Beautiful Death (Bella Morté Trilogy Book 1) (41 page)

“That’s exactly what’s happenin’ here.”

Mark shook his head. “Far be it from me to insinuate ya don’t know what you’re talkin’ about an’ please don’t think that. However, there was another woman with us who got sick too. I think she got it from kissin’ me. She was the sweetest girl--”

Amber laughed aloud. “If you’re talking about Trina, you might as well stop right there. There’s a reason she was part of the hate-a group.”

Munching on her bacon, Heather nodded. “Yeah, she wasn’t like you, Mark. She was all about herself. Hell, when we had to get up the tree for safety, she pushed Amber out of the way so she could get up first.”

He shook his head, leaning back in the chair. “No way, she gave me ‘er pain meds when she knew I was in pain. She didn’t have to do that. She honestly cared about me an’ what was happenin’ an’ wanted to help.”

“That’s because she liked you. The meanest, cruelest person in the world can put on a great show when she likes someone.”

“All I know is she seemed real sweet an’ carin’ to me. Then again, why did I survive? I’ve always been all about me.”

“Nice try, but I’m not buying it. From the moment we met, you were looking out for us. You faced a bear with a stick just to protect us when you could’ve taken your chances up a tree. Hell, you even brought Miss Ungrateful here back from the dead, and I know you didn’t like her.”

“Anyone would’ve done what I did. It’s my job.”

“Nope, they would’ve left her for dead. You went beyond the call of duty to get us to safety. No one would’ve known if you left us in the woods to die, or if you killed us by drowning us in the river.”

He shrugged. “I would’ve known.”

“Exactly, it’s not in you to do that, but Trina was all about herself and what she could get. She gave you all the pain pills to help because she knew it was a way to get close to the only man in the group. You didn’t see her worrying about us when you came along, and there was a reason for it. She’s no better than Amber here when it comes to that.”

“Whatever, you’re not gonna taint my memory of her an’ I’m tellin’ you… she was sweet an’ carin’.”

“For you, yes she was. She liked you. You knew her for a week. We’ve known her since she was little. We all grew up in the same neighborhood. She’s not the angel you give her credit for.”

There was a pause in the conversation. Candice looked from Justice to Amber. “If what Sophia said is true, you two better hope and pray you don’t get bitten or scratched… or you’re screwed.”

Frank shook his head. “Wow that sounds like poetic justice at its finest. If ya look out for number one, you’ll suffer an’ die. With the world the way it is, it’s really hard to look out for others because of all the users in the world takin’ advantage o’ everyone who does.”

Picking up her coffee cup, Sophia nodded. “That’s just my hypothesis of this, but I think it explains it best. I mean, here ya have two heroes, an’ they survived, but the non-heroes didn’t.”

Amber brushed her blonde strands back, looking around at everyone. “You people don’t know me. I’m a nice and sweet person when I’m not faced with the end of the world. I’m all about other people! It’s why I was the leader of my sorority.”

Trish snorted, spitting out her coffee. She grabbed a napkin, wiping her mouth. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I heard you right. Did you just say you’re all about other people? You mean for stepping stones to take you to the next tier, right?”

Mark sneered. “You forget, I was stuck with ya for a week. You’re nothin’ close to a nice person. It’s all about you an’ only you. Hell, ya even turned your own girls against ya.”

Clapping his hands, Frank chuckled. “Okay, it’s not that I’m tryin’ to change the subject, or that I’m not enjoyin’ the girl fight about to happen, but we’re supposed to be diggin’ a moat today. Are we ready? The sooner we get that done, the sooner we all can get a good night’s sleep.”

Ian groaned. “Oh, you know I’m ready for that.”

Befuddled, Heather looked around the table. “You’re digging a
moat
today?”

Alex shoved a piece of bacon in her mouth. “How about another recap of what you’re talking about for those of us who snuck in half-way through?”

Justice chortled, resting his hand on Amber’s waist. “We’re gonna build trenches around the perimeter of our camp. Make it like a moat so we don’t have to keep watch at night.”

