“What about our bikes?” John asked.
“Leave them,” Garcia said. “We'll get them later, or somebody will.”
We piled into the cop car, all the girls stacked on top of us. Onyx, who had been oddly silent, jumped in last and crouched on the console between the front seats.
Garcia got in, and put the squad car in drive. He looked at Onyx, who wagged his tail. Garcia just shook his head at the dog and got rolling, the gravel crunching under the wheels of his cruiser.
We left the graveyard, surrendering our anonymity forever.
***
“So what's going on?” I asked
Garcia stared ahead at the road for a minute. “Where to begin?” he said almost to himself. He shook his head.
Our group, with the Weller kids bashed up again, sat waiting to hear why he had the good fortune to be cop-on-the-spot. Even Onyx was looking at Garcia.
“Let's get where we're going, then we can talk.”
“No, I don't want to go to someplace you want. I have a place that we know is safe.”
“Not the hideaway, Caleb. Maybe he can't be trusted,” John said.
“Yeah, the hideaway, John. You think we can't take care of things if something happens?” I asked him. I turned back to Garcia, who did a quick check of my expression. “We have a place you can take us where we feel safe.”
“I'll have to pulse Bobbi,” he said.
“Gale?” My face was one Fat Dirty Look.
“Yes, Officer Gale,” he said, noting my expression. “I guess I deserve that.”
“No offense, but adults aren't really on our trust list right now,” John said.
“Fair enough,” Garcia responded.
I gave him directions, and he used his car-pulse to let Gale know where we'd be. We all pulsed our parents to check in, but we didn’t tell them much.
Gale met us there in her civilian car, looking very weird in her regular clothes. I thought it was a little like meeting your teacher in the grocery store.
We piled out of the car, stiff from being crammed together. I did a secret scan of Jade, making sure she was okay. The cemetery had been a true threat—a threat to our freedom and in the end, our lives.
Garcia and Gale seemed amused by our breaking and entering of the old dump station. I thought for sure they'd be mad, but Garcia said it was a clever contingency plan.
“You kids were thinking ahead after all,” he said, looking around our hideaway.
“This is totally not safe,” Bobbi Gale said, gesturing at the uneven metal ceiling above our heads.
John replied, “It's been this way for ten years.”
The place was cramped with so many people, but we pulled up the milk crates and other things we collected for chairs, and managed to get a little comfortable. John lit the propane lamp. A total throw-back but it worked.
“My mom's old camping gear,” Jonesy said.
“Better not use it for long in this enclosed space,” Gale said. “It can get pretty toxic.”
“We know,” John said. “We'll replace it with LEDs when we get the big bucks.”
“Now,” Garcia said, “why don’t you boys tell us what happened?”
I related all the events of the evening from the beginning, with the others filling in some details. When I finished, the cops were thoughtful, their silence filling the space.
“That seems off to me,” Gale said. “The Graysheets take all that time to acquire Caleb and blow it with a state-of-the-art helicopter dying?” He turned to Jonesy.
“Tell us again exactly what you did, Jonesy.”
Jonesy animatedly told the story of how he’d rescued Sophie from Gun-Holder. “And then the helicopter just stopped working and crashed. Soph and I almost got chopped!” Jonesy did a judo-chop to his hand, the smacking sound echoing.
“My car died about the time I heard the crash,” Garcia said.
“It was idling when we saw you,” Sophie said.
Garcia nodded. “Yeah, just at that moment, I finally got it started. I was getting worried about how we'd get out of there.”
Something occurred to me. “John, you must have been holding back huge.”
John nodded. “It was all I could do when Parker started his bullshit,” John said.
“Yeah, Parker is a disappointment,” Garcia said.
“Ya think?” Jonesy asked. “He turned out to be a monkey's ass.”
Gale laughed. “You guys sure have a way with colorful wording.” She gestured at Tiff and Bry.
“Yeah, Parker is a disappointment,” Garcia agreed.
“I brought a first-aid kit to take care of you two.” She held up a small box with a red and white cross emblazoned on the front.
