Alice in Zombieland

14 Let’s Hear the Chorus of Pain

As promised, Cole was waiting for me after school. He leaned against the back of his Jeep, arms crossed. His black hat shaded his face, and sunglasses shielded his eyes. He wore a wife-beater, displaying those massive biceps and grim reaper tattoos.

When I reached him, I anchored my hands on my hips and glared. “Do not get into any more fights on my behalf.” I didn’t want him suspended—or worse. “Now give me your keys.”

He gently flicked the end of my nose. “Haven’t you heard? I do what I want, when I want, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop me.”

I could knee him between the legs and simply steal his keys, proving otherwise, but all I said was, “Believe me, I’ve witnessed that firsthand,” and held out my hands. “Now be a good boy and do what I want you to do.”

He lifted the sunglasses and I saw a bright gleam in those violet eyes. “And what is it, exactly, that Little Ali wants?”

Little Ali. Ugh. “I said give me your keys.” No reason to play nice. He certainly wasn’t. “And if you call me Little Ali again, I’ll smash your trachea the way I hear you like to do to others.”

Suddenly suspicious, he snapped out a quick “Why?”

“Because I hate it.”

“Not the name. The keys.”

“Hello. Because I want to stab you with them, why else?”

“Why?” he insisted.

Fine. “Because I need to practice my driving, and I promised my grandparents I would.”

“You’re telling me…” The glasses slid back into place as he cupped the back of my neck and dragged me closer to him, peering down at me sternly. “That you don’t know how to drive?”

“Of course I know how to drive. Now, if you ask me if I know how to drive well, the answer will be different.”

He choked out a laugh, but backed away and tossed me the keys. “Just wait until the parking lot is empty before putting my precious life in danger.”

As I climbed into the driver’s side, my gaze roved over the wide expanse of sky. It was still a lovely baby blue, with puffy white clouds spread out, intertwining, separating. I shouldn’t have looked, though.

The rabbit had returned.

Dread wound through me, because I now knew what it meant. “Zombies will come out tonight,” I said, monotone. And that they were coming on a night when I’d had no vision of a future with Cole…

“I highly doubt it. They’ve come out too many times already, and they need to rest.”

“Trust me. They’ll come.”

“How do you know?”

I wasn’t exactly sure how to explain Emma, so I said, “I just do.”

He rubbed his hands over his thighs, the action jerky. “Fine. The entire group will go hunting tonight, just in case.”

“Am I included in that?”

He opened his mouth, looked at my face, closed his mouth. Nodded. “I guess you are.”

“Good.” Bonus: I’d be out of the house and wouldn’t draw the zombies to my grandparents’ door.

I buckled myself into the seat and started the engine. Hearing that roar startled me, bringing another worry to life. I was behind the wheel of a car. Soon I would be driving in the path of other cars and responsible for Cole’s life.

Rationally, I now knew with absolute certainty that the rabbit had nothing to do with car wrecks, but that failed to calm me. I was shaking, sweat suddenly beading over my skin, and every time I inhaled, the air burned my throat and lungs.

“You’ll do great,” Cole said.

“If I don’t…”

“I can shove you out of the car and take over. I’ll be safe, easy as that.”

The joke worked, causing me to chuckle weakly. “Funny.”

“You’ve got this, Ali.” He was all seriousness. “I have faith in you and okay, fine, more faith in myself. I’ll coach you all the way.”

The pep talk worked. I could do this. I could. I wasn’t the same girl that had run away from Kat to walk home in the rain. I was stronger. I’d faced zombies several times and survived.

At last the parking lot cleared, and I slowly reversed. Hey, Lord. Remember me? I could use Your help again. My stomach cramped as I shifted gears. Cole was patient with me, even when I barely edged the speedometer up to fifteen miles per hour and other cars were honking, then whizzing past us. A few drivers even gave me the finger and Cole nearly jumped out of his seat each time. However, a dark SUV followed us around several corners, content to go the same snail-like speed.

“Justin’s people,” Cole said, probably noticing the number of times I’d glanced into the rearview mirror.

“Great. House burners are on my tail.” Just what I needed. Another stress factor. “Will they try anything?” The SUV’s windshield was tinted so dark I couldn’t see anyone inside.

“No. They just like to make their presence known. They’ll taper off at the next turn.”

He was right.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Justin told me his boss paid you a visit.”

“What are you doing talking to Justin?” he asked, messing with the radio dial.

“Trying to get answers.”

“From now on, get those from me.”

“He’s in my class. I didn’t want to ignore him and—”

“Ali. You don’t know him or what he’s capable of doing, telling, or warping. It’ll be better for all of us if you listen to me.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll ignore him.”

The entire drive lasted forty minutes when it probably should have taken only ten. He lived in a neighborhood where the homes were spaced acres apart, and the houses themselves had a farmlike quality. Each had red-and-white wood, detached barns, wire fences, and fields of wheat instead of trees.

