Onyx did a subtle wolf-down of the pancake. He was a great dog. Dad caught the whole food thing and gave me the look that said Mom should not find out. I nodded.
After breakfast, I headed for the bathroom to complete the shower hassle. I had gotten used to being clean and didn't like the grimy feeling anymore. Not that I would admit that to the Js or anything. Dudes on hygiene... no.
I stepped out of the shower, swished the towel over the mirror, and examined my face. Jade would be up close and personal. No zits—check. No unsightly man-hair on the face—check. But I did need a haircut.
I got dressed then went downstairs and told Mom about the hair situation.
“I'll give you a buzz, son,” Dad said.
“Okay. Can you not make me look like a retarded nerd?”
“Caleb—” Mom started.
“That's an oxymoron, it's not technically a put-down,” I said cleverly, using yet another vocab word.
Dad tried not to grin and failed.
Mom frowned. “I loathe the whole retard talk. I thought we had moved past that.”
“Apparently not!” Dad badly his grin.
“Okay, not funny! You goons do the male bonding thing.” Mom huffed out of the room.
“Nice, Dad.”
“Once in a while, I have a moment of clarity. I'll have to sweet talk her later.”
The haircut took forever. Dad said he needed to taper it for styling. I just itched, and my feet got hot.
Mom came back and surveyed the pile of hair growing on the floor. “What about the little hairs getting all over and inside your clothes?”
I shrugged. I'd get through it somehow. I sure didn't want to repeat the whole shower routine.
“Done!” Dad said.
I got up, brushing off my shirt. Onyx went over to the pile of hair and gave it a sniff. He backed away, emitting a low growl.
The Dog smelled the Boy, who was standing while a part of him was on the floor. It was confusing for the Dog. Was the Boy hurt? The Dog looked up at the Boy, the rest of the pack seemed untroubled by the pile of Boy-smelling stuff on the floor. The Dog backed away.
“It's okay, Onyx,” I said, toeing the pile.
Mom headed for the kitchen. “Let me get a broom before that gets all over the house.”
Dad said, “Go check it out in the mirror.”
I stepped into the foyer and looked in the mirror. I hoped Jade liked short hair. The cut made me look older and taller. That couldn't be all bad. The top of my head felt like a million soft needles poking my palm.
When I went back, Mom was cleaning up the mess. Onyx looked as if he thought part of me was getting taken away and buried.
I thought, It's okay. Good dog.
He looked at me and began to wag his tail. The connection thing was pretty awesome.
Dad looked at me expectantly.
“Oh, um… thanks Dad.”
“You like?”
“Yeah, it's all right.”
“What do you think, hon?” he asked Mom.
She looked critically at my nearly bald head. “It's... short.”
“Come on, Mom. You're always bugging me about my hair,” I said, defending Dad's skills.
She nodded. “That's true. You won't need one again anytime soon.”
I took off to my room, Onyx on my heels. I jumped on my bed, bouncing and Onyx settled at the end of it. I pulsed the Js.
Jonesy: We need the zombie work force, Caleb.
John Terran: I don't normally agree with all of Jonesy's ideas, but he's right. A zombie in there could take care of the tunnel issue right away.
Caleb: We can't talk about all this stuff on pulse.
John Terran: You're right. Let's meet later.
Caleb: No. You guys, I need to be with Jade tonight.
Jonesy: We have nights now? Nights? It's like joint custody or something!
Caleb: Okay guys, okay. You jerks don't have gfs, so you don't get it.
Jonesy: Tomorrow then, Romeo?
Caleb:
John Terran: Deal.
***
Pedaling hard, I rounded the corner and entered Valley Keys, Jade’s neighborhood.
I pulled into her driveway and hopped off my bike, swinging my leg over and doing a little skip and jog to slow down. Engaging the kickstand, I set it up close to the fence, smacking the latch on the gate and walking up to the front door. Jade's Aunt's house was all white. White body, white trim and white door. Kinda creepy.
