He turned back from one kill, striking out with his filthy red-black bloody machete and slicing it down on the wrist of the hand that was grabbing me.
“Get in the water,” Celeb demanded, his voice more serious than I’d ever heard it as I ripped the hand off of my wrist, the food I’d just eaten sloshing up my throat at the action. “Catie, now!” Celeb roared.
I didn’t stop to think, I half scrambled toward it on my hands and knees before getting to my feet and throwing myself into the water.
It wasn’t until then that I could look back and see what had made the usually so light and fun Caleb so firm.
And it was an entire freaking shoreline of zombies.
Caleb moved with the precision that came from practice, striking out, creating maximum damage with as little effort as possible as he retreated toward the water, knowing it was useless.
It didn’t matter what kind of training the man had, and clearly it was a lot, there was no way he could fight them all of.
The two of us stood no chance.
We had no choice but to run.
Or, as it was, swim.
“Move your ass!” Celeb roared as he took out the closest zombie then threw himself into the water too.
I didn’t stop to think.
I turned and swam with everything inside of me toward the boat.
It hadn’t seemed so far when we’d been casually making our way to shore.
But moving at a life-or-death pace meant my arms, shoulder, back, stomach, and legs were screaming as I pushed myself harder and faster toward the boat.
Somehow, even though I’d had a big head start, Caleb managed to make it to the boat first.
I didn’t know that, though, until I felt hands grabbing me, yanking me up out of the water.
I couldn’t help it.
It was pure adrenaline and bone-deep fear.
I screamed and flailed as the arms kept pulling me up.
“Are you okay? Are you alright?” Caleb’s voice asked as he held me, his hands framing my face, wiping my hair and water out of the way so he could look at me.
I didn’t know what to blame.
How hot he was when he was fighting.
The need to confirm we were alive.
Or something a little deeper than that.
But I just threw my arms around his neck, pulling him closer, then sealing my lips to his.
His whole body stiffened for a moment.
But just a moment.
Then his arms were going around my back, pulling me flush against him as his lips took over.
Hard.