Page 48 of My Undead Love Life

Luck let out a gleeful squeal. “Jackpot.”

“No kidding.” Mad sat on the floor with his back against the metal gate, listening to the distant quiet of the mall. “This gate is sturdy enough.”

Luck tested it, pushing on it and even trying to pull it up. It didn’t budge. It just gave a solid metallic rattle.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “This’ll hold.”

Mad and Luck came over toward Oxi and me, and we snacked a bit in silence as we took a break.

The protein bar was flattened and tasted like cardboard, but it was food. I was hungry enough not to complain. The trail mix had too many raisins and not enough of anything else, but the salt on the nuts made my mouth water. I drank carefully from one of the water bottles, forcing myself not to gulp it down too quickly, even though my throat felt scraped raw from the day.

Outside the store, the mall remained silent enough. We couldn’t hear the horde. I didn’t know how long the horde would linger or how long it would take to pass through. The mall was massive, but compared to the horde, it felt tiny. I tried not to think of it as a fragile building with metal gates and broken doors, trying to hold back thousands of dead hands.

Luck and Oxi grabbed two king-sized bed frames and mattresses and pushed them together at the back of the store. The frames scraped loudly over the floor, and every few seconds, one of us froze to listen. It was a miracle that we didn’t hear any sign of a zombie.

Mad ripped open five different king-sized comforters and tossed them onto the bed, and I did the same with the pillows. The plastic packaging crackled in my hands. The pillows smelled like dust and fabric freshener gone stale, but when I pressed one between my palms, it gave softly beneath my fingers.

In minutes, we had the most comfortable, large bed to sleep on.

It was a nest built by exhausted survivors who had forgotten what it was like to sleep in a bed.

“I wish we could take these beds back to the Oasis.” I smoothed one hand over a comforter, feeling the slick cotton under my dirty palm. “Maybe someday we can come back for them.”

“I don’t think I’ll be up for a city run anytime soon after this,” Oxi said with a wide yawn. The yawn took over his whole face, cracking his jaw wide before he rubbed at one eye with the heel of his hand. The adrenaline was leaving him, too, making his shoulders sag.

He started stripping off his clothes before turning slowly. “Check me.”

I immediately turned around. Heat rushed into my face so fast it almost distracted me from everything else. I stared hard at a stack of mattress protectors on a shelf and listened to fabric rustle behind me.

In a different world, there would have been room to be embarrassed by nakedness properly. In this one, stripping down was practical and necessary. Bites hid under sleeves. Scratches could be missed even by the infected.

Dirt and blood made every mark harder to read, so it took longer. Still, I kept my back turned.

“Clear,” Luck said after a moment.

The guys checked each other over quickly, making sure no one had any bites or scratches they hadn’t noticed during the fighting. Their voices stayed low, all teasing gone from them for those few minutes. It was too serious for jokes. Every check of skin carried the same silent fear, especially when we came into contact with the infected. One mark found on any of us could change everything.

“All right,” Mad said. “You’re good, Spencer.”

I turned back around and immediately noticed all three of them were down to their boxers. My brain short circuited.

They were dirty, bruised, exhausted, and armed within reach. They were also…very built.

My face heated.

Luck had already thrown himself half-on the bed. Oxi stood near the edge of the mattresses, stretching one shoulder with a wince. Mad remained closer to the gate, broad and still, looking at me like he was trying to decide how to make the situation less awkward.

The only piece of clothing they’d put back on was their underwear.

“It’s cleaner this way,” Mad explained, gesturing toward the pile of mattresses. “None of us have washed or changed in days. No point dragging all that grime from our clothes into the bed.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ll look for spare clothes and pajamas around the mall tomorrow,” he added. “This is just for tonight if it makes you uncomfortable.”

I glanced down at my own filthy clothes. They were stiff with dried sweat, dust, old blood, and things I did not want to identify. My skin itched beneath them, and the thought of crawling into those clean comforters wearing everything the last few days had put on me suddenly made my whole body revolt.

“Makes complete sense,” I said. “I’m not uncomfortable. Besides, it’s better for body warmth.”

“Good point.” Oxi flopped onto the mattress beside Luck, the fabric rustling loudly under their weight as they got under the covers.

Luck groaned into a pillow. “If I die tonight, I’ll die happy.”