89.4 Zombie Radio

Layla and I went into a bedroom down the hallway. She closed the door behind her and I flopped onto the bed, not thinking. As soon as I did, the pain stung through my chest and I winced. Layla caught it, and shook her head disapprovingly.

"Bob, you've got to take it easy," she said. "Okay, off with the shirt, I'm going to see how bad it is."

"Do I really have to take it off?" I asked. "Do you really want to see my flabby ass shirtless? I mean..."

"Bob, stop being a baby. The shirt, off, now," Layla demanded.

"Yes Dr.Kyle," I replied. I took my shirt off, and found myself out of breath from even doing that. When the pain started to subside, my mind started to click. This was your chance Bob, you've got her alone. Tell her damn it! You'll regret it if you don't! I tried to take a deep breath, but then remembered I couldn't. Layla knelt down next to me and put her hand on my stomach.

"Okay, I'm going to apply some pressure. Tell me if it hurts, okay?"

Layla started to feel around and it didn't take long before she hit a soft spot. I whimpered in pain and she moved her hand away.

"I take it that hurt?" she asked.

"Only like a son bitch," I replied.

"Well, stay tuned for the next round, because I have to see how its broken," she told me. "Normally we'd just do an X-Ray here, but... This isn't exactly a medical facility as you can see."

"do whatever you have to do, I trust you," I said. Layla ran her hand across my stomach, which sent shivers of pain down my spine. I did my best to shrug it off, and not react. Something told me she knew what she was doing. After a few minutes, she was all done, and ready to give me the verdict.

"Well, I think you have two broken, one on each side. Neither are life threatening though, they're just going to be really sore for a few weeks," she explained. "The one isn't so much broken, as it is cracked really badly, the other is broken, but it should be fine. It hasn't moved any, so just make sure you don't do anything stupid until it starts to heal."

"Would carrying you into this house be considered a stupid thing to have done?" I asked.

"Well, yea, that was pretty stupid actually," she replied. "Bob... I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry? I'm the one that carried you, I could have gotten Dalton to..."

"No, that's not what I'm talking about. Look... I know what happened. Jessie told me everything."

"I'm not getting you Layla."

"...I'm not good at these situations."

"Never mind it Layla, look I have something I want to tell you. I..."

"Bob, just hold on a minute, let me say what I need to say, and you can tell me whatever it is you were going to tell me. Look, Jessie saw me and Trevor that one night by the lake. I know she told you, because she told me about the whole thing when we were locked up. So I just wanted to say, I'm sorry about that, it wasn't what it looked like."

"What was it then?"

"A mistake okay? I was trying to get him to leave me alone, because I started to realize what kind of jerk he was."

"Um, Layla, what else did Jessie tell you?"

"I'm getting there, just hold on. He kept trying to get me to do stuff that I wanted no part of, and I was going to come to you about it in the morning and tell you..."

"And tell me what?"

"Ah, damn it! This is so hard! Jessie told me what you were doing. She said you were about to go and..."

"She told you about that, huh?"

"Yea, and..."

"Fuck it! We're never gonna get anywhere doing this! Layla I love you! There! I said it!"

Layla didn't respond verbally after that, but when she wrapped her arms around me, it said it all. I felt bad, because I kind of winced as she did it. She apologized and loosened her grip. I think we were both pretty new at this whole thing, but Layla was a fast learner, and quickly put her lips to mine. It took me a second to get used to it, but eventually I sunk into the kiss, and damn... It was beautiful. I felt like somewhere there was a studio audience wooing in approval, and I gave them all a middle finger and kept right on going. I didn't even feel my ribs, I didn't know what time it was, hell, I could barely remember my name. The only thought that crossed my mind was, "I love you Layla... please, don't stop."

When I woke up the next morning, Layla was still lying there, sound asleep. I did nothing but sit there and watch her breath until she woke up. When she did, we looked into each others eyes, and she inched up and gave me a peck on the forehead.

"Good morning," she said with a smile.

"Good morning beautiful," I replied. "Been waiting a while to say that actually. Its the title to a Deftones song... I know I'm a dork, you don't have to tell me."

