Zombie Attack! Rise of the Horde (35 page)

“What did you guys do with Benji?”

“You'll be happy to know that your little friend gladly
enlisted the minute we got him back to camp and gave him a hot meal and a
shower,” Moto said. “He's been assigned a non-combat job working in the
canteen. He’s eager to see you so he'll be glad to know you're up and moving
around.”

“He was there,” I said. “He saw me get bit. What am I
supposed to tell him?”

“It's not a problem,” Moto said. “Benji is a soldier now.
He's been debriefed, just like you. If the subject comes up, all you have to
say is that the incident is classified and you're not allowed to talk about
it.”

“Oh,” I said lamely. It was going to take a bit to get used
to this new way of life as a soldier.

“Aren't you forgetting about somebody?” Moto had that
knowing grin that drove me crazy when we were kids. It was the same look he
gave me when Darla, the girl who lived across the way from us back home,
brought me a Valentine's card one year.

“Felicity Jane,” I said. Now it all seemed like a dream that
I had been involved with a celebrity I'd met along the way. Then again, flesh
eating zombies had taken over the world so everything seemed kinda like a
dream.

“Don't be shy,” Moto said. “She's a great girl.”

“Is she still here?”

“She is,” he confirmed. “They tried to send her away to a
clean zone when she refused to enlist but she said she wasn't leaving until she
saw you. Apparently you made quite an impression on her.”

“What am I supposed to tell her?”

“Tell her the truth,” he said. “Tell her you are not allowed
to talk about it and that all that matters is that you are here now, alive and
well. She'll understand.”

“Are they going to make her leave?”

“Under normal circumstances they would for sure,” he said.
“As I said, this is an active military base. Strictly speaking there are no
civilians here, aside from doctors and research assistants. I think we both
know she's no ordinary girl.”

“So you're saying that they are looking the other way and
letting her stay because she was a celebrity?”

“I'm not saying that,” he said, gesturing to the cameras
again to remind me we were being watched.

“Then what are you saying?” I could feel myself bristling at
the suggestion that they were giving her special treatment because of who she
was. I didn't like the thought of people treating her like a trained monkey
that was there to amuse them. She was a real person, and she deserved to be
treated with dignity and respect. I could feel the blood pounding in my ears as
my desire to protect her at all costs began to override my logic and reason. I
didn't even know what I was getting upset about.

“I'm saying that the higher-ups have decided for the time
being that she is good for the troops’ morale,” he said. “You should be
grateful. If she was just some girl you'd met on the road she'd be in the
desert right now, probably working on a farm.”

“When can I see her?”

“Just as soon as we've put you through the enlistment
process and sworn you in. In addition to your enrollment application, there is
some extra paperwork they are going to want you to sign as well, mostly going
over what we've talked about here and how you can't repeat any of it without
their permission.”

“What are we waiting for?” I began looking for the exit to
the padded white room. I wanted to see Felicity as fast as I could. Moto
stopped me and gave me a bear hug that lifted me clear off my feet. I could
feel a pinch in my side where the wound was, but I didn't complain.

“Glad to have you back, little brother,” he said.

“Glad to be back in one piece,” I replied.

He gave me another big hug that nearly crushed the wind out
of me, but I didn't fight him. For the first time in a very long time, I felt
like everything was finally going to be okay again.

“So they've had a cure all this time and they don't want
anyone else to know about it?”

Felicity couldn't stop rubbing my freshly shaved head. It
felt good at first but after about ten minutes it was starting to get on my
nerves. She hadn't stopped touching me since she caught sight of me crossing
the base with Moto, on the way to get a batch of immunization shots. She'd been
talking to a group of spell-bound soldiers and stopped mid-sentence, jumping up
and racing to throw herself into my arms. I had to practically pry her off the
front of me and when I did, she showered me with kisses. Not that I minded, to
be honest. I just didn't expect her affection to last this long. I'd never
saved a girl’s life before by trying to sacrifice myself. I didn't know how
long the effect lasted.

“Keep your voice down,” I whispered, looking around to make
sure we weren't being watched more than usual. “They warned me that I'm not
allowed to tell anyone, even you.”

“But I was there,” she protested. “How did they expect to
hide that from me?”

“I'm just letting you know what they said,” I whispered.
“They made me sign a stack of paperwork saying I wouldn't talk about it. You'd
have thought that there were camera units waiting outside to interview me or
something. It was weird. Then the General congratulated me personally and gave
me a medal of valor.”

I absentmindedly ran my fingers over the small medal pinned
to the chest of my clean new uniform.

“What are they going to do? Arrest you?” She turned and
wrapped her arms around me, putting her head on my shoulder.

“They could,” I said, nodding at some passing Marines who
couldn't take their eyes off Felicity. “Technically speaking, they own me now.
They can do whatever they want to me if I break the rules.”

“Moto would never allow it,” she said, shaking her head.

We were sitting out near the mechanical generators, staring
at the electric fence in the distance. Felicity had offered to give me a tour
of the base after I got my shots and Moto had thought it was a good idea. He'd
dashed off in a hurry, then caught up with us a few minutes later and given me
back my katana.

