GalaxyZombicus (2 page)

A sudden thought knifed through my mind—I wasn’t going anywhere.
Ever.

I forced it back into a tiny box in my brain and
concentrated on the gorgeous guy in front of me. He had full lips to go with
those amazing eyes. Lips that promised searing kisses. Strong jaw, muscular
shoulders and a thin waist completed the yummy picture.

I read the name on his ID tag. “Benson. That a family name
or a given name?”

“Both. In my culture we have only one.”

“That simplifies things, I guess.”

He smiled, showing dimples at the corners of his mouth.
Could he be any more perfect? Could life be any crueler than meeting him now?
“It does. Do you have a given name, resident 54681?”

“Janeece. My family name is far too long and complicated.”

He gave me a little bow, as if I were royalty or something.
“Nice to meet you, Janeece.”

Though I prided myself on being independent, I had to admit
I liked his old-fashioned manners.

“One of the nice things about my job is that I get to meet
people from all over the galaxy,” he added.

I guessed that much was true. I never would have met the
blue-haired woman back home. She seemed nice enough. I still didn’t even know
what system the red girl was from. “So tell me about this planet of yours where
people have only one name.”

Benson glanced up and down the walkway. The cries and moans
slowly died off as people settled in for the night. He checked his chrono. “I
have a couple of minutes before my next rounds.”

Then he told me about the cool blue planet he came from
covered mostly in oceans. He described huge water farms that produced
sustainable forms of algae that could be made into almost any kind of food.

“This must be very different for you.” I pointed at the
stone wall on the far side of the structure. “All this rock.”

“It is, but I like different. I’ve seen a lot of the galaxy
this way.”

“Until now.”

He shook his head and I could imagine those phantom blond
curls tumbling over his forehead. “What I mean is, the entire galaxy passes
through these doors.”

“Never to leave.” Everyone’s melancholy seemed suddenly to
be weighing on me.

“Don’t think that, Janeece. They’re working very hard to
find a cure.”

Intellectually, I knew scientists toiled day and night at
that task. Emotionally, I just wanted out. I ached to turn the clock back a
couple of days, tell my ex-friend to party without me and just stay in that
fateful night.

“Do you think you could lower the force field and I could go
with you on your rounds?” Until now I hadn’t thought I was claustrophobic, but
the thought of not being able to leave suddenly had a snaky feeling crawling up
my spine.

“That,” he said with a sad smile, “is definitely against
regs.” He glanced down at his chrono again. “And I have to go.” He looked up
and fixed me with that knee-weakening smile. “But I’ll come back as soon as I
can.”

I watched with a sinking heart as he walked off into the
amber shadows of those ever-present lights. The day had been filled with new
experiences, but now, alone, the full reality hit me like a blow to the
stomach.

I sat on the bed and tried not to think about being bottled
up in here forever. It
wouldn’t
be forever, I realized. Sooner or later
I’d be sick enough to get moved downstairs.

Sick.
A euphemism if ever I’d heard one. We were ill,
or at least we would be, but “sick” in this case meant “shambling, moaning
mad”.

Exhaustion must have caught up with me because I drifted
off, dreaming I was back home in my own apartment, sleeping in my own bed. I
had to go to work tomorrow, came the drowsy thought. Maybe I’d have a party on
the weekend and invite some friends over…

I awoke some time later in the darkness. As the dream faded,
I realized I’d seen my last party. Unless a cure came quickly, the night I’d
been bitten had been my last evening out with friends.

All day I’d been stoic. Finally I succumbed to tears and let
them soak my pillow.

Chapter Two

Over the next few weeks, Benson became my lifeline, stopping
by my room during rounds for progressively longer chats. He was my only link to
normalcy and his visits brought me a bit of hope and joy in what would
otherwise have been a pretty dismal existence. I began to look forward to his
nightly visits and his friendly, easy conversation.

The drugs also seemed to be doing their job. I still felt
like myself. I didn’t notice any outward signs of decay. I hadn’t been beset by
the sudden urge to bite anyone.