Only when I threw the car into Park was I able to fully relax. We were safe. We were unscathed. Thanks again, Lord! Seriously!

“I can’t promise we’ll ever use you for a hasty getaway,” Cole said, “but with a little work, you might be able to race my grandmother—while she’s on her scooter.”

“I’m not usually that bad. I’m sorry. I just…the accident…on top of seeing the rabbit....”

“What rabbit?”

Well, crap. As emotionally wrung out as I was, I finally found myself explaining about the cloud, even pointing it out to him. I told him how I’d seen it each day before the zombies emerged, and how, the first time, I’d lost everyone I loved. How my dead little sister had appeared to me and told me she was somehow creating the cloud as a warning. Midway through, Cole reached over and began to massage the back of my neck, the way he liked to do to himself, offering comfort.

“You don’t think I’m crazy?” I asked hesitantly.

“Like I’m one to judge another person’s sanity.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Okay, how about this? No, I don’t think you’re crazy.”

I chose to believe him. “Have you ever seen a witness? That’s what she called herself. Not a ghost, those don’t exist, and not an angel, those do, but a witness.” Like one of his slain friends, maybe.

“No.”

“Ever heard the term?”

“Outside of a legal trial, no.”

“Has anyone else?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Oh,” I said, my shoulders slumping.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Ali. You can see zombies when not many others can. Seeing witnesses or whatever is probably no different than that.” He ruffled my hair, making me feel about three years old. “Now come on, we’ve got a lot to do.”

After tossing him the keys, I exited the Jeep and headed toward the house. Halfway there, he was at my side, twining our fingers and tugging me toward the barn in back.

“This way,” he said—and he refused to release me.

We were holding hands as if we were a couple.

The closer we got to the door, the louder I heard the grunts and groans coming from inside. I blinked, thinking it sounded like people were being tortured in there.

Turns out, yes, they were being tortured. Only, they were doing it to themselves. Throughout the barn I saw workout equipment, a training mat and even a boxing ring, as well as all the boys who’d been hanging around Cole that first day of school, plus a few that hadn’t.

Cole made the introductions. There was Lucas, who was gorgeous and black, and practically bench-pressing a bus. He had a house arrest anklet on, and yet, I was pretty sure I’d seen him at Reeve’s party.

Derek, also black, stood at the end of a stall, shooting a dummy dressed to look like a zombie. Bronx hammered away at a punching bag. Brent, a blond, held it steady. Collins, a boy with a shaved head and house arrest anklet of his own, and Haun (Spike), an Asian boy with dark hair and eyes, were sword fighting, and, judging by the sound of metal clanging against metal, with real swords.

A smorgasbord of hot, sweaty guys and warrior weapons. I’d stepped into every girl’s fantasy.

Frosty and Mackenzie were running the treadmills. Trina and Cruz (Turd), a Hispanic boy with brown hair and a scar running down the side of his cheek, were in the ring, boxing without gloves. Aka punching the crap out of each other.

As I stood there, taking everything in, I could make out a thousand different scents. Something floral from Mackenzie, something musky from Haun. Something fruity from Collins.

“You guys do this every day after school?” I asked, trying to hide my nervousness.

“Pretty much. Strength and stamina will save your life. Plus, we can take our weapons into the spirit realm, and they help us hobble the zombies for easier elimination.”

“So I’ll be learning how to use them.”

“Yes, but because of your injuries, you’re only doing spirit projection, the treadmill and target practice today. Once you heal, we’ll get you started with everything else.”

“Okay.”

“You ready?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” The way he eyed me up and down made me feel like a bug under a microscope. He took in everything, missed nothing. “Step out of your body.”

It took me a moment to register what he’d said. “Just like that?” I snapped my fingers, and gazed around self-consciously. “Here, now?”

He gave me an unsympathetic nod. “Just like that. Here and now.”

For a long while, I tried, I swear I tried, but with no results. No matter how hard I attempted to push my spirit out of my body, the two remained connected.

“You’ve done it before,” Cole reminded me.

“Yeah, but I was under zombie duress.”

“How about this? Step out of your body or I’ll put you over my knee and spank you in front of everyone.”

I huffed and puffed and gasped out, “I’d like to see you try!”

He reached for me. With a squeal I slapped his hand and darted out of the way.

“Five,” he said, a steely glint in his eyes.

I tried for bravado. “What, you’re counting like you’re my mother?”

“Four.”

He was counting. Great. I took a moment to breathe in and out, slow and measured, my determination rising.

“Three.”

I closed my eyes, visualized the zombies from the cemetery, the ones who’d hovered over my dad. My determination became a burning fire in my chest. Faith. I just needed faith. I could do this.

“Two.”

I would do this. I would. Nothing could stop me.

As easy as breathing, I stepped out of my body.

One moment I was sweltering, the next I was bone-chillingly cold. My teeth chattered as I scanned the barn. I could see the glow of the Blood Lines, the smears over each of the windows. I could see each of the kids moving at a slower pace than I’d realized, sweat sliding down their temples, a bright light—energy?—softly radiating from their pores.

