“I bet you wish you’d listened to me now, huh?” Drake placed his hands on my shoulders steadying me so I couldn’t fall. My legs still trembled so much I couldn’t control them.
This wasn’t happening. Anything but zombies. Anything but this… please! I stood paralyzed as the zombies raced toward us. They moaned and groaned more loudly with every step they took in our direction.
I eyed the tattered grey skinned faces of each and every one of them and it was as if the sands of time went backwards and I was a child again in my parent’s mansion. The birthplace of my worst nightmares. Those monsters I called parents enjoyed torturing me with mummy attacks, snakes, scorpions, you name it. But above all else, they enjoyed setting their collection of zombies loose on me. They loved to watch me run, cry, and get bitten… boy did I get bitten.
The numerous bite marks on my back were proof of that. If only those marks were the only damage I still had to carry. But no, the scars that no one can see are the ones that take the longest to heal, and the ones far more likely to harm us and weaken us.
I shook my head trying to regain my senses but it was no use. I just couldn’t stop my body from trembling.
I can’t fight those zombies. I’m… I’m afraid.
My heart thundered in my chest and my ears started ringing so loud I could barely hear the zombies groann anymore. They were at the door, and the first had passed the threshold. Next my vision started going blurry. I fell against Drake’s chest as my legs gave out entirely. Drake caught me in his arms, holding me tight to him.
“Are you okay? Hello? Little fae, are you still with me? Hey…” Panic came alive in his voice and soon he sounded like he was talking from underwater. He looked so terrified, not from looking at the zombies, but from gazing down at my collapsed body.
He kept talking to me and I wanted to, but I couldn’t respond. The zombies were only a few feet from us now. The ghosts of my past had come back to the surface and it was way too much for me to handle. My lids felt heavy as lead and just like that the world around me went black as midnight.
The day Michael and I left my parents' mansion was both the darkest and greatest day of my life.
Michael and I just turned eighteen, and I’d finally had enough suffering at the hands of those who were supposed to love me. Michael had enough of watching my cry night after night, so we planned our big escape.
It was the middle of night, the mansion drenched in darkness, and my parents along with all the staff were fast asleep. I’d snuck out of the attic and met Michael at his room. He was still in bed and I went over to where he laid and gave him a shake.
“Michael, get up. It's time.” His eyes sprang open at the sound of my voice and he smiled at me. Of course he was excited. Today would be the first day of the rest of our lives. Michael looked identical to me in every way except his hair was short, and his shoulders were broad.dHe ruffled himself out of bed as quietly as he could and walked over to the trunk on the other end of his room. He then opened the box and pulled out two backpacks. The red one for him and the blue for me. I took the bag from him. I don’t think I’d ever smiled so much in my life than when he gave me that bag.
We were finally doing it and I almost couldn’t believe it.
“Hold on tight to that bag.” He put on his bag and I did mine. “There’s enough food to last at least a week plus a bunch of clean clothes.”
“Did you remember the cunia?” I asked.
“All ten thousand of it. That’ll be more than enough to get us a fresh start somewhere.”
As excited as I was, I was still worried. What if we couldn’t make it out of the mansion without being caught? Mother and father would flail me alive if they caught us. Even Michael would get punished for something this serious.
Seeming to sense my apprehension Michael cupped my cheek.
“listen, Jess. This’ll all be over before you know it. We walk through this house to the front door every day. Sneaking out or not, it’s still the same.” I gave him a nod.
I turned the golden door knob and it creaked open. I cringed at the sound as we entered the upstairs landing. The chandeliers swung slightly overhead and the wooden floors creaked under our feet. Mom and dad’s room was down the hall, as long as we didn’t make more than a few creaks they shouldn’t be able to hear us.
We kept going and made our way down the staircase and into the living room. The walls were covered with paintings of old fae men and women in fancy old-timey clothes.
Near the door were a few glass tanks filled with poisonous animals of different species. My mother liked to keep them as pets. Snakes slithered around behind the glass of the first tank and scorpions crawled about in the second. There were even a few poisonous frogs in the third. All cold blooded, just like mother.
We’d reached the front door and excitement raced through me. We were inches from escape, one step away from our new lives.
I turned the knob and pressed closer to the door with Michael at my side. All of the sudden an alarm sounded, flooding the room in a siren’s cry. The noise crushed my dreams of an easy escape. Mother and father were sure to hear it and come flying out of bed.
Just as I predicted, the march of feet thundering down the staircase came next.
My eyes shot to Michael and his to mine. Panic lit a fire within them and without a word Michael moved to stand in front of me, hoping to shield me from what was coming. It wouldn’t work though. We’d gone too far this time and I had a feeling they were about to do the same.
A switch flicked on and the room flooded with light.
“Where the hell do you think you two are going?” My mother gasped as she covered her mouth in horror at the sight of our bags and travel clothes. Her willowy form looked even more frail as she stood there, her eyes unbelieving. Her long strawberry blonde hair brushed over her shoulders as she shook her head. Everyone always said she was a great beauty, but that’s not what I thought. I hated the sight of her.
