“I have no idea,” I whispered, “but we’re gonna figure it out together.”
“What could cause this? I’m some kind of freak of nature!”
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head, but then it occurred to me. “What if it’s a side effect from the serum?”
She let out a long, trembling breath. “Am I going to die? Can this be fixed? Has this happened to anyone else? I don’t want to ask anyone if they’ve got glowing eyes.”
“Why don’t we talk to Asia and see if she’s had the same problem? She’s in quarantine, so no one will hear us asking her. Plus, I think she likes me. She’ll tell me anything.”
“Really?” Jackie said, smirking. “Well, I suppose I can’t blame her. You are quite adorable. But anyway, that’s a great place to start,” Jackie said.
We rushed to the room where Asia was still being held in quarantine.
Jackie smiled at the men now guarding the room. “Mind if I talk to Asia for a few minutes?”
The man smiled back. “Sure, you pretty thing you.”
I gripped Jackie’s hand and walked in. “Hi, Asia,” I said.
“Hey! I was hoping you’d stop back.” Her face beamed. “I’ve got great news!”
I inched closer. “What?”
She peeled back the bandage on her arm. “Look at this.”
My eyebrows shot up in disbelief. There was no pus or redness, and the wound had almost completely healed. “It’s just like the other bite victims. It’s healing really fast.”
“That’s fantastic,” Jackie said.
“Were you one of the lucky ones who previously took the cure?” I asked.
She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yes, why?”
I wondered if Asia’s eyes would glow, and instead of asking her, I thought it best to perform the same experiment I’d done with Jackie. “Do you mind if I turn off the lights for a minute?” I asked.
“Listen, I don’t know what kind of freaky stuff you’re into but—”
Jackie touched her hand. “I’m not going to sugarcoat this. You need to know. My eyes are glowing in the dark. We think it’s a side effect of the serum. We need to see if yours are doing the same thing.”
Her mouth gaped. She got up and walked to the bathroom and shut the door. Within seconds, she screamed, and I immediately knew the answer.
Suddenly, the two men burst through the door. “Is everything okay?” one asked.
“My eyes! They glow in the dark just like those toys I used to get out of cereal boxes when I was a kid,” Asia said, exiting the dark bathroom.
I turned off the lights in the room and we all stared in disbelief at four glowing eyes looking back at us.
“I don’t get this!” Asia shouted.
“I think you were bitten by a zombie earlier,” I said. “The serum is in your blood and gave you immunity to the zombie virus. That’s why the bite didn’t fester. The green eyes must just be a side effect.”
“I could see everything perfect in the dark,” Jackie said. “It was like I had night-vision goggles on.”
The deep furrows between Asia’s eyebrows smoothed, and her shoulders relaxed as she drew a deep breath. “We’re immune from zombie bites and scratches? And we’ve got, like, Superman X-ray vision or something?”
“Night vision,” Jackie corrected, “but it’s still pretty cool!”
“I believe you’re right,” I said.
“Then I don’t ever have to worry about a zombie bite or a night light again!” she said. She grabbed my arm. “Do you know what this means?”
“What?” I asked.
“We are literally the living dead.”
I thought about her statement, and it kind of creeped me out. I gripped Jackie’s hand. “C’mon. Let’s go find the others. We’ve gotta fill them in on this news.”
We raced down the corridor and passed the men who were dragging the dead zombie out.
“Wait,” I said. A tattoo of a skull caught my attention. “This guy looks familiar. Wasn’t he with that redhead with the short hair?”
One of the guys looked down. “Yeah, it’s Ed.”
“I’m so sorry. Do you know if he took the cure?”
“I’m certain of it.”
Jackie gripped my arm and pulled me away. “They both took the cure. Tom turned back into a zombie, but Asia and I didn’t. How can one person have immunity while the other doesn’t?”
I went back to her room so we could talk and try to figure things out. After I shut the door, I paced the room. My lips pressed in a grim line. “So the cure has side effects.”