“I'll live,” Bry said, his face telling a different tale.
“Come on Bry,” Tiff said. “The parents aren't gonna buy us continuing to get beat up.”
Sighing, Bry went over to Gale and plopped down on the crate beside her. “I got in a couple of good ones, ya know.”
“He was an adult, a bad one,” Garcia said. “You're lucky he didn't clean your clock.”
All of us looked at him. “Sorry: a thorough job of beating the snot out of someone,” he clarified.
“Eloquent, Raul,” Gale laughed.
“So now what?” I asked. “It's obvious they want me. They put spy crap in my house, so now they know I can raise zombies and I'm a full-on five-point.”
“I think what really needs to be addressed, Caleb, is what you did out there to the government guy,” Gale said, dabbing antiseptic at the corner of Bry's eye. “That's not part of any five-point I've heard of. The scientists have theorized about that possibility, but they've never had any proof.”
“You mean Caleb suckin' the life out of a bad-ass then juicing up his zombie?” Jonesy asked.
Garcia chuckled. “Yes, I think that's what Officer Gale was getting at.”
Her eyes swept to me. “That will make you even more of a threat.”
“Does that mean you're a six-point?” Jade asked, through the veil of her hair.
She was cuddled up next to me, more on my crate than hers. I leaned over and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“I doubt it,” I said. “I can't be a first anything.”
“I'm AFTD, Caleb, and I know there is not one documented case of life transference,” Gale said. “Not one.”
Garcia sighed. “I guess your best protection is your father, Caleb. He’s famous, so his son disappearing would be a big deal.”
“Those guys didn't seem to care,” John said.
“Our source tells us they want to do some experiments, that they're not ready to take you forever,” Garcia said.
“Gee, that’s comforting,” Jade said.
“Those dicks don't get to have Caleb,” Jonesy said.
“Yeah, what he said,” Bry agreed.
Of course I agreed.
“How did Parker go from being like Caleb to working with them?” Sophie asked.
Garcia shrugged. “We don't know what's happened these last ten years, what kind of things he has been through. It's anyone's guess.”
“What was his family life like?” I asked
“It was bad,” Gale said. “Sort of the opposite of yours. There was no one to advocate for Jeffrey Parker.”
“So he's a tragic figure now?” Sophie said, arms crossed over her chest. “I don't know if I buy that. He’s an adult. Doesn't he have a responsibility to choose the right thing now?”
“Who knows? Maybe they brainwashed him,” Jonesy said.
“It doesn't matter,” Bry said. “Caleb's AFTD, and so is Tiff. Parker was going to hurt his own kind. He's shit. I don't care what way you color it. He's made his choice.”
Garcia said, “We need to get these guys at their own game.”
“You called them 'Graysheets.' What does that mean?” I asked.
“That’s just a nickname Officer Gale and I gave them,” Garcia said.
“W
hat does it mean, though?”
“It means that they don't understand black and white, right and wrong.”
“Well, okay, that’s the gray,” John said. “What about the sheet part?
“I got it!” Jonesy said. “They cover things up!” He air-pumped his fist with enthusiasm.
I shook my head, and checked my watch. A small web of cracks marred the face.
Jonesy leaned over to look. “Ah-man, that sucks donkey dicks,” Jonesy said.
John said. “Maybe a jeweler could fix it.”
I shook my head. “Right, like anyone even has these anymore.”
Garcia said, “My dad had one of those! Is it a winder?”
“It was,” I said.
Garcia picked up my wrist, moving it beside his ear. “It's still ticking, buddy.”
Gale said, “I think I've patched up these guys as good as they're going to get.”
“You look like a pack of gnomes jumped you,” Jonesy said.
“On your face,” John added.
Tiff gave a small shiver. “Gnomes are creepers.”
I looked at her in surprise. The unflappable Tiff—scared of gnomes?
“Let's get you guys home,” Garcia said.
“What's the plan?” I asked.
“You're going to speak with your dad.”
“He's going to be righteously pissed,” Jonesy said.
