Page 48 of The Dire Reaction

I’m glad Dani and I both seem to have beat the odds. Trying to determine which would be worse though, death or turning into a monster, that’s a hard choice. Like there is a choice.

A soft bell sound breaks the monotony of the television when my phone rings. Damn, there’s almost enough coffee for a cup. There should be a rule; no phone conversations before coffee. The rule changes when I see the name on the screen. It’s my sister. I’ve been trying to reach her for days.

I hurry to answer the phone before it rings a third time.

“Hi, Elly, how are you? Everything okay?” She never takes days to return a call. Her phone usually lives in her hand.

“Sam.” Her voice is high pitched and breathy.

“Elly, are you okay?” Worry has my heart racing. I slump in the chair next to the table.

“I am, I think. Sam, something happened to John,” she says quietly.

“What happened?”

“Can I stay there for a few days?” She sounds like she’s holding the phone away from her, and weird sounds are in the background.

“Of course! Shit’s crazy right now. Do you need me to come and get you?”

“No. I’ll be there in a little while. Thank you.” With a click, the line goes silent.

Warm hands caress my neck. “Is everything okay?” Dani presses her lips against my temple. “I could hear your heartbeat from the other room like a snare drum.”

“I don’t know.” Turning, I pull her to me, my arms wrapping around her waist as she nestles between my legs. She’s no longer naked, clothed in jeans and a light hoodie, and it makes me a little sad I can’t nuzzle against her bare chest right now. Nipples fix anything.

“That was my sister. She said something happened to her husband, and she wanted to come and stay for a few days.” I sigh into the thick fabric covering her breasts. My hands slide beneath her layers; I just need to feel her skin for comfort.

Her fingers tangle in my hair as she holds me against her. “I’m sorry,” she whispers into my hair, her lips following with a gentle kiss. When she pulls away I feel cold, a shiver tingles up my spine.

“You said her old room is this one behind Alex’s?” She doesn't wait for my answer, instead disappearing down the hall.

Torn between pursuing the intrigue she stokes or fresh coffee, I relent to the need for caffeine. I’m just hitting the brew button when I hear a loud thump from the back of the house.

Following the echo down the hall, I push open the door to see Dani dropping another box onto the floor. I forgot that Elly’s room has turned into a quasi-storage closet, a perfect place to stack all of my old receipts and records.

“For some reason I never expected that your sister would like boy bands,” she smiles, gesturing to the faded posters that still adorn the walls.

Another thump as the last box finds a place in the corner.

“My sister was a boy band freak when we were teenagers. I swear she spent more time sneaking out to concerts than she did sleeping here.” When she grabs the corner of the blanket and rips it from the bed I jump in to help, gathering the dusty linens in a pile to launder.

“I kind of doubt that she’d want to sleep in a dusty bed after what happened.” Dani stops. Her lips purse. I nearly throw the blankets down to nibble on them. “She didn’t say what happened?” She cocks her head, exposing the side of her perfect unblemished neck. I’ve determined she’s immune to my teeth. My marks are always gone by morning.

Shaking my head with a grunt, mostly to deter the distraction she always offers, I take the bedding to the washroom and load it into the washer. Hopefully the comforter is dry by this evening. We’ve gotten snow the last couple of days and the nights are certainly colder.

Meeting her back in the kitchen, I’m grateful that she already has coffee poured for both of us and is heating up a pan for scrambled eggs and bacon.

I sit down on the chair to pull my boots on and the news, still on low in the background, catches my ear again with another sound byte.

—Grocery stores are already running low while the transportation system is at a full stop. Officials blame lack of drivers—

—The President is considering calling a National State of Emergency and implementing martial law, more on this at six—

Damn. I’m glad the freezers are full. Unless the power goes out.

“What do you think the odds are that the power stays on with everyone being too afraid to work right now?” I muse, dropping my pant leg over the high tops of my worn leather cowboy boots.

Her eyes grow large when she looks at me. “What will we do here?”

---