by T. A. Brock
Cori’s head popped up. She had a dreamy little smile on her face. “Your heart just started beating faster.”
Grayson felt like he’d been caught with his hand in a cookie jar. He wanted to correct her and remind her that he didn’t actually have a heart anymore—at least not a normal heart. But he let it go.
“Are you…blushing?” she asked, astonished, perfect eyebrows arched.
“No. Zombies don’t blush.”
She giggled quietly. “Well, you’re doing something.”
His face felt cold. Which meant his mud had rushed to his cheeks. Not blushing exactly. More like…tanning.
“Come on, Cori,” he said, to cover up that he was becoming flustered. He also managed to give her a dirty look.
“I like knowing that you react like that.”
“Can we just drop it?”
She looked at him, her lips pursed. “Give me your hand.”
“What?”
“Your hand.” She placed his hand on her neck, his thumb resting on a pulse point. “Feel my heartbeat?”
Through her delicate skin he could feel the hard thump of her heart rushing blood through her veins. For a moment he was entranced by it.
“Now kiss me.”
He looked at her, questioning. “Right here? Now?”
“Yes. Kiss me.”
He figured it was a shame for her to have to ask a third time, so he wasted not a second more. As he kissed her, the pulse under his thumb increased its measure until it was a pounding staccato rhythm.
Grayson pulled back, staring at where his hand was on her neck, a slow smile spreading across his face. He did that. He’d made her heart beat faster with a simple kiss. Or maybe it wasn’t quite so simple. Maybe it was a very complicated, yet awesome, kiss.
“See,” she said, breathlessly.
He nodded, still amazed.
The song ended. “You wanna get out of here?”
Cori’s eyes darted around to find Peg. “What about the others?”
Grayson spotted her and Rex on the other side of the dance floor, doing a decent rendition of the Dougie to whatever fast song was now playing. “They’ll be fine.”
Cori grinned as she spotted them too. “Okay, let’s go.”
Chapter 25
Darn Heels
WESTLAND HEIGHTS HIGH backed up to a thick fringe of woods—the same woods that surrounded the cemetery and eventually led to the river. There was an extensive network of jogging and hiking trails, each ending in a different location of the city and many skirting the natural waterway. It was the kind of attraction the nature-loving people of Asher appreciated. Although Cori was a city girl, even she had to admit liking all the lush green things.
She wasn’t at all surprised when Grayson led her down one of the more secluded trails. A little sign posted at the entrance said, RIVER AHEAD 2 MILES.
All she could think was four-inch heels. But she didn’t say anything because she wanted to be alone with him. It was worth the aching feet.
When they were far enough down the path that the lights from the school could no longer be seen, she decided to say something before she developed blisters.
“How far are we going?”
He stopped and looked at her. “Do you want to go back?”
Cori bit her lip. “It’s my shoes.” She lifted up her dress to show him.
Grayson looked amused. “That explains a lot.” He smirked.
“What does that mean?”
He shrugged, a grin tugging at his lips. “You were lagging behind. And you look a little less shrimpy tonight.”
Cori rolled her eyes. “Ha. Ha. Very funny.” She walked on, determined to show him she could keep up. Before she got very far though, she found herself with her feet off the ground. In a move that really shouldn’t have been so easy, Grayson swept her up in his arms and started back down the trail.
“What are you doing?” she squealed.
“It’s not that much farther.”
“I can walk. Put me down.”
“No way. We’ll get there faster like this.”
“What, are you in a hurry?” she huffed.
He stared into her eyes and she wondered if he should be watching where he was going. “Not at all,” he whispered.
Cori was captivated for some reason. Maybe because of the intense way he spoke. Or maybe because his eyes seemed to dance. Like the day she’d pushed him in the river. He was happy.
She sighed in defeat and laid her head on his shoulder as he carried her.
It was dark out and the path was lit only by beams of moonlight that tangled between the branches of the trees. It should have been spooky, but Cori didn’t feel spooked. Ironically, she felt like she was in exactly the right place, at exactly the right time.
Before long, they reached a large clearing that went right up to the bank of the river. With the trees giving way to the moon, Cori could see the landscape clearly. The river was different here than it was by the graveyard. For one, it was wider, more significant—and deeper, she guessed. Also, the lack of trees in this area was quite a departure from the norm. But the way the stars twinkled above and reflected on the swiftly moving water made everything seem fantastical. Almost magical.
“What do you think?” Grayson asked.
She said the first thing that came to her mind. “It’s beautiful.” And it was. The sounds of the water rushing and the tree frogs chirping, the scent of pine and spruce and night blooming flowers, the feel of the breeze on her face…all of it under the magic of the moonlight worked together to make the moment utterly beautiful.
Cori turned to look at Grayson and was surprised at his expression. “What is it?” she asked. The powerful way he was looking at her was nearly alarming.
“Nothing.” He glanced quickly away, but she put a hand to his cheek to bring his gaze back to her.
“Tell me.”
“I just…there are things I want to tell you but I don’t know how.”
“What things?”
He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it, his expression turning into a scowl. He looked back toward the trail they’d come from and then scanned his head left to right as though he was looking for something.
