ZOMB-POCALYPSE

Chapter Sixteen

"I went to prison for robbery," her says at last. I start to withdraw my hand again, that is pretty serious stuff, but Ryan holds on to it tightly this time, refusing to let go.

"It's not what you think," he says, his voice low and full of emotion.

"I told you before that I was in the principal's office a lot?" he questions, seeing if I remember, and I do.

"Yes," I confirm, and he takes a deep breath.

"My dad got killed in a car accident a year ago, and I spiraled out of control. I was hanging out with some bad kids at school. They would smoke pot and skip classes, and I went right along with them." I can hear the regret and disgust in his voice as he speaks, and I squeeze his hand for support. "I didn't even know they were gonna do it. They went into the convenience store and I waited in the car because I didn't have any cash... I was driving because the other two guys were already too drunk." My gut gets a sick feeling, and I'm pretty sure I know what he's going to say next.

"It's okay, you don't have to say it," I murmur, but he keeps talking.

"They come running out and jump in the car, and I drive off. We only get a block before the cops are pulling us over. The guys are telling me to run from the cops, but I pull over. The cops surrounded us and the one guy pulls out a gun and starts shooting at them. I jumped down under the dash, and he was shot right beside me."

Ryan takes a shaky breath. "The other guy surrendered, and we both got cuffed. I didn't know what happened till later, but no one ever believed me. I was in jail for armed robbery. It was two weeks before my eighteenth birthday, so they tried me as an adult."

I don't even hesitate as I jump into his lap. "I believe you," I tell him firmly. I'm so relieved when his arms wrap around me. Near the end of that story, I had suddenly been terrified that he was going to hate me for making him relive it.

"How did you escape prison?" I ask, and then instantly regret it. I wish I could swallow the question back up.

"Some of the inmates and guards started to turn. The prison went into lockdown right away. Some of the guards turned, most of them ran away..."

I feel sick as I think about Ryan sitting in a cell with zombies turning all around him.

"I was one of the lucky ones, my cellmate didn't turn either. Some of the guys were ripped apart, locked in their cells."

"Their cell mates must have had the rare blood type," I say.

Ryan nods. "Maybe," he says and shrugs. "One of the remaining guards took pity on us and he let us out. We had to group together and fight our way out of the prison, so maybe it wasn't pity. Maybe he knew he couldn't get out without us."

I don't know what to say, so I hug Ryan tighter. I'm surprised when his fingers brush across my cheek and then his mouth covers mine in a hard kiss. I gasp when his tongue slips into my mouth, but I kiss him back, holding him even tighter.

"Thank you for believing in me," he murmurs as he pulls away.

My head spins. I want to kiss him again, but I'm not sure if I should.

A sharp knock on the door has me jumping off his lap and flushing red when a soldier opens the door, letting in a bunch of natural light that has me blinking.

"Your time's up," he says, and I'm surprised.

"Already?" I ask, making the soldier laugh.

"I've never heard that one before," the soldier says, stepping back as we stand up and put our backpacks on.