“All right, Doc—” Paula held up a hand as if to cut herself off. “I’m sorry. Mr. Johnson, is it?”
“Alvin Johnson, when there’s any chance someone might overhear us.” He didn’t bother with his fake accent.
Ned leaned in and spoke up. “Pardon me for being the one to poke the elephant in the room, but Doc, why is it you’re so...”
“Blond?” Paula supplied.
Ned shook his head. “Human. Look at his eyes! And how tan his skin is!”
Turning back to Alek, Paula’s eyes seemed to drink him in. “I guess I was so distracted by the hair I didn’t even notice.”
“It’s not like you didn’t have other distractions,” said Hannah, with a nod toward Chris.
Paula grinned up at her son. “Well, you got that right.”
Alek held up a hand to silence them. “You all know Zach and I were working on a vaccine for the zombie virus.”
“That’s right,” said Ned. “Where is Zach, anyway?”
The question knocked the wind out of him like a punch to the gut. Alek glanced at Hannah, who reached over to hold his hand. He gave it a grateful squeeze. He coughed to clear the lump trying to form in his throat. “Zach didn’t make it.”
He gave them a moment to process the news. Paula’s hand flew to her chest as she cast a furtive glance toward her son. Ned squeezed his eyes shut and stepped out into the hall, while Captain Burell hung his head in silence.
“He went to the lab while the rest of us ran to the tornado shelters,” Alek continued, “and kept working while the storm raged. When he thought he had it he tested it on himself. But his test was premature.”
Ned stepped back up to the doorway. “Tell me he didn’t become one of those things.”
Alek was silent a moment, which was all the answer they needed. Ned swore and banged a fist against the bars.
“But not for long,” said Alek. “I took care of him. He’s buried back at the base.”
Again, he gave them a moment of silence to remember their fallen friend. The lump in his throat returned, making it difficult to continue. He gave Hannah’s hand another squeeze. “Tell them what happened next.”
She nodded and stood up. With her arms folded over her stomach, she told them about their own work on the vaccine, picking up where Zach had left off, and her own decision to test it on herself, unbeknownst to Alek. They listened quietly, disbelievingly, as she told them how she’d been bitten, and Alek’s desperation to save her at all costs. How she had woken up stronger, faster, enough so to take on Esme in a physical fight, and how Alek had chased her into the sunlight, only to find it had no effect on him.
Alek took over and recounted how they had saved Chris, leaving out any details that might upset Paula.
For a long time, everyone sat in stunned silence. At last Paula looked up at Alek. “But, what does it all mean? Doc, you’re human?”
He nodded. “Hence my disguise.”
“But, what about those special powers Hannah talked about?” She turned and looked at Hannah as she spoke.
Hannah hesitated a moment before removing one of her contacts. Paula gasped. “Oh, sweetie! You’re a vampire?”
“No. I’m still human. I’m just—”
“Enhanced,” said Alek. “We’re human beings, enhanced with vampire DNA.”
She looked from him, to Hannah, and then Chris. “All of you?”
Chris shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and looked down at the floor. He nodded.
Paula got up and crossed over to him. “Show me your eyes.”
“Mom—”
“Let me see!”
He sighed, but he obeyed. He removed his contacts and looked his mother in the eye. She reached up and took his face in her hands. “Oh, my baby.” She pulled him down and kissed his cheek, then turned back to Alek. “I don’t care what you did, Doc, as long as my boy’s alive.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, because I’ll be asking for volunteers to take the antiserum. That’s what I’d like each of you to explain to the others. There’s still plenty of time to decide. The vaccine only exists inside each of our bloodstreams. I need time to create enough to go around. But so far it’s only been tried on a bite victim. I need to test it on someone who was never bitten.”
“I’ll do it,” said Burell.
“Like I said, there’s plenty of time—”
“I don’t need time. If this will level the playing field between us and the monsters, count me in. Let me know when it’s ready.”
Alek nodded. “I will. For now, this needs to stay between the six of us. When the time is right, we’ll spread the word among our people, tell them everything we told you. But if any of this gets back to the vampires, they’ll shut us down, and there’s no telling what they’ll do to the three of us.”
Paula spun toward Chris. “Put your contacts back in.”
“Mom, relax.”
“Don’t tell me to relax. Do it!”
“Okay, okay!”
Chris’s deference to Paula relieved Alek. The sharp edge that had formed in the boy seemed to soften in his mother’s presence. He hoped that being near her would bring him the healing he so badly needed.
“You should all go now. It’s best if we’re not seen grouping up together like this too often.”
Captain Burell and Ned both turned to go, but Ned hung back. He came into the cell and held a hand out to Alek, who took it and shook it. “I’m sorry about Zach. I know he was a close friend of yours.”
That lump started to form again. Alek coughed to clear it and released Ned’s hand. “Thank you.”
With a nod, he turned to go.
“Well, I guess I’ll go help Chris get settled in his room,” said Paula. “If you don’t mind, I’ll take this precious one with me. You two must be exhausted and I figure you could use a break.”
