The Virus by Lee, Damien (summer books txt) 📕

“Hey, it’s not rape if you’ve got consent.”

He looked over at Lisa and saw the mischievous glint in her eyes. Before he had time to react, she was straddling him, pushing the bottle aside and mashing her lips against his.

“Whoa, hang on,”

“What?”

“Let’s slow it down a bit. I wanna enjoy this.”

She sat back on his lap. “Okay then, I’ll give you it slower.”

Frank watched as she rocked on his legs, moving her hips seductively as she slowly unbuttoned her shirt.

“Now you’re talking. This is turning into a good apocalypse.”

“Let’s make the most of it.”

He looked on as she spread her shirt wide. A floral tattoo adorned her side, rising up her ribs and under the cup of her black bra. She dangled the shirt above his face before releasing it, concealing his view. Frank closed his eyes, inhaling the lingering notes of perfume. He pulled the garment aside, noticing that she had unclasped her bra and now held it loosely over her breasts. She pushed her chest into his face, concealing his view as she pulled the bra free.

“These are great tits.”

Frank groaned as she leaned back, allowing him to massage the smooth flesh of her breasts. Slowly, she slipped to her knees, her hands massaging his crotch.

A flurry of hurried footsteps caused his eyes to snap open. Lisa jumped to her feet as Tina burst into the room. Her face, at first shrouded in a cloak of alarm, quickly lightened as she looked between the pair.

“Well, well, what’s going on here? You two? I never would’ve guessed.”

“What do you want?” Lisa demanded, placing her arms across her chest.

“Just to let you know that we’ve got company; living company.”

“What?!” Frank jumped to his feet and dashed to the window.

“There’s a car in the distance,” Tina continued. “You’ll be able to see the headlights in a minute. They’re coming this way.”

“The granddaughter,” Lisa said, appearing at their side. Frank turned, noticing that she was wearing her shirt once more.

“What are we gonna do? Food is scarce enough as it is.”

“It’s not that which worries me,” Frank said. “If they’ve come from town, they could have the entire population behind them.”

23

The sun had started to sink ahead of them, with the promise of darkness at its back. Despite it disappearing from view, the heat inside the car was suffocating. Amy wound the window down as the warm beads of sweat formed on her brow.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Ben said, winding down his own window and resting his arm on the outside of the car.

Amy leaned closer to the cold air. It cooled the film of sweat on her face, soothing her with its medicating touch. She inhaled deeply, savouring the aroma of the countryside.

“Brings back some fond memories,” Ben said, looking around at the fields as they passed.

“Did you grow up around here?”

“Yeah, when I was a kid. I moved to the town when I was eighteen and haven’t been back since.”

“How come?”

“Nothing really to come back for. Fran had gone off to university and my old man was always preoccupied with work. I just fancied something different.”

Amy nodded, casting her eyes back outside.

“It’s good to be back,” Ben continued.

“Just a shame it’s under these circumstances.”

“Yeah,” he muttered as they rounded the remains of a cow in the middle of the road. “I wonder what turns them.”

Amy shrugged, shaking her head as another dead cow came into view. “If it’s a virus it could be spread by airborne droplets; coughing, sneezing and that sort of thing.”

“I haven’t seen any of them cough or sneeze. They just bite.”

“Spread in their saliva, perhaps?”

Ben nodded. “Maybe.”

They came to a halt as Ben veered onto another road. Amy closed her eyes as they accelerated once more. The wind whipped her hair back as she leaned closer to the window. She let out a sigh of relief, inhaling the fresh countryside air once more. Her eyes snapped open when she detected a hint of smoke. Looking around, she scoured the endless fields, trying to find a source.

“Do you smell that?”

“What?”

“Smoke.”

She watched Ben inhale deeply, his brow furrowed. “Yeah, what is that?”

“It’s not the car, is it?”

“I hope not.” Ben reduced their speed as the pungent smell grew worse. “It smells like rubber.”

“But where’s it coming from?”

They both looked ahead as they reached the pinnacle of a bank. At once, the source of the smell became apparent. A lone car ahead of them burned ferociously. A dark plume of smoke hung high above it.

“There!”

Ben stepped on the accelerator, pushing the vehicle harder as they sped down the bank.

Amy sank back in the seat as the car tipped a hundred miles per hour. She kept her eyes glued to the burning remains as they drew near.

“There’s someone there,” she gasped, jabbing a finger at the windshield. The pair stared at the lone figure that motioned to them frantically.

“Do you think he’s one of them?” she asked, straining her eyes. The dwindling light offered no support, but she could see the figure jumping up and down, his arms waving.

“I’ve never seen them do that before.”

Ben slammed on the brakes as the man ran into the middle of the road. His clothes hung loose from his skinny frame. He readjusted them as the car drew near.

“Let’s pick him up,” Amy said.

“Are you crazy? He might’ve been bitten. What if he becomes one of them?”

“We can’t leave him out here.”

They watched the man run to the window as they slowed to a stop.

“Thank god.” He panted. “Please, help me. I crashed my car and—”

“Are you hurt?” Ben interrupted.

“What?”

“Have