CHAPTER ELEVEN
I heard Riley crying as soon as I walked through the front door. Nacho ran up to greet me and I leaned down to scratch behind his ears. “What’s the big baby whining about now, Nacho?”
Walking into the living room, I was bombarded by tears and snot as a red-faced Riley rushed to meet me. “Oh, Anya, it’s so horrible!”
Holding her away from me before she could face-plant her mess onto my shirt, I said, “I’m sure you’re exaggerating, Riley.”
“You don’t understand, Anya. He’s been bitten!”
A chill coursed through me and, I don’t know why, but the first person who came to mind was Justin. “Who?” I whispered.
“Kyle’s been infected!” Riley cried out.
In a knee-jerk reaction, I slapped her across her lying face. “That’s not funny!” Riley palmed her cheek, sobbing louder.
Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I looked down to see Paulina’s solemn expression. “Viktor and Melanie locked him in their room upstairs.”
I pushed past both of them, heart thundering in my chest. “Kyle!” I shouted, running to the stairs. Tripping halfway up, I scrambled the rest of the way. At the top, Melanie stood with her arms crossed and head down. “Anya,” she rasped. This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t real.
“Move out of my way.” She complied and went down the hallway, encountering Viktor in front of the deadbolted bedroom door, billhook machete in hand. “Unlock it!”
“Where’s Levi?” he questioned stubbornly.
“He’s still outside, putting gas in the cars. Now let me in there!” I screamed at him. “If Kyle is infected, he’s got two days!” Stopping to take a deep breath, I pleaded, “Viktor, that means I only have two days with him.”
After a long moment of just staring down at me with a mixture of pity and sadness in his eyes, Viktor turned around, inserted a key and swung the door open. “I’m locking the door behind you.”
I wasn’t listening to him anymore. Kyle lay partially on the bed, with his legs hanging off the side and his arms clasped together over his eyes. The bandage on one arm was a harsh dose of reality.
“Honey?” I breathed, moving to the bed while hearing the lock click behind me.
Uncovering his face, he looked at me with dry, bloodshot eyes and opened his arms to me. I swallowed my tears and practically threw myself into his arms. We laid there for a long time, more than long enough for my dad to be informed. Long enough for the room to darken because of the setting sun. Viktor must’ve told him to give us time alone.
All I could hear was the beating heart in the chest beneath my right ear. It sounded so strong. The house was quieter than normal. At this time of day the family would mostly be in for the night and competing personalities usually meant a cacophony of sounds. I’d been crying off and on, trying to do so as silently as possible. I wanted to be able to keep hearing the steady beating of his heart.
He coughed, interrupting my vigil. “I really wanted to marry you, Anya.”
Lifting my head off his chest, I got up onto my elbows, cupping his cherished face in my palms. “You are my husband, Kyle. We don’t need a chapel and Pastor Dan to make it true.”
“I want to kiss you so bad,” he said.
“I know, me too,” I commiserated. We’d never kiss in that way again. It was thought that the virus passed on through saliva. We couldn’t risk it. Instead, I kissed him on the chin, then up his jaw and back down to kiss up the other side.
My thoughts were becoming crazy. It felt as if my world were upside down, tilted askew, slowing down. If this man died, it would stop completely.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to protect everyone.
Popping to an upright position, I stared down into Kyle’s somber brown eyes. “Are you sure, Kyle? I mean, what exactly happened?”
Kyle sat up, peeling back the bandage from his arm. There was a deep, bloody impression of teeth. “Maybe you’re immune. Remember we heard rumors?”
He shook his head and recovered the wound. “Come here, babe.”
With renewed tears, I let him hold me. Not much longer passed before there were three knocks on the door. “Do you guys want some dinner?” my dad asked gruffly through the door.
“You should eat.” Kyle nudged me and I tightened my arms around his midriff.
“I’m not hungry,” I told him.
“Well, I am,” he replied, helping me to my feet. I wasn’t sure he was telling the truth. Most likely he just wanted to push me out of my stupor and force me to take care of myself. “Unlock the door! We’re coming out to eat!” he called out.
The door opened a moment later and Viktor and my dad stood there, looking stern. Holding Kyle’s hand in mine, I announced, “Kyle and I are going down to the kitchen to eat.”
