Fallen Grace (5 page)

The room in which we stood was connected to the front of the house by a short hallway paneled in dark-colored wainscoting and a whitewashed interior door.

“Should we check the rest of the place out?” I asked very quietly while motioning toward the white door.

“Let’s check out this side first,” said Gus as he ascertained that the interior door was locked.

“There’s a stairway here,” said Bobby.

She was standing to our left, holding back a curtain that I had assumed led to a pantry or storage room. Leading up was a narrow set of stairs that was unusually steep.

“I’ll go first,” offered our hero.

As he climbed the stairway, several treads emitted a squeak or groan. Aside from that, we were met with silence.

As he disappeared from our sight, he called down. “Come on up, girls. Lock that back door first, ok?”

“I’ll get it,” offered Bobby.

As she set to her task, I hurried up the stairway. I had to duck at the top as the pitch of the roof threatened to collide with my head.

“Awesome,” I said in awe as I looked around.

It was a converted attic space with a window that looked out to the street in front. It had been set up as the shop owner’s quarters. There was a twin sized bed, a small table, a TV that I knew wouldn’t work, and a large vinyl bean bag in a sleazy silver tone.

“A candle. Thank God,” I moaned.

“Why so excited, darlin’?” asked Gus.

“Cause we forgot to pack flashlights. I know…it was stupid.”

“We’ll be fine.”

He walked to me and wrapped his strong arms around me. “We’ve made it this far. We’ll keep going, and be ok.”

I nodded and let him hold me close.

If I lose you, I don’t want to keep living. I hadn’t meant for him to hear that particular thought.

You always have to live, Zoe. Always.

The sound of Bobby clearing her throat interrupted our moment of intimate silence. Gus kept me close, but I turned around in his arms to face her.

“Lookie what I found,” she whispered and smiled. “Pringles and Pepsi! And some whiskey!”

Bobby held the twelve-pack of soda out to us. I took it in my arms eagerly, finally breaking Gus’ embrace. In her other hand was a tube of chips, and a second in the crook of her arm, alongside the whiskey bottle.

“Are they full?” I asked eagerly.

“Unopened and full as can be!” she said with a bigger smile.

“Nice work, Bobby. Let’s grab a snack and take shifts sleeping. Three hours each?” suggested Gus.

“Let’s do two shifts of four hours. Bobby, you go ahead and Gus and I will take the first watch.”

“Sure.”

***

We sat together on a small area rug in the middle of the floor, staying away from the front window. There was only one can of soda missing from the box so we each drank a full can and decided to leave the rest for later, as well as one tube of chips. We divided the other tube fairly equally between us, eating in relative silence. Since Gus was the largest of us, Bobby ad I slyly let him eat a few more.

“Ok, Bobby. Take the bed and sleep. We’ll wake you in four,” said Gus.

“I need to pee first,” she said with a sigh.

“I didn’t see a bathroom. Think you can find a pot in the kitchen and dump it down the sink?”

“Good idea, Gus. I’ll get creative.”

As Bobby disappeared back down the stairs, I searched through the drawer of the small night stand for matches; there were none, but I was lucky to find a lighter hidden behind a picture frame that sat on the top of the piece of furniture. The photo was of a pretty woman maybe in her forties with long black hair and dark skin. She was smiling shyly and held a sunflower in her hands.

“Found a lighter,” I mumbled.

“Let’s cover the window before we try to light it.”

“I left a soup pot next to the sink,” said Bobby, reappearing from her potty break.

“Thanks,” said Gus. “We were just talking about covering the window before lighting the candle. Go ahead and try to sleep and Zoe and I’ll take care of it before full-on dark.”

Bobby, not worried about modesty, stripped out of her clothes down to her bra and panties before climbing into the small bed. I noted that Gus had politely averted his eyes.

“Sweet dreams, Bobby,” I whispered.

“Keep us safe,” she grumbled. Moments later she was snoring softly.

“Ok, let’s block off that window,” I said with a sigh. “Light might show through fabric. How about we move something solid in front of it then drape a blanket around the edges?”

“Good thinkin’. If we had a door we could take off the hinges that’d work. Nothing else up here is big enough except for the bed mattress.”

I began looking around the room for something else suitable. “The area rug might work. It’s thick enough.”