"You are, but you're my dork, and I love you," she said. Damn, I wish she knew how good it felt to hear her say that. I didn't want to leave this room. I just wanted to stay right here, in this very moment forever. If there weren't zombies outside, and a bus for us to catch, I'd do just that. Oh shit! The bus! The station! I forgot all about that! Roxy is going to kill me!... But I could live with it. Funny how being in love makes you not give a damn about things like your survival.

"Layla, I just want to confirm all of this, because, I'm not a genius like you. Everything I think happened last night, happened right? We did kiss? That wasn't a dream?"

"Bob, it happened, it wasn't a dream."

"Wow... I just have to soak all of this in... Okay, its soaked. So, I want to know one thing Layla, what makes a beautiful, intelligent, classy girl like you fall for a bald, hairy, and slightly retarded guy like me?"

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit. You're actually very intelligent. I don't think any of us would have made it this far without you. You're also funny, and I think you're sweet. I feel safe around you, and that's important to me. So I guess I could ask you the same thing Bob, why would you fall for a girl like me?"

"I'm pretty sure I answered that already, but I'll give more detail this time. Layla, you are the type of girl I would have considered out of my league before all of this. Hell, during all of this I considered you out of my league! But... You gave me a reason to live. I was really intent on ending it all there for a while, and you snapped me out of it. I fought these feelings for a long time, because I didn't want to get my heart broken, but... Damn it, I'm glad Roxy snapped me out of it."

"Remind me to thank Roxy when we get back... If we get back."

"We'll find them again, I promise. I was supposed to call the radio station last night but... You sort of brain washed me into forgetting. Not that I minded. I'll call in later, right now, I'm just enjoying this."

"Me too. So as bad as this will sound, we really don't know all that much about each other. I mean, what did you do before all of this?"

"Ha! I worked two jobs, I worked at a factory at night and a diner during the day."

"Why did you work two jobs? Didn't it stress you out?"

"Well, looking back on things, it was a bit stressful, but I needed money. Plus, in my mindset at the time, I was avoiding people. Working two jobs was an excuse to get away from them... Like I said, looking back on it, I sometimes wish I wasn't that way, but at the same time, I probably would have never gone on that insane baked potato diet and survived this mess. Which means I would have never met you. So you know what? I really don't regret anything."

"Well, I'm glad you're you Bob. Don't ever change."

"As long as I'm breathing, I promise I won't Layla. Alright, your turn, same question."

"Well, I was in college. I was going for my Ph.D in Psychology, and I was about a year away from getting it."

"Wait a second, how old are you Layla?"

"I'm twenty-two."

"So, wait a second, doesn't it take like seven or eight years to get your Ph.D?"

"Yep, I graduated high school when I was sixteen."

"Holy shit! I was busy failing my Spanish class at that age!"

"How old are you Bob?"

"I know I look like I'm probably about thirty-seven, but I'm actually twenty-four. Anyways, you graduated at sixteen! Wow! You really must be like... A genius!"

"Well, people have said that to me, but I hate that title. It makes me sound much bigger than what I really feel I am. It actually sucked to be me for a while. I was in high school at age twelve, and believe me, kids noticed. I basically skipped part of my life for that reason, but my dad always pushed me to be the best I could, so I always did it for him. Its hard to explain what its like to be me. I just look at things, and get them. I would have given it up for a chance at a normal life in a heartbeat."

"That's actually really... Sad Layla. I'm really sorry."

"Don't be, you didn't do it did you? I learned a lot from my experiences, and I'm a stronger person because of it."

"That's a very positive outlook, I like it. If its any consolation, I went to high school at a normal age, and it still sucked, so don't feel bad."

"I don't, trust me. Bob, you know my last name, but what's yours?"

"Faust. My full name if you must know, is Robert James Faust."

"Mine's Layla Anne Kyle, there, now we know what to call each other if we get mad."

"Ha ha! Good point! Are you cold? You've been lying there in your underwear for like a day now. I mean... Not that I mind or anything, I'm just saying, Dalton brought your clothes if you wanted to change."

"I know, but I'm comfortable right now."

"As long as you're comfortable, that's all that matters."

"Well... I'm out of things to talk about Bob."

"Ha! Me too."

Layla buried her head in my chest and I held her for a while. A few more soft words between us and we were making out like horny school kids, skipping school in a bathroom stall. I heard a loud crash outside the window that scared me and Layla both. It was a zombie, and he was trying to break the window to get to us. He wasn't having any success, given that he looked like a teenager who never exactly enjoyed gym class.

