Counting Down (32 page)

“Good. He’s actually an okay guy, so I’d
hate to have to knock him out.”

“Yeah,
he’s got a good heart and he’s been a really good friend to me since we broke up.”

“Um…speaking of that, I wanted to tell you something.” She looked up and he went on. “You know what happened between you and Alex… the cheating bit?”

“Oh, I’m so ove
r that whole thing. Actually, I’m not sure I was
ever really under it.”

Kyle cupped her chin and looked her in the eye.
“He was wrong, no matter what his reasons were and I hope you know you’ll never have to worry about that with me.”

“Even if we learn to hate each other someday and I become a bitter and fickle old woman who wants to leave you?”

“Never gonna happen. I wouldn’t let you go. Not in a stalkerish way of course, but I’d fight for you, woo you, and seduce you all over again if that’s what it took. No matter how stubborn you might be.” He kissed the top of her head as though it was something he had been doing for years. “And I could never hate you. Maybe you’ll hate me at some point. I’m not the easiest man to live with.
But this is a forever sort of thing.
No refunds, no trade-ins. Just me and you.”

“Hmm… I like the sound of that.” Abby sighed blissfully and made a mental note to remember the moment down to every last detail.

No one had ever fought to have Abby before. They hadn’t cared enough to put forth the effort. Not even Alex. Not really anyway. His idea of fighting for her was trying to get her in to bed at every turn.
Maybe
no one who came before was supposed to fight for her because she hadn’t belonged with them. She belonged right where she was, in the arms of a man who had loved her for centuries. And she loved him back, god did she love him back. He consumed her every breath, her every thought. She needed him. And for the first time in her life the idea of needing someone else didn’t scare the crap out of her.

She smiled, brought her hand down to his belly. “So does all that mean I can do things like this now?”

He moaned as her hand took him, caressed him slowly. He rolled her body so that she was straddling him and clutched at her backside. “I’m all yours.” Lifting her hips, he closed his eyes, sunk her down until they were joined together again. “I’ve always been yours.”

* * *

Abby left the bathroom, closing the
door quietly behind her.
It was at least three in the morning
and the bunker was eerily still. As she headed back to bed the bathroom door opened again. She turned, pulled it shut and made sure the latch had caught. When she removed her hand it fell open again. She glanced behind her and saw the glowing yellow light of David sitting in the corner. She hadn’t seen him sitting there before. Where had he come from?

His light had always been muddier than the brothers. It was dark and cold while Sam and Jake always seemed covered in gold. This was something Abby had assumed, until recently, was just a random variation.

Without saying a word to him she started walking back to her bunk. An unseen force stopped her mid step.

“You two created quite the light show earlier.” He walked to her casually, spoke close to her ear. “Was it good for you? The sounds alone had me picturing you for myself. You look like a wild one.”

Abby spoke between clenched teeth. “What are you doing David?”

He shrugged. “Just wanted to see if you were giving it up to everyone now. You’ve slept with at least two men in this bunker. Maybe three.” He paused, stretched a crude smile over his lips. “I’m sure you’ve entertained Jake’s fantasies at least once or twice. I just thought, since you were making the rounds, we could create some light of our own.”

“Is that your way of calling me a whore?”

He shrugged
again
, scratched his head. “If it walks like a duck… well you know the rest.”

Abby glared at him and said nothing. When he moved closer to touch her hair, she glanced towards the curtain where she knew Kyle was sleeping soundly beyond.

“Why don’t you call out to him now? Are you accepting my invitation?”

She narrowed her eyes, met his stare straight on. “No. I am not. But he’s killed enough for one lifetime. And the rest of us have had our share of death. I wouldn’t want to add yours to the body count.”

“You know, you’re pretty in your own way. Nice curves.” His hand moved down to her waist, ran along her hips.

“I wasn’t being dramatic David. He’ll kill you if he finds out about this. And I’m sure he’ll wait until you’re sleeping to do it.”

He chuckled. It was an ugly sound that came from a hollow place inside him. His hand moved and he released her from his invisible grip. “Let me know if you change your mind. We could lead them together. Just the two of us.”

Abby felt an angry fire stir inside her gut. “I’d rather die.”

His face was still close to hers. “That can be arranged too. But I’d prefer it my way. You would be so nice to keep around. Very entertaining I’ll bet. Tell me, how many men have you been with? I like experienced women.”

She walked away again, trying to keep steady, fighting the urge to run to Kyle.

“I wouldn’t mention this to him if I were you,” David said from behind her. “That is unless you want him to have another accident.”

Abby shuddered and flung the curtain back. She speed walked back to bed and climbed in, pressing her body into Kyle and soaking in his warmth.

He nuzzled her neck in his sleep, pulled her closer. “Everything okay?” he asked.

Abby remembered to keep her thoughts hidden from him and tried to sound normal. “Yes. Everything’s fine. Go back to sleep
, Love
.”

Wednesday, January 23nd 2013, 2:12pm

D
ead chickens were notoriously disgusting things.
At least that was the general consensus when Kyle pulled the bird from the freezer.