My dad and Viktor shared a look as if deciding whether or not to allow Kyle out of the room. Finally, my dad moved aside, clearing a path. As we passed my dad, he stopped Kyle by gripping his upper arm. “I’m sorry about this, son.”
Kyle cleared his throat. “I’m just glad no one else. . . .” he trailed off.
“I know,” my dad acknowledged.
Trying to summon a smile, I pulled on his hand. “Let’s go eat, honey.”
On our way down the stairs, we passed by Alexi and Justin who were sitting on the wooden steps, playing cards. Alexi lifted his troubled face to look at us. “I’m sorry, man, this sucks. You going out like that.”
Justin nodded in agreement. “Yeah, man, sorry. We’re gonna miss hanging with you.”
Their condolences stirred anger in me. “Just shut up, you two! He’s not dead yet!”
“They just want to let him know they care, Anya,” Viktor admonished from a few steps above us.
“Thanks, guys,” Kyle said softly, defusing the situation.
We entered the kitchen where Paulina was dishing up two plates of spaghetti and buttered bread, while Riley stood fidgeting against the counter. I thought the servings were rather large, but maybe overfeeding us was Paulina’s way of coping. She set the plates next to each other on the table and wiped her hands on her apron, gazing at Kyle. “Eat up, you’ll need your strength.” Her voice cracked on the last word and she put a hand over her mouth, leaving the room.
“I’ll get you guys some iced tea,” Riley offered, spinning around to get glasses from the cupboard.
Viktor stood in the doorway, standing guard. “Where’s Zeke?” I asked, trying to distract myself.
“Still outside somewhere,” Viktor explained, “Levi went to go look for him and bring him in.”
Kyle sat down in front of one of the plates, gesturing for me to do the same. I was worried if I tried to eat, I’d throw it right back up. He let out an appreciative sigh. “This looks good. I’ve always loved Paulina’s homemade spaghetti sauce.” Contradictory, he took a bite out of the bread first.
Riley set the iced tea in front of us and I took a drink of mine. It’d been hours since I’d last drank anything. I still wasn’t hungry, but I didn’t want to disappoint Kyle. Taking small bites, I was able to make a dent in my large serving. Kyle finished half his food before declaring he was full and I took that as my cue I could stop eating.
The sliding door opened and a nervous-looking Zeke entered. I didn’t notice the gun until he raised it in his shaking hands. “S-sorry,” he stammered.
“Put that gun down!” Viktor barked.
Not yet, I wanted to shout.
“He’s goin’ to turn into one of those things,” the little boy said, looking frightened. “He won’t be himself anymore. We have to do it now before he kills us.” Tears were running down his freckled face and I could tell he was trying to be brave.
Kyle looked resigned as he stared at the kid, and I didn’t like the thought that he had already given up. I squeezed his hand, hoping to bring him back to me.
The gun was snatched out of Zeke’s hand from behind as my father entered through the open sliding door and came upon the scene. Eyes growing wide, Zeke looked even more scared now. “Upstairs, now!” he yelled at the boy. Zeke didn’t waste time and his footsteps could be heard pounding up the steps.
My dad let out a frustrated breath while glancing from me to Kyle. “Sorry about that, son.” My dad was about to give a harsh lecture to the kid, but he took the time to put some food on a plate for Zeke before following him upstairs.
Wordlessly, Kyle pulled me out of my seat and led me out the still open sliding door. We sat in our usual patio chair on the deck and he pulled me into his lap. The sun had set and the storm had since passed. Stars dotted the clear mountain sky. How many times had we sat just like this over the years? This would likely be our last time. As had happened over the past few hours, another crack formed in my heart. When he died, it would shatter into dust.
With my arms around his neck, I leaned my head against his. “I love you, Kyle.” My words were a whisper, just for him.
“I’ll always love you, Anya, I always have,” he said sadly. “Wherever I go, just know that I’ll be missing you.”
I put my hand on his heart. “We’ll see each other again. You’re my soulmate.”
“Oh yeah?” Kyle asked playfully. “Can’t resist me, huh?
“Something like that,” I joked along with effort, giving in to the levity he wanted.
