Blaze Page 11

  "If you'd let me talk," nose to nose I shout and jerk my knee, breaking the splint in two, "I'd tell you what fucking happened! I nearly died! That," I point to the empty window. "Panda saved my life. I was buried, trapped, injured and dying. While you what?" My grip loosens, letting him go with a shove. "Waited for backup? A vehicle? Doesn't matter." Unable to process my hurt feelings I walk away from them while unwrapping the material holding two pieces of wood to my leg. Not even looking back when Charlie calls my name, I let them drop to the floor.

  "Motherfucker!" I seethe as I leave the building and head towards my bus. I need to thank Chris, get the Panda out of my home, and then ghost. I've got shit to do. Just as I reach up to open the door on Old Yella, Chris appears in the small window. The black around his eyes and mouth momentarily make me panic. But then I remember he saved my life and protected the guys, kind of. "Come out? Or shall I come in?" Slowly the door opens, the stench of death hits my nose and I have to suppress a gag.

  There’s only five Panda on my bus as I board her, six including Chris. Three are sitting on the floor, their legs spread out in front of them, chins on their chests. One’s standing near where the driver's seat used to be. Like a sentinel. The other’s crouched next to the old settee in the middle. None of them do anything or even look at me as I enter. Fucking weird. It's also a mess in here, my things strewn all over the place. Heathens.

  "Sit?" Chris swings his arm out, indicating the sofa. My fucking sofa. Arseholes took my shit and I want it back.

  "Sure." Moving further into the bus I sit down on the opposite end to where the Panda is. Chris sits next to me, his arm flung over the back. "Thank you for saving me Chris," I say before I freak out too much to talk.

  "Leave," Chris barks. Confused, I scrunch up my face. I'm about to remind him this is my damn home, not his, when all the Panda suddenly move. One by one they leave, the last one out closes the door behind her.

  "You're… welcome," Chris says, his brows drawn low over his eyes. Letting out a breath, I lean back against the dusty sofa. Fingers stroke the back of my neck making me jump slightly. "Never hurt, Kayla. You're… mine," he rumbles, his voice deep and smoky.

  "Huh? No. No. No. I'm not yours Chris. I'm no ones. Listen," I shuffle forward in my seat and his hand drops off the back. His palm now rests against the curve of my arse. Our eyes meet and the blue in his burns brighter. Ok. That’s freaky. "Chris…"

  He leans forward, our lips only inches apart. It's then I notice the black around his lips has gone, so has that slight rotten smell. Pink plump bow-shaped lips draw my eyes. They break into a smile, revealing straight white teeth.

  "Beautiful, woman," he mumbles quietly. He closes the distance between us, and our mouths crash together in unbridled passion.

  My arms snake around his neck pulling him closer to me. Something I have no name for takes over as I push off the ground with one foot while the other swings out. My knee lands next to his hip and suddenly, I'm in his lap. Both of his hands grab my arse and he squeezes as our tongues massage each other. My mind goes blank as I let my body take over. The tips of his fingers tickle my belly as his hand slips under my t-shirt, grabbing my breast then tugging gently on my nipple. Gasping I break the kiss, what the ….

  "Fuck!" Crowley shouts.

  Connor growls, "Shit!" I push off Chris with both hands as Connor and Crowley burst into Old Yella.

  "Kayla? Is this... Chris?" Charlie says as he enters behind them. As usual, Charlie’s the only calm one as he moves from behind the two angry looking guys to stand to the side of Chris, his hand held out. Chris stands slowly and grasps Charlie's hand. They shake hands as Charlie says, "Thank you, you saved Kayla when we couldn’t. Thank you."

  My mouth pops open in shock, my mind finally kicking in. "Bloody hell." Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I meet Connor's mismatched eyes.

  "So…the zombie and Charlie get kisses, where's mine?" he asks, his eyebrows raised in question. I giggle a little, I’m not really sure what’s come over me.

  "Are you crazy Connor?" Crowley turns his furious gaze to Connor, his arms flung out to the side. "He's a fucking Z!" Turning his blazing eyes on me he continues, "You could be infected now, Kayla. We don't know how PV works."

  "Sure we do! Bite or scratch and you're dead." I shrug because I'm not fully coherent right now. I kissed a Panda and I liked it.

  "What do you think is exchanged during a kiss, Kayla?" he scowls at me like he’s talking to an infant, I bristle.