Howard nodded. “Those things don’t like water.”

Alex laughed showing her water weapon. “Oh I know! On the way here, we ran into a few and they don’t like water in the eyes. For some reason, it’s like battery acid, or that was how they acted. I think it blinded them.”

Sophia furrowed her brows. “Hmm, that’s interestin’.”

Montana stood, pushing his chair in. “Yes, we need to get that done right away. You guys can add to the eyes to watch out for all of us while we’re diggin’.” He pointed to Mark. “Since you also can’t be hurt, you can take point with Candice.”

Mark nodded. “Sounds good, she can watch one way an’ I’ll watch the other.”

“Okay. Let’s get these trenches dug, folks.”

Thirty-Three

Because the guys didn’t want to get shot from the new girls who didn’t know how to hold a rifle, much less shoot one, they took the time to teach them. They gave a crash course training on how to handle a gun and how to shoot. Brandon, Trevor, Justice, Frank, and Montana taught them.

Candice stood beside Montana and Sophia. “You have to admit, that’s really freaky.”

Sophia looked over, slightly confused. “Which part?”

“The part about how the virus turns you into your inner self. I mean, how would someone create a virus that could do that?”

“I dunno. Granted, if someone else is bitten then we can see if I’m right. What a way to find out you’re a monster.”

“We already know who the monsters are.”

Montana nodded, joining the two. “Yes, because ya can’t hide your true colors.”

Sophia shook her head. “Nope, it’s like your fingerprints. You can’t change who ya are on the inside. It’s part o’ your genetics an’ they’re tricky. It’s not so cut an’ dried or black an’ white. There’s this whole gray area.”

Brandon shrugged. “So those who take care o’ others will survive ‘is an’ those who don’t, won’t? Makes me wonder who’s on which list.”

Candice smirked. “Bullshit. You’re a good guy. So are Trevor, Frank, Sophia, Montana, and Zach. Though he snapped for a little bit, he’s still a good guy too, so I know what list they’re on.”

Montana nodded. “I agree. It’s the others I question.”

“Hope and pray you never have to deal with that. I wanted to shoot myself to stop thinking about the craving of blood.”

Trevor cringed. “Hold up a moment. Did you just say ya craved blood as in
actual
blood?”

“Yep, it was a burning, intense craving too, but I couldn’t carve into myself or anyone else just to appease my yearnings.”

Mark nodded. “Yeah, an’ the sweating was bad too. I stayed in the water, which helped with the pain. I wonder if I gave ‘er what I had though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I got it from a bear clawin’ me, an’ I kissed Trina an’ she got it shortly after.”

Sophia nodded, snapping her fingers. “I was right about that! You can get it through bodily fluids. Feedin’ on the blood, though I don’t understand ‘at one. It could be what determines what ya become? If ya feed on blood, ya change an’ if ya don’t then ya won’t?”

“If I had known I had somethin’ contagious, I never would’ve kissed ‘er.”

Brandon put his hand on his back, nodding. “I’m sorry man. I know that’s gotta be hard on you. However, from what they said this mornin’, she wouldn’t have survived this thing either way.”

Nodding, Candice looked at Sophia. “Ooh, that’s right! Remember, Erica was bleeding where she kept drinking blood.”

Mark nodded. “So did Trina. She looked as if she tried to commit suicide.”

Brandon sighed. “I guess it doesn’t pay to be kin to the mad scientist.”

The first group walked off and the second group followed behind. Amber nudged Justice as they fell back out of earshot from everyone else. “You’ve known them longer. Do they really know what they’re talking about?”

He shrugged. “Sophia’s been right about everythin’ else. I don’t know what she did in the hospital she worked for, but she’s really smart. Why?”

“I don’t know. I just think if what they’re saying is right, we could rule the other side.”

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“If we get bitten, we need to control this virus thing long enough to get out from under them. After we change, I just have this feeling we could be the bosses of the Underworld. It would be totally awesome if you think about it.”

“Enter the mad scientist,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t know why it is I’m attracted to the bat-shit, crazy, psycho bitches. What is it with you girls who have the bodies o’ models that say some o’ the stupidest things? It must be a lack of oxygen to the brain.”