More seriously, he said, “I don’t want to talk about anything depressing. Just for tonight, let’s pretend this,” he held up his injured arm, “doesn’t exist.”
“Okay,” I told him quietly. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
“How about the wedding?” he suggested and it took everything in me to keep from bursting into tears. I wouldn’t let him down. I would give him the night he wanted. “Tell me,” he began, “how short is the dress you’re going to wear?”
That got a little laugh out of me. “Not too short. Now, the negligee I’ll be wearing that night. . . .”
He tensed beneath me and I thought myself stupid for bringing up that topic. I let out the breath I’d been holding when he finally said, “Ah, the honeymoon, my favorite part.”
“Mine too,” I agreed.
Kyle abruptly changed the subject. “What’ll we name our first kid?”
“Well, that depends. If it’s a boy, Kyle Pearson Jr., of course.” That got a smug grin from him.
“And if it’s a girl?”
“Svetlana,” I told him, awaiting his reaction.
I wasn’t disappointed by his grimace. “Anya, babe, your mother was great and all, but her name?” His head tilted. “Not so much.”
“Kidding!” I told him, looking up at the sky. “We’ll name her something really pretty and old-fashioned, like Victoria or Charlotte.”
“I approve.” He yawned loudly. The sound brought me back to reality. It was still early for him to be so tired. Was it the virus coursing through his system? The thought of him going to sleep and never waking up, maybe going into a coma, only to reanimate after dying, terrified me.
This wasn’t actually going to happen. It was too soon for Kyle to succumb to the virus. Two or three days was the typical timeframe for someone bitten to die and come back. It only happened sooner when the person died from their injuries.
“Let’s go upstairs and snuggle under the blanket,” I proposed.
“Alright.”
We went in together, running into Viktor where he sat at the kitchen table. “Going upstairs?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Kyle is tired.”
“Anya, he can’t be left untied tonight,” he warned.
I gave him a disgusted look. “Fine, Viktor, but you better bring me something soft to tie him up with.” It wasn’t as if Kyle would be turning tonight. Viktor was just being paranoid. Maybe Kyle wasn’t bit deep enough and wasn’t infected at all. Maybe when we woke up tomorrow he’d be as healthy as he’d always been. Maybe he was immune. There had been rumors years back.
After giving me a scarf to use, Viktor locked us in the room for the night. I guessed he or my dad would take turns standing guard while Melanie slept in my bed.
Kyle eyed the black scarf. “Kinky.”
“I think it’s Paulina’s.”
“Makes it even hotter,” he moaned dramatically.
“You’re sick!” I wrinkled my nose, laughing.
When he started to unbutton his jeans to get ready for bed, I took off my shorts, letting them slide down my legs. He stopped what he was doing, scanning my body in only a tank top and panties. When I started taking my top off, he grated out, “Anya, no.”
Walking to him in my undergarments, I yanked his shirt over his head. “We may not get a real wedding night, but we can touch each other and I can kiss your body.”
He looked torn, so I took the opportunity to remove the rest of what little bit of clothing there was left. “I’ll love you forever, Kyle, but we may only get this one night.” I couldn’t hold back the tears as two escaped. “Help me remember it.”
We locked the door from the inside.
I woke up alone in bed. For the briefest of moments, I was confused to be in Melanie and Viktor’s bedroom. It came crashing back in the next instant. Panic surfaced when I saw the scarf hanging from the bedpost. The bathroom toilet flushed and the door opened.
Kyle stood there with a towel wrapped around his waist. “You suck at tying a man up, Anya.”
Relieved, I joked, “I haven’t had much practice.” It was as he neared the bed in the early morning light I saw the dark circles under his eyes. My stomach dropped. I knew I wasn’t imagining that his eyes looked sunken in, also.
It must have shown on my face, the despair, because he dragged me up into his embrace. “Hey, it’s going to be okay.”
“No it isn’t,” I groaned. “I won’t be okay without you.”
“No more tears,” he ordered, tenderly wiping his fingers across my cheeks.
I forced a smile. “Okay, I’ll try my best.”
“Let’s go feed you. I know you’re probably hungry after last night,” he teased.
“Famished,” I drawled.