Jade stepped out the front door looking fan-tas-tic. She wore her dark jeans, and her hair was swept back in neon-green elastic hair thing. A cami that matched the hair thing peeked out from beneath her hot pink top.
She walked over, zipping up a hoodie that was as midnight blue as the jeans.
“Hey.”
My mouth was a little dry. Whoever said beautiful girls were mouthwatering must not have actually talked to one.
I smiled, swallowing to conjure up some saliva.
“Hey back,” I finally croaked out. Jade's smile turned into a grin. Great, so she knew I was reacting to her so much it made me ache.
Her aunt appeared in the doorway.
I cleared my throat.
“Where are you two going?”
I sure wasn't going to tell her the actual place, she'd tell Psycho-Daddy for sure.
“We're going to check out the ice cream shop.”
Jade gave me a look. I looked back like, don't blow it.
“The one where the old Baskin-Robbins used to be?”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, I was little when they got rid of it.”
“What's the name now?” she asked. Man, she was goin' for the details.
Jade answered, “Terhune's Ice Cream.”
“When do you need to be home?” Andrea asked Jade.
“Ten.”
Jade swung her leg up over her bike, standing with her sandal clad feet on either side of the bar between the seat and the handlebars. On girls' bikes you could do that. Boys' bikes had the ball-buster feature.
Jade balanced on her seat, one foot hitting one side, then the other taking over. I swung up on my seat as I started to pedal with my left foot first, putting on that burst of speed just to get going. I looked around to see if Jade was close. She was but I slowed down, she was shorter and I didn't think she had that maneuver down that the Js and I did. But, I was wrong, she was right on my flank, no trouble at all.
We rode down Kent-Kangley, a dangerous stretch if you didn't pay close attention. My parents always said, “Caleb, pay close attention.” I'd respond, “I won't get creamed today, guys.”
Confidence inspiring.
We took the back route to Scenic Hill. We passed the cemetery on our left after cresting a long hill that at the bottom you think, no problem. But at the top you're like, thank God that's over.
It wasn't long until we were at the dump.
Jade looked at me, balanced precariously on her seat. “Okay...so this is the hideaway?”
I realized that I didn't know the combo for the lock.
“Hold on a sec.” I pulsed John.
John Terran: Hey, what's up?
Caleb: I'm here with Jade and I forgot to get the combo from you.
John Terran: Smooth, Hart, in front of the gf and the whole jazz.
Caleb: I know, dill-weed. Just give it to me.
John Terran: Look up there at the sign and just reverse the last four of the phone number.
Caleb: Which part?
John Terran: Didn't I just say?
Caleb: There’s a bunch of numbers.
John Terran: It's the one that begins with the area code in parentheses.
Caleb: Okay. Thanks.
I put my pulse back in my pocket.
“Sorry. John had to give me the combo for this.” I jerked a thumb toward the massive lock.
I explained about John figuring out the combination and how we had found a tunnel underneath a mound of cars.
Jade's face scrunched up in a cute way. “I don't want to sound like a lame adult here, but is it safe?”
“Of course! The Js and I went in there for a couple of hours.”
She didn't look entirely convinced.
“What I mean is… do you think the pile will collapse?”
“No. But, I guess we'll see what's what when the zombies take care of some space issues. There's a tight spot in there just before it opens up into the main room.”
Jade's black eyebrows rose, arching prettily on that smooth forehead of hers.
Flicking her hair over her shoulder, she said, “So let me get this straight. The zombies are going to go in there, and if they get stuck, they're already dead, so zero loss?”
It sounded bad put like that.
“Ah, I haven't really thought about it that much. Me and the Js,” Jade threw up her hands.
“What?”
“Tell me. Was it Jonesy?”
“Well, yeah.”
“His ideas always get everyone in trouble.”
“Sometimes,” I replied loyally.
“Usually,” she replied with accuracy.
“Alright, I guess we'll just have to be careful with the zombies.”
