Beca, CR, Stacie, and Emily come running out of the stairwell, Emily panting and trying to catch her breath. Aubrey, Zeke, and Chloe come running in from the dining room to see what was happening.
"What's wrong?," Chloe asks rushing over to Beca. "Are you okay?"
Beca is slightly panting from running down the steps at break-neck speed. "We saw something. Whatever it is, it looks like it's heading this way."
"Is it the planes?," Zeke asks. "Are they flying over early?"
"No," CR said, also panting slightly. "It looks like a horde of those super-infected."
"They were chasing and attacking what looked like a shuttle type bus," Emily adds, breathing harder than the rest and holding her shoulder.
"Somebody had to be driving so there's at least one person on that bus," Stacie said. "I think it's safe to assume there are more."
"We should go to an upper floor and check it out," Aubrey suggests. The girls all nod and start for the stairwell.
Lily notices how pale Emily looks. As they walk up the stairs, Lily stops Emily when they reach the second floor. "Em, why don't you and I take Sammy and Taylor to their room. The others can fill us in on whatever's going on."
Chloe and Aubrey see how pale Emily looks and agree. "We'll come back down as soon as we figure out what's happening. Okay?"
Emily nods and follows Lily and the two young girls to their room. The others go up and Stacie exits at the fifth floor. "This should be high enough to see everything," she tells them.
They exit and Beca tells them they saw them from the windows on the left. She suggests they start with the rooms at the end and on the right since they have probably moved since they ran downstairs. They again break off in pairs and start entering various rooms. They check out the windows and hear CR call out.
"In here," CR yells to the others from the doorway. The girls run in and find Zeke with his face pressed up against the window trying to see.
"Out there," Zeke said and points to what looks like a dark blob. "That's a horde of them. I think that's what you guys saw earlier."
"It looks like they're moving," Chloe said. "What are we going to do?"
"Do you think we can set off the fire alarm in the hotel?," CR asks. "And once it goes off, can we shut it down?"
"What are you thinking, CR?," Aubrey asks.
"With their super hearing," CR starts to explain, "the alarm will break them away from the bus and head this way. We shut down the alarm and then, hopefully, they won't know where to go."
"I bet Lily could do it," Stacie said. The others agreed.
"What happens to the people on the bus?," Beca asks. "As soon as it's quiet here they'll hone back in on the bus."
"Not necessarily," Zeke said.
"What's your plan?," Aubrey asks.
"We take the truck out," Zeke responds. "Drive it to a point where we can watch the infected. As soon as they leave the bus, we put someone on board to explain about their hearing. Then they can lead the folks to the hotel. Let them know they have to be quiet or else they will be surrounded again. I'll go."
"I'll go with you," CR volunteers.
"Are you sure, CR?," Stacie asks and at CR's nod she adds, "Okay, I'll go, too."
"No," Zeke said. "Just two of us. CR can drive the truck and I'll get on the bus and bring it back here."
"What happens once the bus gets here?," Beca asks.
"I'll keep them quiet and stay on the bus until the flyovers start," Zeke said. "Then we can bring them in here where they'll be safe."
"I don't know, Zeke," Beca said. "I got a bad feeling about this."
"I can't stand by and do nothing," Zeke said. "I'm a trained soldier. It will work. I just need to get some guns and ammo from the van, just in case I have to fight them".
"No!," Beca cries out and reaches out to stop him. "We can't kill them. The mist will cure them. We have to give them a chance."
"The mist isn't being sprayed until tomorrow," Zeke said. "There are obviously humans on that bus. If we don't do something, they could be killed or, worse, turned into those things."
"Beca's right," Emily said. "We have to give those infected a shot at being human again."
"But what about the people on the bus who are still human?," Aubrey asks. "Are we supposed to just ignore them. They are fine; if those things get to them, there's no telling what will happen to them."
"Look, I'm sorry but we don't have time to argue about this," Zeke said. "I understand wanting to give them a chance. But if it comes down to them or us, I'm picking us. So, hate me all you want but that's what I plan to do. What are you all going to do?"
Chloe and Stacie are conflicted. They can see both sides but don't know what the should do. They don't have much time based on how the size of the horde.
"I think we should try Zeke's idea," Stacie said. "Unless someone else has a better one."
The girls all look at each other. None of them can think of a better solution. Beca shakes her head and leaves the room.
"I'll talk to her," Chloe said and follows to catch Beca.