“Maybe, but if we get attacked stay away from them and whatever that room is they keep talking about. Get away and we’ll wait it out and see what happens. If they’re right, they’re just going to kill us anyway.”

“Not that I believe a word o’ this shit, even though I can’t tell you how tempted I am to ask how the cookies are… but if they’re right,” he thought about it, watching Montana up front. Turning, he nodded. “Yeah, I say if either of us get attacked, we should run off to hide an’ wait it out.”

Looking around the area, Montana stopped. “Okay, this is where we should start. Ladies, ya need to get up the trees an’ we need to go get the machines.” He turned and pointed to the men. “Zach, I want ya to man the bulldozer. You’ll be in charge of puttin’ dirt in the dump truck then let ‘im know when he’s ready to dump.”

Zach nodded. “You got it boss.”

“Frank, you’ll be in the dump truck. Just dump the dirt over in a mound somewhere over that way after the back is full, just make sure it’s not too far away so we can keep diggin’ as needed.”

Frank saluted him. “I think I know the perfect place.”

“Brandon, you’ll be in the other Bobcat same as me, tillin’ up the ground. We push it into a big pile an’ move on an’ Zach can get it in the truck.”

Brandon nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Mark, you an’ Candice’ll be standin’ guard in front of us an’ watch for anythin’ that moves. It’s gonna be really loud when we get all these machines runnin’ so everyone pay attention to what you’re doin’. Justice, pay close attention an’ shoot anythin’ that moves. Everyone else pay attention because you’re our eyes out here. Let’s dig us a moat.”

With Candice and Mark as an escort, the men went and got their machines, taking them back to the designated starting point while the others sat up high in trees. Loud wasn’t the word for it. When all the machines started, they needed to yell and even then, it took a couple of times of repeating. They tilled the ground, put into one pile, and the bulldozer loaded it into the truck. Zach found he was steadily moving as he went from one side to the other, grabbing the dirt piles.

Mark and Candice stood out front off to the sides, each one looking the other way. Every so often, they would look at each other, smile, and look back around once more. It was obvious to anyone who watched their smiles that they were very attracted to each other. Frank waited for the bump to the side of the truck, which was his sign to go dump. He found the perfect place, which wasn’t far away, so he wasn’t missed. He watched out his window while smoking. The girls all had their certain sections they were supposed to be watching. Eyes, high, covered the entire wooded area from up in the trees.

Amber and Justice had the same area, but they weren’t keeping watch as much as they should. It started with one trip to the bathroom from Amber. He had to escort her and after a tryst while they were there, the two were no good for keeping watch. They weren’t in their designated areas, but on the ground, shouting in each other’s ears to be heard. They concentrated on their conversation instead of the area around them.

Tilling the ground moved along at a steady pace and they got a lot done. Brandon looked over, noticing movement out of the corner of his eye. Doing a double take, he stopped what he was doing. Fear registered on his face. He waved his hands back and forth, trying desperately to get their attention, but nothing worked. Shutting off his machine, yelling once more, but they still didn’t hear him. Pulling out of the enclosed cab, he sprinted with long strides in their direction. He knew what was about to happen and it wasn’t good.

Each one of the girls saw him running. They turned to see why and they too saw the danger. They screamed for the others, but the machines were just too loud. Sophia shot her rifle in the air, but it was too late. Though it was a matter of seconds, it felt like minutes to Brandon as he finally reached them.

Justice turned as he noticed Brandon running up on them, waving his arms frantically. It was enough to make him turn and look behind them. The deer barreled down. He closed his eyes seeing the impact was going to hurt. There was no time to react. Nothing he could do. He was dead.

When the shot fired off, everyone turned and looked around. Zach shut off his machine, screaming and waving his arms for Brandon to watch out. One by one, everyone turned to look and moved in slow motion. When Zach turned off his machine, they heard the heavy thundering hooves moving behind them. Both Amber and Justice turned to see the blacks of the deer’s eyes.