by Tara Brown
“Of course he is.” Leah laughs. It’s a magical sound. She’s filled with joy and so pretty and hums the same as me that I can’t help but relax around her. “What’s your names?”
“I’m Kyle, this is Lou. Miles, Erin, Sasha, Jamie, Mr. Milson, Lissie, Joey, Julia, and Gus.” Kyle shakes hands with her and then him.
“Davis, and my wife, Leah. And our daughter, Magoo, and Jayce, our son, is round the front.” The big guy shakes firmly. His arms flex a bit. He’s a muscled man. “You all are a sight for sore eyes. We haven’t seen many kids.”
“Come on over to the fire, and let’s see if we have some cider that's ready,” Leah says as her son comes around the corner. “Jayce, take the girls inside and play a board game.”
“Go on.” I nudge Joey.
Magoo strolls over, taking Joey’s hand in hers. “Come on, we have a dog too. And goats. You wanna see the goats?”
Jayce sighs, suggesting this sort of thing happens a lot.
“Yeah!” Joey’s eyes light up. “Can we go see them?” she asks me.
“Sure. Stay close.” She rushes off, holding hands with little Magoo while Leah comes out with a pitcher and glasses. “No cider, but I can do better. Water.”
“Oh, I could go for a drink.” Sasha beams and helps hand them out.
No one here hums like Leah so I sit next to her, savoring the feeling of being with one like me.
“So, Liam.” Davis sits.
“He’s insane, right?” I ask, not so carefully. I almost hear my nanobots sighing.
“Thank you! We just met, but I think we’re gonna get along just great, Erin?” He winces with the guess at my name.
“Lou.” I point at Erin. “Erin.”
She waves and he blushes.
“But yeah, I think he’s crazy,” I add.
“He was a weird guy. Him and Leah were friends, but I didn't get that great of a vibe off him.” Davis takes a big drink of water.
“He went through some things,” Leah defends him. “He didn't mean to be so crazy. He couldn't help it. His girlfriend, Grace, she died in his arms. Some guys broke into the house, it was bad.” She closes her eyes. “I can still see the look on his face. I’ve never seen someone love anyone that much.”
“Humans killed her?”
“What?” Leah giggles. “As opposed to what?”
“Bots.”
“Girl, what?” She cocks an eyebrow. “You mean the zombies?”
“No, the people like us.” My eyes dart to Davis. “I was bitten and I didn't die.”
“There’s a lot of you?” His gaze widens.
“A lot more than you can imagine,” Mr. Milson finally speaks.
“Liam has made an army.” I bite my lip and try to figure out the best way to tell the story. The bots don't seem to have one, so I wing it.
I start at the beginning, my dad. I work my way all through the winter on the ski hill and end with us being here, staring at her.
Davis and Leah look at each other and then us.
“Holy shit!” she says after a minute and gets up. She walks into the house.
Davis furrows his brow. “You can change normal people into bots?”
“Yeah.” I still can’t believe it myself.
“We need to start from the beginning,” Leah says as she comes out with a knife and a huge bottle of vodka and a white bag of stuff I can’t see. “Because this is off the hook.” She sits across from me and pours the vodka on my hand and hers and slices herself and me, making the blue lights appear.
Mine are different than hers. They glow brighter and my wound heals faster.
“How come yours are better than mine?”
“You aren’t connected to them.”
“That's what he taught you, we have to succumb to the bots?” She lifts her gaze, as if she wants to laugh. Her amber eyes narrow. “Should we drink the vodka before or after the connecting?”
“After.” I shrug.
“So you can actually make us better?” Mr. Milson asks. “Make us safe from the zombies and the sicknesses and injuries?”
“But you have to have the old nanobots in you already. These ones go in and wake them up.”
“But if they work, they fix everything?” Mr. Milson sounds rough.
“Everything.” I nod.
He struggles to stand and staggers over, opening his jacket, which had seemed a bit much for the warm weather, to reveal a wound.
“Oh my God, Mr. Milson, what happened?” I gasp.
Everyone surrounds him. Erin squeezes his arm as Sasha comes around and opens his shirt more so she can look at the wound. “This is bad.” She scowls. “Why didn't you say something sooner?”
“The Littles. I didn't want them to see. To answer your question, Lou, I got shot on the way out. No one’s fault but my own. Not fast enough.” He slumps into the chair next to me. “I want to be the first one.”
“But what if it doesn't work?” I kneel next to Sasha, pleading with my stare for him to change his mind.
“Then I will finally be with my wife again.” He closes his eyes. “Do it.” He gives Sasha his arm.
“Here.” Leah pulls a sealed needle from the white bag.
Sasha’s hands shake as she turns and gets the needle. “Thanks.” She opens the package. I offer my arm. She smiles up at me, her eyes are watery and scared.
“It’s okay,” I whisper.
She reaches over for the vodka but I laugh. “You don't need it. I can’t get infections.”
“Oh right.” She shakes her head, her cheeks blushing. “Okay.” She carefully touches me as I squeeze my arm tightly with my free hand. She takes a deep breath and stabs in delicately, drawing blood right away.
She gets a full vial and a tiny burst of blue light heals the wound as the needle comes out.
Her hands tremble more when she takes Mr. Milson’s arm in hers. I squeeze his upper arm to make a vein bulge for her. She again takes a deep breath and exhales, sticking the needle into him.
Miles and Kyle are giving me the same uncertain scowl. Erin’s more fascinated. Jamie’s lip trembles.
When the blood is in him, I hold his callused old hand, praying. I close my eyes and try to listen to his heart, feeling for a difference, but nothing happens for a couple of seconds.
