***
“Two days later,” Mrs. Johnson fought back the tears, “the attacks happened on a global scale. We were too late. By the time we got the video, syringes of the stuff were on their way to every capital in every country. The armed forces did what they were told to do, and they kept things quiet. Unfortunately, they couldn’t save everyone.” She took a sip of her coffee. “We set up bases, secret places to study the zombies, hoping to find a cure, but the creatures never made it. The disease spread too fast.”
“So fix it now,” I snapped. “Figure out if it’s actually a disease or just wipe the menace off the face of the earth.”
“It’s too late.” She pressed her lips into a thin line. “The damage has been done. The only thing we can do now is survive.”
“Is that what your husband would’ve wanted?”
“He would’ve wanted to know I was safe and I did my best to protect others.” She stood from the couch and glanced out the window.
If I had the chance, I would have attacked her and pushed her through the glass. Lucky for her, I was chained up.
“What happened to your husband?”
She took a deep breath. “He was killed following the President’s orders and protecting the American people. He was a true hero.”
CHAPTER 16
“You hag!”
I couldn’t keep my disdain and contempt in check any longer. If I could stand and point an accusatory finger at her, I would’ve, but my only free hand was cuffed to another person. I squeezed the couch cushion.
“You knew what was going on, and you did nothing to prepare the people?”
She turned, her eyes wide, and opened her mouth to speak. I refused to let her say another word.
“Even if you didn’t tell them it was zombies, you still could’ve told them something. It was a biological attack, let them know. Give them a chance to protect themselves, to prepare. Instead, you let them get killed!” Spit flew out of my mouth, my face burned with rage. “Now, you’re trying to make up for it? Now you’re trying to keep them safe?” I huffed and snorted. “If you want to make a difference, take some of those helicopters and shoot the undead from the sky. Don’t use it to kill innocent people who only wanted a better life. Get rid of the infestation! Capture a few and study them, see if there’s a cure. Don’t keep people trapped in Florida. It’s no longer about feeling guilty, it’s about power and control!”
Her eyes narrowed, she pushed her mouth into a thin line. “I made a promise to my husband and the country. I’ll see that through.”
“Promise? What promise? To keep the people in the dark and as slaves? The only person you’re helping by doing that is yourself!”
She walked to the back of the couch, her bony hands clenched in tight fists. “I didn’t bring you here to have you mock me. I wanted to give you some insight into what we’re dealing with and the impossibility of destroying it. I wanted you to see the difficult situation I’m in, and how your act of rebellion threatens every fiber of our existence.”
Who did this woman think she was? Did she really just make the whole zompocalypse about her? Did she place herself as the center of the universe? My body shook with anger. I wanted nothing more than to lash out at her, grab her around the throat and bash her head into the floor until she realized how selfish she was being, but I couldn’t. Instead, I lowered my voice and spoke between gritted teeth.
“The only threat to our existence is the undead menace roaming the West and you and The Families who refuse to do anything about it. You can’t hide in Florida forever.” I sprang to my feet and jerked on the handcuff. “Take me back to jail. I can’t listen to another word this woman has to say.”
Private Lamb Chop slowly got to her feet, glancing from me to Mrs. Johnson, her eyes wondering what she should do. Mrs. Johnson nodded, and we headed for the door.
I sat in the van, wringing my hand against my pant leg. How could they have not acted? They knew the threat in front of them, why didn’t they do more? Why didn’t they try harder to stop it? Or warn the people? They had two days. Well, technically, they probably had longer, but they refused to believe what was going on.
Those jerkwads! They doomed us!
Maybe not everyone would have been saved, but it would have been a lot more than doing nothing! It was unfathomable, unbelievable that they wouldn’t give us a chance. People could be panicky and fall into mob mentality, but there were ways to ensure it didn’t happen. Give the people some facts, some information, and a way to combat the threat. It’s when the masses don’t know what’s going on that they believe lies and fall prey to suggestion.
If anyone had the right to believe the human race was full of idiots, it was me. How many people had tried to kill me since the dead rose from their graves? Plus, I used to study serial killers, I knew how evil humans could be. But I didn’t believe for one second that the race was incapable of taking care of itself. Yeah, there would always be those individuals out there who would try to take advantage of others. They would see the lawless times as their opportunity to take what they wanted. The Families and Liet were a perfect example. But they could be taken care of. The people needed a leader, for sure, but one who could see what was best for everyone, or at least the vast majority. They needed one who would take action against the undead, not cower in Florida and hope it would eventually go away.
“You doing all right back there?” Private Lamb Chop glanced at me through the rearview.
“Peachy,” I growled.
“You know, not to defend them or anything, but at the time, they probably thought they were doing what was best for the country.”
“Fine. We can’t change what they did to lead to our demise. But The Families have choices. They have helicopters and fire power. Do you know how easy it would be to take out the zombies from the air? They need to do something.”
“They are happy here. And so are most of the people. You didn’t have to go into the West.”
Why did people keep saying that? Yes, I had a choice, and I made it. I didn’t want to stay in Florida. Would my life have been easy? Probably. But there’s more to living than just existing. If I had to do it all over again, I would make the same decisions I already made.