“That would be awesome,” said Hannah. “Thank you, Paula.”
“Don’t even mention it, sugar. I can’t get enough of this little man. One thing, though—did you bring any diapers? I’m detecting that the one he’s got on is well past its prime.”
Hannah got up and unzipped her pack to pull out a diaper. She handed it to Paula, then reached back in and produced a package of wipes. “I’m sure you’ll need these.”
She also took out an empty bottle and a can of formula. “He should also be fed. I had a bottle prepped for him before we left, but after three hours in the back of a hot truck I’m afraid to give it to him.”
“That’s probably for the best. Christopher, can you carry those?”
Hannah handed them off to Chris, who nodded to her and Alek before turning to leave. Hannah walked Paula and Noah the short distance to the door. As Paula stepped out in the hall, Hannah grabbed hold of the bars framing the doorway and leaned out to kiss her brother on the cheek. “You be good for Miss Paula, Boo. Sissy’ll see you after she gets a nap.”
Paula’s gaze landed on Hannah’s left hand. “Y’all didn’t tell us everything that happened over the last week, did you?”
Hannah looked back at Alek, who glanced down at his wedding ring. “I found them in the store while I was rummaging for some bleach. I hope you don’t mind—”
“Just tell me if it means what I think it means.”
He looked back up at Hannah, and she smiled. She turned back to Paula and nodded.
“Well, don’t that beat all? You two don’t need separate cells, you need a honeymoon suite.” She came back into the cell and planted a kiss on Hannah’s cheek. Then she went over to Alek and pulled him down for one, too. “Congratulations, you two! And don’t worry, I’ll get y’all some privacy. Leave everything to ol’ Paula.” She turned around and made a shooing motion toward Chris, who was still waiting for her in the corridor. “Let’s go, son!”
Hannah came back to the bunk and sank down onto it. She looked up at Alek. “Welp, here we are. Home sweet home, I guess.”
He sat beside her and wrapped her in his a
rms. “Home is wherever I’m with you.”
She smiled. “I always liked that song.”
“It’s a song?”
She let out a tired laugh and shifted to put her arms around him. Resting her head against his chest, she said, “Some honeymoon. You always take me to the nicest places.”
“They haven’t all been hellish.”
“No. The base was nice, while it lasted.”
He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “Someday we’ll have a real home. A big farmhouse, like you always wanted, where we can bring Noah up in peace.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“We’ll make it happen.”
She tilted her head back to look up at him. “Promise?”
“Whatever it takes.” He took hold of her chin and dipped his head for a kiss. It was only that morning they had lain in bed together, holding and caressing each other, spent from a night of lovemaking. It already seemed like ages ago, but kissing her revived the memory of all the ways she’d touched and tasted him, all the ways her body had responded to his touch. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against hers.
“Are you all right?” she whispered.
He cleared his throat. “I just need to take a breath.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
He leaned back and studied her. She looked as exhausted as he felt. “We should get some sleep. I know these bunks are small, but...”
“We’ll fit. Move over.”
He kicked off his shoes and stretched out on his side, his back pressed against the cell wall. A moment later she spooned next to him, her head resting on his arm. Within moments she slept, wrapped safely in his arms.
It took him longer. His mind raced with all they still had to do, and not knowing how to accomplish it. But he also wanted to remain conscious long enough to savor the feeling of her pressed up against him, her heart beating so close to his, her soft exhalations on his skin. Her breathing was hypnotic, and soon he joined her in slumber.
SIXTEEN
CELINE FOUND REYNOLDS in the minimum security wing, which served as quarters for the vampire staff, curled up in her bunk with a battered paperback copy of Jane Eyre. She was always reading that book. She laid it down and sat up when Celine knocked on her door.
“What’s up?”
“Where’s your bunk mate?”
“Her shift just started. Why?”
“We need to talk.”
Reynolds got to her feet. “It’s a nice night. Let’s go outside.”
Their yard was larger and greener than the maximum security yard. It was also less secure, a tall chain-link fence topped with razor wire the only thing separating them from the world outside. But the zeds had no interest in the vampires who used it and never strayed from the thick prison wall. Reynolds and Celine strolled over to the fence, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and prying ears.
“Is everything okay?” asked Reynolds. “Julia didn’t recognize the doctor, did she?”
“It was close, but that’s not why I’m here. You’re not going to believe this.”
“Believe what?”
“Julia put me in charge.”
“In charge of what? Another mission?”
“In charge of everything. She made me supervisor of this whole camp.”
Reynolds’ mouth fell open. “That’s... that’s amazing! Do you know what this means?”
Celine nodded. “It means it’s time to start recruiting. Once we know who’s with us, I can position them to make sure we pull this off. Which reminds me, I’m not the only one getting promoted.”
“Who else?”
Celine grinned. “You.”
Reynolds blinked at her.
“How would you like to take over my old job? You would report directly to me, and you’d also be assisting Julia. Which is perfect, because you’d be able to keep an eye on communications from the Council.”
“That’s... I mean. Wow.”
“And it would get you off your feet. I know how much you hate guard duty.”
