Our companions knew we were outnumbered and were waiting on Zero’s lead. “I’ll do what I can,” she said. “Make sure everyone is ready to bolt.”
Brent seemed to realize we were planning something, although I doubted he knew exactly what. He motioned to the other men who quickly surrounded us, guns at the ready.
The smell hit us first, and even Brent’s people shifted uncomfortably once everyone realized just how close the monsters had gotten. The horses pranced nervously, and the dogs began to growl from inside the wagon. The only ones who didn’t shift were Brent and Zero.
Both had looks of concentration on their faces as the horde approached. I was able to back away and whisper instructions to the others. The armed men didn’t seem too worried as I made my way around to everyone. Shanti, Alex, and Lia began to concentrate as well.
I had a hard time believing that one guy would be able to stand against the combined will of my four friends. Especially when one of them was Zero. She was one of the most determined girls I’d ever met. Every part of me knew she would do whatever she had to, to keep us all safe.
A small voice whispered in my mind that doing whatever she needed to might end up calling for something the rest of us wouldn’t like.
Ignoring the potential at this point, I made my way back to the wagon. We all had to be ready to leave the second Zero said. The creatures shuffled into view. I could see the effort the armed men put into not shooting them on sight. They seemed to have a bit of trouble trusting Brent’s control.
Was it reticence due to lack of experience on Brent’s part? Had he failed to fully control the creatures before? Or was there another reason they seemed uncertain?
Somehow, I couldn’t blame them for their uncertainty.
Zero was having a bit of trouble, it seemed. I figured there was reason for our group to be a bit doubtful too. Out the window, I could see that only Rex seemed confident and ready. Alex and Lia shifted uncomfortably in their saddles. Their eyes were wide while they watched the zombies gather around everyone.
The creatures seemed agitated. I could almost feel the effort Zero put into just keeping them at bay. “Come on, Z,” I heard Jake mutter. “Do the scream. I doubt they could withstand it.”
“Probably,” I agreed. “Do it, Zero,” I whispered. I tried to push the thought at her.
No matter how talented Brent seemed at controlling the zombies, I still bet that Zero would be able to win this standoff. He’d been in a compound surrounded by guards. She’d been living among the creatures. At the center of the outbreak since it began. She had to be more skilled at reaching them.
“Use the scream and the connection. Push them away,” I whispered. “You can do it.”
If there had been any doubt left in my mind that I had a connection to the experiments, it went away when I felt Zero’s emotions rising. Positive and negative emotions swirled together until they nearly overflowed.
Siren whined, but my confidence rose when Zero turned toward the creatures and let out the loudest scream I’d heard yet. The zombies stumbled back. Several turned and rushed away.
I could also feel her connection to the zombies. She pushed the thought that they needed to get away. And left in place the lingering thought that Brent and his men were the ones they should go after if they didn’t go.
“It’s working!” Rex exclaimed.
“Get out of here!” Zero yelled. “Go now!”
With all of Brent’s men spread out, those riding were able to go through the roadblock without a problem. Kate urged Chance to a fast pace and went off-road to get around. The wagon creaked and rattled, but before long, we were back on smooth ground and getting away from the area.
Jake groaned and I pulled his hand away from where it was clenched over his wound. Blood soaked through the bandage again.
“The bumpy ride isn’t so good for you, apparently,” I said mildly. “Good thing we packed the first aid kit in here with us. Shanti, help me with this. We need to stop the bleeding.”
She pushed past the dogs and pulled out some gauze from the kit. “Sorry, Jake. This isn’t going to feel very good,” Shanti warned.
“Just do it,” he grunted.
“Let me,” I offered. “You get the other bandaging stuff ready.”
I pushed the new gauze over the old in order to avoid disrupting any clotting that might have already begun. Jake’s abdomen tensed under my hands, and he gripped hard on one of the blankets. “It’s okay. It hasn’t been bleeding long this time. We should be able to get it to stop pretty quickly,” I assured him.
From behind us, I could hear yells and car engines starting. We’d gotten past the roadblock, sure. Getting away completely? That would be the tricky part.
“Where’s Z?” Jake grunted.
Shanti shot me a panicked look. “Check out front. She had to have climbed up before we took off,” I told her.
She stood unsteadily and peered out the small crack that allowed us to see the driver. “I don’t see her!”
“Can you see the riders? Maybe one of them pulled her up,” I suggested. I doubted Rex would have gone without her.
She moved again to look out the side windows. “I don’t see Rex or Zero.”
Jake tensed and tried to sit up. “Uh uh, big guy,” I said, pushing him back down. “You need to sit here for now. We’ll figure it out. Rex probably grabbed her, and they’re behind us where we can’t see them.”
I tried to put confidence in my words, but I doubted them even as I spoke. Rex wouldn’t have left Zero. Zero had been on the ground between the two groups. The distraction she caused wouldn’t have lasted long.
Shanti and I finished adding to Jake’s bandage and sat back to think about our next step. “I don’t hear the vehicles anymore,” I said.
I opened the door to outside and stuck my head out to get a look behind us. I still didn’t see either Rex or Zero.
