Ashley Drake, Zombie Hunter

by Dana Fredsti

  Nathan stuck his head out the window. “We have to go, people!”

  Gabriel hesitated briefly, and then said, “Let's go,” his voice totally flat.

  Nathan gunned the engine and drove quickly across Main Street and out of the town. Soon enough we turned onto the logging trail. Nathan took the road as quickly as possible, but I didn't even notice the jolts this time. My mind still couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Why had Kaitlyn suddenly gone all kamikaze and noble on us? And why had Mack—well, I knew why Mack had done what he had done. To do anything else would have killed his soul.

  We'd only seen a few zoms since we left Redwood Grove, but those were enough to start the zombie version of Telephone. Which meant eventually the swarm would find their way to Big Red.

  Nathan pulled up alongside the razor wire and we quickly and silently unloaded the gear. Nathan stood on top of the cab and we did an assembly line, passing stuff up and Nathan handing it down to Gabriel and Tony on the other side. When we'd gotten everything over the fence, Gabriel and Tony held the wire apart for the rest of us to crawl through and we made our way across campus to DBP. No need for secrecy this time.

  Nathan, however, kept darting suspicious glances whenever one of the soldiers appeared, his expression clearly stating he'd rather be somewhere else.

  Gabriel had radioed ahead, so Colonel Paxton, Simone, and Dr. Albert were waiting for us in the foyer. They'd heard we'd lost Kaitlyn and Mack; so there was no surprise on their faces, just sorrow. For once Colonel Paxton's natural sad clown expression suited the occasion.

  Then Nathan and Simone saw one another. The rest of us watched as recognition dawned on both sides, with varying degrees of other emotions I couldn't begin to pinpoint. They stared at each other for a full beat before Simone finally said, “Hello, Nathan,” in a voice cool enough to chill beer.

  “Oh, Christ on a crutch.” Nathan shut his eyes and rubbed a hand on his forehead as if trying to massage away reality. “Simone Fraser. I should have known you'd be part of this whole zombie clusterfuck.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  After Simone and Nathan's cinematic WTF reveal, we were sent off to decontaminate and clean up. Exhausted and heartsick, the remaining Wild Cards then went to the cafeteria. Gabriel and Gentry didn't join us. Guess they had some debriefing to do. The rest of us huddled dispiritedly together as we picked at our food, appetites killed by the loss of not one, but two of our team.

  We weren't invulnerable. I guess we all knew that on some level, but till today none of us had really confronted the fact that even after surviving an experience that killed most people and given us all an extra edge, our lives were still fragile things and could be lost at any second.

  It especially hurt to lose Mack, who had been our heart and conscience. Lil was devastated, silent tears slipping down her face as she stared at her hamburger and fries without touching it. Even Tony was at a loss for words, his usual relentless barrage of movie quotes and banter with Kai totally MIA.

  I forced myself to eat, knowing I'd need the fuel for what we'd face when the swarm found us. We might have a few days or we might only have a few hours, so we had to be ready. All I wanted to do was go to bed and forget the last few hours had ever happened. I wanted Mack to be there with his basset hound eyes and warm smile. I'd even pay to hear Kaitlyn give one of her bitchy remarks. Anything but face the reality of their loss. So I forced my mind down another path, that of Nathan and Simone's :it's a small world” moment.

  I mean, how weird was that? Nathan had conveniently vanished too quickly to answer any questions, not that I expected him to answer them anyway and we'd been hustled off right away for decontamination or I'd have cornered Simone. One of the things I liked about her was her transparency when it came to information other people would say was on a need-to-know basis. Simone treated the Wild Cards like they needed to pretty much know everything related to the zombie virus. And since we were putting our lives on the line on a daily basis, she was right.

  Lil gave a small, choked sob, bringing my attention back to the present. “Oh, honey…” I hugged her tightly. “He might be okay…” Even as I said it, I heard the lack of conviction in my voice.

  Lil shook her head. “There were so many zombies out there… Why did Kaitlyn do it? If she hadn't, Mack would still be here. We were almost home.”

