Surge (35 page)

“Thanks, I try,” she says. “Now, let’s get the shi-stuff and get out of here.”

“Fine,” I say. “But for future reference, I like it better when you curse. It’s pretty funny to see a pissed off Tinkerbell.” I run from the baseball mitt being hurled at my head, laughing all the way .

“You are a bastard, Jared Matthew Benson!” Olivia shouts. Fucking PITA, sharing full names for Olivia to shout out like an angry mother. I’ll get Sarah back, by sharing a story of her in a diaper with Danny. That ought to show her.

I jog my way down to the headgear section of the baseball aisle. I spot rows with hundreds of hats from almost every team in the major league, but I stick true to my heritage and grab the stack of B’s, along with all five of the helmets. Only the softball ones have face masks on them, and you can barely tell the difference between the helmets otherwise; aside from the ponytail hole, so someone else can use the remaining one if they wanted to.

I shove the hats inside the pack, then tie the helmets with some rope from the shelf to attach them to my backpack straps, so that it leaves my hands free. Next, I run to each aisle to retrieve my arrows and hunting knife. I give them each a quick swipe on a NYY towel since it’s trash anyway, before tucking them back in their holders. Sox fan all the way, even if the league is dead. Once I’ve set my gear to rights, I go looking for Olivia. She’s back at the display case where it all started, fiddling with a lock on the bottom.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” I ask. My eyes scan the area, while my body tense in preparation of the wheezers that came sprinting the last time I was in this spot, doing this very thing.

“I’m positive,” Olivia answers as she continues her movements. “The alarm is cut, I did it myself.” She glances over her shoulder at me. “Unlike a couple of meat heads, who don’t like to take an extra second to read.”

“You’re never going to let us live that down, are you?”

“Hell no,” she replies and pops the lock open. “Success.”

Olivia places her tools off to the side and slides the door of the cabinet open. I step closer to see what’s inside, and almost clap my hands in excitement over the amount of boxed ammo in the case. There are stacks of it piled for the rifles that we took last time, varying sizes of handgun ammo, knives and arrows galore.

“How the fuck did you know that was in there?” I ask and go down on my knees beside her. She scoots away, I’m not sure if it was because I was encroaching on her personal space and making her uncomfortable, or if she wants me to carry the extra weight; so I glance at her. Olivia holds her hand out for me to go ahead, so I start stuffing my already bursting backpack, and my duffel bag with the new supplies.

“I didn’t,” she answers with a shrug. “But I was hoping there was some in here, since it wasn’t in the office.” That reminds me of the last time.

“Why did you really help us? Obviously, you don’t need us, so why’d you do it?”

“Honestly?” Olivia asks and I nod. “I was scared out of my freaking mind, when I heard male voices out here.” I give her a doubtful look, but she continues. “Believe me, I was fucking terrified. When you guys set the alarm off, I was planning on just escaping while the wheezers were busy with you.” She points to the corner John and I held out in our last stand. I notice that it’s only a few feet away from the now open office door.

“But then I heard you saying your very macho versions of
‘I love yous,’
and felt kind of bad. ‘Cuz here I am, hiding out like a coward, when I could be out there saving a couple of boneheaded survivors. So, I shoved my way out the door; which wasn’t very hard since they were trying to eat your asses more than mine, and grabbed a crossbow before hopping on top of a shelf.” Olivia gives me a pointed look.

“Sometimes it pays to be Tink. We weigh less, and can fit in smaller places, as you can attest to since it saved your life.” I nod and she presses on. “Then I saw John. I don’t know why, maybe it was the blonde hair, but all I could think about is; what if that were Cory about to being eaten alive, and some asshole sat by and watched? So, I shot that fucker, before he had to chance to sink his teeth into John’s neck. I didn’t even see you until you walked over after it was done.” Way to kick a man when he’s down. Jesus. If I were a dog, I’d be cowering in the corner with my tail would be between my legs.

“But, when I turned around and seen these big blue eyes looking back at me, I was fucking pissed,” Olivia continues with a glare at my somehow offensive blue eyes. Ordinarily, I’m complimented for them for their strange blue-green color, but Olivia is far from ordinary. And I get it, once she explains.