“Now that you are a soldier you can have this back,” he
said. “We'll get you a gun later as well but for now just make sure you don't
lose this again.”

The blade was shiny and clean. I could tell by its pristine
condition that he'd spent time sharpening and oiling it while I was locked down
in the loony bin. I turned the blade over in my hands.

After that, we'd gone to see Benji in the canteen. He'd
practically jumped over the counter to greet us, giving me a big hug, then
standing back and saluting me when his superior officer chastised him.

“Look what I found,” he said in an excited, breathless voice
as he held up a new comic book. “It's the Justice League.”

“Glad to see nothing's changed,” I teased him.

He didn't try to ask me about the incident with Simon the
Apache at the mall, and I was glad not to have to lie to him. Felicity on the
other hand kept bringing it up until I cracked. One look in her sea foam eyes
and I knew there was nothing I could keep from her. For the first time in my
life I was in love.

“Moto doesn't have as much power as you think,” I said.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that he's not going to be able to keep them from
shipping you off to Vegas when the General gets tired of you distracting his
men with all your charms,” I said.

“I'm not distracting them,” she protested.

“Really?” I pointed off in the distance where a bunch of
soldiers that had been sitting and watching us quickly turned and pretended to
be working again. “Are you sure about that?”

“I can help out around here too, you know,” she pouted. “If
that's how it's going to be then I will enlist like you did. Is that what you
want?”

“No,” I said. “Honestly I don't. There is no guarantee that
they'd let you stay here at this base even if you did join up. You'd be
completely at their mercy. In all likelihood, they'd send you off to the clean
zone to supervise civilians and we'd be right back where we started.”

“I don't want to leave you,” she purred, leaning over and
planting a kiss on my cheek that I could feel through my whole body. In the
distance I heard one of the men whistle.

“There is another way,” I said sheepishly, the words turning
to sand in my mouth.

“What is it?”

“We could get married,” I offered, unable to look at her.
“If you were my wife then they would have to let you stay with me here. They
wouldn't be able to separate us.”

I turned and faced her. She looked like she was fighting
back tears.

Cat's out of the bag
, I thought.
No going back
now.

“Listen,” I said, “I know we are both young but the world
has changed. People used to get married at our age back when life was shorter,
younger even. I can't imagine losing you again. I don't want to be separated.
It's the only way.”

My heart beat hard in my chest. I hadn't felt this afraid
taking on a zombie horde. It felt like an eternity without words. I wished I
had died for real as I waited for her response. For a moment I thought the
embarrassment of her impending rejection might just do the trick and finish me
off.

“Are you serious?”

I looked her dead in the eyes. I couldn't read her reaction.
Her gaze was intense and unblinking as it met mine.

“Yes,” I said. “I am. I don't know what it is about you but
you've been under my skin from the minute you threatened to kill me with a
shotgun. What can I say? I love you, Felicity Jane. Will you marry me?”

I didn't have to wait long for her reply this time. She
threw her arms around my neck again and began crying on me. She squeezed me
tight and then pulled back and kissed my neck over and over again.

“So is that a yes?”

“Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!”

I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Felicity pulled back
and I kissed her hard on the mouth. It was amazing. I couldn't wait to be able
to tell Moto. The base had a working chapel. We'd have the ceremony there with
a small group of my brother's friends, the General perhaps, and Benji, of
course. Felicity could get a job on the base and we'd see each other at night
after I was done with my training and rounds. Things weren't so bad after all.
Everything was finally going to be okay.

I leaned in and kissed her again, feeling that amazing
sensation of time standing still as our lips touched for a thrilling few
seconds. Loud air sirens wailed and pulled us from our perfect moment. They
echoed off every side of the base. Standing up, we could see what looked like a
huge dust cloud in the distance heading straight our way. After a moment it
became clear that there were thousands of people out in the distance moving
toward the base at a slow, steady pace.

“Is that what I think it is?” There was a note of wonder and
awe in her voice as she spoke.

“Yep,” I said matter-of-factly. “It's a massive zombie
horde. The biggest I've ever seen.”

“What do we do now?”

“Now,” I said, reaching out and taking her hand in mine so
that our fingers laced together, “we fight.” I held my blade in my free hand
and watched in awe as the first wave of the dead crashed through the electric
fence and began slowly pressing forward in our direction.

-The End-

First and foremost I would like to thank my loving and
supportive wife Angie. Without her constant encouragement this book wouldn't be
possible. Thanks also to Troy Fuss, Don Salerno, Ani Arakelyan, Google, and my
hardworking editor, Patricia Bains-Jordan. Thanks to Rob Sacchetto for
providing the AMAZING cover art illustration. Check out @ZombiePortraits on
Twitter for more of Rob's work. Last but not least thanks to Buddha for
inspiration and support.

The majority of this book was written while listening to
Appetite
for Destruction
by Guns & Roses. Rewrites and edits were done to
Metallica, Marilyn Manson, and Bob Marley.

Look for the next book in the series- THE HUNGRY DEAD —
coming soon!

For more of my work and to keep in touch with me visit
http://devansagliani.com
.

Follow me on Twitter @DevanSagliani.