I pulled my guns and placed them on the counter, peeled out of my armor and clothes and followed her in. We shared a kiss that indeed would warm the water up. She maneuvered me under the showerhead and turned on the water. I yelped at the cold water that rained down on me. My teeth started chattering, but Julie moved in with me and our body heat combined to cloud up the glass walls and door. We stayed that way, enjoying each other’s bodies. I pushed out of the water and grabbed the shampoo bottle on a shelf. I massaged her hair until plenty of suds appeared. I found the soap and got busy soaping her up. She laughed when I tickled her, and she then took the soap and took care soaping me up. We rinsed off, and I conditioned her hair. We picked up where we left off so many years ago.
We emerged from the water and used the towels we found on the racks. To our surprise, we found them to be heated. You gotta love rich people. A towel rack that heats your towel is genius. We dried each other off, and Julie brushed her hair out using a brush she found by the sinks. We emerged from the bathroom not quite warm, but happy from our explorations. We found a new set of clothes, underwear, and a sports bra for Julie on the bed, along with a note signed by Apache. The clothes happened to be a black SWAT combat uniform. By the size, I guessed they came from Apache’s personal set. I dug through my Zomgo bag and removed a clean set of clothes. We dressed, and I shrugged back into my armor and retrieved my weapons.
We came out of the room and made our way to the living room to find the team sitting around cleaning weapons. As we stepped in, all talking stopped and every head turned toward us. Smiles beamed back at us. “You know we got the water heater working, and if you would’ve waited you could’ve had a nice hot shower,” Hunter informed us.
Apache started laughing, “Oh, I think they warmed up their shower pretty good.”
I blushed and dropped my head so they wouldn’t see my smile. Julie beamed and stuck her tongue out at Apache. “Thank you for the uniform, Apache. I don’t mean to be rude, but can anyone equip me with a weapon?”
Doc spoke up, “Can you shoot, little lady?”
Julie smiled back at him. “Well, cowboy, I can shoot as well as I can make love. And if you look at Dan here, I think he can attest I can do both very well.”
Doc just about fell over laughing, and then the entire room fell apart and started belly laughing. I did not laugh, but instead became redder than a tomato as I blushed harder. Doc came under control, reached into his pack, and rooted around. He came up with a leg holster and a bigger handgun than I was carrying. “That’s a .44 Desert Eagle. Might have a little too much recoil, but if Dan is blushing that well, something tells me you can handle it.” He handed it to her and went back to his spot on the couch.
Julie dropped the magazine, checked the load, and slammed it back home. She attached the leg holster and slid the gun home. “That will do for close in work, thank you. Anyway, can I get a long gun or battle rifle?”
Helmut stood from his spot and picked up a mean, dangerous looking rifle. He smiled and handed it to her. “Think you can handle that bad boy? If so, it’s yours.”
Julie flipped it over in her hand and looked it over. She pulled the magazine then pulled the charging handle and caught the round as it flew out. She released the safety and pulled it to her shoulder. She looked through the scope and then replaced the magazine and pulled the charging handle, making sure a round was now in the receiver. She then popped the magazine back out and replaced the lost round with the one she kept in her hand. She looked over the attachment at the bottom and smiled, “Is that a Masterkey?”
Helmut smiled at her, “Julie, if you ever leave Dan, I’ll be happy to take his spot.”
Apache spoke up at this, “Hey, what about me? Am I not good enough for you?”
Hunter jumped into the conversation, “You are too manly and scary for us, hun.”
Apache threw a closed bottle of gun oil at him. Hunter caught it one handed and blew a kiss at her. “More manly than you’ll ever be.” The Delta team broke into fresh laughter.
Brian gained his feet under him and stood. “You two take my place. I’m going to go try a shower.”
“Use the master suite, the towels are on a warming rack,” I informed him.
He thanked me and disappeared down the hall. Julie and I collapsed on the sofa and lay back relaxing. Apache was talking quietly to Angel, “I think we are going to go take a bath.” Angel stood up.
