Page 18 of Cruel Devotion

“What?”

“I’ve spent so much of my life fearing death, but now, with you by my side, I’m not afraid anymore.”

His words caught me off guard and made my heart flutter. “Lei. . .”

“Every moment with you feels like a lifetime, and I’d rather have one perfect moment with you than an eternity without.” His eyes searched mine. “Because. . .I’m falling in love with you, Monique.”

For a moment, all the chaos and danger felt distant, and it was just the two of us, standing in the moonlight, lost in a world of our own.

My heart swelled.

Fear still lingered but so did the warmth of his words.

“I’m falling in love with you too, Lei.” I reached for him.

Our lips met again.

Lei’s arms wrapped tightly around me as if he never wanted to let me go.

And in that moment, nothing else mattered.

Not the zombies.

Not all those that we had lost.

But in this world happiness doesn’t last forever.

Suddenly, a grotesque moan interrupted the stillness of our kiss.

Before we could react, a zombie lunged from the darkness. Rotting flesh hung from its bones and its hollow eyes gleamed with hunger.

The evil creature yanked Lei into a deathly grip, and with a swift, terrifying motion, it sank its teeth into Lei’s throat.

The grotesque sound of tearing flesh thundered.

“No!” I screamed as blood spurted out, painting the moonlit ground in a gruesome shade of red. “No! No!”

Lei’s eyes went wide with anguished terror.

“No. No. No.” Gasping, I bolted upright in bed, slowly waking from the terrifying nightmare. “No. . .”

Sweat dripped from my forehead.

That wasn’t real.

The tightness in my chest started to subside as I came to the realization that it was merely a dream.

However, as I worked on steadying my pulse, the memory of Lei’s caress and the horrible image of that monster would not leave me alone.

No matter how hard I tried, the fear stayed with me.

Zombies are not real. Calm down.

Blinking my eyes, I gazed at the blue tent walls and then checked the other side of the bed.

Lei was gone.

I couldn’t believe I had been so exhausted that I didn’t even hear him wake up.

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