Dearly, Departed

by Lia Habel

  Of course, hanging over our heads was the prospect of extermination. The men who’d made up the first flank reported they were able to clear a handful of city blocks before being recalled for the current mission, which I found heartening. Maybe the army would take that into consideration when it came time to cap us all.

  A few hours into the trip I located Nora by the sound of her voice. She was seated next to Chas, a com unit to her ear. From what I could hear, she was talking to her friend again. “No, no, I’m not the least bit interested in him! Ew!”

  Was she talking about me? Had I done something to upset her? I’d tried to include her, tried not to talk down to her, tried to—

  “I mean, I don’t even like guys with light hair, for one thing! Never mind the fact that he’d knock me into a coma every time he opened his mouth. Oh, and that he’s a hateful, violent half-wit. Yeah, that’s prime courtship material right there.”

  It wasn’t me. Yes!

  Wait. Was this that Allister fellow?

  I drifted over and sat next to her. She looked at me and offered the com unit. “Bram, tell Pamma that there’s no way I would want Michael Allister, ever.”

  I ran this through my “girl talk” translator and said, “I could eat him, if either of you’d like. Seems like it might be the easiest thing to do.”

  “Yes, please,” I heard Pam respond.

  Nora rolled her eyes and took the unit back. “Forget him. How’s Issy? Still alive? … Oh, no, don’t freak out, the valve thing is normal, I guess.” She winced, and pulled the unit away from her ear. I could hear Pam’s voice buzzing on the other end. “Look, you need to start working on redefining your entiiiire concept of ‘normal.’ Things’ll seem a lot brighter then, I promise.”

  I shut my eyes and leaned back against the wall of the ship. A few yards away I could hear Renfield complaining to Tom about the fact that Mink hadn’t said goodbye to him, and wondering what the meaning behind this might be.

  “The hidden, secret meaning of that,” Tom said, voice tight, “is that she didn’t say goodbye. For the love of all that is holy, most girls do not speak in code. Most girls are what we like to term ‘sane.’ ”

  “He speaks from experience,” Chas noted. She was sitting on a crate with her legs akimbo, fiddling with her gun.

  “Look, Pam, I’m serious,” Nora said into the com unit. “It’s okay. Issy has a few hours yet. I’ll call you again once we’re done with the sick freak who has Dad … Ah …”

  I didn’t open my eyes but could sense her looking at me. “Oh, no, he’s definitely a freak. You can call him that.”

  “I love you, too. Okay, ’bye.” I heard her press the button. “How much longer?”

  “Few hours,” I informed her. She didn’t say anything. I opened my eyes and saw her push down the sleeve of her blouse to scrutinize the bite I’d given her. Suddenly embarrassed, I sat up. “Nora, I’m really—”

  “It looks fine,” she interrupted. “I should bandage it up when this is all over, but it’s fine. I figure if what Dr. Chase said is right, you’ve got a cleaner mouth than most living people.”

  Sighing, I said, “I mean it. I’ve never bitten anyone. You’re kind of … my first. So I’m really, really sorry. At least let me keep that much of my humanity … let me apologize to the only person I’ll ever bite. Hopefully. And accept it. Okay?”

  Nora smiled. “Okay. I accept your apology.”

  It hit me then that she wasn’t half as disgusted as she should be. “Are you … sure you’re okay with it?”

  She pulled her sleeve back up and shrugged. She was quiet for a minute before asking, “Did you enjoy it?”

  I decided to tell the truth. “Yes. You wouldn’t believe how good you taste. I don’t think I could even describe it.”

  She laughed. “Good? Like filet mignon good? Or like … candy good?”

  I loved her.

  “You should catch a nap, if you can,” I told her. I was worried that fatigue might be responsible for her calm acceptance of my human taste test. I hoped not, but it was likely.

  She took this advice and settled her head on my shoulder. I sent my hand in search of hers, and found her doing the same thing. This time I let myself fully enjoy it—the fact that I had already come to care for her and that she obviously cared for me. The fact that I could touch her and she wouldn’t rebuff me. The fact that she sought me out. It was the simplest, purest thing I’ve ever experienced.