Cole possessed the brightest light.

The scents inside the building intensified, so strong now my nostrils actually stung.

“Go back,” Cole said, his voice cranked to its highest setting.

Cringing, I turned and saw that my body was frozen in place, perched right beside him. My expression was pinched with concentration. “How do—”

“Don’t speak,” he shouted, and again I cringed.

“You don’t speak!” I shouted back.

Cole reached out to slap his hand over my mouth, but his hand moved through me. For a moment, I felt as though I’d bathed in warm honey.

“What?” I asked.

Paling, he pointed to his mouth. His jaw was working, the muscles twitching, but his lips remained stuck together.

In an instant, I remembered. Whatever I spoke in this spiritual realm, and believed that I received, I would get. “You can speak, you can speak,” I rushed out.

Instantly his lips parted. “Not another word,” he growled.

Eyes narrowed, he reached out to touch his fingers to my body’s fingers, then motioned for me to do the same. Mirroring him, I placed my spirit fingers against my natural fingers. At the moment of contact, the rest of me slid into place as though pulled on a tether.

“Sorry,” I hurried to say. “I’m sorry, but I thought I couldn’t violate free will, no matter what I said.”

“I told you there were rules and with rules come exceptions. Sometimes, when the right command is voiced, and it’s for defense, to protect yourself, free will is the weaker of the two and overshadowed.”

“How? I told the zombies to let me go, but they still came back for a second helping. Believe me, the command was to protect myself.”

“You spoke to them all at once, I’m guessing, and weakened the power of your command, each one of the zombies experiencing only a measure of the compulsion to obey rather than the full force.”

“Oh.” Clearly, I had more to learn than I’d realized.

“Now leave your body again.”

During the ensuing forty-five minutes, I was only able to exit my body four times.

“Enough,” he finally said. “Practice separating at home, in a locked room you are not to leave. Silently. You need to be able to do it in an instant.”

“I will. But how do I make my hand glow the way you did, when you reduced the zombies to ash?” I’d done it once, but wasn’t sure how or if I could do it again.

“While I’m fighting, when I know I’m going for a death blow, it does it on its own.”

“You don’t even have to think about it?” Wow.

“Not anymore. Now listen.” His voice deepened with a disobey-and-suffer sternness. That tone was probably the reason he was leader of the group. “Do not practice that at home. You’ll accidentally burn down your grandparents’ house. For the time being, one of us will take care of killing any zombies you disable. But if your hand lights up on its own while we’re out fighting, don’t try to stop it. Just go with it. We’ll stay out of your way.”

Subtext: I could accidentally hurt each one of his friends. Awesome.

“Also,” he continued. “While practicing, never leave your body in a place people can find you. While fighting, allowances sometimes have to be made. Try not to, but if you must, do it. But never speak while you’re out. You can cause all kinds of damage, and it’s better not to risk it.”

“Got it.” Although, with practice, we could train ourselves to say only the right things. No need to mention that little gem now, while his lips were probably throbbing from my accidental command for silence.

“Frosty,” he called.

Frosty knew what Cole wanted without having to be told. He stopped the machine he was on, hopped off and grabbed a bottle of water, draining the contents in seconds.

“Your turn,” Cole said to me.

Well, what do you know? I’d get to run next to my least favorite person in the world.

“Did you bring workout clothes?” Cole asked me.

I licked my lips as I studied my shirt and jeans. I’d sweat through these in minutes and look ill instead of flushed with health like Mackenzie. “No.”

“No worries. I bought you something.” There was a hint of relish in his tone. “Bathroom’s through there. I put everything you’ll need in your locker.”

I had a locker?

The bathroom was like every locker room in every high school across America. My cubbyhole was long and red and next to Cole’s. Inside rested a blue sports bra and the shortest, tightest pair of spandex shorts I’d ever seen, plus a pair of socks and running shoes.

My cheeks heated as I changed. At least he hadn’t bought me any panties.

When I emerged, I felt naked. All of my stomach was bared, as well as the full length of my legs. I was probably flashing a little cheek, too. Cole, who was waiting for me next to the water cooler, whistled as he looked me over. Once again I felt like a bug under a microscope, only this time I felt like a bug wearing pasties and a thong.

“Nice.” The relish had been replaced by a husky note of approval.

“Your version of playing dress up sucks,” I muttered, tugging on the hem of the shorts.

He barked out a laugh. “I disagree. But if it makes you feel any better, I’ll be stripping down, too.”

“It doesn’t.” I’d probably mumble incoherently and drool.

His wanton grin suggested he knew exactly what I’d been thinking. “Come on, let’s get you started.” He led me to the treadmills.

Though Mackenzie never glanced in my direction, she stiffened, even stumbled. I checked out her time. She’d been running for an hour and a half. I also checked out her speed and her incline, and set mine to something faster and higher, though I waited to press Start. I wanted Cole gone first.

