Love & the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1, Zombie Apocalypse Trilogy) (9 page)

Chapter Twelve

Cag
e reacted before anyone else.  One second, he was reaching for the remote control to find a news station on TV.  The next second, he was sprinting faster than he’d ever sprinted before.  He climbed the stairs two at a time and tore down the empty hallway.

Rachel screamed again.

His heart squeezed.  Jolts of pain shot through his chest.  The sounds of her screams were agonizing.  What was happening?  She didn’t make a peep when the pit bull mauled her.  What could possibly make her scream like that?  He couldn’t – he wouldn’t - imagine what was happening to her. 

He couldn’t breathe.  He
couldn’t think. 
Rachel.  Rachel.  Please be okay.
  Cage ran into the men’s locker room and dashed past the urinals to the back of the room.  He skidded to a halt.

An enormous three hundred pound
zombie, with half of his clothes torn off, had Rachel pinned to the floor.  His mouth snapped dangerously close to her face.  She had her injured forearm wedged under his chin and the other hand pushing the zombie’s hand back.  The only reason she was still alive was because the zombie was missing its right arm.  The zombie reached with its bloody stump as if the arm was still attached. 

Rachel was struggling and lo
sing.  She screamed again as his teeth inched closer to her face.  Cage didn’t have a weapon.  He rushed forward and slipped his arm carefully around the zombie’s neck and yanked with all of his strength.  The zombie’s lone hand reached back to scrape Cage’s face, but Rachel tackled his arm.  

Cage
heaved backward and the zombie’s neck snapped under his bicep. Rachel pulled the zombie’s arm in the opposite direction until the limb split from his torso.  Flesh and muscle tore apart until the arm fell in Rachel’s lap.  She frantically shoved the limb away. 

Footsteps pounded on the tile. 
“Holy -!”  Nicky screamed.  “That is one big-”

“Grab his legs!”
Adam yelled.

Nicky grabbed the zombie’s legs
.  Cage didn’t release the headlock.  The armless zombie snarled at Rachel, its stumps moving as if it were reaching for her.  Adam helped Cage roll the zombie onto its back. 

“Push it back a little further,” Adam said.

Cage groaned and dragged the zombie across the bathroom floor.  All of the dead weight was off Rachel and onto his legs. It was a miracle that the gigantic zombie hadn’t crushed her.  Cage pressed the zombie’s head down to the tile floor; its jaws incessantly snapping.  Adam lifted his pipe and crushed its head.

Rachel
slid away from the zombie’s body. Her chest rose and fell as she sucked in gulps of air.  Cage crawled to her.  She stared past him at the zombie’s body.  Her arms were protectively wrapped around her stomach. He tugged them free.  “Did he bite you or scratch you?” 

Rachel’s breathing was uneven. 

He inspected her arms and legs for marks.  Silent tears spilled down her cheeks.  She shook her head back and forth. 

Cage was breathing heavy
, too.  “No bites,” he said softly.  “No bites.  No scratches.”  He pulled her onto his lap and pressed her against his chest.  “You’re okay.  Just breathe.”

“That was
too close,” Nicky said from behind. 

“I didn’t
hear him,” Rachel said into Cage’s ear.  “I opened the shower curtain and he was standing there.”  Her breathing was ragged. “I didn’t have a weapon.  I froze and he lunged at me.”

“Shh.
” Cage smoothed her hair.  “It’s all over.  You’re okay.”  He pressed his forehead against hers.  He wasn’t sure if he was saying the words to reassure her or himself.  His heart raced in his chest. 

“From now on, n
o one goes anywhere alone.” Adam tore down a plastic shower curtain and covered the zombie’s body. 

“What if I have to take
a dump?”  Nicky said.

“Take a buddy,” Adam said.

Nicky wiggled his eyebrows at Cage.  “Even if it’s a particularly smelly one?”

“It’s my fault,” Adam said.  “I should’
ve done a better check of the building.  That was Charlie.”  He pointed at the enormous bloated zombie. 

