Kick at the Darkness (12 page)

“I swear, I swear!”

“Two hundred years ago, the Damned Manta was the fiercest pirate ship that sailed the Atlantic. Every vessel with the misfortune to cross its path was savagely plundered. The captain and crew showed no mercy. Navies tried to hunt the Manta down, traveling the waves month after month, year after year, without ever so much as spotting its mast on the horizon. It might as well have been a ghost.”

“Did they ever catch it?”

Eric leaned in closer. “In the end, it wasn’t a flotilla of warships that put an end to the Damned Manta’s reign of terror on the sea. It was a woman.”

“A woman?” Parker’s eyes widened. “How did she do it?”

“Well, this was no ordinary woman.” He paused. “It was Mother Nature.”

“Oh.” Parker deflated a bit. “So it was a storm?”

“Not any ordinary storm. No, it took more than that to sink the Manta to the ocean’s floor. For ten days and nights, the wind howled and the seas swirled. The Manta’s hold brimmed with gold and jewels, a lifetime of spoils the pirates had won through bloodshed. The waves grew stories high, crashing over them. No matter which direction they sailed in, the storm followed mercilessly until finally it was as if the seas simply opened up and swallowed the Damned Manta whole.”

“It sunk? Where?”

Eric whispered, “Rumor has it the Manta went down right around here. Close enough to the Cape that the pirates could have abandoned ship and saved themselves, but not a one would leave his treasure behind.”

Although Parker knew this story was probably bullshit, he grinned anyway. “No one’s ever found it?”

“Nope. Not so much as a single bullion.” His gaze darted over to where their parents reclined on the deck, their mother tanning with a sedate smile and their father reading the Wall Street Journal with his customary frown. Eric lowered his voice. “Wanna look for it? Legend says that only the most bold and fearless have a hope of finding it.”

Parker grabbed his mask and snorkel. He knew they couldn’t go very far without proper diving equipment and oxygen, but in the shallows of the reef they could go deep enough for it to be an adventure. Eric slapped his on and stood beside him on the deck. “Ready, Parkster?”

Parker nodded, bouncing on his toes.

“Into the great unknown!”

They leapt in unison, cannonballing beneath the surface.

He couldn’t stop shivering.

Parker flickered in and out of consciousness, but he wasn’t sure what was real. He flailed out, his fingers scrabbling over rock. Then there was warmth, and the faint scent of pine and leather, which meant everything would be okay. He exhaled, coughing.

Someone moaned, and Parker realized it was him. He was on fire, but he was so cold. A bottle pressed against his lips, and he opened up, swallowing as much water as he could.

“That’s it. Drink. Go back to sleep. Everything’s okay.”

Everything’s okay
. A voice in his mind screamed that it was a lie. Everything was wrong, and it could never be right again. But Adam was there, and his arms were around Parker, blocking out the rest of the world.

Parker burrowed closer, and believed.

HE WAS DROOLING.

Parker licked his dry lips, and opened and closed his mouth, swiping at it with his hand. It was nighttime, and he was…outside? He could hear rain falling, but could only see dark shapes as his eyes focused. The memories came rolling back, slotting into place one by one with sickening clarity. Eric and their parents…no, he couldn’t think about them.

Focus. His head was pillowed on something warm, and there was denim…

Parker seized up. He was drooling on Adam’s thigh. Because his head seemed to be in Adam’s lap. Which was surprisingly comfortable given the dude had thighs of steel.

“It’s all right,” Adam said softly. “You’re safe.”

Inch by inch, he relaxed, breathing again. His throat was raw, but his head felt clearer. Groaning, he shifted onto his back, his head still on Adam’s outstretched legs. Adam was leaning against the stone wall of the cave with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. In the dark, Parker could make out Adam’s golden eyes watching him.

Adam opened a bottle of water and lifted Parker’s head so he could sip. Then he unwrapped a lozenge, his fingertips grazing Parker’s lips as he fed it to him. Parker sucked, the lemon honey soothing his throat. He hacked out a few coughs and then settled. “Thanks.”

“Sure.”

It really should have been weird, being so close to Adam, but Parker liked it. The foil blanket was tucked around him, and Adam was nice and warm. Parker felt remarkably dry. Adam pressed the back of his hand to Parker’s forehead, and he had to stop himself from leaning into the touch.

“I think your fever’s breaking.”

“What time is it?” Parker croaked.

“A little after ten or so.”

“Is that all? It felt like longer.”

“It’s been two days, Parker.”

“What?” He jerked up, and this of course caused another coughing fit. His lungs rattled, and he horked up a huge wad of phlegm into a sodden tissue Adam gave him. Parker wiped his mouth and settled back down. “Ugh. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. It means it’s clearing out. It’s a good thing. You should have more medicine in a minute.”

“Two days? Jesus.” Parker squinted out at the dark shapes of trees in the distance. “I guess you don’t have any news.”

“No.”

“Thank you for staying with me. Most people would have ditched me.”

“Would they?”

“I don’t know. Some would have, I bet.” He blew his nose noisily.

“You wouldn’t have left me.”

“No. But we’ve lost so much time.”

Adam shrugged. “You couldn’t ride a motorcycle. You were totally out of it. Besides, maybe things will be better out there now.”

