“I’m no princess,” Claire said. “I just…had a lot to learn. Jackie and I are from New York City, and we were in Pennsylvania on a modeling assignment when everything went down.”
“So you were already quite far from home?” Asia said.
“Yeah. I wasn’t even with my family, other than my cousin, when evil walked in and ripped my life apart. We barely escaped the city, but we managed to hook up with a great group who protected us in a safe place. We stayed there for about a year, but then my world was turned upside down again when everyone was killed and we were left to fend for ourselves in the wilderness. Boy, I was scared to death. I’m no princess, but I’m not Wonder Woman or Lara Croft either. I’m just an average American girl, not some action hero.”
Val shot Asia and Kate a look. “I had to give her a wake-up call and a big reality check so she could survive out here.”
“I thought they were gonna claw each other’s eyes out,” I said.
“Dean!” Claire said, playfully slugging me.
“She and Jackie had pretty, clean hair and clothes,” Val said.
“What’s wrong with that?” Claire asked. “Who doesn’t like to be clean?”
“It’s just…well, you don’t see that out here,” I said. “Clean is a luxury in a post-apocalyptic world.”
The reformed princess tugged at her filthy clothes. “Well, I must fit in now, because I’m covered in dirt and grime.”
I wrapped an arm around her. “You’re fitting in more and more every day.”
“So you like dirty girls, huh?” Claire teased, smiling at me coyly.
“Well, that’s not what I meant but—”
She laughed. “My cousin is so lucky to have you, Dean.”
“No,” I said. “I’m the lucky one.”
“We’ve been through so much,” Val explained. “When Claire disappeared back at the nursing home, I knew I couldn’t leave her. She hunted for me when I escaped from that hotel room back in Kingsville. Even though I was really just a stranger with a death sentence, she never gave up on me and risked her life to save me.”
Claire shot her a smile. “It was the least I could do. Like you said, we’ve gotta have one another’s backs.”
“Thanks, Claire,” Val said. “I only remember bits and pieces of what happened during my, uh…transformation, but thank you.”
“Val, when you were a zombie, I was totally freaked out,” Claire said, “especially in that grocery store, when you tried to attack me.”
Val blushed. “I did? I-I had no idea. I’m sorry. I guess I was totally out of my mind.”
“Nick and I had to break the fight up,” I said.
“Well, it wasn’t a big deal,” Claire said. “I just used the stun gun on you.”
Val’s eyes widened. “You what!?”
Claire bit her lip. “Sorry, Val.”
My sister let out a long breath. “No, I’m the one who oughtta apologize. I’m just glad I didn’t hurt anybody.”
“Do you remember anything about being a zombie?” Kate asked.
Val shook her head. “No, nothing.”
Asia’s dark eyes narrowed. “Me neither. When our group stopped near Kingsville, we heard a baby in trouble, but nobody was willing to risk their life for the infant. They were gonna stand by and let it get torn apart.” She swallowed hard. “I couldn’t watch that. I went in and fought the best I could, but…” She trailed off, unable to relive the horror.
“The baby didn’t survive?” Claire softly asked.
“No, I saved the baby, but I was rewarded with a bite on my left arm. My friends agreed to shoot me the second I turned.” Asia turned away, and a great sadness came over her as she recounted the story. “I-I still don’t know what happened, why I’m still here. For whatever reason, they didn’t shoot me like they promised. For all I know, they were killed in another attack, because I haven’t seen them since. Those crazy people in Kingsville captured me and put me in their Olympic zombie games.”
“My sister was thrown into those games too, as a human gladiator,” Kate said, her voice wavering. “I know the terror she must have felt as she was surrounded by zombies who wanted to bite into her flesh.” She took a deep breath. “I know because I’ve gone through it myself, in the arena and in other places. I thought I was gonna die in that modern-day coliseum, like some kind of ancient martyr.”
“Me too,” I said. “The worst part about it was watching my sister, Jackie, and Claire stumbling toward me to…ick. I don’t even want to think about what they might’ve done.”
