Thirteen Roses Book Four: Alone: A Paranormal Zombie Saga (19 page)

So if God approved, he had no problems with it. It wasn’t written about in the bible, but then, neither were zombies.
 

The lift doors opened and he stepped out into the reception area of the Shard. It was a huge expanse surrounded by glass. It was one-way glass, the sort you could see out of but remained invisible while you were behind. It made zombie killing especially fun.
 

He waited by the door, watching the stupid things lurch back and forth. As one staggered past, he hauled open the doors, set his feet and took a swing. The bat crushed the creature’s nose and drove it deep into its brain. It dropped like a stone to the floor and Jackson stepped back, letting the doors hiss close. Perfect.
 

He watched the others swarm until a small crowd surrounded the corpse. Jackson opened the door again and got stuck in. The bat was the perfect weight, and he got so much power behind it, the first zombie didn’t know what hit it. The back of its head came away, stuck to the bat, and it toppled to the ground.
 

He got the next one in the neck and it went straight through, so the head spilled on to the concrete. The body thumped down hard, blood spitting and streaming from the stump. He stepped back and let the crowd go to work, cleaning up the front of the Shard.
 

The morning went quickly, a pile of bones bearing ragged scraps of flesh building up in front of the building. The zombies never stopped coming and Jackson’s arms didn’t stop moving. The sun was high when he saw something different. A truck, like those used by the soldiers of God, pulled up on the pavement with a screech of tires. Three men bundled out and started firing.

At first, Jackson thought they were firing at him and he threw himself to the floor. But none of the windows smashed and he peeked from his prone position to watch the soldiers pour streams of bullets into the zombies. He almost felt sorry for the stupid things. They didn’t know to run or defend themselves, and one by one their heads exploded and they dropped.
 

He needed more ammo. They accomplished in two minutes what had taken him most of the morning to achieve. They reached the doors and yanked them open. Coming face to face with him stopped them short. They raised their weapons and lowered them again as he shook his head.
 

‘Welcome to the Shard. Nice shooting.’

The soldiers slung their guns and shook hands, introducing themselves. The first was called Tony, the second Brandon. The last gave him a weird look, like he recognised him. He may well do. Maybe he was one of the bastards who tried to take him out in St Paul’s. He applied extra pressure with the hand shakes. The man’s eyes narrowed but he responded with just as much pressure until they both let go. His name was Zack.

He waved them to the lift, talking as they went. ‘Not many of the ladies ready for this yet. There’re a few who are up for it, but most of em are frigid or near as you can get.’

‘I’m sure we can charm them.’ Zack threw him a bright grin and Jackson sniggered. ‘Yeah, sure. We’ll see. Only three of you?’

‘The… our leader suggested we come in small groups so as not to alarm the ladies.’ Tony said.

‘Your leader?’

‘Az.’

‘You can call him a demon, I’m sure he won’t be offended.’

Tony looked at the floor of the lift, rolling his shoulders.
 

‘Well, I’m sure the ladies will be bowled over by your confidence.’

They spent the rest of the trip in silence. He didn’t like having them here. This was God’s work. This was why the ladies were here. Today the work of repopulating Earth would really begin. But it grated on him having them in his space. He needed to talk to Harriet, make it clear to her she wasn’t the only one. They needed variety in the next generation but he could screw a few of them, surely?

That wasn’t God’s work. He shook his head as the lift doors opened. Harriet wasn’t good for him. She was deviant. The hitting and the way her face changed when she was doing it. She found more pleasure splitting his skin apart than cumming. That wasn’t right. But she was with him, so he could control her and keep her safe, even from herself if needs be.

The lift door opened and they strolled down to the reception area. Some of the ladies were there, lounging on chairs or staring out the magnificent windows. They perked up when the soldiers entered and a few strolled over. Jackson cleared his throat, thinking to say something, before he realised he didn’t have to. The ladies gathered around the soldiers, chatting and giggling. Was it the guns?

