Page 85 of Once Upon an Apocalypse

Spotting the weapon that flew out of my hands from the explosion, I sprint, hoping the biter follows me. I see Olivia with the corner of my eyes and yell, “Stay there!” My voice acting like a beacon for the biter to follow me and stay away from my remaining friends.Please don’t turn.I think to myself.

I swoop down, my hand effortlessly gripping the handle of the bat. As I turn around, I use the momentum and swing as hard as I can. The tip of my bat hits its target, crushing the biter’s head. It goes down with a sickening thump. But I don’t have time to grieve. The sound of moaning is all around me. Now that the shed has been destroyed, the remaining biters from the other side are making their way over here.

Olivia is at my side, a large hunting knife in one hand and Lori’s mace in the other. Our heads whip over to the tunnel where more biters are attempting to break down our barricade.

“Is Jonah okay?” I ask, my voice breaking.

“I think he’s healing. But obviously is in no shape to fight.”

I nod and ask if she’s okay. “Do you feel warm? Feverish?”

“No. But I’ve got a big ball of fury I’m going to release on these dead assholes.”

I try to smile, but the pain in my heart doesn’t let me. So I let the anger in. I let it consume me as I prepare for battle. When the first of the biters break through the flames licking the remains of the shed, shooting breaks out all around us. Olivia and I jump for cover, but the bullets aren’t aimed in our direction. All the biters stumbling toward us fall to the ground.

A voice calls out through a megaphone over the sounds of carnage around us. “This is the U.S. Military. If you are among the living, put your hands up. We mean you no harm.”

Relief washes over me, but not enough to remove the fear that has been threatening to consume me. If the military is here, where is Lori? Olivia and I stand up with our hands up and wait for the military to put down the surrounding biters. One of the soldiers recognizes me and passes on the information to the men and women around him. They put their weapons down immediately.

“Has anyone been bitten?” one of the soldiers asks from the stands.

Shit. I’ll be executed if they see the bite mark on my shoulder.

“No,” Olivia answers. “Can we put our hands down now?”

“Yes. Stay put. We’ll get you guys out.”

“Olivia, if they see I’ve been bitten—”

“There’s no bite mark, Amos. It healed,” Olivia says, examining my shoulder closely.

“What?” I nearly cry, my knees going weak from the relief I feel. I’m okay. I’m not going to turn.

Olivia pulls me in for a hug, holding me so tight my bones would pop if it weren’t for my newly acquired super soldier strength. When we let go of each other, we rush over to Jonah. He’s alive. The wound still looks deadly, but he’s alive.

“I need to find Lori,” I say to no one in particular.

Instead of answering, Olivia sprints away from me, over to the other side of the arena. When I see her sprint back through the ruins of the shed, she has my metal arm in her hand. “I pulled out the taser, so it should be safe. Put this back on and go find your lady.”

As I run to the fence, I hastily reattach my arm. The strength I feel inside me gives me the power I need to climb over and the confidence of knowing I will make it out. I leap from the top of the fence, landing on the edge of the seating area like a cat. Then I’m running. Pushing everything and everyone out of my way, letting nothing stop me from getting to Lori.

After climbing a flight of stairs, I find a group of soldiers. General Greene is among them, calling out an order. “Bring her in for questioning.”

I sprint over to the general, pushing him out of the way. When I see Lori lying unconscious in a pool of blood, I howl. The rage I’ve felt since she was taken at the tower threatens to explode like that shed in the arena.

“Amos, what are you doing?” General Greene asks, gripping his weapon tighter.

I ignore him, pushing my way into the room. Two soldiers hoist Lori up with their hands. My fist meets their jaws, but I hold myself back, not knowing how strong I might be. Before Lori falls back to the ground, I scoop her up, holding her against my body, glaring at everyone around me.

“Amos. If you do not release our prisoner, I will have to detain you as well,” the general threatens.

“She is not your prisoner. She is my wife.”

“Shit,” one of the soldiers behind me mutters.

“Yourwifekilled the man we have been searching for.” General Greene’s anger is of no concern of mine. The rage inside me tells me to kick him through the chest. An irrational instinct that will get both me and Lori killed, or imprisoned for life since we both can’t be killed.

I look behind me to see Dr. Tuwile on the ground, his eyes devoid of life. I can’t help but smile. Then I turn back, yelling, “I could fucking care less who she killed. Actually, I’m fucking proud as hell that she killed that monster.”

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