  "Sex?" Connor says, his face serious.

  "Love?" I turn to Charlie. I don't know what that is, not romantic love anyway. I find myself wanting to have a taste of it. Could these men give me love? More importantly, do I want them to? Connor's intake of breath tells me he heard my thoughts and his next words confirm it.

  "Yes. Absolutely yes Kayla. We want to, we can give you love," pointing to Crowley then to Charlie he continues. "If you'd let us."

  "You don't want to love me, Connor, I'm too broken," I fire back honestly. Charlie moves then, wrapping his hand around mine, the other he uses to turn my head to look into his eyes.

  "Doll, we’re all broken."

  "None of this matters!" Crowley's booming voice startles us all, a Panda screeches outside at that moment and everyone's head whips in that direction. Chris swivels on his heel, bolting out of the door.

  "Shit. What was that?" I ask, my eyes searching out a weapon.

  "Sounded close. Kayla, have you got your katana?" Charlie presses his lips to the side of mine then turns to the others.

  "Sure do, Charlie." I pull one from a holster against the wall to puncture my words.

  "Excellent, let's go," he says, pulling me with him. Crowley's hand shoots out as Charlie and I try to pass him, blocking our way.

  "What are you doing? We don't need to take care of that." He jabs a thumb over his shoulder. "We need to take care of her." Jerking his chin towards me, he continues, "Kayla we all… I mean…"

  "Listen, I'm attracted to you all. Even you grumpy pants." I rest my hand on Crowley's chest. Turning to Connor I say, "You too." Then I cup Charlie's cheek with my hand. "And you. But we need to talk about this later. The Panda with Chris? They're different." Pushing against Crowley's arm, he drops it. I wiggle passed, my arse rubbing against his crotch a little, drawing a quiet growl from him. "I need to find Baby and warn him."

  Jumping out of the door, I take off running in the direction Chris went. If any of Chris' Panda are out here, I don't want to accidentally kill one of them. Their eyes aren’t as milky as the other Panda I've seen. But if one tried to attack me? They'd be Baby chow. As I run, I whistle through my fingers, calling my lion to my side.

  Turning the corner of the building next to where I almost died, I pull back a little to let the guys catch up. It’ll take some getting used to, not being on my own. Having Baby as backup is completely different than having actual people. Baby lets me kick ass, only jumping in when I call him. I'd never really fought with someone by my side. I was kinda looking forward to trying it out.

  Charlie, Crowley and Connor come around the building behind me. Turning to watch them, I come to the realisation I really do like these three men. Almost dying in that room, the air being crushed from my lungs, death impending, my mind decided it without involving me in the choice.

  But I agree with it. I don't know how it'll go, or what happens next, but I want to let these three into my cold dead heart. It scares the shit out of me, but my life could end any day. The wastes are harsh, deadly. I don't want to spend another second without them. Then there's Chris. That kiss. Fuck, that kiss. Bloody hell, why choose, right?

  "Where is he?" Crowley's face isn't angry now. In fact, as he tilts his head to the floor, I realise I recognise the emotion on his face, embarrassment. They stop in front of me and I close the distance between Crowley and I. Resting my hand on his hard shoulder, I press a soft kiss to his lips. Then I move across to Connor, the smile on his face making me want to
throat punch him.

  "Was just a matter of time sweet face. I knew you couldn't resist…" I cover his mouth with mine, ending his cocky comment.

  Pulling back, I tell the three of them, "Eyes sharp guys, I smell Panda. A lot of them."

  Letting our noses lead the way, we jog through the streets. As we move farther out of the town, the smell gets stronger. Rotten meat with a dash of excrement permeates our senses as we break from the buildings and into a large bare area. The ground is blackened like a fire had spread through the whole area. In the centre stands a large grey metal container. Surrounding it are at least forty Panda, all with their arms raised as they attempt to reach the figure on top.

  Chris. He’s looking down at the gaggle of Panda. From this distance we can't hear what he’s saying but his arms wave around as he gestures wildly. The Panda don't seem to be listening though as they climb over each other in an attempt to reach him.

  "Shit." Turning to my three men, my face conveys my panic and worry. "Those Panda aren’t like the ones who follow Chris," I say. Crowley clears his throat.