“Perfect.”

“How will we hang it?”

“Nails.”

“You brought some?”

“Ayup.”

“You sound tired, Gus. Maybe you should sleep and I’ll stay up.”

“Not a chance. I want to sleep with you in my arms.”

“Ok. Will you need tools this time?” I asked
snarkily.

“Why yes I will,” he said with a chuckle. “I want to keep the noise down, so I’ll make it quick.”

He walked to the corner where his pack sat and retrieved a hammer and some rather large nails. I watched as he pushed the nails through the corners of the area rug.

“Help me hold it up while I pound the nails?”

“Uh huh. Sure”

I helped hold the thick rug up to the wall. “Think
it’s wool?” I asked absently.

“Feels like it. Nice and heavy.”

It took about five minutes to hammer the nails. Gus made sure he stretched the rug to avoid pockets of light from escaping.

“Think that’ll be good?” I asked.

“I do. Let’s go sit by the candle light?”

“Sounds good.”

I walked quietly to the nightstand and lit the candle. The small room filled with flickering and shadows. He took my hand in his and led me to the oversized bean bag. I waited for him to sit, and then situated myself just below his lap, between his legs.

“We haven’t talked about your heart.”

“I’m not really sure what to say about it.”

His strong fingers began kneading the muscles between my shoulders and my neck. I groaned, not realizing how tense they had become.

“Be careful what noises you make, Missy.”

He worked his magic just a bit harder, daring me to groan again.

“That hunter, Gus. I didn’t mention it to the others, but it saw things with colors around them. Living things were white. Dead were…red. You were…”

“Red?”

“Yes.”

I heard him sigh and his fingers stopped kneading.

“Zoe, turn around and look at me.”

I resituated myself onto my knees so that I faced him. His rugged face was aglow from the small candle we hat lit, exaggerating the angle of his strong jaw. I lifted a hand to his cheek and touched him.

“Your skin is warm,” I whispered.

I trailed my thumb slowly and lightly over his bottom lip.

He took my other hand in his and placed it over the left side of his chest. He breathed deeply.

“You’re breathing,” I said.

“I’m not dead, Zoe. I’m very much alive.”

“I know.”

“Then why do you look so sad, darlin’?”

“Because I’m afraid you’ll slip to the other side at any time.”

“No. Whatever is inside of us, it’s doing strange things. Rest assured that I would fight the other side with my entire being to stay here with you.”

“Make love to me?” I asked quietly while looking into the depths of his eyes.

He grinned. “Bobby’s just a few yards away.”

“She’s asleep.”

He leaned down and kissed me deeply; eagerly. I returned the affection, searching his mouth with my own.

“I promise I’ll be quiet,” I whispered against his neck, pleading for his affection.

“It’s not you I’m worried about,” he said breathlessly.

I slid my hands down to his shirt and began working at the buttons.

“Please?” I tried to make myself sound as pathetic as possible.

He brought his hands to my own as if trying to stop my advance, but as I began sucking on the flesh of his neck he used his fingers to help me instead with the task of unbuttoning. In short order, his chest was bared and he was pulling my t-shirt up over my head. He expertly unhooked the back of my bra, freeing my still swollen breasts. They were the only physical reminder of Molly left.

“May I?” he whispered, which instantly sent a tingling sensation to my core, and deep into my pelvis.

I nodded in silent reply, and he eagerly leaned down and drew my left breast into his mouth. He sucked deeply but gently until I felt the familiar flow of milk begin. I could tell he was holding back on making his usual sounds of pleasure. My body was longing for his in so many ways. Not just physically, but it was as if my soul needed to intertwine with his.

I wrapped my legs around him as he enjoyed my body. I stroke the back of his head lovingly. He didn’t stop until he had switched to the other breast and drained them both. Only then did he lift his head, looking me tenderly in the eyes.

I love you, Zoe.

Before I could respond either verbally or in my thoughts, he had leaned forward and had his mouth over mine again. Without realizing it, we were both standing. Gus’ hands were madly working at pulling my pants down, and I his.

I broke our fevered kiss just long enough to ‘shush’ him for a moment.

“Listen.”

We listened for the silence of the night, and Bobby’s continued soft snores.

