Page 88 of Redemption
But, this morning, the majority of the horde left, leaving only about a dozen or so scattered around the safehouse. While I would have loved to be selfish and keep her all to myself for a few more days, the decrease in the surrounding hostile presence left me with no more excuses as to why we couldn’t leave. With that sobering reminder, I snuck out before she woke up and took care of the rest. Quickly. Silently. The last thing I wanted was to wake or draw her to the melee, knowing full well she wouldn’t hesitate to join in the fight even if it meant potentially harming herself. To her, that wouldn’t matter. If her presence sped up the overall slaughtering process and eliminated the cause for delay, she’d leap at the chance to get to her loved ones sooner, despite what that would mean for her own well-being.
She saw their bodies strewn about the property when we left. Their bloody, mangled remains were proof of what I had done only a few hours earlier, but neither of us commented on it. We had more important things to think about.
Like making sure her reunion went off without a hitch.
Honestly, my mind is still blown by the fact that she’s somehow found and started a relationship with my three best friends. Not only is it a statistical anomaly, it’s borderline serendipitous. I could cite the almighty bro code ofnotfucking my ex-fiancée, but let’s be real here—they probably have no fucking idea who sheactuallyis. Sure, I’ve talked about her to them from time to time, but, with our relationship officially declared DOA when I fucked up beyond all reason and stepped onto that plane, she never really came up in any sort ofdetaileddescription.
As for Alessandra, she’d never met them prior to Zombocalypse 3000. Hell, we broke up beforeIeven met them. So, clearly, she wouldn’t have had any clue who they were to me either.
Regardless, something brought them together. Whether it was fate, or a higher power, or just remarkable, unimaginable, end-of-the-world luck, they found each other. And, after listening to her descriptions of them, of how they make her feel and their roles in the relationship—plus a healthy dose of self-loathing on my part—I’m positive she’s found who she’s meant to be with, even if it is with all three of them.
To be fair, it’s the least she deserves after everything she’s been through—the chance to be happy with the guys who make her so. And, regardless of the fact that the mere thought of her leaving now that I’ve finally gotten her back is enough to shredmy heart to pieces, in the end, it’s the leastIdeserve after what I’ve put her through.
She still has no idea I know who they are, though. It’s already difficult enough coming to terms with what I know they’re doing together. It’ll be even worse if I acknowledge it.
Sex with some rando can be blocked out completely from my overzealous imagination. If I can’t put a face to him, then I can’t absentmindedly visualize what might occur between them. But sex with my best friends? And all three of them to boot? Probably at the same time?Don’t forget to breathe, asshole. You deserve this nasty bit of karma.Fucking. Hell.It makes me want to kill everything within a hundred-mile radius in an extremely violent manner before I proceed to lobotomize myself to rid my mind of the filthy, carnal shit I just know they’re doing on the regular.
Yup... And there it is. The raunchy, hedonistic gangbang involving everyone I hold near and dear to my heart.... And then there’s me on the sidelines, pounding a screwdriver into my frontal lobe to the cadence of their sloppy, wet skin slapping and Alessandra’s needy moans and pleas for even more of their cocks.
Oh, happy days....
Sure, if it’s actually them, they could potentially ask me to tag along with them once they realize I’m still alive. In fact, I could almost guarantee it. But could I do that knowing I might never get to have Alessandra the way I truly want? To remain on the sidelines while I watch them physically show their love to her while I can only do the same from a platonically appropriate distance? Not to mention, regardless of what the guys offered, wouldsheeven want that?
One thing at a time....
Alessandra peeks her nose over my shoulder and sighs when she confirms what I’m seeing. “Ok...,” she starts, squinting at the indistinct figures milling about on the ground before turning away to pace a line across the dirt, thinking out loud as she makes her rounds. “This is just a minor setback. We knew it was a possibility we wouldn’t be able to spot them with this thing, especially since you can’t hover it any closer or else they’d notice you scoping things out. Maybe we could—”
Her voice drifts off as she trudges away, talking to herself and going over every option she can think of that we can potentially use to infiltrate the town. We’re still a few miles from the border, far enough away and deep enough in the brush to feel comfortable with her wandering off a few meters, but close enough to have every one of my senses firing on all cylinders.
After living amongst the Phoenix Rising community as long as I have, I know the threats concealed within. The dangers lurking in the shadows, as well as the deceptions wandering around in broad daylight. The sooner we’re out from the town’s direct line of fire, the better. So, while she troubleshoots, I continue to maneuver the drone around the buildings, trying to zoom in as far as the camera will allow on a couple more places I suspect they might be keeping the guys or where new candidates are often put to work. Yet, every time I focus on what seems to be a new face or a person obviously out of place for this time of day, they don’t match her descriptions.