It wasn’t long before I’d started listening for Benson’s
footsteps in the hallway each evening. And started hoping for more than just
conversation…

I was lying in bed one night when the sound of boots along
the walkway made me bolt upright. My heartbeat sped up as they moved closer.
Was it Benson? It was far later than usual. I tried to listen for the cadence
of those footfalls, the rhythm I’d memorized. The reverberation made it hard to
discern.

For a moment I feared the owner of those boots would turn
and move in another direction, but they kept coming, as if on a mission. Then
they stopped outside my room and my heart beat even faster. It
was
him.

“Janeece!”

Benson’s whisper brought me to the doorway.

“I should have let you sleep,” he said as I blinked in the
dim light from the walkway. “I should have left you to your dreams.”

“I wasn’t asleep,” I said with what I hoped was a suggestive
smile. “Besides, you’re much more interesting than my dreams.” I never would
have said that back home, but I figured, hey, I have no idea how much time I
have left before…well, that biting-mad stage. I thought I should make good use
of my time.

“Interesting? Don’t think I’ve been called that before.”

I stepped up to the force field, as close as I could before
getting zapped. “Well, see, a new experience for you.”

He laughed quietly at that, showing me those dimples again.
I wanted to see a lot more of him. The unfairness of it all brought a sharp
ache to my chest. Why did it have to happen this way? Why was I meeting a guy I
might actually want to be with
now
? Was this my fate, staring at what I
wanted from the other side of a force field?

And then Benson did the unthinkable. He pressed a button on
a device clipped to his belt and dropped the field.

I gasped as he stepped up to me and we stood toe-to-toe.

“Don’t bite me now,” he whispered—then his lips covered
mine.

Biting was the last thing on my mind. I wanted to devour him
body and soul.

Lips as soft as down feathers caressed my mouth. Little
shocks ran down my spine straight to my core. Usually I was a little more
reserved, but the thought that this might be the last time I’d ever be kissed
lent me courage. I traced the outline of those full lips with the tip of my
tongue. His lips parted and my tongue slipped inside.

He moaned against my mouth. His strong hands gripped my
shoulders, pulling me closer. It did occur to me that he was taking a terrible
risk. The virus spread only through biting, but one overzealous kiss, a gentle
nibble at one of those full lips and he’d be occupying a room here just like
me. So I kissed gently, my tongue exploring the inside of his mouth, learning
the unfamiliar yet exotic taste of him.

Benson’s hands slid from my shoulders so he could wrap me
even tighter in his embrace. Every inch of his body pressed against me. His
body temperature felt slightly higher than mine, comforting warmth in the
permeating dampness of the facility. I felt the answering heat at my center. I
wished for the privacy to explore each other more completely. I wished for the
power to wipe out having ever been bitten…until I realized that without that
night, I wouldn’t be here with Benson. Fate was a tricky thing.

I decided it wasn’t so bad to be in this facility if it had
brought me to this moment.

I’d kissed my share of men, but none had ever kissed me back
so fully. I sighed, the sound absorbed by his mouth. Benson walked me backward
toward the bed. It dimly occurred to me that even though the inside of my room
had been darkened for the night, anyone passing on the walkway could see
inside. I tried to care and found I couldn’t.

Benson’s fingers found the hem of my t-shirt and pulled it
from the waistband of my loose trousers. His warm hands moved upward over my
skin until they cupped my breasts. I bit back a moan. No sense alerting anyone.
I had no idea if Benson’s comm was open. Remaining quiet got harder, however,
as his thumbs circled my nipples. I arched against him as those slightly rough
pads created delightful tingles.

He pulled away then and stared into my eyes. “Janeece…”

I don’t know what else he would have said. Perhaps he’d have
come to his senses and insisted that what we were doing was inappropriate for a
guard and his charge. Maybe he would have suggested an even more erotic
adventure in some hidden part of the facility.

But I’d never know, because just then his comm blared to
life.

“Benson.” A loud crackle. “Report to level one.”

With what sounded like a curse in a language I didn’t
recognize, he stepped away from me slowly. “Janeece.” It sounded like a plea.

I yanked my shirt back into place. “Go. They’ll be looking
for you. You don’t want them to find you here.”

That seemed to snap him back to reality. “No, I don’t.” He
glanced around as if realizing where he was for the first time. “Let’s keep
this our secret.”