“She’s still asleep,” he whispered back.

He leaned down and put his hands on my now-bare thighs, and lifted me to him. I wrapped myself around him as he lowered us both back onto the bean bag. We clung to each other, our hands exploring each other in a rhythm to which I was unaccustomed; there was slowness and sweetness and something much like desperation.

Feeling his hardness beneath me, I took his face in my hands and kissed him passionately while I adjusted myself to accept him inside of me. Once I was sure we were in position, I eased myself onto his manhood and bit my lip to keep from crying out from the pleasure I felt. Gus ended up groaning, albeit muffled. I began grinding against him, taking him deeper than usual. I was frantic to be one with him. Despite a certain amount of pain from our size difference, I moaned gently in sheer pleasure as I felt him moving back and forth within me. I picked up my pace, rocking my pelvis back and forth faster and faster.

“Zoe, you got to slow down girl, or I’m gonna finish too soon,” he whispered quietly.

Unable to help myself, I kept my pace and closed my eyes, wanting to focus all of my senses on just feeling him.

“Oh God Almighty,” he groaned, a little too loudly.

As he found his release, I let go of my own and joined him in ecstasy. We stayed in each other’s arms, naked, for the rest of our watch; not talking, just holding onto one another.

I woke when Gus squirmed out from underneath me to wake Bobby.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” I moaned.

“It’s ok. I managed alone. Besides, it was nice to just hold you while you slept.”

“Are you going to wake Bobby?”

“Yes. It’ll be morning soon. I just need to catch an hour or two before we head out again.”

“I need to pee.”

“Want me to come down with you?”

“Nah, go ahead and sleep. I’ll be back up in a couple minutes.”

He leaned down and kissed me lightly on the lips. As he walked to the twin bed to wake Bobby, I stood and stretched. I quickly pulled my underthings and t-shirt back on and made my way down the narrow stairs. There was just enough moonlight streaming through the window above the sink for me to find my way. It didn’t take long to find the pot that Bobby had left on the counter.

I had just finished relieving myself when Bobby stepped off the last stair tread to join me in the kitchen.

“Hi, Zoe.”

“Hey. Sleep well?”

“Yeah, just not long enough.”

“I fell asleep. I think I’m awake for the day, if you want to head back for a while,” I offered.

“Can I come too?” asked a deep male voice from a dark corner near the door, startling us both.

“Fuck!” yelled Bobby.

Whoever was in the kitchen with us chuckled, and they didn’t sound friendly. I backed up against the counter, feeling for anything I might use as a weapon. Stupidly, I hadn’t brought my pistol down with me. I came up empty handed.

“Who are you?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level and full of authority.

Bobby had grabbed my hand and stood very close to me. I squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“Never mind who I am. I have a gun aimed at you and there’s dead fuckers outside. You two live here?”

“That’s none of your business,” said Bobby. Her voice held a hint of fear.

“Tis now,” snarled the man. “Is it just you two?”

“Yes,” I mumbled, not wanting him to know about Gus. “What do you want?”

I heard the man stand. He must have been sitting on a chair because it grated on the floor as he pushed it away.

“Some food, drink…fine women. That all sounds good to me.”

“Well, we don’t have any of that here,” said Bobby.

The man entered the pool of moonlight in the middle of the room. He was big; over six feet tall with broad shoulders. He looked like he’d been eating well and as he neared us the scent of alcohol and unwashed hair became offending. He wore a goatee that was ragged and maybe six inches long. It was impossible to tell what shade it was with the moonlight washing out colors, but I suspected black or dark brown.

“Oh, well,” said the man as he patted his belly. “We can skip the food and drink.” An evil grin spread out across his face. I could see dark spots of rot all over his teeth. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll let you two chose. One at a time or both of you at once.”

He followed his idea with a deep belly laugh. I cringed.

“
Yeah, neither, thanks,” said Bobby. “Even if I did guys, I wouldn’t do you.”

“Oh, a feisty one huh? No guys? You sure don’t look like no butch. I’ll show you what it’s like to have a real man inside of you; make you change your mind,
Sugarpie.”

I squeezed Bobby’s hand more firmly. I wasn’t about to let this man hurt either of us.

Gus!