  If I’d come by nothing else easily in my life, I had been given that. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

  It was the slowing of the ship that woke me. Nora was asleep, bundled against my side. Renfield had his glasses low on his nose and was keeping a close eye on the engine equipment. “All right … yes.” He flipped open his pocket watch. “ETA fifteen minutes.”

  I cleared my throat and reached out to lift Nora’s chin with a fingertip. She came to, slowly, her eyelids heavy. “We’re almost there,” I whispered. She sat back, rubbing at her cheek with her knuckles, and I stood up. “Okay, men, listen up,” I said to the room at large.

  What little noise there had been faded away. Eyes turned to me. I took a moment to savor the sensation of impending disaster before telling it to get lost.

  “Things are pretty messed up right about now,” I began. “What started as a weird phenomenon, something rare, is quickly building into what we might affectionately call ‘the Apocalypse.’ But there’s hope. For those of you who’ve not been told, as of a few hours ago a possible vaccine has been found. We all owe a debt to the man who made that happen, and that’s why we’re going in to get him.” The men hooted in agreement. I waited for everyone to quiet down again before driving the point home. “He’s the one who grabbed us all at a bad moment in our lives and made it seem like it was going to be okay. I can’t speak for any of you, but I’m willing to go down permanently for him for that, if I have to.” There were nods all around, and I could see Nora’s eyes starting to shine.

  “So, let’s do it. Shoot anything that isn’t Dearly. Get him back on this ship. That’s it. As soon as he’s out, it’s cleanup time. You know the drill. And after that, if we haven’t heard that the extermination order’s been cancelled—we run like hell. We hide. We don’t go down easy. Because we’re good people, and we deserve to live.” This statement occasioned a shout of triumph. Renfield smiled at me from across the hold.

  I could have gone on for hours, but they didn’t need that. I threw my jacket on again and belted down. Around me, my troops did the same. Nora threaded her way through them to my side. She didn’t say anything, although I’m sure we were both thinking it. If, by some wild toss of the dice, we actually tried to make a go at it, we’d always be thinking it. Her dark eyes were glistening but clear.

  “I’m going to start bringing her down,” Renfield said. “This is going to be a little tricky. Please expect mild turbulence.”

  “Can we go up top?” Nora asked him.

  “Uh, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

  Nora started up the steps anyway. I followed her. The sudden contrast between the darkened interior of the ship and the morning sunlight reflecting off the desert of salt below took a few moments to get used to.

  “Look,” I heard Nora say.

  My vision cleared and I saw it—the ramshackle base, the undead legions, like plates of lichen on the white bark of a birch tree. “There’s hundreds of them,” I said, astonished. We might not make it out of this one after all.

  “I take it I’m staying on the ship.” Nora’s voice was hard. She gripped the railing as the ship swayed.

  “Hell yes, you’re staying on the ship.” I unbuckled the holsters over my pistols. “If necessary, just take off. I’ll leave behind another man to help if you have to.”

  She nodded, and reached out to take my hand again. I turned to look at her fully. I didn’t want to say it, but I felt I should. I’d never had a chance to say it to my sisters, to my mother, and I’d always regretted i
t. “Just in case,” I said, leaning down.

  For once the Laz remained respectful. It didn’t want her.

  I wanted her.

  Knitting my fingers into her curls, I kissed her forehead. I limited myself to one word this time. “Goodbye.”

  Her hands slid up to my shoulders and she turned her head to press her mouth against my cheek. Her lips felt like a branding iron—I wished they were. “No,” she said, stubborn as ever, though her voice wavered. “Good luck. And thank you.”

  I drew back and smiled at her. She smiled in return, although two tears had trailed their way down her cheeks, meeting in a point in the hollow of her throat.

  And with that, I turned and left her, her form silhouetted by the sunlight, made even smaller.