“Oh good god,” Jake said. “That’s just beyond gross. I can’t believe you carried that thing in here.”

Sam, in his usual quiet fashion, choked on a gag and covered his mouth from behind his brother.

Kyle stifled a grin. “We’ve all had chicken nuggets before guys. It’s really not that bad.”

“Yes it is,” Evie said. “Chicken nuggets don’t have eyes and beaks and little feet.”

“Or feathers,” Hanna added.

Abby stood in the back of the group with Hanna.
Both of them had their hands pressed against their mouths. Abby glanced towards David, met his eyes with a venom laced glare.

She hadn’t mentioned the incident from the night before to Kyle and she wasn’t sure whether or not to take David’s threats seriously yet. She only hoped that once they were able to leave the bunker that David would go off on his own and never return to the farm. If not… well she didn’t like to think about the trouble he could cause.

“So… you want me to make it cluck again right?” Hanna asked through her fingers.

Kyle nodded. “That’s the plan. I think it’s how we’re going to, not only repopulate the planet with animals, but feed ourselves as well.”

“We’ll help if you need us to Hanna,” Abby said. “Kyle and I haven’t used the power as much as you have, but we can certainly lend you something extra.”

Hanna removed her hand from her mouth, jiggled her arms at her sides, and stepped up to the lifeless poultry on the countertop. With a deep breath she settled her hands over the bird and began sending her blue light into its body.

Before their eyes the chicken began to change. It’s grey, dead skin turned pink and feathers grew back over the bald spots. The eye sockets filled again with big shining pupils.

Hanna gasped, drew her hands away. “It’s still dead.”

“Yeah, and it still stinks,” Jake said.

Again Sam gagged, turned around and clutched his stomach.

“Give it a little more Hanna,” Abby said. “Think about jump starting the heart.” She placed her hand on Hanna’s shoulder and the girl continued.

Abby’s light shimmered into blue and she allowed the energy to radiate from her hand and into Hanna. Immediately the red head’s glow brightened, deepening into an almost opaque shade of sky.

In a matter of seconds the bird blinked, made a very chicken-like sound, and jumped to its feet.

As a group they laughed and applauded Hanna and her freckled cheeks lit up with red.

“Well done,” Kyle said with a laugh. “Whoa, someone grab that bird.”

Abby jumped aside, laughed as the chicken ran past her feet and straight into Alex’s waiting arms. The dogs jumped below him, trying to get the bird from his grasp.

“I got it. No thanks to this one,” Alex said glancing at Abby.

“Sorry. I’m not used to being around attack chickens.”

Kyle smiled at her, brushed a hand against hers before leaning in to whisper. “Good job. She wouldn’t have found the strength without your help.”

“Um… guys. What do you want me to do with this thing?” Alex held the chicken in front of him like it was a bomb about to explode.

Kyle looked up. “Kill it.”

The girls gasped, Jake made a face, and Sam looked close to retching again.

Jim was the first to recover.
“We’re going to eat it?
”

Kyle pursed his lips, nodded. “Yup. We all need to get used to killing our dinner from now on.”

“I’ll do it,” David said and stepped up from his sulking corner.

Kyle eyed him. A worried look passed through his olive eyes. “That’s okay Dave. I’ll do it.”

“Really, I don’t mind,” David replied.

“Yes, I’m sure you don’t.” Kyle’s brows came together. “But I’ll take care of it. We’ll make a lesson of it.”

“Oh god, please no,” Evie said. “I can’t watch. Can’t I just live out my life letting you guys kill my dinner?”

“If you want,” Kyle said with a shrug. “Eventually, it’s something you’ll need to get used to though. Supermarkets are not coming back any time soon and we’ll need meat to stay healthy.”

He was right. There would be no more vacuum packed chicken breasts, no neatly sealed pounds of ground beef. Their rations wouldn’t last forever and, while vegetarianism was a choice in a modern society that manufactured dietary supplements, malnutrition would be the only result in the world they suddenly found themselves in. They either learned to kill or they would starve.

“Yeah,” Evie finally said. “I guess you’re right.”

Kyle took the chicken from Alex and held it upside down by its feet. “Sorry little guy.” He positioned his other hand low on the chicken’s neck and snapped his wrist until a resounding crack echoed through the bunker.

“Ah Jesus.” Alex’s groan mingled with little screams from the girls.

Sam ran to the bathroom looking green.

The bird’s wings continued to flap, hitting Abby in the face with air. Her eyes were on Kyle. He was looking past her face, his eyes not focused. He was having a vision.

She touched his arm, avoiding the dying bird. “What is it?”

“Give me a second,” he said.

H
e
took steady breaths through his mouth, still gazing past her head until the chicken’s wings finally stopped flapping.

Kyle blinked, scrunched his brows together at Abby. “There are more Gleamers coming.”

“More like them?” Abby asked pointing to the others.

He shook his head once. “No, they’re different. The other colors. They are being drawn here the way the others were.”

There was a hush among the group. Everyone in the room was now listening to Kyle.