Zombies in Paradise (Love in the Age of Zombies Book 2) (29 page)

Chapter Thirty-one

Michelle stepped into the dim light of the kitchen. Coming in from the bright sunlight, the relative darkness of the house gave her pause. She stood inside the door for a moment letting her eyes adjust, briefly noticing the small patch of foil that had been removed from the window.
That’s strange, I don’t remember doing that,
she thought as she walked into the living room to consider the artwork hanging on the walls.
I should have brought a flashlight!
she realized. As she stepped into the room, she heard a low growl. Before she even had time to react, Don grabbed her from behind and wrapped his hands over her mouth as he held her head against his chest.

“Shh  .  .  .  “ he said as she struggled to break free. He grabbed one of her arms and twisted it painfully behind her back. “You shouldn’t be here, Ms. Tracy,” he said. “You should be at school! In your room!” As Michelle squirmed and fought, his grip over her mouth and neck grew tighter and the pull on her arm more painful. Don suddenly jerked her arm much higher and she let out a muffled scream of pain against his palm. “That was just to show you how strong I am. I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to know your secret.”

He pulled her backwards into the kitchen and flung open the back door. “Sic ‘im, Matey!” he commanded. With a vicious snarl, Matey raced out the door and leapt down the steps toward Doc.

Don dragged Michelle backward through the living room and into the bedroom. He roughly pushed her onto the bed, facedown, and then put his knee into her shoulders. With her face smashed into the mattress she couldn't breathe.

“You shouldn’t be with that man. You should be at the school. You shouldn’t show him your secret. Last time I messed up my secret. I didn’t do it right. I want you to show me the right way, like in the pictures.” As he said this, he pulled off his belt and tied her wrists painfully tight behind her back. When he turned her over she could finally breathe and began to scream. Don backhanded her face, hard, stunning her into silence.

“You need to be quiet, Ms. Tracy. Secrets have to be quiet. Nobody is supposed to know.”

Through bleeding and swelling lips, Michelle whispered “Listen. I’m not Ms. Tracy. You’re confused. Let me go!”

Don backhanded her again. “Mom always said a liar was the worst kind of sinner,” he said, “you shouldn’t lie, Ms. Tracy! You’ll go to hell! Or the gymnasium!”

With a desperate look in her eyes, Michelle began to plead with him. “Listen, you have to believe me. You’re mixed up. I’m not Ms. Tracy. My name is Michelle. You’re confused. Think about it! I’ve never seen you before!”

Don didn’t seem to be paying attention. He was staring at her breasts. “Your titties are a lot bigger! I like big titties!” he said. He pulled a knife out of the sheath attached to his belt and quickly sliced open her shirt, spread it wide, then sliced her bra up the middle. Her breasts came spilling out even as she struggled to get up. Every movement of hers caused them to move and jiggle. Don grinned. “Wow! I like them bigger!” He reached out and tentatively patted her nipples. His secret was hard. He felt strong.

Chapter Thirty-two

When Doc heard the back door open he turned with a smile, expecting to see Michelle. Instead, Matey came hurtling toward him. He leapt for his revolver, but before he could reach it Matey latched onto his left foot and wrenched back, trying to pull Doc to the ground. Doc knew if he fell he was in deep trouble. He swung the spade at Matey, striking the dog just behind the ears. Matey yelped and jumped back, teeth bared, barking and snarling. Doc backed away as Matey advanced toward him, angling for the maple tree twenty feet away. Keeping the spade between him and the dog, twice the dog feinted in and twice Doc repelled him. When he was ten feet from the tree, Doc flung the spade at the dog, sprinted the short distance to the trunk, and pulled himself up the lowest hanging branch. Matey was fast, though, and latched onto his left leg, tearing through the jeans and into the flesh of his calf. Doc let out an involuntary yell, then aimed his right boot squarely at the dog’s nose, connecting with a satisfying crunch. The dog yelped and lost his grip on Doc’s leg. Doc pulled himself up and into the tree, out of reach. Matey barked furiously, crouched at the trunk of the tree, blood dripping from his injured nose and over his snarling teeth. Doc thought
Trapped like a treed ‘coon
! His next thought was
Michelle! Where’s Michelle?!
He saw movement out of his peripheral vision and turned, fearful of what he would see.