“I’ll help,” Julie jumped up and went down the hallway with the girls.
“Come on, Dan. Come help me cook everyone a meal. They have propane here, so we can use the stove.” Vic got up and headed toward the kitchen. I sighed, then got up and followed him out.
We went through the cupboards, gathering dishes and pots and pans. I found no food in the cupboards. Vic opened a door at the end of the hallway and whistled. I followed him and we stood in a large pantry with shelves covered in cans and boxes of food. As Vic went through the food, I found another door at the end and opened it to find a stairway. I pulled my handgun and went down slowly, one step at a time. I made it to the bottom and found myself in a large wine cellar filled with bottles. I whistled out loud, and Vic came down after me.
“Looks like we are going to drink well tonight. Find a couple of good bottles and come on up and help me make dinner. I found enough noodles and sauce to feed an Italian army.”
I walked through touching the bottles and reading their labels. I figured that since we were having pasta, we might as well have a red wine with our dinner. I found three bottles of Chianti and brought them upstairs. Vic had already filled two large pots with water and was emptying bottles of pasta sauce into two big saucepots. As we waited for the water to boil, we cracked open one of the bottles of Chianti and enjoyed a glass each.
Howser walked in at that point, “I found and shot a deer out in the hills during a walk. I just hung it up outside, and Heaven is butchering it. Anyone up for venison steaks?”
Vic turned to him, “I never heard a shot.”
Howser patted his battle rifle and pointed to a long attachment on the barrel, “Silencers are standard for us.” Vic nodded his head in understanding.
I turned the middle grilling burner on and licked my lips. Howser went through the cupboards and came up with two large platters that he took out with him. He came back five minutes later with twelve large steaks. I got six of them on the grill and started searing them. Vic disappeared back into the pantry and came out with two cans of spinach and other canned vegetables. He added them to the sauce.
Heaven and Doc came into the kitchen, and we all sat around and drank glasses of Chianti and talked about the day while drooling over the cooking food. The girls came back all washed up and dressed in clean clothes. I found some sealed apple juice in the pantry and gave some to Angel as she sat on the counter and talked to us.
The dining room ended up having a table the size of a small boat with enough chairs for all of us. We sat around and filled our bellies with pasta and venison. Delta entertained us with some fun stories about being overseas and the people they met. Brian joined in on the stories and added some colorful stories about Marine boot camp and his time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kuppers even joined in about some times when he was younger. All around a great night for everyone.
We divided the rooms and living room up for sleeping. Somehow, Julie and I got the master bedroom to ourselves. I personally think that the vote was rigged. Apache and Angel got a room to share. Hase volunteered Heaven and Helmut to take the first shift at guard followed by Howser and Hunter for second shift. He said they were used to limited sleep.
I opened our bedroom door and lifted Julie into my arms. My back screamed at me and my stiches had something to say, but I ignored them as I carried my woman over the threshold of our room. She laughed and hit my shoulder telling me to put her down. I kicked the door closed and threw her onto the bed. I climbed in after her and into her arms. We were exhausted and since we had already said our hellos in the shower, we promptly fell asleep still dressed in our clothes, sans boots. The dream made a comeback, worse than before. I was in the forest again. The ground was rumbling and shaking from explosions going off everywhere. I looked down into my arms and this time the person I was holding was not blurred. I was holding a limp and lifeless Angel. Her body was broken and bleeding in so many places that I could not discern which injury killed her.
I started to sob uncontrollably and screamed, “
NO!”
into the sky, begging God to bring her back. I remembered the team and started looking around for them. They were in a fight with zombies and the living, who must have been Ridder. Our team, though, had grown into an army. I watched as Senshi, Cupcake, and Howser were taken down by a horde of zombies. I wanted to get into the fight and help, but hopelessness bloomed in my heart. It threatened to take me into hell itself.
