Omega Virus (Book 2): Revisited (24 page)

              “No, no,” Hope says reaching her hand over and wrapping it in his, “it’s not you. It’s just after what Justin did… it’s still hard to let another human in.”

              “I understand,” Mika says stroking her hand with his thumb, “just know I would never stoop that far as to take advantage of you.”

              “I know that,” Hope says trying to force a smile, “but my body, and my mind just don’t seem to get it.”

              “And there is no use fighting the mind,” Mika winks, “I knows what it wants, and more importantly what it doesn’t want.”

              “Thanks for understanding,” Hope says.

              “That’s what we do for each other right? We save each other and we do everything we can to keep each other comfortable,” Mika says.

              “Can I ask you a question?” Hope asks turning her attention back to the moon.

              “Sure. You know you can ask me anything,” Mika says nudging her shoulder.

              “It’s kind of silly, considering everything we’ve been through together,” Hope stutters.

              “Nothing is silly if it’s on your mind,” Mika urges trying to get her to speak.

              Hope turns her head her lips quivering, words unable to escape even after she swallows her fear. She closes her eyes, releasing a small tear as she inhales deeply through her nose, slowly letting the anxiety out between her tender lips. “Do you honestly think we can survive?”

              “What you mean us?” Mika asks slightly taken aback. “Our group?”

              “Yeah,” Hope nods, “I’ve only been on land a little over a week and yet I’ve already had to watch several people die. Everyone except Fanny and I died after getting off the boat, Amanda, the Major, Cynthia… even Justin. What makes us think we are any different than any of them?”

              “Because we are survivors,” Mika replies, “look at everything we made it through.”

              “You should have died at Cynthia’s hands, the poison… I thought we waited too long. Fanny rushes into everything like she’s invincible only to wind up close to death herself.”

              “And you?”

              “Where do I start? The church? The bunker? Justin? I just keep missing death, but how long can I keep up that dance?”

              “Do you know what each of those things have in common?”

              “What?” Hope asks her eyes starting to water up.

              “We were there for each other. Just like we always will be,” Mika says getting a slim smile from her. “I will always be here for you, I promise that.”

              “I don’t know if I can believe that,” Hope says choking on her words.

              “You should,” Mika smiles, “because I… I like you Hope. From the first moment I watched you take charge, ready to risk your life for your friends back in that church, a piece of me fell for you.”

              “I… I never knew,” Hope says the tears drying up and her face starting to shine as the moonlight connects with her pastel skin.

              “I know I’m older then you and this has to be insanely weird to hear, but there is just something about you,” Mika drives.

              Hope leans in quickly pressing her lips against his dark ebony lips. His free hand reaches up bracing around her head, holding her steady until she pulls away.

              “I don’t worry about the age,” Hope says her face showing more sign of life then she has since coming to the mainland.

              “That’s good to know,” Mika says with a wide smile.

              “I’m getting kind of tired,” Hope says after a long yawn.

              “Go get some sleep. I’ll take over the watch,” Mika says with a nod.

              “Are you sure?”

              “Yeah, suddenly I’m feeling wide awake.”

              Hope gets to her feet with little struggle, her crossed legs asleep, tingling as she takes her first few steps. Mika hands her the handguns that she places inside her pockets. She reaches out for her sword, holding the faded and frayed red wrap around the handle. She takes one last look at the window, the tint and posters blocking her view, but she knows the moon is there and that her father is waiting her back home.

              Her footsteps echo through the small silent building every time she lands her foot on the black and white patterned linoleum. She finds Fanny sleeping, the slight sounds of her snoring escaping from her lips. She shakes, and her face scrunches up. Hope can tell by her face that she is dreaming terrible things. Her shotgun is wrapped tightly in her arms and her machete rests nearby. Brad isn’t far away, Hope can see his feet twitching, almost running as he sleeps.

             
This is what we are reduced to,
Hope thinks to herself as she makes herself comfortable on the cold floor.
My friends are huddled close to me, each of them less than an arm’s reach away from a deadly weapon. Neither of them sleeping comfortably, the look on Fanny’s face says it all that her mind is racing with thoughts of death and decay. Brad’s feet can’t stop running, even when he has nowhere to go. And to be honest even with everything Mika said to comfort me… I still
think
it’s too much for us. I think we are all going to die here.

              The thoughts of death, and dying linger in the young girl’s mind giving her an uneasy feeling in her mind and stomach as she struggles to her eyes closed. She can feel the scrunching in her nose as the skin wrinkles, her breathing becoming heavier and more rapid. She fights to swallow, a lump building in her throat as beads of sweat start to drip down to the floor.

             
I can’t let these thoughts keep me awake; they are almost repetitive… like my heart beat. I have to remain strong, that’s my only option now. To not give in, to not let my emotions get the best of me…

             
She calms the rhythmic beat of her heart allowing her body to gently drift off to sleep. Sleep comes at a price, vivid images of fire burning brightly throughout the night sky. Her friend’s bodies strewn around her each one ripped apart, left for dead. She stands bloody and defeated, multiple undead closing in around her. Her sword is drawn and she is shaking as she waits to fend them off. They attack one at a time, none giving her much of a problem as she kills each one that comes at her. She wobbles slightly, the tip of the sword dug into the dirt keeping her upright as the ring of Zombies breaks open. The ground vibrates before a deep, obnoxious laugh breaks through the chatter and the growls of the undead. Hope’s jaw drops, leaving her mouth hung open as she watches the newest threat make its way to her.

