Page 31 of Desiderium
“Well, son of a bitch. Would you look at that...,” Cole says wistfully while cocking his head to the side, observing the damage. It’s said so nonchalantly it’s as if he didn’t just get trampled by the living dead. Yeah, not a big deal at all or anything….
He wiggles his toes a few times and then rocks his ankle back and forth, grimacing all the while. Gesturing to Hawk, Cole instructs him to do a few things involving holding his foot at one angle and then another, but I don’t get to focus too much attention on them and what they’re doing as Jax steps directly in my line of vision, glaring angry laser beams of frustration at me.
“Aly…”
Ah fuck…
“Did Hawk tell you to stay in the lake?”
“…Yes.”
“And you didn’t stay in the lake, did you?
I hesitate. What am I supposed to say? I know he saw me. I know he knows what I did. But if I didn’t cause a distraction, they could have all died or, at least, all been injured. But I also know how Jax feels about me not listening to orders.
Picking at my torn pants, I look down at my feet where Sadie is sprawled out. She looks up at me with affection and a floppy grin, her tongue sliding out the side as one of her ears bends forward. At least she’s not judging me.
“…No.”
“We’ve talked about this, remember? What’s the rule?”
“No deviating from the plan?”
“NO DEVIATING FROM THE PLAN!” he bellows emphatically. Directly. Sternly. His tone and abrasiveness causing me to almost leap right out of my skin. I suddenly feel like a properly scolded child, reluctant to even look him in the eye.
I sigh in return, defeated. He’s completely, one hundred percent correct. Wehavetalked about this. That’s how he lost his ex-girlfriend. She was supposed to just go to the supermarket but ended up getting bit while trying to make a run to another store to get a gift for Jax. He still struggles with the events pertaining to her death which makes him especially protective when it comes to my safety.
“You could have been hurt… or worse. Any one of those fuckers could have gotten close enough to….” He shakes his head. The memory of his ex-girlfriend, undoubtedly, coming to mind. As well as what he had to do after. “I can’t lose you, baby. Ican’t.I wouldn’t survive it. If you die, I die.”
“I know... and I’m sorry, but what do you expect? I couldn’t just leave you guys there surrounded like that. I can’t lose any of you either. I had to dosomething.” I gaze up at him, imploring him to understand why I did what I did.
Jax squeezes his eyes shut for a moment and takes a deep breath, nodding. “I know…and thank you.” He looks back over his shoulder at Cole being prodded over by Hawk who’s currently pinching each of his toes. “It would have been a pain in the ass to get out of there without your distraction. And I can’t say we would have all made it out in similar conditions. While planning might be important, adaptability is essential. I guess what I’m saying is… You did good, baby, but don’t you dare scare the shit out of me like that again!” He wraps his strong arms around me and kisses the top of my head before laying his cheek on it, sighing contentedly.
“What about you? Are you ok? They were all over you too,” I can’t help but ask.
His eyebrows reach up as he blows out a breath full of uncertainty. “Fuck, I guess we’ll see.”
He pulls away from me, taking a second to look over his arms and hands before turning away, simultaneously pulling up the back of his shirt. “Nothing so far. Do you see anything back there?”
I lift my hand and gingerly pass my fingers around the skin on his back. His large muscles bunch and relax as I pass over his spine and shoulders. The man is a prime specimen of hard work, dedication and determination in all facets of his life, especially with how he treats his body. “There are a few red marks but nothing that seems to have broken the skin”
“Thank fuck.” He lowers his shirt down and turns back to me. His eyes slowly scan my entire body, my head down to my toes, but his eyebrows pinch together as he looks down at my hand. He reaches for it, concern etching his features. “You’re bit...”
I look down to see what he’s talking about. There are no puncture wounds, but a full set of reddened bite marks along the side of my hand, both top and bottom.
“Oh... that’s not... Sadie was just trying to help me. She didn’t mean to—”
I don’t need to continue with my clarification, however, as he simply nods in understanding before turning to pet Sadie’s head, praising her for doing a good job of protecting me. “Good... ok.” He looks over to Cole. “Now we just have to figure out a way to get off of this thing and get Cole some actual R&R. Looking at that foot, he’s going to need it.” He points to where Hawk is still trying to manipulate Cole’s foot but it doesn’t seem to be going well. At least not with the significant amount of pain Cole looks to be in.
Jax moves closer to him, grasping Cole’s jaw gently in an attempt to turn his head a little more towards him. “HeyCole, look at me, you know what this is, let’s just get this over with.” Normally, the first thing we would worry about after a zombie encounter are the eyes; the first sign of the virus taking over is the telling whitening of the irises. We were a little preoccupied with gauging the blood loss from Cole’s attack but now that we have that under control, Jax is right to check, regardless of how much we’re all dreading the results.
Cole groans but opens his eyes wide as Jax turns his head back and forth, searching. “Eyes are clear.” He releases Cole’s jaw and turns back to me as he continues. “Hawk, Aly, eyes up. Let’s quick check each other.” We take turns looking into each other’s eyes, desperately hoping they’re each the same beautiful colors they’re supposed to be. “Good to go, how about any bites? Anyone see any?” With a round of close examination and a few shakes of our heads, Jax announces, “All clear, thank fuck.”
We’re all going to be ok… I hope.
Chapter Sixteen
Hawk