Father didn’t look surprised. He just looked like a volcano about to erupt. I could almost see his black hair set ablaze with rage. He was silent next to mother as he grasped her by the shoulders stopping her from fainting.
“Father…” Michael said, but father interrupted, “Shut up boy! You’ve lost the right to speak! Now get your bags and go upstairs. Now!” He jerked a finger at the staircase.
“No, we’re not going anywhere with you. Not ever again, we’re leaving,” I said in a mousy voice, coming out from behind Michael. I’d never been able to truly stand up to them before, but this was my chance and I wanted more than anything to take it.
Their cold eyes shot to me with a look of utter contempt.
“And just how will you survive? By living on the street like animals?” mother said.
“Better than living in here like an animal,” Michael yelled and I nodded in agreement.
“You ungrateful wretches! After all we have done for you?” Mother’s voice cracked as she outstretched her hand in my direction. A pure beam of fairy light burst from her palm hitting me like a truck and ramming my back into the front door. I fell to my knees as the pain sliced through me like a knife.
Michael wrapped his hands around me trying to pull me to my feet, but the pain was so intense I couldn’t stand.
“This is why we have to leave. Can’t you two see what you’re doing to my sister?” Michael cried as he stood to face our parents. Mother and father, completely unmoved by Michael’s tears, inched closer to us. They both raised their arms as if readying to grab us.
“That useless girl isn’t important, Michael sweetie. Come back to mommy and we’ll have some hot cocoa, okay?”
“I’d rather die than spend another day in here!” Something changed in Michael then. I could feel it in the warmth of the air. Electricity seemed to radiate from him now. He glowed and his hair stood upright. Just then a beam of pure light radiated out of him, lighting him up like fireworks. He looked like an angel. No, more like a god. I’d never
seen a fae shine that bright in all my life.
The force of his light was so powerful, our parents were thrown back several feet onto their backs. The paintings flew to the ground as if carried by a storm. Not even the animal tanks were safe from Michael’s wrath. The glass tanks all shattered, littering the room with broken glass fragments. The animals, now loose, scurried along the floor in a frenzied panic.
I would never forget the look in Michael’s eyes in that moment. It was one of absolute courage and strength.
I didn’t have that strength, but Michael did. He was my brother, my friend and my hero.
Mother shrieked as her snakes, scorpions and frogs freely roamed the room. The poisonous creatures blocking her path to Michael and I. Slowly mother and father rose to their feet, the scowls on their faces saying they were fully determined to make another go at coming after us.
Michael turned back to look at me and outreached a hand. He helped me to my feet.
“Don’t you walk out that door. You’ll regret it if you do!” Father yelled at us and we both ignored him walking out the door. We walked out the mansion that day, ignoring their screams for us to come back. We never went back and our lives flourished from that day onward.
Over the years I grew stronger. I became the kind of woman that nobody could push around. But deep inside, I always held on to a tiny bit of the girl I once was and the fears that came with it.
“Jessica! Jessica! Please wake up,” a voice penetrated the darkness, calling me to return. “Please don’t die on me, you crazy fae. Come on!”
My eyes slowly opened to find myself in a tiny dusty old room with Drake holding me in his arms… kissing me?
I gasped and he jerked his head back seeming shocked to see me awake.
“Well if it isn’t sleeping beauty. Come to grace me with your presence? After leaving me with an unconscious body to haul past a horde of fucking zombies?”
“And the kiss?” I laughed out.
“Um, haven’t you ever heard of mouth to mouth resuscitation?” he leered at me.
“Oh yeah, that’s what it was.”
“Raaaahhhhhh,” interrupting our conversation the zombies roared. They banged at the door to the room we were in.
I rose to my feet and Drake did the same, my eyes scanning the bare room in confusion.
“Where the hell are we?” I asked
“The zombies had swarmed the room leading to the elevator before I could get us back into the elevator door. I saw a closet in the room full of zombies and... “
“Wait, are you saying you actually jumped into a room filled with zombies?” My mouth gaped open. Was he insane?
“Maneuvered around them actually. I’m pretty fast you know.” He rose his head proudly. “When I saw the closet door, I threw us in here before they could eat us.”
“Oh, I see,” I said covering my mouth in contemplation.
“You could say thanks, you know,” he said with a note of irritation and I didn’t answer him. We had bigger problems.
So, the room with the zombies led to this dusty old side room? Where the hell were the other prisoners? Where was Michael? If there were zombies down here, they had to be a deterrent to the residents of gold bl0ck from escaping.
But none of this made any sense. Why use zombies when the rest of the prison used soul eaters? And why didn’t any of the doors down here use key cards? They all had old fashioned door knobs and keyholes.
“Listen, Drake. Did you see any other doors down here? Like the one that lead to gold block?” My eyes searched his face for answers.
“Yeah, I saw a big red door past the hoard of zombies.” He folded his arms, looking almost annoyed at the question. “I know what you’re thinking and I’ll tell you right now the answer is no. I sure as hell am not going through any more strange doors. I’ve risked my life one time too many in this insane secret plan of yours. And you’re not going there either.”
He knitted his brows, squeezing his hand around my arm. His eyes didn’t seem angry though, he just seemed worried. Worried for me? This psycho jerk was worried for me?
