Is he one of you?
Several beats of silence passed before he admitted, Yes. He and my dad are friends, and he funds our activities. He cant see the zombies, but hes seen what they do to us and helps us when were bittenon the condition that Reeve stays out of it.
Good to know. And Dr. Wright?
She knows. We needed someone on our side at school, and she was it.
As Id suspected. Now, switching gears. What was the fight about?
Justin asked me where you were. I told him I didnt know. He told me to go to hell and stay away from you. I told him youd made your choice and he needed to deal.
So he hit you?
No. He said you belonged on his team and if I tried to recruit you youd be killed.
So you hit him?
I did. Broke his nose, too.
I scrubbed a hand down my face. Lets backtrack a little. He has a team?
He snorted. You mean he hasnt asked you to help him?
Help him with what? As with Mr. Ankh and Dr. Wright, I had my suspicions.
The zombies.
No. Until a few minutes ago, I had no idea he was involved.
Hes not involved. Hes a menace.
And Cole was one big bowl of confusion. Youre not making any sense. Hes either involved or he isnt. Which is it?
Cole banged the back of his head on a shelf, sighed and said, Listen up, because I will never repeat this. I shouldnt be talking about it now, especially considering youre dating him.
I stomped my foot. Im not
Justin used to be one of us, he said, causing me to shut my mouth. Then he met up with a group of people who claimed to want to destroy the zombies but have only ever tried to stuff the evil spirits inside of living bodies. Think possession, he added, probably sensing my increased confusion. Remember the way you returned to your body?
No, actually, I dont. Id been in too much pain.
His chuckle was without humor. Thats right. I had to do it for you. Anyway, these people say what theyre doing is research to discover ways to counteract the zombies infection, but how can we believe them when theyre willing to hurt innocent people to do that research?
How do you know that?
After Justin told me about them, I visited their lab, saw people in cages, each living person in different stages of decomposition. And were pretty sure those researchers are the ones who burned down my old house.
Labs. Cages. Decomposition. Burning houses! Justin works for the people in the hazmat suits? Who were, apparently, just as evil as the zombies.
Yes.
Well, he hasnt mentioned them to me, I promise. I wouldnt give him a chance to mention them, either. I wanted nothing to do with anyone who was hoping to stuff something evil into something good.
Cole pinched the bridge of his nose. Justin will tell them about my interest in you, so theyll be contacting you sooner or later, in some way or another. Theyve contacted all of us. If you refuse to help them, theyll try and convince you and it wont be a pleasant experience.
I dont care.
A heavy pause. Then Your grandparents will care. A sigh. Maybe youd be better off walking away from me, Ali.
What? No!
Your life is about to change. Youll be out almost every night. Probably be caught by your grandparents, definitely in constant trouble. Your free time will disappear, and your grades will drop. Youll be hurt all the time, probably suffer broken bones. Sometimes you might even hope to die.
So? I would be killing the very creatures that had destroyed my familyI would be stopping those creatures from destroying other families. That was a fair enough trade.
So. I dont want that for you. If you arent careful, social services will come knocking on your grandparents door. Theyll accuse them of beating you. Thats happened to a few of us.
Ill be careful, I said on a trembling breath.
Youll never be careful enough. Besides, training you will take too much time and until you know what youre doing, youll only be a liability.
He was saying this to see if it would scare me away. Right? He needed to know I was strong enough to defend myself verbally. Right? You were a liability at one point. So was Frosty, and so was Mackenzie. But you learned, and you thrived. I can do that, too.
Besides everything else, he continued as if I hadnt spoken, you will make enemies other than Justin if you hang out with me, and they will strike at you every chance they get.
Okay, yeah. Hed heard the rumors. I dont care, I repeated.
I wished I could see his expression as he said, Easy enough to say now, but one day youll crumble. Ive seen it happen one too many times.
Well, that day isnt today, I blustered on, trying to ignore the hurt inside me. Hurt that was swirling, burning. He wasnt testing me. He just wanted me gone.
When it comes, and it will, it wont be with me. Were done.