“I mean, not only do I have to deal with a Cory flashback, but then I have to deal with your blue eyes? Someone upstairs is definitely a sick fuck to make me go for months without seeing a single human, only to find one that makes me think of Cory, and the other with eyes like Travis.” She shakes her head. “When John mentioned something about safety in numbers, I immediately thought that you were part of the raider’s group. That’s why I was a tad excited to go with you.”

“Just a tad?” I ask dryly and she flips me off.

“A tad,” she confirms. “I was planning on following you back to your headquarters, arming the women, and staging a revolt with the weapons you brought back. Only when I got there, I found that you assholes treat your women as equals, instead of slaves.”

“Wow, we really are a bunch of douchebags,” I comment and she grins. “I mean, how dare we let our women fight each other over Don Juan, move as they please, and do whatever the fuck they want.”

“I know!” Olivia exclaims with a smirk. “Waste of my goddamn time. I was so looking forward to training an army, too.”

“You could always train us,” I propose. “The girls would love it, well not Kelly, but she’s a bitch; so she don’t count.” Olivia laughs a little at that. “But I know John wanted you to show him that flip thing you did to him, remember?”

“I could do that,” she agrees. “As soon as we get to the safe house, I’ll set up a room for training. Anyone who wants to can come.”

I nod to say that’s a good idea, when I see Olivia bite her bottom lip on a thought. It’s an innocent action, but it still gets my demented blood flowing. I will not be affected, I will not be affected. Fuck you, DIC! I ignore it, as if it isn’t making my cargos increasingly tighter by the second. Olivia most certainly doesn’t need to see this unfortunate sign of male attraction, especially when all she’s trying to do is think.

What the fuck is wrong with me? The poor girl has been tortured and traumatized, but does my dick care? Hell, no! The deranged fucker only cares about himself, but my head upstairs is currently in charge, and flips Junior off. I applaud the confident bastard for a job well done, when Olivia finally states what she was thinking.

“I was thinking we could go to the same house I took you to the last time. Would that be alright? I don’t think that Leonard or Mike could handle anymore today. They were sharing the cane as it was already.”

“Sounds perfect,” I reply. “Now, let’s get going.” Before Junior overthrows my willpower, and tries to ravage you.

Olivia nods and shoves the rest of what my bags couldn’t fit, into her own pack. Heaving it onto her back, she picks up her machete, lowers the visor, and jogs down the aisle. Following behind, I force myself to keep my focus attached to the straps of her backpack, and not her ass. No need to sport another woody for the duration of the trip to Olivia’s brick row house. I stop when we reach the group and untie the rope that’s holding the helmets. I pass one to Whitney, Chelsea and Marissa; who immediately pull them over their heads, before I hold one out to Kelly.

“I’m not wearing that,” she sneers. “I’m not a dyke, and won’t dress like one.” I spot the bruise on her cheek from Sarah, and wish that it were bigger.

“I really don’t give a fuck, Olivia thinks you should wear one.”

“Fuck her,” Kelly hisses. “I don’t want it, it’ll ruin my hair.” Raising my eyes to the sky to beg for patience that I’m sorely missing, I take a deep breath.

“Just forget it, Jared,” Olivia says. “If the bitch wants her pretty face to be chomped on, then that’s her problem. Give the other two to whoever wants them.”

Ignoring Kelly’s reaching hands, I give one to Danny whose hand was raised, and the other to Oscar. They both strap them into place and test the weight with a head shake.

“Now I can protect my handsome face,” Oscar says with a grin. “Which is a good thing, since I’m the pretty twin.” Olivia laughs at that and smacks his helmet.

“You sure are handsome, Oscar,” she comments. “And while you do have excellent taste in head attire, I believe that the two of you are identical, so there is no pretty twin.”

“You’re damn right he isn’t,” Carlos announces from in front of me. “But I am.” His twin ignores him.

“You wait and see, mamá poco,” Oscar says with a wink aimed at Olivia.

“No good flirt,” Olivia says as she waves him away. “Get your ass back in line.”

