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Chapter 85


I hate when people use clichés. I always thought they were too cheesy. But I guess clichés are clichés for a reason.

So here it is…

The world may have become hell, but I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.



Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Week Twenty-Nine

Riley tossed the last duffel bag down beside the door before glancing around the great, old, plantation-style house they’d decided to hide out in for the night. They had just arrived in St. Louis, Missouri, after being on the road for almost three weeks. She wondered if they were ever going to make it home.

She swung her shaggy, golden hair forward and pulled it free from its ponytail, causing the wet strands to cascade down past her shoulders. It was the weather that had caused them to finally give in and find some shelter for the night. It was getting harder and harder to drive in it, especially in their oversized tour bus. And they were in need of supplies yet again, which they would have to seek out before night finally fell. The wind howled with ferocity, slamming ice and rain down upon the roof. The noise was deafening, but it drowned out the moans of the undead.

She shivered, soaked to the skin, as she closed the door behind her. She looked around for Nick, who was supposed to be trying to light the place up a bit. She could see candles and old-fashioned lanterns he must have found stashed away somewhere. Kevin had decided he would be the best one to run and scavenge for food while they set up.

“Nick?” she called, slowly making her way further into the house, with her rifle loaded and ready. The two of them had already cleared out the house, but she knew better than to ever be complacent. Anytime they had been before, it had only led to bad things for them. Her ears perked up to listen for any noise. She could hear nothing, except for the pounding of the storm outside.

“Niiiick?”

A tap on her shoulder caused her to jump with shock. Her hands jerked instinctively, sending a shot firing up toward the ceiling. It rang out as it struck the chandelier. Glass shattered on impact, before the great, decorative piece shook and then fell. It crashed loudly and fantastically down to the floor, pieces scattering everywhere. Riley whirled around, breathing heavily, with her gun aimed at the face in her vision. She quickly lowered the gun and put the safety on. Nick stood before her, holding out a blanket, while trying his best to suppress his laughter and failing miserably. His normally fluffed-up hair was still wet and plastered down to his head.

“Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.”

He grinned. “At least you killed the mean chandelier.” He motioned to the mess on the other side of the room.

“I thought you were a zombie.”

“You always think I’m a zombie.” As she set the gun down, he walked behind her, wrapping the blanket gently over her shoulders. His lips met the bare skin of her neck with a feathery touch. She shivered again; this time, it had nothing to do with the cold. “Zombies are the dead ones…” He turned her back towards him. “…remember?”

Riley smiled a little, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, yeah… smartass.”

“How long do you think Kevin’ll take?”

She walked away to peer out the windows, before pulling each set of curtains closed. “Could be awhile. This weather’s a mess.”

“Yay! That’s good.” He ran over to her, picking her up and twirling her around. She laughed as he dropped her gently back down onto her feet, next to the small pile of bags. She opened one immediately, so that she could rummage for some dry clothes.

“You act like we’re never together.”

“Not alone…”

“No… not alone,” she murmured, continuing her rummaging through the bag, which held, as she quickly realized, all of their blankets. Riley tossed it aside and started looking through the next bag. Nick kneeled down next to her.

“I think these are my clothes,” he told her, pulling out a shirt and some jeans to toss towards her. “Here, wear these. I already changed.”

“I can find mine somewhere…”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. We need to get you dry. Last thing I need is to see you getting sick.”

She smiled at him as she took the clothes. Riley often tried to figure out what made them fit together so well. She always thought that they shouldn’t. They didn’t seem each other’s type, and if they had met in the world before, it seemed reasonable to believe they would never have worked as a couple. Yet, even though logic defied it, Riley thought maybe they would have. Stuff like this wasn’t supposed to be logical, or have reason to it. It just happened. She’d had several relationships in her life, before her career ambitions had chased everyone else away. None had felt like this, and sometimes, it scared her. Because nothing was guaranteed anymore. Anything, anyone she cherished, she could stand to lose. She’d been reminded of that once already, when Nick had his seizure at the base.

Right then, however, it brought a contentment that almost felt out of place. It was that feeling that caused her to say what came next. Nothing in particular spurred it. It was just a glance over at him. The way he smiled, the light that danced happily in his eyes.

“I love you.”

He stared at her for a moment, as the words sunk in. The two of them had been skipping around those three words a lot lately, she suspected. She knew she, herself, had been. He pulled her into his arms, the clothes dropping to the floor. His lips pressed against hers, and instinctively, her arms wrapped around him. It was a kiss of passion, deepening between them before she pulled away and their eyes met.

The half smile he gave her was soft and gentle. “I love you, too.”

