“Ugh!” He growled in frustration and hit the trunk with his bare fist. There was a soft click and he was amazed when it popped up. “Whoa are you serious?” Not going to complain. He opened the trunk lid, giving himself just enough room to put a hand in and grab a box.
Before he could run away, he heard Ophelia cackle wildly. She sounded like a hyena mixed with an evil witch. Not a sound JD found reassuring, and it made him cringe in both fear and irritation. Up until then, she’d only stood watching, silent, and he didn’t quite understand what her deal was. She hadn’t fought with the black hoods. What surprised him even more was that Sprout let her stand there and watch. It seemed like a dumb and cocky move, and JD had a feeling it was going to come back around and bite her.
Raising her hands as though she were about to direct an orchestra, Ophelia continued to laugh to the point of tears. All of the people wearing the black hoods rose off the ground, even the one who had been covered in the liquid metal. JD was sure they couldn’t have survived or become conscious again in such a short period of time. Maybe my zombie girl theory isn’t far from the truth. Are they not alive to begin with? The idea of having just touched a dead person made him want to gag.
“Seriously?” Sprout groaned and sent vines after Ophelia. Several people in hoods intercepted the attack for their master. Instead of staying down, they got back up and kept going.
Time to go, JD realized and turned so he could run toward Jaes, Cadence, and the car that would be his freedom, and came face-to-face with Bean who was glowering down at him.
With a shake of his head, Bean gave JD a swift kick in the chin, causing him to tumble backwards. This time, JD did a better job of protecting the box, keeping it out of sight so Bean wouldn’t know he had it. The blow had JD feeling dizzy and lightheaded.
“I think I remember last time we spoke, and I told you to stay away,” Bean said with a lot more calm than JD expected.
Slowly, JD picked himself up off the ground and stood. “If you think I’m with psycho there, you’ve got another thing coming. I’m not doing anything of any importance. Just pretend I was never here.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No,” Bean repeated firmly.
With a sigh, JD decided to put some of Alan’s battle training to the test and threw a punch at Bean’s jaw. The guy must have not been expecting it, because when JD’s fist made contact with it, Bean’s eyes went wide and he stumbled slightly. That was the only faltering the teenager did because Bean then threw a punch right back. JD dodged it, barely, and then threw his entire body weight into the guy hoping to knock him over. Bean was significantly larger than him, so it felt more like JD was running into a brick wall. One step back was all Bean took, then he grabbed JD firmly by the shoulders, stared into his eyes and uttered one word.
“Cabbage.”
Instantly JD was hit with a wave of calm—beautiful serenity. His knees began to buckle, and his mind began to wander. I need to get to…cabbage. I need to get to cabbage. I need it. Cabbage. Red cabbage. He was vaguely aware of falling to the ground, landing on his arm and hitting his head on the pavement. But he felt no pain. Bean was yelling about something. Then he could see fire in the distance. Fire which was coming his way, no, towards the car. For a moment, Bean was tugging on JD’s now-limp body, as if trying to pull him away from the vehicle. After a few feet Bean gave up and abandoned JD, leaving him to watch as the fire hit the car. It rocked on its wheels, as it was repeatedly hit with blast after blast of flames. Where the fire was coming from JD didn’t know, nor did he care. The only thing he cared about was cabbage. Thinking about it made him smile. One of the blasts was hurtling toward the trunk of the car.
The black goo is flammable. But not cabbage. It needs to be more like cabbage, was the last thing he thought before the car exploded and he fell unconscious.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Everything hit the fan so fast, Dale’s head was spinning. One minute he and the rest of the blue tribe were loading up a van with the supplies the green tribe would need to continue their experiments. The next he was engaging in battle with zombies. While he was happy the blue and green tribes were being interrupted from their work, he didn’t much enjoy being a target for attack.
The zombies were easy enough to bring down. What made things difficult was they kept getting back up again. At first he had been worried they were living people and had been careful with how he handled them. Once he figured out they were in fact, actual reanimated corpses, he started to take on a different tactic. Take them down by any means necessary, and keep them there. He’d worry about being disrespectful toward the dead later. At that moment in time all he cared about was getting out alive. Something in his gut told him the zombies didn’t care much about whether or not he survived.
When he was able to break free from the attacks, he decided to do something to help the red tribe. Instead of unloading the last car of supplies, he was going to help destroy them, as was part of the original plan. Only with his plan, he could play a more active role in the destruction, and it felt good. He concentrated on creating orbs of black goo, and ordered them to attack the car. But not before he was able to set them on fire. It felt fitting for him to decimate the last car in such a manner. It was filled with a similar thick, black substance. In fact, Dale was positive that was the stuff pumping through his veins.
It took him a few tries, but he was able to blow up the car. He smiled, pleased with his work. What made it more wonderful was that because everyone was so distracted with the repeat zombie attacks, nobody paid attention to what he was doing. Dale also made certain to be far enough away to be out of view just in case.
Over all, watching his creation destroy part of the core foundation of the drug excited him far more than he originally anticipated. Sure, the whole thing was interesting and adrenaline pumping, but he didn’t think he’d get a kick out of his job. The danger had him worried more than excited.