"Let's go so we can get out there," CR said.
Everyone leaves the room and heads to the stairwell. They rush by Chloe and Beca who are talking in the hallway.
"I'm sorry, Beca," Aubrey stops to tell her. "We're going with Zeke's plan. We should arm ourselves, too, just in case."
Beca doesn't respond. Chloe wraps her in a hug and holds her as they rush past.
"Come on, Becs," Chloe said. "Let's go see if Lily knows how to turn off the fire alarm once it's been pulled."
"We should probably go help them with the weapons, too," Beca said. "Maybe we can figure out a way we won't have to kill any more of them before tomorrow."
Chloe takes Beca's hand and they walk down to the second floor. Everyone is already in Lily's room explaining what was happening.
"Lily," Chloe said. "The alarm being turned on and then off is the biggest part of the plan. Do you know how to turn off the alarm once it comes on?"
"I can check," Lily said. "I think there is a way because they probably have fire drills. Meaning they have to turn the alarm on and then off manually. I just need to find the security office. That's usually where it is."
"I know where the security office is," Stacie said. "I found it when we did our initial search."
"Let's go," Lily said.
Lily and Stacie rushed out to find the security office. "We should start getting the guns and ammo ready," Zeke said. "We need to be fast. I don't want to leave those people out there for very long on their own."
"You guys go ahead," Beca said. "I'll be down in a few minutes."
"Becs?," Chloe asks. "Do you want me to stay with you?"
"No," Beca said giving her a quick kiss. "I'm just going to make sure Emily is armed and can protect our girls."
"Our girls, huh?," Chloe smiled and gave Beca a hug before hurrying after the others.
"Emily," Beca said. "Do you still have your gun?"
"It's in my room," Emily tells her.
"I'll get it for you," Beca said.
Emily nods and Beca goes to get her gun. She's back in just a few minutes and hands the weapon over.
"Hey, girls," Beca said kneeling in front of Sammy and Taylor. "Emily's going to watch over you guys while we go take care of something. You stay here with her and we'll be back for you as soon as we can. Okay?"
"Okay," Taylor said.
Beca leans in and hugs both girls and gives a nod to Emily. She rushes out the door and heads down the stairs to the garage. The weapons were pretty much unloaded and she met Aubrey, Chloe, and Stacie carrying the weapons in bags as they came up the stairs.
"I'll be back down in a minute," Stacie said. "They need someone to open and close the garage door. CR already showed me how to do it."
Beca nods and continues down to the garage to see if there was anything she could do. Zeke and CR were checking the weapons they planned to take with them. Lily entered the garage and stood off to the side watching them. Beca walks over to her and asks if she was all set with the alarm. Lily nods and looks down at her feet.
"Everything okay?," Beca asks.
"I don't like the idea of killing any of the infected," Lily said. "They have a chance of being human again. I just don't like it."
"I'm with you on that," Beca said. "But, I also have to agree with Zeke. If it comes down to us or them, I will not hesitate. Everyone I care about and have left in this world is in this building. I will do whatever I have to to make sure all of us to get out of here."
Lily nods. She understands what Beca is saying and she'd kill any of the infected if they managed to get to them. Doesn't mean she has to like the idea.
"Are you okay with working the alarm?," Beca asks Lily.
"Yeah," Lily said. "I found it right away. That's going to be the easy part."
"Zeke," Beca calls to get the soldier's attention. "The garage door opening is going to warn the infected. What's the plan for when CR gets back?"
"We were just talking about that," Zeke said. "She's going to drive back and park as close to the front door as she possibly can. If she can't get back inside the hotel, she'll just stay in the truck."
"I'll make sure to be ready to unlock the door," Beca said.
"Don't worry, Beca," CR tells her. "We're all going to be walking out of here together once the cure is dropped."
Beca walks over and hugs her. "Just be careful," Beca whispers.
"Always," CR said with a smirk.
Stacie comes back and CR and Zeke climb into the truck. Lily stands at the passenger window.
"I'll go up and start the alarm," Lily tells. "Stacie, the second you hear it, you open the garage. As soon as the truck is clear, close it. I'm shutting the alarm off after two minutes. Understand?"
"Got it," Stacie said. "Beca, can you stay down here with me? You saw how fast those things are. Plus, we don't know if there are any others around that we haven't seen. So, if any of those things look like they might make it inside, we need to stop them."