For example, there’s one particular person who keeps catching my eye. Something about him makes him feel displaced. He just exited the cafeteria and is now loitering outside the Infirmary. I know a few guys who work there. One in particular is decent, and I’ve come to trust him implicitly over the past few months. I’ve seen him do the same thing before, only from the ground. No one would suspect him of doinganything questionable just by the way he stood around and lingered for moments at a time, basking in the sunlight before heading in for work.
But this guy? The way he moves practically screams at me. If I wasn’t staring right at him, looking for something to be off, he’d look like some regular Joe.
The only difference is that Iamstaring right at him, and he’s being shady as fuck, making him my first potential match.
His appearance, however, doesn’t match any of the descriptions Alessandra gave me earlier. Regardless of the fact I already know what they looked like, I have no idea what they look likenow.Personally, I’ve lost about forty pounds, added a few new scars to my face and body, and have grown and maintained a neatly trimmed beard in the time since the world decided to shit a brick. I can only imagine what changes they’ve made or endured in the same amount of time.
But fuck me if this stupid machine won’t zoom in any further to give me the verifiable confirmation I need. Over-pixelated piece of shit. I was able to get a closer look at one of the guys back at Tryon, but the only definable characteristic I could make out was the baseball cap he wore. Now that I know more about who I’m looking for, I can almost confirm that man was Jax. Not only was he built like a brick wall, just like in the old days, but, out of the four of us, he was the only one who loved wearing his baseball caps to the point where it was a regular occurrence. This guy has darker hair like Jax does, but he looks smaller—less muscular—and is missing his signature hat. Unfortunately, without better machinery, I have no idea if he’s one of them or someone else entirely.
But it doesn’t matter either way because, a second later, the man heads inside just as Alessandra’s pacing abruptly stops.Having apparently come to a conclusion she’s satisfied with, her hands go to her hips as her stance widens, her demeanor full of resounding conviction. “That settles it, then. We’ll just have to go ahead with my original plan: sneak in, see what we can find on foot, kick some ass, find the guys, and race the hell outta there like our asses are on fire.”
She grins and gives a double thumbs-up to the tree on our left while I lift a skeptical eyebrow over my shoulder at her. “Yeah, uh... hate to break it to you, babe. Even if you are looking all sexy with your neon windbreaker get-up, that’s not happening.”
Her hands tighten into fists, falling from her hips as she stalks just a bit closer, an unspoken threat looming over me. “What do you mean,that’s not happening?”
I hate to burst her bubble when she’s obviously proud of her suggestion, but, in the spirit of keeping her as safe as possible, I must. “Walking in there like you own the place, searching for people they just, for lack of a better term, kidnapped, isn’t going to end well. Not to mention, you’re not going to be sneaking around anywhere in that.”
Head tilting to the left—veryfar to the left—she huffs disagreeably, waiting for me to elaborate.
I try to contain my amusement as I set the command for the drone to return to me before placing the controller down on the ground. Maintaining her focus, I lift my hands in front of my face. My eyebrows may or may not lift sarcastically during the entire charade as I float my gaze from my hands to her face and back again. Sticking my fingers together, I point the tips down to the ground and shuffle them as if they were legs. “Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish.”
Her stern gaze crumples as her face morphs, letting out a loud, snorting guffaw. Unable to control myself a second longer, I tilt onto my side, meeting the ground with a slight thud as I join her, laughing my ass off at the visual I created as well as her reaction to it.
When Alessandra’s able to breathe again without snorting like an adorable little piglet, her arms lift at her sides before they smack right back down onto the synthetic fabric hugging her gorgeous thighs. The jarring movement makes an audibleswishas her hands make contact, further proving my point. I barely contain my own retorting snort as she grits her teeth in response. Tilting her head back, she looks to the sky and groans. Her lips purse extra tightly, and then, a second later, she mutters through her clenched teeth, “Goddammit, he’s right,” before coming to sit down next to me. “Ok, asshole. Fair point. So, what do you propose we do, then?”
Anxiety creeps in as I rake my fingers through my hair. With all the loose ends we have to contend with, I’m unsure if we’re even going to be able to successfully pull off this mission, but I’m determined to do anything within my power to see her happy again and my friends—if they are, in fact, my friends and not coincidentally named the same just to fuck with my crumbling psyche—safe and out of that festering community.
