A Wedding At the End of the World

Catching up on some blogging today. Just for fun, I thought I'd post my entry for Jillian Dodd's That Wedding Contest. Which I totally did not win. My entry was...different, to say the least, so that wasn't a big surprise. (See the winners here.) The challenge was to write about your dream wedding, but I've already had my dream wedding in real life, and the thought of writing a traditional wedding scene bored me. So I went waaaay outside of the box. And into the zombie apocalypse.

A Wedding at the End of the World

This was not how I’d imagined my wedding.

I was wearing ripped jeans and a paint flecked shirt, my unruly curls in a tangled mess. My bouquet was a bundle of plastic flowers I’d found in the restroom. And I had no guests - no Cindy behind me straightening my train, no Matty rolling his eyes in the front pew, no Mom telling everyone that I was wearing her dress, and no Dad to give me away. But at least I was in a church. And Josh was standing across from me at the altar, beaming in his grungy khakis and flannel shirt.

Josh was all that had kept me from falling apart. That morning, in the back of the sanctuary, I’d finally admitted what I’d been thinking for days.

“He’s not coming back.”

Josh had furrowed his brow. “You don’t know that, Lil. There’s time.”

“No, there’s not. Face facts. If Matty was alive, he’d be here by now.” I dropped my head to my knees. “We’re all gonna die on Hilton Head.”

“We could make a run for it.”

“No. We’ve already cheated death. We’re just delaying the inevitable.”

 “Hey.” Josh lifted my chin with a gentle finger. “Look on the bright side. At least-”

I snapped. He was always so freaking optimistic. “Bright side? My entire family is dead, and when the bombs drop at seven, we’ll be dead too. What exactly is the bright side to this?”

He went silent. “I was gonna say that at least we’re together.”

“Oh.” I immediately regretted yelling. Josh’s family was safe, evacuated a week ago by helicopter. But he had run off to find me. And now we were both stuck. “I’m sorry. I just can’t stop thinking about Matty.”

“I know.” 

I leaned close to Josh and listened to his heartbeat – steady and comforting in the chaos around us. “You should have left the island with your family.”

“I’m exactly where I should be. I love you, Lily.”

He’d said it before, but a year into our relationship, I still had trouble believing it. How had popular, gorgeous, Josh Harrington fallen for plain old me?

“You still don’t get it, do you?”

I refused to meet his eyes. “I get it.”

“No you don’t.” He grabbed my hands. “Remember when I lost my bookbag at that gas station?”

“Of course. You almost got killed over that stupid bag.”

“I didn’t care about the bag. There was a ring in the side pocket.”

My jaw dropped. “A what?”

“I’d been carrying it around for a while. I was gonna propose to you at the end of the summer.”

My mouth hung open, silently.

Josh quickly added, “I mean, I didn’t think we’d get married right away or anything, but you were going away to Stanford, and I wanted you to know that I was serious. About us.”

I finally got control of my mouth. “I would’ve said yes.”

Josh kissed me, and for a flash, I forgot about the carnage outside. There was only me and Josh, happy together. Then a zombie banged against the door, reminding us that this evening, and our lives, were going to end soon.

I laced my fingers through Josh’s. “You know…we could do it.”

“Do what?”

“We could get married. Right now. Let’s ask Pastor Mike.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“Ahem.” Pastor Mike’s voice pulled me back to the present. “Do you, Lily, take Joshua to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“Oh! Yeah. Yes! I do!”

“And do you, Josh, take Lily to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Josh beamed. “I-.”

Before Josh could finish, a window near the roof exploded in a shower of glass. A dark figure dropped though and landed in a crouch. Josh stepped in front of me, but I moved around him. Something about the way it stood was familiar.

That wasn’t a zombie - it was Matty, drenched from the rain and covered in mud.

 I reached for him, but he swatted me away. “Matty! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Hotwired an SUV. Pedal to the metal, we might make it off this rock before they blow the bridge.”

“Um, give us a minute.”

Matty took in the scene and his eyes widened. “What do you two think you’re doing?”

“Getting married.”

He rolled his eyes. “No, you’re not. You’re seventeen.”

I interrupted. “Matty, I love you, but I’m not your baby sister anymore. I watched our parents die. And Josh has killed people that used to be his friends. We made it here on our own, and we’re making this decision without asking your permission.”

Matty gave a resigned sigh. “Whatever. Hurry up.”

I gestured for him to stand next to me. “Be my maid of honor.”

He stepped forward and pointed a finger at Josh. “If you hurt her, I will make you wish the zombies had gotten to you first.”

“Understood.”

Pastor Mike cleared his throat. ““So, Josh-”

“I do!”

“Then I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

I glanced in Matty’s direction and gave Josh a tiny peck. “There’s more where that came from later.”

Matty groaned. “Please stop. You’re making me wish I hadn’t survived to see this.” He started toward the door. “Pastor Mike? You coming?”

He shook his head. “I’m going to stay here and pray. I have a feeling you’re not the last group to need sanctuary this evening.”

I hesitated at the door.

Josh grabbed my hand. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

Matty raised an eyebrow. “What? Of course she does.”

Josh ignored him. “If you want to stay, I’ll stay with you.”

I still dreaded the horrors outside, but somehow, my future looked brighter now. Maybe we wouldn’t survive, but I wanted to try. “No. If we don’t make it, there’s always the bright side.”

Josh smiled and gripped my hand tighter. “You ready, Mrs. Harrington?”

I nodded. “Let’s go.”

And we did.