Beca readies her gun and nods her head. Lily leaves them and they all get ready.
A few minutes later every single occupant of the hotel jumps when the alarm goes off. They were expecting it, but it still frightened them when it sounded. Stacie counted pushed the button to open the garage door.
Beca stood with her gun at the ready.
Lily took a deep breath and started the stopwatch as soon as she hit the alarm switch. She hoped they didn't need more than two minutes to get out of the garage.
Sammy and Taylor covered their ears and were crying. Emily doing her best to calm them down.
Aubrey and Chloe stood watching on the fifth floor to see if the plan was going to work.
CR tensed and put the truck in gear, ready to drive out as soon as there was clearance. Zeke gave CR a pat on the arm and a quick head nod to show he was ready. The garage door opened and CR drove the truck out of the garage. Stacie immediately hit the button to close it and took a position next to Beca, both with guns at the ready.
As soon as the garage doors closed, Beca and Stacie let out the breaths they had been holding and ran upstairs to the lobby. They then took positions in front of the doors to watch things play out. They could see the horde rushing toward them. They watched as CR maneuvered the truck away from them and toward the bus.
Lily turned the alarm off and left the security room to check on everyone. She went to her room first to check on the girls and Emily. They were doing better now that the alarm was off. She hugged the two little girls and left them with reassurances they would all be back soon. She went to the lobby and joined Stacie and Beca as they watched and waited.
When the alarm sounded, Aubrey and Chloe watched as the horde seemed to stop and suddenly head toward the hotel. It almost looked as if they were jogging instead of running full force like they did when they attacked the truck. Even still, they were really close by the time the alarm went off. The stared, somewhat in awe, as the horde suddenly stopped and just stood there as if waiting for a sound to direct them where to go.
In the distance they see the truck pull up next to the bus. They see Zeke get out and the door to the bus open and him disappearing inside.
*0*0*0*0*
"Can I get everyone to look at me please," Zeke said as soon as he entered the bus. He has about half a dozen faces looking back at him. "I'm here to help you but you must be quiet. Those zombies out there have super hearing. Your screams and cries are what is attracting them."
The people on the bus suddenly get quiet and look out the windows. Zeke can see they are all frightened.
"We have a small group of survivors who are safe and secure in that hotel straight ahead," Zeke tells them. The bus occupants all look ahead to see the hotel Zeke pointed out. "The military has developed a cure for the infection and will be administering it tomorrow. We are going to try and get you to the hotel and safety, but I need you all to remain quiet."
"What do we need to do?," the bus driver asks.
"What's your name, sir," Zeke asks.
"Mike Stephens," the driver responds.
"Nice to meet you, Mike," Zeke said. "I'm Zeke. The plan is to drive the bus to the hotel. If we can, we're going to get you folks inside. If not, I'll wait on the bus with you until the cure is administered."
"How is the cure going to be administered?," Mike asks.
"By plane," Zeke responds. "It's been made into a mist that can be inhaled and absorbed into the skin. It won't hurt you. It will just change these zombie-like humans back into just humans."
"How do you know all this?," one woman asks.
"I'm with the military," Zeke said. "I was at Fort Benning when they developed the cure. Mike, I'll drive the bus to the hotel." Mike gets up from the driver's seat and squeezes past Zeke to take a seat with the others. "Just remember, no noise. If they come at the bus again, just hide your faces and cover your eyes, whatever you need to do to keep from screaming or making any noise."
Zeke gets behind the wheel of the bus and starts it up. He can see the horde turn toward the sound and he waits. When they make no moves to attack, he swallows and lets out a breath. He puts the bus in gear and starts moving.
*0*0*0*0*
Aubrey and Chloe let out a breath when the bus starts moving. "Let's go tell the others," Aubrey said and she and Chloe rush out and down the stairs.
They hit the lobby and see Beca, Stacie, and Lily standing there watching.
"The bus is heading this way," Chloe tells them. She walks over to stand by Beca. Beca grabs her hand and gives it a squeeze, her eyes never leaving the scene outside.
"Where's CR?," Aubrey asks. "We didn't see where she went after she dropped Zeke off at the bus."
"I don't know," Stacie replies. "We were focused mainly on the horde. They weren't moving very fast but I thought for sure they'd be here trying to attack the alarms before Lily turned them off."
