Determined To Live (23 page)

I still have no
idea where we're going and have no plans to ask. I've learned it's
better to just keep my mouth shut. At first I watch as the mile
markers fly by, and each one sends an arrow shooting painfully into
my heart. I fight like hell to keep the tears from falling, and I
keep my eyes out the window next to me so that Jake can't see the one
or two that do manage to fall.

After an hour, Jake
pulls into a rest area and stops in a parking spot. There's only one
car here and two zombies, so when Jake tells me we're going to use
the restroom and then get something to eat, I'm not too worried about
it. He comes around and helps me out then holds my arm as I hop up to
the building. One of the zombies is coming toward us from the
direction of the building but we don't even break our stride -
or
hop as my case may be
-
when Jake raises his gun and takes him down. The second one is
inside, impatiently waiting at the window as she watches us. She's a
tiny elderly woman, wearing a pink jacket, white silk dress shirt
underneath, and a pair of gray dress pants. She has gray dress shoes
on and her light pink-tinted hair was probably once nicely done. Not
so nice now though.

When we reach the
doors, Jake pulls me back behind him as the old lady turns into a
fighting little beast. Her fingers leave bloody trails behind as she
becomes frantic in her need to get to us. Jake puts his hands on the
door and shoves it open so hard, it throws the old woman off her feet
and on her back several feet away. I hop in after him and watch as he
aims and fires into her cotton candy hair.

The room echoes
from the gunshot and my ears ring. Jake turns back to me and grabs my
arm once again. He guides me to the door of the womens restroom and
after a quick check inside, tells me to go ahead, and he'll keep
watch outside the door.

I go in and use the
restroom, wash my hands and face, then open the door to find Jake
talking to a woman. I jump in surprise, but I don't think she even
notices me. She's incredibly scared, crying and begging Jake to help
her. She looks to be a few years older than me and, like me, she's
got a little extra padding. Her blond hair is up in a ponytail, and
she has more tattoos than I can count.

Jake's arms are
crossed over his chest and one leg is crossed over the other. His
head is resting back against the wall as he looks down at her with
very little interest.

"Who
are you?" he asks her calmly and with a hint of '
I
don't really give a shit
.'

"Jessica!"
she almost screams at him.

I can tell he's
about to either beat the hell out of her or shoot her, so I grab her
arm, lead her to the wall, and tell her to sit. She does, and I tell
Jake that I'll watch her and try to calm her down so he can go to the
bathroom.

Boy,
how stupid can I get!

His face and eyes
harden, and when he growls, "Follow me," I realize how
badly I screwed up. But I hop after him into the bathroom, knowing if
I refuse it'll be so much worse.

Even
though I expect it, his hand striking my face still causes me to cry
out from the incredible strength he uses. I'm thrown against the wall
and catch myself before I fall onto the floor. He grabs my arm
tightly in one hand and jerks me against him. His lips are almost
touching mine when he practically snarls, "Do you think I'm
stupid? I know what you're planning to do, and you're not leaving me.
You're
not
,
damn it!"

I
throw my arms around his neck and allow the tears I've been wanting
to release from the pain of his hand to flow.
Who
cares if he thinks they are
for
him and not
because
of him?

"Jake,
I'm
not
leaving you. I love you very much. How would I leave you even if I
did
want to? You have the keys to the truck, and that little car out
there - even if the keys are right in the ignition - would hardly be
fast or powerful enough to outrun you. Damn it, Jake! I really
do
love you and I want to stay with you, but please stop hurting me.
Please!"

I continue sobbing
into his neck until I finally feel him relax and he wraps his arms
around me. He holds me tight for a few moments before he raises my
head up to him, and then smashes his lips to mine for a long and
intense kiss.

He pulls back, but
keeps his hand on the back of my neck. Jake searches my eyes, looking
for the lies. I force myself to maintain eye contact, terrified he'll
see the truth. Relief floods through me as he grins and kisses me
again.

"Alright, I
believe you, and I promise I won't hurt you anymore. As long as you
don't try to leave me, we'll be ok." He releases me and I smile
up at him. Then we pass each other as he goes further in the room and
I go back into the lobby.

Jessica is still
sitting where I'd left her - and still crying, but it's a quieter,
more controlled cry. I slide down the wall beside her and sit on the
cold, hard floor.

"Jessica,
where were you when we came in? We didn't see you, just the old
lady."

"I was in the
mens room. I sat on the floor and had my back against the door so she
couldn't get in."

"How long have
you been here?" I ask her.

"Only about
half an hour before you got here. We thought we were the only ones
here."

"We? Who's we,
Jessica?"

"The man
outside was my uncle. The old lady was my aunt," she says in a
shaky voice as she nods her head at the older woman, who's body is
lying just a few feet in front of us.

Oh, shit.

"Jessica, I'm
so sorry."

She shrugs, "Not
your fault. There was a maintenance guy that works here that got my
uncle outside as we were walking up. Then my uncle managed to bite my
aunt before I got her away from him and we ran inside. Then she
turned into one of those things and I had to run and hide. We were on
our way to St. Louis to find their daughter, my cousin."

We both spend some
time staring at the floor, unsure what to say. Without looking up,
she asks me, "Did that asshole hit you when he made you go in
the bathroom with him? 'Cause it sure as hell sounded like he did."

