Wild For You

Chapter 5

    The match lit, falling down to the teepee of twigs and dry leaves in the fire ring. Flames eagerly billowed, ejecting little specs of ash upwards and out. I scooted the makeshift tent backward away from the heat. I wanted to touch those hungry orange tongues that licked at the air, caught in a trance by their dancing. I reached forward, fingertips almost brushing the flames, but was saved last second. Faint noises caught my attention. They were small, almost inaudible. They were footsteps.

Tyler had taken Archie to see if David and company were nearby. I was alone.

More footsteps. Louder.

We had set up camp about three hundred feet from a lake, close enough to see delicate streams of moonlight reflect off the water. The light wavered, disrupted by a long, gnarled shadow that cast itself across the ground. It was gone in a blink, but the footsteps were ever closer.

"Hello?" I called, "Is any- Is anyone there?"

The footsteps halted. Could they hear me? Or was my voice lost in the silence?

I cupped my bony fingers around my mouth. "I said, helloooo! Who's out there?"

"Jonathan? Is that you?!" A loud voice that wasn't Tyler answered.

I scowled. "Who wants to know?"

A man pushed his way out of the underbrush. Luke Patterson, a very, very close friend of mine, emerged. I was filled with the hotness and coldness of guilt; he had completely slipped my mind in the face of the apocalypse.

Luke grinned, white teeth flashing in the dark like pearls. "Oh thank God, Jon! I've never been more happy to see you in my life!"

He placed down the heavy hiking bag that was strapped to his back and rushed forward, pulling me into a hug.

"Been tryin' to call you all fuckin' day. All day long. I was so worried!" He sighed.

I snaked my arms around his middle, squeezing him tight as if we hadn't seen each other for centuries. He smelled like grease and motor oil, assaulting my nose yet comforting me at the same time.

"I'm sorry. My phone must have died or-or- or somethin,' I-"

He shushed me. "Jon, I don't really care as long as you're okay right now. I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again."

We sat around the fire chatting for an hour or two. Luke poked holes in the top of a few cans of food and put them on the fire. Tyler and everyone else showed up soon after, excited to see that we had made enough for them too. Tyler had found David, Craig, and Lui. Kino was still missing in action. I felt bad for Tyler, he was a nervous wreck, sobbing and coughing between bites of canned corn.

----

I woke up sweaty. Tyler had pulled me close, throwing his arm over my middle and spooning me. Archie was in front of me, getting fuzz all over the fucking place. I sat up. The dog got excited and stood, panting and stomping his feet.

"Hey, buddy!" I whispered, "Sleep good?"

He licked my face and hair quickly before I could push him away.

"Ugh, get your rank ass dog breath out of here!"

Tyler grunted sleepily from behind me. "Sorry. Ain't no goddamn toothpaste in the end of the world, is there?"

I jumped at the sound of his voice, then again when he sat up and leaned on my back. "Hey, sorry! Didn't- Didn't mean to wake you up!"

He rubbed his face and sighed, hot breath hitting the back of my neck. I shivered and scooted forward, playing off as if I were reaching for Archie. Tyler sat up.

"No, it's okay. Tyler's too ugly to be saved by beauty sleep anyway." He snorted, "Tyler also prefers referrin' to himself in the third-" he yawned. "In the third person."

"Shut the fuck up," I laughed.

He placed a hand on his chest and reeled back like I'd hit him in the face. "Bitch, what? Suuuck my ass."

I laughed but then felt a hurricane of sadness and anger when I remembered what we were dealing with. A heavy, warm hand landed on my shoulder. I followed the arm it was attached to and ended up nose-to-nose with Tyler, blue eyes meeting sea green. We stared for what seemed like an eternity. He asked me something with a worried look in his eyes but the words didn't register.

How long did we stay like that? I counted. One breath. Two breaths. Three, four. My heart was beating. Halfway through five I broke away and went back to petting the dog.

Tyler pretended it hadn't happened. "What's that movie where the guy and his friends are on a trip to an amusement park in a zombie apocalypse, and Woody Harrelson only wanted twinkies?"

"Zombieland. I was- I- I was just thinking about that one." I said.

Tyler nodded and laid back down, pulling the make-shift pillow over his face. My cheeks were hot and his were definitely a bit pink. I laid back down as well, being careful not to touch him.