*0*0*0*0*
Zeke maneuvered the bus to make a wide berth around the infected horde. He kept his eyes on them to see if they were going to attack again, but so far they've been lucky. He makes it to the hotel and pulls the bus in front of the doors as close as he can get. He locks eyes with Beca and she rushes over to the doors.
Zeke looks around and sees that the horde has started to move slowly toward them. He shuts off the bus and tells everyone to remain quiet. Beca remains frozen by the door as the group inside the hotel hold their breaths and get ready to fight. Zeke watches the horde, trying to gauge if they can get the folks off the bus and into the hotel before another attack. The group on the bus is small so the odds are in his favor. Just as he's about to tell the group to get ready to move, they hear an explosion and all eyes turn toward where they believe the sound came from.
"CR," Zeke mumbles as he watches the horde suddenly run off toward the sound, screeching loudly as they ran. There's another explosion and Zeke jumps up and tells the people on the bus to get up and start moving.
"CR," Aubrey said out loud and the other girls look at her, their eyes wide. Fear and concern for their friend evident in each of their faces.
The explosions continue and seem to be erratic but the horde is following the sounds. Beca unlocks the door and pulls it open as soon as Zeke has the bus doors open. She stands back as the bus passengers rush off the bus and into the hotel. The Bellas start ushering the group into the dining room. The passengers all fall into chairs, two of the women crying.
Zeke is the last one off and hurries into the hotel. Beca closes the door and slams the lock into place. She and Zeke rush into the dining room where Chloe grabs them both into a tight hug. Aubrey and Stacie join them.
"What are we going to do about CR?," Stacie asks looking worried for their friend.
"I don't know," Aubrey responds. "I think this may have been her plan all along."
"Why didn't she tell us?," Chloe asks.
"Because she knew we wouldn't let her go if we knew," Beca responds.
"Beca's right," Zeke said. He looks over to the new arrivals. "Let's get these people some food and water. We'll come up with a plan to find CR once they're taken care of."
Zeke and the girls turn toward the group and get their attention.
"Are you guys hungry?," Aubrey asks. "We have food and we can put something together. Maybe some soup?"
"That's very kind of you," Mike, the bus driver, said. "We really haven't had much and soup sounds great."
"Soup it is," Chloe said with a smile. "Let's go girls."
Aubrey, Stacie, Lily, and Beca start to follow Chloe into the kitchen. One of the women stands and asks, "Can we help?"
"Thank you, but no," Chloe tells her. "You just relax. We got this."
The woman nods and sits back down. Lily looks at the group.
"Would you all like some water?"
"Got anything stronger?," one of the men asks.
"I'm with him," someone else said, getting a chuckle from everyone else.
"We do," Lily said. "But maybe we should get some food in you first."
"I can live with that," the first guy said. "Water would be fine." He gives her a wink and adds, "For now."
*0*0*0*0*
Lily goes into the kitchen and sees that the others already have several large cans of soup open and being poured into pots on the stove.
"I'm worried about CR," she hears Beca saying.
"I don't mean to sound callous," Aubrey said. "But we can't dwell on that right now. We need to make sure everyone else is safe and secure. Otherwise, what she did would all be for naught."
"Do you think she's. . ." Beca looks down not able to finish the question.
"We have to prepare ourselves for it," Stacie said quietly.
"Um, hey, would one of you help me get some water for our guests?," Lily asks.
"I'll do it," Beca said. "Then I'll go get Emily and the girls to come down to eat."
"Good idea," Chloe said and gives Beca a big smile.
Beca helps deliver the water with Lily. Stacie takes the cart and gathers bowls and spoons. Aubrey gets some cloth napkins and places them on the cart as well.
After a few minutes, Chloe says the soup is ready and they place the pots on top of the cart and wheel everything to the dining room. Everyone sits up and smiles.
"That smells so good," one of the women said.
Beca walks in with Emily and the girls. Sammy and Taylor stop and hold onto Beca when they see the strangers.
"It's okay," Beca said quietly. "They're friends."
The two girls look up at Beca and she gives them a soft smile. Chloe sees them hesitate and walks over to them and kneels in front of them.
"Hey, it's okay," Chloe tells them. "They won't hurt you. Beca and I will protect you. Just sit next to us and you'll be fine." She stands and holds out her hand. "Come on, we're having some soup."
Taylor takes Chloe's hand and Sammy holds onto Beca. The little ready-made family walks over to join the others. The new arrivals are quiet, just savoring having some real food for the first time in what feels like months.