  The anger in her voice startled me.

  “She was probably delirious,” I said carefully, trying to diffuse the disturbing edge I heard in Lil's tone. “Not thinking straight. And I think … she must have heard Gabriel talking about needing a diversion if we wanted to get back without immediately leading the swarm to Big Red. She probably thought she was helping us.”

  “They're still coming, though. So it was pointless!” Her voice rose. “And Mack sacrificed himself for nothing!” Angry tears now streamed down her face.

  I tried again. “We don't know that he's dead.”

  “He is dead, he is! I hate her!” With that Lil burst into loud, braying sobs, worse than the night we went to get her cats. This time there wasn't anything I could do to make it better other than hold her and let her cry it out on my shoulder.

  Tony looked uncomfortable with Lil's display of emotion, Kai sympathetic. But it was Tony who got a couple of damp napkins and handed them to me so I could press them on the back of Lil's neck and forehead as her sobs slowly tapered off.

  When she finally had herself under control, he handed her a wad of dry napkins so she could blow her nose.

  “Thanks…” Her voice was small and shaky, but the edge of hysteria had left it.

  Poor Kaitlyn, I thought. She couldn't have been in her right mind, but I'd no doubt she thought she was doing the right thing. I wasn't sure if it was a totally unselfish act or if she wanted to die, but I'd no doubt she thought she was doing the right thing for all of us. I thought about saying this to Lil, but figured now was not the time.

  Someone cleared his or her throat. We looked up to see Nathan, clean and dressed in fatigues and a black T-shirt, a plate piled high with food in one hand, a glass of milk in the other. We hadn't even heard him come in. Talk about ninja skills.

  He sat down across from Lil, Tony and Kai scooting their chairs over to make room. “You okay, kid?”

  Lil took a deep, quavering breath and nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Good. ‘Cause while your teammate did a stupid thing there, it was also a brave thing. She thought she was saving the team.”

  “But Mack…”

  “Also did a stupid thing, but a brave one.”

  Lil looked down at her plate. “She wasn't worth his life.”

  Nathan shrugged. “That's not your call to make. People are who they are, and they're going to do what they think is right even if it risks their lives and maybe other people's lives too. Like you risking your lives to save those cats. You think if you two had died the rest of your teammates would've said, ‘Gee, they died, but at least they saved the cats?’“

  “If you want to live with yourself, go after the cat,” Lil said softly. Then she gave another deep sigh and nodded. “Mack wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he hadn't gone after Kaitlyn, right?”

  “Probably not.” Nathan took a bite of burger, chewing and swallowing before adding, “Now eat some food. We're in for a fight and I don't want you fainting on us, got it?”

  Lil picked up her burger and started eating it without another word.

  I looked across at Nathan and mouthed “Thank you.” He gave his little lopsided half-grin and took another bite of his burger. I almost asked him about Simone then, but thought he'd earned the right to eat his meal in peace. It'd wait.

  * * * *

  We'd been told to convene in Room 217 when we'd finished cleaning up and eating, so as soon as everyone finished the last of their dinner, we trooped dispiritedly upstairs to the lecture hall where Simone, Colonel Paxton, Gabriel, and Gentry waited for us, the four of them sitting at the table in front.
r />   Gabriel's expression was grim, but he looked so much better again, complexion back to normal. Guess he had his vitamin B shot or whatever. He caught me checking him out and smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He and Simone both obviously had something on their minds.

  Simone waited until we were all seated, purposefully avoiding looking at Nathan as he sauntered down the aisle and plopped down comfortably in the front row.

  “Just like being back in college.”

  If I didn't know better, I'd hazard a guess he was being deliberately provocative. Hell, I did know better and he so was being provocative.

  Once we were all seated, Colonel Paxton stood up and said, “Before Dr. Fraser addresses the issue at hand, I want to tell you how deeply sorry we are for the loss of your fellow Wild Cards … and how proud we are of you for your bravery.” He sat back down.

  Short, succinct, and, I thought, sincere. And no bullshit about dying for their country, like General Heald would have spewed.

