Apocalypse Empire (Book 1): Apocalypse Origins (13 page)

"Ready, Jeremy?" 

Jeremy made no move to attack. He was furious. That could be
seen easily enough. He was also at least slightly insane but not so far gone
that he would attack Jackson after how quickly he had put down his friends.

"What's wrong?" Jackson asked. "Where's all
that bluster from a moment ago? Can't do anything without your friends. Well
think about this," he said.

"Come here, Shirley."

Shirley frowned and move to stand at Jackson's side. As soon
as she reached him, Jackson grabbed her around the waist and kissed
her fiercely on the mouth. Jackson released her and she stood next to
him breathless.

"You see that, Jer? First opportunity I get, I'm gonna
take her someplace nice and quiet and well...let's just say I'm gonna run my
hands all up and down that silky skin of hers."

Shirley flushed next to Jackson. Why was he talking like
this? Is that what he wanted? And that kiss. It had only been for a moment but
she was still recovering. No man had ever kissed her like that. She pushed the
thought from her mind. Now was not the time to be thinking about Jackson. 

Jeremy's face twisted in anger at Jackson's words. With a
roar, he rushed forward. Jackson moved to meet him and caught him in a hug.
 Jeremy groaned in pain and looked down. Jackson had buried his make-shift
knife up to the hilt in his stomach. He groaned as the strength left his body.
Jackson laid him on the ground. 

"So, you're going to die now, Jer." He twisted the
knife a bit and Jeremy screamed in agony. He removed the knife and blood
immediately started pooling through Jeremy's fingers as he tried to stop the
flow.

"I could've made that quick, but you're really a prick.
I kinda felt you needed to suffer a bit. So as you're dying, I want you to
think about how Shirley will never think about you again." Jeremy moaned
again. Jackson was curious as to whether he was in more pain from the wound or
the thought of Shirley being with someone else.

Jackson stood. "Alright, we're done here."

Shirley nodded and followed him towards the exit. They knelt
behind one of the partitions fashioned for the bathrooms. The guard looked
nervous, maybe he was worried about his friends in the common area. 

"What do we do?" Shirley whispered quietly.

"I need you to distract him," Jackson whispered
back.

"How?"

"Doesn't matter. You can say anything. Just need you to
keep him busy long enough for me to get behind him. When you talk to him, stand
on either side. That way I can sneak up."

Shirley nodded. She stood and walked towards the guard. The
guard looked in her direction at the sound of her footsteps.

"You lost, lady?"

"No," Shirley said shaking her head, "I want
to get out of here. Someone just got shot!"

"Sorry, lady. Can't open this door. Can't risk the
infected getting inside."

"I'm supposed to stay here with people getting
shot?"

"I'm sure everything is under control b-" the
guard crumpled to the ground as Jackson delivered a solid blow to his head.
Jackson hit him again for good measure and the guard's eyes shut.

"Great job," Jackson said. "Surprised you
went with the truth."

Shirley shrugged. "I was too nervous to do anything
else."

"Well, it worked. Get the door for me."

Shirley pushed the door open and Jackson dragged the guard's
body into the stairwell. He then set about to stripping him of anything useful.
He took the guard's rifle and sidearm along with an extra clip of ammunition
for each. The guard also had a proper combat knife which Jackson happily took.
He then took off the guard's belt so he'd have a way to hold some of his new
gear. The guard was also wearing a tactical vest that Jackson removed. 

"Here," Jackson said as he handed Shirley the
vest, "put this on."

"Shouldn't you wear it?" Shirley asked.

Jackson shook his head. "I'm too big to fit it but it
should work for you. It'll be big but it'll give you some protection."
Shirley nodded as she put the vest on.

"Take this too," he said handing her the pistol.
The safety's on, so you're fine. I'll show you how to use it later."

"Where do I put it?"

"Hold on." Jackson removed the thigh holster from
the guard and help Shirley get into it. 

"There you go. Don't go using that until I show you
some things. I don't want you to shoot your foot or something."