*0*0*0*0*
A little while later Beca is standing by the cart getting herself and Taylor more soup when she looks up and gasps. She drops the ladle into the pot and slams the bowl down sloshing soup over the sides. She takes off at a run out of the dining room. Chloe, Zeke, and Aubrey rush out after her.
"What's going on?," Aubrey asks.
"CR's back!," Beca said and rushes to the door just as the others see the truck outside.
CR has pulled the truck so it was nose-to-nose with the bus. Beca and CR are both looking around to see if they can see any of the infected. CR looks like she's in the clear and she opens the truck door and Beca unlocks the hotel door. CR runs the few feet to the door and enters. Beca locks the door behind CR and tackles her before she makes it very far.
"I'm so glad to see you!," Beca cries into CR's shoulder.
"Same here," CR said. "I wasn't sure I would see any of you again."
Beca releases CR and she is immediately grabbed by Chloe and Aubrey.
"That was the stupidest and bravest thing I've ever seen," Chloe said tearfully.
"It's all good," CR said trying to sound calm and collected while the adrenaline was still pumping inside her.
"Come on," Aubrey said pulling back from the hug and wiping a tear from her cheek. "Let's get some soup in you."
As soon as they walk into the dining room, Sammy and Taylor both yell out, "CR!" Lily and Stacie hug her. Emily stands back and then gets a hug as well.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Emily whispers to her.
CR pulls back from the hug and they both sit. Chloe puts a bowl of soup in front of CR and CR thanks her. A woman sitting across from CR looks around and then stands up causing everyone to look at her.
"I just," the woman starts and stops. "We just want to thank all of you for saving us. We don't know what we would have done if you hadn't come along. I know it's not much but thank you."
Zeke and the Bellas all smile. "No thanks necessary," Chloe tells her. "We're just glad you're all safe here with us."
"Yeah," Beca said. "We were kind of getting bored with each other."
Chloe playfully slaps Beca on the arm as the others laugh at her. Several mini conversations start as they get to know each other.
*0*0*0*0*
After everyone has their fill of the soup, Aubrey and Lily go to the kitchen to get everyone some ice cream. The rest are sitting around the table talking.
"So, CR, what happened out there?," Stacie asks.
"Well, I had a feeling that the Sightless were going to go after the bus again," CR responds. "I didn't think the bus or the passengers were going to make it through another attack. So, when I saw them look like they were moving toward the bus I threw a grenade. And then another. They came toward where I was and I drove the truck around throwing grenades here and there. They followed every one. I finally thought they were far enough away that I could get back and into the hotel before I had to worry about them again. That's it. And, here I am."
"Thank you," Mike said. "I don't know how we would have managed if we would have had to sleep on the bus again. Especially knowing those things could attack at any moment."
"I wasn't here for the introductions," CR said. "I'm Cynthia Rose but everyone calls me CR."
"Actually, we haven't had formal introductions," Stacie said. "Allow me. I'm Stacie and this is my girlfriend, Aubrey. The redhead is Chloe and the snarky brunette next to her is Beca."
"Hey!," Beca said.
Stacie laughed and continued. "The two little ones next to them are Sammy and Taylor." The two girls smiled and said hi. "Then there's Lily and Emily. And, last but not least, our two heroes Zeke and CR."
"What happened to your arm, Emily?," Mike asked. "Oh, sorry, I'm Mike."
"She got shot," CR said. "Couple of guys who were up to no good were here and she got shot."
"Don't worry," Aubrey said. "They're, um, gone, so you don't have to worry about them."
There was silence for a minute or two before one of the new arrivals spoke up.
"I'm sorry you got shot," a blonde woman tells Emily. "I'm Donna and this is my husband Bobby."
"I'm Peter," a boyish-looking man of about 24 said. "This is my, um, girl-, um. This is Michelle." He looked down somewhat embarrassed.
CR looked at Peter and then at Michelle with a raised eyebrow. The young woman laughed and said, "We met a couple of months ago and have kind of been together ever since. He just doesn't know what to call whatever it is we have between us."
"Oh," CR said and looks over at the last couple.
"I'm Jack," the dark haired man said. "And this is my wife Diane." He looks around expectantly and a few look back at him confused. "You know. A little ditty about Jack and Diane. Two American kids growing up in the Heartland," he sang and grinned.
