Love and Decay, Boy Meets Girl (8 page)

“For real?” Reagan sounded almost emotional
with relief after a fast glance over her shoulder.

I took a step into her and aimed over her
shoulder.

I felt those same swellings of pride when I
answered, “Always have a backup plan, Reagan.” With my free hand, I
couldn’t stop myself from wrapping it around her waist and pulling
her against my chest. We made it this far. I was determined to get
her all the way to safety. She felt both soft and hard against my
chest. Her body was a seductive mixture of tight muscle and girlish
curves. She needed to gain weight- not to look better, but to be
healthy. Still, she was so goddamn beautiful my head swum with her
so close; her sweet, slightly sweaty scent intoxicating my abused
senses after dealing with Zombie rot and a moldy garage. And the
heat of her body just sunk into my skin like she was a knife and I
was melting butter. Every part of me reacted to her, tuned into
her, begged to be a part of the same space she was.

I moved her back with me, toward the Hummer
and toward safety.

Vaughan called out the order and everyone
moved in one fluid motion. I held onto Reagan for as long as I
could and until she was safely tucked in the vehicle.

When everyone was in, Vaughan and I took our
places in the front seat. While Vaughan started the engine and put
us in drive, the rest of my brothers and I immediately moved our
guns to point out the windows. We started shooting at the horde
just as Vaughan took off with a heavy foot on the gas pedal.

The next few minutes were a blur of dead
bodies, loud gun shots and my brother not able to move the Hummer
through the increasing number of swarming Zombies. There were just
too many of them and not enough bullets on our end.

I felt the presence of so many people
dependent on me heating my back, silently demanding that I save
them from this, that I get us out of this mess. Vaughan cursed the
ground and the inability of the Hummer to move through this many
bodies. Page continued to scream through the bloodshed.

The Feeders grew increasingly aggressive,
stepping into the Hummer, rocking it in order to get to us.

I’d had enough.

I let out a battle cry of aggression and
shoved my body through the window. I took my semiautomatic machine
gun and let loose on every single thing in our path.

Nothing stood a chance.

Nothing could survive my will to escape.

Get the hell out of my way you piece of
shit bottom-feeders
!

Blood sprayed everywhere, flesh, bone, pieces
of already decaying bodies covered the Hummer like the worst kind
of bug goo. The vile stench continued to choke us the more dead
bodies piled in the roads. But finally, a path began to clear.

Vaughan stomped down on the gas and I nearly
fell out of the window. I cursed his momentum and him for not
giving me some kind of warning.

The semiautomatic clicked empty, so I traded
it for a simpler Glock and began picking stragglers off one by one.
Vaughan continued to accelerate and we finally seemed to be gaining
ground on getting the hell out of here.

Finally, after endless kills and too many
close calls, the road in front of us cleared and Vaughan could
direct the Hummer to clean, Feeder-free highway. Freedom.

Safety.

We’d made it.

Well, at least we’d made it through this
night.

I pulled myself back into the car and Vaughan
immediately rolled up our windows to block out the stench and keep
the clinging pieces of flesh and debris from flying in at us.

In the silence of the closed vehicle, the
chance meeting with Reagan and Haley, the escape from our temporary
haven and the fight for our lives seemed to click into place with
one giant shifting of tectonic plates. This felt right.

This is what was supposed to happen.

Until Reagan spoke up, shattering my peace
and sense of manifest destiny, “You can drop us anywhere, Vaughan.
The sun should be up soon and we don’t want to get too far off
course.”

I whirled around but Vaughan beat me too it.
“Oh, that’s probably not necessary,” he said.

“Turns out you sold us on the south, Reagan.”
I met her eyes and held her frightened gaze. Now why was it that
she looked more afraid staring into my eyes than she had the entire
time we fought the Zombie horde? “Remember what we agreed
earlier?”

I watched her chest pick up speed and her
eyes grow impossibly larger. She licked her lips nervously and
shook her head a little hysterically.

“You don’t remember?” I narrowed my eyes on
her. “Then we’ll talk about it later. I’ll help you remember.” And
I would. This was definitely a conversation we would be having
later.