  "He isn't human, Kay. It would be suicide to try to get to him." Breaking eye contact I turn to Connor. With my eyes I beg, Help me.

  "I'm in," he says confidently which warms my heart. I then turn fully to Charlie.

  "I'd lay my life down for you, Kayla." He takes my hand in his and moves to my side. We both look out at the huge gathering of flesh-eating monsters as he continues, "That’s a lot of Panda." We turn towards each other and our eyes meet. Just as I think he's about to tell me I'm crazy and that he won't be helping me rescue Chris he says, "Into the depths of hell I'd follow you, Kay." His hands cup my face as he leans his forehead against mine. "Let's go rescue the talking zombie." The chuckle in his voice makes me laugh too.

  "Fucking crazy, the lot of you. But fuck it, if I'm going to die… you better believe it'll be with the three of you." Crowley's words make me laugh harder. The four of us stand there on the edge of a burnt patch of earth, laughing like crazy people, a horde of Panda at our backs. Into the depths of hell we go then.

  "Con, Char, you got your blades?" The guys nod. Connor pulls out a smaller version of my katana from the holster on his hip. Charlie grabs two blades from his belt and twists them in the palms of his hands. Huh, cool. He clearly knows what he’s doing with them.

  "Kay?" With a lopsided smile, I pull my katana from my back. I swing her around a little, showing off.

  "Sexy as fuck." I laugh at Connor; his cocky attitude stirs what I believe to be desire in my belly. My cheeks flame. I could get used to this flirting, couldn’t I? Hell yes.

  "Right. We form a cube. Two at the back, two at the front. Protect each other from all sides. Do not break formation. Connor, can you hear what Chris is thinking?" Crowley barks out orders. My head swings to Connor's face so fast I get dizzy. I never even thought of that.

  "Kind of. It's fuzzy, I can't make out any of the words," Connor answers.

  "No bond," I say absently.

  Connor replies "Yes, that's what it is. I can't hear clear thoughts of people I don't know very well. It's why I didn't know who you were when we first met." He runs a single finger down my cheek. "I couldn't hear you properly, so I tuned you out. It wasn't until your wig came off that I broke down the wall."

  Huh, that explains why he kept calling me ‘kid’ and ‘boy’. Pushing to my toes, I place a kiss on each of their cheeks. “Be safe lads,” I say shyly, not really sure how to express the feelings growing inside of me. Charlie takes my face in his hands.

  “You too, doll.” Charlie’s lips linger on mine, causing tingles to dance across my skin.

  "Right love birds, let's get this shit over with. Kayla, get your boy, get out. Stick to the plan. Do not deviate. Understand?" By the time Crowley’s finished giving me his instructions his face is right in front of mine. I'm so fucking tempted to throw my head forward and break his nose. Instead, I kiss the tip, turn and walk towards what’s sure to be our deaths.

  Crowley insists he and Charlie take the front as we approach the horde, Connor and I follow with our backs to theirs. As we hit the first line of Panda, blood splatters the back of my hair as Charlie slashes into Panda with his small swords. Giving him room to swing, I let him get a couple of paces in front of me as bodies surround the four of us. I close my eyes and clear my mind.

  When I open them again, all I see are dead bodies, they just haven't hit the ground yet. Holding my katana with both hands, I swipe left and right, heads drop to the floor and roll. Blood, guts and pieces of flesh fly through the air as the four of us decimate the crowd around Chris. A particularly fresh Panda lunges at me, his teeth filled with blood and bits of skin. He snaps at my face as I take one hand off my blade to push his chest, making him fall back into the bodies behind him.

  I swing my weapon in an arc, taking down several other Panda on the way, I remove his head from his body. Something hard hits my ribs. Turning, I come face to face with a Panda who’s clearly several months old, the skin on his face peeling away. Leaning forward to bite me, his foul breath fans my face as his jaws snap. I force myself not to puke as I reach out to push him back when something hits me from behind, sending me falling forward. I land on top of a gross Panda. My hand crunches through his ribs, my fist hitting the ground beneath him. Stabbing my blade beside his hip, I pull my hand back and thrust it into his face, palm out. It ploughs through his skull and into his brain, ending his life.