"Written and sung by John Cougar Mellencamp in 1982," Beca said. "Although, I think he just uses John Mellencamp now," she added in her usual matter-of-fact way.
"Exactly," Jack said smiling at Beca.
"I'm not familiar with it," CR said.
"I think I've heard it before," Chloe said. "Didn't you use it in one of your mixes, Becs?"
"I may have," Beca said. "I can't believe you guys never heard of it though. Especially you, Aubrey. It's pretty classic 80s music."
"Hey, if it was from the 80s and a woman sang it, I'd know it for sure," Aubrey said causing the Bellas to laugh.
"I don't get it," Peter said looking confused.
"We are, were, an acapella singing group in college," Chloe said with a small laugh. "When Aubrey was our Captain we did a lot of songs sung only by women and most of them were from the 80s "
"Can you sing us something?," Michelle said. "I'd love to hear some music."
"Yeah," Diane said. "It could be fun."
"I don't know," Chloe said looking over at Beca. Beca just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Really?" Beca nodded and Chloe squealed. "Okay, let's do it."
The Bellas group together and decide on what to sing. "Let's do the pool mashup we did in freshman year," Stacie said and the others agreed. "Emily, I know you weren't with us then, but you'll catch on."
Emily smiled and nodded, glad to be included. She does love to sing.
"Chloe, are you okay to take the lead?," Beca asked with a smile.
"Yeah," Chloe said with an even bigger smile.
"Okay," Beca said as the girls got into position. Beca started and the other girls filled in with the music. Beca points to her and Chloe started to sing vocals.
Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining.
Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her tryin.
She's so beautiful. And I tell her every day.
Beca comes in and mixes in the lyrics from Just A Dream.
Uh, Uh, I was thinkin' bout her, thinkin' bout me, thinkin' bout us, who we gonna be
(I know, I know, when I compliment her she won't believe me.)
Opened my eyes, and it was only just a dream.
(It's so, it's so, sad to think that she can't see what I see.)
(But every time she asks me do I look okay, you know I'll say)
It was only just a dream.
Beca points to Aubrey and she comes in to sing the chorus of Just A Dream with Beca.
When I see your face,
(So I traveled back down that road will she come back, no one knows.)
There's not a thing that I would change. Cause you're amazing, just the way you are.
(I realized, it was only just a dream. It was only just a dream)
When I see your face,
(So I traveled back down that road will she come back, no one knows.)
There's not a thing that I would change. Cause you're amazing, just the way you are.
(I realized, it was only just a dream. It was only just a dream)
When I see your face
(Face)
The girls are all smiles when they finish. Their audience claps and cheers for them.
"That was amazing," Mike said. "I swear if I closed my eyes I would never have known you didn't have any instruments."
"That's what acapella is all about," Aubrey said. "Making music with your mouths."
*0*0*0*0*
The two groups spent the rest of the afternoon telling their stories. Where they were when things got really bad, how they found each other, everything. It was almost dinner time when Michelle and Diane offered to make something. Stacie and Aubrey volunteered to help since they knew where everything was in the kitchen.
Beca looks at Lily and clears her throat. "Hey, Lily, can Chloe and I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure," Lily said.
"Come on Sammy and Taylor, we want to talk to you, too," Beca said to the two young girls. Both got up and Sammy took Beca's hand and Taylor took Chloe's. The five of them went out to the lobby to talk.
Beca sat down and Sammy crawled into her lap and put her head on Beca's shoulder. Beca kissed the top of her head and smiled. Chloe and Taylor repeated the same actions and Chloe looked over at Beca and smiled.
"I can see where this is going," Lily said with an even bigger smile. "Taylor," Lily said and the oldest of the two girls looked at her. "Beca and Chloe want to take care of you and Sammy. They want you two to stay with them when we leave here. Do you want to do that?"
"What about you, Lily?," Taylor asked. "Can we stay with you?"
"I'm going to help the sick people," Lily said. "So, I won't be staying in one place. Beca and Chloe will take good care of you and I'll visit you. Is that okay?"
"I love Beca," Sammy said.
"I love you, too, Sammy," Beca said and hugged her.
"We both love you, Sammy," Chloe said. "And Taylor. We would love if you would want to live with us."
"What about mommy and daddy?," Taylor asked. "Can't we live with them?"
The three women looked at each other. "Well, how about this," Chloe said. "You live with us until your mommy and daddy find you. Then you can go live with them again."