Of course, he lingered. “Ignore each other,” he commanded sternly.

She snickered. “Yes, Daddy.”

His eyes narrowed, but his focus remained on me. “Be careful. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but Mackenzie beat me to it. “This is truly pathetic. Both of you should be embarrassed.”

“Do I need to talk with you outside, Kenz?”

He had a nickname for her. How wonderful.

“No,” she snapped.

“Good.”

She added, “If I have to listen to another one of your lectures about making friends with the new girl I’ll feed myself to the zombies.”

“You won’t need to. I’ll ring the dinner bell and hand you over.” With that, he strode away, finally leaving us alone.

Get it together, Bell.

For the first ten minutes of my own run, Mackenzie and I both obeyed him. I don’t know why she did, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Cole. He’d removed the wife-beater and exchanged his jeans for black mesh shorts that hung low on his waist, revealing a trail of dark hair from his navel to the shorts, before joining Lucas at the weights.

His muscles strained as he lifted the bar. Lowered. Lifted. Sweat began to pop up on his skin, dripping down…down…

“I hope you’re enjoying his attention,” Mackenzie said, good behavior time plainly over. Her curling ponytail swung with her every pounding step. “It won’t last.”

I wasn’t even sure I had his attention, not in the way she meant. “Just because you couldn’t keep him doesn’t mean other girls will have a problem doing so.” Brave words from a girl who’d never been on a real date with him.

“Is this our little chat?” She wiped her brow with the back of her hand. “I’m disappointed. I expected you to throw a punch at the very least, but I should have known you’d prove to be a coward.”

“We’ll get to the punching, I promise you.” Already my thighs burned from the strain, my own sweat dripping down my chest and back. Did I allow myself to slow? Heck, no. “So why did you spread those rumors?”

“I didn’t.”

“Oh, please. Unlike your boys, I’m not stupid when it comes to a pretty face.”

“You think I’m pretty, huh? You’ve probably even had dreams about me.”

Kat’s ego I adored. Hers I felt a blinding need to smack away. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be lucky to still have all your teeth.”

“How original. Why don’t you think before you speak? I’ve made no secret of my dislike for you. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I want you gone. Like now. But resorting to rumors about your sex life? Are you kidding me? I’m not twelve.”

Not one time during her speech had she wheezed, the hooker. I was already struggling. “There’s no one else.”

“I kinda love to break this to you, baby doll, but there are plenty of someone elses. A lot of girls at Asher think they’re brave enough to vacation on the wild side and hook up with one of my boys, and a lot of girls are denied. You weren’t denied, and I’m sure envy has taken hold.”

“There’s a little flaw to your logic. No one talks about Kat, and she dated Frosty.”

“Actually, she fell in love with me,” Frosty called from his spot at the side of the boxing ring, unashamed of the fact that he’d been eavesdropping. “And I thought I told you her own friends dropped her for a while. Plus, all the rumors said that I was awesome.”

My hands curled into fists. “What’s the constant here?” I said to Mackenzie, making sure to lower my voice. “A girl dates one of your boys, and rumors are spread.”

“First, don’t listen to Frost. Her friends might have dropped her, but no one ever spread rumors about her sex life. No one cared. Second, I. Didn’t. Do. It.”

Something I knew from my dad’s training: emotions made people reckless. When people were reckless, they made mistakes. Not just physically, but verbally. Right now Mackenzie skirted the razor’s edge of fury. If I could push her over that edge, she might accidentally admit to what I was still certain she’d done. Maybe she’d even brag.

So, I went the extra mile and unleashed my inner tigress. “Do you ever wonder what kids say about you behind your back? You live with the boys I supposedly slept with. You threaten anyone those boys show an interest in. That smacks of envy, too, don’t you think? No reason to reply. It does. My guess is, you’re still in love with Cole. I bet you even—”

With a shriek, she launched herself off her treadmill and onto mine. We tumbled backward, her on top. When we landed, I took the brunt of the impact, oxygen bursting from my mouth in a dizzying explosion. My head cracked against the concrete floor, and stars winked in front of my eyes.

Is it sad that my first thought happened to be: Thank God I’m off the treadmill!

She straddled my hips and threw the first punch, her knuckles slamming into my cheek. Another bout of stars, brighter this time, as my brain rattled against my skull.

I didn’t wait for them to clear. I threw my own punch, right at her mouth, splitting her still-healing lip. Her head whipped to the side, blood spraying across the floor. I reached up and grabbed her by the nape, shoving her down and hefting myself over her. Punch, punch, a hard double tap.

More blood, now dribbling down her chin. She tried to fight while horizontal, but strands of hair were in her eyes and her aim was off.

I remembered Justin’s words about her inability to kick butt while on the ground. I could beat her senseless, right here, right now. But then, I’d never get any answers. I held up my hands and said, “We don’t have to do this. Just tell me—”

“Argh!” She jerked upright, nailed me in the stomach, and sent me sprawling to my side.