“It’s our country,” I spoke between gritted teeth. “Why would we let them win? Why should we hide while the zombies roam free? We can take it back. We should.” I focused my gaze out the window.
Why was I wasting my breath? She didn’t care. I had to get out of jail. I had to get Bill and Kyle free. If Florida didn’t want our help, fine, they wouldn’t get it. But I refused to die down here. If I was going to be killed, it was going to be on my terms. Not because some ninny thought I went against her stupid rules.
The rest of the drive was accomplished in silence, as was the walk back to my cell. I kept my back to Private Lamb Chop until I heard the door click shut behind me. I hurried to the bars.
“What’s going on?” Bill asked.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” I told him.
Kyle folded his arms across his chest. “That’s a wonderful plan. How do you expect to accomplish it?”
“Quinn showed me that every jail has a fake block in the ceiling. Like the hatch by the guard desk, it’s a means of getting people into the jail to stop a riot.”
“Yeah? So? It’s in the hall. How are we supposed to get into the hall if we’re locked in our cells?”
Bill’s attitude irritated me. Wasn’t he the one who said I needed to figure something out? Why was he crapping on all my ideas? I took a deep breath and attempted to calm down.
“Do you mind working with me a little? I haven’t thought that far. I was hoping you two could help me. Sheesh!”
Bill held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Give us a minute. We’ll see what we can come up with.”
“Thank you.” I was about to head to my cot when the door opened and stopped me. Private Lamb Chop stepped into the hallway, followed
by Pearl. My mouth dropped open.
“You have a visitor.” She turned to Pearl. “Make it quick. I can only keep the cameras off for a few minutes.”
Pearl nodded and stepped into the room. She walked up to my cell and placed her hands on the bars. “Hey, how are you doing?”
I blinked, wondering if she was actually there or if I fell asleep.
“Look, I don’t have much time.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “But I might have a way to get you out of here.”
“Why would you do that?”
She cocked her head to the side, hurt covering her face. “You’re my friend. You don’t deserve this.”
There was a soft knock on the door.
“I have to go. Be ready for the power outage.” She hurried down the hall and out the door. I stared at Bill and Kyle.
Kyle shook his head. “It’s a good thing you have friends down here.”
“I guess. Pearl is the last person I would expect to help us. And who knows what the private is planning. Stay on your guard.”
***
We spent the rest of the day hanging out in our cells, waiting. I paced the tiny space, chewing on my nails, trying to figure out what was going on. Pearl wasn’t one for action. Never had been. She was afraid to leave Florida, scared to death of zombies. Why would she go out of her way to help us now?
And that private. Man, I had no idea what to think about her. She talked the talk, sounded like she wanted to change the world, but was she serious? I didn’t know her, I couldn’t trust her. Then, she made it a point to tell me Liet asked her to stay on and watch me. That really didn’t instill me with confidence. Liet, as creepy and ugly as he was, had a way with women. It must have been the power thing because he could convince them to do strange things for him. And I’m not talking about gross sexual things. I thought about the girl who attacked me in his office. Those kinds of things. What if he convinced Private Lamb Chop to let me out and turn me over to him so he could kill me? He had several chances, but he never took them. Something was seriously wrong with that man, but I wouldn’t put it past him to eventually take his revenge. Never trust the insane.
Dinner came and went. Nothing. When the guard came in and told us it was lights out, I began to wonder if anything was going to happen at all. Pearl wasn’t exactly specific on when to expect anything. She just said to be ready. For all I knew, she could have meant in two days.
I laid on my cot and stared at the ceiling. Maybe it was too much for me to get my hopes up. Maybe Private Lamb Chop told Mrs. Johnson about Pearl’s visit and Pearl was in custody. Maybe she was dead. Maybe she changed her mind. Either way, I needed to figure out how to get us out.
I was drifting to sleep when a loud clunk echoed through the hallway. It wasn’t a something-was-dropped clunk, but one of those sounds you hear right before the power goes out. Like a circuit breaker clicking off. Of course, it was hard to tell since the lights were off for night time anyway. I looked at the door for a while, waiting for something else to happen. Maybe shouts coming from the other side of the door, or moans sounding from zombies. But there was nothing. There wouldn’t be zombies, we were in Florida, but I expected some type of ruckus. Still, it was too weird. I got up and headed to the door. Curiously, I placed my hands on the bars and pushed. To my amazement, the door slid open. I had to be dreaming. I glanced into the hallway. Bright white emergency lights illuminated the floor. I stepped across the hall to Bill’s cell. He laid on his cot, his back to me. I pushed open his door. He turned and looked at me over his shoulder.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “But let’s not question it.” I moved to Kyle’s cell.
He was already at his door, pushing it to the side.
The three of us proceeded with caution to the main door. I glanced through the small window. The corner of the guard’s desk was barely visible. Nothing moved.
Silently, I turned the handle and peered through the crack. Private Lamb Chop stood behind the desk, her arms folded over her chest. She smiled at me.
“We haven’t got all day,” she said quietly. “The night shift will be here any minute.”
