Page 33 of Resurrection
Deny. Deny. Deny.
Hawk smiles knowingly as I feel a deep, red, crimson blush cover the expanse of my body. Stupid pale skin, can’t hide anything.
“It was cute,” Jax supplies, unhelpfully, shrugging his shoulders and grinning like I didn’t just rock the whole wagon with my gastro-pyrotechnics.
“Everybody farts, sweetheart. Besides, those MREs are full of fiber. It’s bound to happen to anyone who eats ‘em. Seriously, don’t get your panties in a twist over gas. It’s not a big deal at all.” I thought Hawk was finished after that, but it turns out he wasn’t and decides to let one rip just to emphasize his point.
“OH MY GOD!”
“See? Totally normal,” he says, chuckling under his breath.
Unable to stop myself, I start laughing with him. Which, in turn, pushes more toots out. And now I can control neither my laughing fit nor the toots it brings forth. Oh, fuck my life.
Cole, being quiet this entire time, finally decides to release his hold on me to take a peek outside. “Coast looks clear. Plus, the rain will probably aid in camouflaging our movements and scents. How about we get Tootsie out of here before we all suffocate. And when I say,Tootsie,I mean you, Hawk. Holy fuck, man.”
With one last subdued laugh, we grab our weapons and all the bags we can load onto ourselves before opening the doors. Forming a diamond shape, we move as one, crouching alongside the cars for cover and ushering me down the road, past the intersection, and into the adjacent woods. We go about a hundred yards past the tree-line before Jax lifts his fist in the air. “Alright, this should be good for you.” He drops his pack, untying the top and shuffling the contents around until he comes across a broken pile of metal. After fitting the pieces together, however, it turns into a little shovel. In less than a minute, he’s managed to dig a little hole, gesturing to it when he’s finished with an outstretched palm and a nod as if to say,“Your throne awaits, milady.”
I turn in a circle, inspecting the location. It’s a relatively open space with a suspiciously lone bush in thevery center. I guess it’s better than nothing for common decency if you find the need to shit in the middle of the woods on a Tuesday evening. I’m about to pull down my pants when I realize the guys are still there, lurking far too close for my dignity. “Uh.... ok guys... off you go.” I wave my hands in ashooingmotion. “I can do this part on my own.”
“No can do, sweet cakes. Danger’s afoot,” Hawk replies, lifting his weapon as he spans his gaze through the woods.
“Who the fuck says‘afoot’?” Cole interjects.
“Wilderness explorers, wingnut,” Hawk counters.
“Well, nobody’s exploring my wilderness while I’m doing my fucking business, so off with you!” I whisper as threateningly as I can.
“Sorry, babe. We just want to make sure you’re safe. Most we can do is fan out a bit. Maybe give you a little bit of privacy while we stay within the immediate vicinity.”
My stomach makes a sound that’s straight from the depths of Hell and has me squirming for the fly on my pants, forcing my submission. “OK. OK. FINE! Just... turn around for fuck’s sake!” I pull down my pants and assume the position before another thought pops into my head. “DON’T FUCKING LISTEN!” I whisper shout, desperately imploring them at this point. “Hum to yourselves or anything else besides—” *toot* *toot* *toot*“Oh my fucking God, kill me now!” My groan of embarrassment is mercifully drowned out by thesurrounding rain storm. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself because if the rainstorm can drown out my groans, it can drown out my toots.And everything else...
Thankfully, the guys abide by my humiliating pleas and start humming to themselves, but my head drops a moment later in annoying frustration when I distinctly hear Hawk humming“Drop it Low”by Ester Dean ft. Chris Brown. Shaking my head, I will myself to simply get on with it and end my torment.
With the guys forming their kill circle around me—giving me just enough privacy to handle things—I’m able to relieve myself with little to no incidents. “Don’t use those leaves to wipe! That’s poison ivy!” Hawk instructs, going blatantly against the rules and looking over his shoulder at me, his eyebrows primed and at the ready to scold me if he needs to. I look at the leaves in question.
Well... that would have been bad. Being right within an arm’s reach, I totally would have used those leaves. Thankfully, I remembered to bring a roll of toilet paper from my giant stash in the back of the granny wagon.
Once I’m done, we round robin, allowing each of the guys a few moments to take care of themselves. Unfortunately, as Hawk takes his turn, a couple of stragglers stumble out from around a large pine tree, forcing those of usnotcurrentlygrabbing onto a sapling for dear life—softly singing “Geronimo” by Bastille just loud enough for us all to hear it through the rain—to take them out as quickly and silently as possible. Thankfully,they’re only a few, so I don’t need to worry about getting tunnel vision as Cole, Jax, and I turn and lift our knives to do just that. It's only a matter of seconds before we’re left in blissful silence once again. The dead weight of the dispatched zombies falling to our feet in a wet, squelching thump.
Apparently unphased by the zombies’ interruption, Hawk finishes, pulling his pants up and buckling his belt as he walks over to the rest of us. “Well... That was satisfying.” He lowers his gaze, taking in our filthy hands as we meticulously wipe them clean with moist towelettes. “All good?” he asks with a raised brow, turning in a circle and presumably looking around for any more that we might have missed.
“Good to go. Let’s head out,” Jax replies with an affirming nod.
Reloading our packs back onto our shoulders, we turn to Jax, waiting for his cue. He looks at his watch, which’s currently set to compass mode, and lifts a hand, indicating our next direction. Thankfully, the horde’s groupings are still off in the distance, far enough away in either direction to no longer have to worry about; at least not immediately. In my mind, I hope that’s the last time we have to deal with something that extreme, but in my heart, I know there may be worse things out there yet to come.
Chapter Eighteen
Jax
“Here we go.”
I don’t want to count my chickens too early, but it’s been a long ass night. Long ass trip if I’m being honest, even if it has only been one day. After the run in with that giant horde, all I wanted to do was find a place that was far enough away and relatively secure, hunker down, and pass out. I’m spent. My eyes can barely stay open.
Really regret not using a Rip-it right now...
I didn’t even try to sleep earlier with everyone else. I wouldn’t have been able to. Not while the zombies were on top of us. Which is also why I refused to call shifts. The need to protect was overtaking my senses. I needed to be the one to make sure we made it through not just this day but the next few days as well. The logic was simple: they needed the rest then, so I could rest now. Pulling shifts keeps us safe, yes, but everyone was exhausted. An hour or two here and there doesn’t reallyhelp anyone. At least I know that, when I finally do pass out, I’ll have those two, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, to keep our girl safe. While they might be pissed at me for it, I know they also understandwhyI did what I did.
Pain shoots up my joints with every step I take; my feet and back are absolutely shot. I overloaded these packs with everything and anything I could since we had to leave the wagon behind. Who could blame me? Especially when we have no idea what we might come up against from now until Tryon Palace. The more supplies we have, the more prepared we are. But in that same instance, the more difficult and painful the journey will be.