There it was. A straight-up admission. He wanted nothing more to do with me. Well, fine. Okay. Id go.
ButI didnt want to go.
Is Mackenzie the one whos telling everyone I nailed you and all your friends? I asked. He owed me that much.
He shook his head, the darkness giving way as a small beam of light seeped from the crack in the door. How menacing he suddenly appeared, the expression Id wanted to see hauntedand oh, so haunting. Thats not her style. Shes very up-front in her dealings. When she dislikes someone, she doesnt go behind their back. She gets in their face.
Unconvinced, I splayed my arms. Who else would tell everyone I slept with you and all your friends in the same night? Who else would know I was with your friends?
I dont know who did it, but Ill find out and take care of him. Or her.
What he didnt say: the damage was already done, and there was nothing either of us could do to fix it. I dont need you to fight my battles, but a little concern, compassion, fury on my behalf support would have been nice.
I could hear him grating his teeth. If I thought, even for a second, that Mackenzie was responsible, believe me, Id have her in here and on her knees begging for your forgiveness. Just trust me on this. Shes not as bad as you think.
Do you still like her? I asked before I could stop myself.
Not the way you mean. No hesitation from him, at least. When she moved in with me and my dad, I broke things off.
My mind snagged on two things. The first squeaked out unbidden. Youre shacked up with your ex-girlfriend? The second I refused to voice. If hed broken things off with Mackenzie only because shed moved into his home, he could still have feelings for hercould have been using me.
Again, not the way youre implying. We dont share a room or anything like that. I havent slept with her since
Since? I prompted. Shut up! This isnt any of your business. Hes trying to cut you loose. Trying? Ha! He has. Show some pride and let him.
He massaged the back of his neck. Since a few weeks before school started. And that is not to be repeated. I dont talk about this stuff with anyone.
Less than a month, then. Hardly any time at all. Why did you stop? Enough!
Rather than issuing a rebuke, he said, Because I didnt need the complication of a live-in girlfriend.
Not because hed stopped caring for her. I might barf.
Just before my seventh-grade year, and only a few weeks after our chat about virginity, my mom had again sat me down and said, Alice, theres one fact of life that is never changing. Boys think about sex a lot. As in all the time a lot. They will do and say anything to get you into bed, and not even half of it will be true. Be careful, and dont forget another never-changing fact. You are a treasure, and you deserve to be loved rather than used.
All this time, I could have been nothing more than a substitute for Mackenzie, someone for Cole to pass time with until she moved out. How did you guys end up in the same house?
A shrug of those wide shoulders. Her dad and stepmom were tired of dealing with her and kicked her out.
Mackenzie, unwanted by the people who were supposed to care for her most. I so did not want to feel sorry for her, especially now that I knew she was living with Cole, but fine, whatever. I softened just a little.
So. Yeah. This is it for us, he said. Were not going to get to know each other better. Were not going to hang out, and Im not going to train you.
I barely bit back my cry of denialof pain. Id lost so much already that I couldnt bear the thought of losing him, too. No wonder Id pushed him so hard, abandoning my pride.
Why did you tell me all of this if you were going to kick me out of your life? I shouted.
I dont know, he growled. All I do know is that this is for your own good. One day, you might even thank me.
Id give this one more shot. Just one. What about the visions? Please. Change your mind. Want me.
For all we know, theyre glimpses of what were supposed to avoid.
I flinched, his words echoing hollowly through my mind, at last breaking me. No, he wasnt going to change his mind. And now, I didnt want him to. He was done with me, and I was done with him. Id tried, at least. He couldnt say the same.
Im sorry, he said. I shouldnt have
No. You should have. But I wont thank you later. Ill thank you now. He might have broken me down, but I would never let him know it. I rallied my wits. I was stronger than this. You were right. Were no good for each other. See you around, Cole.
The hinges groaned as I opened the door. Without a backward glance, I strode away from him. Though my vision was blurring, I could see that kids were milling around the kitchen, still drinking beer.
Someone grabbed my arm from behind, stopping me. Do you have a ride?