Parker peered up at Adam. Part of the moon gleamed through the clouds, and he could make out Adam’s features, and especially his eyes. He resisted the urge to reach up and run his fingers over the darkening scruff on Adam’s cheeks and chin. “I had the weirdest dreams. I didn’t try to eat your face, did I?”

Adam looked at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing, his teeth gleaming. “You really are funny.”

A warm rush of pride filled Parker. “Am I?”

“You are. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that?”

“I don’t know. Jason was always the funny one at school. And Eric at home—my brother.”

“Well, you’re funny. And I’m glad. It helps.” He brushed back Parker’s hair from his forehead, and a shiver zinged down Parker’s spine.

Careful
. Adam was being super cool and nice to him, but it didn’t mean anything more. Parker turned his head and looked out from their perch over the darkness of the foothills and the preserve beyond. When a flicker of light caught his eye, he froze. “Do you see that?”

“Yeah. I think it’s a campfire. Must be other survivors. I think I’ve seen a few little groups out here.”

“How long until the…” He thought of the word the man in the SUV had used. Had that been real? He wasn’t sure. “The creepers make their way into the forest?”

“Not long enough.” Adam unwrapped a protein bar. “Think you can eat?”

Normally the answer would always be a resounding
hell yes
, but Parker’s eyes were heavy again. “I don’t know.”

“Try a few bites.” He slid his arm under Parker’s shoulders and lifted him up enough to chew. Parker dutifully ate as much as he could. It was some kind of chocolate-based flavor, and it tasted remarkably good, like his taste buds had been dying for stimulation.

“That’s it. Now some more medicine. You should be able to sleep okay now.”

The cherry syrup tasted like crap on the heels of chocolate, but Parker got it down. As he settled his head back on Adam’s lap, he realized he was wearing different clothes. The pants were cargos, and the sweater was dark cotton. “Did you…um, thanks. For getting me out of the wet clothes.” He realized they were spread over the other side of the little cave, along with some of Adam’s. “I think I dreamed about that. I might have kicked you.”

Adam snorted. “You definitely kicked me. But you wouldn’t get better in damp clothes, so it had to be done.”

Parker’s cheeks flushed. “Sorry.” Okay, so Adam had seen him naked again. It wasn’t a big deal. They’d already showered together. It wasn’t sexual, and the guy wasn’t even gay. He sternly repeated this to himself a few times until the embarrassment faded. Jesus, it was the end times, and he was being bashful.

His eyes were getting too heavy now, and he closed them. “I don’t want to drool on you again,” he mumbled. “It’s such bad manners. My mother would be shocked and appalled. She’d be shappalled.”

As he faded away, he heard the soft rumble of Adam’s laughter.

Parker gingerly pushed himself up and swiped a hand across his mouth. He gazed at Adam blearily. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Adam reached out to touch Parker’s forehead. His palm felt cool, and he held it there for a moment before dropping his hand with a little nod. He passed Parker a bottle, and Parker noticed there was a few of them outside the lip of the cave, full of rain water. “Drink up.”

Parker did, his throat finally feeling more normal. He’d apparently spent the night with his head pillowed on Adam’s lap again. “You didn’t have to…you could have shoved me off and laid down too. Jesus, I must stink.”

Adam hitched a shoulder. “I stink too. I slept pretty well, actually. All things considered.”

“Good. I hope I don’t give you this bug. You were sniffing before.”

“Nah. I feel fine. I’m not worried.”

Parker blinked out beyond their little cave. The dawn was gray, with rain still drizzling down. The expanse of trees below them was blanketed by fog. His hip was numb where he’d curled on it, and he coughed up some more lovely mucus, which was hopefully the last of it. He definitely felt rested for the first time since the world went to hell. “Another day in paradise, huh?”

Adam’s lips twitched. “Indeed.”

Parker scooted over and leaned against the rock beside Adam, wincing at the stiffness in his back. Adam had taken off Parker’s sneakers and put thick wool socks on his feet. He rubbed his feet together, enjoying the friction. “Okay. Still living in a zombie apocalypse, it seems. I guess it’s time we get our shit together and make a plan.”

Adam raised an eyebrow. “Any suggestions?”

“I know that, aside from this whole flu thing, I’ve been kind of freaking out a little. And by ‘a little’ I mean a lot, and I appreciate that you didn’t just leave my whiny ass behind days ago.”

Adam huffed softly. “I’m freaking out too. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Yeah, well, your version of freaking out is a lot more…stoic. But anyway, we need a plan.”

“You’re right.” He gazed out at the foggy dawn. “We could try Big Sur?”

Parker mulled over going south. “I don’t know about having the ocean on one side. It would make it easy to get trapped. Unless we had a boat.” A memory of salt on his tongue and summer wind in his hair swelled in him, next to his parents as they watched a pod of whales splashing. He was filled by a resolution he felt down to his bones.

“Parker?”

He swallowed hard. “I think…Adam, I need to know if my family made it. My mom said they were going to the Cape house. They could be okay there. If the people were able to block off Cape Cod, the infection might not have spread. They might be safe. They might be waiting for me. They would wait.”

Adam was silent for a moment. “It’s possible.”

“And completely unlikely. I know. I realize what the odds are. But if there’s even a tiny chance they survived, I have to try to find them. I
have
to. I can’t give up without trying.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, what? Okay, you understand? Or okay, you’ll come with me?”

“I’ll come with you.”