Asia grabbed my hand and gripped it tightly. “It doesn’t matter now, Dean, because you saved us with your cure. I’ll always owe my life to you.”
“When I saw all those white eyes returning back to their normal color, I was ecstatic and overwhelmed with joy,” Kate said. “Dean, I only have you and Nick and Lucas to thank. You really did save our lives that fateful day.”
“It’s ironic, isn’t it?” Val asked.
“What?” I said.
“We were on opposite sides of the battle lines that day, half of us zombies and half of us human gladiators. I can’t believe we were pitted against each other like that. It’s just…sick.” She walked to the window and glanced through it. “You know what I remember the most?”
I arched a brow. “What?”
“Watching that sunset back at the airport tower.”
“Yeah?” I said.
“Let me elaborate. Everyone around me was forced to pick up the pieces from their shattered lives, but I was sure I’d never even have that chance. I felt my life slipping away from me as I became weaker and weaker every passing moment. Every hope and dream passed through my mind, all the things I wanted to do and was sure I’d never get the chance. My newfound family needed me, and it was just…well, the wrong time to die—not that any day is a good day to die, but you know what I mean.”
My wise sister was absolutely right. At that time, I’d just met her, and I hadn’t even really had the chance to get to know her. While that sunset had been beautiful, it had sparked a devastating feeling in me, a sense of impending doom and loss—someone being taken away from me just when I’d found her. I had no way of knowing if the cure would work. All I knew was that I loved my sister and that I’d fight for her until the very end. Watching her die before my eyes tore my heart in half.
Val’s blue eyes twinkled. “I stared at all those glorious colors and made myself a promise. I decided then and there that regardless of the hard moments and how little time I had left to live, I’d remember how beautiful life can be. I’d remember all the beautiful sights I love, like the twinkling stars in a velvety black sky, the brilliant power of a summer lightning storm, a colorful rainbow spreading across the sky, and a full moon glowing like a silvery beacon in the darkest of nights. Nothing will ever take the beauty of nature from me, not ever—zombies or otherwise.”
“That’s a beautiful thing to say,” Kate said, “and it proves how very strong you are, Val. I’m so glad to have you on our side.”
“I just have to keep believing tomorrow will be better,” Val said.
“It will,” I chimed in. “One day, I believe it will.”
“I try to stay positive, but I’m just so tired of all of this,” Kate said. “I just want our old world back.”
A shadow of seriousness washed over Claire’s pretty face. “In the daily fight for survival, I sometimes find myself feeling cold and bitter. I don’t want to kill anyone, not even zombies, but I know I have to survive. It’s kill or be killed out here, and I just can’t be that girl I used to be, the one who was consumed by makeup and fashion. That girl would die out here in a heartbeat, so I’m not her anymore. Along the way, I’ve become someone else.”
“We’ve all been delivered quite a blow,” Asia said, “but I refuse to let life’s obstacles get in my way. I’m going to triumph victoriously, and do you know why?”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I sho
uld already be dead, but I’m not. With your help, I survived that virus, and if I can survive that, I’ve got no right to give up. I’m gonna keep moving, forging forward, and conquer life with every bit of strength I have. We can’t decide what life does to us, but we can live it in the moment, right here, right now. Life is waiting for me, and I intend on living it every single minute I have breath in my body.”
Val nodded. “Well said, my friend. We have to run fast and swift in this race, and we’ll win. In the end, no prize is more important than our lives.”
Claire wrapped one arm around me and the other around Val and squeezed us. “You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for not leaving me back in that glass house.”
“It’s always my pleasure to turn a princess into a dirty girl,” Val teased, and the rest of us broke out into some much-needed laughter, the best medicine of all.
Chapter 4
Jackie, Val, and I opened the door to head into the night, but Nick motioned for us to stop. “Where do you think you’re going, Dean?”
“We decided on night patrols, didn’t we? I wanna take the first shift so I can sleep for the rest of the night, hopefully uninterrupted.”