Jackie nodded.
“I think I know what happened.”
“I’m beginning to put all the pieces of the puzzle together too.”
“Let’s take it from the beginning,” I said. “All these people took the serum, and we know there are some strange side effects. For one, it changes the pigment in the eye when there is no light, and the person is equipped with night vision.”
“When we arrived, every door and window was boarded up securely, and we were careful to board up the window we came through. When we swept this nursing home, it was clear. No one saw any zombies.” Jackie wrung her hands as she pondered. “Then Howard suddenly went missing, and we all hunted for him. Then we saw a zombie, and there was no way it should have been in here—not after the security sweep we did. We assumed it had killed Howard, but it showed intellect by knocking the gun out of Asia’s hands, then hiding and escaping through the open window.”
“Remember the wood?” I asked. “It was as if somebody was breaking out, not in.”
“The zombie had intellect, just like the ones in that house with the crying baby doll. It ate Howard, then wanted a quick escape route.”
“But how did it ever get in?” I asked.
“You know how smart they are,” she said. “Come on! They lured us to a house to ambush us. I’m sure a smart one could figure a way in.”
“I don’t think so. I think it was here before we came.”
“But there’ve been other zombies spotted. You think there’s a group hanging around somewhere. And if there is, why haven’t they devoured us already?”
“Okay, don’t laugh, but I’m gonna throw this out here. An idea just struck me. What if the very first zombie we saw on the second floor was Howard?”
“But he couldn’t have turned into a zombie unless one had bitten or scratched him.”
“Try and think outside the box. What if the serum somehow turned him back into a zombie? Maybe his body couldn’t handle the serum or there was something that didn’t mix. It changed him back into a zombie, but he kept his brain. He still has the need to feed on human flesh, but he also has his mind—what little the jerk had of one in the first place.”
Jackie clapped her hand over her mouth. “What if that’s going to happen to all of us who took the serum? Are we going to slowly turn into thinking zombies? Dean, that’s horrible!”
I tried to hold her in my arms, but she pushed me away, devastated by the news. I was just as stunned and shocked and appalled as she was. The thought of losing Jackie and Val all over again sent shudders through my body. I wondered if they’d turn into those intellectual but horrible creatures. Anger overwhelmed me. I’d gone through so much to get them back. They deserve better than this.
She let out a long breath. “So Howard was the first to change, and while we we’re looking for him, we saw a zombie and assumed it had killed him, but in reality, it was him.”
I nodded. “Yeah, when he saw us, he hid somewhere, then found the axe and chopped his way out. I can’t believe the zombie we thought hurt Howard was actually Howard. This is so bizarre. Like Nick told me, Stephen King couldn’t write this crap.”
Jackie paced back and forth. “Then more people from our group turned into—”
“Hybrids,” I said. “They’re hybrids, half-zombie, half-human. That’s a dangerous combination.”
“They’ve reverted back to zombie
s, but they held on to some intellect during the change, remembering our names, talking, and strategizing. Do you think they have any emotions at all?”
“I don’t think so. The zombie in the kitchen said you’d taste divine. I don’t think we can reason with them either.”
“They’re joining forces. As each person changes into one and breaks free from here, they somehow find each other.” She shook her head. “That town wasn’t already populated with smart zombies. We populated it! It was all us. We thought all the missing people had been killed, but they were the zombies we were seeing. It was them all along.” She gasped as realization struck. “Oh my gosh,” she said, her voice wavering. “Claire! She wasn’t attacked or eaten by a zombie. She became one. My cousin is a hybrid, and she’s out there somewhere!”
“Jackie…” I said softly.
“I can’t lose Claire like this—not like this.” She fell to her knees, weeping. “How could something so horrible happen to my cousin?”
“I’m so sorry.” I knelt down with her, and she curled her arms around my neck as she sobbed into my shoulder.