Cole had followed me out.
Yes, I said, sounding as far away as I felt. Well, I would have one. Id ask Kat.
All right then. He let me go, moved away from me and disappeared around the corner.
I stayed where I was. Id finally found a purpose for my life, a way to deal with my loss, and he wanted to take that away from me. Newsflash, Cole Holland. I wont let you. I wouldnt be fighting the zombies with himso what. I wouldnt learn trade secrets from himso the heck what. I would do everything on my own.
I stomped into the living room. First thing I noticed was that Justin was gone and so was the dark-haired girl whod doctored him. Mackenzie, Frosty and Bronx were gone, too. I found Kat on the couch, two-fisting bottles of beer. She was paler than before, trembling even.
Having dealt with my father in all the stages of his alcoholism, I knew how to handle herwith force. I pried the bottles from her kung fu grip and waved my fingers. Keys.
Why?
Im driving you home. I kept the fact that Id had only a few lessons and hadnt yet gotten my license to myself.
Oh, all right. He always does that, you know, she grumbled as she dug in a hidden pocket of her dress. Jumps to obey Coles every command. Go, Cole says, and he goes. You need to fix that. I mean, I was hoping youd distract Mr. Authority, keep him busy so that Frosty could crawl after me properly.
I think Cole just dumped me, I grumbled back. I didnt think; I knew. At least the hurt was fading. I was even numbing out. Besides, we werent really dating.
What! He dumped you? Justin must have beat him senseless. She held out a glittery key chain in the shape of a cat. Theres no other reason hed do something so stupid. Youre the best thing thats ever happened to him!
Thank you for the vote of confidence, but he just wasnt into me enough. I took the key and helped her up. She swayed, so I wound my arm around her and ushered her toward the door. No one tried to proposition me. Had they, I might have shoved their noses into their brains.
Lets get married, me and you, and have a thousand babies together, Kat said. Thatll show em!
What a fantastic idea. Lets talk about it in the morning.
Outside, cool night air stroked my arms and face. Clouds had appeared en masse, obscuring the moonI jerked to a halt. There was my rabbit. Bigger than before, even brighter, holding something small and round in its hands.
Whats wrong? Kat asked. Is your car phobia acting up again?
Something like that.
Youll do fine. My car likes to steer itself, hence the reason for my crashes. But seriously, you wont have any trouble.
We should I saw a flash of movement behind the far treesaw the train of a dirty wedding gownsmelled the rot.
Too soon, I thought, ice crystallizing in my veins. The zombies shouldnt be out tonight. They should be resting.
Is that cloud spinning or is it just me? Kat asked.
I glanced at the rabbit. The round thing in its hands now had hands of its ownclock hands, tick, tick, ticking away. It had come to warn me, I realized. Not about a car wreck, but about the zombies. The time had come; they were here.
Go inside, Kat. Dont let anyone out here, okay? I gave her a push toward the door. I figuredhoped, prayedCole, Reeves dad, someone, had doubled up the Blood Line thing around the perimeter. I wasnt sure how that worked or how long it lasted, but figured the more the better.
But why?
Dont ask questions. Please, I said. Just trust me.
Grumbling under her breath, she obeyed, tripping back through the front door to hopefully guard it. As I stared at the shadows around the treesdancing now, multiplyingI dug my phone out of my pocket and dialed Cole.
No answer. I was dumped to his voice mail. Avoiding me? Whatever. I left a message. I think the zombies are at Reeves. As I spoke, I used my free hand to reach for the blade in my purse.
A body lumbered into a thin ray of moonlightfollowed by another and another. I gulped, fear spiking through me. Scratch that, I added, then did a double take when I spied my little sister flickering into view beside one of the zombies. She was pale, still in her pink tutu and wringing her hands together. They are here. Click. Emma?
Go inside, Ali, she said, and vanished.
I cant, I replied anyway. Right now, I was the only one capable of seeing the zombies, the only one capable of defeating themand yes, I was beyond inexperienced. But this was what Id wanted. A chance to save the world.