Shirley nodded. She'd never handled a gun before but she
liked the idea of being able to protect herself. Jackson then motioned for
Shirley to follow and led the way upstairs. The door to the first floor had a
wind cut out in it and Jackson used that to make sure the coast was clear. They
were in a different part of the building than when they had first entered.
Whoever had built the shelter had definitely made some modifications to the
basic layout of the building. 

Shirley felt this was a good thing. That hopefully meant that
they wouldn't run into any guards on their way out. Jackson led her to an exit
and waited for her to catch up.

"Ready?" he asked.

Shirley nodded and Jackson opened the door and stepped
outside. It was dark out so Shirley stayed close to Jackson as he led the way.
He stuck to side streets and alleys for the most part. Shirley's feet quickly
grew sore in her shoes, despite the fact that Jackson had broken off the heels.
They walked for what seemed like hours when Jackson motioned for her to stop.

They were near a brick wall that was about seven feet high.
Shirley wondered why Jackson had stopped here. Was something wrong? She noticed
Jackson staring through the wall and moved to get a closer look and saw that a
gate was placed in the wall. Inside she saw a town home that had a
well-kept backyard. The lights were all off but she didn't see any sign of
damage. 

"We're gonna stay here for the night," Jackson
whispered.

"Is it safe? What if someone's home?"

"Then I'll persuade them to let us stay the
night," he said. He motioned for her to follow. "Stay close. We'll
check things out to make sure it's safe first." He tried the knob on the
gate but it refused to open. He tried to reach through the bars to reach the
lock but couldn't get his hands through.

"See if you can reach the lock."

Shirley nodded and replaced Jackson at the gate. It was
tough, but she just managed to undo the latch. She looked to Jackson with a
triumphant smile and he nodded.

"Great work," he said. He led the way inside and
motioned for her to close the gate behind them. Heading towards the house they
saw a set of glass double doors. Jackson tried them and smiled when they opened
at his touch.

He waited for Shirley to enter and locked the door behind
her. He fished for his cell phone and used it to light their way. "No
lights," he whispered quietly. Don't want anyone to know we're here. If
everything checks out, we can cover the windows or something so we don't have
to sit in the dark all night."

Shirley nodded and followed Jackson as he explored the
house. They didn't see anything on the first floor and headed upstairs. They
saw two bedrooms and a bathroom. A quick search showed signs of someone having
left in a hurry. Both rooms had clothes strewn over the beds and the closet
doors were hanging open.

"Looks like they left in a hurry," Shirley
whispered.

"Looks that way," Jackson responded in a normal
voice. 

"What now?" Shirley asked.

"I'm gonna make sure the front door is locked. Then we
can look around for some food. Hopefully they left something."

"Food sounds great right now."

Jackson smiled. "Why don't you look for some sheets or
something. I want to cover the windows before we turn on any lights." He
handed her his cell phone and headed downstairs.

Shirley used the light to look for a linen closet. She found
what she needed in the hallway. Fortunately, the family hadn't taken everything
with them. Shirley grabbed several sheets and headed downstairs. 

Jackson met her at the stairs and they took some time to
cover all the windows. A search of the kitchen turned up some duct tape and
they used that to tape a sheet over the glass doors leading to the
backyard. 

"Alright," Jackson said. "Go ahead and turn
on a light."

Shirley used the phone to find the switch in the kitchen and
flicked it on. Shirley sighed in relief. She was hoping that wouldn't have to
spend the whole night in the dark.

"Let's find some food," Jackson said. Shirley
nodded and they looked through all of the cabinets. There wasn't a great deal
left but they managed to find several cans of food. A search of the fridge
turned up some frozen meat as well as some lettuce and vegetables.

"Let's save the canned stuff," Jackson said,
"we'll want that when we leave."

"Okay," Shirley said as she nodded towards the
meat Jackson had taken out of the freezer, "I hope you don't expect me to
cook that."

"You can't cook?" Jackson asked with a raised
eyebrow.

"I'm a famous anchorwoman that makes a great salary. I
eat out alot."

