a gun pointed in your face.”

Cage was still on top of her.  He
shifted so he bore most of his weight on his elbows.  The pressure on her chest lifted and she sucked in a gulp of air.  She was about to thank Cage for saving her life again, but he placed his finger over her lips.  “What you said on the highway, it’s not true.  I don’t care how long I’ve known you.  You,” he breathed.  “Are the only thing that matters to me now.  Do you understand?  The only thing.”

Rachel
nodded.  She couldn’t find her breath. 

“We could die at any minute.
” Cage leaned closer.  “And I’m not wasting another second without you.”  He lowered his mouth to hers.  His lips were soft and gentle.  Tension melted from her body as she deepened their kiss.  Her hand trailed up his biceps and slid over his shoulders.  She ran her fingers through his hair, loving that it felt as soft and thick as she thought it would. 

“T
hat is some quality entertainment,” Nicky said.  “I’m usually more of a sci-fi guy, but that was pretty good.”

“Shut up, Nicky,” Cage said with a smile. 
He was still lying on top of her; a silent question lingered in his eyes. 

Rachel’s
mouth lifted into a smile and a grin exploded across Cage’s face.  He rose to his feet and held out his hands to her.

“Now, i
f you two are done sucking face,” Nicky said.  “Can you help us deal with this lunatic and the thousand zombies pounding on the door?  Then we can get some pizza, because my stomach is eating itself.”

Rachel stole a glance at Lindsay – who’d she completely forgotten ab
out.  Lindsay wouldn’t make eye contact with her or Cage.  Rachel felt a twinge of guilt for kissing Cage in front of her.  Just a twinge. 

Adam held the man down with his foot. 
He was still alive, but his breathing was labored.  The whites around his eyes were bloodshot.  “What should we do with him?” Adam asked Cage.

“He’s about to turn,” Cage said. 

“Shoot me,” the man whispered.

Adam raised his eyebrows.  “What was that?”

“Shoot.”  The man coughed and blood trickled down his chin.  “Shoot me, God dammit.  I don’t want to -” He didn’t finish his sentence.  His head rolled to the side.

“Shoot him before he turns
,” Nicky said.  “Man, I need a slice of pizza.”

“Stand back.
” Cage aimed the gun at the man’s head and squeezed the trigger.

~     ~     ~

They were so screwed. 

Adam
stood on a table in the dining room of Gianni’s Pizzeria.  Through a slit in the boarded window, Adam could see hundreds of zombies.  They were shoulder to shoulder, bumping into each other.  The Strip looked exactly like it did after a big football game - thousands of people swarming the street.  Unfortunately, this time they were all dead.

Selena
laid a hand on Adam’s back.  “How bad is it?”

“We can’t go
out the front.”

“Or the back.
” Lindsay crossed her arms.  “I should’ve stayed in Flint.”

“I wished you would’ve stayed in Flint,” Nicky said.  “Then my ears would get a break from all of the complaining.”

Adam exhaled.  The girl was even more pissed off since Rachel and Cage’s stock-room floor / heat of the moment / death hanging over you / kiss.  Adam might have felt bad for Lindsay, but he didn’t.  She wasn’t a very nice person.  She was rude and annoying and Adam understood what Cage and Rachel felt at the time.  No one knew how much longer they had.  They could all die in a blink of an eye.  Adam slid his hand behind Selena’s neck and pulled her under his chin.  He didn’t want to waste any minutes with Selena either. 

“Do any of you have a
plan of how we’re going to get out of here?  Because I don’t.”  Nicky shoved a slice of cold pizza into his mouth.  He closed his eyes as he chewed.  “Best.  Pizza. Ever.”

Cage glanced at the ceiling.  “Is there roof access
?”

“Tha
t’s it!”  Nicky stood up.  “The owner always tossed t-shirts and prizes from the roof after games.”

“We’re going to
the roof?” Lindsay asked.  “Then what?  We jump to our deaths?  Dumb plan again, hippie.  Why don’t you just focus on your greasy pizza?”

“No
,” Adam said.  “I’m going to the roof.  I’ll create a diversion and you all are going to make a run for it.”

“
Absolutely not.”  Selena shook her head.  “No.”

“It’s a good
plan.”

“
No.  Why you?  Why does it have to be you?” 

“Because
I’m the best one for the job,” Adam said.  “I’m a firefighter, remember? Jumping off buildings is what I do for a living.”

“That’s a cool job,” Nicky said. 

“What kind of diversion would you create?”  Cage sipped a bottle of water and handed it to Rachel. 

“
The buildings on the Strip are connected,” Adam said.  “I’ll go to the end of the roof, down by the taxicab and show myself.  Hopefully, all of the zombies will shuffle down to me and you guys can run to campus.”

“H
ow will you get away?”  Selena asked.

“I’ll run across the roof and
shimmy down the other side.”

“That’s too dangerous,” Rachel said. 

Selena motioned to Rachel.  “See?  Even she says it’s too dangerous and she’s crazier than you – no offense, Rachel.”

Rachel shrugge
d.  “None taken.”

“We don’t have
another choice,” Adam said.  “I’ll be fine.”  It was an incredibly stupid idea, but he knew what they were facing.  They were trapped in a pizzeria with a sea of zombies surrounding them. 

“
I found this behind the counter.” Nicky handed Adam a megaphone.  “The owner used this baby when they tossed t-shirts from the roof.  Sometimes he’d get girls to show their -”

“I get the picture,” Adam said.  “Thanks.”