“Was he a f
ireman?”  Cage still had his arms around Rachel.  She’d calmed down, but her shoulders still shook.

“No.  The handyman.”

“Maybe he was fixing the shower pipes?”  Nicky shrugged. 

Adam rolled his
eyes.  “Come on, Nicky.  Let’s go downstairs.  Rachel’s going to take a shower.  Remember what I said – no one goes anywhere alone.  We’ve officially installed the buddy system.”

“Can I be your shower buddy?”  Nicky asked Rachel.

Adam tugged Nicky by the collar.  “Sorry.  We’ll be downstairs.”

Rachel exhaled. 
Or maybe it was a groan.  Her shoulders slumped and she flexed her injured arm.  “That was like the fifth time I almost died tonight.”

“Almost is the key word.”

“Maybe I’ll try this again.  Would you mind waiting for me while I showered?”

“Of course.”
Cage tugged Rachel to her feet. 

“Shower buddy.  That Nicky is a character.” 
Rachel shook her head.  She was still breathing heavily, but it was obvious she was trying to act normal.  She grabbed a folded towel from the counter and disappeared behind the shower curtain.

Cage leaned against the sink.
  The sound of rushing water was soothing.  His heartbeat slowed to a normal beat. 

“You’ve save
d me multiple times tonight,” Rachel said from inside the shower.

“You would’ve done the same.”

“That’s true.  I would have.” Rachel sighed.  “I wish we were leaving now.”

“Me, too.  It’
s taking too long.  It’s been hours since we met at Cecilia’s.”

She was silent for a moment.  “It feels like I’ve known you longer than half a day.”

“I was about to say the same thing,” Cage said. He wanted to keep her talking.  She needed to take her mind off what happened.  “I think Nicky has a crush on you.”

“Eww
,” Rachel said. 

Cage laughed.

“How old is he?”  She asked.

“Why
?  Are you interested?”  Cage perched himself on the sink.  He looked down at his hands.  They were covered in blood and filth.  Maybe he’d take a shower, too.

“Of course
not,” Rachel said.  “I was only curious.”

“I
think he said he was twenty-one.  How old are you, by the way?”

“Seventeen.  You?”

“Same,” Cage said.  “What’s your favorite color?”

“Really?”  Rachel poked her head out from the plastic curt
ain.  Shampoo bubbles covered her hair.  “Did you just ask me what my favorite color was?  Or was I hearing things?”

“I did,” Cage said.  “Unless you’d rather talk about
zombies and the end of the world.”

She
disappeared behind the shower curtain.  “Good point.  My favorite color is white.”

“White?  That’s odd.”

“Why?”

Cage
flexed his arms.  His muscles were sore.  “Well, most girls like pink or red or….” He trailed off, because he’d answered his own question.  Rachel wasn’t like most girls.  “Why white?”

“I don’t know.  It
’s clean.  Unmarked.  I don’t know, I just like it.”  The water shut off and Rachel pushed back the curtain.  She had a fluffy white towel wrapped around her body.  Her long blond hair was wet and dripped to the floor. 

Oh man
.  Cage was incredibly aware that Rachel was only wearing a towel.  He hopped from the counter and kept his eyes on the floor. 

“Were you going to sh
ower, too?”  Rachel walked to the sink next to him.  “I’ll be your shower buddy.”

“Uh, yeah.
” Cage’s face grew warm. He was sure it was beet red. 

“I wish I had clean c
lothes.” Rachel’s back was turned.  “But these will have to do.”

Cage flipped off his shirt and tossed it
on the counter.  He quickly stepped inside the stall and turned on the water, hoping Rachel hadn’t seen him blush.  Cage took a deep breath.  His heartbeat was racing again. 

“W
hat’s your favorite color?” Rachel asked.

“Uh, b
lue,” Cage said.  It was a typical boy’s color.  There wasn’t anything unique about him. He was just an average teenage boy who apparently couldn’t even be in the same room as a girl wearing a towel.  What an idiot.  Did Rachel notice he was blushing? Was he staring at her when she stepped out of the shower?