  Simone took the floor. She took a deep breath, then finally spoke. “Early on in this outbreak, we had run across an anomaly and—”

  Tony raised his hand. “What's an anomaly?”

  “It's a deviation from a common rule,” said Nathan, leaning back in his chair, an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at Simone. I would have killed for thought balloons for both of them.

  “Er, yes. Thank you, Nathan.” Simone ran a hand through her perfectly coiffed hair. Several strands pulled free, a sure sign she was not her usual poised self. “As I was saying, we ran across what we thought was a unique case early on in the outbreak. This person contracted the virus and started exhibiting certain characteristics of the flesh-eating dead, but without actually dying. We used a vaccine on him … this person … a vaccine we'd hoped would cure the actual zombie virus itself. It didn't, but the vaccine did halt the progressive symptoms of what we thought was a unique mutation in one individual.”

  A picture of Jake huddled over his wife and child flashed in my head. I knew where this was heading.

  “But it wasn't. It seems the virus has another mutation to offer aside from the Wild Card gene.” Simone looked at us gravely, then continued. “If these people eat human flesh, they retain their personality and control over the progress of the disease. If they don't, their body will slowly decay along with memories and cognitive abilities. Eventually they will die and then resurrect as one of the walking dead.”

  “So it's Hannibal Lector time or else,” said Tony.

  Simone nodded. “As I said, we thought this was a unique condition. But there have since been two other people exhibiting these symptoms. One of them was here in the lab, in controlled conditions. She did not respond to the vaccine. And the other—”

  “Jake. It was Jake.”

  I knew from Simone's expression I was right. Then I looked at Gabriel, whose face was as white as it'd been in the Suburban before we'd crashed. He'd known too.

  I stared at them both in disbelief and betrayal. “I thought we could trust you. Why wouldn't you tell us something like this? And Gabriel…” I stopped, heartsick.

  Her expression stricken, Simone said, “If we'd had any idea you'd run into this in the field, I assure you we would have told you, Ashley.”

  “How could you not tell us? Kaitlyn might still be alive if we'd known about this.” Not entirely fair, but I didn't feel particularly fair at the moment. “We trusted you. Both of you!”

  I stood and strode up the aisle, too angry and hurt to stay there another moment. I'd made it halfway to the door when Gabriel said, “We didn't say anything because I was the first person to exhibit the symptoms.”

  I stopped in my tracks. He was joking, right?

  “We thought I was the only one until two days ago, Ashley. How comfortable would you—all of you—have been going into combat situations if you'd known the truth?”

  I couldn't respond. All I could see was Jake's gore-smeared face—only this time, the features were Gabriel's.

  “We've been trying to find a cure,” said Simone. “And the vaccine guarantees we can keep the symptoms at bay. Gabriel felt he'd be a more effective team leader if we kept his condition a secret.”

  Nathan raised his hand. “May I say something?” he didn't wait for an answer. “Simone, you need to stop trying to justify an honest mistake on your part. And Ashley, you need to sit down and stop acting like a high school kid who didn't get invited to a party just because your boyfriend has a few secrets.”

  My face flamed in embarrassment. “He's not my boyfriend!”

  Nathan waved a dismissive hand. “Whatever. You're a civilian combatant in a military unit. Secrets are a part of the game, especially in a super-duper secret black ops unit like this one. Get over it and get used to it or get out of it. We don't have time for this high school shit. You're better than this.”

  Ouch. Feeling as though I'd been slapped a few times across the face with a sloppy wet rag of reality, I swallowed a couple of times before managing to choke out an “I'm sorry…”

  Then I saw Jake biting his dead wife's lip off again, and imagined Gabriel doing the same to me.

  My stomach lurched and my gorge rose. I gagged and pressed a hand against my mouth, then ran out the door. The last thing I heard before it shut behind me was Gabriel saying “Damn it, she has the right—”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I barely made it to the bathroom before losing my dinner in one hot gush, then another. I hung over the toilet bowl for another minute, shaking with reaction. Finally, when I was sure nothing else was going to make its second appearance, I made my way to the sink, splashing cold water over my face and rinsing my mouth to try and get rid of the nasty-ass aftertaste of vomit.