“Listen, dragon boy. I came this far for a reason. I have to get into gold block. It isn’t a choice for me.”
“Oh yeah? And just how do you plan to get us pass the flesh-eating zombies?”
That was the million-dollar question. But the answer was just on the tip of my tongue. From the moment I stepped in here all I could smell was the horrid stench of rotting flesh. But you know what I didn’t smell?
My head flew up in realization, a wide smile popping up on my face.
“The poison! There no poison down here! Can’t you feel it? We have our powers back.” I grabbed Drake by the shoulders and began shaking him wildly.
After a moment of concentration his face lit up with excitement. “Oh damn, you’re right!” He rose his fist in triumph before his face grew sullen. “Wait, I can’t shift down here, it’s too cramped. And you… You’re not going to faint again when you see another zombie, are you?”
“I was just taken off guard. I really hate zombies,” I replied, my eyes trailing to the floor in embarrassment.
Just the idea of facing those zombies again gave me goosebumps. But I had to keep it together this time. I was so close to seeing Michael again, and I had my powers! All I had to do was blast the bozos sky high and bust into gold block. I didn’t even have to look at them too hard to do that.
“Ggggrrrrr.” The zombies' moaning intensified and so did the banging on the door. It started to bend as the weight of the horde began to overwhelm the wood. Zombies were among the most dangerous creatures in existence, you could survive a bite from just about anything else. Wolves, sharks, even leprechauns, but just one untreated bite from a zombie and you’d be undead within hours.
Suddenly the door snapped in two and zombies rushed inside like a water from a broken dam.
Without thinking I called my flame and it spewed from my palms like water from a fire hose, dousing the zombies and driving them back. They screamed in agony, as my fire consumed them.
“Right on!” Drake cheered pounding his fist in the air. We both pressed forward into the zombie filled room, my flame keeping the horde back. They groaned and screamed as several of them were burned to cinders.
To my left and right, a few of them twisted out of the flames path to come barreling for Broderick and I with their teeth bared.
“We’ve got company!” Drake began punching and kicking the zombies away. Their jaws snapping vigorously, desperate to take a bite out if his arm. But he was careful with his punches, never getting too close to their mouths.
I began to pant as the temperature in the cramped room reached roasting heights.
I swung the flame at the zombies who fought Drake burning them to ashes. Drake then clung to my side as I maintained a steady flame keeping all the rest of the zombies off us. I whipped my head to the side, straining to catch a glimpse of the door to gold block.
I saw it! There it was. A big blood red door sitting behind about a dozen zombies. Michael had to be on the other side of that door!
I took a step towards it, ready to blast anything in my path, when a heavy hand landed on my shoulder. My head whipped around to Drake. He looked serious as a heart attack with sweet running down his face like a river.
“Listen, dragon boy. If you want to go so back so badly then…” My words caught in my throat as my eyes landed on his arm. He raised it right up to my face to show me. Right above the elbow was a big fat zombie bite.
Crap…
My blood ran cold at the sight. Stumbling back, my flames lost focus on the horde before returning to full force.
“When the hell did this happen?” My voice shook with worry.
“It happened when I was pulling you into to the room. See why I want to go back now?”
I gave out a sigh. If he was trying to make me feel guilty then it was working. I couldn’t just leave him like that. Who knew how much longer he had before th
e zombie venom kicked in and shut down his organs.
Michael was right on the other side of that door, but I knew in my heart I couldn’t let Drake die, not after he saved my life.
“Ok, dragon. Looks like you’re getting your wish.”
“Yippie!” he said sarcastically, wincing in pain and gripping his arm.
Using my flame to hold the zombies as far back as possible, we slowly made our way back into the elevator. Once inside, the door closed behind as the shriek of zombies reverberated through the elevator shaft.
The sound cut off as the elevator moved upwards and further away from gold block. Further away from Michael. My heart stung at the thought of how close I’d been to finally seeing him again. We’d been apart so long; I was this close and I let him down.
The elevator doors rolled opened and Drake gave out a groan of pain. We were back in the same dark frigid corridor. Everything looked the same, same white walls, same staircases scattered along the long path ahead. Only one thing was different. The soul eaters were gone. They must have gone on to continue their rounds in other parts of the prison.
Drake leaned back against the wall of the elevator, gripping his arm. His eyes drooped as if he were inches from blacking out. From the day we met he’s been nothing but a big arrogant jerk to me. But right now, he didn’t look like the menacing dragon he was. He just looked vulnerable and in so much pain. All because I’d dragged him along on my mission. It was his fault for following me but could you blame me for feeling really guilty? Tonight just wasn’t going my way. Not one bit.
I draped his arm over my shoulder and helped him out of the elevator and down the long corridor.
“Thanks for getting me out of there,” he coughed, “but I don’t exactly have a vile of the undead antidote in my cell.”
“That’s exactly why we’re going to go wake nurse Colligan in the hospital wing.” I said, struggling to keep him up. God, how heavy was this guy?
“Colligan?” he said incredulously. “And then what’ll happen when she tells Blackwater about the zombie bite? She’ll throw my ass in solitary for a month.”
Escape of the Fae Page 25