I did my best to ‘think’ to him, hoping he’d hear me in his head; praying he wasn't asleep yet.

Gus!

I had no indication that he was aware of my calling to him.

“Fuck you,” said Bobby.

The intruder lunged forward, back handing Bobby across the face. She stumbled backward and winced as she came into contact with the counter.

“Stop it!” I hissed.

Bobby fell to the floor and curled into a ball. I could tell she was in pain. The man kicked her in the side, repeatedly and hard. She yelled out. I did the only thing I could do; I lunged forward to strike at the man.

“Get off her!”

“Oh, I’ll get her off!” he yelled as he pushed me down. “I’ll have my turn with you first then get her off real good!”

His eyes were full of a mixture of rage and lust. He came at me again, punching me in the face. The little bit of light in the room went dark, other than tiny bits of sparkling virtual glitter behind my eyes. He had made contact with my left jaw and the pain was intense. I could taste blood in my mouth from where I must have bitten my cheek. I put my hands in front of my face to protect myself as I felt the man’s large, stenchy body attempt to engulf me.

GUS!

The crazed man wrapped his arms around me, constricting me to the point of making breathing a chore. He pulled me up from the floor and pinned me against a wall. At this point I was ready to actually scream Gus’ name, but unable to catch my breath well enough to be effective. “Guh…” was about as much as I could muster, in a low groan.

“Stop fighting and it’ll be easier on you,” whispered the man. His breath reeked of whiskey, stale tobacco, and vomit. I wanted to gag.

I brought my left leg up, hoping to strike him in the crotch with my knee. I was greatly unsuccessful and realized the attempt only infuriated him. He shoved backward on my hip, knocking me into the wall. As my lower back painfully struck a chair rail, he grabbed my hair and twisted it through his fat fingers. With his other hand, he began roughly pulling at my panties.

GUS! I screamed in my mind as I grew panicked. At the same time, a familiar buzzing grew in my head, growing irritatingly by the second.

“Bobby,” I choked out as the man’s mouth found its way to my neck. “Bobby, help!” I was crying now, my words drowned in my tears. I struggled as hard as I was able, not only out of instinct to get away from the madman trying to violate me but also knowing the dead were nearing.

“She’s not helping you, so just stop struggling!” said the man with great irritation.

I could barely make out Bobby’s form on the floor as she struggled to stand. I could tell she was in bad shape.

“Gus!” I finally heard Bobby call out. “GUS!”

“Who the fuck is Gus?” asked the man as he pressed himself against me. I took notice that he seemed unable to get it up, to my great relief.

I heard the floor boards above squeak.

Gus, he hurt Bobby, I thought quickly. He has a gun.

The man covered my mouth with one of his sweaty hands. “I said, who
is Gus?” spat the man at me harshly.

My eyes grew wide as I heard Gus rush down the stairs. He appeared crazed. His hair a mess, and he was wearing only his boxers. He made a brief survey of the room, to the best of his abilities in the moonlight. As soon as he saw the man holding me against the wall, his face turned into a mask of pure rage. The man punched me in the gut to incapacitate me, causing me to drop to the floor. He turned to face Gus’ oncoming attack. He realized too late that he had set his gun down.

Gus grabbed the man by the front of his filthy shirt and threw him to the ground.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing to my woman?” he screamed just before he landed a blow to the man’s face.

I had slumped to the floor in pain, and could only watch. Bobby had made her way to a corner of the room, where she huddled in fear.

The intruder tried to fight back, but Gus was full of adrenaline and continued to hold the larger man down.

“Answer me, you piece of shit! What the fuck were you trying to do to my woman?”

I had never seen Gus this angry before and my thoughts flashed to Boggs and his recent outbursts.

“Gus, there’s Roamers outside!” I choked out as I pulled my panties back up.

The man pinned beneath Gus began chuckling. It was a bone-chilling sound full of evil.

“I’ll nail her here in front of you,” the words spewed from his mouth.

Gus was sent over the edge. He stood, and then landed a foot into the man’s ribs. I could hear Bobby whimpering from the corner. Gus leaned down and grabbed onto the man’s shirt again, pulling him back to his feet. He swung his fist and landed a blow on the side of the man’s face, causing him to stumble backward. Gus rushed forward and grabbed onto the man’s arm, twisting it painfully behind his back. I could feel Gus’ anger deep within my core.