“Okay, you talked me into it.” She smiled.
“Great! You’ll start tomorrow. Be at my desk in the morning, and we’ll go over all of your duties. But first I need you to do something for me.”
“Sure, anything. But, Celine...”
Celine’s excitement wavered in the face of Reynolds’ less enthusiastic response. “What?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. This is wonderful, but doesn’t it seem a little too good to be true? Are you sure Julia doesn’t suspect anything? That she’s not setting you up?”
“Why? Don’t you think I’m cut out for this?”
“I know you are. That’s not what I’m saying and you know it.”
Celine sighed. “I think Julia thinks all of this is beneath her and couldn’t wait to hand it off to somebody. Apparently putting me in command of today’s mission was a test to see if I was leadership material.”
“You’re sure that’s all it is?”
“No. I’m not sure about anything, not completely. We still have to be careful. I know that.”
Reynolds folded her arms. “Okay, then. What would you like me to do?”
“I was thinking on the way over here. When we put out feelers to see who might come over to our side, it’s best if we leave me out of it. Make it seem like it’s all coming from you. With me in charge of personnel, anyone who turns you in will report to me. That way I can protect you and anyone else who joins us.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
“Have you given any thought to who we should approach?”
She nodded. “I still think we should start with Sergei. Branson, too. She’s young enough she might still have family out there in the other camps. It’s probably a good idea to start with the younger vampires in general. Those who’ve been around a long time are probably more attached to their immortality. I think some of them are so old they can’t even remember what it’s like to be human, let alone miss it.”
“Sounds like a good strategy. Make a list and give it to me tomorrow.”
“Okay. Have you already discussed all of this with the doctor?”
“I haven’t had a chance. I think it’s best if I don’t interact with him or his people any more than necessary. That’s what I wanted you to do for me, if you have time tonight.”
“Sure. My shift is over, but I can make up an excuse to go back out on the floor. But do you really want me to be the one to discuss the details with him?”
“No. But I need you to deliver a message.”
HANNAH AND ALEK WOKE from their naps in time to hit the showers and line up in the cafeteria for dinner. Without the supplies Alek had regularly supplied the prison from his own camp, the meal was more meager than the last time Hannah had eaten there. Although the prison’s vegetable garden still thrived, for protein they were each served a lump of reconstituted eggs. But as famished as she was, it might as well have been eggs Benedict.
Paula waved to them as they carried their trays into the dining room. Making their way to her, they passed the table where Hannah used to sit with her friend Phyllis. A young family Hannah had encountered briefly back at the base now sat there, and they gave her curious looks as she slowed to stare at the table.
If only she had insisted on taking Phyllis with them, she might still be alive. Hannah felt a stab of grief and anger at the needless slaughter that had taken her friend’s life.
Alek’s hand caressed the small of her back. “You okay?”
She shook her head. “If I ever get my hands on Esme...”
“I know.”
He nodded to the family, and she let him push her along, guiding her to Paula’s table. Chris sat next to her, and she held Noah in her lap. He smiled a toothless smile and reached for Hannah.
“Hey there, Boo.” She made herself smile as she set her tray down and gathered him up. “Did you have fun with Aunt Paula?”
“I don’t know about fu
n,” said Paula. “He spent most of the time sleeping. After I changed and fed him he went out like a light.”
“Well at least you won’t be fussy for a while.” She pulled a bottle out of the pocket of her jumper and held it up for him. “Look what Sissy brought!”
“Were you two able to get some rest?”
Alek nodded. “We needed it, too. Thank you for watching him.” He took the baby from Hannah, along with the bottle. “I’ll feed him. You eat.”
Paula looked slyly at them both. “Well, it was good that he slept. It gave me time to work on a little project.”
“What project?” asked Hannah.
“It’s a surprise. I’ll show you after we eat.” She turned to Alek. “Well, Do—I mean, Mr. Johnson. I cannot get over how normal you look. Your punk rocker hair notwithstanding.”
He frowned and passed a hand over his hair. “Did I appear so different before?”
“You stood out.” She raised a forkful of salad to her lips and paused. “All you vam—” She lowered her fork and looked around before leaning in to whisper. “All you folks of nighttime persuasion did.” She turned her attention to Chris, who pushed his food around his plate in silence. “What’s the matter, son? Aren’t you hungry?”
“Not really.” He laid his fork down and pushed his plate away. “I haven’t had much of an appetite lately.”
“I wish you’d eat something. You need to keep up your strength.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ve got strength in spades.”
Alek looked up from Noah’s noisy feeding to scrutinize Chris. “Do you have any other symptoms I should know about?”
“No. I’m just not hungry right now, okay?”
“Okay. But let me know if it persists.”
One of the vampire guards made her way between the rows of tables. It was the one who had given Hannah a friendly smile after their arrival. As she drew near their table, she made eye contact with Hannah before looking pointedly at Alek. Then she quickly looked away.
“Ale—Alvin,” she corrected herself. When he looked at her, she inclined her head toward the guard. “She was on this morning’s search team. I think she wants our attention.”
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