V-Day: (M-Day #4) (25 page)

Riley abruptly stopped, dropping to his knees with me still in his arms. He set me down gently on the ground, his hand reaching out to touch my face.
“
Viv? What
’
s going on? I don
’
t
—
something
’
s wro
—”
His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed, convulsing. His mouth foamed and he arched severely as if in pain.

I wanted to call to Ty for help. He
’
d been in med school, he would know better than anyone what to do. But him and the others had to finish dealing with the I-Monsters and they would come to me as soon as they could. In situations like these, hard choices always had to be made when it came to priorities.

I crouched closer to Riley, trying to get a better look. Maybe the repeated headshots had damaged something in Riley
’
s brain and the virus needed more time to heal him. I couldn
’
t help the stranglehold of worry that kept me from taking in a decent breath. I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I probed his head for bullet holes or any other injury, finding nothing. I growled in frustration.

Riley suddenly shot straight up, nearly bashing his forehead into mine. His eyes blazed ice blue as they locked onto me.
“
Viv. Mine,
”
he grunted, lunging for me. It took me a second to react since I was so happy he was alive and kicking, although sounding like the same broken record.

He scooped me up in his arms, and sprinted for the woods. That
’
s when I realized I could be up shit creek without a paddle with him
…
yet a-friggin-gain.
Fuck.

I wasn
’
t sure why I bothered but I attempted to reason with him.
“
Riley, we need to head north, to New York City. If we don
’
t make it there soon we
’
re all going to die.
”

“
Mine,
”
he grunted, his grip on me tightening.

“
I
’
ll die if we don
’
t get there.
”

He didn
’
t react in any way.

“
If you get me to New York City then we can have lots of sex. Any way you want it.
”

“
New York City,
”
he mumbled.
“
Yeah, okay.
”

I squeezed my eyes shut and bit the inside of my cheek, but a laugh escaped from me anyways. But hell
…
sometimes if you don
’
t laugh, then there
’
s nothing else left to do but cry. And there just wasn
’
t time for crying if I wanted to survive. I had to hope if Riley headed towards New York City, Ty and the rest of the gang would track us. It didn
’
t matter how we got there, as long as we all did.

Sometimes when I first woke up, before my memories of the new world pushed through from my subconscious, I forgot that Men-V existed, and that M-Day had happened. During those few moments, no guilt threatened to strangle me, and no worries for the future existed. I was simply Vi, and I was at peace. It never lasted long though.

I jolted awake, still cradled in Riley
’
s arms, him showing no signs of stopping his cross-country trek with me in tow. My bladder had different ideas. I wriggled uncomfortably, noticing early morning light peeking through the tree canopy above us.
“
I have to pee,
”
I said, not bothering with any preamble.

Riley just kept on chugging on.
“
I said I have to pee.
”

“
Later.
”

“
I swear to God, Riley, if you don
’
t let me pee, I
’
ll go right here.
”

“
We can shower later
…
together.
”

Is he kidding with this shit?
I stared up into his face, noting his determined expression and realized he wasn
’
t.
Time to pull out the trump card.
“
If you don
’
t let me pee, I won
’
t be able to have sex with you.
”

He scowled down at me.
“
I
’
m not a fucking idiot. Your bladder isn
’
t going to explode. I can
’
t risk you.
”

“
Risk me what?
”

He went silent again. I smacked at his chest in frustration. I didn
’
t know how to act with him anymore. He was infected, and most of the time he acted like an I-Man, but he was still Riley. He had his memories and he still worried about my safety. He was just oversexed, possessive
…
basically a Neanderthal version of my Riley. It wasn
’
t that bad, although I still had to pee.

I leaned up and screamed in his ear,
“
I NEED TO PEE!
”

“
FINE!
”
he bellowed back, dropping me on my ass. I glared up at him as I pulled myself to my feet. I turned to go find a tree or a bush or something to go behind and he trailed along behind me.

“
What do you think you
’
re doing?
”

“
I
’
m not letting you out of my sight. You
’
re mine. No one
’
s going to take you from me again.
”

I crossed my arms over my chest.
“
I
’
m not peeing in front of you.
”

He scowled, his gaze darting around us warily.
“
You don
’
t get a choice.
”

We stared each other down, both of our eyes narrowed. It was weird doing it with him, especially now that he seemed semi back in control again. Finally I couldn
’
t take it anymore. I dashed over to a large tree and dropped my pants, hunkering down.
“
At least turn around!
”
I snapped.