“
Blue’s nice.  So,” Rachel said.  “Adam and Selena are an item.”  It wasn’t a question, just a statement.

“Yes,” Cage said.  “I think so.”

“She’s really pretty.  I think she’s Russian.”

“She’s okay.
” Cage squirted shampoo into his palm and worked it into a lather.  “I prefer blondes, though.”  He banged his head against the wall as soon as he’d said it.  What a dork. He sounded like a moron.  “Uh, we should find some food downstairs when I’m done.  I’m starving,” he said quickly to change the subject. 

“Yeah, I’m hungry, too,”
she said quietly.

Why was he so awkward around Rachel
?  He’d never had trouble talking to girls. Actually, it was quite the opposite – girls flocked to him and he reveled in the attention.  Why wasn’t it the case with Rachel?  He felt like an idiot whenever he was around her. 

He banged his head once more before he
turned off the shower to remind himself not to say anything stupid again.  She sat on the counter near the sink dressed in the gray tank top and jean shorts that she wore earlier.  Her hair was wet, but she was drying it with a towel.

Cage ha
d dressed in his boxers and shorts while he was in the shower stall, but he’d flung his shirt on the sink during his hasty getaway.  Now, he had to walk by Rachel – shirtless - and he’d never felt more naked in his life.  It was dumb.  How many times had he purposely gone shirtless at football practice or at the beach whenever a cute girl was around?  He regularly worked out and he liked to show off his muscles, but this absolutely wasn’t the case now.  He’d never felt more self-conscious in his life. 

Rachel
lifted her eyes, noticed he didn’t have a shirt on, and hopped off the sink. She barely gave his chest a passing glance. “Come on Cage, get dressed.  I’m starving.”

And with that, h
is ego deflated.

~     ~     ~

Vivienne’s breathing had slowed.  Each breath sounded wet.  Selena had visions of her sister’s organs being corrupted by the zombie virus.  She couldn’t think of anything worse than seeing Vivienne die in front of her and then rise from the dead.

Adam and Nicky
descended the stairs.  Adam’s pipe was gooey with red stuff again, which meant they must’ve run into more zombies. 

“Is the girl al
l right?”  Selena asked.

Adam sat on
the floor beside her, the pipe disappearing from sight.  “Rachel’s okay, but it was a close call.  A zombie was hiding in the shower.”

Selena shivered.

“Not just any zombie,” Nicky said.  “The biggest fattest f-”

“But we killed him.
” Adam cut him off.

“Killed him again, you mean.
”

Selena
studied Adam’s face.  He had dark shadows under his eyes, but he was still painfully handsome.  She wanted to rub her hand across the stubble on his cheeks.  Their eyes met and a slow smiled spread across his face.  He reached for her hand.

“
But Rachel’s okay?”  Selena asked. 

Adam
stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.  “Physically she’s not hurt, but I think it’s been an exceptionally trying night for her, especially after the incident at the Wooden Barrel with her foster father.  She’ll be all right.  Cage is upstairs with her now.”

Selena smiled.  The teenagers were cute.  Fro
m what she’d overheard from Nicky, Rachel and Cage had only met tonight.  Obviously, they were attracted to each other – anyone could see that - but it was the closeness between them that gave Selena a sense of hope during this horrible night.  The intimacy between them in such a short span of time was unique.  Rachel was tough, but broken at the same time.  Then you had Cage sweeping in to the rescue whenever she needed him.  It was romantic how he’d dropped everything and ran to save her….

Selena sighed
.  She sounded like one of her romance novels. Who knew?  Maybe people who survived terrible ordeals together grew closer in shorter spans of time.  It was the case with Rachel and Cage and, it seemed to be the case with her and Adam. 

Selena leaned against
Adam’s shoulder.  She could feel his hard muscles under his shirt.  She felt safe with him.  He’d saved her countless times tonight.  After the initial attack at Adam’s home, he drove across town to her.  She didn’t care what anyone said about dating for a few weeks, that was
love
and she was one hundred percent certain she was madly in love with Adam Guerra.