              “No,” Hope says in a dry, drone like tone.

              “Hello Hope,” a zombified Damian says with a half decaying smile. His once fearsome, strong, brown eyes a deep red color. His pupils are blended in, giving him a demonic look as he faces down his daughter.

              “No it can’t be,” Hope cries, “you can’t!”

              “Can’t what? It’s just a matter of time,” Damian cackles, “It’s going to happen Hope, it’s better to expect that now.”

              “Expect what?” Hope asks.

              “Fate,” Damian replies, “sooner or later you and your friends will either wind up dead… or just like us…” He holds his arms out as Fanny, Brad, and Mika start to pull themselves up from the ground.

              “What did you do to them?” Hope rumbles.

              “I didn’t do a thing.” Damian smirks, his jaw decayed revealing the inside of his mouth. “This is all your doing, you led them down this path. You sentenced them to this living Hell.”

              He shows his teeth and rushes her. Hope fights back, cutting into his forearm as she dodges his attack. He turns his head back, his eyes almost glowing from the fire burning around him. He runs his hand over the cut wiping off the residual blood that built up from the cut. His smile widens as he runs his hand over his lips. His snake like tongue emerges out of the side of his face, licking the blood as he takes a few steps toward his daughter.

              “I don’t want to hurt you,” Hope cries.

              “I don’t want to hurt you either,” Damian grins, “I just want to see if you taste as good as your friends…and your mother!”

              He snaps his upper body toward her, the blade of her sword acting almost on instinct as it slices the last three fingers of his hand. He looks at his hand dismayed. The fingers wiggle back and forth on the ground, almost calling to him as he leans over and picks them up. One by one they reattach to his hand, the skin grafting itself back into place. He closes his hand, admiring the fact that his fingers are reattached. The remaining skin on his forehead starts to bubble, backing Hope up into the arms of the surrounding Zombies. They hold her still, forcing her to watch as her father begins to mutate. He grunts and groans as his skin stretches, pulling itself over his eyes. Hope watches in horror as the creature that once looked like her father now stands in front of her as the same creature they faced outside the grocery store.

              “Oh fuck,” Hope mutters as the lesser Zombies free her from their grasp, pushing her to the ground, forcing her to face her biggest nightmare.

              The father beast grabs her tightly by the shoulders, pulling her closer to his rotted skin. She can smell the rot and decay on his breath as he leans in close to her neck, his snake like tongue wrapping around her, tasting the sweat and fear that covers her body.

              “Only a matter of time,” He repeats as he works his jagged teeth into her neck. Hope whimpers and whines as the teeth cut deep past her skin. Her hands shake as she tries to fight back. “You can’t stop me!” he says widening his mouth, going for the final attack.

              “NO!” Hope roars, driving her sword through the creature’s jaw. He frees her from his grip as the lesser Zombies start to flee. She pulls the sword free from his head and kicks him to the ground. “I call the shots. I will never stop fighting, and neither will my friends. And I control my destiny!” Hope says with authority before swinging the blade through the air, not stopping until it frees his head from his body.

              Hope’s eyes shoot open. She finds herself lying on her stomach, the white square of linoleum fogging with each breath she takes. Her hands throb with a dull ache, her fingers are curled tightly against her palms and she backs up supporting her weight as she pushes against the floor. Her back arches as she lets out a trio of soft blows, calming herself before she gets to her feet.

              “Morning,” Brad says, a collapsible cup in his hand. “Sleep well?”

              “Not particularly,” Hope replies wiping the crust out of the corners of her eyes.

              “Bad dream?” He asks holding the cup out for her.

              “Almost felt like a vision,” She says before chugging the small amount of liquid.

              “Want to talk about it?”

              “Not particularly,” Hope repeats, looking at the bottom of the cup, “but I could use some more water.”

              “I’ll see what I can do,” Brad smiles as he takes the cup from her.

              “Are the others up yet?” Hope asks after following Brad back to his bag, watching him sift through the multiple items he stored inside.

              “Yeah, Fanny woke up before me and Mika said he woke up in the middle of the night,” Brad replies removing another bottle of water from his bag. He twists the cap off, listening as the seal cracks off.

              “Yeah Mika and I talked for a bit before he sent me off to sleep,” Hope says holding the cup steady as Brad refills it half way. “So where are they now?”

              “Neither one of them seemed to be doing well being cooped up here,” Brad says stopping so her can take a quick sip from the bottle.

              “And…?” Hope shrugs.

              “Oh,” Brad says finishing the bottle, “they went out.”

              “What!!!” Hope cries, “Whose brilliant idea…never mind, it sounds like Fanny. Why?”

              “We’re in the middle of nowhere, with several undead who know where we are and that we have less than a quarter tank of gas,” Brad replies, “they figured it was best to survey our surroundings. You know, figure out what’s waiting for us.”

              “What’s waiting for us is death!” Hope cries, the cup drops from her hand, the water slashing out as the several rings collapse on each other. Her head darts back and forth as she tries to wrap her head around everything. She runs her hands through her hair, stopping half way down and pulling it, and trying to remove the stress from her body. She walks away, her hands still glued to her hair. She grabs her guns and holsters them the best she can inside her waistband.

              “What are you doing?” Brad asks following closely behind her.

              “I’ve got to find them,” Hope says as she picks up her sword, “it isn’t safe out there.”

              “Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa!” Brad says grabbing her by her shoulders and stopping her, “you can’t go out there, it’s stupid!”