“Grayson?”
He didn’t answer. Quickly, he set Cori back on her four-inch heels. With his nose in the air he turned in a complete circle. The look on his face was indescribable—part animal, part hunter.
“Grayson? What’s wrong?”
He turned to face her again. “I don’t know. There are zombies nearby. Several of them. At least three. I don’t recognize them.”
“What does that mean?” she whispered.
He put a finger to her lips and cocked his head to the side, listening. Cori couldn’t hear anything. She listened hard, but heard nothing. And then she could. Barely, she could make out the sound of brush rustling but it was inconsistent, a crash here, a rustle there.
In a flash, Grayson picked her back up and ran through the clearing toward the trail.
“Grayson?” she whimpered, trying to get her bearings.
Just as suddenly, he stopped and set her on her feet so that she was closest to the trees that bordered the left side of the trail. Grayson stood between her and whatever was coming toward them, facing the opposite set of trees.
“Are we in trouble?” she whispered fiercely.
“I don’t know. Something’s off. Something’s…not right. And they’re coming from both directions.” His voice was urgent.
Cori gripped the back of his suit jacket as the sound of stumbling through the brush came ever closer. But she could only hear it from one side. Branches cracking. Leaves crunching. And then it stopped. For a moment she was confused but then she realized the person—zombie—was standing in the middle of the clearing, staring at the river. She watched as he slowly turned away from the water, trying to decide on a different direction.
Grayson was right. Something was off about this guy.
He didn’t move right and he was too far away for her to get a good look but he seemed to be…deformed?
He took a slow, lumbering step toward the trail and then another. Soon he was close enough for Cori to see his face, and what she saw there was sure to give her nightmares for the rest of her natural life.
The zombie wasn’t deformed. He was falling apart. Literally. Huge sores pocked his face and oozed a rusty brown liquid. His lips were a mangled mess and one of his eyes was hanging slightly out of its socket. His hair had fallen out in chunks leaving raw bald spots exposed…and that was just his face.
“Oh, God,” Grayson whispered as he pushed Cori further behind him.
Instantly, the zombie’s head snapped up looking for the sound. He shuffled closer to them, grunting as he went. The sight was grisly.
Cori was gripping Grayson’s jacket so tight her knuckles ached. This was a monster. This was what her mind automatically went to when she thought of a zombie. This, she remembered from what little she’d learned, was a dangerous zombie. A very dangerous one…a contagious one.
Could they outrun him? He seemed to be struggling with his motor skills. Surely they could. Even with her god-awful heels.
The zombie stopped walking and sniffed the air. Suddenly, a gruesome smile spread the flesh that at one time used to be his lips. “Grayson…” he said in a voice that was a strange cross between a growl and a grunt.
Grayson went stock still. Cori wasn’t even sure if he was breathing. Seconds passed, or maybe minutes before he spoke…
When he did, it rang of utter despair.
“Leiv?”
Grayson stared in horror at the sight before him. At the same time his mind was racing to figure out how to get Cori away from Leiv before he could infect her. It was clear he was contagious.
“I’ve…beeeen…looking for you…bro.” The sound of his brother’s distorted voice was like a blade through the heart.
Leiv was completely unrecognizable, his body deep in stages of decomposition—hard to believe since Grayson had seen him only eight hours ago. Even his scent had changed to something putrid. Not the typical dead smell that Grayson associated with zombies, but the rank smell of rotting flesh.
Leiv was a rotter, and as good as dead. But Grayson couldn’t allow himself even a second to mourn the loss. He had to think. Get Cori away. They could run, but her shoes were an issue.
“Leiv, why are you here? Where is Raina?” Grayson was stalling.
“Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day,” he sing-songed. “If you don’t, I’ll be sad…” A slow smile made him look even more hideous. “Maybe I’ll do something really, really bad.”
Grayson had never encountered a zombie who’d come of age. He knew, however, that their mind deteriorated as rapidly as their body did.
“Leiv, you should be at home. The Reapers…they will take care of you.” Grayson couldn’t help the sadness that seeped through his voice.
“Reaper…peeper…” Leiv stumbled another step forward. “…don’t fear the Reaper…” he sang. Grayson recognized the lyrics from a song Leiv liked to blare in the mornings.
“Where is Raina? Does she know you’re here?”
Leiv laughed at that, a resounding cackle. “No…she would kill me…or maybe not…who knows? I wasted too much time…”
Grayson kept hold of Cori, inching her backward toward the trees. “Why are you here, brother?”
“Oh…that’s an easy one. I’ma going…to…hellllllp…you.”
“Help me?”
The gruesome replica of his brother gave a jerky nod that resulted in his head being cocked sideways. “You…deserve to be happy…Grayson…”
This couldn’t be good. “I am happy.”
“No, you’re no-ot!” Leiv gurgled and belched, then laughed. “You will be though…when I’m done.”
“Leiv, I’m not sure what you’re talking about but…I am happy. There is nothing you need to do. Except go home and call the Reapers.”
Leiv stared blankly at him for a moment.
“Corinne, Corinne. Where oh, where have you…been? Hiding behind…your zombie friend?”