As the chaos died down, Dale made his way back to the van. The girl called Ophelia was gone. Where she went, he didn’t know and he didn’t care. Her distraction had worked to his advantage.
“Please tell me we still have some of the X chemical?” Sprout asked with a shaky voice.
“Gone,” Bean said.
She let out a scream and turned away from the group, grabbing her hair, and Dale was pretty sure she was muttering curses. Bean went over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, but she pushed him away.
“We did everything we could,” he said. Bean was always the optimistic one. He never said anything bad about anyone. In other circumstances, Dale would have been friends with the guy and would have loved to be a part of the team.
“He’s going to be so furious, I—” She stopped when a phone began to ring. Sprout reached into her pocket and pulled it out, read the caller ID, and whimpered. “It’s him.” She waved for everyone to be quiet. “Yes?”
Dale could barely make out the voice of The Doctor through the receiver.
“Please tell me everything went smoothly tonight,” he said.
“We have everything but the X chemical.” She winced as she said it.
The Doctor was quiet. “We were attacked as well. I lost three new potential charges tonight, and three currents. Sensor and Bomber were able to get away, but Virus, Behemoth, and Racer were taken. They have some of the experimented, and there are multiple Alturans working against us. I’m not sure how they knew about all of this, but believe me I will find out.”
Sprout nodded. “Yes sir. We were able to hold off the attacker. She got away. Chihuahua Man was here as well. Given their attire, I’m thinking they’re part of the—”
“The yellow. Interesting. I thought they were of the red tribe. My superior will be pleased to have more fuel for the fire.”
“Yes,” she said and breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Bring the rest of the shipment over. There’s still time to get the X chemical. There are other ways of
obtaining it.”
Dale swallowed, not sure he wanted to know. Bomber—Tori—was okay. A good thing, but he had hoped maybe the red tribe would have taken her so she could be changed. Next time. I’ll help her next time.
Chapter Thirty
“James-Deacon Baxter Smith, open your eyes now, or I swear I will never forgive you ever.” Cadence shook her best friend again, trying to urge him awake. Together, she and Jaes were able to get him back to the car in one piece. Now they were at The Apartment, and JD was still unconscious. Before, she’d been frustrated that he’d go out of his way to get hurt so foolishly. It was just like him to want to play the hero. That was soon replaced with fear.
Jaes put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I am sure Alan will be here soon. He has healing powers. Your friend will be okay.”
She gazed up at Jaes with wide, teary eyes, and shook her head. “He’s my best friend. If I lost him, I don’t know what I’d do.” Her heart ached in a way she’d never imagined at the idea of JD being gone for good. If she never heard his voice, never saw him smile again, everything in her life would completely crumble. I think I love him too.
“Please,” she whispered to him in one last effort to will him awake.
Either luck was on her side, or someone was watching over them, because slowly JD’s eyes fluttered open. He made eye contact with her, and she saw the full depth of his love in his hazel eyes. Cadence couldn’t hold it back anymore; she threw her arms around him and cried.
JD tensed up slightly, but hugged her weakly. “Why are you so upset?”
She hit him for that. How could he not know why she was crying? Few things got such a reaction out of her. Didn’t he know what kind of emotional turmoil he’d just put her through? He scowled and rubbed his shoulder where she’d just smacked him.
“Don’t scare me like that again!” she said, and pulled away.
“I didn’t realize I’d scared you,” he said in a quiet voice. “The last thing I remember is Bean coming over and putting me in some kind of a trance, and everything from there is kind of a blur.”
“There was an incident,” Jaes said. “You were nearly killed in an explosion. When I found you, you were unconscious and I had just enough time to protect you from a second explosion. One of your motor vehicles had been attacked, the materials inside blown to pieces. The fire reached the fuel tank. For a moment, I didn’t think my ice shield would hold. We were lucky,” Jaes explained, with so much calm Cadence was envious. She hadn’t seen any of this. In fact, this was the first time she’d even heard any of the details of what happened. Jaes had gone out of his way to save her best friend. She would forever be grateful for that.
JD closed his eyes and put a hand to his head. “Well, I got more of the stuff. Pretty sure it’s not broken this time either.” He reached under his shirt and pulled out a small box. Cadence recognized it immediately as the final component to the formula. JD handed it to Jaes with a large, proud grin.
“Any word from the others?” Cadence asked.
“No.” Jaes shook his head.
“Do you think they’re okay?”
JD reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “Let’s see... Here we go! Message from Angela: getting food with O, don’t wait up. Getting ride home with him.”
“Great,” Cadence mumbled. Just like them not to come back to headquarters for a follow-up meeting. When it came to Orlando, he liked to march to the beat of his own drum.
“We had always planned on letting you go back home shortly after we were done,” Jaes said. “Rest is important, and we’ve all had a busy night. It sounds like the others are fine. I’m sure Alan thought it unnecessary for them to return here with him. He and I will debrief shortly when he comes back. It shouldn’t be long. He can look at your head wound, JD, and—”
“Nah, I’m okay,” JD said and slowly got up off the couch where he’d been lying.