"What if they don't find us?," Taylor said and looked down sadly.
"Then you will just stay with us," Beca said. "We'll be your family."
"Even if it's forever?," Taylor asked looking over at Beca.
"Even if it's forever," Beca responds and smiles at Taylor. Taylor smiles back at her and then looks at Chloe.
"I'd like to stay with you and Beca," Taylor tells Chloe, causing the redhead to squeal and grab her into a hug.
"I wanna stay with Beca and Chloe, too," Sammy said. Beca grabbed her in a hug and yelled, "Yay!"
"Where will we live?," Taylor asked.
"I was thinking we'd go to Barden," Beca said. "That's where Chloe and I went to school and my daddy has a house there. We can all live there."
"I'll leave you guys to it," Lily said and got up and started to walk away.
Taylor quickly got down from Chloe's lap and ran to Lily.
"Lily, wait," Taylor said causing the Asian woman to stop and look back, having barely enough time to brace herself before Taylor threw herself at her. She wrapped her arms around Lily and looked up at her.
"Thank you for taking care of us, Lily," Taylor said with a big smile.
Lily crouched down in front of Taylor. "Thank you for taking care of me, Taylor."
Lily hugged Taylor and Taylor gave her a big squeeze. Lily released Taylor and received a quick kiss on the cheek. "You promise you'll come visit us at Beca and Chloe's?"
"I promise," Lily said.
"Okay," Taylor said and without another word turned and skipped back over to Beca and Chloe. She climbed back onto Chloe's lap.
Lily watched her go with a melancholy smile. She nodded at Chloe and turned to continue toward the dining room.
"Tell us about our house," Taylor said looking at Beca.
Beca and Chloe both smiled.
"Of course," Beca said. "It has four bedrooms so you and Sammy can share one. And I was thinking we'd ask Aubrey and Stacie to live with so they would share a room."
"I like them," Sammy interjected.
"Me, too," Taylor said.
"Good," Beca said. "How about Emily? Can she live us, too?"
"Yay," Taylor said. " Emily is going to live with us."
"I hope so," Beca said. "What do you think, Sammy? Should Emily live with us?"
"Yes," Sammy said.
"What about CR?," Chloe asked. "And Zeke and Lily?"
"Well, Lily already said she was going to go around helping the infected," Beca said. "And I heard CR talking to her about going with her. And, I think Zeke is hoping to return to Fort Benning."
"Okay. So, then, what about me?," Chloe asked with a cheeky grin. "Where am I going to sleep?"
Beca glared at her. "Are you really going to make me ask?"
"Ask what?," Chloe said, playing coy.
Beca let out a sigh. "Chloe, will you share a room with me and be my girlfriend?"
"Oh, my," Chloe said putting her hand over heart. "This is so sudden."
"You're a dork," Beca said and Chloe started laughing. After a moment, Beca looked at her and said, "Well?"
"I'd love to be your girlfriend and share a room with you," Chloe said.
"Looks like we're really going to be a family," Beca said looking at Taylor and Sammy. "We're going to have so much fun. I think we should celebrate and have... a... tickle fight!"
Beca started tickling Sammy who started giggling and trying to get away. Chloe tickled Taylor who in turn tried to tickle Chloe. After a few minutes, the four fell back laughing and holding onto each other. Beca and Chloe found themselves with their faces very close to each other. Beca closed the short distance and gave Chloe a kiss.
"I love you," Beca said.
"I love you, too," Chloe said and gave her another quick kiss. "Come on. Let's go see what we're having for dinner."
The four got up and walked into the kitchen together smiling and talking.
"Mmm, something smells good," Chloe said.
"We're making spaghetti," Diane said.
"I love spaghetti!," Taylor said.
"Me, too," Sammy said.
*0*0*0*0*
Dinner was over, dishes were done, and everyone was sitting around enjoying a drink. Jack sipped his and sighed.
"That is so good," he moaned.
The others chuckle. Sammy yawned and Chloe decided it was time for the girls to go to bed.
"Speaking of bed," Michelle said. "I'm tired and would love to have a real bed to sleep in tonight."
"Don't worry," Chloe said with a wink. "I think we have a few vacancies. Why don't you all come with us and we'll get you set up in a room?. Then you can either go to bed or come back down here."
"Sounds good," Mike said. They all got up and follow Chloe and Beca out the door.