It was Doc’s Jeep. Kevin pulled into the driveway.

Chapter Thirty-three

Kevin turned onto his street and spied his house six doors down.
Home again home again, jiggity-jig
he thought, a smile on his lips. It seemed like months had passed since he’d been home. Pulling into the driveway, he couldn’t help but wish he had a welcoming committee, but of course they had no way of knowing he’d arrived.

He turned off the Jeep, stepped out of the cab and stretched. He was still weak, but felt much stronger. Mid-stretch he heard the
very
nearby sound of a dog barking, the aggressive kind of bark dogs make in a fight. Turning toward the sound, he saw Doc in the branches of Michelle’s backyard maple tree, blood dripping down his leg.
What the hell?!

Don put the knife back in the sheath and squeezed Michelle’s bare breasts roughly with both hands. Michelle’s eyes grew wide as he painfully pawed at her with a hungry, savage look in his eyes. Her legs were still free, so with all her might she kicked him in the crotch. Don doubled over in pain then looked at her through watering eyes.

“Why did you do that?!” he demanded in a pleading voice. “I only want to know your secret again! You didn’t have to do that!” As he grabbed his aching groin, it was obvious the pain had not reduced his erection. All it had done was infuriate him. She aimed another kick at him but he caught her foot before it could connect. With his free hand he roughly unsnapped her pants and yanked them most of the way down, effectively immobilizing her as his knee pinned her legs to the mattress. Pulling her pants down had also pulled her panties past her knees, revealing her pubic hair and
mons veneris
. He forced her knees apart, and as she panicked to close them, he backhanded her again in the face.

“Stop that! I want to have a secret with you!” He spread her knees again, then reached down, unsnapped his own jeans, and pulled out his hard member. Michelle was trapped, her arms bound painfully behind her, legs spread, her sex exposed and vulnerable.

Chapter thirty-four

Kevin reached inside the truck and grabbed Doc’s shotgun. He bolted down the side yard and through the open gate, releasing the safety as he ran. “Hey!” he shouted. Matey turned in mid-bark and launched himself toward Kevin, nostrils flaring and foam flying from his mouth. Within a split second he covered half the distance between them. Snarling, he leapt into the air. Kevin barely had time to raise the gun and fire. Never a good aim, his shot caught Matey in the shoulder, changing the trajectory of his flight. The dog landed roughly on the ground with a yelp, then jerked around and again launched himself at Kevin. Kevin fired the gun once again, but again his aim was off, striking only the top of Matey’s head, blinding one eye in the process. Matey fell to the ground, yelping, badly wounded but not incapacitated. Kevin carefully aimed and pulled the trigger.
Click!
He was out of shells. Matey advanced with a snarl, blood dripping from his wounds, teeth bared.

Inside the dim bedroom, Don heard the two shots from the shotgun followed by the yelping of his companion. Still kneeling between Michelle’s legs with his hand around his erection, he looked toward the sound. “Matey?” he called. “Matey! Here boy!” He jumped off the bed and pulled his pants up as he ran out of the room. He drew the knife from its sheath.

Chapter thirty-five

As soon as Matey turned toward Kevin, Doc dropped from the tree, wincing in pain as he landed on his wounded leg. He rolled to his left and barely avoided being struck by stray shot. As Matey scrambled to his feet, Doc raced to grab his revolver lying in the grass. Kevin took his second shot, once again missing the mark but hitting Matey and slowing him down. Doc grabbed his revolver, aimed the weapon at the attacking dog and fired.

Don raced through the door, shouting, “Matey?! Matey!” He saw the wounded and bloodied dog leap toward Kevin, who was aiming his shotgun. Doc fired his revolver and Matey fell to the ground with a heavy
Thump!
writhing in agony.

“No! You leave my dog alone!” he bellowed, vaulting over the railing of the deck. He landed on the grass and stumbled, recovered his balance and raced to defend his only friend, knife at the ready. He felt a hard tug on the left side of his chest and his body spun around by the impact of the .22 caliber bullet fired from Doc’s revolver. He landed in a heap a few feet from his one and only friend. Blood poured from the wound in Don’s chest as he reached the dog and pulled him close. “It’s okay, Matey, we’ll be okay, please don’t die!” he cried, tears in his eyes. Don cradled Matey’s head to his chest, mingling their blood. The dog whined one final time, then lay still. Don looked up and tried to focus on the men coming toward him. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. A final breath escaped his lungs. He and Matey lay still on the cold Michigan ground.