“I also found a wad of cash,” Nicky said.  “Not that it’s worth anything now.  Maybe when everything goes back to normal.  If it ever goes back to normal.”

“Are you sure you don’
t want me to go with you?”  Cage handed his pistol to Adam.  “I’m not a great shot, but at least you won’t be alone.”

“No,” Adam said.  “T
hey need you more than I do.” 

“W
hat exactly is your plan of escape?”  Rachel rested the bat lightly on her shoulder like she was on deck at a baseball game.

Selena’s
face was puffy from crying.  “Whatever it is, it’s stupid.”

“Selena,” Adam said. 

“It’s suicide.”  Selena pushed a strand of hair from her face.  “You know it.  I know it.  Everyone knows it.”

“I
f I don’t do it, then we’re all dead.”  Adam put his hand on Rachel’s shoulder.  He couldn’t look at Selena anymore.  It was too hard.  He didn’t want to upset her, but this was the only way he could protect her.  “Rachel, I’ll meet you guys at Peabody Dorm.”

Rachel bit her lip
.  “How are you going to get away if all of the zombies are watching you?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

Selena’s sobs grew louder. 

“Where’s the roof access?”  Cage asked.

“In the stock room,” Nicky said.  “Right above where that weirdo tried to shoot us.”

“We’re
going to make a run for it?”  Lindsay looked at Cage.  “That’s the grand plan?  Make a run for it and hope the million or so zombies don’t see us and eat us?”

Cage shrugged. 

“It’s hardly a million,” Nicky said.  “More like a thousand.”

“They’ll be distracted.
” Adam chugged a bottle of water.

“Hopefully,” Lindsay said.
“Or we’re all going to die.”

“How about showing a little grat
itude?”  Rachel hugged Selena.  “Adam’s risking his life, so we have a chance to get out of here.”

“Is everyone
ready to go?  You’ll only have a small window of time to make a run for it.”  Adam shrugged on a backpack.  “Run fast and be quiet.”

Selena squeezed his arm
.  “Adam, please don’t do this.”

“
This is the only way we have a chance.”

Sh
e wrapped her arms around him.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”
  He wiped the tears from her face.  “I’ll see you at Peabody Dorm.”

Rachel led Selena to
the front door.  Rachel glanced over her shoulder at Adam.  She didn’t say a word, but he understood everything she’d said –
Be careful, come back to us.  Don’t worry about Selena.

“Nicky, will you s
how me where the roof access is?”  Adam swiped the megaphone from the table. 

Nicky pulled
down the attic door from the ceiling.  A wooden ladder unfolded from the opening.  “It’s up there, dude.  There should be another door in the attic that leads to the roof.”

“We won’t go until you
’ve given us the signal.”  Cage held the ladder. 

Adam put his foot on the first rung.  He glanced
down the hallway and saw Rachel comforting Selena.  He hoped to God this wasn’t the last time he’d see her. 

“I’ll look out for her,” Cage said.

“I know,” Adam said. 

“We’ll wait for you at the dorm.
”

“Don’t wait too long,” A
dam said gravely and climbed the ladder. 

~     ~     ~

Nicky and Cage walked back into the pizzeria’s dining room.  Selena felt like she was going to puke.  How in the world had they gotten themselves into this mess?  First Vivienne dies from a scratch and now Adam was sacrificing himself.

“I
s he up there?” Selena asked.

“Yeah, we w
aited for him to make it into the attic and find the door to the roof,” Cage said.  “Adam is going to hop the buildings to the end of the row where the taxi was abandoned in the street.  He’ll give us the signal when it’s clear.”  He sat beside Rachel and checked the bandage on her forearm. 

A
screech sounded from outside.  Selena’s head snapped up as Adam’s voice shouted over the megaphone: “HELLLOO, ZOMBIES!”

They raced to the w
indow.  It was boarded with pieces of table, but they could see between the cracks. 

“HERE ZOMBIE, ZOMBIE, THIS WAAAAAY!!”

“I should have volunteered to go on the roof.” Nicky slapped his leg.  “Dang it!  I would’ve sounded so much better over the megaphone.” 

Through a small sliver in the window, Selena saw
legions of ice blue eyes glancing upward. 

“Is it working?”  Rachel
peeked out.

“I think so,” Nicky said.  “It’s hard to see.”

“THEY’RE MOVING!” Adam’s voice amplified over the air.

Selena looked again.  It was wor
king.  Within seconds, the slow moving sea of bodies turned into a rushing river.  The creatures shoved each other out of the way in a fever of snarls and groans as they raced toward Adam.

Nicky
gripped a board.  The muscles in his arms flexed as he pulled the piece of wood from the door.

“What are you doing?”  Lindsay squeaked.

“Um, how else are we going to make a run for it?”  Nicky responded.

“They’ll hear you
!”

“No, they won’t.”  Nicky
worked on another board.

Selena closed her eyes and waited for Adam to speak again.  She could imagine h
im running on top of the roof, waving his hands in the air, screaming at the hundreds of zombies on the streets.  How was he going to get away?

Cage and Nicky pull
ed the scraps of wood from the door.  The zombies were still progressing to the left, but the majority of the horde was gone. 

“DON’T I LOOK DELICIOUS?  COME ON, TRY TO GET ME!  OVER HERE!”

Ten seconds went by without a zombie passing the door. 

“Should we go?” Nicky asked. 

“No, Adam said he’d give us the signal,” Cage said.  “Everyone get ready.”  He kissed the back of Rachel’s hand.

“For the record, I’d like to say t
his is stupid,” Lindsay whispered.  “If I die, I’m blaming all of you for my death.”