  Someone shouts my name, but I can’t see who through the cluster closing in on me. Grabbing my weapon, I yank it out of the earth and stand. Connor, Crowley and Charlie have disappeared into the masses. That's fine, I got this. With a battle cry, I spin on the spot, my sword held in both hands as I slice limbs from bodies, slice open throats and remove jaws from faces. A masculine voice rings out again just as my legs are taken from under me, a heavy weight lands on my back, taking the breath from my lungs.

  "Fuck!" My blade drops to the ground as my wrist hits the dirt; pain shoots up my arm and I cry out. The weight shifts and the stench of death wraps around me. Suddenly it's gone. Twisting my head slightly, my eyes lock on with a slightly milky pair. One of Chris's people has the head of a Panda in his hand, blood pouring from its stumpy neck. Hells yea! Pushing off the ground, I stand still, completely surrounded by Panda, my katana nowhere in sight. I panic for just a second.

  Ending my little freak-out, the odd Panda thrusts it's hand towards me, a small blade rests there. Hands grab my shoulders as I snatch up the blade and turn, jamming it into the skull of a bad Panda. Fuck sake, we need to come up with new names for normal Panda and Chris' people. This is getting confusing.

  Punching faces with one hand and stabbing with the other, Panda Beta? and I, make headway into the troop of old Panda. Hmm PB for short? The grey of the container comes into view as more bodies litter the floor. Careful not to trip, I start to use their fallen bodies to climb further into the dwindling posse. Not moving towards the structure, but deeper into the Panda. Determined to clear the area, I continue to use blade and hand to crush, punch, rip and tear through bodies. I lose myself in the heat of the battle, I love this.

  "Kayla? What the fuck!" Crowley's voice can hardly be heard over the sounds of crunching bone, the shiver-inducing sound of my blade sinking into soft gooey flesh and my own grunts of exertion. So many carcasses are around me now I have to climb over the top of a pile so more can reach me and their final deaths. I see a flash of the black t-shirt Connor’s wearing, then a glimpse of the one Charlie’s wearing as another Panda swings its arm out, hitting me in the face. Grunting I shake it off until something hard hits the back of my head, making me bite my lip. Wiping the back of my hand across my mouth it comes away wet. I don't need to look to know its blood, I can taste it. The world spins for the millionth time in a few short days. I feel myself falling.

  Shaking my head to clear it, I push my hands against the Panda in front of me to stop myself from falling. Turning around I come f
ace to face with a massive Panda. Its milky eyes bore into mine as it reaches out, wrapping both hands around my throat, squeezing. Struggling to get air past the digits around my neck, I slam my fists into the creases of his arms, but he doesn't break his vice-like grip. Shit.

  Memories assault me, lying helpless under a pile of rubble in a dark room. My blood cooling against the dirty wooden floor beneath me. Wishing with every ounce of my soul I wasn't a broken bitch, and I could just allow myself to love. And be loved. My mother's face looking concerned as I refused to get to know any of the boys who visited Kaleidoscope farm. Hands grab my body in all directions and teeth sink into my flesh as four distinct male voices scream my name.

  "Argh fuuuuck." The words burst from my lips as fire erupts from my body, pouring out like water from a broken skin. The hands around my throat melt away, the skin dripping down the front of my body as my clothes fall. Pain unlike anything I've ever felt leaches energy from me. I sink to the ground, my legs no longer able to hold me up. Guess I'm not a muggle after all. Darkness covers my vision as the ground races up to meet my face. I am so sick of passing out!

  "Kayla. Oh my God. Shit! She’s bleeding out," Charlie cries out. Warmth touches my cheek as the cold seeps into my bones.

  "Heal her already, Charlie!" Crowley yells, the sound of skin hitting skin penetrates the darkness. Someone just got slapped. "Heal her!"

  Soft plump lips gently press against mine. I wait for the rush to start, he's healed me before so now I know what to expect, I brace myself. Only, nothing happens. He pulls away, taking his heat and sweet scent with him. No!

  "It’s not working…" Poor Charlie sounds so confused. As I drift away a sob makes me pull back. Charlie! No. Please don't cry for me. Did we save Chris?

  "Try. Again," Crowley growls, he sounds so pissed, I’d hate to be Charlie right now. It's not Charlie's fault, you grumpy sod! Charlie's lips once again meet mine, this time they’re wet with salty tears. The darkness closes in again. I hear Charlie scream my name and Connor’s crying big sobs. Crowley curses everything under the Godforsaken sun and I take my last breath.