Surprisingly, neither Viktor nor my dad were outside the bedroom door when I opened it. We showed up in the kitchen where Paulina and my dad were sitting, drinking mint tea. Paulina got out of her seat as she saw Kyle and came over to give him a hug. A foot shorter than him, her head rested on his chest. I insisted on being the one to cook Kyle’s breakfast, making him bacon, eggs and toast. He ate it slowly, not able to finish. It wasn’t until he was rushing to the bathroom to vomit that I realized he wouldn’t be able to eat anything anymore.
I was in the bathroom, running my fingers through his hair as he hung his head over the toilet. Melanie came into the bathroom, handing me a wet towel. Thanking her, I used it to wipe Kyle’s face. I saw Viktor over her shoulder and, from his still-wet hair, figured he must have been in the shower earlier.
By noon, Kyle’s skin was taking on a yellowish hue.
By dinner time his cheekbones were more prominent and he looked as if he’d lost twenty pounds.
By the following morning his muscles were cramping in pain.
Kyle wouldn’t live past today, decisions had to be made. My family would no longer leave us alone together. Viktor told me my dad wanted me downstairs to talk. I kissed Kyle’s temple, telling him I’d be back in a few minutes. He was tied loosely to the bed for comfort and drifting in and out of sleep.
*****
The bindings hadn’t been hard to escape. Kyle Pearson threw one long, pensive glance back at the room he’d occupied for the past couple days with Anya. Finally get to share a room before marriage and the hourglass was running out of sand. He went to the double-hung window and worked on the latch. This took much longer than he’d expected. Already the virus was wreaking havoc on his motor skills, making something as simple as unhooking the locking mechanism a difficult and painful task.
Outside the sun was shining brightly. After pulling the window open, he had to reevaluate his choices. Even if he managed to slide down the roof, the fall would break a bone or two but may not kill him. At this very moment the love of his life and the people he’d grown up with were having a family meeting, deciding who would put the bullet in him and where it would be done. He didn’t want any of them to face the guilt of shooting him in the head, especially Anya.
Quietly opening the bedroom door, he made his way to the top of the stairs. Avoiding the stairs that creaked, he debated whether or not to try for the front door. He could hear the family emotionally debating in the living room what would happen when he turned. Levi, out of love for his oldest daughter, volunteered to do the deed when the time came.
Anya, between bouts of tears, whimpered, “Please let me chain him up. My powers are stronger than they used to be. Maybe I can learn to fight the virus. I could fix him.” His stubborn girl, she was still in denial but there was no saving him. She knew as well as everyone else her abilities didn’t extend to anything like curing the undead.
“Anya, we can’t keep him here. It’d be a threat to our safety,” Viktor spoke gently but firmly.
“He’s right, sweetheart. Kyle wouldn’t want his reanimated body chained up in a shed, tormenting you and everyone else. It won’t be Kyle anymore, only his infected corpse. We’ll give him the peace he deserves,” Levi insisted.
When he heard Anya become hysterical, he wanted to be the one in there, giving comfort. Instead, leaning against the wall for support, he left the entryway, heading for the door near the back of the house that led to the walkout basement. He almost fell down those stairs when the muscles in his legs spasmed painfully. Holding tightly onto the handrail saved him from tumbling down.
Kyle left the house through the walkout basement. Nacho greeted him without barking and Kyle quietly ordered him to stay. He made his way to the old school bus, refusing to take any more glances back at his home and the girl he didn’t want to leave behind. Kyle clambered into the driver’s seat of the silver Volkswagen Golf he and Viktor had been fixing up. He chose the Golf because it was car least likely to be missed. With a deep breath, he turned the engine over and began the descent down the mountain.
Kyle reached the main road, rolling down the windows so he could feel the warm breeze as he drove. It was becoming more difficult to focus on the road. Moments of lucidity were frequently mixed with mini-blackouts that grayed his vision for seconds at a time.
He glanced down at the picture of himself and Anya from when they were only thirteen. Even then he knew she would always be his girl. They were so innocent back then, having no idea the following year would begin a new life of survival and violence.
