Learning To Live (Zombie Overload Series) (4 page)

I
suggest they just unload the second truck and then go back, since the
weak part of the fence is now secure.

The
guys look around at each other and then Dad says, "Maybe we
should just unload the truck and get the rest of them now since the
broken fence is secure."

Yeah.
Great idea, Dad.
Geez
!

Jake
grins at me. I roll my eyes and walk back toward the house.

It's
dark now and I'm exhausted. Coco and Lindey offer to watch the back
window for any trouble so I can get another shower and get some
sleep. I gladly take them up on it. I go to the truck and get more
clothes, this time my sleep clothes.

As
I'm stripping off my jeans in the bathroom, I hear a
thunk
as
they hit the floor. Pulling my phone out of the back pocket, and then
Will's phone from the other pocket, I suddenly remember Bianca was
supposed to be calling. Frantically, I slide his phone open and see
twenty-seven missed calls-all from Bianca-and five voicemail.

I
dial voicemail and all five are from Bianca, whose panic increases on
each one. But the last one, sent thirty minutes ago, sends chills
through my body. She had made it about three hours from us and was in
the middle of telling me that she was out of-
something
-when
she screamed. Then the sound of the phone clattering to the ground
fills my ear.

I
race into the shower, washing and scrubbing as fast and as hard as I
can until I'm clean. I jump out and throw my sleep clothes on,
irritated because I'm going to have to change again when I get more
clothes from the truck.
I hate changing so much!
That's why I
have to take so many new clothes back-I won't try them on before I
buy.

I
hurry out of the bathroom but stop suddenly when Will's phone rings
in my hand. I see "Bianca" on the screen and slide it up.

"Bianca!"

"Canada!
I've been trying to call. I'm so scared. I need help!" Bianca
says something else but it's distorted by her fear.

"Bianca,
calm down so I can understand you! First, where are you?" I
notice Jake standing next to me, watching with concern as I talk to
Bianca.

"I'm
in Snowden, but I ran out of gas. I dropped my phone when some
zombies came after me and I had to run. I finally made it back and
grabbed it and now I'm hiding inside a house near my car."

"Ok,
stay there if you can. We'll be there, but it's going to take awhile.
You're three hours from us on a normal day, but who knows how long it
will take us now."

I
look at Jake and he nods that he'll go with me. I give him a grateful
smile and watch as he walks outside to get the truck and weapons
ready.

"Ok.
I'll be here," Bianca tells me.

"Tell
me everything you can that will help us find you."

"I'm
in a two-story green house with white trim and a large white porch on
the north side of the road. I know I should just find another
vehicle, but I'm too scared to go back out there by myself,
especially since it's dark."

"Bianca,
it's ok. I wouldn't want to, either. See if you can find food and
drinks and go upstairs. Find a door that locks and stay there. Um, I
recommend a room with a bathroom."

"I'm
already upstairs, there are some of those dead people downstairs, so
be careful."

I
tell her I will and we hang up after I reassure her we will be there
as fast as possible.

I
inform the others that we are leaving and I fill in what's happened
with Bianca. Jake comes back in and tells the girls that he wants
them to guard the house. He shows them again how to load the guns and
answers all the questions they have. I go and change into the
familiar black military fatigues and my black boots-and then Jake and
I walk around the perimeter of the property, checking the rest of the
fence. Everything looks good and secure.

I
give my boys big hugs and lots of kisses. My sister and
sisters-in-law all agree to take care of them and baby Grace. I hug
Mom and Ma and tell them I love them, then Jake and I walk out the
door and climb into my truck. Rose has given us an extra key for the
main gate so no one has to leave the house to let us out and lock
back up.

Jake
is driving and suggests I get some sleep. He tells me he will sleep
on the way back and I can drive. I'm more than happy to agree to that
deal as I grab my pillow and blanket from the back. Laying the pillow
on the seat next to Jake's leg, I lie down, my feet resting against
the door. I place my gun on the floorboard within easy reach in case
I need to get to it quickly, and then I lie down on the seat, my head
sinking into the pillow.

The
heater blowing warm air over me, the warm blanket covering me, the
thick but soft pillow under my head, and the sound of the tires
moving on the pavement all combined-along with my exhaustion-knocks
me out quick. I think I feel someone stroking my hair but I can't
open my eyes, say anything, or move-and honestly, I just don't even
care!

So
quiet I think I must be imagining it, I hear a man's voice say, "I
love you."

I
have
to have imagined that. And if so, I don't want to think about why
I did.

It
seems like I have just fallen asleep when I'm suddenly shoved to the
floor and a large, heavy body is thrown on top of me. I didn't have
time to yell or fight back, and now I can't do either as I have a
large hand covering my mouth and his weight is impossible to move. I
look up into the darkness and can barely make out Jake's face. I
mumble into his hand, trying to ask him what the hell he's doing,
when he leans down toward me, his mouth at my ear.

So
low I can barely hear him, he says, "Don't make any noise. There
are a ton of them out there-we're screwed if they find us. Do you
understand?"

I
nod my head yes as much as I can, which isn't much.

And
then I hear them-the moans, the groans, the shoes shuffling on the
pavement. Jake removes his hand from my mouth and I kind of wish he
would put it back. I'm terrified that I'm going make a noise and
become zombie dinner.

You know
how when you're trying to be sneaky or have to be really, really
quiet you always have the urge to cough or sneeze? Well, I have to
sneeze!

