She lifted them in response. Fresh, if somewhat-dirtied bandages tipped her delicate fingers. “Who made these?” she asked, as if completely oblivious to Dakota’s previous question.
“I did.”
“You did?” she asked, looking up at him. The same twinkle remained in her eyes.
“Uh huh,” he said, leaning forward. “Oooh!”
“What?”
“I didn’t know they started to grow.”
“Yep,” Alexis said, leaning forward so her and Dakota’s head were level with one another. “They look nice.”
“Thanks.”
Alexis stood. She started to stretch her arms over her head, but stopped, grunting and dropping a hand to her stomach.
“Are you ok?” Dakota asked, alarmed.
“It’s the baby,” Alexis said. “Wanna feel?”
Dakota shook his head, not wanting to intrude on such a personal moment, but was forced to do so anyway. Alexis pressed his hand against her stomach, holding it steady while she took steady breaths in, then out.
A pressure kicked against his hand. “Feel?” she asked.
“I felt it,” he said, though wasn’t sure how to take such a thing emotionally. “How old is it?”
“Five-and-a-half months.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“I was going in to see the day this happened.”
Dakota pulled his hand away from her stomach, slid it back into his pocket and turned to look out the window, sighing as he saw the slowly-growing wave of zombies advancing upon the asylum.
“So many,” Alexis said. “What are they going to do?”
“Lure them away with dummy bullets,” Dakota said, looking up at the roof. He half-expected to hear the sound of the rifle being fired, then remembered they most likely had silencers attached to their guns. “At least, that’s what Jamie said.”
“Is he the one in charge?”
“He is now.”
“There was someone else?”
“Uh huh. The sergeant. He… uh…killed himself…yesterday morning.”
Alexis grimaced. “I’m sorry.”
“I guess it’s a good thing, in a way. His cancer was eating him alive.”
“My grandpa died from cancer,” Alexis said, stepping away from the window. “It doesn’t seem like a nice way to go.”
“No,” Dakota said. “It doesn’t.”
The two of them continued to make their way down the hall, occasionally stopping when Alexis took notice of something and wanted to examine it further. Most of these things were cracks in the walls or the occasional scar on a door, but one thing in particular Dakota took note of—a portrait, one of a man seated at a desk with a skull at his side.
“That’s creepy,” Alexis said.
I don’t know how she can find a picture creepy these days, Dakota thought. It seems useless to think that a picture’s creepy.
“Did Jamie assign you a room yet?” he decided to ask, wanting to steer them away from the picture.
“Not yet,” Alexis said. “Was he supposed to?”
“He will,” Dakota said. “Come on. Let’s go.”
By the time night came and dinner had passed, Dakota collapsed into bed, exhausted and almost unable to keep his eyes open. Nearby, Jamie stood rummaging through a wardrobe, combing through rows upon rows of shirts, suits and coats. At one point, it seemed as though he was going to start pulling them out to try them on, but he eventually pulled himself away and tore his shirt off his head.
“What were you looking for?” Dakota asked.
“A shirt,” Jamie said. “To wear to bed.”
“You don’t have to wear a shirt to bed, silly.”
“It gets cold here,” Jamie said, sliding into bed and under the covers. He leaned forward, braced a hand over the lantern, then blew it out, thrusting the room into darkness. “You ok with this?”
“I have to be now,” Dakota chuckled.
“I can relight it if you want.”
“No, it’s good, Jamie. Thank you though.”
Jamie resituated himself in the bed and wrapped an arm around Dakota’s waist, sighing as a chill blew into the room. “Damn old building,” he whispered. “Damn stupid ventilation.”
“It’s not as bad when we have each other,” Dakota said.
“No. It isn’t.”
Dakota smiled and closed his eyes.
“We’re going out tomorrow,” Jamie said.
“To do what?”
“A supply run. I want you to come with me.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Jamie whispered, nestling his head in Dakota’s neck. “I trust you more than anyone else here.”
Dakota wasn’t sure how to take that.
He didn’t bother to try.
Jamie adjusted the machinegun against his arm.
“I’m nervous,” Dakota said. He reached forward and brushed his hand against Jamie’s upper arm.
“I don’t blame you. I am too.”
Tightening his grip on his pistol, Dakota raised a hand to shield his eyes from the bright sun and scanned the area, looking for any stores they could possibly raid while also keeping an eye out for any zombies that may be around. What appeared to be a small supermarket lay in the distance, along with what was easily identifiable as a dentistry office, but he wasn’t sure it would be wise to raid the latter without Erik’s supervision.
“You see that?” Dakota asked, pointing.
“I see it.”
“I’m also talking about the dentist’s office.”
“I saw that too.”
“It’d probably be a good idea to bring Erik back here later.”
“I agree,” Jamie said, gesturing him along. “For now though, let’s just see if we can find anything useful. We’ll radio in Kirn and Wills if we find something.”
“You sure it was safe to leave them in charge of the jeep?” Dakota asked.
“I hope so,” Jamie sighed. “Otherwise we’re going to have a long walk back.”
An hour and three boxes of processed snacks, canned fruits and toiletries later, Dakota wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead and watched Jamie lift a portable radio from his belt and to his lips. “Kirn and Wills,” he said. “Kirn and Wills. Are you there? Over.”
“We’re here. Over,” Wills replied.
“Me and Dakota are at Patty’s Convenience Store on Barrel Street. We’ve got three boxes of food and toiletries here. Requesting pickup. Over.”
“We’re on our way,” Kirn said. “We haven’t heard in from the other two civilians, Corporal. Over.”
“Check in with them and get back to me.” Jamie set the radio down and smiled at Dakota, flashing his neat, pearly-white teeth. It didn’t take long for the radio to buzz. “Report, over.”
“They’re fine, but still looking. We dropped them off on Jenson Avenue. Over.”
“I don’t think there’s ever been much of anything over there,” Jamie shrugged, glancing at Dakota, who only shook his head in response. “Come on over here and pick us up, then we’ll go over to pick them up. Over and out.”
“Over and out,” Kirn replied.
“They did get back to them,” Dakota said, “right?”
“‘Course they did. Kirn and Wills are dumb, but they’re not stupid. They know not to mess with me.”
“This would be the perfect opportunity to do it if they did.”
“I know.” Jamie hooked the radio to his belt and stepped forward, setting both hands on Dakota’s hips. “Have I ever told you how hot you are?”
“I’m not hot,” Dakota chuckled, trying to slip out of Jamie’s grip.
“Yeah you are. Fuck, Dakota. You’ve got eyes to die for.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I never get tired of looking into them,” Jamie said, leaning forward to plant a kiss on the corner of Dakota’s mouth. “Or kissing you.”
“Stop it,” Dakota laughed. “You’re tickling me.”