“Zoe, get ready to open the back door.”

How Gus was able to calmly give me instructions was beyond me. It was completely out of character with the actions he was taking. He had secured the intruder expertly, likely from his days in the military. He forced the man toward the doorway that led to the small yard area out back of the building.

Gus looked at me when I hadn’t moved from my spot on the floor against a wall.

“Zoe, darlin’, I need you to open the door. Now.”

I held my stomach as I stood gingerly, the pain still making it difficult to breathe let alone move.

“I’m trying, Gus, I swear.”

“The fucker hurt you,” he said angrily as he shoved the man forward into the door. “Damnit!”

I slowly made my way to the door, not wanting to get near the man who had nearly raped me. Gus obviously sensed my feelings on the matter and pulled the man backward and away from me.

“Fucking let go of me,” bellowed the nasty man. “Or I’ll fucking mess you up too!”

“Zoe, the door, darlin’,” said Gus patiently. His actions spoke their own words as he twisted the man’s arm painfully. “Be careful, the dead are right outside.”

I could hear the moans of the Roamers already, and knew by their signatures in my brain that they were right outside. They were different than most. Old. Slow. Weakened. I kept one hand on my side to bind it, which helped with the pain a bit. I used the other to unlock the doorknob and twist until the door was freed from its frame. I swung it inward and looked at Gus. I already knew exactly what he was planning to do with the man. I knew that by opening the door, I was just as guilty of the act as Gus. I found myself not caring.

“Oh no you won’t!” yelled the man, which drew the attention of the Roamers. “No! I won’t have a chance!”

Gus shoved the man forward onto the porch. The man began to turn to force his way back into the building in which we stood. Gus landed a kick on his side, causing him to fall down the steps. He fell loudly onto his side in the yard. Gus took the door from me and closed it in a very controlled and quiet manner. He quickly locked the doorknob and held an arm out to me. I took his hand and stepped beside him.

The man lying in the yard was halfway back to standing when the first Roamer reached him. I watched through the panes of glass in the door as he struggled to get the creature off of himself. He was a large man, and strong, but as soon as he knocked the first Roamer off the next was upon him. He wasn't able to fend them both off at the same time. As the first Roamer climbed over the second, the man was forced onto his back. It was hard to tell which took the first bite out of him. His screams as their teeth sank in were ear-piercing and sickening. I watched as several more Roamers joined in the feast. The screaming of the man mixed with the hunger of the dead in my mind as they ripped shreds of flesh off of his body. I could taste the blood in my mouth; feel it dripping down the back of my throat. As two of the creatures fought over one of the man’s legs, he emitted an unearthly scream as it was ripped from the socket. After that he fell silent. Gus turned me toward him and held me close. I buried my face in his chest. I had no energy for tears, so took a few deep breaths and tried to push the dead from my mind; the dead and their horrifying joy over fresh meat.

Time seemed to pass at a snail’s pace. I only knew when the man was deceased by the change of taste in the mouths of the dead. Half of them continued to feed on his already cooling flesh, while the other half began searching for fresher meat.

“We need to get upstairs,” I mumbled into Gus’ chest. “They’re looking for food again.”

“I’ll carry you,” whispered Gus.

“No. I can walk. Bobby’s in the corner. She’s hurt
bad, Gus.”

“I can come back down for her.”

“There’s no time. Please, help her instead and let me walk.”

He kissed the top of my head and I could sense that he would do as I had asked. He was so focused on me, though, that it was almost frightening. He walked to where Bobby was crouched and gently set his hands on her.

“Bobby, we need to go upstairs,” he said, keeping his voice down. “Can you stand?”

“I don’t think so. He kicked me Gus. It hurts so bad inside.”

“Ok, darlin’, I’ll need to carry you. It might hurt but you have to stay quiet as a mouse.”

“Is he dead?” she asked.

“As a door nail.”

“Thank God.”

I headed toward the stairs, sensing the Roamers desperately stirring about outside. The ones who had fed the most had a renewed sense of energy and were ready for more. As Gus lifted Bobby into his arms, she winced. She held him tightly as he ascended the stairway with her. I followed close behind.