  I hate throwing up.

  The door opened. “Ashley?”

  I looked in the mirror and saw Gabriel looking at me, as uncertain as I'd ever seen him. “Are you—”

  I held up a hand. “Please don't ask if I'm okay. I am so not okay I can't even begin to figure out where to begin.” I paced back and forth as I continued. “I saw a man, a living, breathing human, eating his wife and son. And now I find out that man could have been you. And I get why you and Simone didn't want to tell the team, I really do. But—”

  “You still feel betrayed.”

  I stopped mid-pace and faced him. “But why didn't you tell me?”

  “It wasn't my decision to make.”

  “Is that the only reason?”

  Gabriel took a deep breath, eyes dark blue with turmoil.

  “I mean, is this why you didn't… you know, you wouldn't with me…” God, could I sound any stupider? Or any more like a chaste romance heroine?

  “Ash…you have to understand I don't know what's going to happen with this condition. I don't know if it's catching—”

  “Like some sort of zombie STD?”

  “Well … yeah.”

  “What do you think they make condoms for?”

  “Jeez, Ashley…” The light was dim, but I could swear he blushed.

  “What? Don't tell me you're going get all coy and Victorian on me after we … er… almost did what we did.”

  One corner of Gabriel's mouth lifted in a half smile. “I love it when you talk dirty.”

  My turn to blush. “I just want to know if this … condition is why you wouldn't make love to me.” There. I said it. Almost as good as “he vas my boyfriend!”

  Gabriel nodded. “Yeah. I mean, you saw what happened back at Bigfoot's Revenge. And that's what would happen to me if whatever I've got runs its course without the vaccine. It's worse than being a zombie because zombies can't think or feel. But being alive… or half dead and knowing you're eating human flesh … that you have to if you want to stay alive…” He shook himself, like a dog shaking off particularly foul water. “I couldn't stand the thought of your disgust if you knew.”

  “So … you rejected me so I wouldn't reject you.”

  “Of course not! That's ridic�
��” Gabriel stopped mid-word. I just looked at him. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

  “So it was okay for me to think there was something wrong with me.”

  “That's not—” He stopped again. “I didn't think of it that way, Ashley.”

  “I get that.” I did. But I still felt the need to play this scene a little further. “But that's what it boiled down to. You know that, right?”

  “Ashley, I—”

  “I mean, granted I'm not gonna start chowing down on you at inappropriate times, but a gal's got insecurities. I thought maybe it was my looks or the way I kissed or—”

  “There is nothing wrong with the way you kiss.”

  I ignored the heat in his gaze and continued, “So you didn't like the way I felt? Too fat? Too skinny? Too—”

  He kissed me to shut me up. I didn't mind even though I was still angry that he hadn't trusted me enough to tell me the truth. But anger is a short step to passion and I let the two meld together as our mouths met in one of those kind of painful kisses where the teeth clash and tongues tangle and it hurts, but it doesn't and you just want more.

  I grabbed a handful of Gabriel's hair with one hand and slid the other under his T-shirt, trying to pull him closer as he wrapped one arm around my waist, pressed his other hand against my butt, lifting me up to set me on the edge of one of the sinks. Our mouths stayed locked together as we continued to kiss feverishly, hungrily as if this were our last night on earth.

  Our hands roamed up and down each other's bodies, finding curves and muscles, hardness and softness. Parting my legs with his knee, he pressed himself against me, the heat and hardness of his arousal almost enough to make me come on the spot. Nothing like a few near-death experiences to ramp up desire a few degrees Fahrenheit.

  I pulled his T-shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor. My long-sleeved thermal followed, along with my … oh, never mind, I wasn't wearing a bra. He dipped his head down to my breasts, teasing each peak with teeth and tongue until the sensation was just short of painful, a real it-hurts-so-good type of feeling. I gasped as his fingers slid into the waistband of my yoga pants, slipping into my warmth with smoothness and ease, showing us both how ready and eager my body was to get down to business.