“Kate!” I yelled. “We need to stop!”
She pulled on the reins and Chance slowed immediately. “What is it?”
“I don’t see Rex or Zero,” I explained frantically. “I think… I think they were captured.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Zero
Brent and his guys stopped the zombies almost as soon as I made the distraction. Thankfully, my group followed my instructions. They ran away as soon as I screamed. Almost all of them.
It was the “almost” that had me fuming. “You were supposed to run! What were you thinking?”
I wanted to wipe the leftover tears from my eyes, but couldn’t risk the guards viewing my movement as a threat. Although, the lack of movement was actually a bigger threat to them. Until the tears fully dried, anyway.
Rex shrugged ruefully from his position kneeling next to me. “I guess I thought I might be able to get you up on the horse and we could both get away.”
We exchanged a glance, and I tried to remain angry with him. Instead, I chuckled. “Okay, that’s fair. I was honestly hoping I could jump on the wagon as it passed.”
“Are you two done?” Brent cut in. “Because we have you now, and the how or why is not important.”
I raised a hand. “Actually, I think the why is quite important. Why do you want us?”
The older boy laughed. “It’s generous to say we wanted both of you. You have to know, Zero, you’re the one we want. Or should I say Za-”
“No. Zero will do,” I interrupted harshly. I hadn’t even shared my real name with Jake and Rex. I couldn’t be that person again. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Brent eyed me shrewdly, but nodded. “Very well, Zero. Whatever you want to call yourself, we have you. Your friends will follow. Including the other experiments.”
Rex clenched his fists and glared at the other boy. We still had our weapons, but reaching for them seemed like a terrible idea. The zombies had backed off, then gone for Brent’s men; but now they remained circled around the guards.
The clopping of hoof beats grew softer as th
e rest of our friends managed to escape. An event that would only last as long as Jake didn’t realize Rex and I were missing.
“I thought your keepers gave me twelve more days to get to where I needed to be. Why the trap?”
Brent shrugged. “The countdown was a misdirect. Mostly, anyway. We needed you to follow our instructions until we found a place we could pull this off. Of course, if we failed, the countdown is also our backup. You’ve always been the primary objective.”
Right. Not creepy at all. A whole unit devoted to tracking down a fourteen-year-old girl. I gave a slight shudder at the thought.
He continued, unaware or uncaring of my reaction. “Of course, it became more imperative to catch you once you removed the other two from our custody.”
“Alex and Lia don’t deserve to live in a cage,” I argued. “Whatever they may have convinced you of, you aren’t free either. You should be able to be a normal teen, not this soldier they’ve created.”
One of the actual soldiers approached. “Sir. We should be moving. Once the girl’s friends realize she isn’t with them…”
“What?” Brent asked when the man’s voice trailed off. “Are you afraid to face a bunch of children?”
The other man growled and shook his head. “A bunch of children, no. A bunch of experimental genetic projects, yes. In case you missed it, this girl almost took control from you. Given a little more time, she would have. Then we’d all either be turned or dead.”
I glared up at them. “That potential isn’t gone yet.”
My emotions, which I usually held in as tightly as possible, were close to the surface since I’d almost let Jake die. These people threatened us. They threatened our ability to end the outbreak.
“I’m not sure how her ability to transform people manifested,” I heard Brent say uncertainly as he backed away. “Only that she hates it and hasn’t been willing to use it on purpose.”
I grinned. “You are scared, aren’t you?” An almost hysterical laugh escaped. “Big strong Brent, afraid of little ol’ me. Imagine that.”
He hadn’t discovered his own immunity to the virus. He’d been kept sheltered, it seemed. His handlers had only told him what they wanted him to know. Nothing that would allow him to feel he could strike out on his own.
“Shut up!” he yelled as I continued laughing.
I shook my head, tears of amusement now leaking down my face. “You have no clue about anything. You’re their little pawn, aren’t you? I’ll tell you something they wouldn’t have warned you about: I’m going to do whatever it takes to get my family back!”
Without another word, both Rex and I surged forward. Rex took one look at my face and kept his distance. Instead he focused on using his smaller size to get through the ranks of Brent’s men.
For my part, I gripped my sword and forced my way toward the guards. “Let me through, or you become one of them!” I warned. “I won’t hold back.”
“We were going to bring you to them!” Brent said. “Back to your friends!”
I laughed again. “The friends you kidnapped? Yeah, we’ll get back to them. Count on it. And if any of them are injured, I will hold you personally responsible,” I spat. All hint of laughter now gone. “Those children are under my protection.”
Brent no longer seemed amused at the idea of a young teenager as a threat. He backed away, face white. I wiped my face and allowed my tear-dampened hand to brush against one of his men as I whirled around, fighting them with my sword.
“To give you proof I’m not going to put up with this, one of your men will be changed within the day. Now, call off your goons, and let us go!”
My sword came to rest at his throat by the time I finished speaking.
He gulped slightly, the sharp tip of the sword almost puncturing his neck at the movement. “Do it,” he ordered.
“Sir?” one of the guards questioned.
“Let them through. She’s right. They’re coming to us anyway. Might as well let them risk their friends to do it.”
