V-Day: (M-Day #4) (18 page)

But rules were made by those powerful enough to enforce them. There could still be rules if I decided I wanted them. Might makes right. And my might, or at least willpower, was greater than Riley
’
s.
At least it used to be. I
’
m not so sure anymore
. I
’
d let him kidnap me. I knew that in my heart. I put up a little fight, mostly to convince myself that I wasn
’
t with him by choice, but the first chance I got, I was attempting to groom myself just in case
…
what? I squeezed my eyes shut.
I
’
m a fucking mess. Everything is depending on you and you just want Riley. How old are you?

I heaved a huge sigh.
“
You need to take me back to my brothers. Everyone
’
s lives depend on it.
”

“
Tell me why you keep saying that.
”

A beast-like roar broke the peace, vibrating the glass in the windows. My mouth fell open. The sound was quickly becoming way too familiar.
I-Monster.
I
’
d been hoping the ones that had been chasing us would be dead, the fact that they weren
’
t made my gut twist with worry for my brothers.

“
Get dressed.
”
Riley tossed my old clothes at me, the damp fabric sticking to me as I pulled them on, grimacing in pain. I
’
d been hoping to raid the closets to find something less
…
skanky.
Oh well...maybe next time. If I survive.

As soon as Riley was dressed, he dashed from the room, leaving me standing there without a clue of what to do next.
The old Vi would know
, my mind whispered. I swept my gaze over everything in the room, searching for something that would aid me.

A slow grin crept across my face when I saw two large cans of aerosol hairspray.
And maybe the new Vi knows what to do too. I may be broken but I
’
m not shattered. Not yet. It
’
s time for me to make a comeback.

I scrambled downstairs to the kitchen, my senses on high alert. Another roar rattled my eardrums as I fumbled through drawers looking for what I needed.
If only I had my vest with all of my supplies.
But there was no point in crying over spilt milk, I
’
d never see that thing again.

Success!
Tucked in the back of what looked like a junk drawer was a faded red lighter. I snatched it up, sliding my thumb over the spark-wheel while sending up a silent prayer. A little flame popped up, and I laughed with excitement. Brandishing the lighter and hairspray I marched out of the house with a purpose.
I
’
m going to fry me some I-Monster. Or die trying. Because that
’
s a very distinct possibility too.
I knew I was being a bit reckless, but just having Riley near me had a way of doing that.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
It was as if a part of me was trying to prove to Riley that I was still me
—
that the rape hadn
’
t affected me after all.

I followed the sounds of commotion around to the back of the house. I arrived just in time to see an I-Monster throw Riley through the air to slam into a small shed, crushing it. Riley shook his head dazedly and remained on the ground. I took the opportunity to draw the I-Monster
’
s attention.
“
Yoo-Hoo! Over here!
”
I sing-songed.

Both the I-Monster and Riley turned in my direction instantaneously.
“
Viv, no!
”
Riley bellowed as the I-Monster rushed towards me, losing all interest in him.

I flicked the lighter on, my hand trembling despite my bravado.
Please let this work.
I pushed down on the hairspray button and
whoosh
, instant mini flamethrower. The I-Monster screamed as its face caught on fire. I kept up the steady stream until the hairspray was out. By that time the whole thing
’
s body was ablaze. I cackled with delight.
Burn, baby, burn.

What I hadn
’
t counted on was the pissed off, burning I-Monster to decide that he was going to take me out with him.
I should have known. I
’
ve watched enough horror movies.
The thing lurched at me, hands grasping and waving in my direction. Before I had a chance to react, Riley
’
s steal banded arms were around my waist and hauling me backwards. I flipped off the human flame and laughed, my throat scratchy.
I think I may have snapped.
Even that thought was slightly amusing because if it was true then it
’
d taken me losing my mind to finally get my shit together.
Is that considered irony?

The scent of burning flesh hit belatedly, as if it had been slowly seeping into my nostrils before I could actually smell it. I gagged on bile, my throat burning worse. I watched in morbid fascination as the flames that were eating at the I-Monster lessened, revealing blackened skin and sightless eyes. It collapsed to the ground just before Riley dipped over a hill, darting into the woods, me clinging to him. He kept on running, not a hitch in his step, even though I knew he had to be hurting. What would have happened if I hadn
’
t come to the rescue with my DIY flamethrower?
We
’
d probably be a midday snack by now
.

“
Why didn
’
t you shoot it? It would have at least slowed it down.
”

“
I know that,
”
he grunted.
“
I don
’
t have the ammo to spare.
”
It made sense, why waste the ammo on an I-Monster when it wouldn
’
t do any good, and it could take down an I-Man, at least long enough to make the kill. Or were there I-Women now too? It wasn
’
t something I
’
d considered until that very moment. Just because Evo, Max, and Nyx weren
’
t off their rockers and out of control didn
’
t mean there weren
’
t women out there that were.