I fought for breath as I stood. “I’m going to—” Hard arms—warm, strong, familiar—banded around me and yanked me into an even harder body.

“Enough,” Cole barked, the boom of his voice making me cringe.

Bronx and Frosty grabbed Mackenzie.

She struggled to free herself, desperate to reach me. “You think I don’t know what people say about me? You think I’d ever put someone else through that, even if I hated them?” Every word was spit at me.

Funny thing. I began to believe her. Utter hurt radiated from her. Not from the punches I’d delivered, but from deep inside her. She had suffered. She suffered still.

I sagged against Cole. “I’m sorry,” I told her. “For what I said. I’m sorry.”

“Whatever.” The boys allowed her to wrench from their submissive hold. She stomped out of the barn, the door banging shut behind her.

My shoulders drooped with the weight of my shame. How could I have been so blind?

Well, I had my answer, didn’t I. I’d accused her of jealousy, but the emotion had been all mine. She was Cole’s ex. She lived with him. I had no idea if he still had feelings for her. I’d lashed out.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Cole said. He laced our fingers and led me to the locker room, where he lifted me onto the sink counter. He disappeared, then returned with a first-aid kit.

Oh, great. The stitches in my arm had torn open. Blood flowed down, pooling in my palm. And now that I’d noticed, I felt the sting. On top of that, I also felt a terrible throb in both of my cheeks. (The ones on top.)

“You tried to tell me. I should have listened to you.” Tears burned my eyes, and I lowered my gaze so he wouldn’t notice. The droplets spiked in my lashes. I wiped them away with a shaky hand—and came face-to-face with a piercing in Cole’s nipple.

Uh, hello. Why hadn’t I noticed that before?

“Yeah, you should have.” He snipped away the threads, cleaned me up, numbed the skin with some kind of ointment, then sutured the wound. Even with the ointment, it felt like a hundred bees had decided to play Where Do You Hurt Most with my arm, but I merely bit my lower lip and endured.

“You’ve had to do this before,” I remarked. He had a steady hand, knew where to thread the needle, when to clip the ends.

“Yeah,” he repeated. “Even on myself. We all have.” When he finished that, he wrapped the lower half of my arm with gauze. And when he finished that, he flattened his hands beside my hips, put his body between my legs and leaned into me, peering deep into my eyes. “Are you okay? Really?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Then he kissed me.

And it was just like before. I lost my mental hold on my surroundings and completely focused on Cole. On his mouth, pressing into mine. On his tongue, dueling with mine. On his taste, so sweet and addictive, like strawberries and chocolate. On his scent, a dark, rich spice. On his body, warm and strong and all around me, caging me in.

I had no thoughts of resisting. My arms wound around him, drawing him even closer. We were flush against each other, and I loved it. I even wrapped my legs all the way around him and locked my ankles on his lower back, keeping him in place.

I guess he was interested in me romantically.

His fingers tangled in my hair, angling my head for better access. “You taste good.”

“Talk later. Kiss now.”

“Hell, yeah.”

There was something so familiar about our words, but at the moment, I couldn’t reason out what. Didn’t care why. There was only here and now and him. He was shirtless, and oh, glory, I could feel every ridge of his muscles, every bump from his scars, even the cold metal piercing his nipple.

“What me to stop?” he rasped.

“No. Yes. I—”

His hold on me tightened, and I—

“O-kay,” an irritated voice said from beside us. “This isn’t what I expected to find.”

Cole released me, spun and faced the intruder, staying in front of me to blockade me from a possible threat.

His dad stood in the entrance. “Heard there was a catfight,” Mr. Holland said. Tall and menacing and now—amused?

Someone kill me. Now!

“No harm done,” Cole said easily.

Mr. Holland scraped the tip of his boot against the wall beside him. “I see that.”

Please, please, please kill me.

“We were just heading out,” Cole added after clearing his throat.

Mr. Holland waved toward the door. “Well, then, don’t let me stop you. Go.”

I scrambled off the counter, moved around Cole and beat feet, never looking back.

One huge difference between living with an all-seeing dad and unaware grandparents was bedtime. Dad hadn’t had one, but Nana and Pops were tucked in by nine. The “early bird special,” they called it. This saved me from having to drug them, as Cole had warned me I might have to do in order to sneak out.

At nine-thirty, Cole stepped into my backyard. Cole, who had kissed me. Cole, who had refused to discuss it afterward. Okay, fine. I had refused.

Cole, who was driving me flipping crazy.

At nine thirty-three I was outside the house and standing beside him—and the rank scent of rot coated the air.

As Emma had warned, zombies were on their way.

Nervousness blended with anticipation. I had spent several hours practicing the spirit-out-of-body thing, and I was getting quite good. I wasn’t going down easily tonight.