For better or worse, Id take it.
12Off with Her Head!
The first set of problems popped up rather quickly. One, I had no idea how to shove my spirit out of my body. The journal had mentioned faith as the cause of the separation, yes, but how was I supposed to develop faith? Or was I supposed to yield to the power inside mepower I couldnt feel?
Two, I had no idea what would follow if I succeeded but Kat failed, and someone came outside and tried to talk to my unresponsive body. And lets not forget that Kat could succeed, I could fail, and someone could walk out the unguarded back door just in time to die.
At least the solution to both points was the same: I had to draw the zombies as far away from the house as possible.
A live wire of raw nerve endings, I drew on a growing well of courage and leaped into action, clutching my blade as I sprinted toward my enemy. Lord, I prayed. Give me strength, speed and maybe one of those hazmat suits.
Just before I reached the first two zombiesand oh, sweet heaven, there were eight more just behind the line of trees that separated the Ankhs property from the forestI shouted, Dinners ready! Come and get me! and veered left.
A chorus of grunts and growls erupted, each zombie veering with me, following as Id hoped. As I ran, I glanced over my shoulderthen had to glance again. Bridezilla had honed in on me, moving faster and faster with every step. Her Groom of Doom wouldnt be too far behind her. He never was.
I shifted my scopeand boom, there he was. Buy one, get one free. Though one of his ankles was twisted at an odd angle, he had a surprisingly swift gait, practically gliding over the ground.
Either whatever damage was done to the body before death followed into the spirit or Cole and friends had fought him before and hurt him, but hed gotten away before the death-glow.
If theyd failed to defeat him, what chance did I, the novice, have of success?
Cant think like that.
Because I was watching what was happening behind me rather than my step, I slammed into a tree and ricocheted backward. Stars winked in every direction as I fought to suck in a single molecule of air. Panic threatened to overwhelm me. Get up! Id seen a few episodes of Animal Planet. I knew what happened to stationary targets.
I floundered to my feet. Another quick look behind me, and I yelped. Too close, too close, they were way too close. I sprinted forward, effectively avoiding the tree.
Come on, Bell. You can do this. I could lead the zombies through the forest, camouflaging myself within the foliage and waiting until backup (hopefully) arrived. Except Cole had mentioned that trip wires littered the forest outside my backyard. Id bet there were traps out here, too, though how an intangible spirit could trip a tangible wire, I wasnt yet sure. But I could probably trip them no problem.
The forest was out.
Maybe I could make a dash for the road, praying any cars that came by would stop, let me in and speed away. But then again, involving innocent people in cars would defeat the purpose of not involving the innocent people inside Reeves house.
The road was out.
Great. I had nowhere to go.
Okay, rethinking. Reeves dad was the suspicious type. There had to be cameras inside and out, as well as all along the property line, monitoring everything, and someone in the know had to be watching the video feed. Mr. Ankh had certainly caught Kat and I soon enough.
SoId have to brave the forest, traps and all. If I stayed within a few hundred yards of the house, I would hopefully avoid the bulk of them. I could try to corral the zombies in one location and, if possible, burn them with my hand the way Cole had done.
Sometime during all of this, Mr. Ankh would surely find me.
I quickened my pace, leaves and branches slapping at my cheeks. With the lush canopy overhead, I lost some much-needed moonlight, as well as all the light pouring from the house. Darkness engulfed me, causing my fear to spike. Still, I kept my eyes on the groundin front of me this timesearching for anything man-made that might be snaking from the thicker tree roots. I didnt want to find myself dangling from a branch, an all-you-can-eat buffet for every zombie in the area.
I noticed a bushel of brittle leaves ahead and wondered if they had been purposely piled to hide something, considering the rest of the area was pristine. I hopped over them. Two seconds later, I heard a whoosh of air, a grunt. Glanced back. Sure enough, the Groom of Doom had been snagged and now hung upside down, unable to fight his way free. Sweet!
