Chapter 6 - Back To the Bunker
I tossed and turned most of the night and tried my hardest to figure out how to transport Azura through the tunnel safely. It was hard to sleep between waking up to feed AJ and trying to shut my brain off. Somewhere around 2 AM, I finally dozed off to sleep. I guess Kellan got up and down with AJ for the rest of the night. I think he wanted me to get all the rest I could handle. I don’t remember dreaming or having nightmares like usual. Kellan woke me with a gentle kiss to the forehead and breakfast in bed.
Who knew having electricity still would make my morning or afternoon wonderful. I was unsure of the time. I don’t care who you are or what fucking planet you are from, nothing beats a ham and cheese omelet stuffed with green peppers and onions followed by hash browns and toast. He absolutely made my day with a triple shot espresso and a glass of orange juice. Just for a split second I forgot everything. I thought it was an average day and there were no biters, then it dawned on me, where was my angel this morning?
“Where’s AJ ? And do you even know what time it is ?”
“Don’t worry. Look in the basket. I made sure it was soft. I figured you needed the sleep and I took her with me downstairs. I needed somewhere to put her and I didn’t want to sit her in the floor . So, I am using Mom’s favorite wicker laundry basket. Oh it’s after 11.”
Inside all bundled was this innocent little girl. I finished my wonderful breakfast and decided that I stunk . I definitely needed a shower. It kind of sucks that will be the one thing I miss about this house, hot showers. I got to thinking maybe Kellan has clothes that I could borrow so I could be clean.
“Kellan... Do you have some sweats or shorts with like a tie string or something in them ? I really need a shower. I reek.”
“Uh... Yeah but if you prefer, I have a box full of my ex’s clothes in the closet. It has everything. I mean all that girly shit. You’re more than welcome to it.”
“Thanks. I think.”
I got up and dug in the closet. Go figure, the box is marked girly shit. I open it to find everything I would need. Shirts, pants, bra, panties, soaps, you name it , all kind of things were in there. It was a bit different considering that most of the girls that he dated were a lot taller than my measly 5 foot 2 inch frame. I am just thankful most of them were around the same build as me. It seemed that all the girls had similar taste in clothes. By time I had picked out the clothes I had wanted, i realized I was still hungry and asked Kellan to make me another omelet.
“You decide what to wear yet ?”
“Yeah. After I eat again, I plan on going to shower and then give AJ a bath.”
“Okay.”
I think that may have been the shortest conversation I have had with Kellan in a really long time. I settled on a matching white lace thong and bra set with a blue peasant top with blue jean hip huggers. I took what I thought was the longest shower of my life and decided today was special and I wanted to play the part. I took my time curling my hair and doing my make-up. I am not the girly type at all. After I finished I looked in the box for long scarves or things to make a baby sling out of. I found a beautiful blue scarf and realized it would be perfect. I found the outfit that Azura would wear and laid out all the items needed for her bath. I settled on a blue and white dress with matching white and blue booties and head band.
I never had so much fun in my life giving her a bath. She seemed to enjoy the water. Kellan hadn’t seen either of us yet so it was a big surprise when he came downstairs and seen we were all dolled up. I thought his jaw would hit the floor.
“Oh my God. Betts... You actually have an ass. You look great.”
“Well, I am not sure if I should take that as a compliment or punch you in your dick.”
“It’s a compliment. You just look really nice.”
“Thanks. Think I could get some help tying this scarf on so I can carry AJ?”
“Not a problem. A shame we have to cover up that top.”
That’s when I punched him. He can be so crude sometimes. What can I say ? So can I.
“Go get my backpack so I can make a diaper bag. I swear your dumb as shit sometimes. ... Idiot.”
Kellan just laughed as he ran up the stairs. He came back with all the baby items and my favorite backpack. I don’t know why I fell in love with this bag. Maybe it was the glow in the dark skulls or the really big compartments but either way it’s coming in handy now. I loaded my backpack down like I had done a million times.
“Fuck.... I forgot to make her bottles and bottle up some water so I would have some prepped while we were back at that hell hole. Think you could get me a gallon of water, Kellan and fix up a few bottles for me ?”
“Not a problem”
Somehow I always forget to do something. I finished loading everything just as Kellan finished with the bottles. I loaded them in the front pocket for easy reach. Well, now or never time. The last seventy-two hours was just what I needed to get my head straight and all my thoughts lined up to deal with Lorna’s bullshit. I knew from years of experience that her personality bounced around worse than a cheap hooker did. It still amazed me that Michael has stuck around as long as he has. She is just psychotic and she has a serious attitude issue. I knew that once I went back there it was going to be hell getting back out. It was a chance I had to take for everyone.
We entered the basement to go back through the tunnel to enter the bunker.
“Are you sure you are ready for this Betts ?”
“Yeah, Kellan. I have to be.”
I looked down at the sleeping bundle who was nuzzled against my heart and grabbed my backpack. I have to do this now. No turning back. I whispered to Azura “Mommy loves you and I promise I won’t let anything hurt you.” I picked up my backpack and grabbed Kellan’s hand. He turned the door handle and that is when I knew that this was going to be a new beginning for us. We started into the tunnel. I brought a flash light this time and shut the door behind us. I just got this feeling that something was wrong.
“Kellan. Something isn’t right. We need to go back. I know something isn’t right.”
“You sure Betts ? I mean we could be there shortly.”
“Something is really wrong. I think there might be a biter in the tunnel. Remember it smelled all earthy and like dirt and mud. Smell it now . It’s like rotten .”
“You’re right.”
That’s when we heard a weird scuffling sound. We needed to go forward but I was scared for the safety of AJ and if we went back , I knew that I would want to leave without telling anyone. This was going to be a hard choice to make. Could a biter have gotten in the tunnel while we were upstairs ? I was going to go bad ass to protect AJ, whether blood or not. I shined my light ahead and I was right. There was a couple of biters trapped in the tunnel. This was going to get interesting. How was I going to keep from getting blood on my nice new outfit ? Oh well.
I slid my Katana from my side and put my arm to hold Azura to my chest and slung my weapon and I took off the first one’s head with ease. It must have been old. The second one bent down to eat its fallen friend and I stabbed my katana through its brain. I made Kellan double check to make sure they were both dead. It was a green light. We stepped over the bodies and headed towards the bunker again. I made Kellan stop to make sure I didn’t get blood on me or AJ. I get extra kill points since I managed not to ruin our new outfits today.
We walked slowly because neither one of us wanted to wake AJ. The backpack was beginning to weigh heavy on my shoulders but I knew we had to keep going. I kept trying to play different conversations in my head. Each one was different but they all had bad endings. I couldn’t come up with a happy ending for any of them. About the time I started to get frustrated, Azura started to fuss.
“Kellan, toss me a bottle out of the front pocket.”
He handed me a bottle and luckily it was still warm. AJ quieted down instantly once the nipple touched her lips. I tried to walk a few steps and feed her, it wasn’t working out too well for me. I guess Kellan was watching.
“You want to stop and take a breather and finish up what you’re doing there. We are almost there.”
“Yeah.”
I finished feeding AJ and I burped her. She settled back down to sleep. We walked the rest of the way to the entrance. The closer I got to the shelter the more I thought it was a mistake to come back. I squeezed Kellan’s hand for strength and he opened the door.