“I can’t spare anyone tonight, I’m sorry, so I put up so many traps nothing will get past your gate, okay?” Cole grabbed my arm and bolted into a full-blown sprint, forcing me to keep up or be dragged. “Don’t step anywhere I don’t step.”

“I thought we were fighting them here,” I gasped out. There was a full moon tonight, the large golden orb surrounded by a long stretch of black sky. There were clouds but no stars that I could see.

“Frosty spotted the first wave of them already and stayed on their tail. They’re headed to your house, but we want to see if they’ll follow you.”

A question I’d like to know the answer to as well. “And if they don’t?”

“I’ll be notified and we’ll return.”

We broke out of the forested alley, his Jeep waiting at the curb. Bronx was at the wheel, his hair hidden under a dark bandanna, just like mine. Cole practically threw me inside, then slid in beside me. The tires gave a little squeal as we started down the road.

Reminded me a little too much of the night my family had died. How my dad had tossed me in the car, how I’d had to scramble to get buckled in. I will stay calm. This night was different. It would end differently, too. Though it was pitch-black inside the vehicle, I could make out an arsenal of guns, crossbows and swords.

Zombies were gonna die tonight, not us.

“You armed?” Cole asked me.

“Yes.” Before he’d driven me home, he’d given me a switchblade and a double-edged dagger. Tomorrow I would learn the basics of wielding a shortsword and shooting a crossbow. I couldn’t wait. Until then, I was to stick with what I knew.

The Jeep swerved, nicked a corner and bounced me up and down.

“Careful,” Cole said.

Bronx was his usual talkative self—meaning, he said zero. Several sharp turns later, a stint outside the neighborhood and into another, the Jeep stopped abruptly at a curb. Cole hopped out, dragging me—and two of the swords—with him.

He hustled me up a hill, through another cluster of trees and into a clearing. Bronx stayed close to my heels.

“What do you want me to do?” Though I couldn’t see his friends, I suspected they were spread out, watching and waiting. I could smell the floral scent of Mackenzie’s shampoo, the musk of Haun’s cologne and almost everything else I’d breathed in at Cole’s house.

A darkened cluster of clouds moved in front of the moon, creating a dull, almost reddish color. It was the perfect camouflage for us. We were dressed in head-to-toe black, and there were black half circles painted under our eyes. I had no idea why Cole had asked me to add the paint, but he and Bronx sported the streaks, too, so okay.

“Tonight you watch and learn.” He threw the swords down, took hold of my arm and tugged me to a tree. He bent down and linked his fingers. “Up.”

Using his hands as a stepladder, I climbed onto one of the branches and crouched. I palmed both of my blades. “Let me help,” I said. “There’s got to be something I can do.”

He remained on the ground, those violet eyes pinning me in place. “We’re the last line of defense tonight, so we shouldn’t have to fight very many. If any,” he added. “Stay up there unless absolutely necessary. You’re still healing, and I should be able to handle any stragglers that make it our way.”

“But—”

“Because you’re working with daggers,” he interjected, “you’ll have to get up close and personal to render one immobile. If you get close, and they open your wound, you’ll bleed and weaken, and they’ll tear you up the rest of the way.”

Okay, so, basically I was bait. “You shouldn’t have armed me if all you wanted me to do was watch.” The temptation to act would be too great.

“We have to be prepared for anything, always.”

I sighed. I might not like his logic, but I understood it.

“I hate that we’re throwing you straight into the fire like this, that you haven’t done any simulations or practice runs. You’re going to be surprised by how this goes down. But if the zombies are hunting you specifically, we need to know it beyond any doubt, and this is the fastest way.”

A howl ruptured the night, stealing my bravado. Not a wolf’s howl, but a man’s. Hunkering down at the base of my tree, Cole moved the swords in front of him. “We usually leave our bodies at one of our houses, so that they’re out of the way and no one out here can harm us while we’re unable to defend ourselves.” He withdrew the small crossbow from one ankle holster and a gun from the other. “That was impossible for Bronx and me, since we had to drive you here. We’re gonna leave ours right here, with you. Don’t worry if the zombies approach. Our bodies will be fine. You just watch for humans, and if you see any, you need to scare them away.”

I trembled as I said, “All right.”

“Did I tell you that the zombies don’t feel any pain?” he asked, still in teaching mode. “If you’re forced to fight, don’t try to hurt them. It won’t do you any good. They make noises when you strike them because they’re startled out of their rampage. Therefore, your only goal is to disable them.”

“Okay.” I’d already decided this was for better or worse. I wouldn’t change my mind.

Another howl. A scream. Grunts and groans. The sounds came from all around us. I wasn’t sure who was making them, the zombies or Cole’s friends. Next came rattling leaves, pounding footsteps.

“Yeah, they’re following you, all right,” Cole said. “Bronx?”

Bronx nodded.

Both boys donned sunglasses that strapped around their heads. Cole tossed me a pair, but I dropped them. Great!

“Now,” Cole said.

In unison, they stepped out of their bodies.