  Renfield slammed the ship down hard, rutting her into the salt. Nora fell onto her knees. I gripped the railing to keep myself steady, but it was exactly the opening we needed. The zombies were pumped, and they exploded out of the ship like angry red ants, the blaring light of the sun only irritating them more. Still half blinded by it, they kicked down the gangplank and stormed out before I could even order them to. I caught Ben by the sleeve and yelled, “Stay with Miss Dearly, in case she has to leave before the rest of us!”

  A look of deep disappointment wrinkled his features, but he saluted and said, “Sir!”

  That done, I threw myself into the fray.

  By now the enemy soldiers knew we were there. There were perhaps ten times as many of them as there were of us, and the first wave that came our way appeared strong and healthy enough. Only a few were equipped with weapons, though. The majority seemed ready to rely upon their teeth and nails, and beyond them lay a sea of the weak and the crawling.

  Tom and Chas found me. Over the beat of gunfire and the screams of the enraged double-dying, I shouted, “Focus on finding Dearly! He’s probably in one of the buildings!”

  “Right!” Chas said.

  As we fought our way into the middle of the action, two things struck me as very odd. First of all, I could see strong enemy zombies fleeing toward the eastern horizon—defecting from the cause. Secondly, some of the zombies in front of us were running away from us, toward the big building in the center of the compound. Were they going to arm themselves? I pulled up short and picked a few off; Tom did the same.

  “Might be weapons inside! We should find a way to take the whole thing down!” I called to my team members.

  “Wait.” Chas had just lifted her gun when she spotted something through her sights. “Wait, they’re running at Dearly!”

  I stopped shooting and zeroed in, my muscles tightening in fear. She was right. At the door of the big building stood Dearly with a man in a gray uniform and patterned scarf. Must be Averne.

  “I got him,” I said, my finger stroking the trigger.

  Dearly reached out for Averne, shouting at him. Averne turned and headed back into his hut, running like the coward he was—Dearly wasn’t strong enough to stop him. I noticed then that he was missing a leg.

  A zombie shambled into my line of fire before I could pull off a round. I swore loudly and began running toward the building. No way was Averne going to have another moment alone with Dearly. No way was he going to have another chance to hurt him.

  Tom’s position let him take the shot. I heard the retort of the rifle, heard his cry of success. The bullet entered Averne’s head right at the place where his skull joined his neck, and he went down mid-step, like an automaton suddenly and completely devoid of power. Dearly yelled something and hobbled into the building.

  Tom and Chas ran after me. We downed the dead that were still in pursuit of Dearly, clotting in the doorway. I could hear Dearly screaming as I got closer, but I didn’t understand what he was saying until I was in the actual building with him, Tom and Chas filling the doorway with their bodies, keeping the way clear outside. It was all done in a rush, and yet we seemed to be moving in slow motion.

  “That wasn’t Averne!” Dearly was yelling, jabbing his crutch at the ground. “That wasn’t Averne! That was Henry! Henry!”

  “What?” I asked, uncomprehending.

  Dearly pointed to a living man bound in the corner. “We captured Averne! Henry put on his clothes so that his soldiers wouldn’t suspect anything!”

  I looked to the uniformed man who lay dead on the salt. I slowly approached him and removed his scarf. Beneath it was a zombie with burnt flesh, his eyes unseeing.

  “Damn it all,” I breathed.

  Tom glanced back and I saw a number of reactions play out on his face—sudden understanding, and guilt, and grim acceptance. “Bram, take over!” He stepped out of the doorway, and I filled it before I could think about what he meant to do. “Come on, Doc. I’m taking you to your daughter.”

  “Nora? Nora’s here?” Dearly asked. His limbs were trembling, his eyes wild with grief.

  “Yep, pretty as a rose and waiting to see you,” Tom grunted. Without stopping to ask for permission, he scooped Dearly up over his shoulders. He took a few moments to steady his passenger before looking at us from beneath his heavy brows. “Got me covered?”

  “Yeah,” I said. My eyes again fell on the fallen, innocent man known as Henry as I stepped out of the doorway. What had we done?

  “Okay, then.” Tom paused at the entrance and kissed Chas. “See you when you get home.”