Kyle swerved onto the state highway which headed north out of Breckenridge. A few minutes later, he came to as he almost ran off the road. Righting the wheel, he gripped it tightly, putting everything he had into concentrating on the road. It was going to happen soon, death and after-death. The vitality of the sun in the sky and the spring growth around him mocked his weakened, diseased body. With a glance at the gun on the seat beside him, he began looking for a side road to pull off onto.
Kyle gained consciousness with his head throbbing, crashed in a ditch with smoke billowing from the crushed hood of the Volkswagen. He turned the ignition over, but nothing happened. He cursed loudly and resigned himself to making his way on foot. He needed to be further away from the cabin. He didn’t want his body ever found by the others. Let nature bury or devour him.
He reached for the gun on the passenger seat only to find it gone. Scrabbling around for it, he couldn’t find it in the car. Fuck! It must’ve flown out the window when he crashed. Kyle irritably swung the door open and even that task took much of his energy. Stumbling around, he searched the forest floor. Several yards away, amongst dry foliage, he found the gun.
He couldn’t get the safety off, his fingers weren’t working properly, too stiff and cramped. He screamed into the sky and was answered by the birds who took flight. Glancing to the road sign at the side of the highway, he read Welcome to beautiful Frisco, Colorado. He patted his breast pocket where the picture rested, now his most precious possession, and limped into the woods instead of heading toward the town.
He wouldn’t give up. He would walk until he found a cliff. He would end this before he became one of those monsters. Walking deeper into the woods, his determination drove him past the pain in his legs, the sadness in his chest.
Leaning against a boulder, he just needed to take a short rest then he’d be on his way. He felt dizzy, so closed his eyes until it passed. Kyle’s last coherent thoughts were of hazel eyes, blonde hair and kisses that drove him crazy.
Milky eyes opened and he continued on his way. His gait was changed and suddenly he was starving.
*****
We searched the woods surrounding the cabin until Viktor realized the Volkswagen was gone. We’d almost made it to the interstate before finding the missing car. It had crashed against a tree off the left side of the highway. After finding the car abandoned, I yelled Kyle’s name in all directions. Reaching out mentally, I could barely feel the aura of dead coming from the small town nearby.
Not wanting to say it out loud, I told my dad and Viktor, “I can feel . . . something, coming from the town.”
We piled back into the Suburban, with Viktor driving in the direction of Frisco’s Main Street. We crept slowly, weaving around the few vehicles in the road. I hadn’t been here in a while. We’d long since relieved the stores of anything useful. A cat ran around the corner of a building and I pointed in that direction. “Over there. Drive around the side.”
The zombie was a small female, probably in her teens when she’d died. At the sight of us, she stopped pursuing the cat and stumbled toward our SUV. Viktor parked and disappointment was heavy in the car. “Where is he?” I questioned uselessly. “Has he even turned yet or is he out there somewhere dying alone?”
“Anya,” my father began cautiously, “He’s been gone for hours. We have to assume. . . .”
“I know,” I croaked. “But we have to find him. If we don’t, he’ll be walking around out there as one of those things.” I’d already failed him in not being there when he’d been bitten. I couldn’t fail him again.
Anger coursed through me, directed at my own failings. A little bit of it was for Kyle, too, for taking off on his own where we couldn’t take care of him. The selfish part of me was angry at him for risking his life to save strangers. Because of his bravery, I’d lose him.
Dad and Viktor were in the front seat, deliberating which area to search next. The young female zombie writhed against my window now, practically salivating at the prospect of sinking her teeth into my flesh.
Hatred grew in me, unlike anything I’d ever felt, the kind which consumes you. Some dark instinct within me, in the little corner of my brain where my ability came from, overtook me. My body felt as if it were vibrating, with rage or power, I didn’t know.
My body began trembling uncontrollably and, as if from far way, I heard Viktor shout out my name. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I felt a trickle of something run down my lip. Lifting a finger, I saw I had a bloody nose.
Anger, frustration and hatred churned inside me. My eyes finally focused on the infected girl outside my window as her writhing stopped and she started shaking. Her head snapped from side to side as her moan became more of a wail. Black sludge dripped from her bloodshot eyes.
The scene came to a crescendo when the zombie’s head exploded, splattering the SUV with decayed flesh. My body stopped shaking and I felt more tired than I’d ever remembered feeling. The last thing I saw before passing out was my dad’s fearful face.