“Let's get a girl with some brains in on this too.”
“John and I have brains.”
“But somehow Jonesy comes up with all these schemes, and you and John bail everyone out with a shovel.”
I shrugged.
“Okay, who's the smart girl?”
“Well, we're all smart.”
“Ah-huh.”
“I was thinking Tiffany Weller,” Jade said.
“Tiff? I don't know. Sometimes things go weird.”
“What if she can help? What if adults show up?”
I guess, besides her dad, we hadn't had a lot of that. I didn't say it though.
“Okay, you pulse Tiff and see if she wants to involve herself. She's already said yes to the haunted house thing.”
“Another Jonesy idea,” Jade said.
“Yeah.”
“It does sound pretty cool,” she admitted.
“Yeah.”
Jade walked toward the gate with me following. I spun the numbers, and it clicked open smoothly, first time. We walked in and I adjusted it in the fake lock position.
“We can't stop living just because the government might be up-our-ass.”
“Up your ass.” She grinned.
“Right.”
We walked together hand in hand until we came to the pink fridge. Jade walked around the part of it that she was able to, but the very back was more or less surrounded by pieces of cars, with a whole car on its nose (scrunched down) all along the left side. It was still bright daylight out but I knew it would be gloomy-as-hell inside. That wouldn't work and I bent down, grabbing a metal tool, about sixteen inches long, with two curved sides opposite each other. I think Dad called it a crow... something. I used it to prop the door open and explained the coffin theory. The look on her face! Geez! I gave her a fierce hug, putting my hand on the back of her neck, leaning her into me.
I'll never let anything happen to her.
She scared easy but she'd been brave with her dad. Scared of being trapped?
“What is it?” I asked, brushing a wisp of hair behind her ear.
“I hate being in tight spaces,” she mumbled.
“We won't be. The crow-thing will hold the door.”
I led the way down the tunnel. It didn't seem to take nearly as long as it had the first time. I went through the tight squeeze first and turned to help Jade, but she just popped right out.
I clicked on the LED light and shone it around the area.
“Wow,” she said. “You're right. This is perfect. It's got a creep factor, but it will be invisible to most adults.” She pulled out her pulse.
“Can you pulse?”
I got mine out and thumbed the pad: Pulse-signal impairment.
“No, I can't get squat.”
“Me either,” she said.
We sighed in unison and I gave her a kiss on the cheek, but she turned just enough and our mouths collided softly. I hadn't actually had a chance to kiss Jade but had given it a lot of thought. I used one hand to palm my pulse inside my jeans pocket and folded Jade into my body as if she was always meant to fit perfectly. I worked my mouth over the top of her lips, barely lifting off its silky surface for even an instant. She tasted wonderful. She stood on tiptoe to reach me, winding her slender arms around my neck, pressing her hand into the base of my skull as I clenched her body in against mine.
I broke away and looked down at her, our bodies just skimming each other. I watched her pulse thudding in the hollow of her throat, mine a mirror.
All I could think was she was so close to me, and she smelled great. A feeling of need pressed down on my chest, but I backed up a little, giving her some space.
“That was nice,” she said.
“Yeah, it was.”
“Our first real kiss.” She ducked her head, black hair falling forward.
I was dazed but definitely up for a repeat performance. Yeah, I was into the whole practice-makes-perfect philosophy. But I didn’t want to push it.
“We better get going, or your aunt will freak out.”
“Yeah, I guess. I could stay here with you all night.”
“Not scared anymore?” I teased.
“Not so much, no.” She smiled.
I turned off the LED, expecting the light from the tunnel to be enough to guide me to the opening. Instead, we were plunged into complete darkness.
“Caleb?” Jade cried.
“It's okay.” I flipped the LED back on.
No... no it's not. “I think someone closed the door.”
“What? Who?”
“Those jerks.
Carson and Brett.
“Brett’s been in here. He touched this spot over here.”