Everyone gets settled in their rooms. Jack, Diane, and Mike go back downstairs. Chloe and Beca tuck the girls in and lay on the bed with them. Sammy asks them to sing again so they do. Before they know it the two young girls are asleep.
"I'm going to go down and see if we need to take a turn keeping watch," Beca said. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay," Chloe said sleepily.
Beca finds Zeke, Aubrey, and Stacie sitting with Mike, Jack, and Diane. "Hey, guys," Beca said as she sat at the table. "I was wondering what the schedule was for tonight's watch."
Mike, Jack, and Diane all speak up saying they'll take a watch.
"It's the least we could do," Mike said.
"I'd like to do the first watch," Beca said. "Chloe and the girls are asleep and I don't want to disturb them any more than necessary."
"I'll take the first watch with you," Mike said.
Beca tensed and looked scared. Both Stacie and Aubrey noticed.
"Hey, Beca," Aubrey said. "Why don't you and Stacie take first watch. I'll take the second watch with Mike."
Mike looked a little confused but said, "Sure, I can do that."
Beca swallowed and her face relaxed a bit. "Great. I'll just go let Chloe know." Beca leaves before anyone could say anything else.
"Did I say something wrong?," Mike asks.
"No," Aubrey responds and makes the decision to tell them what happened to Beca. "The day Emily was shot, Beca had been taken by three guys that we didn't know were in the hotel. When we found her she was tied to a table and they were talking about the things they were going to do to her. We surprised them and they pulled their guns and started shooting. Emily got shot and we shot them. Beca's just still a bit unsettled by it all. She didn't mean anything by it."
"No, no," Mike said. "No worries. I'm sorry that happened to her. Her reaction is totally understandable."
"You girls have been through quite a lot," Diane said. "I thought we had it bad just trying to find food from one day to the next."
"Yeah," Jack said. "We've been pretty lucky. Most of the people we've actually run into have been decent sorts."
The group sat around in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Zeke was the first to speak.
"So, Beca and Stacie have the first watch," Zeke said. "Then Aubrey and Mike. I'll take the third-"
"I'll take the third with you," Jack jumps in.
"I'll get CR and Lily for the next watch," Zeke said. "The watches usually last 2 hours so I'll take the last watch. I want to be up early anyway in case they start the flyovers."
"Wake me up when the last watch starts," Diane said. "I can make coffee and maybe get something started for breakfast. I have a feeling everyone is going to want to be up early as well. We don't want to miss anything. Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day."
Beca returns to the group and everyone else decides to turn in. Beca and Stacie start their watch sitting in the dining room.
"Let's take out some bacon and sausage from the freezer," Stacie suggests. "Get them thawing for breakfast. Maybe some hash browns, too."
"Sounds like a plan," Beca said. The two got up and checked the freezer pulling out the breakfast foods and placing them in the refrigerator to thaw. "Hey, I found some frozen biscuits. Think they're still good?"
"I don't know," Stacie said. "Just stick them with everything else and we'll see what happens in the morning. I like the idea of a breakfast biscuit."
"Do you think this mist will really work like Zeke said?," Beca asks. "That they really will be cured of the infection?"
"I do," Stacie replies. "If it didn't work, I'd like to think the military wouldn't risk spraying it around."
"When this is all over Chloe and I are going to head back to Barden," Beca said. "We're taking Sammy and Taylor with us and staying at my dad's house. Would you and Aubrey want to come with us? You can live in the house. We're going to ask Emily as well."
"I'd like that," Stacie said. "I'll talk to Aubrey and see what she says."
"We'll probably be here a few more days after the mist is administered," Beca said. "I don't think any of us are going to want to just leave any of the cured infected to fend for themselves. You have time to talk it over and decide."
"Thanks," Stacie said.
"We should drive around tomorrow after the flyovers and find a real hospital," Beca said. "Have Lily get any medicine we might need to help the cured. They'll probably have injuries from their attacks and stuff. Injuries that may not bother them now, but once they change they'll feel like hell."
"That's a good idea," Stacie said. "We'll talk to everyone in the morning and make some plans. We should move the truck and the bus to the garage if we can. That way we'll have a better view of what's going on in front of the hotel."
Beca nodded her head and the two women went back to the dining room and got comfortable. Both feeling excited and fearful of the day ahead of them.
Songs used/mentioned:
Jack and Diane by John Cougar Mellencamp
Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars
Just a Dream by Nelly