"Do you want me to take care of him?" I asked.

"No, let him watch, I don't care."

"Layla... You are full of surprises."

We kept at it, for God only knows how long. The zombie outside just kept pounding away at the window, never giving up. We didn't even care, we just kept at it, until finally a new noise broke our concentration. This time it was the door, and it was Jessie. We both looked at her, and there was an awkward silence between the three of us.

"...Um, if I'm interrupting something I'm really sorry... But there's a bunch of zombies outside, and... Well... Yea," Jessie managed to stutter out. Layla and I got up, trying to hide our smiles from her and look concerned. The zombie was still at the window, and Jessie walked over to it.

"Did you guys even notice this one pounding at the window?" she asked.

"Well, we did... But we kind of just... ignored it," I explained.

"Okay... Well, I think its time we took care of them. How do you think they found us anyways?... You guys weren't making all kinds of... Noise were you?" Jessie awkwardly asked.

"No, no, no!" Layla exclaimed. "Nothing like that Jessie!"

"Okay... Well... I'm gonna go out here now... Just come out whenever you guys are ready," Jessie replied.

"Hey Jessie, will you bring me my clothes please?" Layla asked. Jessie went and got Layla's clothes, and Layla changed. I went into the living room and grabbed my bat that was still sitting by the chair. It was time to take care of the peeping Tom. I walked back into the bedroom and opened up the window. The zombie stuck his arms and head through to try and grab me. I took the butt end of the bat and shoved it into his mouth. It knocked him back and shoved his teeth through his throat. He quickly recovered, and made another charge. This time I pulled him most of the way through and took a swing down on his head. Layla came running at me, and pulled the bat out of my hands. She then proceeded to finish the job I started, as I watched in amusement. I closed the window and we gazed into each others eyes again. Damn, I could get lost in those dark eyes of hers.

"Bob! I told you! You have to take it easy!" she scolded.

"I'm sorry Layla... Just a habit I guess," I said.

"Robert James Faust! You are not getting this bat back until further notice!" Layla yelled.

"Already using the middle name huh?" I asked jokingly. Layla laughed and we headed into the living room where Jessie and Dalton were waiting.

"Are you two done having sex now so we can finally get rid of these things?" Jessie asked.

"Jessie! We were not doing that!" Layla shouted.

"Okay, I believe you! Sorry!" Jessie replied.

"Well, let's take care of business then," I said.

"Bob, you're not allowed to fight them. In fact, Jessie, lets me and you kick a little ass huh?" Layla replied.

"Okay! Sounds fun!" Jessie exclaimed.

"I don't like this," Dalton replied.

"Oh, just get over it Dalton, we'll be fine. If things start to get bad, you guys have permission to help," Jessie said. Dalton then counted to three and opened the door. Three zombies came rushing in, two females and a male. Jessie tripped the one that came at her and bashed its head in with her skateboard. It was amazing how well that skateboard held up, it was like it was enchanted with some sort of magic spell that made it unbreakable. Layla spun the first zombie around into me, and I pushed it back towards her. She cocked the bat back and swung, nailing it in the face. It went down and she finished it off with a few well placed swings. Dalton was holding the other one back by the arms, and he let it go when he saw they were finished with the first two. Layla stepped up and took a swing, which knocked the zombie on its back, then Jessie straddled it and finished it off. I was honestly quite impressed by their effort. When they were all finished, they celebrated with a high five, and a little improvised dance.

"Well, whenever you ladies are done, let's head out," I said. "We'll start heading southeast, and hope to God we're heading in the right direction."

"Don't you know where we're supposed to go?" Jessie asked.

"No... Honestly I have no idea," I replied.

"Bob... Do I even have to say it at this point?"

"No Jessie, I'm an idiot. I'm well aware of it," I told her. We walked out the door and started to walk down the street. All I could do is hope to God that we were heading in the right direction. I was confident we would find them again. I wasn't sure how exactly it would work out, but I just felt it in my heart. I still needed to call into the radio station. I was pretty sure Roxy was going to be pissed at me, but maybe when she heard the news, she'd get over it... Yea, fat chance at that happening right?