My stomach tingled. My first inclination was to head back into my cell, crawl into bed, and pretend like nothing had happened. It all seemed too convenient. Too easy. We were walking into a trap, we had to be. Lately, things hadn’t been going my way. I was about to turn around too, but Bill and Kyle pushed me through the door.
Private Lamb Chop hurried us to the sally port and into the van. We drove through the streets to Tanya’s storage yard.
“Head to row Q,” the private instructed. “Shed eight will be unlocked.”
Without asking any questions, we climbed out of the van and looked for row Q. The vehicle drove off, and I stared after it for a long time. Any minute, she was going to turn back around and climb out, laughing. She’d have a gun in her hand and tell us it was all a joke. The taillights disappeared on the horizon. We found shed 8 and lifted the door. It was empty, except for a bare light bulb that barely illuminated the room.
“What now?” Kyle asked.
I shrugged. “I say we make a break for it. Why are we hanging out in a shed waiting to be captured? No one knows we’re gone, we can hot wire a car and head for the border.”
“You don’t want to do that,” a familiar voice spoke behind us.
We turned to the door. Pearl ducked under it, hidden mostly in shadows.
“And why not?” My defenses went up. If she was planning on doing something treacherous, I wanted to be ready.
“Because then you won’t be able to take down The Families.”
I glanced from her to the brothers. How did she know what we planned? And why was she willing to help us? She stepped up to me and embraced me in a hug. It felt good to be in her arms, but she squeezed a little too tight, causing pain to burn through my shoulder. I let out an involuntary squeak. She pulled away.
“Sorry,” she said as she wiped tears away from her eyes. “And I’m sorry I didn’t help you sooner. I had no idea what Mrs. Johnson and the others were doing. I heard the story she told you earlier today, and I heard what happened in North Platte. Liet is one angry individual.”
I still felt like I was in a dream. I willed myself to fly, even making slight hops to see if I could get airborne. Pearl stared at me in confusion.
“Are you all right?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I think I might be dreaming.”
“You’re not dreaming,” Pearl assured me. “This is very real.” She hugged me again. “When I saw you chained up to Mark, I couldn’t believe it. I thought for sure someone had made a mistake. Then, I heard Liet telling Mrs. Johnson about the rebellion. I remembered our conversation on the balcony the last time you were here, and how much of a rebel you actually are, and put two and two together. I couldn’t let you die for doing what you believed was right.”
“Who’s Mark?” I knew it wasn’t the most important question I could’ve asked at that particular moment, but it seemed like the only one that mattered.
“Mrs. Johnson’s bodyguard.”
“Ah. How did you get the private to help you out?”
“Abby has been a friend for a long time.”
“I thought you didn’t want to get involved in this sort of thing.”
The wrinkles on her forehead deepened. “What sort of thing are you talking about?”
I gestured with my arm, forming a circle. “This. Aiding and abetting traitors. Helping with the rebellion.”
A pained look crossed her face. “Why would you think that?”
“Because the last time I talked to you, you told me you never wanted to leave Florida. You said you were content living the life you were living. You didn’t understand how I could live my life right next to the zombies.”
“I was afraid, I admit that. And you can’t blame me. There’s a lot out there that I don’t know. But I can’t let jus
tice and what is right be trampled on. Especially when it comes to my best friend.” A small smile crawled across her lips. “Besides, my uncle is sympathetic to your cause. He wants to help. He’s not the only one. There are others who share your vision of taking back our country.”
Bill and Kyle stepped forward. “How many?” Bill asked.
“Well, not as many as there had been. A lot of them were sent to North Platte, but there’s still enough to launch a formidable attack.”
“Do you have a plan?” Kyle inquired.
The smile on her lips grew wider. “We do. And now that you’re free, you can help.”
CHAPTER 17
I needed time to figure things out, to ask questions, but I wasn’t going to get it. We had a small window of opportunity, and we needed to act. We were already branded as traitors, it wasn’t going to be long before they discovered we’d escaped, too. Then, everyone in Florida would hunt us. I had to set my doubts and suspicions aside. Even if I died trying to free the people from tyranny, at least it wouldn’t be in vain. And if Abby or Pearl tried to take me down, I’d make sure I didn’t go down alone.
“So, where are they?” Pearl asked.
“Where are what?”
“The weapons. When Tanya came into Mrs. Johnson’s apartment and told her about Bill and Kyle, she said she stashed some weapons for the rebellion.”
“Well, I would assume Mrs. Johnson confiscated those weapons for her personal use.”
Pearl shook her head. “No. She told Mark to leave them where they’re at. A secret stash in case they need them later.”
My, that was awfully convenient. Who knew what she planned on doing with them. I wouldn’t put anything past that woman.
“I have no idea where Tanya kept them. I left and never planned on coming back. Did she tell Mrs. Johnson where they were?”
Pearl’s shoulders slumped forward. “No. Tanya said she’d tell her when she came back. How are we going to find them?”
Not a bad plan on Tanya’s part. Insurance that nothing happened to her once she came back with me. And if something happened to her, they’d have to tear the place apart to find them. Perhaps raising suspicions. Maybe she wasn’t an idiot after all.
Life After The Undead Omnibus Page 39