Page 40 of Desiderium
“Dude, look at where you’re slumped over. You’re in the cox box at the front of the boat. It’s fucking literal, ya douche canoe. And you were in the Navy! Fucking shameful.” Hawk shakes his head and laughs even though it doesn’t fully reach his eyes.
Their back-and-forth bashing makes me smile as I take another stroke of the oar. It’s as if everything is as it always has been and how it should be. But I remind myself, that’s just Hawk. It’s what he does. He takes a shitty situation and turns it around on its head until everyone is laughing again. Even though I know we’re all thinking thesame thing, he’s managed to take our focus off of the doom and gloom and placed it on him and his humor. It fixed the somber mood... at least for the moment.
If only it could fix everything...
* * *
As Hawk finishes up his latest rendition ofCome Sail Awayby Styx, complete with a fully blown case of laryngitis, we finally hit the shore at the other side of the lake. It’s been a little over an hour and my arms are about to fall off my body but we all made it here in one piece.
One by one we stumble out of the boat, onto land and take a look around. Well, Hawk, Sadie and I stumble out of the boat, while Cole, refusing to let either of us help him, sort of rolls out from the side, landing with a raspy grunt and a barely audible, “Fuck that hurt.”
I lean down to check on Cole but he waves me off, turning to get on all fours as he takes a few stabilizing breaths. I know he can’t walk, not with his ankle looking the way it does, so I take a seat next to him and look around while he catches his breath.
“Do you see him?” I ask Hawk. Jax is supposed to meet us here but I don’t see any sign of him yet.
Hawk does a visual sweep of the property. It’s about as large as Jax’s estate and surprisinglyalsolacks any form of a dock. But unlike his, it’s happily lacking any undead presence, which makes me breathe a sigh of relief.
I’ve officially hit my quota of zombie fuckery today, thank you.
There’s a slight hill that makes up the entirety of the backyard, meeting the gritty sand that makes up the beach. Thankfully, it’s nothing too steep. I can only assume it was built up just enough to combat the rise and fall of the lake. There are a few wooden deck chairs near the water and a gazebo further back between the beach and the house. I’m not sure if the owners are still around, but this place must have been great for gatherings. It’s secluded, inviting and absolutely gorgeous.
Hawk takes a moment to scan the property once again before turning back around, shaking his head. “No sign of him yet. At least, not that I can see from here. Let’s move in closer, he might be around the front or inside for all we know.” He waves his fingers at Cole in acome-hithermotion. “Come on Long Dong Silver, I’ll be your pegleg.” Hawk wraps his arm around Cole, helping him up off the sand and together we walk up the grassy slope beyond the beach.
“I’ll pass on the pegging for now but thanks man. Raincheck,” Cole replies, earning a few laughs from us in return. Unfortunately, the slight rise of humor only lasts so long as we observe him on the move.
Hisbreath is reduced to short whisps, now. He’s absolutely exhausted, barely able to move one foot in front of the other. We all look it, but him especially. His body’s been through a lot and needs immediate rest. The time spent on the swimming dock doesn’t count. We’re wet, cold and his wounds still haven’t been properly cared for. I just hope Jax is here and ready to go so we can remedy that sooner rather than later.
We round the front of the house and still don’t see Jax. Just a vacant driveway, a bunch of overgrown bushes, dead undisturbed leaves scattered along the entryway, and a fuck-ton of garden gnomes.
Creepy ass fuckers...
“Where the hell is he?”
He should have been here by now. He’s been gone for hours. Granted, part of that was spent wading in the water for Hawk to draw the undead off of his property, but still. We had to row across a lake for crying out loud. He had a truck and, maybe twenty miles to drive. Did something happen?
Just then, movement catches the periphery of my vision and a startled gasp escapes my lips.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jax
Fucking finally. To say that getting the truck was going to be easy is more wrong than a three-dollar bill. This whole day can go right in the trash when it’s over. Fucking dumpster fire is what it’s been.
I’m still buck-ass fucking naked, my clothes abandoned on my old property for the sake of my health and well-being. There was no way I was going to be able to drive over here without needing to gag every time I drew a breath. Shit was foul. Actually, that’s an understatement. I don’t even think Luke Skywalker sleeping in a dead tauntaun compares. The residual stench lingers in the air around me, drawing the entirety of my focus to it. I dry heave just thinking about it.
Then there was my almost suicide attempt after getting exposed.
Over two hours ago...
I flip down the visor and gasp as I take in the deep brown irises staring back at me. Tilting my head, I look leftand right, studying every inch, making sure I’m not missing any potential cloudiness ready to take over, but I see nothing out of the ordinary. At thatlevel of exposure, I should have been showing some signs already, but, as of right now, I’m clear.
Thank fuck...
I flip the visor back up, crank the engine and make my way over to the entrance gate, going slow at first but then booking it as fast as I can. Now I just have to get over to the rendezvous point. If I’m lucky enough, I might be able to jump back into the water while I’m waiting and scrub my body until my skin falls off.
One can only hope….
Present time...