I
look at Jake, and with panic on my face, whisper to him that I have
to sneeze. He bugs his eyes out at me and then puts both his hands
over my mouth. I sneeze-barely making a sound-but we lie still, our
hearts pounding, waiting to see if we've been discovered. When no
indication is given that I was heard, Jake removes his hands, and we
both sigh in relief.

Lying
underneath Jake like this and being able to see nothing but his eyes
looking back at me so intently-and so close-his warm breath sweeping
over my face, makes it so damn hard to think of anything else. Jake's
face lowers slowly toward my own and the intent is very clear. When
his lips softly touch mine, I close my eyes.
I
want
his
kiss.
I want
more
than just his kiss!

The
kiss deepens and my mind focuses on only one thing...
Jake
. He
strokes the side of my face and slips his tongue between my lips,
causing both of us to moan. I bring my arms up and wrap them around
his neck, holding him close. Jake grinds his hips into mine as his
hand moves under my shirt, finding exactly what he wanted to
find-what
I
wanted him to find.

I
practically rip his shirt off and he unsnaps my pants. Everything but
Jake and this moment is forgotten. He brings his head down and I gasp
when his warm mouth covers my breast.

We're
both breathing hard from the intense heat of desperation that is
overwhelming both of us. Our hands frantically move aside clothes in
order to touch every bare inch of skin on each others bodies,
both
of us wanting more!

Jake
grasps the top of my pants to pull them down and I lift my hips to
help him―when suddenly a loud moan outside and a bang on the
door of the truck destroys the moment in an instant. Jake quickly
releases my pants and covers my body with his own, his hardness still
very much evident. We wrap our arms tightly around each other, both
of us terrified.

We
don't move at all-
Hell! We barely breathe!
-as we wait in
terror for the truck to be surrounded and attacked. But the undead
move on and our bodies relax as the terror loosens its grip.

Jake
covers my mouth with his own once more, but I pull away and turn my
head to the side, the guilt overwhelming me. In my mind, I'm berating
myself for-once again-being the world's biggest idiot.

I
just lost Will and I'm acting like
this
?
What the hell
is wrong
with me?

"Jake―"

"Shh.
Please? Just don't say anything," he says.

I
nod my head, but I don't look at him. I don't trust myself. Having
his body still pressed against mine is unbearable, and if I look into
his eyes, I know I won't be able to stop. One part of me is saying,
"Will's gone. Just do it." but another part-a louder
part-is saying, "Will's
gone
! Doesn't that even
matter
to you?"
Of course it does! I love Will.
Damn it!
I
do! But I'm only human and Jake is so damn tempting and just won't
leave me alone. No. I'm not blaming this all on Jake, but if he would
just
stop
, I wouldn't have to try so hard to resist him. Do
you understand?
Do
you? Even a little? I'm not really such a
horrible person...am I?

It
seems to take hours before finally the noise of the undead ceases.
Slowly, Jake eases his head up to look out the window. Raising up
higher and moving his head back and forth, Jake finally starts to get
off me. He helps me back in the seat and I look around. I see no
zombies ahead of us, but when I turn my head to look behind us, I see
over a hundred.

In
a panic, I twist my head in all directions trying to figure out where
we're at. Astonished, I realize that we're at least two hours away
from Rose's, according to the highway sign announcing how far the
next town is.
I can't believe I slept that long!
It sure
didn't feel like it!
But if we had still been close to Rose's
house, we damn sure would have gone back another route to warn and
help them.

As
I straighten and button my clothes, I tell Jake-who's doing the
same-that he did a good job keeping us out of that mess and saving
our lives, and he grins at me.

"I
sure did, until you tried to screw it up by sneezing!"

"Hey,
it wasn't my fault! Apparently, I'm allergic to jackasses named
Jake."

We
tease each other in an effort to cover up the awkwardness...and the
disappointment.
Yes. I'm disappointed. Happy, now?

Wide awake now from
the adrenaline rush-from both the zombies and Jake-I settle into my
seat and look out the windows. I suck in a sharp breath. I just can't
believe all the destruction! So much in such a short time. It blows
my mind!

Vehicles
wrecked, homes destroyed, body parts everywhere, fires, and smoke in
the distance. It's everything you see in the movies, and read in the
books, and everything you probably imagined if you ever imagined this
happening.

But
it's much, much,
much
worse than that, because this is real.
It's not a movie, it's not a book, and it's not your imagination.
This isn't going to be fixed easily, if at all. I guess it never
really hit me before now that the world I knew really is gone. We
have no cops we can call. No firemen, ambulance, or hospital can help
us. We are truly on our own.

There
is so much I never thought about when I had foolishly fantasized
about this happening. I never once counted on Will dying. I'm sure
there's more on that list, but thinking about Will and the new guilt
I now have over what just happened with Jake, depresses me enough to
not give a shit about anything else. When the clenching in my stomach
starts easing up and the bile decides to go back down, I look over at
Jake.

"You
ok?" he asks me.

"Not
really," I answer.

Releasing
a sigh, I ask, "Did you have any other problems while I was
asleep?"

"Actually,
I did," He says. My stomach does a dozen flips as Jake grins
that way-too-sexy grin at me. That grin also warns me that whatever
he's about to tell me will be good...and full of shit. "I ran
over about a dozen of those things, and then had a couple of them
jump on the vehicle, but I steered with my feet as I hung out the
window and fought them off. I went on a high-speed chase with a
zombie cop, had a duel at sundown with a cowboy zombie, and then I
stopped by Hooters for some supper. I didn't get you anything because
I was a little occupied once I got inside. You know, hot babes, big
boobs?"

I
give Jake a dirty look for that-
Jealous? No!
-but I appreciate
his attempt at humor for my sake.