Someone must have flipped a switch, because bright halogens suddenly lit up the entire clearing, throwing too-bright rays in my direction and chasing away every single shadow. I squinted, my eyes tearing.

The sunglasses now made sense, and so did the dark circles under my eyes. Black absorbed light, deflecting the too-bright glare, allowing me to maintain optimal sight. A very smart move.

That was my last rational thought.

Frosty burst through a thick green bush, the black paint smeared on his face. He wasn’t wearing sunglasses. He dove for the ground, rolling when he landed. “Now, now, now!” The moment he stopped, he had two guns palmed and aimed.

Good thing. The zombies had arrived—and not just a few stragglers but an entire horde.

Pop, pop. Whiz, whiz. Thump, thump. Both Cole and Frosty squeezed at their weapons’ triggers, sending bullets and arrows flying. More grunts and groans sounded as zombies tripped and fell. The scent of rot intensified, making me gag.

More zombies pushed through the bushes, some stumbling over their friends, some managing to remain on their feet. But the moment the light swept over them, they wrenched up their arms to protect their eyes. I’d never seen them in full light before. Now I wished I hadn’t. They might smell rotten, and look it, too, with their dirty clothes, broken features and ripped, sagging skin, but there was something strangely…beautiful about them right now.

Their skin was like chipped ice, glistening with onyx and sapphire undertones. Eyes that had appeared black in the dark were glittering rubies in the light, and utterly hypnotic.

The zombies who weren’t hit by one of Cole’s or Frosty’s weapons flailed for the trees when they realized they couldn’t reach the boys without enduring more of the light. A stroke of good fortune—until a gust of wind snuck up behind me and tossed my scent at the combatants. The zombies froze, sniffed…those ruby gazes zeroing in on me. Suddenly they forgot their aversion to the light.

They marched forward.

“Swarming,” I heard Frosty tell Cole between shots. “Everywhere. All directions.”

Frosty faced front; Cole faced backward. Bronx extended both arms to cover left and right. Boom, boom, boom. Bullets flying in every direction.

Cole dropped his empty clip, then quickly and easily inserted another one that was ready and waiting on his belt. All three boys aimed for necks, doing their best to sever spinal cords.

They hit so many, piles of bodies began to form. And yet, they never made a dent in the numbers. As one zombie fell, two more would take his place. They just kept coming. When Cole ran out of arrows and his second round of bullets, he swiped up his swords and hacked his way through the masses. Heads separated from bodies, and those bodies collapsed—but just as before, neither head nor body died.

He moved with fluid grace, arching back when someone reached for him, then circling around to swipe everyone in front of him while kicking whoever happened to be behind him.

Footsteps. “Incoming,” I heard someone yell. Frosty and Bronx stopped firing. Trina and Cruz shoved through a wall of zombies and into the light, their hands glowing. They attacked the piles, ashing one enemy after another.

Another “Incoming!” sounded. Mackenzie, Derek and Haun were next to arrive, then Lucas and Collins. In their spirit form, their anklets hardly mattered, I realized. There was no sign of Brent.

Some of the boys were bloody. All were sweating, red-faced from strain and exertion. And here I was, up in the trees, doing nothing, letting them put their lives at risk.

Screw staying up here.

See? I’d known temptation would get the best of me.

Zombies followed each of the slayers, and soon we were utterly surrounded. All the kids continued to fire and fight and try to get their glowing palms on those decaying chests. Most of the creatures continually hissed as the heat from the lights flooded over them unceasingly, the blue tones in their skin darkening…darkening…becoming a thick black steam that rose from their pores. They no longer seemed to notice. Maybe because they felt no pain. Wasn’t that what Cole had said? And it seemed as though the zombies were actually working in organized groups, targeting specific kids, separating them before striking with more force.

A scream echoed. Mackenzie stumbled back as she yanked her arm from a zombie’s mouth. Rather than teeth marks, I saw black ooze bubbling from under her skin and I knew evil had been poured straight into her veins.

She kept fighting, her motions slowing…slowing…to nothing more than a slug’s pace. Another zombie managed to bite into that same injured arm, the black ooze spreading up, up, up. Her next scream crackled until it broke into a thousand pieces of silence. A new group of zombies leaped at her, disappearing inside her, rising, and dragging her down. None of the other kids realized her distress; they were too busy defending themselves.

I drew in a deep breath…held it, held it a little longer…I can do this. I will do this…then exhaled with force, propelling my spirit out of my body at the same time, just as I’d practiced. Here and now, with a surge of adrenaline, the action was easier.

I dropped to the ground, landed in a crouch, straightened, both blades clutched in my hands. A glow here, a glow there. The kids, the Blood Lines. Things to avoid. Immediately I pushed into motion, driving toward the group surrounding Mackenzie.

I slashed a zombie across the back of the neck. He stumbled to the side. Spinning, I stabbed another in the stomach. Another spin, another stabbing. From the corner of my eye, I saw Mackenzie’s body spotted with black and twitching, no longer glowing, her fingers gnarling from the intensity of the pain. At least the zombies surrounding her had forgotten all about the already bagged and tagged meal they could have and focused on me.