If only the others had been caught, but no, they drew ever closer to my heels. Faster, faster I raced, my heart pounding like a jackhammer. Adrenaline rushed through me in a great flood, causing my body to sizzle and sweat to drip down my back in rivulets. My bones vibrated and my injuries ached.
Despite my condition, the zombies would not defeat me. I wouldnt let them. I would fight them, no matter the pain or outcome. I would
The heat inside me mutated into a chilling cold. My steps never faltered, I never changed course, but I suddenly felt lighter, freer, my steps surer. I glanced backward only to see my body frozen in place, one foot in front of the other as if Id stopped moving midrun.
The zombies ignored my body as if it were merely one of the trees around them.
Faith. Id somehow exhibited faith and I was now in spirit form. Yes!
I sprinted to the right, too close to a thick trunk but not caring because I assumed Id mist through ituntil the jaggedness of the bark scratched my arm. What the heck? Even though I was without the solid covering of my body, things like wood would still be solid to me? That wasnt logicalor fair.
Figure it out later. Concentrate now. I scanned the night, searching for the best place to stop and corral.
In the distance, flickers of light caught my attention. As I honed in on them, those flickers became glowing smears ofsomething. I frowned. A large rock loomed ahead, glowing so brightly it was like a piece of the sun had fallen from the sky.
Fetid breath trekked over the back of my neck. Fearing I was about to be grabbed, or worse, bitten, I released a scream as I jumped over the rock.
Behind me, I heard a crash.
Still on my feet, unharmed, I threw another glance behind me. The zombie that had been closing in on me had tripped over the rock. Thered been another zombie close to his heels, and that zombie fell, too. The others were smarter and jumped as I had, and oh, they had multiplied. They were like a swarm of flies. As soon as I swatted one away, three others took his place.
My backup had better arrive soon!
Hoping the glowing smears were here to help me, that they were arrows meant to lead me to the right direction, I followed them. There was a dead end about a yard away, limbs and leaves forming a solid wall. I had nowhere else to turn and kept goingbursting through, I discovered a wide-open space.
I spun. Bridezilla and a tall, beefy male ruptured the same wall, coming at me without pause. She wore that dirty gown. He was shirtless, his arms pale, his chest black and bubbled and scabbed over.
Grunting, they launched at me. Teeth stained with ooze snapped, at the ready.
Hobble them, my dad used to tell me. If youre surrounded, hobble as many of your opponents as possible so that you can run without being chased by all of them.
Now that I was solid to the zombies and they to me, that advice would work. I went low, using my knife to slash both zombies in the thigh in one smooth motion. They flew over me, toppled, but quickly gained their bearings and climbed to their feet. Bridezilla made another play for me and snagged several locks of my hair, yanking. A sharp throb created a staccato rhythm in my scalp as I jerked away from her. Of course, both zombies immediately swiped at me.
I dove for one of the tree trunks outside the circle, thinking, hoping, a trap rested at the base and the zombies would be swept into the air. Something, anything. Only, they werent swept up. They werent swallowed by a hidden hole in the ground. They werent even deterred. Grasping hands pulled at me....
I twisted and kicked the male in the stomach, sending him stumbling backward. At the same time I grabbed Bridezilla by the hair. The strands ripped free, but my momentum wrenched her forward, slamming her face into the tree. Her nose shattered on impact, and she sagged to the ground. The inactivity wouldnt last long, I knew.
The rest of the gang arrived. I kicked the first to reach me, and just like his friend, he stumbled backward. The rest converged. I punched. I stabbed. I punted, dancing this way and that to avoid being seized.
I made little progress.
I would have settled for being caught in Coles trap myself. Id be swept up, out of reach.
Out of reach Heck, maybe I should just climb the tree.
Climb. Yeah. I pushed my boot into a groove on the trunk and raised one of my arms. My hand snagged on a smooth protrusion. A glowing protrusion, I realized with a glance up. My bicep strained as I hefted myself a good ways off the ground. As I kicked with my free leg, I raised my other arm and found another glowing protrusion; my boot even caught on another groove. I gained a few more inchesmoremore.