Grayson stiffened and a jolt of fury went through him. “Don’t talk to her,” he barked.
“If that’s what you wish…I just thought we could get to know each other…before…” Leiv trailed off.
“Before what?”
“Oh, don’t play dumb…You know.” He staggered to the side, another step closer.
Grayson felt numb with fear. Fear for Cori. “Before what?” he demanded.
“Before I bite her, of course. Come on…bro…get with the program.”
Grayson growled. He couldn’t help it. Even when he felt Cori jump in surprise, he couldn’t stop the animalistic sound coming from within him. He would fight his brother—kill his brother—if he had to. Cori would remain human, no matter the cost.
“I’ll kill you first,” Grayson snarled.
Leiv looked like he was going to start giggling again, but before he could, three zombies eased out from behind the trees. It was Aiken and two others who Grayson could only assume were Reapers. This was the approaching he’d zeroed in on earlier. They’d been so stealthy, he hadn’t realized they were this close. Or maybe he’d been too distracted.
“You won’t have to,” Aiken said grimly while the other two—a man and a woman—went to the sides to form a more complete barrier between Cori and Leiv. The three of them were dressed in leather and steels and strapped all over with daggers. Each of them wore a short sword on their hip. One word came to mind. Deadly.
Grayson felt an overwhelming rush of relief, even as he dreaded the loss of his brother. At least now he wouldn’t be allowed to infect anyone. That was most important.
Leiv scowled. Or at least Grayson thought he did. Who could really tell with his face all torn up like it was. “Reeeaperssss…” he hissed.
Aiken responded by drawing the sword from its place on his hip and holding it out in front of him.
“Leiv,” Grayson started. “You have to go with them. You know it’s the right thing—”
A familiar scent hit his nose right then and he watched as Leiv’s head swung in the direction of the river.
“Raaaaaina…” he breathed.
A new sense of dread pounded through Grayson. His sister would be distraught to see Leiv like this.
There was only a second or two before she came through the edge of the forest, close to the bank of the river and when she saw the scene in front of her, she stopped cold. It was obvious by her tear-streaked face that she’d already known of Leiv’s deterioration. But perhaps she hadn’t known how bad it had gotten because the look on her face was pure agony.
“Oh, Leiv,” she whispered, stepping cautiously toward him.
“Raaaina…have you come to—” he laughed a cruel sounding laugh “—saaave me?”
Raina pressed her lips together as tears welled in her eyes. She shook her head slowly which seemed to make Leiv angry.
“No? Well, what good are you for?” he growled. A sob escaped her lips and like a switch was thrown, Leiv was a different person. “I’m sorry, Raaaina…so sooorrry…I-I’m not myself…” He took a shuffling step toward her but stopped when Aiken cleared his throat. “Raaaina…forgive me. For all of it…the past…for everything.”
She nodded but held her hand over her mouth, trying to contain herself. Grayson wanted to comfort her, but he couldn’t move away from Cori.
“Why are you here?” Aiken asked Raina.
She swallowed hard before answering. “I was looking for Grayson.” Raina’s eyes went to Cori and then back to Aiken.
“It’s time…to tell Gray the truth…Raina…” Leiv’s distorted voice cut in.
She swung around to face him. “No,” she breathed.
Leiv squeezed his eyes shut, seeming to have a moment of lucidity. “Yes, Raina…we’ve played this game long enough—”
“What are you talking ab
out?” Grayson asked. “Truth about what?”
Raina was shaking her head, her eyes dancing frantically between Leiv and Grayson.
“Tell him, Raina. All of it. Now.”
A strange foreboding swept over Grayson. He’d never seen his sister act like she was now, wringing her hands and shuffling her feet.
She stared at Grayson. “Have you decided to use your Save?”
His forehead wrinkled. “What? Of course not. I don’t have the slightest clue how to go about doing that and besides, I could never let her die.” It was hard to even say the word.
Raina glanced at Cori.
“What?” Cori asked. “Grayson, what is a ‘save’?”
They both ignored her.
“What if I told you there was a way to use her…where Cori wouldn’t have to die? Would you be interested then?”
“That’s not—” Aiken started to say something until he was cut off by Leiv’s feral growl.
But Grayson wasn’t paying any attention to the Reaper. He was hanging on the words Raina had just spoken. Was there a way for him to be human again…and keep Cori? His heart soared at the prospects: He could be human for her, normal for her. They could stay together forever. Maybe she would even marry him someday…
“Grayson, what is she talking about?” Cori asked again.
He turned to look at her, so giddy he could hardly contain it. “For each zombie, there is one human who we are drawn to. We call them our Save because they can help us become human again. You are mine.”
“That’s not exactly—” Aiken tried again, but Leiv growled ferociously.
“The problem is,” Grayson continued, ignoring them. “In order for the zombie to be saved, the human has to die.” He put his hand to her soft cheek. Her eyes were wide. “For us, that simply wasn’t an option.” He turned back to Raina. “But if there really is another way…”
Raina eyed him before she spoke. “I know there is one thing you’ve wanted more than anything else, since the day of your rising…to be human again.”