He shook his head. “You’re not going out there alone. Take Kate.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I asked you nicely,” he replied.
I could tell by the look on his face that there was more to it.
“Boy, your brother’s quite the control freak,” Jackie whispered in my ear.
Val slapped me on the back. “I’ll keep little brother covered.”
“See? It’s all taken care of,” I said. “And don’t forget that Val and Jackie have night vision. They’ll see anything coming from miles away.”
Val chuckled. “Guess that’s one perk of the curse.”
Nick’s eyes narrowed into blue slits, his voice filled with authority. “I said to take Kate…or me.”
I blinked. “I don’t get it.”
His forehead furrowed as he frowned. “Of course you wouldn’t.”
Val cocked her head. “Oh, I get it.” She let out a long breath. “You’ve made it painfully obvious. Things were cool before, but now everything has changed.”
“I’m sorry, but we have to take every precaution at this stage of the game.” Nick was wearing a very serious expression, and I could tell he wasn’t about to back down.
I shifted my stance. “Nick, you think Val and Jackie are gonna turn into hybrids, don’t you?”
“I have no idea, but I can’t afford to rule it out, and in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not one to sugarcoat things or spare anyone’s feelings. The truth is the truth. If Val and Jackie were to turn when you’re outside alone in the dark with them, what would you do?”
I shook my head. “I dunno.”
His eyes showed genuine anguish as he flashed me a troubled look. “Could you bear to kill your sister and your girlfriend? I can tell you firsthand that having to kill your girlfriend is…well, it really sucks.”
“Nick!”
His lips pressed into grim lines. “You’ve got no idea what it’s really like for the girl you’ve loved your entire life to come at you like a rabid animal, trying to tear you apart, Dean.”
My voice softened. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Nick, and I’d never want to, but this situation is completely different.”
“Is it really? You know full well that Jackie might change at any given moment, and if that happens, you’ll be in the same predicament I found myself in last year. We all tiptoe around this and don’t wanna talk about it, but we need to face it, because it’s a very real threat, maybe an inevitable one.”
I crossed my arms defensively. “You’re really something, Nick. Why are you so blunt? I don’t see why Claire doesn’t run a million miles away from you. She must see something in you that you hide from the rest of us.”
“Look, Dean, I’m just stating the facts. We don’t know if they’re going to change or not, and since we don’t know, I won’t risk your life or theirs by leaving you alone with them. If they turn, we can tie them up and see if one of those scientists can help them.” The emotion in his voice was overwhelming. “But we can’t do that if you have to kill them in self-defense when they lunge for your carotid artery.”
I felt my brother’s pain and instantly regretted my comment about Claire, but I was sure that if the girls were destined to become hybrids, it would have already happened. “Wouldn’t they have changed by now?”
“We have no idea how that serum acts in the body,” Nick said. “Since we don’t know, we can’t afford to take any chances. Until we can find someone to tell us about that serum, Val, Claire, Asia, and Jackie have to be watched at all times by either, you, me, Lucas, or Kate.”
“So you need patrol guards for us?” Claire said. “Nick, I think you’re getting carried away.”
“I didn’t take the necessary precautions when Darla was bitten, and that turned out…well, horrible. She killed my friends and I had to put her down.”
“I’m not Darla!” Claire screamed.
“No, you’re not, but I don’t wanna wake up to you nibbling on my neck, unless it’s in the good way.”
She clenched her mouth shut for a moment, then glared at him. “That’s sick, Nick!”
“Maybe, darlin’, but it’s reality!” he shouted back. “I refuse to kill another girlfriend.”
Val shook her head. “Okay, uh…there’s something very morbid about that statement.”
Jackie glanced up. “In the normal world, yeah, but in this zombified hell we live in now, it sadly makes perfect sense.”
“Whoa,” Claire said, taking a step back. “Did I hear you right, Nick? Did you just call me your girlfriend?”