Jackson chuckled. "Well famous anchorwoman, we're gonna
have to change that."

"That's a terrible idea. I burn popcorn."

Jackson laughed. "Okay so we have a lot of work to do
then."

"A lot of work," Shirley emphasized. "You
sure you want to take that on?"

"I'm pretty sure I can handle it," Jackson said as
he looked her in the eyes.

Shirley flushed. They were still talking about food right?
She walked over to the fridge to look inside. She grabbed he lettuce and
vegetables and set them on the counter.

"I can make a salad," she announced.

"You sure?" Jackson asked smiling.

Shirley laughed. "Yes, I’m sure. There's no cooking
involved. No way for me to mess it up."

"I suppose. Make sure you peel those cucumbers."

"Why wouldn't I? Who eats cucumbers with the skin
on?"

"Weirdos as far as I'm concerned," 

They laughed and spent the next few hours making small talk
while Jackson cooked the meat on the stove. When it was done they brought
everything into the dining room and sat at the table. The next few minutes was
filled with the sounds of them eating. Days of just having a single meal had
left them ravenous. Each of them had seconds while Jackson helped himself to a
third plate.

"I'm so full I'm gonna burst," Shirley said.

"Good feeling isn't it?" Jackson asked. 

Shirley smiled. "You're a great cook by the way. Tasted
like I was eating something at a restaurant."

"I aim to please," Jackson said with a smile.

"Where did you learn to cook like that?"

"I learned when I got out of prison actually. I was
there for ten years you know. So, that's ten years of really crappy food. When
I got out I promised myself I wouldn't eat like that if I could help it. I
grabbed a cook book and started cooking."

"Why were you at the studio? You should've been a chef
or something."

Jackson smiled. "I wanted to do that for a while
actually. I actually went to school for it when I got out. No one would hire me
with the record though. Not in this city. I only got the job at the studio
because my mom knew someone there from her college days."

"Sorry," Shirley said," didn't think about
that."

Jackson waved it away. "Nothing to be sorry for. Not
your fault. And it's not like it was bad working at the studio. I made enough
to have my own place and pay all the bills. So, not bad overall."

"It's not what you wanted to do though."

Jackson shook his head. "I did what I love to do. I
cooked all the time. Just didn't make my living doing it."

Shirley nodded. "That's a positive way of looking at
it."

Jackson shrugged. "Alright, your turn. What's with
Jeremy? 

Shirley shrugged. "He seemed harmless when I met him.
I've never seen that side of him before. The short version is I knew that I
wouldn't be famous forever. If I ever lost ratings, the station would have
replaced me in a heartbeat. Jeremy was my insurance that I could keep living
the way I was used to."

Jackson nodded. "That makes sense."

"Does that make me sound horrible? I didn't even love
him."

Jackson shrugged. "You were doing what you felt you
needed to do. Why live poor if you can do something about it? That doesn't make
you horrible. It just makes you someone who knew what they wanted and went for
it."

To Shirley's surprise, she felt a bit of relief at Jackson's
words. It was nice that someone accepted her for who she was. With her normal
circle of friends, she felt like she had to put on a high wire act every time
she met with them. They were constantly judging one another, looking for any
excuse to put you down. When she'd become part of high society as it were,
she'd thought she'd finally made it. That she'd be able to relax and enjoy the
finer things in life. Her new status had given her access to privileges
the regular folk of Emerald Falls could only dream off. But the price, she
could never have been herself with any of her high society friends. 

She felt safe with Jackson. Not just physically, but
emotionally as well. Jackson didn't judge her. Even after knowing why she'd
done certain things. Was this what it felt like to have a real friend? She'd
had friends before of course. Before she'd made it big at WKJ, she'd had her
share of friends. When she entered high society though, she'd left them all
behind. There hadn't been a lot, just two or three that she recalled. She'd
forgotten what it was like to have someone you could talk to. A relationship
that wasn't a performance filled with hidden expectations. 

Jackson set his for aside and gave a sigh of contentment.
"That hit the spot."

Shirley chuckled. "I think we hit more than just the
spot."