When it does happen, it’s all at once. His heart speeds up, his body jerks, sweat bursts from his pores, and his face flushes. His eyes shoot open and he gasps for air.
“Mr. Milson!” Sasha grabs him, hugging him. “It’s okay, we got you.” She holds him as he shakes and trembles.
After a minute of this he calms down, his body jerking and twitching every now and then.
His heart is going nuts and then it stops.
Leah and I gasp at the same moment.
She reaches for me, gripping my hand.
I count in my head in Mississippis. I get to twelve when a jolt of electricity bursts through him and his heart starts again. His head jerks to the right and then the left, three times each side, just like the others. His eyes pop open and then close.
I move back, not holding him anymore, not sure what’s about to happen. Scanning the crowd of horrified faces, we all assume the worst.
But his eyes pop once more and he turns his face to mine, recoiling from the light. “Lou, that hurt a lot,” he murmurs and passes out, his heart rate completely even and stable.
“Oh my God, I think I peed myself again.” Leah reaches down between her legs and nods. “Yup.”
“I’m next.” Erin holds her arm out, eyes wide and lips spread in a huge grin.
Kyle’s eyes reach mine and his eyebrow arches. I suspect it will be a wrestling match between him and Miles for who goes next.
It’s going to be a long day, a very long day.
Epilogue
A month later
“I’m going to shoot him in the balls and then stab him in the eye and see if we can die from that.” Erin paces in the helicopter. “Why’d we have to
gas up first? I’m jacked and ready for this.” She claps her hands and tilts her neck back and forth, loosening up an already loose body.
“Because Lou drove all over hell’s half acre with the last tank and we didn't know how long it would take to get there.” Miles nudges me. “I’m kinda pissed the nanobot helicopter only listens to you now.”
“You and me both,” I grumble. I’m always the chauffeur now.
“You sure this is a good idea?” Leah squeezes her hands into balls and paces with Erin.
“No.” I point at the barren land ahead. “There it is. Tip of the North American desert.” I bring us down even more, cringing at what’s ahead of me. “Is that a castle?” I groan. It’s miles away but from here I see the outline perfectly.
“What a giant douche.” Erin scoffs, leaning over my shoulder. “No one else gets to kill him, just me.”
“We’ve gone over this, like a hundred times, Erin. No one gets to kill him. I want to kill him. You want to kill him. Kyle and Miles want to kill him. Even sweet old Mr. Milson friggin’ well wants him dead. But no one kills him until we know what he’s done. We don't know what his plans and evil schemes are all about.”
“Yeah,” Leah agrees. “He’s not dumb. He’ll have safeguards in place that will backfire on us if he dies.”
“And he has Jacquard, one of the dream-team members as far as bots are concerned.” Kyle sighs. “So who knows what he’s done to those?”
“Right.” I nod. “He seemed sketchy.” I glance back at Leah as we get closer. “Davis is cool with all those kids, right? I mean, Jamie and Sasha are great, but they’re not quite parent material. Not yet.”
“Oh my gosh, he’s fine.” Leah rolls her eyes laughing. “If he’s spent five years with Magoo, he can handle any kids. She’s a tough one.”
“So what’s with the name Magoo?” Miles asks. “Seems like a rough handle for a little kid.”
“Her name’s Ariah.” Leah laughs harder. “She’s always been Sis or Magoo.” She blushes and sighs, clearly thinking about them. She’s a good mom. The kind you want to be when you grow up. Only now I don't know if I can have babies. Or if I’ll ever grow up. Or if this is it. I’m just me now, eighteen-year-old Lou, stuck, frozen.
I don't know how to feel about that so I tuck it away.
Coming in quickly, I land the helicopter smoother than ever.
“Nice one.” Miles pats my arm. “You’re getting the hang of it.”
“Almost as smooth as traitorous asshat Harold.” I glimpse back at Erin. “He’s mine.”
“You can have him.” She says it sassy as though she might snap her fingers with it.
Only all of us are nervous, despite our bot blood. So the moment the door opens, we’re focused.
I bring guns. I don't need them, but it makes me feel better having them as I hop out onto the grass.
It’s brown and dry, but like it’s supposed to be that way.
Men ride toward us on horses.
“Holy shit, if they’re talking old fashioned and going with the whole king thing, we bomb them all,” Erin whispers.
“Deal.” Leah snickers and starts walking to the horses.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the king is excited to see old friends. Come on up to the castle. We will ask that you leave your weapons in your vehicle.” They don't sound old fashioned, but they sound pompous.
We all unstrap and close up the chopper.
The five of us begin the trek up the field to the castle that is almost finished being built.
“How long has he been building this thing?” Erin asks.
“I have no idea,” I answer and follow them on horses.
“Five months,” one of them shouts back at us.
“He’s been building it a long time,” Kyle mutters. “Longer than seems possible.”
“Nothing is impossible for Liam,” Leah whispers back to us and starts hurrying. “Remember your manners children.”
We crest the hill and I catch sight of the curly blonde hair billowing in the window.
“Welcome home!” she whispers on the wind. I can’t help but wrinkle my nose when I see the glint of gold on top of her head, sparkling in the sunlight.
“A crown?” Erin gives me a look.
“Guess she’s Queen Lee instead of Leelee.” I shrug, completely baffled by all this.
Erin reaches over, squeezing my arm and signing a message to me in American Sign Language, something we learned for this moment.
My entire body goes pins and needles when I see it, but I know she’s right.
It has to be me that kills her.
Erin can’t do it.
No one else can.
If we can’t save her, he can’t have her.
The End.
You guessed it, there will be a third book.
How could there not be?
* * *