I let the electric current that attached us
from soul to soul buzz in the air between us for several seconds. I
let her feel me, feel how I already invaded her space, her
thoughts, her lungs. I let her realize she wasn’t going to have to
be alone anymore, she wasn’t going to have to fight by herself
anymore. And then I turned back around and let the resolution of
our decision sink into her the exact same way she sank into me.

She was stubborn though, and after a few
beats of her palpably thinking over our offer she said, “Really,
you don’t have to change your entire life plans for us. Haley and I
can make it. And you have Page to think about.”

I slid to the edge of my seat ready to pull
this vehicle over and argue some sense into her, but Nelson spoke
up with that surprising wisdom he sometimes possessed and did most
of my work for me, “Reagan, we’d already decided to stick with you
girls before the Zombie’s attacked tonight. We’re safer with
numbers, especially knowing that you ladies can actually use those
guns you cradle around. There are not that many decent living
beings left on this planet, probably best we stick together when we
find each other.”

“And you’re not going to try to convince us
to go north?” she clarified skeptically.

“Not yet,” I answered truthfully. “We didn’t
know anybody up there with a firsthand account; we were just
reaching at straws. With that phone call you had with your dad’s
cousin; you have more than we ever had.”

“Alright,” she sighed.

“Alright.” Vaughan echoed.

“Alright,” Haley laughed. Although I didn’t
understand what she found so damn funny. Her friend just tried to
leave us- again. Haley really needed to reign her in.

“At least it will be exciting,” Harrison
commented dryly.

Everyone let out a nervous, high-strung laugh
and the general feeling in the van seemed to relax a little.

The morning sun started to rise in the east
and the road in front of us was clear. My family had survived
another night and we were safe for now. We’d added a few extra
passengers, but they were undeniably assets to our ploy to live and
survive.

This was all I could ask for; but it already
felt like infinitely more than I deserved.

Reagan.

She changed everything.

And even if I wasn’t sure how she altered my
life just yet, I was very anxious to find out. In this very moment,
this life I lived stopped feeling like an oppressive duty and began
to feel more like hopeful adventure. My outlook on survival gave up
the depressing cynicism that once clouded my every thought and took
deep, excited gulps of what it would be like to have a future- to
look forward to the days ahead of me, the nights that I could
struggle through and fight to keep us surviving.

Earlier today, survival felt impossible, felt
like an unmanageable chore. But now it was a gift, a cataclysmic,
kismet design that would bury the decaying, death-filled world at
my feet underneath a new kind of life- an optimistic, expectant
anticipation. Something that would grow into so much more, into
events and experiences I didn’t even have words for yet.

This thing had yet to be defined, but it
didn’t need to be. All that mattered was that it happened- that
Reagan and I took this road together.

We could figure out the logistics later.

Because most importantly, there would be a
later.

Look for Episode 12, the final episode to
Love and Decay, Season One, coming Friday, November 29th, 2013

About the Author

Rachel Higginson was born and raised in
Nebraska, but spent her college years traveling the world. She
married her high school sweetheart and spends her days raising
their growing family. She is obsessed with bad reality TV and any
and all Young Adult Fiction.

Look for more from Rachel in 2013.

The remaining episodes of this novella series
will be released twice a month. Look for Episode 12 coming November
29th, 2013.

Other books by Rachel to be released in 2013
are The Relentless Warrior, the sixth book in The Star-Crossed
Series and The Fall, the second book in the Siren Series.

Other Books Out Now by Rachel Higginson:

Love and Decay, Episode One

Love and Decay, Episode Two

Love and Decay, Episode Three

Love and Decay, Episode Four

Love and Decay, Episode Five

Love and Decay, Episode Six

Love and Decay, Episode Seven

Love and Decay, Episode Eight

Love and Decay, Episode Nine

Love and Decay, Episode Ten

Love and Decay, Episode Eleven

Reckless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book
1)

Hopeless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book
2)

Fearless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book
3)

Endless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book
4)

The Reluctant King (The Star-Crossed Series,
Book 5)

Starbright (The Starbright Series, Book
1)

Sunburst (The Starbright Series, Book2)

The Rush (The Siren Series, Book 1)

Bet in the Dark (An NA Contemporary
Romance)

Follow Rachel on her blog at:

www.rachelhigginson.com

Or on Twitter:

@mywritesdntbite

Or on her Facebook pages:

Rachel Higginson

Or

Reckless Magic