“Yeah. He'll be mad because I was screwing around in cemeteries,” I said, dreading the whole thing.
“You're AFTD,” Gale said. “That's like telling a fish not to swim.”
“You're not the kid of a 'famous scientist',” I said with airquotes.
“Are you complaining? Seriously, I thought your dad is cool?” Sophie asked.
“He is,” I sighed. “I just haven't been what my parents expected, I think.”
“But you're hell on zombies!” Jonesy said.
Gale added, “A talent of your magnitude could help many people, Caleb. We recruit people who test as sensitive to traumatic death.”
“I read in some AFTD blog that you can be a one-point and sense traumatic-death,” Tiff said.
“Can you?” I asked her.
“I can sense the dead.”
“All AFTDs can sense the dead. The difference is some are sensitive to the cause of death,” Gale said getting up to leave.
We moved through the tunnel and exited through the freezer. I breathed in the cool night air. The sky was filled with stars tossed like diamonds on black velvet.
Jade admired the view alongside me. “I'm glad to be alive.”
I looked down at her. “I wouldn't let anything happen to you.”
She smiled. “I know. It was scary, but we survived it.”
“Damn straight.” I put my arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.
As we walked to the cars, Gale said, “I'll take the girls home.”
A sense of dread spread through my gut. I didn't want Jade out of my sight. I wanted to see her safely inside her house with my own eyes.
I tried for casual. “I told her aunt I'd walk her home.... how ’bout you take Tiff and Bry home. John and Jonesy live next to each other, so they can ride with you, too.”
“Okay,” Gale said. “Weller kids, Jonesy, John, follow me,”
Jonesy turned around and waved at Sophie. “See ya, Soph!”
She waved back, looking pleased. Jonesy obviously had the hots for Sophie, and the feeling was mutual. Onyx ran over to the cruiser and hopped in the front seat. Jade and I got in the backseat, while Sophie slid in beside Onyx.
I leaned forward and asked, “What about McGraw?”
Garcia was silent for a heartbeat then said, “He's on the take. He's the eyes and ears for the Graysheets, Caleb.”
“What about the other officer? Wade, I think,” Jade asked.
Garcia nodded. “Chuck's a good man.”
That was a relief. There were three good cops at least.
The night slid past, Sophie and Onyx's profiles in the front seat, Garcia's cruiser moving through Jade's neighborhood like a silent trespasser. As Brett's house came into view, the yard still littered with the gopher mounds, a look passed between Jade and I, remembering.
Garcia said, “If I work with McGraw, I have a chance to eventually expose those hypocrites.”
“What are they?” Jade asked.
“People bent on exploitation for warfare, controlling crime for gain. Instead of using these paranormals' gifts for the betterment of humankind, they're scheming for ways to control. It's always about control, about power.”
Garcia pulled up in front of Jade's place. He turned to wink at me. “I'll stay here with the dog.”
Not bad for an adult. Jade and I got out of the car.
The tall fence blocked our view of the house, except for a portion of the porch and roof. I opened the gate and left it ajar. We walked to the front porch, where the outside light cast a soft pool of pale color on the steps.
I grasped Jade's other hand and turned her to me pulling her close until she touched my body in a tight embrace, our bodies married together. Pressing my mouth on her lips, softly at first, my hands slid out of hers, moving to the small of her back. She wrapped hers around me. My free hand working up into the nape of her neck, the silky hair winding around my fingers as my mouth moved on hers.
The door wrenched open and Aunt Andrea stood there, anger making the planes of her face a brutal thing. As Jade and I jumped apart, her face flushed with high color, rosy under the glow of the light.
“Where the hell have you been?” Andrea asked, anger twisting her words into a snarl.
Jade jumped back, looking shocked and confused. “Ah... I pulsed you—”
“I wasn't going to get into it on pulse, but this boy”—she jabbed a finger in my direction—“is bringing you home too late. It's one twenty in the morning, and you're fourteen years old!”