The guards lowered their weapons, and I nodded to Rex to keep moving. His horse was standing at the side of the road. He grabbed the reins, stuck a foot in the stirrup, and hoisted himself up. Once settled, he pulled out his hand gun and aimed it at Brent. “Z, come on. I’ve got him covered.”
Just to be sure, I connected to the zombie’s mental web and urged them to form a barrier between us and Brent’s guards. “If I had a way to do it, I would take you away from them too,” I told Brent compassionately as I lowered my sword. “You deserve better than to be used this way.”
I reached for Rex with my tear-free hand, and let him help me up onto his horse. Holding him without allowing any of my tears to touch him was a trick, but once I was settled I turned back to Brent.
After a moment of hesitation, I decided to tell him. “I’ll let you in on a secret they may not have shared: if you’re one of us, you’re immune. I can’t turn you, and neither can the creatures. The only thing you have to fear from them is death. You’ll never become one of those things.”
The look of shock on his face was worth the reveal. “Think about what they’re making you do, Brent. These things? They all used to be people. Some of them were probably your family and friends. If you change your mind about them, you can help us end it.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but clapped it shut almost immediately.
I sighed. “Just think about it. And never come after us like this again!”
The zombies howled when I gave my warning, and the color left Brent’s face.
A little fear, a little information. Who knew? Maybe it would be enough to make a difference.
Chapter Twenty-Six
My taunts to Brent must have succeeded in breaking his concentration, because he didn’t take back control of the zombies as we left.
“Did you actually infect one of them?” Rex asked after we’d ridden in silence for several minutes. “Or was that just a scare tactic?”
I tensed and sat straighter. “I did. A scare tactic only works if the other side believes you’ll do it. Now Brent and his gang know I mean business.”
Rex gave a slow nod and kept his eyes on the horizon, waiting to see if we could spot our friends. No matter what Jake wanted, he wouldn’t risk the others to turn around and come back for us. I hoped he would trust that we’d get ourselves out and catch up to them.
Disapproval was evident in every move Rex made. He was stiff and hardly spoke to me. “Rex…”
“Just don’t, Z. You’re better than this. I know it, even if you don’t right now.”
Our current closeness was more awkward than comforting. I wanted nothing more than to step away for a while and figure things out in my own head before having to deal with anyone else.
Surprisingly, it was Rex who broke the silence again a few minutes later. “What you told Brent… do you think it will help? Or will he be more fearless when he comes for you again? Not so sure letting him know he’s immune was the best idea.”
I sat back as if slapped. Okay. Apparently, my judgement was being called into question about everything I’d done with Brent. “I thought it might help for him to realize his handlers were hiding things from him. Maybe he’d be more inclined to trust us if he saw we were honest with him.”
“And turning one of his guys? That was what? Another way to make him run into our open arms?” Rex’s incredulity was clear, and I couldn’t think of a great way to defend my decision.
Even if it had seemed like a good idea at the time.
“One less human enemy?” I suggested weakly. “I don’t know what to tell you, Rex. If anything, it shows we keep our word. I warned them to let us go or they would regret it. They didn’t let us go. Now they’ll regret that decision.”
“Assuming they even care about the guy you changed,” he shot back. “What happened, Z? You’ve never wanted to use your curse against someone before. Now you’ve shown no remorse for using it against at least three people in t
he last few days.”
“I’m supposed to care that the people I thought killed Jake… would have killed Jake… got turned into monsters? I tried to warn them beforehand. They got too close and suffered the consequences. Are you really going to question why I’m not remorseful about it?”
He turned toward me, a sad little smile on his face. “No. I suppose not. You’ve had a really rough time; these last few days especially. I’m not too surprised it came out in a bit of aggression.”
Shame filled me. I’d always hated being Patient Zero. Now… I was using it as a weapon against those who’d wronged me.
“Z,” he said softly, one hand rested gently on my arms, which were folded across his belly. “Try not to do it again? I meant what I said before. You’re better than this.”
I rested my head against his back, the tears from earlier long since dried. “You’re right, Rex. I may have pushed too far. I’m sorry.”
Apparently deciding to let me off the hook, he smiled. “To be honest, what you told Brent shook him enough to allow us to get away. You saved us again, Z.”
“For now,” I agreed.
The guards and Brent had not followed us yet, but that could change at any moment. We could make decent time on horseback, but they had vehicles that could easily catch up to us.
A thought that would definitely be on Kate’s mind as she took the wagon and led the others to safety.
“You saw the maps, right?” I asked. “Any idea which way they’d go to avoid pursuit?”
Rex nodded. “I think so.”
“Good.” I hesitated before voicing my next thought. “Rex… I’ve been thinking…” I paused.
He let me think for a moment before he prompted. “Yeah?”
“Most of our friends have already been captured. Is it really worth risking everyone when they only specified that they wanted me?” I straightened as much as I could behind the saddle. “You and I could make better time alone than we could traveling with everyone.”
Rex snorted. “And we’d have no backup in case something went wrong. Not to mention Jake would have our heads if we tried to pull something like that.”
Countdown to Zero (Patient Zero Book 2) Page 12
