Buzzkill (A Lesbian Story)

29: I Hate Surprises

  Out the window, I watched the sun disappearing behind the trees behind the little convoy of cars we had. The sky was beautiful and I was ready to be back at the hotel to see Ashley. I looked at the penguin in my hand and smiled slightly. She was going to love it, I just know it.

  "Yo, Maxie!" Thor called from the front, finishing up his sandwich. "We still on for that drinking contest, yeah?"

  Dammit, I forgot about that.

  "Of course, Hammerboy." I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. "Gonna need it after a day like this. It's been too damn crazy."

  "I have my money on Max." Steve said from the passenger seat. "She used to out-drink my dad and his family is from Scotland." He paused, "or...was I guess."

  Well, shit, that made me feel a bit guilty. Steve's dad is MIA and Ash lost her mom and doesn't know where her dad is. Yet both of my parents are at the hotel. Sure, my dad is sick, but at least I know where he is and know that he still has a pulse. Or he should still have one, at least.

  Our car started to go through the small area of gas stations and stores, on the way to the hospital and hotel. It made my feet shift restlessly. I just wanted to get back to the stronghold we have so I can chill the fuck out. Today has been a lot. I would like to see Ash, drink, and then fall asleep next to Ashley. Is that too much to ask? 

  Probably.

  "This is Thor. We're almost back at the base. Get ready to open the barrier." Thor said over the radio.

  "Copy that." Hulk's voice crackled back.

  We rolled up towards the wall of cars and I saw one with it's headlights on. That was Hulk obviously, ready to move the car so we could get out of the war zone.

  Pretty sure this whole damn world is a war zone now.

  Our car was the first to get through the wall and to park. Steve and I hopped out to watch the other get in and Hulk close the wall once again. As everyone was starting to get out of the cars, I noticed movement under the dim streetlamps passed the barrier. It was quick, like something moving between the cars. Then I saw zombies. A lot of them. I brought up a rifle and looked through the scope as I got closer to the barrier. Behind a car, a man ran out from. He was waving his arms as zombies chased behind him. He had to be about mid thirties. And there was a pack of thirty behind him. Go figure.

  "Fucking hell." I muttered, before looking at Thor. "We need to save him."

  He took my scope and took a look for himself. "Maxie, he's a goner. He's not going to make it."

  "Steve, cover me." I said before taking my rifle and jumping over the cars. Gun shots rang out as I sprinted towards the guy, shouldering my rifle for now and pulling out my pistol. There were footsteps behind me and I knew it was Thor by his cursings under his breath. He was probably going to hate me for dragging him out here, but I couldn't just leave this man out here.

  "This is stupid, Max." Thor said to me as we both stopped to lay on some fire at the running zombies. 

  The man was still sprinting towards us. Fast. The dropping zombies slowed others down, by tripping over the bodies. I shot at a streetlamp above the zombies and the light exploded, making them stop completely at the distraction and to plunge the street into darkness to mask our escape. The guy was right in front of us and Thor grabbed him to steer us towards an alley. The three of us got close to the wall and went around the corner, watching as the horde slowed to a stumble through the streets as if they forgot they were chasing people.

  "Thank you!" The man whispered to us. "Thank you...Thank you..."

  He was shaking and I finally noticed that he was only in a t-shirt and jeans. It had to be about forty degrees outside. There must've been a reason as to why he ran out in a hurry  like that.

  "Are you bitten?" Thor asked, holding by the shoulder. "Or hurt in any way?"

  The man looked a bit nervous in the dim light. Thor brought out a small flashlight from his pocket and looked the guy over. He had a darker complexion, but his skin was pale and I could see sweat beading down his face. That could be just from running from those things. Thor looked skeptical.

  "Thor, we need to get back to the base." I said, keeping one eye on the horde still roaming around.

  "Answer my question." Thor said in the most serious voice I've ever heard come out of him.

  "One just grabbed my leg when I was hiding under a car!" He confessed. "I was scratched by it, but I feel fine!"

 Thor reached down and lifted up both of his pant legs. On his right calf was a large scratch mark, deep and gross looking. The skin around it was a weird mixture of a purple and yellow color. The veins around the area were dark and snaked out under the skin. It was almost like the black blood of the infects was starting to form. He was definitely infected.

  Thor was quiet for a minute, looking at the ground. Finally, he looked up at the guy. "We have doctors. Good ones. They can help you. But if you turn on us before we get you help, I will not hesitate to put a bullet in your brain. Got me?" The man only nodded. "Let's go."

  He pushed the guy away from the wall and gestured for us to follow. We quickly passed through the back areas of the buildings to stay away from the road. It was almost like when we first came to the hotel. Thor had us cut through an alleyway to bring us back towards the front of the barrier, adjacent to the road. I brought up the back, my pistol at the ready for any stray zombies that would fuck with me. That's usually how it happened in the movies and television shows, right? The survivors would be almost to base and things would seem alright, but then a zombie would jump out and attack someone.

  This isn't some fictional story, Max. Calm down.

  We broke through the alleyway and stepped onto the sidewalk. I could see the movement of zombies back towards where we left them. Even with the dim lighting of the ending day, I could see them swaying between cars. We stuck by a row of cars so the remaining streetlights wouldn't give away our position. As we passed by a broken down Jeep, I heard a rustling noise. I brought my pistol up and looked inside the Jeep windows cautiously. It was dark, but I saw no movement inside. I turned my attention back to Thor leading us and I saw the guy limping more visibly. His hand was on his calf where he had been scratched. He tripped over his feet and I went towards him.

  "Max." Thor said to me with warning. His pistol pointed at the guy.

  "He just tripped." I said to him and shook the man's shoulder. "Hey. Get up. We're almost there. Come on."

  He shakily reached into his coat. He brought out a piece of paper that was speckled with blood and put it in my hand. "It's too late."

  With that, a deep growl rumbled throughout his body I saw the black veins slithering under the skin of his neck. His hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me towards him, but I pushed him away by his chest. My shoulder feeling like it was burning as his thumb was right on my wound. I yelled out in pain and finally pushed away enough for Thor to pull his trigger. The man went still and I fell back against the Jeep, holding my shoulder.

  "Dammit." I let out a breath and peeled back my jacket to see more blood on my t-shirt. "This shoulder will never get a break."

  "Your mom is going to have to look at that later." Thor said. His eyes went down to the guy's body. "All of that for nothing."

  I felt the note in my hand still. Thor didn't see the exchange between us. Maybe I should just keep it from him for now until I know what the note is. "Let's get back."