  “Don’t wait up,” she said, voice filled with forced cheerfulness, as she clicked in another clip.

  When he saw an opening, Tom left the cover of the building. The fighting was still going strong, our men being rushed from multiple directions. Tom ran as fast as his size and burden would allow, keeping his head down. Chas and I resumed our positions, taking out those who had the bright idea of targeting him.

  He couldn’t outrun bullets, though.

  I don’t know who hit him. Our side, accidentally? Those of Averne’s men who still had guns and the ability to fire them? When Tom was within fifty feet of the ship, I saw his legs buckle, saw him teeter and collapse with Dearly still atop him. Chas screamed his name, and I had to catch her and hold her back. She was prepared to drop her gun and run for him.

  “Tom! Tom!” she cried out.

  “You run out there, they’ll get you, too!” I yelled. “Think! Help me shoot!” But she was in hysterics and I couldn’t let go of her. I could only watch as Renfield and Ben leapt off the ship and helped Dearly aboard. Nora was waiting for him on the top deck, and I swear, it was all I could do not to go running out there myself. She needed to get down, she needed to get out of here …

  Ben jumped off the ship again when Dearly was on board, and helped Tom to his feet. Tom shuffled with him up the gangplank. Some feeling returned to my arms, and I shook Chastity to get her attention.

  “Tom’s fine! They didn’t get him in the head! Look, Chas, he’s fine!”

  She looked, and went limp in my arms. “Oh, thank God, thank God …”

  We watched together as the ship took off. I could have burst into song. Chas regained some strength and looked up into my face, laughing a little, relieved. “That’s one for—” Her expression crumpled and she shouted, “Behind you!”

  I turned just as Averne landed his first blow, sending my rifle skipping across the ground. He’d freed himself from his restraints and stood before us, body twisted and terrible with anger, as if his skin might snap with the mass of it welling up from his soul.

  With a barbaric cry, he launched himself at me. I couldn’t pull my pistols out in time, and we ended up going hand-to-hand. I landed several punches, and he got one on me that was good enough to split my lip.

  “Monster!” he screamed, spittle flying from his lips. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill every last one of you! You’ll all burn in the hell the earth has become!”

  “I’m a Punk!” I yelled at him. “I’m a Punk! Listen to me. The royals didn’t do this to us!”

  “Wolfe told me they did!” Averne advanced on me again. “They made you what you
are now!”

  “They have the vaccine!” I said as I ducked back and forth like a boxer preparing for a blow. “Wolfe lied to you—he just wanted it for his own glory! But they have it now, and it’s going to be all right!” I looked to the door. “Chas! I could use some help here!”

  She was staring out the door. “I hear planes.”

  Averne went for my throat, and I struggled to get him off. “Transport!”

  “Transport?” She stepped through the door, out into the sunlight.

  “Chas!” I yelled.

  An explosion outside drowned out my voice.

  Chas stumbled back in, her hands catching the doorway. “They’re firebombing us! They’re not here to get us, they’re here to kill us! The order’s gone out!”

  Averne lashed out at me again. “You’re a fool!”

  I took a page from Tom’s book and rushed at his lower body, catching him in the chest and sending him flying back across the room. He landed upon a pile of clothing and rags in the corner. I heard him screaming more obscenities, heard a faint tinkle of broken glass. Part of what looked like a test tube rolled toward my foot.

  The world became fire, just as Averne’d predicted.

  Despite Renfield’s warnings, once I got my father set up comfortably on the floor of the hold, I returned to the top deck.

  I wasn’t up to the task of speaking to him. Not yet.

  I could barely see, at first, for the brightness of the sun and what the wind was doing to my hair. The fighting was still going on below, but I couldn’t make out Bram among the others. We were rising fast and everything on the ground was becoming microscopic.

  I could hear something, though.

  Turning in the direction of the noise, shielding my eyes with one hand and tightening my hold on the railing with the other, I made out several specks on the horizon—planes. They must be coming to pick up Company Z after they were done—at least that’s what I hoped they were there to do. I prayed that’s what they were there to do.