He met her gaze, and a big smile lit up his face, revealing just how smitten he was with her. Clearly, Claire saw it too, and she obviously had no intention of taking the advice I’d given her back at the nursing home, when I warned her about my brother breaking her heart.
Lucas shot Nick a look. “Girlfriends? Seriously? We’re out here in the middle of the United States of Zombie, and you’re getting all romantic and mushy?”
Nick slugged his arm, then focused on Claire. “The only reason I stayed in that nursing home as long as I did was because I couldn’t leave without you. I was crazy with worry when we couldn’t find you. We’d have left the second the mayhem broke out if you hadn’t gone missing. I had to stay and find you, Claire, because…well, heck, I’m crazy about you.”
She touched his face. “Oh, Nick. You braved all those hybrids for me? You really are my knight in shining armor.”
He pulled her in and gave her a slow, tender kiss.
“Ick,” Lucas said, rolling his eyes. “And I thought that lemonade was too freakin’ sweet.”
Val cleared her throat. “Knight in shining armor? Pssh. That’s just…cheesy.”
“I think it’s cute,” I teased, grinning at my big brother, who’d turned several shades of red.
“Okay, well, enough of the mush,” Val said. “I think Nick makes a valid point. We don’t know if we’re going to turn back into those monsters, so it’s best we take precautions.”
Lucas gripped her hand. “I agree 100 percent. We can only hope for the best, but we don’t wanna put anyone in a compromising position in case your bodies do react poorly to the serum.”
Val leaned in close to him. “I say we use our girl power to beat that stupid hybrid complex.”
“Right,” Claire agreed. “When those hybrids turned, they didn’t want to hurt the ones they loved. At least there’s that.”
“At first,” I said, “but then all hell broke loose.”
She held up a hand. “I know, but please let me finish. I was just trying to point out that we have a window of time before we become cold-blooded killers.”
Nick wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t want to hurt you, but we need to take every precaution, babe. You know how muc
h I care about you, and I’ll do everything in my power to keep anything bad from happening to you. I’ll be there for you, Claire—zombie, human, hybrid, or even, God forbid, fashion model. Please trust me and know I’m just trying to do what’s best for all of us.”
She heaved a sigh. “Are you gonna tie me up while I sleep?”
“Great. We’ve gone from sappy to kinky in five minutes,” Lucas joked, making Val break out in a more girly giggle than I’d ever heard coming from her.
“No, but somebody will have to stay awake and watch you,” Nick said to Claire.
“I hate this,” Claire said, touching his face.
“Nobody hates it more than me…and it’s not just you.” He glanced over at Val. “Do you think I like treating my very own sister this way?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Val said. “Don’t feel guilty. I’d do the exact same thing if things were reversed,” she said.
Jackie kissed my cheek. “Your brother is right, Dean. I’m a risk to all of us, even to myself. I want you to go do your guard duty with Kate. I’m totally fine with it,” she said with a smile. “I know I’m the only half-zombie girl for you.” She winked playfully at Kate, who just smiled back at her and looked at the floor. “Besides, it just means I’ll get a little extra beauty sleep.”
“Trust me, you don’t need it,” I complimented, pushing some of her hair behind her ear. I couldn’t help admiring her all the more for trying to be so brave, all things considered. “See you in the morning.”
She blew me a kiss. “Goodnight, Dean…and be safe.”
Chapter 5
As Kate and I headed toward the door, Asia ran to catch up with us. “I’m going too,” she said. “I’ve got a gun.”
“You could just let them borrow it,” Nick said.
The comment didn’t even faze her. She walked boldly up to him and said, “I respect you, Nick. I really do. But you can’t stop me from doing what I’m best at. I can kill a zombie faster than you can draw your weapon, and I want to be of help where I’m needed.”
“I love that you’re willing to fight for us,” Nick said, “but you’ll be putting my brother and Kate at risk if you go out there with them. If you turn while you’re in here, we can—”
The Zombie Chronicles - Book 5 - Undead Nightmare (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) Page 4