“Our secret,” I agreed as he ran a hand through his hair and
straightened his uniform. He headed for the entrance to my room then stopped.
He looked back. Regret crossed his face. His lips parted as if he wanted to say
something but his comm buzzed again.

“Benson! Level one.”

Farther down the walkway, I heard another guard’s radio
crackle to life, followed by another on what had to be a floor below.

He spoke into his wrist comm. “On my way.” He stepped out
onto the walkway before reactivating the force field, stepping away with one
last glance. I watched him as far as I could until he disappeared down a set of
stairs to another floor.

I sat on the bed. Benson likely wouldn’t be back tonight.
Whatever emergency had taken him away would probably keep him busy for a while.
I could only imagine what horrors went on in the bowels of the facility. Level
one was the lowest floor before the sublevels. Benson said he didn’t go there,
but from the sounds of it, apparently guards were being called in from all
over. A flurry of radio calls echoed up the rock face. Muffled voices answered.
More boots hit stairs.

I saw the ghostly forms of other residents getting out of
their beds and coming to the entrances of their rooms to see what was going on.
Only the force fields stopped them from going out onto the walkways, made it
safe enough to leave entire floors of NewZees largely unattended.

Blood-curdling shrieks issued from down in the pit. More
radios snarled to life. More guards were pulled from their posts. The horrible
sounds went on and on. Finally, unable to take it any longer, I crawled beneath
the blankets and stuck my fingers in my ears.

Is that what awaited me down below? I couldn’t bear the
thought of that being my future. And yet, what choice did I have? I’d been bitten.
Unless the scientists discovered a cure in the very near future, one night
Benson might be pulled away from making love with a new woman to subdue me down
in the depths of the facility.

I shoved the thought out of my mind. Tonight, at least, I
was still me. I’d gotten even friendlier with my new friends. I’d been kissed
by a good-looking guy. A few weeks ago I’d given up on that sort of thing
altogether.

After what seemed like an eternity, but could only have been
several minutes, the sounds died to whimpers. I took my fingers out of my ears
and slid lower on the bed. The thick blanket kept out the chill that the
heating system couldn’t seem to keep at bay. It was a facility built into rock,
after all. Dampness permeated everything despite the hi-tech ventilation. I
wiggled into a position more conducive to sleep on the surprisingly comfortable
mattress.

Still, sleep eluded me. I couldn’t shake the memory of
Benson’s lips against mine, the sensation of his tongue exploring the depths of
my mouth, the solid strength of his warm hands against my bare skin.

Since I’d been bitten, I’d devoted a great deal of thought
to self-pity. A regular old pity party pretty much any time Benson wasn’t
around. Not that I didn’t deserve one. Being infected by a zombie and shipped
off to a quarantine facility certainly qualified as pity party-worthy. But
thinking of Benson, of how I’d felt when he’d kissed me, suddenly I felt alive
again, with all that feeling entailed.

I squirmed against the mattress, vividly imagining what
would have happened if he hadn’t been called away. Those kisses would have
grown more fevered, our breaths short. His fingers would have found my hot, wet
center. And then…

I couldn’t bear it any longer. My hand slid over the soft
skin of my belly to my clit. I imagined Benson’s rough fingers there.

Slowly I circled the sensitive nub. My hips bucked against
the blanket. I visualized Benson’s hard body against mine, his weight pressing
me against the mattress. I imagined his hot lips against my throat then searing
a path down to my breasts. I heard his panting breaths in my ear as he
whispered heartfelt endearments in his own language.

The vision seemed more real now. I fantasized about the
delicious sensations his hard cock would set off inside me. That thought
brought a flood of wetness to my core. I moved harder against the mattress as
my fingers circled faster and I bit my lip to keep from crying out and alerting
this entire floor of the facility to what I was up to.

Orgasm hit with blinding intensity. I went rigid then sagged
against the mattress as waves of pleasure washed over me. I pulled the blanket
over my face to muffle my harsh breathing. I thought of Benson down in the
bowels of the facility doing gods knew what, and sighed. I wished he’d stayed
here with me.

Then a wide smile spread across my face. If the fantasy of
us together was this good, the reality could be mind-blowing.

I stretched languidly. Maybe tomorrow I’d get a chance to
find out.