I noticed Riley
’
s breathing was labored
—
too labored.
“
You okay
?
”
I shouldn
’
t care.
He was infected. And even if he wasn
’
t, I knew better than to expect a happily ever after in this new world.

“
Fine,
”
he grated, letting me know he definitely was not fine.

“
You can stop running, it
’
s probably dead. Fire pretty much kills everything, even I-Monsters.
”
I honestly didn
’
t know of anything else that actually did kill an I-Monster. Fire seemed to be its weakness, which was tough to come by on the fly.

“
There could be more of them,
”
he gasped out, his chest heaving.

“
Riley, please. Five minutes, ten tops.
”

He slowed, setting me on my feet. He backed up a few steps, his ice eyes roaming over me from head to toe as if checking me for injuries. Satisfied, he nodded once
…
and collapsed in a heap on the ground.

“
Riley!
”
I hurried over to him, struggling to roll him onto his back. He was nothing but dead weight. His eyes were slitted open and his breathing raspy. Red oozed from a gash on his side
…
no, a bite. I waved my hands over it, not knowing what to do. I
’
d never been interested in any kind of field medicine training or general doctor knowledge like Ty, since the mere sight of blood made me woozy. But I had to do
…
something. Future I-Man or not, he was still Riley for the moment. I couldn
’
t just let him die.

“
Tell me what to do!
”
I shook him, trying to keep him awake and coherent although his eyes had slid shut all the way. He was out cold. I leaned in to get a better look at his injury. It was similar in size to the one on my leg, but fortunately not quite as deep. Muscle was exposed, his oblique
’
s maybe? At least no organs had been effected
…
I hoped. For all I knew I was looking at part of his spleen and not muscle at all.

“
Spider webs!
”
I snapped my fingers together as if I
’
d made some kind of revelation. I scanned around us looking for cobwebs to gather. They were there, but the process to get what I thought was enough was slow going. When I had the size of about a pea, I rolled it up and then flattened it, hoping to stuff it into the center of the hole in Riley
’
s side to do something positive until I could find more.

I scrambled back to Riley, mentally preparing myself for the task at hand, praying that I wouldn
’
t pass out before I could treat him.
“
What the fuck?
”
The wound was half the size it
’
d been a few minutes ago. As I watched, I swore it was knitting itself together before my eyes. Relief washed over me briefly before my stomach sank into my feet. The rapid heeling was proof of the advancement of the Men-V within Riley
’
s system. There was no telling what he
’
d be like when he woke up.

I allowed myself to look my fill, my gaze devouring his visage one last time before I made my exit. In repose, even with the virus invisibly changing the man I loved on the inside, his exterior was hotter than ever. The years had been kind to him, stealing what was left of any baby fat he
’
d once had, leaving behind a finely chiseled face with a body to match. But it wasn
’
t just his appearance that had drawn me to him, always keeping me coming back for more. It certainly didn
’
t hurt the situation, but it was Riley
’
s heart of gold that held me captive. He
’
d never wavered in his loyalty to me even when we were no longer a couple.
And now he
’
s lost to me forever.
I struggled to remember a time before I knew Riley was someone I could count on. I couldn
’
t. Even when we were little kids, if someone picked on me, he was who I ran to if Ty wasn
’
t available. Ty, Vi, and Ri, we were the three amigos until I went and fucked everything up by wanting Riley all to myself.

I dipped down to kiss Riley
’
s forehead, letting my lips linger maybe a moment too long. My nostrils flared with his scent causing my mouth to literally water.
What the hell is wrong with me? Riley
’
s lying in the woods, unconscious, probably transforming into an I-Man, and one whiff of him and suddenly I
’
m turned on?
Unable to resist, I pressed my nose into his neck and inhaled more deeply.
Mmmm
…
Riley. So good
.  My hands moved down his chest, reveling in the warmth he radiated.

What the hell?
I yanked my hands back and stood, stumbling.
I need to get the hell out of here.
I removed the biggest weapon Riley had, something military optimized that I wasn
’
t familiar with but was sure I could figure out. I slung it over my shoulder before rummaging in his pockets for ammo. I left him with a handgun and the ammo that went with it, guilt not letting me take everything from him.

I hobbled further into the woods, hoping to put as much distance as possible between Riley and me before he woke up. If I was lucky, my brothers would find me again before Riley, any I-Men, or I-Monsters could
—
and before the clock ran out. My stomach twisted as I thought about it. I
’
d lost track of days, the clock was still ticking but I didn
’
t know when everything was set to implode anymore. Chances were
—
we were all already dead, we just didn
’
t know it yet.