“I loved her so much,” Jackie said between gasps. “I thought zombies were the worst thing I’d ever face, but I was wrong. Losing Claire is so much worse. She wasn’t just family. She was also my best friend. And now, she’s one of those things running around out there. I can’t picture her stalking humans with the others, murdering and eating people.” She looked up at me with those beautiful eyes. “How long, Dean? How much longer do I have until I join the others?”
Her words tore at my heart, but all I could do was wipe her tears.
She looked into my eyes. “Claire wouldn’t want to be like that, and I don’t either. If I turn, I want you to shoot me.”
“No! Don’t make me promise that.” It felt like the situation with Val all over again, for she’d forced me to make the same grim promise. I was tired of being asked to kill the people I loved. All I wanted to do was rush Jackie and Val to a lab before they turned. I needed to find Nick, Lucas, and Val immediately, and I wondered when—and if—they were ever coming back.
Jackie gripped my hands, her eyes sad and empty. “If you care about me even one tiny bit, you’ll do it for me when the time comes.”
I cupped her cheek. “I just can’t, Jackie. Don’t ask me to—”
“You can, and you will. Please?” she begged. “I want to be at peace, not figuring out how to scam humans so I can devour their flesh. What kind of existence will that be?”
“We shouldn’t have used the cure on anyone until it was tested,” I said regretfully, guilt flooding through me. The whole thing was my fault. I was the one who’d hijacked it out of the lab. While my intentions had been good, I couldn’t believe what I’d unknowingly done. Have I spawned yet another epidemic, only worse, with zombies who can think and masterfully create ruses to kill their victims? Did I singlehandedly unleash hell?
Jackie pushed a few strands of hair away from her face. “I hope you don’t go pouring out all those vials, because we can’t give up on this vaccine. It heals people. I’m living proof.”
“We found the cure,” I said. “It just needs to be perfected.”
“We’ll get there,” she said. “Meanwhile, do you think I’m going to turn into a hybrid?” she asked, her voice quivering. “Are all the people who took the cure slowly turning into these…things?”
“I’m not sure, Jackie. We need to find scientists and a lab,” I said. “We need to find someone who can tell us more about the serum—what it is and how it works.”
Chapter 17
On our way back to the lounge, we ran into Nick, Lucas, and Val and told them all of our findings, including the possessed voice coming from the zombie. They had noticed Val’s strange eyes, too, but never in a million years would they have concluded that the zombie Nick had seen was Howard. As we compared notes and put two and two together, it all began to make sense, and we came up with a common conclusion that was at least mostly believable.
Lucas ran a hand through his hair. “This is incredible. It’s like we brought our enemy with us.”
“They’re victims,” Jackie reminded him. “I know Claire would never act like that.”
Nick and Val looked at each other in complete confusion.
“So all those smart zombies we encountered were people who turned into hybrids from the serum?” Val pondered. “The missing people weren’t being picked off one by one by zombies like we previously thought. They were the zombies all along. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it, but that would explain why the zombie knocked the gun out of Asia’s hand and hid from us. Howard must’ve turned and realized he needed to get out or else we’d kill him.”
“Why didn’t they feed the second they turned?” Nick asked.
“Maybe their hunger is suppressed,” Val said, “but they sure were hungry later.” She tapped her chin and then said, “Wait. I bet their human emotions won’t let them kill their family and friends. At least at first. It’s the reason why they leave. So one, we won’t kill them, and two, they won’t hurt loved ones.”
“That’s bizarre,” Lucas said. “I wonder if the other hybrids call out to them. There might be a telepathic link or something.”
I spun toward Nick. “While you were out, thinking I was safe and sound here, I was being attacked.”
“I’m sorry,” Nick said. “I should’ve been there for you.”
“Don’t be sorry. You had to do what you had to do without me. As for me, I’m a survivor. I always will be, so quit treating me like a kid and let me come with you next time.” I shot him a hard stare. “Any kind of real man wouldn’t sneak out like a coward to avoid his little brother, then send his star-struck minions to tell me I’m not allowed to leave. That was pathetic, Nick, and so far beneath you.”