A hand appeared on my shoulder, and I looked up into Julie’s eyes. She was smudged with dirt and smelled of gunpowder. “Let her go, Dan. You need to rally the troops and lead them.” Lead the troops? Who? Me? I am a no one, why would they follow me? “A tipping point is coming, get up and be the man I know you are!” Julie screamed at me. She raised her gun and started firing into a horde coming our way. She then looked at me one last time, this time with disgust written on her face. Then she ran to the team’s side.
I woke and sat up in bed, panting. I looked down at my hands and watched as they shook uncontrollably. The room was lightly lit by a single candle that we had found before calling it a night. Tears streamed down my face. Julie sat up and engulfed me in her warm embrace. She held me and allowed me to calm down. Once I had my control back, she turned my head and her lips met mine. She pulled away and then rested her head on my shoulder. “Tell me everything,” she whispered.
So I did, I told her everything. I started in the beginning, back in that damn tower. I explained what I had to do to survive and how Brian had become more than a friend, more like a brother. I even spoke about Maggie and how we failed her. I told about my time spent with Vic at the police station. I explained how I met the SWAT team and how I had dreamed of and then found Angel on that car back in San Francisco. I went through our harrowing escape and the loss of Little Jonny and the First Sergeant on the pier. Our trip on the barge and our time on Alcatraz. How we found the Ridder camp and what we had to do, what I had to do, how I had to kill a living man for the first time. I talked about the Culling Initiative and how their hands were stained in the blood of millions. The battle that nearly Killed Senshi and I. I held nothing back. I gave her everything. I ended with my nightmare and her disgust in me.
She said nothing for a while and just held me. I thought she was going to throw me out of the room in disgust, to think of me as a lesser person, not the man she remembered. I prepared myself for the worse, but she surprised me with her tender words, “Dan, you had to do what you did to survive. You have grown into a man I always knew you would. Everything you did, every sacrifice you made, every decision, brought you back to me. We have been given a second chance. Unfortunately, it took a zombie apocalypse and the death of millions, but I would go through heaven and hell to be by your side. So you say we need to go and help Vic gain his wife? I’m in one thousand percent, just don’t leave me again. Now, my love, lay back down and banish the nightmares. It’s time to gain our strength.”
She pulled me down and held me the rest of the night. Her presence and love held back any nightmares or dreams. We woke to a knock at the door. I climbed my way out of the bed made for kings and opened the door. Brian stood there with two cups of steaming coffee. “Good morning, kids. Are we dressed and presentable?”
Julie rolled off the bed and ran to the door, “Is that coffee in the Sasquatch’s hands?”
Brian’s laughed rolled like thunder from inside his chest. “Yes, actually it’s a special coffee, given to your man by a lonely kitchen steward. I stole it from your bag this morning. Everyone is enjoying your bounty today.”
I faked a pained, sorrowful expression, then took the coffees, handing one to Julie. I sipped at mine, enjoying the warmth and start of a caffeine rush. Hot coffee can banish all monsters and make the day full of sweet emotions. Okay, so I’m sure most of you know I am a lover of good coffee. So, dont be surprised at how I wax about my love and adoration of hot coffee. Julie and Brian both stood there and watched as I sipped at my coffee. “Looks like his addiction to coffee is still intact. Glad to see some things have not changed.”
She then set her cup of coffee on a dresser and took Brian’s giant paws in hers. “Dan told me everything you did for him and how you helped him come get me. Thank you for bringing my heart back to me.” She then wrapped her arms around him and hugged tight. He smiled and hugged her back.
“He told you everything?” Brian asked carefully.
Julie released him from her hug and stepped back to look him in the eyes, “Your secret is safe with me, hun.”
Brian chuckled a little and then stood tall and cracked his neck. “Do that again, Dan, and I snap your neck like a pencil.” He looked at me with an expression that made me want to run away and hide. Then just like that, he laughed heartily. “Ok, you two, breakfast and planning meeting in the dining room in fifteen minutes. Kuppers orders.” He turned and walked out of the room, shutting it behind him.