Safety
#11 of Lycans and Zombies
Time was meaningless when you were all but dead. Days, weeks, months could go by and one would never even realize it because you were swimming around in nothing but constant darkness.
That's why when I woke up, my memory was the last to return. I didn't recognize anything around me, and sheer panic gripped me. I heard shouts alerting others to my consciousness, and I looked around me. Pieces began to fall back together, and when his face came into view, everything was suddenly clear. I reached towards him, and he embraced me.
"Oh thank God it worked," he said, his voice drenched in emotion. He was trembling as he held me, and I clung to him as if my life depended on it.
"Why does everything ache?" I squeaked out, my voice hoarse and my throat dry. Caleb brought a canteen full of cool water to my lips, and I drank greedily, protesting when he pulled it away. "More harm than good, love, when you drink like a horse," he said. I nodded and sat up slowly, mostly with the help of Caleb. Even though my body was sore, I felt really good, stronger even.
"How long was I out?" I asked.
"Four or so hours. We grew really worried when you stopped breathing," Caleb said, helping me to stand. I stretched my hands over my head, reaching for the sky, to get the kinks out of my back. I took in a deep breath and felt a dull ache deep in my chest. Caleb reached for me again and pulled me to him and kissed me gently.
"I thought I lost you," he whispered when he broke the kiss.
"It'll take a lot more than zombie slobber to kill, me, apparently," I commented. He smiled, but it was strained.
"Lily! Caleb!" The shout was close and we jumped apart, startled. Willa was running towards us, windmilling her arms furiously in the air. It was an amusing sight, and both me and Caleb laughed. She stopped in front of us and looked at us like we were idiots.
"Me and Chris were on the ridge and we saw a helicopter! I think they're doing rescue missions! Help me burn shit so they can see us!" Her excitement was infectious, and in no time, we were gathering things to burn and we had the biggest bonfire lit. Before long, large pillars of smoke were billowing into the sky and we could hear the blades of a chopper in the distance. After a few minutes, the noise got closer, and then we saw the big black bird over the tree line. We all waved our hands in the air, but the helicopter continued on its way, not even pausing to take a look at us. Defeated, we flopped onto the ground.
"Well, hell, what now?" I asked.
"We wait and keep the fire burning," Caleb said, shoving more things into the blaze. Other surviving members of the camp gathered around and they all eyeballed me as if I were going to go zombie at any minutes.
"Why was there such a big group?" I asked to nobody in particular.
"I'm not sure. I was tracking their movements when the outbreak first started and they seemed to have a herding instinct, but I'd never seen anything to this extent," Caleb replied, reclining to look at the sky. I lounged beside him and he took his hand in mine, his warmth seeping into my aching bones and relieving some of the pressure.
"What are you guys going to do with life once we get the hell out of here," Willa called from the other side of the fire.
"I don't really know," I replied. Caleb nuzzled into me, and for the first time in my twenty-six years, I wondered if I had a chance at a family with someone. And I wondered if that someone was going to be Caleb. Now that he was in my life, it was terrifying to think that he could leave any second. I heard his breathing deepen, and upon inspection, I could see he had fallen asleep curled at my side. I gently stroked his hair and noticed that he looked thoroughly exhausted.
We laid there for hours, waiting and listening for any signs that the helicopter would return. The fire was dwindling, and we were throwing random things in now in hopes to at least keep the smoke up. Soon the sun was beginning to fall in the sky, and our outlook on a rescue was beginning to be very bleak. I closed my eyes as well and was beginning to drift off when I heard it.
The chopper was finally returning!
I sat up quickly and looked to the sky. Caleb sat up with me, fully alert even though seconds ago he had been in a deep sleep. The trees began to sway and the bird emerged overhead, circling once before coming in for a landing. When I studied it, I realized it was a military helicopter, a Blackhawk. It touched down, engines still whirring, and we all rushed towards it. Army men jumped from it, aiming their rifles at all of us and we stopped short, raising our hands.
"Are any of you infected?" I heard one shout. Our group looked at each other, and I could see several glance at me as if they contemplated telling them I had been bitten. But one look from Caleb made them change their minds, and we all collectively shook our heads. The men lowered their weapons and motioned for us to board the heli. Our group was slimmed down so much that we all easily fit inside with room for more. Caleb sat to my left while Willa and Chris sat to my right. We all clutched at each other's hands as we took off through the sky.
Within minutes we were at what looked like a small gated community, with houses and other buildings all protected by a large fence.
"What's happening out in the world?" I shouted to one man.
"The Doctor will explain everything," he replied. I fell silent then and when we landed, I sprung from the 'copter. We were escorted to the infirmary and were welcomed with open arms by who I assumed was the doctor.
"Hello! Welcome! My name is Doctor Hughes! So good to see more survivors!" He shook each of our hands furiously and sat us down on our own beds.
"'Scuse me doc, but what's going on?" willa asked.
"Oh, nothing big. We're just going to vaccinate you before we send you off into our community!" He seemed way too cheery, and it made me have a hard time trusting him.
"Vaccination?" Caleb asked.
"Yes, for the virus that turns one into an undead. They mixed the original virus with a form of malaria, and it seemed to instantly kill off the virus. We just need to inject you all to make sure we cleanse the virus completely from our new world." He came at me with a needle, and even though I had a PhD, I still had a fear of needles. On reflex, I cringed, and I could hear Caleb growl quite audibly. Dr. Hughes paused before proceeding with sticking me with the needle. Before I could panic more, it was over and he had disposed of the needle properly and produced another for the next person. I could feel my mixed blood instantly kill off whatever it was he injected me with, and I looked at Caleb. We shared a knowing smile, and I watched as he had no reaction to being poked with a needle. Once he was done injecting everyone, we were lead to a large cafeteria, and I could feel my stomach growling over the white noise of the crowd. Caleb pulled me along beside him.
I was amazed to see a television sitting in the corner with a news broadcast. The anchor explained that they were getting the epidemic under control and that the cleanup was going to take millions of dollars and probably several years. The housing market was on its all-time low with real estate agents trying to figure out which homes belonged to the deceased and which ones were not able to be occupied because of the disease. We listened with intent, and soon, I felt full and content for the first time in a while. We were then escorted to a fourplex unit that had two bedrooms, and we agreed to share it with Willa and Chris.
We explored our new home and immediately me and Willa took over the two bathrooms for showers. We squealed in delight when we emerged clean for the first time in too many years. But then we realized we had no clothes, so we were stuck in robes until someone came to give us some. Caleb and Chris took their turns in the showers and they complained when the water went cold on them. By the time they got out, a woman had come around proffering clothes for us from a large stockpile she had brought in a cart.
Cleaned, dressed, and full, life seemed to finally be returning to normal. Except, what was normal about having a lycan as a lover and a boyfriend?
Note: well that's it!
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE
I'm currently writing an epilogue xP so there will be a tad bit more. It takes place three years after the events in this chapter.
No crits, because i know it sucks