Thankfully he did, and I was able to do my business, although I hated him being able to hear me doing it. I
’
d had to take care of bodily functions in close quarters with my fellow operatives before, but I wasn
’
t in love with any of them and didn
’
t care about them being attracted to me later. Of course with Riley being infected I wouldn
’
t either. But still
…

When I was all done, I stomped around in front of Riley and glared at him. What I was about to say was forgotten when I got a good look at him. He was pale, his eyes glassy and darker blue than they had been a few minutes ago. A fine sheen of sweat covered his body.
“
Your neck,
”
he murmured.
“
I did that, didn
’
t I?
”

I raised my hand instinctively to the wound he
’
d ripped into my neck with his teeth last night. He
’
d been trying to mark me for his. I
’
d seen it with other I-Men before.
“
What
’
s wrong with you?
”
I blurted out.

He shook his head, his gaze still locked onto me.
“
I don
’
t know. My head
—”
He tapped his temples with his index fingers.
“—
sometimes it
’
s like cotton candy got up in there somehow, and other times it
’
s all crystal clear.
”

“
Which one is it now?
”
I took a tentative step towards him.

“
Crystal clear. I feel like the old me again. But
—
weak
—
wrong.
”
His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped to the ground like a rock.

I rushed forward, my heart in my throat. Just like last night it was as if he was having a seizure.
“
Where the hell are you guys, Ty?
”
They couldn
’
t have been that far behind us, right?

Indecision warred within me. Should I wait a bit to see if they found me, risking being found by things that were much worse, or should I try to somehow get Riley to New York City myself? Of course it was a bit more complicated than that, but before I figured out the finer details of a specific plan I needed to figure out which road to take.

I fashioned several large branches together to serve as a plank, held together by strips of Riley
’
s pants. Thank God he hadn
’
t gone commando or he would have been left with nothing but his boots on. As beautiful as his body was, I didn
’
t want to be dragging him around completely naked. It just wasn
’
t practical or safe for his
…
man bits.

I was running off pure adrenaline, all my senses hyperaware, ready for an attack from anywhere. At least I hoped I
’
d be ready. It
’
d been hours since Riley had carried me off into the woods. I
’
d come out on the other side a while ago, and was moving along the side of a highway, praying the road signs pointing me north were correct.

I had no real supplies
—
no food, no water. The midday sun beat down on me, but not as severe as it could have been.
Or maybe I
’
m just too delirious to feel it?
The truth was, I
’
d not only lost track of the days, but the seasons.
It could be spring, or just as easily early fall.

I wanted to laugh at how easily things like cities, and seasons disappeared, but they had, and I suspected not just for me. All I knew was that the sun wasn
’
t as sweltering as it could have been if it was summer.
Had there been a summer? Did I miss it? When did I leave on my mission again? When was Men-V released? How much time has passed?
Riley
’
s chest and face were pinkening, but there was nothing I could do about it. I tried to stick to the shade as much as possible, but my options were limited.
A little sunburn will be worth it if we make it to New York City in time.

I tried not to worry about Riley
’
s continuing state of unconsciousness. After his apparent seizure had ended, he
’
d fallen into what seemed like a fitful sleep. His pulse and respiratory functions seemed fine to me, and he
’
d even started snoring a few times. I couldn
’
t shake the worry for him though
…
or for my brothers and the rest of their gang. They
’
d been winning the battle with the I-Monsters, but what if they
’
d run into more? What if something else happened to them?

I stumbled to a stop, setting the plank Riley was on down. There were several empty cars along the side of the road. I
’
d been checking all the ones I
’
d come across to see if any had gas and or keys in them. So far nothing.
But I have to hit a bit of good luck eventually, right?

I hit the jackpot in the second car. It had several protein bars and some unopened bottles of lemonade flavored Vitamin Water. I slid down the side of the car and chugged an entire bottle before inhaling a protein bar. I doubled over in pain when my stomach cramped. I refused to throw up the little bit of sustenance I
’
d managed to get into my system. I slapped my hand over my mouth and even when some of the food attempted to make an escape, I forced it back down. After several minutes, my stomach calmed, and I pulled myself to my feet.