Well—hell. No pulse, no way out. In the dark with my girlfriend.
Hey... in the dark with my girlfriend. Now that had possibilities.
“Caleb!” She sounded a little hysterical.
“I'll think of something. Just stay calm. ”
My mind turned to the graveyard not two blocks away. I guess the zombie crew were going to have to start early.
We needed zombies, (and the Js suddenly appearing wouldn't be too bad either). Were Carson and Brett still out there? I was gonna have to deal with them. Doesn't look like Brett had softened toward me when I lent him a hand with his crazy-ass dad. Huh.
Jade was mashed up next to me, which was great, but she was my responsibility.
I had an idea.
“Are they still out there?” I asked Jade.
“I think so.”
I let that thread of power slide out of me. I visualized one grave in particular.
I called Clyde to me. Come. Then I threw a visual net, using it in my head like a lasso, tossing it around that one grave like a circle. I clenched it tightly, pulling it toward me.
“What are you doing?” Jade said, sensing something big.
Her voice sounded as if it came from far away. I felt the zombies coming, heading toward the dump. Belatedly, it occurred to me that he may draw attention.
I thought, Stay hidden. The response—yeeeesss—was a razor-like hiss in my mind. I shivered. The communion with the zombie felt like breathing—natural and right, but took some getting used to.
I answered, “Getting help.”
“I think they're here,” she said.
Outside of the door, there was a scuffle, then Brett screeched, “I told you he'd get those fuckin' dead creepers out of the ground. They're going right for the door.”
“Don't worry. I have this under control,” Carson said.
I yelled, “Clyde, rip the door off!”
A great bubble of power left me. Vertigo struck, and my skin felt as if it would slide off my body. Then the world righted, and sunlight streamed in. A rotting head poked t
hrough the door hanging crookedly off its hinges.
That solved the locking-us-in-the-hideaway problem.
Jade yelped when Clyde poked his head in. Clyde wasn't a chatty guy, he just stared and I said (very literally; zombies were a task-oriented group). “Grab the kid named Carson, but don't hurt him.”
Carson saw Clyde coming and created a fire ball in the palm of each hand. One of my other zombies was frantically beating at the flames on his feet or what was left of his feet.
Carson was going to need work on his aim.
But Clyde was fast. Whoever said zombies only shambled hadn't met my zombies. They could have serious speed.
I exited the broken freezer door, pulling Jade out as I went. I kept her behind me until I figured out this new mess. I saw something blurring toward me in the periphery.
Jade screamed, “Caleb, watch out!” and then Brett was on me, both of us rolling away from Jade, our hands swept apart.
I turned desperately, trying to keep sight of Jade, and Brett belted me a good one in my jaw. I aimed a knee at his crotch, but he moved, and it landed in his stomach. We grappled for a few seconds. I managed to get on top, and I punched him in the face.
I looked up and Jade stood with four zombies around her, tiny looking, them a rotting back drop, Carson preparing to torch her.
I didn't hesitate, “Move in front of her.”
The zombies twitched as one, blocking Jade with their bodies. The one with the burning feet crawled to be in front of her. Cripes! I'd think about that later, right now Jade needed saving.
“Clyde, his hands!” I screamed.
Clyde’s eyeballs rolled in my direction, and a dark understanding lit them. He folded one arm across both of Carson's, tightening it like a vise. The remains of one cuff of his sleeves waving small fingers of material in the light breeze, a cuff-link tenaciously hanging on, twinkling in the hazy sunlight, then grabbed Carson's right hand.
“He's breaking my hand,” Carson screamed at me with true alarm.
“Oh well!” Jade screamed back.
Huh.
Clyde was busying himself with bending Carson's hand back toward his wrist. I said, “Now, Clyde, don't break it off. Yet.”
“Yeah, Clyde,” Jonesy said from behind me. “If you break his hand, how's he gonna scratch his ass?”
I turned in time to see Jonesy taking a swing at Brett, who had been creeping up behind me.
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