Chapter thirty-six

“Doc! Where’s Michelle?!” Kevin shouted.

“In the house  .  .  .  ” Doc gasped. With energy supplied by intense fear, Kevin sprinted to the house and stormed inside, nearly bowling Michelle over as he ran into the kitchen. She had wormed free of Don’s belt and pulled her pants up, but her blouse and bra were in tatters. “Michelle! Are you all right?!” he cried as they fell into each other’s arms. “Did he hurt you? Are you okay?” He pulled back and looked at her, seeing her battered and bloody face, unsnapped pants and bare breasts, he wailed “Oh my God, no! He didn’t  .  .  .  ?”

Michelle began crying. “I’m okay, I’m okay. You got here just in time. Oh, Kevin, thank God you’re home!” As she said this, they heard a gunshot from outside. A few seconds later Doc limped through the door.

Seeing Kevin and Michelle locked in an embrace, Doc couldn’t help but notice the condition of her face and clothing. He quickly stripped off his shirt and wrapped it around her shoulders to cover her nakedness. The three of them locked arms around each other and stood there for several long seconds. Michelle and Kevin were weeping. Doc was grimacing but dry-eyed. Nearly.

“What happened in here?” Doc said.

“He was hiding in the shadows. He grabbed me from behind then dragged me to the bedroom and tied me up. He kept calling me
Ms. Tracy
. When I told him he was mixed up, he hit me. Then he tore off my clothes and  .  .  .  ” She shuddered before going on. “He was going to rape me. Said he wanted to know my secret. Then he heard the gunshots and ran out of the room.”

Doc looked at Kevin. “If you had arrived five minutes later, I think it would have been too late. After he raped Michelle he probably would have come back outside and killed me.

After a few moments, Kevin said “Let’s get home. I could use a drink.” As Michelle looked toward the door, she asked “Where is he? Is he  .  .  .  ?”

“He’s dead. Doc killed him. The dog too.” Kevin replied, looking at Doc with such grateful intensity it nearly took Doc’s breath away. “What was that last shot?” he finally asked.

“I shot him in the head. Just to make sure.” At that moment Michelle noticed the trail of blood leading from the door. She glanced down and saw Doc’s wounded and bleeding leg.

“Doc! You’re hurt!” she cried.

“The dog bit me, no big deal. I’ll live,” Doc said, gingerly pulling the denim up and away from his leg. Matey had done a number on his calf, gouging long strips of flesh.

“We need to get that bite cleaned up!” Michelle said, using both hands to pull Doc’s shirt over her breasts. It was too tight to button. “Kevin, help me get him home!”

“Goddamnit, I can walk! I’m not a cripple!” Doc protested.

Michelle squared her shoulders and glared at him fiercely. “You listen to me. You may be a doctor but right now you’re my patient and you’re going to do as you’re told! Do you understand me?!”

“Better listen to her, Bones,” Kevin suggested. “I’ve seen her like this before. She won’t take no for an answer.”

Doc sighed. “I hate being a patient. And don’t call me Bones.”

Kevin put Doc’s arm around his shoulder and together the three of them limped home. Michelle walked behind the men, still holding Doc’s shirt closed. They barely glanced at the few zombies that were slowly headed their direction, attracted to the sound of the gun and commotion. Likewise, they barely glanced at the dead man and his dog.

Two hours later, Doc reclined on the sofa, wearing a bathrobe Kevin had pulled from a closet upstairs. His leg was propped up, and Michelle was wrapping gauze around the wounds. Some of them were mere scratches, but three of them were deep enough for stitches. Michelle had spent nearly a half-hour irrigating the wound after giving Doc some local anesthetic to dull the pain. Kevin chose not to watch as she sewed him up. “Back when I asked you if you’d done any suturing, I had no idea I’d get to see your skills up close and personal,” Doc said between winces. “I believe you were being modest with your reply.”