He had a gun. Maybe it was the uniforms as well. He slouched against the wall, folding his arms over his chest and scowling as the soldier who’d looked at him funny - he’d already forgotten his name - was led away by one of the ladies. He looked different somehow, standing straighter and walking with his head held high. And his eyes fixed firmly on the lady’s arse.
 

Jackson sniffed. Something wasn’t… he blinked and shook his head. The soldiers were here and the work had begun. He was doing his job, the job God had given him. With a smile he strolled to the window and stared down.
 

He was sitting in the lobby when Harriet came out. She flushed when she saw him and scooted across, greeting the ladies as she passed them, touching a hand or a shoulder. Jackson watched the sway of her hips and the press of her tits against her top and despite knowing exactly what lay beneath, his breathing sped up as he imagined tearing off her clothes.
 

She pulled a chair out from one of the smart white tables that dotted the area and sat facing him.
 

‘No one is to know.’

‘Funny, cos I was about to announce it.’

‘No one. Do you understand me?’

He grabbed the finger she thrust in his face and pulled her half off the chair. She dragged it with her so she was sat with her legs almost touching his face. It meant he could slide his other hand between her legs and pinch the soft flesh on the inside of her thigh. She moaned, so soft it sounded like a sigh, and he squeezed harder.
 

‘No one will know. But don’t think for a second you can tell me what to do. Do you understand that?’

She nodded, lower lip caught between her teeth. He pushed his hand further until he reached her pussy and ground his palm against it. She jerked forward on the chair, breathing ragged against his ear.
 

‘Control yourself. These women look up to you.’

She growled at him but she was smiling through hazy eyes. He sat back, rearranging his trousers. ‘Some soldiers arrived today.’

‘Soldiers?’

‘Some of the soldiers of God. The right ones. They’ve come to begin the work.’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘What work?’

‘We need to rebuild the human race. Your ladies were kidnapped for that reason. We’re doing it differently now. They have a choice. But we still need to do it.’

‘Is that why you and I?’

‘No. But you will bear my child and be grateful for being the one chosen to give birth to the next coming.’

‘Coming?’

What had he just said? His child was to be… tears filled his eyes as he stared up at the ceiling. Of course. It made sense. He was God’s chosen and she was strongest among his disciples. Where else would God’s representative on Earth come from? But to be responsible for the next Coming?

He felt the weight on his shoulders but he also felt the excitement, a thrumming in his veins that made him shiver and sit up straight. ‘That’s right. Our son will be God’s will on Earth, made flesh.’

Her mouth dropped open, right before she slapped him. He wasn’t sure if it was foreplay, but the scowl convinced him it wasn’t. ‘That’s blasphemy.’

‘Why? Joseph and Mary were ordinary people. I’m chosen by God to save the Earth, it makes sense I should bring the child into being.’

‘But…’ She shook her head, mouth opening and closing. Jackson was about to reply when he saw one of the soldiers come back into the room. It was the one who’d looked at him funny, wiping the side of his mouth with a thumb and sauntering like someone who’d just got his end away.
 

Jackson rose, ignoring Harriet’s protests, and made his way towards the soldier. The man ignored him, beckoning to another of the ladies. She went willingly and Jackson’s mouth fell open. They needed variety, what was this about? He drew closer and was about to complain when he got a good look at the man. He was gorgeous.
 

The moment the thought went through his mind he knew he was cursed. But he couldn’t take his eyes off him. He felt Harriet’s presence at his side and put a hand out to keep her there.
 

‘Who is he?’

He scowled at Harriet. ‘Just one of the soldiers. Come to do his duty.’

‘He can do my duty.’

He grabbed her wrist and squeezed, hard enough to feel the bones shift. She whimpered and he put his lips up close to her ear. The others were watching now, though whether they were looking at him or the soldier, he couldn’t say. ‘You’re mine. No one else’s. Do you understand?’

She tried to pull away and he set off down the corridor, dragging her with him.
 