One snuck up beside me, crouched on the ground as he was, and managed to wrap his fingers around my wrist and tug me down. I stabbed him in the eyes, jab, jab, blinding him. Next I practically did a handstand to kick the zombie I’d heard coming up behind me. My overworked thigh muscles strained but he was shoved away.

“Zombies will not win tonight,” I said as a multitude of others gathered around me. It was a proclamation I prayed I believed.

I popped to my feet as they lunged at me, managing to slick my blade through one jugular, then another. I felt something solid press into my back, but didn’t panic. I caught a familiar sandalwood scent. Cole.

“You’re doing great.” He fought behind me, shielding my blind spots.

A warm gust of wind swirled around me, sparking with power and giving me a burst of strength. He’d believed what he’d said, and I’d believed what he’d said. I was doing great, but now I would do even better.

“You, too.” I arced my arms in different directions, cutting high with one and low with the other.

“Keep doing exactly what you’re doing, just do it quietly.”

Faster…faster…the zombies reached up to block me, but they were just too slow. I cut and I cut and I cut—shoulders, arms, hands, torsos, stomachs, thighs—and twitching bodies began to rain around me.

Bronx swooped in, both of his hands glowing bright white, and rendered the deathblows.

Cole and I continued to battle, but the glow never filled my own hands. After we’d finished hacking our way through Mackenzie’s crowd, we switched our sights to Frosty’s, then Collins’s. I was bitten a few times, nothing prolonged, nothing like before, but the ensuing burn still managed to at last slow my motions. Each time the culprits jerked away from me in horror, as if they’d realized I would treat them to extra loving from my blades.

When the battle was over, when there was no one else to fight, I lost every ounce of energy. I couldn’t resist as an invisible chain dragged me up…up…up…and into the tree. Before, I’d always had to reach out and touch. This was the first time I’d ever experienced such a tug.

I sucked in a breath, the world crashing back into focus.

Even operating in the natural realm, I was too weak to hold myself upright and just kind of tumbled from the branch. I smacked into the ground and rolled, losing the blades somewhere along the way. There was a sharp sting in my arm, and I knew without looking that I’d ripped open my stitches again.

There were too many bodies to count around me, the zombies reminding me of flies stuck in sticky paper that had been left out for several weeks.

“Frosty, get Mackenzie to Ankh,” I heard Cole shout. He stomped to his body, still perched in front of the tree, and reached out. Instantly the two linked up.

“On it,” Frosty replied. He picked up Mackenzie and stalked off.

“Trina, Haun, search for Brent.”

“Already gone,” Trina replied.

“The rest of you destroy the remaining zombies.”

“That won’t be necessary,” an unfamiliar voice said, slithering from the shadows.

Someone flipped the switch on the halogens, and the entire forest was suddenly swept into a great flood of darkness. Spots winked in my line of vision. I heard the pound of multiple footsteps, the crackle of…something, then a swarm of people in hazmat suits came into view.

“We’ll be taking the zombies,” the same person said.

Cole dove at him, his arm ghosting through. Clearly, the hazmat was in spirit form. “Coward! I should have known you’d show up.”

They must have watched the battle on the outskirts, never coming to our aid, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. And what better time than now, while Cole and I were back in our bodies, injured, and too weak to fight back?

“Go,” Cole snapped to his remaining friends.

All but Bronx darted away. They were still in spirit form, and therefore susceptible to further injury from the suits. Normally that wouldn’t be a concern, I was sure, Cole and company’s skills far superior. Now, we were all vulnerable.

One of the suits walked over to me and bent down. There was a clear panel in front of his face and as I squinted up at him, Justin’s features began to crystallize.

“You picked the wrong team,” he said.

A warm breeze washed over me, and I thought maybe the breeze had somehow sprung from the force of his words, as if there was power in them even I could feel in this natural realm.

“I’m on the right team,” I gritted out. His will would not supersede mine.

His sister came up beside him, grinning smugly through her mask. The whiteness of her teeth gave her a feral appearance. She never said a word, but then, no words were necessary. She laughed.

I watched, helpless, as the suits collared what was left of the still-writhing zombies and dragged them away.

Two seconds after they were gone, blood-covered arms slid under my back and knees and lifted me. I was cradled against Cole’s chest, his heart hammering away at his ribs. “I’ve got you,” he said.

“I’m not in as much pain as usual. I can walk.” He didn’t appear to be straining, but I knew he was feeling the effects of our battle, too.

“It’s either hold on to you or chase after the hazmats. I picked you.”

“Good choice, I guess.” As he carried me through the trees, my gaze locked on my sister, who had materialized a few feet away from Cole, her slight form already flickering in and out. There was such a sad expression on her face.

“It’s too late now,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, Alice, so very sorry. He’ll be coming for you.”