The higher up I was, the brighter the glow was, until I could make out the rungs of a ladder nailed into the side of the tree. This wasnt happenstance. Mr. Ankh had to have made this.
One of the zombies shackled my ankle and tugged; I held on to the tier for all I was worth and nailed him in the face with my other leg. The moment he released me, I scrambled the rest of the way up the tree.
When I reached the top, I was panting, air rasping through a too-tight throat. The zombies attempted to follow me up, but they couldnt figure out the mechanics.
Hallelujah, Id just won myself a reprieve.
I looked around, counting the competition. Sixteen. To win, all I had to do was incapacitate each one, place my hand over their hearts and turn my palm into a flamethrower. Easy.
Yeah. Right.
Bridezilla recovered from her lobotomy and joined the others, scratching and clawing at the barkand finally making progress up the ladder. Dread pierced me. So much for a reprieve.
I knew what I needed to do, and palmed a second blade. Take out as many as I could and run, just as my dad had said. Dont think anymore. Just act. I jumped, somersaulting over the zombies. When I landed, my knees knocked together, jarring me, rattling my brain against my skull, but I swiftly turned, my arm arcing, both weapons slashing. I nailed a male in the throat so deeply his spine got a nice introduction to the knifes hilt. A roar ripped from him as he careened to the side.
There wasnt time to place my hand on his chest to try and flame broil him. The female batted at me, striking me across the cheek. I stumbled, tripped over something solid and fell. I meant to leap to my feet, I really did. Meant to work my way back up the tree and repeat that little vaulting/neck-slashing trick. Except, strong arms shot out from behind me, wrapping around my waist and holding me down.
Teeth embedded in my shoulder. I screamed as agonizing pain seared me, flames seeming to lick over me, driving out the cold. My eyesight hazed, and my muscles clenched into hard little knots.
Ankh, I shouted. Cole. No footsteps sounded, no big strong man rushed to the rescue.
This couldnt be the end. Id faced death several times before and come out okay. I would again.
I will kill you! I shouted, furious that Id allowed myself to become this helpless. Youre dead!
To my utter shock, my right hand instantly heated, glowing with the same concentrated white light as the smears. I reached up to grab the zombie still nibbling on my shoulder, but only managed to brush my fingertips against his forehead.
That was enough.
He burst into ash.
Dark particles rained down, the glow fading from my hand. My shock magnified. Why had How had Weve learned that whatever we speak while in spirit form happens, as long as it doesnt violate someones free will and as long as we believe it.
Coles words filled my mind.
I tried to stand but couldnt find the strength. Zombieseverywhereall around me
Stay away! I shouted.
They glanced at my hand, saw that the glow was fadinggoneand dove for me, pinning me down. Just like that, it was Open Season on Ali. I tried to push Bridezilla away, but she leaned down and bit me. They all bit and bit and bit.
Let go! Illkill
No one obeyed, and my hand did not fire back up. Another starburst of pain blistered through me. I released another scream, this one so shrill I was sure my eardrums would bleed for eternity.
A very short eternity.
I was alone, already bitten countless times. They were like animals, groaning in ecstasy, sinking those teeth in, shaking me as though they were dogs and I was their favorite bone. I was a goner.
Maimkilldestroy
The words filled my mind, some kind of slick, sulfur-scented oil seeming to fill my veins, coat my skin.
MaimI should maim someone, I thought dazedly.
KillI should kill someone.
DestroyI should destroy EVERYTHING.
Bridezillas jaw suddenly slackened. My arm fell onto the ground, limp, useless. Rattling leaves, pounding footsteps. The zombie chomping on my shoulder abandoned me. More rattling, a swish of air, a terrible roar. I tried to sit up, but again I couldnt manage it. The burning hadnt stopped, hadnt even dulled. Had only increased.
Something divine suddenly scented the air. My mouth watered. A taste. I wanted a taste of it. Would main, kill and destroy for it.
A sting shot through my neck. A heavy weight settled over me.
The dark desires dulled. The something divine morphed into something wretched. Bile burned a path up my throat, and I gagged.