Nick glared. “Lucas and I have been properly trained. Val’s a police officer. What’s your experience, huh? The last little while on this road trip with me?”
“Road trip!?” I moved to shove him, but Lucas and Val held me back.
“Dean, this hostility between you two needs to stop,” Val said. “Just man up. We left you because we love you. Deal with it, ‘cause we have bigger problems to face right now than your bruised ego.”
“Fine,” I said sharply. “What did you find?” I asked, yanking away from her.
“For starters,” she said, “this town is completely flooded. Zombies are everywhere. We’re gonna have to make our way out on foot. Waiting for the waters to die down isn’t an option in light of recent revelations.”
“Should we tell the others, Nick?” Lucas asked. “What if they panic?”
“They have every right to know so they can play on a level playing field against the hybrids.”
“I agree. They need to know!” Jackie said.
Lucas sighed. “In that case, we’d best head to the lounge and get this little unpleasant rendezvous over with. It’s town meetin’ time, folks!”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said.
Val touched Lucas’s hand. “Tell Dean what else we found. He can handle it.”
Lucas looked at Nick, as if asking for permission. He didn’t continue until Nick nodded, as if he was some kind of mafia godfather or something. “We found their lair,” Lucas said.
“What!? Then what are we doing here? We should go attack it,” Jackie said.
“Kill them before they kill us,” I agreed.
Val patted my back. “That’s the plan, but I want to talk to everyone first. We can’t just leave without telling these people what’s going on. At the very least, we owe them that.”
“And we need their help to knock those nasty hornets out of their even nastier nest,” Lucas said.
“So after we explain everything, we’re leaving?” I asked.
Val nodded, then wrapped an arm around Jackie. “Claire is one of those hybrids.”
She sucked in a deep breath. “I know, but she wouldn’t want to be like this.”
/> “I know this is hard,” Val said.
“When we’re safe, I want to hold a memorial for her.” Jackie’s voice quivered, and a tear ran down her face. “I miss her so much.”
Val wrapped her arms around her. “I miss her too. You’re so brave, Jackie. You’ve been through so much.”
“We gotta get going,” Nick said.
Once we were in the lounge, it didn’t take long for us to get everyone’s attention. Everyone stared blankly at us, wondering what the heck was going on. For the first time since we’d arrived at that nursing home, we finally had answers to give them, even if they weren’t the answers any of us had been hoping to hear.
“We’ve come across some information and have some possible theories on what’s going on,” Val began.
Nick stepped forward. “We feel you have the right to know what you’re up against, so we will share with you everything we know. Feel free to disagree with us and come to your own conclusions.”
“Please don’t panic about this, people,” Lucas said. “We need everyone to remain calm until we figure out a plan.”
“Well? What’s going on?” a woman asked. “Just tell us.”
“Everyone who has taken the serum, please move to the left side of the room. Those who have not taken it, please move to the right,” Lucas directed.
“What’s this all about?” a man asked. “You brought us in here to play hokey pokey or what?”
“Please humor us, sir,” Val said. “I promise we’ll explain everything.”
Murmurs and whispers spread through the group, but they divided as they were asked to.
“We believe the serum has some side effects,” I said. “Some of you may have noticed them. Your eye color will change, from your natural color to a fluorescent green when in complete darkness. In addition, you will have night vision. You will not be infected if you are bitten or scratched, as the serum seems to act as a vaccine, of sorts, creating immunity against the typical zombie virus. As far as we know, you’ll be protected for the rest of your life.”
“This is great news!” somebody shouted.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing in the dark,” a woman said.
“Well, I don’t wanna be no radioactive green-eyed freak,” a man next to her complained.
The Zombie Chronicles - Book 4 - Poisonous Serum (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) Page 14