No Longer Saving Yourself

"You smell good," Zack whispered in Annie's ear.

"You smell like chick," she recanted. She could feel the breath of his chuckle hit her neck, causing her to hold back a smile.

The group had made a small fire at the rest stop, and were currently roasting various packaged baked goods over the open flame. The sun had already set and while things had been quiet, Annie, Alex and Cori had guns within arm's reach. Cori and Danny were snuggling comfortably across from Annie and Zack. The latter couple from all outside glances looked to be just two people sitting next to each other, but they could feel a certain tension in the space between them.

Suddenly, one of the small plastic treats smacked Annie's head and fell into her lap.

"Make me food woman!" Jack exclaimed from a few feet over. Annie tossed the yellow cake up and down with one hand, contemplating his words.

"Alright," she said slyly. "Do the Souljah Boy dance and I'll roast this for you."

The group burst out laughing at her suggestion and were almost moved to tears when Jack started jumping, moving his arms and legs to produce a rather hilarious rendition of the popular dance.

Everyone tried to join in singing, but eventually their voices died out one by one. The silent pause was then filled with more laughter.

"This is fantastic," Annie wheezed.

"Know what we should do?" Jack asked. "Tell scary stories."

The group groaned.

"We're kind of in the middle of a scary story Jack. Let's not freak ourselves out anymore than we already are," Danny said, throwing a small pebble Jack.

Annie put the yellow treat on the end of a stick, lit it on fire before blowing it out and handing it out towards Jack. He accepted it eagerly, making loud bizarre noises to go with it.

"So where are we going next?" Alex asked when Jack had calmed down.

"We were planning Wyoming. But maybe we should just head North since it isn't immune to the cold," Cori explained.

"But we might be able to do more good with the cure in our artillery. There have to be more people out there who aren't infected," Rian argued.

"We could split up," Danny started, "but I would rather we stayed together."

"We aren't at the point we really have to decide yet I guess. We should probably start moving again soon. Staying in one place too long hasn't turned out well, at least in my case." Annie never stayed longer than two weeks. The longer she stayed the more zombies she encountered when she tried to leave.

"Well I'm tired. How are we doing this whole sleep thing?" Rian had a point. Three vehicles with no trunk space didn't leave nearly enough room for all seven to sleep comfortably.

"We're going to need people to stay up and watch anyway. Rian, since you brought it up it's only fair you get to choose where you want to sleep," Cori reasoned.

"So we have two more back seats and six front seats, which probably wont make anything comfortable," Alex calculated.

"We could make one of them just a supplies car," Danny suggested.

"What if we lost that one somehow though?" Zack had a point.

"We're going to need another car, aren't we?" Annie sighed.

"At least for more sleeping room. I'd rather not get a huge van, but it might be unavoidable," Cori said.

"What if we got another truck?" Zack suggested. "The ones with hardtop covers. Put a mattress in the bed of that one and also in the truck we have. We could do two, maybe three people in those."

"That's a good idea," Annie said, calculating the space they would need and the biggest mattresses they could fit.

"I think they would only fit two. But that would be enough room for everyone, with one spot left over. I think we've discovered our next mission," Annie concluded.

This started chatter of all the things a real bed would entail. Pillows, sheets, blankets.

"I'm going to Build-a-Bear," Annie stated, evoking laughter.

"You think I'm kidding? I left mine at my dorm room. Dumb mistake." Annie had that teddy bear for years. Another thing her sister gave her that she missed. The thought of her sister was beginning to hurt less and less, a realization that made her confused.

"Looks like we're going to a mall again," Cori said.

"Mattresses, bedding, and build-a-bear," Danny said, shooting a wink towards Annie.

"Let's try this without a repeat of last time," Rian said, walking off towards the parked vehicles before choosing the yellow Hummer and climbing into the back seat.

One by one the group disappeared into the vehicles, agreeing to take turns keeping watch. While it would be easy to just lock themselves in, they didn't want to end up surrounded.

"Are we going to be safe leaving you two out here with each other?" Cori teased, pulling Danny off in the direction of their truck. Zack and Annie both flipped her off before moving slightly closer to the fire, sitting cross-legged side by side.

"We should have picked up blankets," Annie said as a shiver ran up her spine. Zack's large hand moved up and down on her back and pulled her closer.

"Want me to go get your coat?" he asked, feeling her shiver again.

"No, I'll be okay," she replied, now feeling the warmth of both the fire and Zack's body.

They were silent for the first fifteen minutes of their shift. The sky was clear, with stars and the huge moon illuminating the night and the sounds of crickets filled the air.

"Crickets?" Annie said quietly.

"What about them?" Zack asked.

"It just seems weird. I don't remember hearing any for the past few months." Annie sat thinking for a few more minutes.

"I guess we haven't had time to dwell on normal sounds like nature. Just the awful sounds of the living dead. I'm just glad the virus hasn't mutated into a form that can be carried through bugs or other creatures yet," Zack said.

"Oh my god 'The Birds,'" Annie said, laughing at the idea of the old Alfred Hitchcock movie.

"Now I'm going to have nightmares," Zack joked.

"Don't worry. I'm a super hero remember? I'll protect you," Annie said, thinking back to the conversations among the group whenever she saved them from danger or went first into things.

"What if I want to be the one to protect you for once," Zack whispered, placing his lips on the skin behind her ear. And then right below her earlobe. Along the side of her jaw.

Annie bit her bottom lip, eyes falling closed as Zack's lips continued to coast along the skin of her neck. When he reached the last small patch of skin visible between her neck and her shirt, he took her face in his hands and turn her head towards him. Capturing her lips with his own, Zack gently pushed her back to the ground before hovering over her as they continued to kiss by the fire.

Annie let out a small moan, unable to keep the sound in. Zack pulled away and looked down at the blonde, smiling.

"Enjoy that, huh?" he asked before leaning in again and continuing where they had left off.

Not more than fifteen seconds later, a repeated staccato noise deferred their attention from each other to the direction of the vehicles. Zack lifted his body off of Annie's and stood up. Annie grabbed the gun that had been laying beside them and pulled herself up, aiming towards the noise.