Cadence put a hand over his. “Are you sure?”
He flashed her a smile, looking as confident as ever. “Positive, and it’s cool if they want to unwind and eat. Angela comfort-eats like, whoa, so they might be feeling kind of how I do right now. Overwhelmed and exhausted and a tiny bit of freaked out.”
“Only a tiny bit?” she said, and snorted.
“We can talk later,” he said, and they once more made eye contact.
“Are you sure you feel up to going? If Alan can heal you, maybe you should—”
“I’m fine.” JD gave her hand a squeeze.
She glanced over at Jaes who was rubbing his arms, and she was positive he wasn’t certain either. There was a sadness in his gaze as well that she didn’t understand. She wanted to make sure JD was okay, to force him to stay and get checked out by Alan just in case he had some kind of obscure head injury. The best friend in her knew that JD wouldn’t have any of it. If he thought he was fine, he’d do everything he could to prove it.
So she forced a smile. “You’re okay with driving then? Are you going to be okay Jaes if we go? Would you like us to stay and keep you company?”
“You may leave,” Jaes said.
“Cool, thanks.” JD grinned and gave Cadence’s hand a slight tug. She met Jaes’s gaze one more time with her own, before following JD out the door.
****
JD parked in front of Cadence’s apartment building, and gave her a smile as if nothing had happened. She hated him being so nonchalant about the events of the evening. He’d almost died. Didn’t he have anything to say about it? Or maybe he was waiting for her to start. But I don’t know how. Just be honest with him.
“What you did was brave and stupid,” she whispered. He opened his mouth to reply but she held a finger up, trying to let him know she wasn’t quite done yet. “When you were brought back to the car completely knocked out, I didn’t know what to think. It only got worse when you wouldn’t wake up at all. Don’t ever scare me like that again!”
“Cadence,” he whispered, and brushed his thumb across her cheek, catching a tear she didn’t realize she’d even shed.
“I’m serious. Thinking about if something happened to you, it put me in a place I don’t want to be again. I’ve lost my dad, I don’t want to lose the next most important man in my life, okay?”
For a moment, all he did was stare across the car at her. Then without any kind of warning he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes and cried more tears. JD kissed her cheek next, and then her lips. It was a soft, tender kiss. Not at all what she would have expected from him. What surprised her more was that she kissed him back.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Nothing is going to happen to me. I will always be here for you. Okay? Trust me?”
She nodded, wiping the last of her tears away. Taking in a sharp breath, she grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him in close so she could kiss him again. This time with much more passion as she tried to show him how much she needed him, how much she loved him even, and that no matter what, she wasn’t going to let him go. The feeling of him reciprocating that passion gave her butterflies.
When the kiss finally broke, JD blinked, and his mouth flapped open and close. “I...that...we...” His fluster was cute.
“You can come upstairs if you want. My mom’s working late. You know she won’t care if you stay,” she said softly.
He smiled. “I’ll make the cocoa this time.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Orlando listened to the voice mail one more time, trying to decide what to think. Tait had called him somewhere around twelve-thirty in the morning. He’d just gotten back in from his late night snack with Angela, and was ready to lie down on his bed so he could sleep for at least a day. Why did Tait always call him in the middle of the night? Didn’t she know that was when normal people slept? Or maybe that was the point. She wanted him to be asleep so he didn’t pick up the phone.
“Hey, it’s me, uh, Tait. I know you’re probably still mad at me. I don’t know why I’m calling this late.
Wanted to hear your voice, even if it was just on a voice mail. You’re either sleeping or avoiding me. Anyway, I wanted to say again how sorry I am. You’re so much more important to me than you realize, and I suck at showing it. I’ll say it. I love you. But I think you’re right in breaking up with me. As much as I want to fight it, I need a little time to reorganize my life. A lot has changed in a short amount of time, and I hate punishing you for my inability to deal with it all. Can we agree to a pause? Think about it and let me know. I do want to be with you. I do, and I’m going to prove it to you. Hopefully we can see each other over Christmas break. I have a present for you. I miss you. Hopefully we’ll talk soon.”
He lay in his bed, trying to decide if he wanted to call her back now, or wait until later. Not seeing her was hard on him, a lot more than he’d anticipated. If he didn’t have such good friends, he’d for sure have crumbled. He and Angela had a great talk about the whole situation, and he at least felt at ease about doing the right thing.
“I think I’m crazy,” Orlando mumbled, and he dialed Tait’s number.
She answered his call with, “So you are still up.”
“Just got back home from the diner.”
“Late night for you.”
“Concert at First Ave. I always get the munchies after moshing,” he lied.
She let out a quiet, “Mmmhmm.” And then they were both silent for a while until she spoke again. “I’m glad you called.”
He sighed. “I don’t want to make you suffer anymore. Holding a grudge is so middle school, but you’re right about the pause. It’ll give us both time to sort out what exactly is going on.”
“Until then, being friends is still okay? You aren’t going to shun me anymore are you?”
“No.” He let out a quiet laugh. “I’ll stop shunning you. We can exchange presents over Christmas, but I don’t know if I’m ready to hang out a lot yet.”
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