Oscar laughs all the way to his spot next to Sarah and Danny. The bastard. Who the fuck does he think he is, flirting with her? John’s elbow makes contact with my ribs, so I glare at him, and curl my hands into fists. The group moves, but I’m stomping along the whole way. Another elbow, and I look over at him.

“What?” I bark.

“Calm the fuck down,” John whispers. “He’s not doing anything new, he always flirts, so what’s the big deal?”

“There isn’t one,” I retort. “I just don’t like him messing with Olivia. She has enough to deal with it as it is, without adding that on top of it all.”

“Sure, it’s only for Olivia’s sake that your eyes have turned green, and you’re practically going Hulk,” John replies with a laugh. “Just admit it already. You like her, it’s not the end of the world for you to care about someone.”

“Fine,” I spit out. “I like her, alright? Are you happy now?”

“Fucking ecstatic,” John says as he grins. “My, how the mighty have fallen.”

I flip him off and pick up my pace. Noticing that I’m making a lot of noise, I make a concentrated effort to lighten my steps. It’s then, that I hear the scuffling behind us, and coming up fast.

“Move,” I order.

Pushing John out of the way, I draw my hunting knife out as the wheezer lunges forward. Holding the handle of my knife like Norman Bates in
Psycho
, I stab the wheezer lady in her red eye. Kicking the dead body in the stomach to knock her off my blade, I look for any more that may be in the area. I see two more coming out of a storefront, so I stuff my knife in my thigh holster and grab my crossbow. John shoots the one on the left while I take out the one on the right. As soon as they drop, a group of wheezers pounce on the bodies.

“Fuck!” I exclaim, as a few more spot our slow moving group, and start charging. “Olivia, blow the fucking whistle!”

I hear screaming behind me, that doesn’t belong to the wheezer’s since the pitch and length are unmistakably Kelly’s; as I reload my bow and shoot the next wheezer in the throat. The shot is extremely similar to the way that I wish I were able to do to the bitch behind me. Wheezer man goes down, so I think the arrow might have severed its spine. Grabbing a throwing knife from my thigh with my left hand, I hurl it at another creature just as it goes to block out the sound. The knife reaches the wheezer’s eye, before its hands are able to cover the thing’s ears.

More screeches rent the air, but now that they’re no longer charging at us, I switch up my weapons. I spin the cross bow out of the way so that I can pull out my hunting knife for my right hand, and another throwing one for my left. Running forward, I stab the temples of three wheezers that are still standing, and whip knives at several of the ones that face planted on the street. Both John and Carlos are clubbing them to death, so there are only a few left when I see three knives go whizzing past me in perfect synchronicity to drop them.

Turning to face the knife wielding master, I find both Cory and Olivia standing there. Cory’s hands are still lowering from the double throw and Olivia’s left hand is now empty from her throw, while her machete is still firmly in her right.

“Nice throws,” I mutter. “But we had it.”

“We know, and we would have helped sooner, if I didn’t have to gag Kelly first,” Olivia replies, confirming my suspicions of that screaming bitch being responsible. “Not only that, but we only have two more blocks, and I didn’t want a tail.” She looks at Cory with a smirk. “Plus, I wanted to see if Cory still had his magic touch.”

“As if it could have gone anywhere,” Cory retorts. “Besides, it’s you that had the terrible aim.” Olivia glares at him, but he just grins.

“I’ll ask about that as soon as we get inside, for now, keep moving before we have more smelly bastards following us without an invitation.”

“Sir, yes sir,” Olivia says with a salute and marches to the front.

“Smartass,” Cory says under his breath and jogs after her.

My sentiments exactly, but I don’t say it. Instead, I collect my expensive knives and the arrows, before jogging after the group. They’ve only gotten ahead by one block, so I reach them quickly and slow my pace to the crawl they’re traveling at. How the fuck are we going to travel for a month like this? It’s dangerous since we have so many, but then we have elderly, injured and plain unprepared people thrown into the mix. A journey that should have taken four hours max, is now approaching seven. If Olivia estimated a month before witnessing our slow pace, what’s her estimate now?

I’ll ask her later, since I can see her place up ahead.

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