I know better than
to say he did, especially since just before she asked the question,
I'd heard the faint creak of the restroom door opening. He's
listening, and I know this may be my only chance to "prove"
I love him and save my ass from being beat to death.

I give a small
laugh and say, "Jake? No, Jake would never hurt me. He's a good
man and he loves me very much, as much as I love him. He was just
worried about leaving me with a stranger. He's very protective."

Ok,
ok.
Shut
up!
Don't
over do it.

But I can tell
she's not fooled one bit as she narrows her eyes.
I
really don't give a shit if
she
believes me, but I sure as hell hope
he
does.

"Oh yeah? Then
what's with the flaming red hand print on the side of your face?"

Shut...the...hell...up!

Still smiling, I
tell her simply, "Zombie." I'm hoping she'll accept that
and shut her damn mouth since she hardly got a good look at me
before.

Jessica studies my
face and I do my best to keep the smile in place and the look of
complete honesty on it too. Then she looks up over my head. I force
the shiver of fear away before I turn and smile up at Jake.

"Hey, Baby."
I tell him as I reach for his hand. He grabs hold tight and kneels
down beside me. With his other hand, he runs it over my hair like a
man would do with a woman he really treasured...and didn't beat. Then
he looks over at Jessica while I do everything I can not to show any
reaction to the pain his damn rubbing is doing to my head.

"So, what are
we going to do with you then?" he asks her.

"You
don't need to
do
anything with me. Now that I can get out of here, I'm going to take
my aunt and uncle's car and take
myself
.
I don't need help from an asshole like you."

I feel Jake's body
tighten and I know her attitude is going to get her - and possibly
myself - hurt. Before he has a chance to do anything, I squeeze his
hand and ask him to help me up. He does, but he never takes his
frosty glare off her. I wrap my arms around Jake's neck, pull him
down to me, and kiss him as I stare right into his eyes. I whisper
I'd rather be alone with him anyway, and soon, I get exactly what I'd
hoped for - a grin - and his body relaxes.

Jessica
stands up and walks over to her aunt's body. She slips her hand
inside her aunt's jacket pocket and pulls out a set of keys.

I
notice Jessica doesn't linger over her aunt - not even for a quick
goodbye - and I guess I don't blame her. I wouldn't want to see
anyone I love like that, either. Bad enough I saw Will the way he was
when― No! I can't think about him anymore! The pain is too damn
much!

Jake
and I follow Jessica out the door until Jessica screams and shoves us
back inside. On the other side of the glass is a man in a maintenance
uniform - or he
was
a man anyway. Now he's a member of the zombie crew.

Jessica is still
screaming and my head is starting to pound. I try to get her to shut
up but she's too scared to hear me. Jake shuts her up though, by
sticking the gun in her face. Her terror increases and I feel bad for
what Jake did, but my aching head thanks him. At least he didn't
shoot her.

Jessica runs to the
back of the room and sinks to the floor, while Jake and I turn back
to the window and study the man outside. Just one man. No big deal
after all the shit we've gone through already. Jake walks to the
door, pulls it open, and the man comes straight for him. But he drops
to the ground with a hole in his head long before he reaches Jake.

Jake deals with
moving the man out of the way, and then informs me he's going to make
sure there are no more surprises. I turn away once he disappears from
view to reassure Jessica that everything's ok now. But just as I get
turned around, Jessica has me pinned flat on my back to the floor.
Her gnashing teeth are close enough to my face that I can feel the
spit and her hot breath. I turn my face away and scream for Jake, but
he's outside, and the door is shut which makes this building almost
sound-proof.

I shove my fist in
her neck and push her back as far as I can, which with my abused
body, isn't that far. She growls and thrashes her head, trying get
free. I remember the one weapon I do have and bring my knee up and
under her body. With a hard upward thrust of my leg, I send her body
off and to the side of me. I scramble to turn with my feet pointed at
her body, and then I bring my cast up and slam it down on her head.
Realizing I can't get enough power by sitting down, I grab hold of
the nearest vending machine and stand. Then I keep holding on and
really start slamming the bottom of the cast on her head as she
continues to move toward me on her belly.

Even
after her head has split open and all kinds of nasty jelly stuff is
pouring out, I keep stomping. In my mind she's still alive. When I
feel a strong pair of arms grab me from behind and spin me away, I
fight again. But then I hear Jake's voice and I forget he's the enemy
now too, as relieved as I am that he's someone I know, someone who's
not
a zombie. I stop struggling, turn in his arms, and throw my own arms
around him. We hold on tight to each other as I sob and tell him how
scared I was, and how close she came to biting me.
If
I hadn't turned around when I did...

He holds me and
tells me I'm ok now, and after a few minutes, I calm down enough to
think a little more clearly.

"Jake, can we
get the hell out of here?
Please
?"
He nods and leads me to the door. I don't look at anything but the
exit. When we get outside, he lifts me in his arms and carries me to
the truck. Once I'm inside, he opens the back door and digs around
inside a box. When he hands me a can of little smoked sausages, I
open it distractedly. But when I pull out the sausage with the thick,
jelly-like substance clinging to it, I immediately lean out the open
door and start throwing up. Jake jumps out of the way with a shout of
surprise, and then comes over to help me back out of the truck when
he sees I'm close to falling out.