This time, it was Riley who initiated the next kiss, her tongue exploring his mouth as his did the same inside hers. The kisses between them continued, becoming more frantic, as his hands snaked up under her still-drenched clothing. They found her hips, and he guided her backwards, until the two fell back onto the couch. He braced himself up as he continued kissing her, the passion growing each time.

Finally, he was able to snap her bra free, and her arms went up as he lifted that up, along with her blouse, and tossed it aside. Her hands grabbed his shirt and tugged it off of him. She looked at his well-defined chest, a result of all the zombie-killing he’d done since she had met him. The beer belly pooch he’d once had was just a memory. Her hands ran gently down his torso, before they fell to the zipper of his jeans. Nick was already sliding hers down her hips.

A part of her knew they should slow down. Her logical side would have asked him if he had any protection – pregnancy was a bigger risk now than it used to be. Her logical side had no voice right then, however. Passion was what ruled them. Both were too wrapped up in the moment to think of anyone or anything else but each other. The two were in their own world now. One where only each other existed. One where there was nothing but pure bliss.

The hellish world around them was forgotten.

***

She lay curled up in his arms, her body fitting perfectly beside his on the couch. She couldn’t stop beaming. The two of them had dozed off afterwards, just content in each other’s embrace. She could still hear the storm raving crazily outside.

Riley’s gaze shifted back to Nick. He was still sleeping, but she could see the smile on his face. Her hand trailed along his arm, tracing the mural tattoo on his shoulder. Her eyes followed the lines of his body, the imperfections and the beauty. The various tattoos, like the word “KAOS” written down his spine, and the sun on his shoulder blade. She sighed contentedly, as she cuddled up against him again. In that moment, as she lay just reflecting on what had happened, everything before and everything now, she realized something.

Riley was happy. Blissfully, stupidly, unbelievably happy.

Of course, such peace couldn’t last forever. The sound of a window shattering startled her, causing her to fall off the couch, bringing the blanket along for the ride. Nick immediately rose and looked around, confused. Moans could be heard from within the house, and Riley frantically searched for their guns. Nick jumped to his feet and was able to find his axe first. The timing was impeccable, as a zombie came at him seconds later. Nick fought to keep it at bay, still stark nude as he tried to fight it off.

Riley found his handguns within the pile of discarded clothes and turned to see several more coming in through the broken window. Swallowing back her concern for Nick, she rushed forward, trying to take out the others. Two fell after several shots to the face, one of which went through the skull and into the head of the zombie behind it. She heard the sound of a skull cracking and knew Nick had been able to kill the one he’d been battling. They needed to block the window before more came in.

That moment of pause, the turn of her head, was the opening the zombies needed. There were too many, too close. One got a grip on her shoulder, and as she struggled, she felt another help the other. The two corpses forced her down to the ground. She stared into the blank, milky white eyes of the undead on top of her, as she tried to fight them off. She was able to kick one of them off of her. The other had too good of a grip on her. A gunshot and a thud followed. She couldn’t see if the one that went down was the one she had kicked off, however. Her hair was yanked painfully forward, and she found herself getting closer to the gnashing jaws.

“Rye!” Nick screamed.

For a split second, Riley felt herself giving up. She knew what was about to happen. She knew she couldn’t stop it this time. She closed her eyes. Thank you, God, for giving me Nick before I die.

Suddenly, the corpse fell flat against her body. There was no movement, and she opened her eyes. As she struggled to sit up under the dead weight, it was thrown off of her, and she could see the blade of the axe still stuck into the back of its skull. Nick stood above her with the broken handle in his hands. He smiled grimly as he tossed it aside and reached down to help her up, as gently as possible. The look of relief in his eyes was unsettling.

“I was killing off the others, and when I saw them start to pull you down…”

Trying to slow her breathing and calm herself, Riley forced a smile. “I’m alright; no worries.”

He pulled her close, hugging her tightly. His face fit into the crook of her neck. “Don’t you ever scare the shit out of me like that again.”

She laughed, pulling away just enough to look up at him. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I thought you were going to die.”

“So did I, to tell you the truth.”

The door opened, and instinctively, both dove for their weapons. They aimed their guns, only to lower them quickly. Kevin stood there, staring at the two still-naked blondes. Riley felt herself flush deep red, and she went and hid behind Nick. Her head peeked out from around him.

“Do I even want to ask what happened?”

“No…” Riley said, laughing, as she bent down to pick up the blanket and wrapped it around herself and Nick. Kevin looked grateful that the two were no longer exposed. “Probably not.”

Her eyes met Nick’s, and at that moment, Riley knew she’d never love another person more.

***