‘Let m—’

He squeezed harder and her words cut off as she gasped. He glanced back and was relieved to see every woman in the room staring at the soldier. More than one was half out of their chair but he turned away and led his new lady back down the corridor. He could have all of them, but not Harriet.
 

They reached her room and he shoved her through the door. She tripped and sprawled, landing face down on the bed with her legs on the floor. He pinned her down and started to haul her trousers off. She was begging for it and the soldier’s face faded as he drove into her.
 

Krystal

She turned away from the bike and went for her sword.
 

‘Get on mine, get on the back.’

Her hand fell from the hilt as Luke pulled up alongside her. The space on which she had to sit was tiny, but she swung her leg over and pressed up against him. She grabbed the metal bar behind her just as he charged away.
 

She was going to fall. She was going to tumble off and be eaten. She pushed with everything she had and regained her balance, then clamped an arm around his chest. They shot away from the zombies and down the ramp onto the A2. The weaving began, in and out the stationary traffic. The wind tore at her hair, throwing it this way and that, and she soon gave up trying to watch where they were going.
 

Being on the back of the bike was like being at sea, tossed around by waves beyond her control. Dad had taken her sailing once, ages ago, and the only strong memory she had of it was feeling like this, of being out of control and at someone else’s mercy. Despite everything that had happened in the last week, she hadn’t felt like this. Not until now.
 

She pressed her head into his back and held on. She managed it for about five seconds before her stomach churned and she had to lift her head. It felt faster and wilder when she had her eyes closed and now as she watched the cars going past, it felt horribly slow. She expected a zombie to attack at any moment, reaching out from a car or appearing from behind a truck.
 

But the river came into view without anyone trying to kill them, and her breathing and nausea eased a little. The lights were still on for the most part and London glimmered as Luke turned right and drove alongside the Thames. Krystal had always loved the water at night. The dirt vanished in the reflections of thousands of street lamps and she lost herself there now, peering down into the darkness.
 

‘We need to find you a bike.’

‘Now?’

‘Why not?’

‘I’m tired and hungry, we’ve just escaped a bunch of zombies, your shoulder’s knackered—’

‘Actually, it doesn’t feel too bad. I think the ride will make it ache tomorrow morning, but I can move it now without too much pain.’

‘Okay, that pain? That’s the signal for you to curl up in bed and not move. That’s how your body works.’

She could feel his grin even sat behind him, but he shook his head. ‘It’s a weak signal at best. Speaking of which, I got a text a few minutes ago, can you reach my phone?’

She slipped her hand into his jacket and pulled it out. She was taken back to her early days on the street, where a phone meant twenty quid and fifty if you knew the right person. And pinched the right phone. She’d stopped it pretty quick. The police would ignore you so long as you were ignorable. Stealing stuff made you very much… norable? Whatever it was, they didn’t bother with the cells for people like her, just a night stick across the head and a feel up if they were that sort.
 

‘You’ll have to stop, I’m not letting go.’

The bike cruised to a standstill, with the railing on the left and a hotel towering above them on the right. The road was crammed with cars and more than one had their drivers still in place.
 

‘Is this the best place to stop?’ She asked.

‘Just look at the text, would you?’

She sniffed and brought the phone around.
 

Where the hell are you? It’s all gone to shit here. Bay x

‘She put a kiss.’

‘What?’

‘Oh, Bayleigh. Apparently everything’s screwed up back home, but she still put a kiss.’

‘What do you mean, everything’s screwed up?’

She read the message and watched as his shoulders rose. ‘What does that mean?’ He asked.

‘Dunno. We should probably get back, though.’

‘Mmm. We still need another bike.’

‘Why? Aren’t we gonna take a truck or something to get out the city anyway?’

‘I want to take bikes as well. We’ll need smaller transport once we’re out in the country.’

She sighed and stuck her fingers up at the back of his head. He gunned the engine. ‘Hang on.’

She grabbed the bar just in time as he set off. They weaved, moving even more slowly now. ‘Can you hold your sword?’ Luke said.