I stepped back to stand next to Jade. A bulky figure appeared behind Andrea. Jade's dad.
Shit.
A look of terror came over Andrea's face. That was it, the drunk dad had made an appearance, and she was covering.
Jade's dad said, “Get your ass in this house right now. You and me, we got some talkin' to do.” If he'd been shouting, it would have been less threatening. But that soft voice promised bad stuff was going to happen.
“Is there a problem here?” Garcia asked, strolling up the steps behind us.
Sophie peeked around him, eyes like saucers in a pale face. I was betting she was familiar with old Daddy Dearest.
Garcia's hand hovered above the baton he wore on his utility belt, a whisper away from use. Jade's dad shoved Andrea aside, slamming her into the doorjamb.
“Jade!”she shouted in warning, clinging to the wood.
I heard the baton escape its sheath with a high whistle, at the same time that I threw myself backward, with Jade attached to my front. My arm was hooked around her waist, her dad's dinner plate sized hand, brushing the zipper of her hoodie as we flew, my body slamming into the grass behind us.
Every bit of air left my lungs in a single crush.
Slippery ass-monkey.
Garcia jumped off the steps and planted a knee in LeClerc's spine. He pressed the baton into the base of the guy’s skull.
Leaning down, Garcia said with soft menace, “We're taking a little ride, LeClerc. We're going to come to an understanding.”
“No we're not, pig!” LeClerc’s words were muffled by the grass he was being forced to eat. “She's my girl! She's gonna stop being with that boy! He's evil! A dead-lover! Satan worshiper!”
Right, that's me, a star in the basement.
“He's AFTD, in case you're too slow to understand,” Garcia said, losing patience. He got out his cuffs and slapped one on a thick wrist. He was reaching for LeClerc’s other arm when Jade's dad bucked hard, throwing off Garcia.
Moonlight slid off the loose cuff as it dangled from his wrist swinging it down toward Jade.
As I rolled her away from that descending hand with my body, his fist connected with her side and she screamed. I let her go. She lay flat on the grass, putting her hands above her face in a defensive position that broke something inside me to witness.
Garcia's not gonna get to us in time.
I rose up on all fours between him and Jade, and he brought up both fists, obviously ready to pound me to get to her. I scooted back to get some distance so I could stand. Then, I leaned back on one foot and brought my other leg around in a roundhouse kick learned in my second year of judo. My heel connected, and his nose exploded with a satisfying crunch.
He staggered back, holding his face with both hands. “My nose! You broke my fuckin' nose!” Blood sprayed between his fingers.
Garcia jumped up, jerked LeClerc’s hands behind his back, and locked the remaining cuff. LeClerc’s frantic breathing caused a big bubble of snot and blood to grow from his nose, pulsing with each breath.
Jade moaned, her hair fanning out behind her, grass stains on her pink hoodie. My eyes burned with the need to cry. But I was the guy here and my Jade was hurt.
“Where does it hurt?” I asked, gently exploring her side.
She hissed when I touched her lower ribs on the right side. I pulled up her lightweight shirt and saw a terrible welt, bright red, in the shape of the cuff, with a grape-colored bruise, blooming at the edges of the mark like an obscene flower.
I looked up at her dad. “You touch her again and I'll kill you.”
He smirked, snot edging toward his mouth as his face was mashed against the ground. “You'll try.”
LeClerc smiled that nasty grin of his, the blood slowing to a trickle, his swollen nose like a clown's.
It wasn't enough damage to satisfy me.
“Caleb,” Garcia started, “... what did you say?”
Andrea and Sophie had their arms twined around each other as my eyes met Garcia's.
“He said he'd kill me, you dumb-ass! He's the one you should be arresting, the zombie-lover!” LeClerc shouted.
“I didn't hear that,” Garcia said, trying for neutral and missing by a kilometer.
Garcia smiled and started hauling Jade's dad away, who shouted over his shoulder at Jade, “Keep your head down, girlie, get away from that loser.”
“Look who's talking,” Garcia said.
“Can I help you get up?” I asked Jade.
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